Rowan Atkinson’s 1964 Ford Falcon Race Car Is For Sale – $76,000 to $89,800 USD

Rowan Atkinson is of course best known for his work as a comedic actor and writer, but what a lot of people outside the world of classic motoring don’t know is that he’s an accomplished racing driver and a regular competitor at events like the Goodwood Revival and the Silverstone Classic.

This 1964 Ford Falcon FIA race car has been owned and used extensively by Atkinson since he first bought the car 15 years ago in 2006 and added it to his impressive collection.

The vintage racing world is just as competitive as any other racing series and Atkinson in particular is known for his genuinely quick, not-holds-barred attitude on the track – sometimes a stark contrast to his disarmingly friendly demeanor around the paddock.

The Ford Falcon

The 1964 Ford Falcon is the car that donated its platform to the Ford Mustang, both cars share very similar underpinnings, engines, transmissions, and performance abilities. The Falcon lived in the shadow of the Mustang after its release in 1964, so much so that it was cancelled after 1965.

When it was released in 1964 the second generation Falcon could be ordered with either an inline-six or a 260 cu. in. V8, this would be increased to the 289 cu. in. V8 later in the same year.

Owners could choose either a three-speed automatic or a four-speed manual, and just like the Mustang the Falcon has independent front suspension with a live axle in the back.

To the surprise of some in Europe, the Ford Falcon proved a spritely competitor in the world of mid-1960s motorsport. A Falcon took second place in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally as well as class wins in the Shell 4000, the Alpine Rally, and outright wins in the Geneva Rally, and the Tulip Rally in the Netherlands.

Rowan Atkinson’s 1964 Falcon Racer

Atkinson’s Falcon was professionally built to FIA standards (Class CT10 – period F 1962 – 1965) meaning it’s eligible to compete in the Masters, HSCC, HRDC, and all pre-’65 FIA Series in Europe.

Atkinson himself has raced the car at the Snetterton, Chimay in Belgium, the Silverstone Classic, and the Goodwood Revival Meeting in the St. Mary’s Trophy.

That Ford V8 has been rebuilt by Steve Warrior and the car comes with a range of spares including a set of wheels/tires, a limited-slip differential, and body moulds. It’s also important to note that this car is road-registered so it would be well-suited to taking parts in tours and rallies.

The car was involved in an accident at Goodwood back in 2014 when two cars ahead of Atkinson crashed, leaving him nowhere to go. The car has since been rebuilt and raced a number of times by John Freeman Racing.

The last significant expenditure on the car was £7,172 in 2018 on a new radiator, aluminium bumpers, and various other works to brakes and engine cooling.

There is also a fully detailed and organised file of regular work and upgrades throughout Rowan’s tenure, though the car was not used in 2019 or in 2020 during the COVID period.

If you’d like to read more about this Falcon or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Silverstone Auctions. It’s due to roll across the auction block on the 27th of March with a hammer estimate of £55,000 to £65,000, or approximately $76,000 to $89,800 USD.

Images courtesy of Silverstone Auctions

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The New Defender Works V8 Trophy – A Low-Volume Production Model From Land Rover Classic

When Land Rover announced that the legendary Defender would cease production in 2016 it caused much angst throughout the motoring world, and no small amount of worry about what the new Defender would be.

What we didn’t know at the time of course, was that the British company was going to release low-volume Skunk Works versions of the classic Defender for years after 2016, in parallel with the new Defender that was released in 2020.

These “Skunk Works” Defenders have given the four-wheel drive icon a new lease on life, not to mention performance figures that none of us ever thought we would see associated with a Land Rover clothed in the original alloy Defender bodywork.

The Defender Works V8 Trophy

The vehicle you see here is the new Defender Works V8 Trophy, it’s going to be offered in both 110 (long wheelbase four-door), and 90 (short wheelbase two-door) versions.

Above Image: With 400 bhp the new V8 Trophy is considerably quicker than any of the old Camel Trophy Land Rovers.

Just 25 will be made, and all of them are going to be built to a specification reminiscent of the iconic Camel Trophy Land Rover, only with more of everything – particularly power.

All of them are to be powered by the 5.0 litre petrol V8 engine producing 400 bhp (405 PS), an astonishing figure for a Defender, with power sent back through an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and transfer case to all four wheels.

As you would expect all vehicles will have high and low range for optimal off-road ability, they’re also going to be equipped with a front winch, a multi-point expedition cage, a roof rack, underbody protection, a raised air intake, and mud-terrain tires on color-coded 16 inch steel wheels.

