But, I never believed in caging birds!

Posted by Bambi B (A) on February 19, 2010 at 21:56:01

In Reply to: THIS is the world's most beautiful race car . . . posted by mr grits on February 19, 2010 at 18:01:27:

PHOTO: Another of my favourite race cars forms- a 1949 Ferrari 166MM Barchetta. Notice the 1930 Alfa Romeo 1750 in the background too- another shapely Italian. Below: The 166MM had the gearshift wonderfully marked in Roman Numerals!

mr. g,

That is indeed another great one- and it was an elegant design inside as well as outside- the structure really is like a bird cage- as designed by Frank Gehry. I always thought the Birdcage was an odd fish- they're extrmely modern- the stucture and the outside form was quite advanced in 1959 in that they had about 3-Litre engines that were four cylinder- as though it was a 1914 Stutz Bearcat. Three Litre Ferrari engines in 1959 were V-12's- they had made V-12's that were only 1.5's. Engine designers knew that more pistons meant greater valves surface and also better thermodynamic behaviour- large cylinders don't have as efficient ignition. The Birdcage engine make a really odd sound too- thumpy and pulsating like Offenhausers as compared to the whine of V-12's. I'll bet you can buy recordings of those engines- and I cold listen all night! A really striking design the Tipo 61. There was a legend about the birdcage that they were incredibly fatal cars in crashes- the driver would get skewered with all those angular structural components compressed into your body. And, it was said that this awareness of the danger that made the drivers extra keen on avoiding walls!

Speaking of Maserati race cars, I was at the local used Ferrari / Maserati lot in Calabasas, CA a few months ago and they had this amazing polished Aluminium Maserati prototype from 1953. It was just beautiful- and tiny. Even though this one had had a serious racing life- all slightly tweaked - it was sleekly catlike and powerfully muscular at the same time- an Aluminium Leopard. And, those old Maserati engines were like watches. The Italians have no concept of what electrons do, but they make mechanical things an art. This dealer had the new Maserati series- the soupe, roaster and Quattroporte and the new look is even stronger than the the last one- nicely refined.

Another 50's race car I think it an absolute stunner is the Ferrari 166MM "Barchetta" -or "little boat"(photo above). These were almost miniature cars with 2-Litre V-12's that made that ripping canvas sound. Can you imagine allthose parts for 2-Litres! The bodies were just perfect, pure form and all the curves resolved into each other- fantastic. Still, the thing that I found the most delightful is the gearshift knob with the gears marked in Roman Numerals!

Those Italians- Mama mia!

Cheers,

Bambi B

P.S. The only Italian car out of 35 I ever had was a 1974 Fiat 124 "TC" - which was the boxy four door but with the engine from the 124 Spider sports car. It really was fun- like a larger, squarer Mini Cooper- vertical steering column and all. The short wheelbase, wheels at the corner, neat and fast 4-Speed shift, and high revving Spider engine made it fun- even sounded rorty- ripping sound on the overrun. Of course, all the electrical switches fell apart and it ate alternators for breakfast, but a lot of fun. I gave it to my girlfriend of the time, she drove it for three years and gave it back- she needed a larger car- and I sold it for what I paid- a lot of fun for $0.00.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Car in Movies- Roll 'Em! - Bambi B 10:27:25 02/19/10 (44)

Kim Novak's Jag in Vertigo - geoffkait 05:50:58 02/28/10 (0)

Jane Fonda's and Jacqueline Bisset's Porsches - Craiger56 10:30:06 02/24/10 (0)

RE: Car in Movies- Roll 'Em! - HOK 20:02:39 02/21/10 (0)

RE: Car in Movies- Roll 'Em! - Ross 15:10:53 02/21/10 (0)

The cars of James Bond - Bambi B 12:08:20 02/21/10 (1)

RE: The Aston was more that a car- - patrickU 09:33:19 02/22/10 (0)

IMCDB - Internet Movie Cars Data Base - R Browne 07:48:42 02/21/10 (1)

