Duncan Hamilton, born 1920,  was a larger-than-life character. Hamilton’s antics are a timely reminder of an age when racing drivers didn’t stomp back to their Monaco penthouse for a massive sulk. After Thursday practice his Jag was disqualified, bizarrely, for being on track at the same time as another car bearing the same car number. Disheartened, Hamilton and co-driver Tony Rolt immediately did what any driver of that era would do, they found the nearest pub and gave their sorrows a good lubrications with plenty of Gin.

But, the French officials decided to reverse their decision. The team finally found their drivers but they were well smashed. A hurried application of coffee and cold showers was finally enough to get them back in the car for Friday’s practice session, and by the start on Saturday afternoon they were on form to clinch an historic victory.

Let’s not forget that Hamilton was also a very fine driver, winning the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hours in a Jaguar C-type, averaging over 100mph for the first time in the race’s history. and bringing it home despite a 130mph bird strike breaking his nose. this was the era before full face helmets, in fact what passed for a helmet was very sad indeed. He and his 1956 co-driver Tony Holt finished second in 1957 in a Jaguar D Type.

Duncan Hamilton was a larger-than-life character,and his account of what followed has passed into motor racing legend: Lofty England refuted the story: “Of course I would never have let them race under the influence. I had enough trouble when they were sober Tony Rolt likewise maintained that it was fiction.

My own painting of a Jaguar C Type is available as prints.

My own painting of a  Jaguar D Type is available as prints

Bean at the wheel? at the 2009 Goodwood Revival

NOTE: This is bout his earlier crash, not the August 2011 Crash, see below for update.

Unfortunately for auto enthusiast everywhere it was not the ugly piss yellow Mini he drives in the guise of Mr Bean but is own, or should I say Comedian Rowan Atkinson’s expensive 230mph McLaren F1 supercar.

The front of the McLaren F1 supercar was wrecked in the collision with the rear of a lowly Rover Metro. The driver of the Metro, suffered minor whiplash injuries, while Mr Atkinson was unhurt in the accident, well as “unhurt” as you can be if you just bent a million dollar car that as far as I know only 106 were built.

Blistering the Top Gear track, if that is what you can call it that in a Kia

Thing is some guys just don’t look like super car drivers but in reality Atkinson is a very good driver, in fact the Car-loving comedian has become the fastest celebrity driver on the popular motoring show Top Gear and their “Star in a Reasonably Prices car” segment.The segment involves putting celebrities in reasonably tame street car to drive around the Top Gear track. It really test the persons driving skills because they all the stars drive the same car against the clock. His track time were decidedly faster than the next stars time set by by fellow comedian John Bishop. and, Both beating out Tom Cruse, a guy who you could picture in an exotic sports car.

Atkinson’s McLaren F1 was at one time lent to Top Gear for a previous episode on these cars, these cars were at one-time the fastest car in the world. He has also driven Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, Lancias, Mercedes
and of course the baby shit yellow Mini.

Before

After

Update August 5 2011

OPPS! he did it again! Reports say Rowan Atkinson lost control of the F-1 on a wet road, hit a tree and then a road sign after which the very expensive and very rare exotic caught fire. Luckily he was able to escape the car.  He has bee released from the hospital with only a minor shoulder injury.

This is really going to pay havoc with his insurance premium.

Looks like most of the back of the car is gone

August 2011

Castro’s mens motive were simple, capture the biggest name in motorsport and reap the publicity it would give them, it would also “show up” the current government.  None the less Cuban president Batista would not be outdone and ordered the race to continue as usual while  police hunted down the kidnappers. Batista’s vision had always been for the capitol to become a Latino Las Vegas, where rich tourists from the United States would pump money into the country’s coffers. And Grand Prix racing was the sports of the rich and famous. So the race was not going to stop.

Fangio had won the first Cuban race in 1957 and came back to defend his title with other big name drivers like Stirling Moss. Staying at the luxurious Hotel Lincoln Juan was kidnapped and Moss was kept under heavy guard throughout the night. “It was a very disturbing night,” Moss recalled”. Fangio, meanwhile, was being well treated eating steak and potatoes before sleeping in a well furnished apartment. It would be very bad publicity indeed if the revolutionaries were to harm the world famous driver.

