ππ£π π πΈ π₯π β€… βπππππ πΉππππ βπ ππ βππππ£π€ πππ₯π
π― ππ πππ π―πππππππ πππ
πππ π―πΎπ΄ πΊππππππππ.
Mmm. Tough call. Hot-rodder or tea-bagger? California Special or Smooth Brit-American hybrid?
The Hagemann Chrysler Special was built in 1955 for amateur racer John Barneson by Jack Hagemann of San Leandro, California. Hagemann developed his metal shaping skills during WWII at the Alameda Naval Air Station. He had already designed and built a number of early 1950s northern California Specials with strikingly beautiful alloy bodies. At the 1956 Pebble Beach Road Races, Barneson finished 2nd in Class and 12th Overall, in the Del Monte Trophy race. At the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion in two weeks, owner Steve Schuler will race alongside 39 other Pebble Beach Road Racers. Read more at https://dmtrg.com/steve-schuler-1955-hagemann-chrysler…/.
The HWM Stovebolt Special started life as a 1950 HWM Formula 2 car in England (driver, one Stirling Moss) but took on a world-famous and much-loved identity of its own with characterful bodywork modifications and a Chevrolet V8 engine, earning it the βStoveboltβ nickname. It increased in fame with its starring role in the 1954 movie The Racers and with its spirited appearance in the 1956 Pebble Beach Road Races in the hands of Bill Pollack after Tom Carstens rebuilt it following a crash. Today, it is owned by Simon Taylor, a former BBC Formula 1 correspondent and motorsport writer, who frequently drives it on both road and track. We are so grateful to the American Hot Road Foundation for financing the transport of the car from Britain to Californiaβ¦ arriving in two days. Bonus points if you can put in the comments a) what HWM stands for and b) why the car is not strictly a Stovebolt. More at https://dmtrg.com/1955-hwm-stovebolt-special/ .
Your editor is not a betting man, but on Saturday 15th August at Laguna Seca, I firmly consider that of these two carsβ¦. neither will be faster in lap times. Both have whopping big V8 engines. Dead heat and a gentlemanβs handshake.