Nuvolari's car

[rain_gryphon]

They're auctioning one of the surviving Auto-Union D types. I had no idea any of the D types had survived. I always thought they were destroyed in the War*.

If it won the Yugoslav GP, then it's Tazio Nuvolari's car. It's sad that Hitler's association with the car is considered more memorable than Nuvolari's.

That had to have been a strange, sad race. It was held on the last weekend of peace, when the Germans were already bombing Warsaw, and the borders were closing all across Europe. Only Mercedes and Auto-Union showed up. I've wondered before what it must have been like. I can imagine myself caught up in that, looking forward to the local GP throughout that tense summer, then trying to forget what was happening and enjoy the race, while not knowing if there'd ever be another. It makes me think in a way of the Australian Grand Prix scene from "On the Beach".

I wonder how many of the spectators lived through the War? It's always seemed strangely cruel to me to think that there were people who were great admirers of the Germans and their cars (I know I would have been) who then had to fight them.


* Apparently they were stolen by the Soviets, which opens another mystery. What would a communist want with a GP car?

*****

First, we install 30 USB ports..

Comments

[ruwhei.livejournal.com]

> * Apparently they were stolen by the Soviets, which opens another mystery. What would a communist want with a GP car?


When you have almost nothing, you want everything.

[xolo.livejournal.com]

I suppose you're right. It's just that automobile racing seems such an essentially capitalist sport.

[maxgoof.livejournal.com]

"On The Beach" was a very depressing film. Everyone went all out to win, if I recall, realizing that the only difference between winning and losing was a few months of life.

And that 30 USB port thing.....why would someone do that??

[xolo.livejournal.com]

I've found "On the Beach" to be depressing, uplifting and eerie, sometimes all at once. I think part of it's the age we grew up in. You never really knew if things wouldn't end in that fashion.

The GP scene always affected me, as racing is in itself a death-defying activity. The phrase 'death-defying' has become a bit hackneyed with use over the years, to the point where one sometimes loses touch with its true meaning. I can easily see myself going to watch the GP while the world ends.


And that 30 USB port thing.....why would someone do that??
If you don't instinctively know the answer, then it can't be explained. It's one of those "That would be cool!" activities. It's like filling the toaster with gunpowder.

[maxgoof.livejournal.com]

But the cost!

[xolo.livejournal.com]

That's what convinced me not to try it.

[maxgoof.livejournal.com]

Methinks someone got their hands on a bunch of 4 port USB cards for nothing. :)

[rev-marcus.livejournal.com]

Great car! The article says that the car's value is in its technological importance, not its connection with Hitler. I disagree. I think historical significance is worth a lot too, even if it's a dark history. I find it very interesting that the VW Bug was also designed by Porsche for Hitler and that its original name was "Strength-Through-Joy Car" (very Nazi-sounding name). Are a lot of VW-driving liberals going to sell their car now because of the Hitler connection?

[xolo.livejournal.com]

The author kind of overstates the D's technological significance. Most of the problems inherent to the mid-engined design had been solved with the previous model, the C type. The D was a swoopier-bodied rework of the C to meet the new (smaller) engine rules for 1938. Porsche had gone to Mercedes prior to the '38 season, so they stuck pretty close to his design for the C (which was a winning car), and didn't make any major alterations. The suspension was the only real change.

We used to call VWs 'Hitlermobiles' when I was in school. :)