As per the orders of Batista, the cars were fired up that morning in front of the 150,000-strong crowd. Maurice Trintignant would fill in for the missing Fangio in his Maserati. Meanwhile  time the great Argentinean had been given a personal apology by Castro’s second in command, Faustino Perez. And would soon be released. But things were not to go well at the track.

The race started well with Moss and fellow Ferrari driver Maston Gregory taking an early lead in a close fight. But by lap five the track was covered in oil, a situation organisers suspected may be a second rebel sabotage, it was later discovered that Roberto Miere’s Porsche had a broken oil line. Cars were sliding dangerously close to the barriers, and being a street circuit these barriers were the only thing that separated the cars from the spectators. On the next lap the inevitable happened, a local driver  lost control of his Ferrari and went head-on into a bunch of spectators lining the circuit. 40 people were injured and seven killed as the wreckage took out a make-shift bridge and flew over the crash barriers.

Juan Manuel Fangio

Moss, unaware of the extent of the tragedy, continued racing against Gregory and passed to beat him to the finish line even thought technically the red flag was out stopping the race. Maston could have filed a protest but Moss talked him into pooling their winnings and splitting it knowing it would take years for the dispute to be resolved, Good thing because Castro’s revolution was successful over the New Year. It was not until 1960, at the Camp Columbia military airfield, that motor racing resumed.

The driver who had lost control  was rather unfairly charged with manslaughter while still fighting for his life in hospital and criminal charges were also filed against “person or persons unknown” for kidnapping Fangio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kUIj8Riiy4

So where is the BMW Art Car Collection at home? All over the world! In particular at top global art venues such as the Louvre in Paris and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Anyone wishing to see the entire collection of BMW bodywork designs by artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons would have had to travel right around the globe; until now. To mark the 35th anniversary of the founding of this famous collection, and for a limited period only, the complete set of 17 BMW Art Cars has been called back to the place of its birth and is being exhibited in the BMW Museum in Munich. Unique and sensational.

Home – BMW ART CARS – BMW ART CARS – EN.

Beatle John Lennon had his share of cars, the most famous a cool psychedelic panted Rolls Royce and a beautiful blue 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 coupe, add to that a mixture of Bentley’s, Mercedes Limo’s and even a Iso Fidia/S4. And then you have the 1972 Chrysler hire wagon, in kind of a puke green!!! WTF! During his final years of life, John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono cruised the downtown city streets of New York in a muddled green 1972 Chrysler Town and Country Station Wagon so I am going to blame this one on Yoko too, “Imagine” a Beatle in such a pedestrian car. This green wagon takes the cake in being “green”, for sure, without ever having been the least bit eco friendly. Unless, that is, you were using this behemoth it as a house.

Battered and dented from a life on Manhattan streets, the car was sold by Yoko after John’s death and since 1996 it’s had just a single owner. Until the 1972 Chrysler station wagon was sold at aution in Norwalk, Conn., Saturday, January 1, 2011. More than 700 items were on the block including John Lennon’s white Abbey Road suit, Imagine jacket and the wagon, which sold for $46,000, $18,000 and $55,000 respectively.

Janis Joplin’s psychedelic painted 1965 Porsche 356c Cabriolet at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

This car was 3 years old in 1968, when the rock star paid a Beverly Hills auto dealer $3,500 for the car. The Porsche was a factory-painted “oyster white.”  not well suited to the flamboyant singer, that wouldn’t do. So she got roadie Dave Richards to paint it with swirling psychedelic images, including Mount Tamalpais on one fender and a portrait of her with her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, on another.

via YouTube – Janis Joplin’s psychedelic painted 1965 Porsche 356c Cabriolet.

My own artwork of the 356 coupe Art Print in your choice of color

My Porsche 356 Coupe Artwork, Click for info on Prints 

I really love the bold color and non- symmetrical cubist shapes of this art car.  Audi was the official automotive sponsor of Art Chicago 2007, There they introduced this Audi RS4 Art car created by Brazilian-born Pop artist Romero Britto.

Visualized: Schumachers F1 racing Mercedes, exploded drawing style — Engadget.

Infectious To Bring Custom Car Art To The Masses.

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