Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Famous Porsche Crest Origins!

 The Story of the Famous Porsche Crest


...
Porsche's company logo is based on the coat of arms of the Free People's State of Württemberg of the former Weimar Germany, which had Stuttgart as its capital and became part of Baden-Württemberg after the political consolidation of West Germany in 1949.

The centre of the crest shows a black horse rampant, an expression both of forward thrusting power and a derivation of the Stuttgart city seal. Stuttgart, established in 950 as the stud farm of 'stuotgarten', has had horses in its coat of arms in varying designs since the 14th century. The crest has the outer contours of a shield with the word Porsche as the overarching signature.

The crest first appeared (on the steering wheel) in 1952 and on the bonnet from 1955 
 (courtesy of Purely Porsche' newsletter)   

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Paul Newman’s Last Race Car To Be Auctioned Saturday!



The late actor and racing driver Paul Newman competed in this 700-horsepower car into his 80s.
A lot of movie stars have gotten into racing cars in their spare time, but few, if any, were as good at it as Paul Newman.
The actor began racing in the early 1970s, not long after starring as an Indianapolis 500 driver in the 1969 film “Winning.” He continued to take to the track until shortly before his death in 2008. In between he amassed a long list of wins and impressive finishes in sports car racing including second place in the classic 24-Hour race at Le Mans, France in 1979.
Now RM Auctions, a company specializing in collectible cars, will offer Newman’s last race car, a 2002 Chevrolet Corvette, this Saturday at its Amelia Island, Fla., sale.
The car, which began life as a Trans Am racer, was piloted to three wins, eight top-five finishes and five poles by racing great Butch Leitzinger during the 2002 season. It has a 346-cubic inch V8 engine under the hood that puts out 700 horesepower.
Newman and his business and racing partner Michael Brockman acquired the car the following year, painted it in Newman’s longtime signature red, white and blue livery and ran it in the Sports Car Club of America series. Newman continued to race competitively, at or near the front of the grid, from 2003 through 2007. He won his last race at Lime Rock, Conn., just about a year before he died.
The auction house estimates the car will fetch between $250,000 and $350,000. However, its connection to Newman could push bids considerably higher.