Fangio Monaco T-shirt Launched

Retro Formula 1 in the UK has just launched a new t-shirt based on my “Fangio Monaco 1957” pen & ink sketch.

Pen&ink of vellum 8"x 10"
© Paul Chenard

In my opinion, they’ve done a lovely job of the art on this t-shirt.
© Retro Formula 1

You can pick one up through this link to their website:

http://www.retroformula1.com/Fangio/formula1_Fangio57_SHOP.html
This reads pretty high of the “Cool” meter!

A Passion for Art & Motorsports History

Some people start their passions early in life, while others slowly get around to it.

I guest I fit in the latter category; I started collecting vintage racing toys and reading of motorsports history when I was thirty years old. That was almost 25 years ago, yet I’m still discovering new things and having more and more fun along the way.

Then there are the younger set who’s passions start very young, usually introduced to them by their parents, a sort of passion passed on …

Recently, I was contacted by Jenny from the USA who wanted to acquire some of my art. They were decorating their son Lucas’ room, yet found my archival limited editions a bit over budget, and my greeting card sets a bit too small.

With this in mind, I decided to make available affordable 10”x 8” open edition prints. Jenny choose a selection, I had them printed up, and shipped them out to her.

Yesterday, I received the wonderful note and photos below:

Hi Paul,
I am so sorry it's been so long since I replied back to you. Life has a way of sweeping you along and before you know it ... two months go by before you get around to that email!
Anyways, I just wanted to tell how great the prints look! They are such a nice addition to our son's room. Again, we appreciate so much that you worked with us so that we could enjoy your art in our home :)
Our sweet boy is actually only 10 months old! But he will grow up with that art around him. He is all boy and already likes cars and makes car noises :)
Our 11 year old son thinks your art is pretty sweet too! Here is a pic of how we hung up the prints. (snapshots never do it justice, the room looks awesome!)
Thanks again,
Jenny

Passion can come in very small packages!

Carroll Shelby 1923-2012

Carroll was a firstly a racer, and a successful racer at that.

He started in MGs, and quickly moved up to Allards, Ferraris and Maseratis. He joined the Aston Martin racing team, and shared a win of the 1959 Le Mans with Roy Salvatori.

Health issues forced him out of racing shortly afterward, so he set up a driving school.

Ken Miles in an A.C. CobraPen&ink and pencil crayons on corrogated cardboard
© Paul Chenard
His European experience showed him how more advanced the European and British sport car chassis and suspension setups were against their American counterparts.

He reasoned that a British sports car fitted with an American engine could be a successful combination. He ordered a modified A.C. Ace body and chassis and fitted it with a Ford engine. From Autumn 1961 till late Summer of 1962, Shelby American developed the A.C. Cobra into powerful performance sports and race car.

Shelby Cobra 289Pen&ink, paint markers and markers on blue archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2012

Orders flooded in and the car was a success. A further development of the Cobra came as an aerodynamic coupe, in a form more apt to beat Ferraris at the long distance races such as Le Mans.

 
Cobra Daytona Coupe – Le Mans 1965Pen&ink, paint markers and markers on blue archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2012
The Cobra Coupes beat Ferrari for the 1965 GT Championship, and Shelby was also instrumental in Ford Motor Company’s successful GT 40 wins at Le Mans for 1966 and 1967. At the same time, he developed their new Mustang into successful track car with the GT350. 
Ken Miles in a Shelby Mustang GT350Pencils on white stock, digitally painted
© Paul Chenard
Though working in performance development with mostly Ford, Carroll Shelby also worked with Dodge and Oldmobile. He was a “tuner” before the word was even coined!

Shelby American has also continued creating “continuation” Shelby Cobra roadsters.

Carroll Shelby saw opportunity where others didn’t and followed through with his vision and goals. Very few can match his legacy.

Villeneuve – 30 Years Passing …

Though it has been a full 30 years today since Gilles Villeneuve was lost to us on that track in Zolder, his fearlessness, passion and driving art are forever remembered.

Villeneuve at Zolder 1982

© and courtesy of Paul-Henri Cahier

The Cahier Archive

He had the love of his public, and the respect of his fellow drivers. He did not play politics or games, and raced with his heart, sometimes pulling off the seemingly impossible.

Villeneuve at Monaco 1981

© Paul Chenard 2011

Three decades after his death, the love of his public and the respect of his fellow drivers are just as strong …

Cheers to you, Gilles!

