Fred R. C4S

I finally got around to selecting an avatar. To see it better:



This was one of the first "Porsche" racing cars and was a truly breakthrough design. Not many drivers could master it.

Can you indentify it?

If not check:
<a href="http://www.supercars.net/cars/1936@$Auto%20Union@$Type%20Cg.html" target="_blank">Press On Regardless</a>

I hope you enjoy it!

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Fred R.

993RS

16 cylinder Auto Union Type R GP racing car.

Fred R. C4S

For bonus points, who is the driver pictured and where was the photo taken?

A4

Hans Stuck Jr.???

Fred R. C4S

Hans Stuck Jr. would probably be more appropriate, but the driver pictured is Emanuele Pirro piloting the 1936 Type C Auto Union GP car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb. Too bad they didn't bring the "hillclimb version" with dual wheels at each corner of the rear axle.

If you think your Porsche has trailing throttle oversteer, you should see the films of Bernd Rosemeyer sliding the Type C around every curve of the Nurburgring Nordschliefe. During one GP there in the rain and fog, Rosemeyer was the only driver not to slow as the fog thickened to the point where visibility was measured in feet. He won pulling away. The true "Nebelmeister". Even Michael Schumacher could learn a thing or two from the "titans" that dueled in the Silver Arrows of the '30's.

Sam N

Thanks for the info. Fred. Btw, what team(s) did Fangio race for? (MB?)

How was Auto Union related to Audi? Sorry for the dumb question. <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />

TIA,
Sam

Mark in Baltimore

My guess is Hans Stuck, Jr, too. Can't remember if Hermann Lang ever drove for Auto Union but the driver doesn't look old enough

Location is Goodwood, with sunny Monterey my distant second guess.

Fred R. C4S

Here is a brief bio I found on Fangio. The "maestro" drove in GP in the 1950's for Alfa Romeo and MB. His era was that that followed "The Titans" that raced prewar.

Juan Manuel Fangio was one of the greatest racecar drivers of the twentieth century. The son of italian immigrants, he was born in 1911, in Balcarce, Argentina. Cars became an important part of his life at a very early stage (when he was 13, he worked as an apprentice at an auto repair shop). He made his first appearances in professional car races in 1936, at the age of 25, and by 1940 and 1941, he had already won his first racing championships.

But his name would brighten the world`s motor racing scene during the 1950s decade, known as the golden age of racing, at which time the International Motor Racing Association instituted the Formula One F1 and Formula Two F2 categories.

Early in the decade, in 1951, he won his first world championship behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo 159 (manufactured in Italy) in Pedrables, Spain. This was also the final race for the Alfa Romeo motor racing team. The following year, a terrible accident on the Monza circuit, which almost cost Fangio his life, forced the driver out of competition for seven months, and he was unable to race for the remainder of the season.

In 1954 he participated in his second world championship race. Fangio had signed a contract with Mercedes Benz, which authorized him to race with another motor racing team while the german cars were being readied for competition. He began the season driving a Maserati 250 F, and ended it piloting a Mercedes Benz W 196, christened The Silver Arrow.

At the time Fangio became the the world´s champion for the second time, in 1955, the Mercedes Benz team withdrew from competition after one of his cars caused a true massacre at Le Mans. This event marked the beginning of 1956, impelling the champion driver to sign a contract with Ferrari ( the italian team over which Fangio had always triumphed) which, this time, granted him first place on the winner´s platform for the third time in his life.

He returned to the italian Maserati team in 1957 and, once again, conquered the world title for an unprecedented fifth time, a recordwhich, to this day, no one has been able to break. One year later, with 206 races and 51 Grand Prix under his belt, Fangio finally reckoned that his career as a professional racecar driver had come to an end.

On July 17 1995 Fangio died at the age of 84.

Ray Calvo

Some recommended reading material:

"Driving Forces" by Peter Stevenson
Excellent historial collection of the Mercedes and Auto Union teams during the 1930's. Largely emphasizing the drivers and the absolute baloney went through under the **** control. Fascinating account of Bernd Rosemeyer's land speed record attempt on the Autobahn (at 270+MPH!) that led to his death. Great photo collection.

"Stirling Moss - The Authorised Biography"
Can't say much more, except the story is fascinating, and the enormous collection of photos from Stirling's private collection I'm sure you haven't seen anyplace else.

"Driven" by Jesse Alexander
Very few words, but absolutely the greatest collection of photos of road racing cars and drivers from 1954-1962.

Terry Adams

<a href="http://www.auto-union.info/start/start.htm" target="_blank">Auto Union & Audi</a>

Fred R. C4S

To Ray's excellent list of reading materials I would add

"Racing the Silver Arrows: Mercedes-Benz Versus Auto Union 1934-1939" by Chris Nixon

This book chronicles the epic battles waged between Auto Union and Mercedes Benz during the late '30s. This was a time of 600+hp, exotic rocket fuels, skinny treaded tires, cloth helmets, goggles, 20 inch steering wheels, no seat belts, no armco, only skill and courage. It's a fascinating read.

It was a long time ago, and it took many decades before the current GP machinery could touch the performance of these monsters. It was a time when "countries" raced, not just private teams. It was Germany vs. Italy vs. France. Unfortunately it was a prelude to the second world war.

It was also a time of sportsmen and gentlemen drivers. We could use a little of that in the F1 paddock area today.


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Fred R.

fbfisher

Looking at the lines of this car you can detect the Carerra starting to emerge and take shape.

Sam N

Thank you Fred and Terry for the FYI! Very interesting.

Fred R. C4S

Here's a little bio on Bernd Rosemeyer, the true master of Dr. Porsche's mid engine Auto Union. Most folks have never heard about him and it's a shame. He was truly one of the all time greats, and a very popular driver in his day. He would have made a great Porsche driver. I'm sure he would have stood atop the podium at LeMans and Daytona.

<a href="http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/rose_bio.htm" target="_blank">Bernd Rosemeyer Bio</a>

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Fred R.

David '96 993

Wasn't Auto Union the marque at the Monteray Historic's 3 years ago? I would have loved to see those in action, but we had just had a baby and I couldn't get away. Does anyone know how many Auto Union GP cars were there? If memory serves me, I thought it was like 6 or 7 including the later "aerodynamic" enclosed version and several with the duel rear wheels. Until then, I did not know that many existed. I thought that most were lost in the war.

These cars really were so far ahead of their day and Rosemyer was a warrior.

Thanks for all of the neat trivia.
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