Archive for April, 2026

Pat Hoare’s Ferrari 256 ‘GTO’…

Posted: April 13, 2026 in F1, Obscurities, Sports Racers
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(B Colechin)

Fantastic shot of Logan Fow in the ex-Pat Hoare Ferrari 256 GTO – nee Ferrari Dino 256/60 #007 – launching from the line at the Tikorangi Speed Trials in November 1970. The Colombo Tipo 128 3-litre V12 gave about 310 bhp, so it was a quick car, the fastest registered Ferrari of all at the time according to Signor Ferrari himself.

I’ve already written about this car here: So there’s no point going over it all again, but the magic of Facebook – in this case the Old New Zealand Motor Racing and South Island Motorsports pages – means there have been many more photographs shared in the ensuing five years, and being a sharing, caring kinda guy, I thought you might like to see them. See here for a lengthy feature on Pat’s Feraris:https://primotipo.com/2020/02/07/pn-hoare-440-papanui-rd-christchurch-nz/

Pat Hoare won the Waimate 50 on February 11, 1961, from Angus Hyslop’s Cooper T45 Climax (M Beaumont)
Here’s Pat Hoare with 256/60 #007 Coupe in the driveway of his 440 Papanui Road home in Christchurch circa 1963 (J Manhire)

Unable to sell the obsolete racing car internationally after two years of racing, Hoare had this ‘GTO-esque’ body made for the machine, turning it into a road car of prodigious performance and striking, if controversial looks.

The artisans involved were Ernie Ransley, Hoare’s long-time race mechanic, Hec Green, who did the body form-work and G.B McWhinnie & Co’s Reg Hodder, who built the body in sixteen-gauge aluminium over nine weeks and painted it. A very young George Lee, still doing his apprenticeship, did the upholstery.

Pat’s brief was to use the chassis and mechanicals as was, modified in relation to popping the steering wheel offset to the right. Given the wheelbase of the 256 was a fair bit shorter than that of a 250 GTO, the packaging and styling challenges were manifest, especially given that Hoare was a reasonably LWB model himself. Ferrari assisted by providing factory drawings and some components, such as a GTO windscreen.

Date and place of this car show folks? (J Manhire)
256/60 007 during Logan Fow’s ownership. Tipo 128 3-litre all-aluminium, SOHC, two-valve, six-Webered engine gave circa 310 bhp. Note the straight run of the steering rod into the cockpit, and light, tubular steel bodywork supports on ‘this side’. I wonder what type of Firestones they are? (K Tisch)
Logan Fow contesting a Brentwood Sprint Meeting, date unknown (K Tisch)

I don’t for a moment find the styling of the car on the same planet as the Bizarrini/Scaglietti original, but I don’t mind the result. Pat had an unsaleable old racing car at the time, who can argue with a road car solution like this that retained ALL of the key elements of a grand prix winning chassis without sodomising it!?

After using it for a few years, Pat sold it to Hamilton school teacher Logan Fow in 1967. He ran it as a roadie and occasional track day use for several years until British racer/collector Neil Corner struck a deal to buy the car sans ‘GTO’ body, but with the open-wheeler panels, which had been carefully retained and set aside. The Ferrari was converted back to its 256 V6 race specifications and still competes in Europe.

Fow took a new Ferrari 365 Berlinetta Boxer in exchange for all of the 256 bits and pieces, running the Boxer around Europe on a holiday for a while, but ran foul of NZ Government import rules when he came home and had the machine seized from him by customs when he failed to stump up the taxes demanded by the Fiscal Fiends. A sub-optimal result, to say the least.

256 GTO in Logan Fow’s Hamilton front yard (K Tisch)
A shitty photograph that shows the car in the form it was shipped by Logan Fow to Neil Corner, sans coupe body and 007’s body panels, which were also shipped to the UK (CAN)
(G Begg)

256-007 during the 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting over the January 22 weekend, during which Jackie Stewart took some time out from his BRM duties and did some demonstration laps in the car. JYS won the big Tasman Cup race too, in his 1.9-litre BRM P261.