Porsche in Formula 1

When someone thinks of Formula 1, the Porsche name does not necessarily come to mind. That wasn’t always the case though.

In the late 1950’s, Porsche was finding success in the sports car and GT classes of racing, sometimes beating out the much more powerful teams. That was the case for the 1956 Targa Florio where the Porsche 550 of Umberto Maglioli and Huschke von Hanstein won the Sicilian race against the Maseratis and Ferraris.

In the late 1950’s, Porsche decided to try their hand in the 1500cc class F2 races with the Porsche 718. In 1961, the former F2 class became Formula 1, so Porsche went F1 racing with the 718.

It’s 1957 design showed itself as outdated, so Porsche produce a new car, the 804, for 1962.

Porsche 804 Formula 1, rear view, 1962
Pen&ink, paint markers and markers on gray archival paper
17"x 12" © Paul Chenard 2012
This original artwork is available, as are limited editions

American Dan Gurney brought Porsche their first and only Formula 1 win as a constructor, taking the French Grand Prix at at Rouen-Les-Essarts on July 8th. Gurney also finished 3rd at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring on August 5th.

With the upcoming Formula 1 rule changes, Porsche decided to withdraw from Grand Prix racing in 1964 to focus on sports and endurance racing.

In 1983, Porsche returned to Formula 1 as an engine developer through TAG for McLaren and helped them win the 1984 and 1985 Constructors Championships.

MGB 50th Anniversary

50 years ago, a little British car splashed onto the market that defined the idea of “sports car” to the masses.

The MG (Morris Garages) Car Company was started in Oxford, United Kingdom in the 1920’s by Cecil Kimber. They produced small 2-seater sports cars from the beginning, and produced some very successful models, some of which received class-wins, not to mention overall wins, in competition.

In the late 50’s, the company started looking a replacement for their MGA, their premiere sports car. They wanted to create a more modern, more comfortable, and more effective car that would appeal to a broader audience.

The result was the MGB. Launched in 1962, it was an instant success. The proof of this is shown in the fact that it was built until 1980! 

Pen & ink, paint markers and markers on white archival watercolour paper.

Original art available, as are limited editions.

Current sports cars of today, like the Mazda Miata, or even the BMW Z8, are to varying extents inspired by the MGB.

There are enough still around today to bring a big grin to anybody’s face.

Art inspirations ...

Whenever I have self-doubts about why I'm doing my art, I just read a letter like this and it becomes very very clear.

Team Lotus wins the 1965 Indianapolis 500

In 1962, Dan Gurney invited Colin Chapman as his guest at the Indianapolis 500 to show him the potential of bringing a Lotus race car there to compete.

Chapman was impressed and decided to give it a go with his rear-engine racers.

For 1963, Team Lotus raced a Lotus 29, and came very close to winning with Jim Clark driving. They came back in 1964 with the Lotus 34, but tire problems sidelined the cars.

Jim Clark - Lotus 38 - 1965 Indianapolis 500

Pen&ink, paint markers and markers on green archival paper

© Paul Chenard 2012

Private commission - Available as a limited edition

In 1965, they came back, this time with the lovely Ford-powered Lotus 38.

Clark went on to lead all but 10 of the full 200 laps, averaging a new record speed of over 150 miles-per-hour (241 kph), coming in to win with an amazing margin of victory of just under 2 minutes.

It was a first Indianapolis 500 win for Jim Clark, Lotus Racing and the Ford Motor Company. It also broke the long-standing curse of bad luck racing a green race car at the Indianapolis 500.

Significantly, it was the first win there for a rear-engine car, spelling the end of traditional front-engine roadster.

Our good Friend Gord ...

It was with shock and great sadness that we learned of the passing of our dear friend Gordon MacLeod over the weekend.

Born in Halifax, he grew up in Newfoundland, and enlisted in the Canadian Navy to see the world. He then went to university to get his education and became a planner for Parks Canada.

He was a member of our local Maskwa Aquatic Club, and that's where our paths crossed when we joined with our two (then young) boys for the kayak and canoe programs.

Gord had just retired, and was spending lots of his time keeping the club running, constantly repairing and improving things. Our friendship started almost as soon as we met, and he became almost family.
We did excursions together, he came to supper, or invited us to his place. He often took our boys skiing, or to play golf. He would drop off his latest homemade beer or wine, and would always go to the boys' soccer games.

He loved his cars and really enjoyed what was going on with my art.

When it was decided to build a new facility for the aquatic club, Gord became the "unofficial" project manager, and made sure it was done right.