The team at Land Rover Classic are also equipping the Defender Works V8 Trophy with LED headlights and four roll cage mounted spotlights.

To best make use of the power output they’ll each have comprehensively upgraded suspension, steering, and braking.

Where these 25 vehicles will really set themselves apart from the Camel Trophy cars that inspired them will be on the inside. The interiors will all be decked out with full black Windsor leather upholstery, Recaro sports seats, and Land Rover Classic’s Classic Infotainment System with integrated navigation and mobile device connectivity.

Above Image: The model has been equipped with an off-road performance package intended to give it world class off-road ability.

Land Rover will be delivering these expedition ready Defenders to their owners for the first time at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, England.

Land Rover have long used the private Eastnor Estate that surrounds the castle as a four-wheel drive testing ground, safely away from the prying lenses of paparazzi who specialize in capturing images of new, unreleased models.

It will be at Eastnor that the owners first get to see and drive their new vehicles, they will then take part in a range of challenges inspired by famous global adventures and competitions spanning the 70 years of Land Rover production.

Expert one-on-one off-road driving tuition will be provided as part of the adventure, ensuring each new owner can get the most out of their new 400 bhp Defender.

If you’d like to read more about the Defender Works V8 Trophy or place your order you can click here to visit Land Rover.

Images courtesy of Land Rover

 

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For Sale: An Original Titanium McLaren F1 Tool Kit

This is an original McLaren F1 tool kit, it was made by French company Factom from titanium and finished with a titanium nitride coating which gave it a gold finish to match the engine bay of the elusive 90s-era supercar.

The McLaren F1 remains one of the most celebrated supercars ever created, it was developed by a team led by Gordon Murray – a designer of multiple Formula One Constructors’ World Championship winning Formula 1 cars.

When it was released in 1992 the F1 was the fastest road legal car in the world with a top speed of 240.1 mph (386.4 km/h), it claimed the title from its British rival the Jaguar XJ220 which was capable of 217.1 mph (349 km/h).

The McLaren F1 set the standard by which all modern supercars are judged – and the majority of modern supercars still can’t beat its top speed. F1 owners included Elon Musk, Jay Leno, George Harrison, Ralph Lauren, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, and Rowan Atkinson who famously crashed his but sent it away to get comprehensively restored shortly after.

Above Image: Gordon Murray (left) explaining some of the design features of the F1. Image courtesy of McLaren Automotive.

Everything on the car was kept as lightweight as possible – including the tool kit. Factom was tasked with making the tools, each tool roll contained a set of spanners including 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 11mm, and 12mm – all of them are titanium. A pair of steel pliers was included, along with a set of titanium Allen keys and a screwdriver with interchangeable tips.

Once rolled up the tool roll was placed in the nose section just in front of the Kenwood amplifier where it could be quickly accessed by the driver. That said, it’s unlikely that any driver of a multi-million pound F1 was doing the maintenance by themselves.

The used McLaren F1 tool kit you see here is due to be sold later in March with no reserve price by RM Sotheby’s. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

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GMC DUKW – A World War II Era Six-Wheel Drive Amphibious Truck –$25,000 to $28,000 USD

The DUKW, better known simply as the “Duck”, is a six-wheel drive amphibious truck that was designed to land troops and cargo en masse in coastal locations without usable ports, or with hostile combatants making normal transport impossible.

The unusual looking truck was developed by famed yacht designer Rod Stephens, Jr. of Sparkman & Stephens, working with Dennis Puleston, a British deep-water sailor, and Frank W. Speir from MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

The Mighty Duck (DUKW)

The DUKW needed to be capable of carrying over 2 tonnes of personnel and/or supplies across varied terrain and across water. It also needed to be able to drive up the soft sand or mud on beaches and river banks, it needed to be capable of handling rough seas, and lastly, it needed to be easy to mass-produce quickly.

The design used the cab-over version of the GMC CCKW six-wheel-drive military truck as its starting point. This was done to simplify maintenance and parts supply, as the CCKW was already being produced in significant numbers.

A new steel hull was welded to the chassis and formed into a simple water-tight vessel with a flat bottom, flat sides, and an angled bow/stern designed to give the best possible entry and departure angles.

Above Video: The the DUKW in action during WWII in this period film.

The US military were initially unimpressed with the prototype DUKW and it looked destined to be cancelled. This would have been a considerable blow to the Allied forces who would use the DUKW extensively later in the war for beach landings against the Japanese in the Pacific and against the Axis in Europe – including significant action during the beach landings at Normandy during D Day.