(G Guy)

The Body…

The home-made body stayed in New Zealand and ‘disappeared’, although it seems clear from the Facebook posts that it never really did…and in 2022, the then-owner decided to monetise it, to use a modern word.

(L Lawson)

The mortal remains of the car’s GTO Phase were sold in February 2022 via trademe.co.nz. 188 bids pushed the price to $NZ37,310.

It was described thus, complete with all of the errors: ‘Starting life as a Formula One Dino 246, V6-engined car, it was later altered to a 3-litre V12 for the Tasman Series.

‘At one time raced by Phill Hill, this Formula one car was rebodied into a G.T. road car of fine tradition. This was done with the knowledge of, and express approval of Enzo Ferrari who provided many of the G.T.O. parts. This creation was driven by Jackie Stewart at Wigram N.Z. Lighter than a 250 G.T.O. and with a fully independent rear axle, Ferrari said it was the fastest G.T. road car in the world at that time.’

‘The body only is now offered for sale on behalf of the owner who has treasured it for the last 40 years. It is N.Z. registered and comes with papers and plates. Ref, Enzo Ferrari’s secret war, by David Canton.’

(Trade Me)
(Trade Me)

It will be interesting to see the mechanical specifications of the car this body clothes next!

Etcetera…

(E Stevens)

Ernie Ransley and Pat Hoare suss what they have after the 256 V12 arrived from Modena in early January 1961. 440 Papanui Road, out the back.

(E Stevens)

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to Ardmore we go…

(J Manhire)

Hoare’s Pantech arrives at Ardmore for the 1961 New Zealand Grand Prix; a home-made two-wheel trailer and trusty pink Holden FB tow-mobile. Such a handsome racing car!

(M Feisst)
(G Woods)

Let’s finish with the ‘original’…Pat Hoare during the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy weekend. DNF in the race won by Jack Brabham’s Cooper T53 Climax.

(A Smith)

Not to forget Phil Hill’s victory aboard Ferrari Dino 256-007 V6 in the September 1960 Italian Grand Prix; the last championship win for a front-engined car. Yes, yes, the Italian national racing governing body gave Ferrari a free kick in a winless year by using the combined banked/road circuit. A significant chassis that one, all the same…

(R Jenkins)
Monza pitlane: Taffy von Trips’ Ferrari Dino 156P F2 car, #20 Phil’s Dino 246/256 and #18 Richie Ginther’s 246/256 (A Smith)

Credits…

George Begg, Eric Stevens, Mike Feisst, John Manhire, Eric Stevens, Graham Guy, Matheson Beaumont, Lance Lawson, Archie Smith, R Jenkins

Finito…

Crocodile Rock: Audi R8 Croc-McNish-Melbourne Reunion…

Posted: April 10, 2026 in Fotos, Obscurities, Sports Racers
Tags: , , , , ,
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(J McRory)

Allan McNish, descending Hosier Lane, pops his Audi R8 Croc, chassis #403, into first gear for the slow left-hander before blasting up the short Flinders Street straight in the 2027 Melbourne 1000 km…I wish!

Gabriel Bortoleto gaining some points in his Audi R26 was an impressive start from a ‘newcomer marque’ upon debut at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.

So too were their marketing and promotional activities in and around the race – activations – I think is the name given to this stuff by today’s, perky little brand-meisters.

McNish opposite Flinders Street Station heading east on Flinders Street, corner of Swanton Street. To meet ‘under the clocks’ at Flinders Street is a century old Melbourne tradition before heading off to your boozer of choice (Audi)

McNish , Audi R8 ahead of David Brabham’s Panoz LMP-1, about to hook into the Adelaide GP circuit’s Chicane early in The Race of 1000 Years on 31 December 2000 (Audi Sport)
Borteloto, Audi R26 in front of Hamilton, Ferrari SF-26 during qualifying at Albert Park in 2026 (J Portlock-Getty)

Not least Audi Australia’s short film to reintroduce the Audi R8 LMP900 ‘Crocodile car’ that won the Race of a Thousand Years in 2000 driven by Rinaldo Capello and Allan McNish.

