Art & Inspiration Auto Union Race Car (O/T)

A couple of my personal photos.



Alfa P3 Monza run by Scuderia Ferrari



Monterey Historics 1986. Herman Lang driving the Mercedes W125 GP car he actually raced in the '30s. I think he was near 80 at the time and he wasn't slow!

I have more photos at home including Auto Union pics.

Cheers,
Kurt O.

 

We dun' need no stinkin' porn.

 

I have an Audi, love it

 

Either that is a little man, or that is a really big car. ...maybe both.

What is the wheelbase on that thing?

 

I could stare at that picture all day. Pure ART!

 

Saw one at Goodwood in the late 90's....It was rolling past us, downhill at about 50mph, it was in hill climb spec, with twin rear wheels...Driver nailed the throttle & did a 100 foot plus rolling burnout...downhill...at 50mph...Oh yeah!!

 

Wheelbase is 110.2 in. Length 165.4 in. It has a supercharged straight 8, 5.6 litres, about 590 hp. The things were beasts.

About 10 years ago Manfred von Brauchitsch, who was a pre-war driver for Mercedes, was asked what he thought of modern day Grand Prix drivers. His answer, "I think they are a bunch of overpaid nancy-boys!"

Kurt O.

 

What great photos. What great metal work. Inspiring!

 

With 590 HP at 5800 rpm the 5.6 liter (345 cid) supercharged straight eight 1650 pound MB could do running wheelstands like this over rises. On 1937 rubber, tire changes were a critical part of race strategy during this era. Power ratings like this in F1/GP cars were not surpassed until the turbo F1 era in the 80's.




The Auto Union D-type for the '38-'39 season showcased their new post- Dr. Porsche design to meet the revised rulebooks, eliminating the swing axles in favor of the better handling De Dion rear suspension. The two-stage roots supercharging of the 3.0 liter V12 of the later design boasted almost 500 horses @ 7000rpm. The '39 season was a mess for Auto Union, despite acquiring the still competitive Nuvolari and Dr. Eberhorst, the season ending of course as hostilities broke out...

 

'Is anyone on here building anything like this in their shop/business? I know there are some of you crazy metal guys here that are into doing scratch-built racers. Maybe you can share.'

ScooterMcrad

I know that doesn't even come close, but after building this thing i appreciate the work they've done back then even more.
I made this body 2 or 3 years ago for a customer.
All ally 2 millimeter welded and riveted.

Mario

Speedlook Rod&Custom
www.speedlook.de

 

The Discovery Channel networks did several different programs about the 1939 Auto Union Type D ... Here's three excerpts from their "The World's Most Expensive Cars" series (just click the links) ...

* "Transport"

* "History"

* "Rebirth"

 

Amazing work, Mario!

 

Man - Talk about some Automotive History....!

Fantastic pics.

Hey - Anybody else notice how much nicer the restorations are - than what I see in the original Picture's...?

Not a slam at the original craftsman at all - Just big props to the guy's who re did them.


Mario - That is a killer design - very cool...!

 

Originally Posted by marioD
'Is anyone on here building anything like this in their shop/business? I know there are some of you crazy metal guys here that are into doing scratch-built racers. Maybe you can share.'



Minus about 95% of the cool engineering but this is what I'm building.It looks like an Auto Union running backwards.

 

the Auto Union races cars are my fave race cars they lines and workmanship is STUNNING!!

heres a pic of one kicking its arse out at Donnington in 1937 i have a poster of this on my bedroom wall

 

Here is my attempt at capturing the feel of that era on a shoestring budget. It is jaguar powered boat-tail speedster from scratch. Everytime I see new pics, my project evolves.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=339315&highlight=roofus

 

Hardly O/T: Alex Xidias and Dean Batchelor borrowed heavily from the full-fendered streamliners when designing and building their own to run at Bonneville. Can't argue with that!

 

In many ways the original cars were really crude. I read an article years ago about Crosthwaite and Gardiner restoring one of the Karrasik cars. Their engine guy said the type of aluminum alloy used in the head and block castings was about equivalent to what you would find in lawn furniture today. These were race cars, they didn't have to be pretty, they had to be fast. If you look at the period photos you can see stuff like dents, uneven panel fit, bent grille bars. The cars today are beyond perfection, which in some ways, is kind of sad, but then they didn't have a lot to start with.

Cheers,
Kurt O.

 

Awsome................................

 

Scooter,

I found this group on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1038709@N22/

It has some good inspiration!

JJ

 

Thanks for posting that link. There is some neat stuff on there.

 

Have you guys seen this? Footage of the Auto Unions and Mercedes duking it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdVdRMwwRXI&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SpVuRSCUYs

 

Old thread, I know but I've got to say these cars are awesome!

I even decided last year that I'd build one for my kids one day.

Started on a Soapbox racer one month ago....

 

Amazing....shit I want for myself but building one for my kid would be even cooler!!! Man I want to make wooden bucks for something like this.

 

I was there too.. We pitted next to the Audi, and every time they warmed it up I stood as close as I could, watching the giant rev counter. I got Hans Stuck Jr's autograph. About the silver paint, it started as a rare aluminum body as they needed to get the paint of as the car was to heavy in scrutineering, but it was the Mercedes. Later the silver paint was Germany's racing color, green for UK, blue for France and red for Italy. As I remember they found the crank of the Audi and started the buildup from there.

 

The USA racing color was white with blue accents, (stripes) or blue with white. I read the aluminum alloy used on the original cars was of low quality. Equal to patio aluminum furniture. I dont know if they just meant the body panels or the whole car. I cant imagine the engine could of been too poor of alloy.



Ago

 

Always loved those Auto Union Cars! They are beautiful!

 

I saw one of these in a barn Here in Ohio. There is only supposed to be one left, but there are two. It's a 37 Adler GP car