Tag Archives: rennen

Chuck Porter’s Mercedes 300 SLS – ADAC Eifel Rennen 2010

At the ADAC Eifel Rennen this weekend we spotted the Chuck Porter Mercedes 300 SLS,  the “S” defines that it was a wrecked 300 SL Gullwing and Chuyck Porter went about rebuilding the Mercedes marque.

After Mercedes-Benz retired their highly successful 300 SLR program, many racing teams and amateur drivers started creating their own versions from the 300 SL production cars. These became known as the SLS and most were prepared with a wide variety of modifications. One of the most famous of these is the Porter roadster which was actively campaigned in America.
Chuck Porter used a wrecked 300 SL Gullwing to create his own SLS. A new body was designed out of his body shop in Hollywood, California and executed by Jack Sutton from .064 aluminum sheet. For the most part, the body stayed faithful to the Mercedes-Benz styling. It featured a much wider front opening, no windscreen, removed doors and a custom interior.

Despite working from a fire-damaged hulk, Porter persisted with the SLS. After it was done, the car was considerably taller than the SLR, since the production SL is much taller than the SLR’s grand-prix chassis. This didn’t stop it from keeping up with the fastest cars in its class with drivers like Ken Miles, Billy Krause and Porter himself.

The car was used from 1956 until 1962, later being fitted with a few different American V8s. Throughout this colorful career, the Porter Special challenged even the Ferraris and Maseratis of the period. This was possible even though the engine was pretty much stock except for a factory performance camshaft.

Sports Car Illustrated tested the Porter SLS against a factory aluminum-bodied 300 SL Coupe and found the SLS to be considerably faster. In 1999 the car was restored by HK-Engineering and subsequently raced at the Monterey Historic Races.

Historic Pictures courtesy of  Bill Tibbetts hopefully well see some more of the historic moments in time from Bill !

Eifel Rennen 2010 Gallery:- CLICK

ADAC Eifel Rennen – Bugatti Type 37 Racing

At the ADAC Eifel Rennen this weekend we spotted the Bugatti Type 37 Racing, the valuation of this model of car varies from £200k.

The Type 35 was powered by a four cylinder in line, overhead camshaft, 3 valves per cylinder, 1496cc, 60hp; Gearbox: four speed, transmission to rear wheels; Suspension, front: Bugatti axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs, rear: solid axle on quarter elliptic leaf springs; Brakes: four wheel drum, cable operated. Right hand drive.
Blue with black leather inter.

At the French Grand Prix at Lyon in 1924, Bugatti unveiled a new production racing car, the famous Type 35. They were officially campaigned in every possible competitive event until 1930, during which this little jewel recorded a huge number of successes in the hand of Works drivers and private drivers. Today, it remains the symbol of the Bugatti marque. Throughout production, there were a number of variations offered by the factory for the Type 35, including supercharged versions, but always based on the eight cylinder engine. A four cylinder variant was introduced at the end of 1925 and designated the Type 37. It benefitted from the same chassis, and with a few alterations, the same chassis as its bigger sister. The Type 37 was renowned for its lightness, nimbleness and reliability, and was good for 145kph. Over the four years of production, approximately 270 examples were completed, of which many have disappeared, due to being worn out by active sporting careers. So, original examples with continuous history such as the car on offer today, are extremely rare.

Thanks to Ralph the owner of the vehicle for the Model number of this car you can see his personal website here :- www.bugatti37.de

Click Here to see the Eifel Rennen Gallery.

[ Source:- Sportscarmarket ]