Lemans videos: GT40 & XK-D

[chris]

http://www.infoscourse.org/static.php?op=video.txt&npds=1

There are a couple of videos of Le Mans in the old days. 1 lap with Mike Hawthorn in what I think is a 3.8 litre Jaguar XK-D, and the other is in a Ford GT40.

I haven't looked at either of the videos yet, but I thought they might be worth mentioning. :)

Edit: The GT40 video is a good one, with some good comments from Chris Amon and Vic Elford (he drove Porsche 917's) As he mentioned, the 917 was much faster than anything else down the straights, but it did have poor handling in 1969 - hence the slowing down to 200mph for the curve near the end of the Mulsanne straight.

And in the video, you can hear the fabulous sound of the GT40. :)

Edit 2: The XK-D video is good as well. :D He's running it on the road, pretty quick, despite it being open to the public on that day. ^_^ I'm sure the bicycle riders wouldn't be expecting a Jaguar to come howling past them so quickly. But, if its any consolation, these XK-D's can be heard from a mile away.

If anyone is wondering how fast is the Jaguar XK-D, then I can tell you that despite being old, it is very quick. 0-100km/hr takes only 5.2 seconds, or maybe even a bit less if the driver is really good, and the top speed is indeed 175-180mph. The classic 3.8 litre inline-6 engine has 200kW.

[VQ]

I found a book today when i was at tafe about the history of porsche and it has the porsche race cars in there, I'll borrow it next time I go and I'll see if theres anything you might want chris.

[chris]

Thank you. :)

Diagrams of suspension are always very useful, as are torque curves and gear ratios.

[FeZ]

Brilliant videos, especially the D-Type. Great history lesson