The 2024 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is an event that has solidified its place on any gear head”s bucket list. Like Trans Am, Can Am, or formula cars? How about spirited Brittish sports cars and properly magnificent sounding high-winding exotics? Throw in a paddock’s worth of pre-war hardware just for good measure. Any and all of the above are accounted for in spades. The entire WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca facility is an echo chamber of auditory bliss through Saturday and we’re not missing a minute of the party.
Fuel injected (or fuelie) Corvettes are taking to the track in abundance. An expensive RPO, few corvettes were equipped with the optional Rochester fuel injection and even fewer still are in possession of it. A higher degree of tuning difficult and service often saw these systems replaced with conventional four-barrel carburetors. This 1964 GTO, dubbed the “Gray Ghost” and owned by John Hildebrand, was turning heads in the pits with its rowdy 303ci Pontiac V8. It is a real-deal car, raced in the 1970s by Bob Tulles and Rusty Jowett. Trans Am’s engine size limit was a mere 5.0L (305ci) so the destroked 400ci engine was DeLorean’s best shot at a championship. Pontiac even went as far as to engineer a factory dry sump system into the back of the cylinder block and this car featured one of those rare, motorsports-intended engines. Adding to the uniqueness is a set of Ram Air IV cylinder heads. Simplicity at its most complex, this 1966 Gurney Eagle Indy Car, named for its eagle-beak front end, shows off its multi-link suspension and era-appropriate mechanically injected induction system. The car finished 4th in the 1966 USAC Champ Car series and was originally built in Southern CA by All American Racers.This 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona was the last built of only 6 constructed and raced in the 1965 24 hours of LeMans. Its unmistakable flat hind quarters are an earmark of early aerodynamic aspirations. Driven by Parnelli Jones to a 1970 Trans Am Championship, is this 1970 Boss 302. The potent Cleveland-headed small-block Ford was a force on track locking down 7 pole positions in that same season.For many, the Audi R15 put performance diesel technology on the map. The Bavaria oil hammer packed a turbocharged V10 TDI engine that generated just under 600 horsepower with more than 700 lb-ft of torque. It debuted at the 2009 12 hours of Sebring Race and saw multiple podium finishes over the course of its career.
I love “67 Mustang. In April, I bought one and sold it a few months later. In July, I bought this one in Butte Montana. The plan is to fix it and sell it in under 30 days. Here’s some deta
* Over at The Old Motor this week, coverage of the Techno-Classica Essen, claimed to be the largest indoor classic car show in the world. Pavel Novitski provided the snaps. * We’re digging Hemm
This 1965 Lotus Elan S2 (Chassis # 26/5110) was purchased by the seller in 2004 as a very rough barn find, and was given a professional body-off restoration by Michael Clifford of Michael’s Vint