Cool! - Craiger56 17:37:39 02/24/10 (0)

I still own a car which bears a slight resemblance - ArdRi 19:50:10 02/20/10 (0)

That car thingy in THX1138 that runs on a turbine. ~t - mpathus 19:08:01 02/20/10 (0)

Kevin Spacey: '53 Studebaker Starlight , 1970 Trans Am - grinagog 17:22:31 02/20/10 (0)

Brad Dourifs '58 Ford in "Wise Blood" ( ! ) - grinagog 17:12:11 02/20/10 (0)

Mustang waltzing to Strauss on the beach- - Des 12:58:14 02/20/10 (0)

I love it when ... - reelsmith. 09:47:23 02/20/10 (1)

RE: I love it when ... - Mossback 04:28:09 02/22/10 (0)

RE: To catch a thieve.....nt - patrickU 04:34:29 02/20/10 (2)

Yes, Cary Grant had that swoopy Delahaye 135M and Miss Kelly had a Sunbeam Talbot - Bambi B 11:45:20 02/21/10 (1)

RE: Yes, Cary Grant had that swoopy Delahaye 135M and Miss Kelly had a Sunbeam Talbot - patrickU 04:51:46 02/22/10 (0)

The Blues Brothers - JDK 00:44:55 02/20/10 (0)

Tippi Hedren's Aston Martin.. - Craiger56 17:58:14 02/19/10 (1)

The Cars of Hitchcock - Bambi B 22:24:33 02/19/10 (0)

My favorite car. Some Jag guys prefer the XK-E but not I. We had - tinear 13:43:37 02/19/10 (0)

Wow, beautiful Jag. - Larry I 12:48:06 02/19/10 (5)

Here's another beautiful Jag - Bambi B 13:33:40 02/19/10 (4)

Nice pics! The Kray's film isn't particularly appealing. There are plenty of - tinear 19:52:44 02/19/10 (0)

THIS is the world's most beautiful race car . . . - mr grits 18:01:27 02/19/10 (2)

But, I never believed in caging birds! - Bambi B 21:56:01 02/19/10 (1)

RE: But, I never believed in caging birds! - Ross 14:41:58 02/21/10 (0)

RE: All creatures great and small--- - patrickU 12:19:37 02/19/10 (2)

RE: All creatures great and small--- - Bambi B 12:48:43 02/19/10 (1)

RE: The Yellow Rolls--- - patrickU 00:19:32 02/20/10 (0)

complements of Jacques Tati! - PhilJ 11:50:17 02/19/10 (3)

RE: complements of Jacques Tati! - Bambi B 12:41:10 02/19/10 (2)

That's a Citroen DS n/t - grinagog 13:45:05 02/19/10 (1)

In the U.K. those Citroens used to be called "Banana Slugs" (nt) - Bambi B 14:28:01 02/19/10 (0)

Tuckers in Tucker: The Man and His Dream... Godfather I & Godfather II were both impressive - musetap 11:47:42 02/19/10 (2)

Tuckers and gangster cars - Bambi B 13:06:46 02/19/10 (1)

RE: Tuckers and gangster cars - musetap 15:47:48 02/19/10 (0)

Mini in "The Bourne Identity" with the new Mini steering wheel. * - mr grits 11:15:43 02/19/10 (1)

More Minis ! - Bambi B 13:42:31 02/19/10 (0)

Auto sponsors - geoff 10:48:13 02/19/10 (3)

RE: Auto sponsors - Bambi B 14:26:38 02/19/10 (1)

My sister and I sat and talked to Forest Whitaker - geoff 16:12:26 02/19/10 (0)

Ford always provided cars for free to the movie industry - grinagog 13:43:29 02/19/10 (0)

Follow Ups

But, I never believed in caging birds! - Bambi B 21:56:01 02/19/10 (1)

RE: But, I never believed in caging birds! - Ross 14:41:58 02/21/10 (0)

But, I never believed in caging birds!

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