What saved the DUKW project was a storm that left a United States Coast Guard patrol craft aground on a sand bar near Provincetown, Massachusetts, leaving the lives of all aboard her in serious jeopardy.

Other vessels had tried and failed to reach the stricken boat but none had been able to. As it happens the experimental DUKW was in the area for demonstrations, it was able to reach the Coast Guard craft and rescue the seven crew members despite the winds of 69 mph and torrential rain.

The DUKW was approved shortly afterward and many thousands would be built, fulfilling a much needed role in the armed forces of the United States, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, and the Soviet Union. They were powered by a 4,425cc six-cylinder engine sending power to all six wheels through a transmission with 10 forward speeds and two reverse.

Many of them remained in service after WWII with some also serving in the Korean War. A significant number are in operation to this day as tourist sightseeing vehicles and in a few search and rescue services.

Above Image: A British DUKW carries supplies and American paratroopers across the Waal river at Nijmegen, 30 September 1944. Image courtesy of the British Imperial War Museums.

The 1943 GMC DUKW Shown Here

The GMC DUKW you see here served during WWII and later joined the collection at the School of Mechanical Transport in Leconfield and remained the property of the Ministry of Defence.

From there it would be loaned to the Museum of Army Transport in Beverley, Yorkshire where it would be maintained and kept running as a display for public viewing.

After this time it was drained of fuel and decommissioned, it’s been in storage now for a number of years and would require recommissioning before being used again on the road or water.

It’s now due to roll across the auction block on the 20th of March at the Bonhams MPH March Auction, you can click here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid. The estimated hammer price is between £18,000 and £20,000 or approximately $25,000 to $28,000 USD.

Above Image: The driver sits on the left and operates the controls with with 360º of visibility with the roof is down.

Images courtesy of Bonhams

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Tour The Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing With Don Garlits

This is vintage tour film by one of the world’s most important drag racers – Don Garlits. In this film he gives a private tour of his own museum, giving unique insight into each of these cars and the history behind them.

Even for people who may not be particularly interested in this form of racing, this film about one of the sport’s all time greats is well worth a watch, and it’ll leave you wondering how he’s still alive.

Don’s life reads like a Hollywood film, he’s known today as “Big Daddy” as he’s widely considered to be the father of drag racing. He was a major early figure in the sport and importantly he perfected the rear-engined Top Fuel dragster.

This innovation was critical as Top Fuel dragsters put the engine, fuel tank, and other dangerous parts behind the driver. This made the cars considerably safer, as before this exploding gearboxes or engines could cause severe injury to drivers, not to mention the danger of oil or fuel fires burning the drivers.

Garlits had been burned badly more than once, nearly dying more than once, as a result of this he became a major advocate of the fire-resistant Nomex driving suit, including fire-proof socks, gloves, and balaclava.

The use of this Nomex gear has saved countless drag racers from death and third degree burns over the years.

Over the course of his career Garlits was the first drag racer to officially surpass the 170, 180, 200, 240, 250, and 270 mile-per-hour marks in the 1/4 mile – he was also the first to top 200 mph (320 km/h) in the 1/8 mile.

If you’d like to read more about Don you can click here to visit Don’s website and read more about his extraordinary exploits.

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1980s Project Car – A Rare BMW 635CSi Koenig – $21,000 to $27,800 USD

As far as ’80s project cars go, they don’t get much more eclectic than this – it’s a 1986 BMW 635CSi with an original bodykit from Koenig that gives the car significantly more presence on the road, not to mention a wider track width for those BBS basketweave wheels.

Willy König And His Koenig Specials

Koenig Specials GmbH was founded by eccentric millionaire and successful racing driver Willy König (sometimes spelt “Willy Koenig”) 1977 to formally sell kits and parts that Koenig had been developing and selling since 1974.

The cars built by Willy and his team were extreme to say the least, so extreme that former friend Enzo Ferrari demanded that any car modified by Koenig have its Ferrari badges removed or face legal action – as the company no longer considered it to be a Ferrari.

Love them or hate them, Willy and his team at Koenig had a significant influence on the global car tuning and modification scene. The company sold wide body kits, suspension systems, performance engine parts and they offered a fully-built cars.

Above Image: The unmistakable side profile and significantly wider rear wheels are a good indication that this is no ordinary 635CSi.

One of the company’s most famous creations was an extensively modified Ferrari Testarossa with an avant garde body kit and a significantly modified twin-turbo engine capable of 1,000 bhp. A slew of wild cars rolled out of the Koenig facilities during the 1970s and 1980s, today they’re considered quite collectible but only to a specific kind of collector – one who cars more for the car’s unusual nature than their lost originality.

