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| Photo: Christian Tulipano |
You probably noticed we are not especially sentiment at Axis when it comes to man machine interfaces on new cars, flicking a paddle is more efficient, faster, better? We're good with it, we want it.
For those who prefer fondling sticks and doing the three stem in the foot box, there are many, many beautiful machines out there which offer the opportunity tho wrestle with cogs and levers and they need to be preserved.
Of course if your argument is the joy of eye-hand coordination, or more specifically the eye-ear-hand-butt-foot coordination, you really should try cars with a center gas pedal and non synchronized gears. Wait why stop there, real men only drive cars where the shifter is on the outside of the cabin, it all went downhill when they moved that stuff inside!
A provocation, of course. Enjoy this in-car from the recent Le Mans Classic. You are riding in the 1979 Ferrari BB LM owned and driven by the mysterious "Mr. John of B". In the second part of the clip there is a driver change when Soheil Ayari jumps in. Turn the volume up, marvel at the amazing sound of the Ferrari 180 12 boxer, cringe when the driver money shifts!
(a third to second accelerating out of Arnage at 10:20 in the clip)
Bonus video after the jump, onboard a Ferrari 365 GTB4 and more from the BBLM.
Manual/Auto is mostly a US-problem, most cars in the EU are sold with a manual box...
ReplyDeleteYou HAVE to know how to drive a stick for getting a license in my country ( Belgium ), there is an "idiot-auto-transmission-only-license" but I know only 1 person that has it ( failed driving test 15 times before giving up on driving stick, and yes it is a woman ).
that said, sometimes I really wonder what the hell they were thinking when they designed the transmissions in the 'old days'... I've seen and heard some layouts of gears that boggle the mind ( watch "60 years of onboard F1" to get an idea :-) )
I love watching these kinds of videos, this is exactly what I would do if I had an old sportscar, drive it like it was meant to be driven instead of letting it rot away in some garage...
The Nurburgring museum has a few "old" Nurburg 24hrs cars and with the more recent additions they've spayed them with a special resin right after the race so now, years after their last race, they still have all the dirt, rubber & ducttape hanging on, which I think is way cooler then fixing it up to how it was before the race.
i'd call myself 'mr x of y' as well, driving like that...
ReplyDeleteIs that what you call "money shifting" ... When the driver forgets (or never learnt) what heal and toe is? Cringe worthy stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe "Money Shift" is a third to second accelerating out of Arnage at 10:20 in the clip
ReplyDeleteI hope you can feel me cringe all the way from the west coast... gah!
DeleteI think he miss a gear... because the lever went to 4th but did not synchro so it was impossible to engage.
DeleteBTW the first driver a disaster also... not a single blip nor heel to toe. As I call them, playstation drivers.
As Johan said above Manual / Auto is only in he US. Almost all the rest of the word we use manual.
Doing this kind of racing often requires more having lots of disposable income than skill at shifting a manual transmission.
ReplyDeleteNow, about that "Ferrari V12 boxer", tell me exactly how can it be a V and a boxer at the same time? :)
I think it's considered to be a 180 Degree V12 because the opposing pistons are on the same rod journal.
DeleteYeah sorry, the V. Was a conditioned reflex... There' s no way 180 makes a V :)
DeleteOn a boxer engine, every connecting rod attaches to the crank on its very own crank pin. On a flat V12-type engine every connecting rod has another one they share a crank pin with.
DeleteWithout getting silly here, it might not be look like a V engine (Is a W12 or W8 engine really a "W" ???) but it's not considered to be a proper boxer either! :-P
By e way, I think all of you are being too harsh on the driver here, I've seen plenty of clips from historic racing where shifts sound rough. you just don't know with these cars what the deal is with the car. Some of these shifters can be quite the bitch to move
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteBut having seen the guy driving during Spa classic I must admit he is not the best pilot in the world. There is nothing wrong with that.
He offers us the sound and sight of 2 beautiful (and quite expensive) F cars and we should be thankful for that.
Ayari should know better than leaving it until Dunlop and entering Tetre Rouge to fully tighten his belts.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see any of those who mock about the drivers talent trying to drive this car fast.
ReplyDelete