Video of the Week: Aston Martin DBR1 at Dijon-Prenois

Here is another video from Gregor Fiskens. The audio is not so great but the footage shows a lovely dice with a Maserati Birdcage.

I think the DBR1 is perhaps the prettiest of all 1950's sports cars. It's more Italianate and flowing than any Jaguar, more emotional than the Mercedes 300SLR, yet more understated and refined than any Ferrari. I would say the car it compares most closely to in looks is the Maserati 300S. But I happen to like the lines of the Aston more. Truly a wonderful machine!  At bottom is a photo I took of Dr. Simeone's DBR1 in Philadelphia.

Elf Scan 12: Matra MS 630

The V-12 powered MS 630 was Matra's first serious Le Mans contender. Campaigned in the tumultuous year of 1968, which saw the 24 hour race moved from June to September due to labor and student unrest, the MS 630 ran as high as second place before retiring due to a puncture in the 22nd hour!

Elf Scan 4: Matra MS 650

The Matra MS 650, piloted through the night at La Sarthe by Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Piers Courage to a creditable 4th place - Le Mans 1969. The back of this info card has some really cool drawings, so I couldn't resist sharing that as well!

Elf Scan 3: Jean-Pierre Beltoise

Jean-Pierre Beltoise gazes out of his blue and white helmet with the paradoxical combination of calmness and intensity that form the temperament of any great driver.  Having accomplished astounding success in motorcycle racing, Beltoise later became a fixture of the Matra team in the late 60's, piloting both F1 and Sportscar entries. Although he never equalled his motorcycle successes (11 national championships in 3 years!), he did succeed in winning the Monaco GP for BRM in 1972 before retiring from F1 in 1974.

A few interesting tidbits from the back of this Elf Oil promotional card: Beltoise's wife was the sister of Francois Cevert, who would also race for Matra and later Tyrell before he was tragically killed.  In addition to his successes as a driver, Beltoise was also a businessman in motorsports as well as author of an autobiographical book entitled "Defense de Mourir" (Loosely translated: Death Forbidden; sort of a pun on the French for "No Smoking"). 

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Beltoise is thankfully still with us today!

Elf Scan 2: Alpine A210 Protoype

This week's Elf scan depicts the Alpine A210 prototype racer at speed.  Frequent Automobiliac readers may recall my review of Veloce Publishing's excellent book that covers these cars in depth.  The A210 was a stalwart design for Alpine, consisting of a lightweight Chapman-derived space frame beneath aerodynamic fiberglass bodywork. The car proved to be both fast and reliable over a long lifespan, acheiving numerous successes in the small displacement classes at Le Mans as well as occasional upsets of more powerful cars on more technical circuits. Below is a very nice line drawing of the A210 from the back of the info card.