Of all the things one hopes won’t happen in a race car, losing a right rear tire at 180 mph on the high banks at Daytona is likely at the top of the list. That’s exactly what happened to Dr. Jim Norman in his Porsche 911 recently. The pirouettes that resulted are the stuff of legend. Norman received a front-row seat to his machine’s nose and tail swapping places at least four times before coming to a stop facing the correct direction down pit lane. Miraculously, neither Norman nor his vehicle were seriously hurt in the dust-up.

Perhaps even more surprisingly, no one collected Norman as he went all Tasmanian devil on the road course. Another 911 directly behind Norman’s managed to avoid the spinning piece of German engineering, though that whole lift-off oversteer thing caused that vehicle to do its best impression of a tornado as well. Hit the jump to see both videos for yourself.

Continue reading Blowing a tire at 180 mph at Daytona is a wild ride

Blowing a tire at 180 mph at Daytona is a wild ride originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With examples from the 250 series fetching earth-shattering prices, the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” is quickly becoming a classic favorite. The wedge-shaped GT from the late 60s and early 70s was a clear separation from the bulbous models that proceeded it, and is today regarded as one of the definitive classic Ferraris of all time. But even among the 1,400+ built, some are more special than others.

For starters, this particular example – which is going up for auction in May under the auspices of Historics at Brooklands – is one of only 158 right-hand-drive models. But chassis #16531 is set apart from the other 157 by its fate once arriving in the UK.

Its first owner was HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, who only drove it for about a week before selling it. A few owners of varied stature owned the car since, until it appeared on the BBC’s ever-popular car show Top Gear. You may recall the episode (twelfth in the fifth season) when James May set sail for Saint-Tropez from Portofino in a speedboat, while Richard Hammond took the coastal road in a Daytona? Well this is that very same car.

Resplendent in metallic blue, tan leather interior and Borrani wire wheels, this 365 GTB/4 has only 26,281 miles on the odometer, and was verified on the dyno shortly before the Top Gear filming to have lost none of the 352 horsepower with which it left the factory. It’s a beauty. Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Historics at Brooklands]

Continue reading Ferrari Daytona of royal, Top Gear provenance up for auction at Brooklands

Ferrari Daytona of royal, Top Gear provenance up for auction at Brooklands originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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