70,000 enthusiastic spectators saw McNish and Capello prevail in an event shortened to 850 km from its scheduled 1000 km, from the Franz Konrad/Charles Slater/Alan Heath Lola B2K/10 Ford and the Dodge Viper GTS-R raced by Olivier Beretta/Karl Wendlinger/Dominique Dupuy.

‘The concept for the film called for the car’s original driver, three-time Le Mans winner Allan McNish, to reprise his role behind the wheel, pulling the dust covers off the car in a warehouse at an undisclosed location, before blasting up the Great Ocean Road in Victoria on his way to Melbourne where Audi’s next great motorsport challenge was about to take place. McNish is now the Director of the Audi Revolut F1 Driver Development Program. See here:https://youtu.be/1mvWxrqLCL4?si=di_c8Gkf1AzFkTN_

The railway shots were taken at the Newport Rail Museum in Champion Road. Specifically ‘in 5 Road and the laneway between the West Block and Centre Block, with L1162 (English Electric L-Class) making a background feature!’ (Newport Rail Museum)
(Newport Rail Museum)
(Audi)

The R8’s race livery was a nod to Australia hosting its first ALMS (American Le Mans Series) race at the end of a season that saw Audi dominate Le Mans, taking the first of a record number of Le Mans wins.

“The ‘Crocodile R8’ is the perfect bridge between the brand’s racing history in Australia and our entry into Formula 1,” said Audi Australia’s General Manager of Marketing, Nick Reid.

The Race of a Thousand Years ended a near perfect year for Audi in which McNish won the 2000 ALMS driver’s championship and Audi the manufacturer’s.

The Croc was retired after Adelaide and has since lived between visiting gigs at Audi’s Ingolstadt Museum. In advance of its movie star role, Audi Tradition engineers shook the car down on an airstrip and blew one of the R8’s twin-turbos in the process. Without a spare on the shelf, they used the original blueprints to fabricate a turbo casting (perhaps a pattern?) and then made a new one.

While the Great Ocean Road part of the video shows the obligatory Twelve Apostles shot, as a former Wye River local, I think the footage and shots are in the Mount Defiance area, with the turnaround point in one of the photos below, at Cumberland River, close to Lorne. Not that it really matters, just my OCD kicking in (J McRory)
(J McRory)
(Audi)

The logistical nightmare of this undertaking in the red tape and due process capital of the world – Australia – fries my brain. In masterful understatement, James McRory wrote, ‘Putting a race car on public roads – never mind iconic stretches of blacktop like the Great Ocean Road is best described as a ‘logistical nightmare’. Wanting to drive one through a major city like Melbourne only increased the degree of difficulty by a significant margin. Add to all this a schedule that was tighter than two coats of paint.’

‘Permits and road closures, traffic marshals, police escorts, technical support for the car and transporting it all over Victoria required tremendous forward planning and execution. Just getting the car to Australia in time and through customs presented all manner of challenges, the car arrived Down Under two weeks before the Australian Grand Prix and days before filming was set to commence.’

I wrote a long feature about the R8 a while back, no point starting again, see here:https://primotipo.com/2019/06/28/crocodile-audi-r8/

(Audi)

Blowing off a couple of trams in these two shots. Still opposite Flinders Street Station, Allan is heading south, towards Princes Bridge.

(J McRory)

Heading in the same direction below, this time about to clear Princes Bridge, St Kilda Road over the Yarra River, our murky, but cleanish wonderful river. Engine note at this point would have been worth hearing! My rat run in Collingwood to my girlfriend’s 1.5 km away on St Kilda Road, is on this stretch. I shall be making R8 noises as I cross Princes Bridge from now on…

(J McRory)
(J McRory)

McNish. What a fun start to his AGP carnival weekend it must have been!

Etcetera…

(Audi Sport)

McNish in #403 during the Adelaide Race of a Thousand years.

