Yesterday’s post about the Lancer 1600GSR rallycar go to thinking about Japanese rally successes in the 70s. Here’s a clip of the 1979 World Rally Championship, which was contested by a rich variety of cars. On the one hand you had exotica like the Lancia Stratos and Porsche 911, and then you had stove-hot rally versions of boxy family cars like the Fiat 131, Ford Escort and Vauxhall Chevette. You also has some luxury cars in the form of the Mercedes Benz 450SLC and Saab 99 Turbo.
Japan was well represented by Ove Andersson getting on the podium once in the RA40 Celica and the Datsun Violet 160J nabbing three podiums and one outright win for Shekhar Mehta in the Safari Rally. Am I the only one thinking that rallying seemed a lot more interesting back then? Bring back rwd and carbs! Oh and by the way, check out the tandem drifting at 1′38.
Back by popular demand, here’s the continuation of our Airborne Nostalgics series in which we post nothing but pictures of J-tin momentarily defying the forces of gravity. We also urge you to free any similar images you have from the confines of your hard drive and share them in Drew_TSi_Si_STi’s J-Tin Raced in Anger thread that started it all.
We just love this Datsun 610. With the sun-bleached dirt of a rally stage as a backdrop, it looks like it drove straight off the set of Mad Max. All aboard the Bartertown Express! (more…)
One of our favorite recent threads has been “J-tin Raced in Anger” by JNCer Drew_TSi_Si_STi. From there we collected a subset of nostalgics that have briefly managed to divorce themselves from planet earth. Hang on tight, brace yourself for a busted spine and click through for more pics! (more…)
Another day, another cutback. As the worst ecomonic climate in decades hits the auto industry and everything connected to it, Mitsubishi announced today that they are ending participation of the Dakar Rally citing exactly that reason.
It’s a shame, too, because the epic race, which started in 1979 as an off-road enduro stretching from Paris, France to Dakar, Senegal, was one of the most brutal motorsports competitions on earth. It tumbles through the harshest African sand dunes, and almost never finishes without claiming a life or two.
And Mitsubishi dominated. It won the race outright a total of 12 times and held an unbroken a record of seven straight victories from 2001 and 2007, a streak that would have likely continued if the 2008 running had not been canceled due to threats of terrorism. All of these championships were won with various generations of the Pajero (aka Montero) SUV, starting in 1985 with the one shown above.
So far we’ve already seen Subaru and Suzuki pull out of WRC and Honda leave Formula 1. Here’s to hoping that the triple diamond mafia returns to Dakar domination once the economy recovers.
Our hopes for a return to RWD Toyotas have been dashed on account of the drastic worldwide economic downturn. The lightweight coupe, widely assumed to be a RWD Corolla successor, has been in the works since August 2007 but according to this article the project has been put on hold until at least 2012. This comes with the news today that Toyota has posted its first operating loss since 1938, its first year in business. But those are just the beginning of woes that are slamming the Japanese auto industry. (more…)
Two UK-based teams have taken first and second place in the Spirit 425cc Class of the Liége-Brescia-Liége microcar rally. Covering 2000 miles through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovenia, these little kei cars even conquered the Stelvio (not Kev’s dream car, the Alpine road) and Gavia Passes of Italy, some of Europe’s most grueling terrain.
Regulars know that this year marks Subaru’s 50th anniversary, but 2008 is also the 50th anniversary of the Liége-Brescia-Liége. It was started in 1958 during the Suez Canal Crisis, which threatened to cut Europe off from its oil supply in the Middle East. In response, rally organizers wanted to prove that small, fuel-efficient cars could perform just as well as their gas-guzzling counterparts over Europe’s most demanding roads (making it all the more disappointing that we’re still grappling with the same oil issues today). The original allowed only cars 500cc or under, and the intense schedule meant almost three non-stop days of driving. The modern rally is a bit more leisurely – 10 days, and cars up to 1000cc are allowed.
Congratulations to Jane Puttock, James Ewing, Vic Sayer and Craig Lawson!
One of the greatest gearhead events on the planet will commence this Friday. The Goodwood Festival of Speed is exactly what all of us would be doing if we were so stinking rich that we could invite manufacturers, car collectors and the world’s top drivers to our huge estate, complete with its own hillclimb course, forest rally stage and concours lawn. It’s al going down July 11 through 13 somewhere in England. And once again, we’ll be staying on this side of the Atlantic, envying the limey bastards from afar. Exactly which cars Japanese will emerge from their slumbers in museums and warehouses to make an appearance are not yet fully known.
Last year Goodwood celebrated Toyota’s 50 years in motorsports and Mazda’s 40th anniversary of the rotary. This year the flavor taste more like Europe as both Land Rover and Porsche celebrate their 60th birthdays. In the meantime, go to the Festival of Speed’s official website and watch the mind-blowing movie to get an idea of what this event is all about.
As you know, the recent passing of Ove Andersson really hit the world of motorsports hard. If you’re in the Los Angeles area this weekend, please consider stopping by the Toyota USA Museum, where a tribute to the rally racer and founder of Toyota Team Europe will be held. Details after the jump.
We all know of the recent untimely passing of rally legend and Toyota Team Europe founder Ove Andersson. If you would like to express your thoughts about this tragic loss, you can do so by signing a memorial book at Toyota USA HQ, the Toyota USA Museum, or at Toysport. Or you can email tribute_to_ove@toysport.com and your message will be included in the book, which will be sent to Toyota Motorsport GMBH (formerly TTE) in Cologne, Germany in time for the memorial service on July 1.
You can read Toysport founder Joel Luz’s words about Andersson after the jump. (more…)
Another day, another cutback. As the worst ecomonic climate in decades hits the auto industry and everything connected to it, Mitsubishi announced today that they are ending participation of the Dakar Rally citing exactly that reason.
