Pic Post: (vintage) NATCC T.C. Kline BMWs at Cleveland

Stance what? Stance who? It ain't nothing new kids. And as awesome as these BMWs look, for better or for worse, it's cars like this that fed the somewhat questionable huge wheels / tacky spoiler trend of the mid to late 90s. But these insanely low, over-wheeled sedans were proper race cars, and they handled and went like nothing else in a sedan body, to say nothing of the stopping. Several cars ran twin front calipers and discs as big as anything seen in their time. It wasn't exactly a spec series, as there were all sorts of makes, models and drive trains allowed, but there were strict rules to adhere to, and the rear wheel drive BMWs and all wheel drive Audis suffered heavy weight penalties. By the point these pictures were taken (1997) they were pretty handicapped and not all that competitive with their front wheel drive competitors. 



The Super Touring formula which the NATCC adhered to was as follows:

• No more than 2.0 liters displacement - Most brands were said to make 290-320hp, and were seen in 4, 5 and 6-cylinder variations. Most were 4-cylinder.
• 8500rpm maximum
• 19x8" wheels
• Four-door sedans only
• Rear wing and front splitter were the only aerodynamic add-ons allowed
• Engine was to be 'stock block' and had to be sourced from the model line, but didn't have to come in the car being raced. As the Audi A4 BTCC thread over on Club GTI shows - these were some awfully trick 'stock block' engines. 

And so in America, we only saw these cars for two years, 1996 and 1997. As I understand it the cars were not especially cheap to run, with their 6-speed sequential gearboxes and highly-strung engines, but they were a blast to watch. Dodge was the only American company to step up to the plate, and their in-house built Stratuses (Strati?) were some of the strongest in the series.

Somewhere our intrepid slacker Josh has at least another 5-6 rolls of film from this trip we took to Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland for the CART  race, for which the NATCC was a support series. Getting him to develop it or print it will be something else altogether, but maybe if I'm lucky he'll see this post and be guilted into it...right after the 2001 and 2002 Daytona 24 Hour races.

_WRS

The first desktop image from WRS, BWM Art Car 320i

In honor of Le Mans, I'm posting up two large, desktop-friendly images from the BMW Art Car post. My favorite, the Roy Lichtenstein Group 5 320i. Finished second in class in 1977. So download and enjoy! I hope to bringing some better, more professional desktop images in the future, but until Josh gets back from Europe this will have to do.

Download the high resolution file 1 here!

Enjoy your weekend...

_WRS

Download the high resolution file 2 here!

A Second Look: Roy Lichtenstein 320i Group 5

I was really taken with the Roy Lichtenstein Group 5 320i that was on display a couple weeks back here in NYC. It combines a lot of elements I love...underdog status, big turbocharged power from a diminutive 4-cylinder engine, boxy and extreme aerodynamics...plus things I don't typically associate with Le Mans racers. i.e. a world famous artist.

Seeing these cars inside of the elegant confines of Grand Central Terminal really brought them to life in a way that other settings might not have. Grand Central feels enough like an art gallery as it is, so it wasn't much of a stretch to appreciate them as such.

Be sure to stop on over to the WRS Flickr page to check out a bunch of additional pictures, in addition to this shown here....enjoy! I will also add a section of desktop sized / resolution images to the account pretty soon, so if anyone has a favorite let me know and I'll get them loaded in the near future.

_WRS

BMW Art Cars at Grand Central Terminal

I really wasn't sure what to expect when I went to see the BMW art cars at Grand Central Terminal. I knew they were BMWs. I knew they were handed over to famous artists for the design / paint / etc, but didn't know much else. I was surprised, pleasantly, that BMW would basically hand over brand new race cars for the purpose. And then they raced them. At Le Mans! The whole thing started back in 1975, and since then BMW has commissioned 16 more. Not all are racers, but a number of them are.

I was really happy to get a chance to see these up close and in person on their North American tour. These are not the sort of thing that come around every year, and NYC is one of only two stops inside the USA. They are not only priceless works of art, but they also have racing provenance. Amazing. Not one but three cars which raced at Le Mans in the 70's were close enough to touch, and in the middle of Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
My favorite by far is the Group 5 320 by Roy Lichtenstein. The car is my style...obviously based around a street car, but fully built up for competition use in the loosely defined Group 5 class. The little 2000cc turbo 4-cylinder made up to 600 horsepower and topped out at 160mph+, so obviously it didn't have anything on the all-conquering Porsche 935s of the era, but it managed 2nd in class and 9th overall in the 1977 event. There are atmospheric versions making upwards of 300hp, but it wasn't clear which this was, and inside info is a bit spotty. The display signs said 300hp turbo, but then they also said 1st in class at LeMans, which is incorrect, so it's either one or the other, and if it came in second behind a monster 935 I'm guessing it has the 600hp turbo unit under the bonnet.

Sadly they are being packed up tomorrow to head to Mexico City, but I took a decent number of pictures. You can check out all of them in my Flickr set. I'll be heading back tomorrow for a second look, and to take a few snaps that I may have missed.

_WRS