(J McRory)

And pretty relaxed in Hosier Lane in late February 2026. This graffiti/street art lane between Flinders Street and Little Collins Street works hard from pre-dawn to midnight every day.

(J McRory)

Great Ocean Road, Cumberland River turn-around point? No shortage of recording devices in use. How ancient does the technology of ‘Grand Prix’ seem?

(J McRory)
(J McRory)

Night-time service depot for the Melbourne Performance Centre crew, who look after Audi customer racing in Australia. It’s at the south, dead-end section of Russell Street behind the Ian Potter Centre-National Gallery of Victoria.

(J McRory)

Beavering away on the car in the wee small hours above, and below, enjoying the dawn view east with three Balloons in sight beyond the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

(J McRory)
(M Bisset)

This is more like the Balloon view Melbourne inner-east early-birds get on a good day!

6.45am on April 5 taken beside the Yarra on the Saint Heliers/Collingwood Children’s Farm site in Abbotsford.

Credits…

Audi Australia, James McRory for words and most of the photographs, Audi Sport, Newport Railway Museum, Joe Portlock-Getty Images

Tailpiece…

(Audi)

Finito…

Benalla Centenary 100, 1936…

Posted: April 4, 2026 in Features, Obscurities
Tags: , , , , , ,
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(D Watson-B King)

A Roseborough, perhaps, Bob King thinks the driver may be Doug Whiteford racing under a pseudonym, from unknown, and Norman Hamilton or Les Murphy, MG P-Type during the early laps of the Benalla Centenary 100, Easter Monday, April 13, 1936.

Teaser for the little-known Benalla Centenary Hundred to be held by the Victorian Sporting Car Club.

The centenary being celebrated, was the European-settler establishment of the township of Benalla 210km northeast of Melbourne. There is bugger-all in the way of photographs of this meeting, I’m not helping solve the problem here either, but the firsthand report of the meeting is a start; photo contributions invited!

Jack O’Dea’s MG P-Type ahead of a Riley (E Trevithick-SLV)
Bob Lea-Wright, Terraplane at Benalla. Nathan Tasca, ‘The car was borrowed from a mate, driven to the event, stripped of all the luxuries, raced, and then returned to standard, driven back to Melbourne, and returned to his mate, who apparently was none-the-wiser!’ (N Taska Arc)

The correct name of the winner is Vincent Aloysius Moloney, born 1902, later in life a resident of Murrumbeena, Melbourne, while the winning car is an MG Magna L-Type chassis #L0658.

The car was imported by Lanes Motors and lobbed at Port Melbourne in December 1933. It was locally bodied by Chas Aspinall, a common practice at the time to minimise the exposure to import duties levied by The Fiscal Fiend. Vin raced the car mainly in Victoria until 1936, after which the car was sold to a South Australian owner. The car has lived in New Zealand since 2014, click here for an interesting, comprehensive history of the car, scroll down to #L0658:https://www.mgclub.org.nz/download/167741/L%20Types%2C%2007%20October%202024%20V2.%20PDF.pdf

MG Historians are certain the VA Maloney (sic) who competed in four Australian Grands Prix: Nuiootpa 1950, Narrogin 1951, Bathurst 1952 and Albert Park in 1953 aboard a Head Brothers, Murrumbeena, Melbourne built MG TC Monoposto Special is our boy.

MG Magna L0658 in Adelaide in the 1940s, probably still with the Aspinall body. L0657 behind has an Aspinall pointed tail body (MG Register Australia)
(SLV)

Jack Day punches his Ford V8-powered Day Special – Bugatti T39 Ford – out of one of the right-handers. That water tower will be a tip for a local as to the precise locale.

Etcetera…

Bob King on the first photograph, which he posted on Greg Smith’s ‘Pre 1960 Historic Racing in Australasia’ Facebook site. ‘I know very little about the Benalla road races of 1936, said to be the first Victorian mainland races on public roads. This photo given to me by David Watson in 1975, shows an unlicensed (too young) Doug Whiteford driving the ex-Beith Chrysler followed by Reg Nutt in the Day Special (painted purple) and either Norman Hamilton or Les Murphy in a P Type MG – they were both in the race.’