Interestingly, Koenig Specials GmbH is still in operation to this day selling body kits for cars from its glory days, though they no longer build custom cars in-house.

The BMW Koenig 635CSi Shown Here

The unusual coupe you see here is a BMW Koenig 635CSi, there are no surviving records for how many of these were built and Willy König was famously terrible at keeping accurate records, but we do know the car is rare and likely one of just two in the United Kingdom.

This particular car is a bit of a mystery as it’s coming up for sale on the instruction of a high court ruling. We do know it’s wearing a Koenig 635 bodykit with matching wider BBS (or BBS-like) wheels but we don’t know what suspension, braking, engine, or other performance modifications have been made to the car if any.

Above Image: The interior remains unchanged, even the original BMW onboard computer is still in place.

The car is currently fitted with a SOHC 3.5 litre M30 engine mated to a 4 speed automatic gearbox, this engine famously responds well to tuning but for truly sporting driving it would likely need a gearbox transplant at some point.

It’s not known why the car is wearing M badging as it’s not an M car, though there is a small minority of car owners who like to give their cars badge-upgrades at the chagrin of everyone else in the car community. The new owner would likely want to remove these badges and correct them as an early item on the to do list.

The car has spent several years as part of a museum display so out will need a recommissioning before it’s put back on the road, though it looks from the outside like it would be a fairly straightforward task.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing. It’s due to roll across the auction block on the 20th of March at the Bonhams MPH March Auction with an estimated hammer price of £15,000 to £20,000.

Images courtesy of Bonhams

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The Car With A Hand-Formed Copper Body – 1965 Shelby 427 S/C Cobra “CSX 4602”

It’s not everyday we get a chance to write about a car with a body made from hand-formed copper sheet metal. In fact in the 11 year history of Silodrome this is the first.

If you’re asking yourself if that’s just copper plating, it’s not. It’s a 100% copper body made up of 17 individual panels that have been shaped using traditional tools and then assembled together so well that you can’t see any of the body seams – an astonishing feat of workmanship.

Anyone who’s ever tried shaping a piece of aluminum alloy using english wheels or other traditional tools will tell you it’s not easy to get right. Getting it so right that the left/right panels on a car are identical is borderline magic, and doing it all with copper is voodoo.

Many modern auto manufacturers in recent years have begun capitalizing on the the classic car market and their own back catalogues by building brand new versions of cars that long ago left the production line. Today we consider it essentially normal, and these cars take pride of place at shows alongside their decades-old siblings.

A Texas chicken farmer named Carroll Shelby was one of the first to create official reissues of his own cars. Replica car builders had been doing is successfully for decades, and always an astute businessman, Shelby realized he could be doing the same but actually make the cars official continuation vehicles.

Above Image: Each of the 17 polished copper body panels was shaped by hand.

The first series of these official continuation Shelby Cobras are known as the “CSX4000” series due to their chassis numbers which are all formatted “CSX4***” starting with CSX4001. Carroll Shelby was heavily involved in overseeing this project, the cars were built in Las Vegas with chassis initially built by McCluskey Ltd.

The first of the CSX4000 series were the 427 S/C models which could be ordered with either fiberglass or aluminum bodies. Special orders could be placed for either bronze or copper bodies if the buyer so wished, though this increased the cost and complexity significantly.

When developing the CSX4000 series the spirit of the original cars was kept alive, but they were upgraded under the skin to take advantage of decades of advancement in automotive engineering.

The car you see here is chassis number CSX4602, and it’s best known for its elegant polished copper bodywork. The car isn’t all show and no go however, it’s powered by a 550 hp, 468 cu. in. carbureted “427 FE” V8 from the Carroll Shelby Engine Company.

Above Image: The 427 FE V8 produces 550 hp and the car weighs in at just 2,400 lbs.

This engine is American V8 royalty, starting with a 427 FE V8 the team at the Carroll Shelby Engine Company fitted it with a stroker crankshaft, custom Mahle alloy power pack pistons, a custom-ground hydraulic roller cam, Shelby aluminum heads, and a Shelby aluminum intake topped by a Holley Hardcore 850HP Double Pumper carburetor.

It produces the aforementioned 550 hp as well as 580 lb ft of torque, power is sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission. The car tips the scales at just 2,400 lbs or 1,088 kgs, giving it a power-to-weight ratio in the same range as that giant meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on RM Sotheby’s. It’s being offered as a private sale with an asking price of $475,000 USD.

Images: ©2021 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

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