What seems to have happened was that Robert Eberan von Eberhorst, the Rekordwagen's designer, accidentally invented ground effects-the very same phenomenon utilized by Jim Hall's Chaparrals and Colin Chapman's late-Seventies Formula-1 Loti (the 78 and the 79). Only the Auto Union's chassis rigidity was not up to the task of handling the extra g's and not falling to pieces. Which does fuck up your aerodynamics at 270 MPH.
If you ever happen to be in Shanghai, take a ride on the maglev train that makes a 20 mile run to Pudong International. Its top speed is exactly the speed at which Rosemeyer was killed-and which, raced and survived by Caracciola an hour and a half earlier-is still the standing land speed record on a public highway.
I made a video of it two years ago. The yakking is in Hungarian but you may enjoy the very disturbing sight of sweeping past an expressway with all the cars going backward at 200 MPH:
@bigblockautoX: Skinny bias-plies, weighed down by the driver's enormous balls. Some Auto-Union racers were "duallies," and even with four rear tires they had trouble putting all the power down on tight circuits.
The Wired article had a good point: Rosemeyer never drove another car. When Nuvolari, the other master, joined Auto Union in 1938 after Rosemeyer, it took him many races to get a handle on the evil handling of the car. Of course, Auto Union was by then using the smaller V12 in the Type C chassis so that may have made a difference.
Bernd was a reluctant member of the SS and as a German racing driver was also required to be a member of the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK). I am, of course, happy that Nazism is dead, but I must confess, that it would be slightly great if the NSKK showed up at local autocross and SCCA events in camo'd VWs and death's-head openface helmets, just so I could strap on a fedora and ram them off the road.
"Ach! Ve vill lap you next time Herr Jones! Aiieeeee!!"
@boosted-lego-wagon: Sounds okay to me. Make sure you wear the Indiana Jones hat, though-- it's the only way you'll be able to top Nuvolari's German-stomping at the German Grand Prix. You'll get bonus points for doing this in a Triumph Spitfire.
@SCROGGZILLA RAIDS COMMAS!!: I'm on the same page, Scroggs. I really don't know why this hasn't been done. It's perfect period piece material, with plenty of the drama today's audiences demand.
You don't walk away from flipping a car at 250+mph. Jeez, the last time I saw such a disastrous wreck involving Hitler, Tom Cruise was wearing an eyepatch.
I was watching the Modern Marvels about the Autobahn a while back and they discussed this. Its impressive when any car goes that fast today, but this takes the impressive cake considering it was 71 years ago.
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was starred
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was unstarred
@FromaBuick6: he actually did a lot for german motorsports. How come you think that the english f1 cars of the time were so lame, and the german ones were awesome. he also conceived the highway...
@engineerd - the comma-free edition: You're starting to scare me, dude. We have almost the same replies to every post. Are you sure you aren't some other version of me, in a different state or something?
@mechimike: I was beginning to think the same thing. I guess great minds think alike. Either that or stupidity comes in pairs. I usually go with the first one.
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[www.kolumbus.fi]
What seems to have happened was that Robert Eberan von Eberhorst, the Rekordwagen's designer, accidentally invented ground effects-the very same phenomenon utilized by Jim Hall's Chaparrals and Colin Chapman's late-Seventies Formula-1 Loti (the 78 and the 79). Only the Auto Union's chassis rigidity was not up to the task of handling the extra g's and not falling to pieces. Which does fuck up your aerodynamics at 270 MPH.
If you ever happen to be in Shanghai, take a ride on the maglev train that makes a 20 mile run to Pudong International. Its top speed is exactly the speed at which Rosemeyer was killed-and which, raced and survived by Caracciola an hour and a half earlier-is still the standing land speed record on a public highway.
I made a video of it two years ago. The yakking is in Hungarian but you may enjoy the very disturbing sight of sweeping past an expressway with all the cars going backward at 200 MPH:
[auto.indavideo.hu]
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"Ach! Ve vill lap you next time Herr Jones! Aiieeeee!!"
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Only if it includes this scene:
"Finkel, Beinhorn, Finkel, Beinhorn... What the... That's it! Beinhorn is Finkle! Finkle is Beinhorn! Beinhorn is a man!
Oh, my GOD! Beinhorn is a man!"
*cue crying game music*
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To think of that marriage, the greatest German driver until Micheal Schumacher married to Germany's equivalent of Amelia Earhart!
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[en.wikipedia.org]
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(wonders if Gawker got the message yet)
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Open wheels.
Open cockpit.
Cap and goggles.
268 miles-per-hour.
Wow.
01/29/09
Back in the day when men were men and cars were made out of steel.
I fully admit to being a gurly-man by comparison.
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Wait, I thought was Neville Chamberlain.....
/Waits for slap upside the head from Rust and Layabout
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I'll take "Fascist Dictators" for $500, Alex.
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Okay, cool. I couldn't resist that comment, but at the same time I wasn't sure if that was going a tad too far.
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I can't see R8 in Rosemeyer, just plain fugly Veyron