John Medley, ‘Just a glance at my records of this event offends the historian in me. So many mis-spellings, obvious errors, outright mistakes and fabrications, earnest over-amplifications and over-simplifications (not unlike Australian or USA or world politics 2025!). And of course officials and more who couldn’t count, so results were changed overnight…. One thing veteran competitors in any sport learn is calmness under pressure– so the competitor in me is offended by what I see in my records of this event. This is and was a mess, and extended by people 2025 trying to re create from snippets of information what we think may have happened in 1936, from the work of 1936 scribblers who didn’t know all that they didn’t know…. One needs at least a PhD in Philosophy to unravel the thinking.’

On Norman Hamilton – of later Porsche Cars Australia fame – ‘Distant memory, but I’m pretty sure that Norman told me that he drove at that meeting. He was old enough and was a friend of Jack Day who owned the Day Special,’ Bob King.

So what does this all mean? Who knows who really won the race.

Credits…

The Car March 1936 via the Bob King Collection, Edward Trevithick-State Library of Victoria, Nathan Taska Archive

Finito…

Happy 100th Jack…

Posted: April 2, 2026 in Uncategorized
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(B Thomas)

If Jack Brabham were immortal, he would have been 100 today. He was born in Hurstville, Sydney, on April 2, 1926.

Many thanks to Stephen Dalton for the reminder. The date should have been at the front of my mind, as Jack and the cars he and Ron Tauranac designed and built – and Jack’s pending 100th – were the focus of the Racing Past celebrations throughout the Australian Grand Prix carnival a month ago.

In the absence of a dedicated article, this one ‘in stock’ will have to do, key Brabham into the primotipo search engine and that will keep you going for a couple of days…

Onya Jack!

Tiger in ‘yer Tank!

Jack Brabham is trying to focus on the start of the February 12, 1967, Lakeside 99 Tasman Cup round, but is set upon by a couple of tigers intent on getting into his tank…

Esso babes, high heels and all, doing their promotional thing in the hot Queensland sun. It wasn’t too bad a day in the office. Jack was second behind Jim Clark’s Lotus 33 Climax FWMV 2-litre V8 in his Brabham BT23A Repco 640 2.5 V8, with Frank Gardner third in Alec Mildren’s Brabham BT16 Coventry Climax FPF 2.5. Brabhams occupied five of the first six placings, but not the one that mattered.

More on that race meeting here:https://primotipo.com/2019/01/18/lakeside-tasman-meeting-12-february-1967/

It’s the year before the FIA/CSI threw open the floodgates and allowed commercial advertising on racing cars, but even in those faraway days, Brabham’s commercial relationships included Repco Ltd, Esso, Goodyear, Lukey Mufflers, plus whatever freebees he/they could wrangle here and there.

We’re still at Lakeside, where the pair of tigresses are doing the rounds of the paddock, an undertaking fraught with danger, I would have thought.

It’s a ten-point caption competition, really? You can see Sonny-Jim is trying to think of a zinger that will get him a drink in the bar later on. I figure, ‘Can I measure yer’ tail’, probably wouldn’t have done the trick.

Etcetera…

Repco-Brabham Engines Pty. Ltd. and the Brabham Racing Organisation mounted their only full assault – two works-backed cars doing the full eight-round series – only once, in their commercial relationship between 1963-68, in 1967, and fell well short of the mark.

It’s ironic that an engine program originally designed for the 2.5-litre Tasman Cup and Gold Star Championships only ever yielded one Tasman round win, at Longford that year, where the photo above was taken. Yes, there were some Gold Star round wins, but not that many. Still, a couple of World F1 Drivers and Manufacturers Championship wins in 1966-67 plus multiple Australian Sports Car and Hillclimb Championships were reasonable levels of compensation for the investment made!…

Yep, they were Rice Trailers, but Repco-Brabham Engines Pty. Ltd. designed them!

Credits…

Brier Thomas, Len Lukey/Luke Manton Collection

Finito…