He was the very shining example of what committed volunteerism could do. Our community is better for it, and will be better for years to come because of Gord, and I'm very honoured that I could call him "friend".

We all miss you dearly, Gord.

Stirling Moss – 1959 Nürburgring 1000 km

L’art et l’automobile is one of North America’s oldest and best known gallery and auction house of vintage automobilia and art.

They current have a wonderful auction on the go, and they are featuring one of my artworks.

As my friends and clients know, I do an annual signed and numbered Holiday card, for which I create an original artwork.

My very first Holiday card original artwork is included in the current auction, and it also includes an artist proof of the limited edition card, issued in December 2008 to a very limited run of only 75 cards.

Prismacolor pencils on gray archival stock 18"x 7" 
© Paul Chenard 2008

The original artwork shows Sir Stirling Moss driving at 10/10ths on his way to phenomenal win of the 1959 Nürburgring 1000 km in an Aston Martin DBR1. He is being chased by second-place finisher Phil Hill in a Ferrari TR59.

This is an opportunity to pick the first of what is now an annual tradition.

The STP Turbocar

The 1960’s were a period of great change and experimentation in American Champ car racing, sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC).

Nowhere was there more experimentation than the annual Indianapolis 500.

For two decades, all of the Indianapolis winning cars were front-engined roadsters, mostly powered by the famous 4-cylinder Offenhauser (Offy) engine.

After Jack Brabham raced a rear-engined Cooper to 9th place in the 1961 race, Colin Chapman took notice, bringing rear-engined Lotus Indy cars to the race, starting in 1963. They finally succeeded in 1965, with Jim Clark winning in a Ford-Cosworth powered Lotus 38.

STP Turbocar

Pen&ink, paint-markers and markers on red archival stock © Paul Chenard 2012

In 1967, another dramatic new racer was presented at the Indianapolis 500. Envisioned by STP President Andy Granatelli, the race car was designed by Ken Wallis, and used a Ferguson 4-wheel-drive systems. The biggest surprise was that it was powered by gas turbine helicopter engine located beside the driver!

For this Indianapolis 500, the grid was almost completely dominated by rear-engined race cars. Granatelli’s STP Turbocar was raced by Parnelli Jones, who loved driving the car.

Jones took an early lead and led the race for 171 of the 200 laps. He was well on his way to victory when a $6 bearing in the gearbox failed, dropping his car into neutral. A. J. Foyt took the lead from Jones in his own rear-engined Coyote and won the race.

It was a frustration end to a near perfect and memorable race for Jones and the famous STP Turbocar.

The Matra MS80: Flying with Jackie Stewart

Matra was a high-tech French company involved in aeronautics and weaponry.

In the mid-1960's they diversified into automobiles by purchasing Automobiles René Bonnet with the specific goal of raising their public profile by building sports cars and race cars.

They found considerable success in building winning Formula 3 and Formula 2 racing cars, using construction methods developed in aeronautics.

They took the plunge into Formula 1 in 1968, developing the the Matra MS10. The team was run by Ken Tyrrell, with Jackie Stewart (Scotland) as driver. Amazingly, Stewart found three wins in the new racer and finish in second place in the Championship.


Jackie Stewart - Matra MS80 - Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort 1969

Pen&ink, paint markers and archival markers on blue archival paper © Paul Chenard 2012

Original art available, as are limited editions.

For the 1969 Formula 1 season, Stewart started again with the Cosworth-powered MS10, winning the first race of the season in South Africa. Afterward, he switched to the new Cosworth DFV-powered MS80, which carried overall improvements over the previous Matra. Stewart won the Spanish, Dutch, French, British, and German Grands Prix and easily took the first of his three Championships.

For 1970, Matra joined Simca (Chrysler). With Tyrrell's major support coming from Ford, sponsorship conflicts ended the Tyrrell/Matra relationship. At the same time, FIA specification changes ruled out the MS80.

Jackie Stewart loved to race the MS80, saying it was beautifully balanced and stable at speed, qualities he used effectively to win.

Market Fresh Racing Art

I’ve started going to the local Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market to sell my art.

It’s probably not the place you’d think of trying to sell racing history art, but there are many artists selling there, and they say that, past this rather more quiet time, they do quite well at the market.

I’ve had good weekends and bad weekends financially, but I have to say that I have zero competition, and I’ve enjoyed my time there. I occasionally even have time to do some sketching, like this past weekend; I managed to get two little sketches done.

