Bolly Blog
A chance to talk mostly about Bolwell Sports Cars.
Friday, September 10, 2021
Friday, August 27, 2021
A great little article from Mark Koennecke.
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Inspiration.
Schuppan 962CR.
The Porsche 962 is one of the most successful Group C racing prototypes ever built. Following its success on the racing circuit, a number of companies thought it would be a great idea to turn it into a road car as well—in exchange for a few million bucks. After all, it was the 1990s, and pretty much anything seemed possible.
The first to get there was Koenig Specials, who gave their C62s new bodies and engines bored to 3.4 liters, complete with Bosch's latest fuel injection. Then came DP Motorsport, the Switec-Porsche 962C, and the most famous limited edition of them all, the Dauer 962 LM. But it would be rude to forget about the six street-legal 962s built by Australia's Vern Schuppan, since the Porsche Schuppan 962CR represents the biggest departure from the Group C original.
Schuppan won the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Porsche 956. While still enjoying Porsche's support a few years later, he started a business converting 962Rs for road use. With the backing of some Japanese investors, the project soon entered its next phase, with Schuppan developing a road-going 962 from the ground up.
Known as the Schuppan 962CR, the car was designed by fellow Australian Michael Simcoe as a 50-unit limited-run machine, a production number that would have allowed the car to race at Le Mans. Unfortunately, the Japanese economy had collapsed by 1992, leaving Schuppan's investors dry, and forcing his company into bankruptcy after just six 962CRs had been built. Five remain today, as one was destroyed in a fire. The team never made it to the Mulsanne.
This particular example, a "zero-mile" right-hand drive Schuppan 962, was completed in 1993, with a unique body and other subtle modifications in the engine bay. Its dry-sump 3.3-liter twin-turbo flat-six produces 550 horsepower at low boost, 850 for qualification, and can only run on race gas. Yet it has catalytic converters, turn signals, and a passenger seat where the ECU used to be on the racing car, all of which help this wild machine at least try to pass itself off as a street car. The Schuppan-branded Alcon brakes are a nice touch.
Crazy thing is, this car has never been driven before. Soon after UK-based Modena Cars assembled this example, the company's finances went into shambles. A manufacturer of bus windshields was one of Schuppan's creditors; the president of the glass company took this car as partial payment, storing it at his office from 1995 to 2015. Since its reappearance at Daytona in 2015, this one-off 962CR has undergone a complete overhaul, and is currently cared for by Matthew Ivanhoe. And who else could put on the car's first break-in miles than Jay Leno?
From R&T.
Monday, August 23, 2021
Just in.
Bay to Birdwood 2021 cancelled.
Hi John
You have probably heard the news this week that we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Bay to Birdwood. The official communication is below. Hopefully we will see you in 2022.
The 2021 Bay to Birdwood – one of the world’s great historic motoring events – cannot take place as originally planned this year. The team at the History Trust of South Australia’s National Motor Museum have worked tirelessly to prepare for a safe, fun and memorable event so we are disappointed that some 1,500 entrants will not be able to participate in the usual 72km journey from West Beach to the National Motor Museum in Birdwood. We are also disappointed that tens of thousands of South Australians will not be able to line the route to watch these amazing vehicles.
While we are saddened that we will not be able to host thousands of entrants, their families and their friends on the grounds of the National Motor Museum, we understand that helping to keep South Australians safe is our most important job right now. COVID-19 continues to affect how we can run events safely and the Bay to Birdwood is no exception. New SA Health COVID management requirements mean we expect that the Bay to Birdwood event will be significantly impacted with reduced public and entrant participation. This makes running the Bay to Birdwood unviable in its current form in 2021, particularly at this late stage with only five weeks to go.
Although we will not have our usual parade of historic vehicles on Sunday 26 September, we are working hard to create an event that still highlights some of the wonderful vehicles that were originally taking part in the 2021 event. We plan to have a range of Bay to Birdwood activities that can be enjoyed from home and all taking place on 26 September. Visit our facebook page or website in coming weeks to check the online program.
Kind regards
Pauline
Friday, August 13, 2021
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Better in red.
Here is a lovely red Pantera.
In a previous life it was the Edelston car where the good doctor had it painted pink, along with a pink helicopter, to present to the young bride of the time.There was also a pink one in the US which was a prize for a certain year's Playmate of the Year.For Sam
Coming up on the next Shannons on line auction. 4 x 14X6 Ford pattern Globes.
See comment from Glenn on previous post for link.Saturday, August 7, 2021
Nagari wheels
This attractive Nagari belongs to Sam in Sydney.
He's looking to fit wheels that are more period correct. With so many Nagari owners updating their wheels, there must be many Ford pattern 14 x 6s around. Can anybody help. Something like this would be nice,