Club Arnage

Club Arnage => So You Think You Know About Le Mans => Topic started by: Nordic on September 30, 2007, 05:48:25 pm



Title: What was this?
Post by: Nordic on September 30, 2007, 05:48:25 pm
What is (was) this.

It has a very strong Le Mans connection, anyone know the tragic story behind it?



Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: termietermite on September 30, 2007, 07:13:53 pm
It looks at first glance like one of the rejects from the X-factor: "Who wants to star in a Citroen C3 ad?"..


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Lorry on September 30, 2007, 08:30:06 pm
Good one

I'm not sure what it was,but what is it supposed to be now with a cows skull on it?

Its an odd shape for a chassis.  For the damage it could be an AM Nimrod, but it isn't.  It must be Japanese (both chassis and art) how about the Dumfries Toyota that crashed in 89


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Nordic on October 01, 2007, 08:30:24 am
The car was made in Europe and its was a earlier than 89.

The Artist was also European.


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Bob U on October 01, 2007, 12:02:49 pm
Artist???


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Nordic on October 01, 2007, 12:30:00 pm
Artist???

Yep, the now dead artist who created this was well connected in racing circles and was a friend of the driver.

His works have been shown in most of the worlds galleries and could be discribed as abstract!


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Lorry on October 01, 2007, 02:10:46 pm
........... His works have been shown in most of the worlds galleries and could be discribed as abstract!
I bet they've been described as a lot of other things too.

Oh god it must be french


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Nordic on October 01, 2007, 02:52:03 pm
........... His works have been shown in most of the worlds galleries and could be discribed as abstract!
I bet they've been described as a lot of other things too.

Oh god it must be french

I think the artist was French or Swiss. This piece is not the only time he has used  bits of a race car in.

The car was British and was one of only a few made of the type. The maker has never won the great race, and this car in many peoples eyes was its best chance running as high as 5th at the start.


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Lorry on October 01, 2007, 06:46:10 pm
Well that discounts the Mirage/Gulf, and the EMKA and Lola, and if we assume that it is not a 2 litre Chevron or a C2 car, then there are only a couple of odd possibilities


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Nordic on October 01, 2007, 07:16:29 pm
Well that discounts the Mirage/Gulf, and the EMKA and Lola, and if we assume that it is not a 2 litre Chevron or a C2 car, then there are only a couple of odd possibilities

Its not a 2 litre car, its roots may have been however.

Not sure why you assume is not one of those you have mentioned?


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Lorry on October 01, 2007, 10:36:21 pm
If it got to fifth you assume its a heavyweight.  Its not one of Bellm's is it - he had posh friends till he took up rallying


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Nordic on October 02, 2007, 08:38:46 am
Not Bellm. Think a bit earlier.

The team owner of the car was closely associated with the Steve McQueen film 'Le Mans' and the crash that wrecked the car killed the driver.


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: termietermite on October 02, 2007, 10:35:50 am
It's the Lola T280 (Jo Bonnier) then?


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Nordic on October 02, 2007, 04:46:06 pm
Well done Termie!
Jean Tinguely created it as a tribute to his friend Jo Bonnier out of the remains in of the Lola 240 Bonnier died in.

http://www.tinguely.ch/en/museum/jean_tinguely.html

Quote
Throughout his life, Tinguely was fascinated by speed as the most extreme form of motion. For him speed was something that contained and balanced life and death. 'Be static with motion' was his interpretation of the challenge of achieving both individual freedom and social change. Not that his attitude was exclusively optimistic: Tinguely well knew the dangers of technological progress. Both motion and destruction are fundamental to his sculptures. The exhibit includes a number of works directly inspired by automobile and motorcycle racing, including bodywork and overalls specially designed by Tinguely for sidecar races. Other sculptures, such as 'Schreckenskarette - Viva Ferrari' (1985) and 'Lola T. 180 - Memorial to Joakim B.' (1988), testify to Tinguely's awareness that mortal danger is the flip side of the beauty and speed of racing cars.


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: Lorry on October 02, 2007, 10:24:46 pm
It doesn't look like a Lola


Title: Re: What was this?
Post by: termietermite on October 03, 2007, 10:10:12 am
Not any more it doesn't.
I'm old enough to have seen JB race.  His death was a real blow but something that one got "used to" then - seemed like every other day another driver got killed or maimed :(