Ayrton Senna – McLaren MP4/4 – British Grand Prix 1988

Pen&ink and markers on red stock 5”x 7” (12.7cm x 17.78cm) © Paul Chenard 2012

The visitor’s reactions range from curiosity to slack-jawed shock! In the 4 weekends that I’ve been there, I’ve already developed a following. In fact, I believe I’ll get a few commissions from being there.

Schlesser/Grant - Cobra Daytona Coupe – Le Mans 1965

Pen&ink and markers on blue stock 5”x 7” (12.7cm x 17.78cm) © Paul Chenard 2012

I’m at a different location and different setup each time, but it’s actually very good training for going to tradeshows or exhibitions.

It’s a good way get known by the local racing fans too!

"Silver Clouds" reviewed in Automobile

Late last year, I sent copy of my limited edition book "Silver Clouds: The 1934 Grand Prix season" to Jean Jennings, President and Editor-in-hief of Automobile magazine to get her impressions.

Just before Christmas, Jean called me to interview me about my book. She asked very good, detailed questions about it, and it was a great interview.

On Tuesday, the March issue came out on the newsstands, and the review was published in Jean's column "Vile Gossip", which is always the last page sign-off of the magazine.

As you can read, the review is wonderful, with Jennings really capturing all the subtle elements and the "raison d'être" of the book.

Now, I'm more eager than ever to start book #2 of my series on a significant year from each Grand Prix decade. This next one will cover the 1986 Grand Prix season.

The 1956 Italian Grand Prix

For the 1956 Formula 1 season, Scuderia Ferrari was fielding the Lancia-Ferrari D50’s that that they inherited from Lancia when they folded their racing efforts.

They had a strong driver line-up of Juan Manual Fangio, Peter Collins, Luigi Musso and Eugenio Castellotti.

Pen& ink, paint markers and markers on red archival stock 12"x 11'5" (30.5cm x 29cm) © Paul Chenard 2012
Private collection – limited editions are available.

Before the Italian Grand Prix, the last race of the season, Fangio had 2.5 wins, Sir Stirling Moss had 1 win, Collins had 2 wins, Pat Flaherty had 1 win, and Musso shared a win with Fangio.

Points-wise, it was a very close match-up between Fangio, Collins and Moss, with all 3 having a good chance at winning the World Championship into that last race at Monza.

During the race, the Monza track, with it’s steep banked section, took it’s toll on the Ferraris, with the D50s of Castellotti, Fangio and Musso dropping out.

Pen& ink and colour pencils on gray archival stock © Paul Chenard 2010
Detail from "Peter Collins – Targa Florio 1955" limited edition.

When the remaining D50 of Collins came in for a pitstop, he spotted Fangio there, and immediately hopped out of his car to hand it over to Juan Manual so he could get back into the race. Fangio came in second place behind Moss, giving him enough points to take the Championship.

When he was asked why he so unselfishly gave up his car, thus his Championship chances, Collins said that he thought that Fangio deserved it more.

Spoken like a true gentleman!

Richie Ginther: The Race Car Developer

Paul Richard “Richie” Ginther was born in Granada Hills, California in 1930.

He was raised in the same town as Phil Hill, and worked for Douglas Aircraft in the tool and die shop. Ginther met Hill and helped him in the repair and maintenance of his race cars.

He started his own race career in 1951, driving a Ford-powered MG. Shortly afterward, he was drafted to the Korean war, and worked on aircraft maintenance. 

Page from the 1959 Fuller Brush catalog.

Once out of the military, Ginther was drafted by Hill as his riding mechanic for the 1953 Carrera Panamericana, racing in a Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale. They ran well until they left the road and severely damaged the Ferrari. They returned the following year, racing a Ferrari 375 MM Vignale and finished in second place.

Page from the 1959 Fuller Brush catalog.

Not long after Hill left for Europe to drive for Scuderia Ferrari, and Ginther took his place in the States, racing more and more frequently, gaining successes.

He drove Healeys, Porsches, Aston Martins, and finally Ferraris. He moved to Europe, joining Hill with Ferrari, where he stayed for the 1960 and 1961 seasons. He was instrumental in the race development of the famous 156 F1 “Sharknose”.

Sharknoses at Spa 1961, where Ginther finished in 3rd place. Pen&ink, pencils and markers on white archival stock 12"x 9" © Paul Chenard 2012


From there he moved to BRM for 1962, also helping in the development of their Championship-winning P57 Formula 1 car.

Tamiya 1/20 Honda RA272 kit that I built.

He joined Honda in 1965, racing their new RA272 F1 car. In the last Grand Prix of the season in Mexico, he won the race, giving Honda and Goodyear their first Formula 1 win. Unfortunately, it was Ginther’s only Formula 1 win.

Sketch on a package I shipped to California for a good client.
Pen&ink and markers on Foamcore.  © Paul Chenard 2012

Ginther had a small part in John Frankenheimer’s 1966 film “Grand Prix.”

Ginther finally retired in 1967, and sadly passed away in 1989 while camping with his family in France.

The Best of the Season to my Readers!

Beautiful Auto Union die cast racers

Recently, I was contacted by Dutch gentleman Paul Schilperoord about a collection of 1/43 German die cast Auto Union toys. He was looking for any support information that I could provide on these little gems, which he had picked up in Germany.
Paul is a writer and he came across the collection while researching his book: http://www.ganz-volkswagen.org/

He's done a blog post on these Auto Union toys; you can read it here: http://anakronismo.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/auto-union-model-racing-cars/

As a longtime collector of vintage racing toys, I have to say that these are rare and stunning!

The most stunning aspect of these circa 1947 Zamac-cast racers is that some of them are clearly painted in matte military paint! This is highly unusual, and the first time that I've seen it. There are 5 colours in all, and three of those are matte.

If you are interested in acquiring one or more of these rare toys, contact Paul directly at info@ganz-volkswagen.org

You won't be disappointed.

James Dean and his Porsche 550 Spyder

James Byron Dean was born on February 8th, 1931 in Marion, Indiana.

He is known mostly for the brilliance of his acting in his only 3 feature movies: East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant. He received two posthumous Best Actor Academy Award nominations, for East of Eden and Giant.

He is less well known for his automobile racing activities. In 1953, he started with a race-prepared MG TD, then trading up to a Porsche 356 in 1954.

He showed some skill on the track, so he again traded up to a Porsche 550 Spyder. He had actually ordered a Lotus X for his racing activities, but its delivery was delayed so Dean settled on the Spyder.

His language coach for the movie Giant, Bill Hickman, called him “Little Bastard”, so Dean had that painted in script on the back of the Porsche by legendary pin-striper Dean Jeffries.

On the morning of September 30, 1955, Dean and his mechanic Rolf Wütherich set off from Competition Motors in Los Angeles to go to a sports car race in Salinas, California.

On their way there, a 1950 Ford Custom Tudor coupe, driven by 23-year-old Donald Turnupseed, took a fork in the road, his left turn bringing him head-on into the path of Dean’s Porsche.

Wütherich survived the crash, but Dean was not as lucky and died about 10 minutes afterward.

Interestingly, he was quoted as saying, "People say racing is dangerous. But I'd rather take my chances on the track any day than on the highway."

Sadly, he was right.


Artwork
For the past little while, I've wanted to do a piece on James Dean and his 550, so finally I got around to it. I call it "Immortality", and it's done in mixed media.

The background is acrylic on 70 year-old unused canvas board (my dad's), Dean and his mechanic are in pen&ink and archival markers on illustration board, on which I also illustrated the wheels in Prismacolor pencils.

The Porsche 550 Spyder is on 18-gauge sheet aluminum, which I engraved, sanded, painted on with oil model paint and pen&ink, cut out, filed and sanded, and finished in gloss varnished. The Porsche is about a 1/4" off the canvas ...

The size of the piece is 16"x 12" (40.6cm x 30.5cm), unframed.
It's framed in a black floating frame ...
I included part of a quote of his that I found appropriate for this.

This piece is is available for sale; please contact me at paul.chenard@hotmail.com  if you are interested.

The Automotive Word from the East

In the latest Automobile magazine (December 2011), one of my favorite automotive journalists Jamie Kitman makes an interesting journey through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, cruising in a new Jaguar XJ.

On his travels, he meets up with an old friend of his Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who happens to be the President of Estonia.

Along the way, he also met with a friend of mine, journalist/writer/engineer Margus-Hans Kuuse; he even provides a sidebar into to Margus-Hans in his feature.

Margus-Hans is the main info source of all things automotive in Eastern Europe, and has been that source since the Soviet era of the early 70’s. 

A couple of years ago, Margus-Hans used my Cevert portrait in a story of his, and I’ve since had the honour of being counted as one of his numerous friends.

It’s wonderful that this amazing pillar of automotive journalism be recognized for his groundbreaking work. Bravo!