Photo by Mike Bumbeck
Bolstered by factory participation, world-class drivers, and a wide variety of cars in two distinct classes, the SCCA Trans-Am series quickly rose to the forefront of American motorsport in the late 1960s and early 1970s and led to some of the hairiest pony cars to come out of Detroit. To celebrate that golden era of sports car racing, the organizers of the Concours d'Elegance of America at St. John's have started a search for vintage Trans-Am racers to feature at their 2012 event.
"Last year, we featured Indy cars and had 33 cars on the field," said Brian Joseph, car selection committee chairman for the concours. "It was just fantastic, so we thought we'd turn our focus to Trans-Am this year."
While most people will quickly recall the Mustangs, Camaros, Javelins, and Challengers piloted by the likes of Mark Donohue, Parnelli Jones, and Dan Gurney in the larger of the two Trans-Am classes, limited to 5.0 liters of engine displacement, Joseph said that concours organizers are looking for all cars that competed in Trans-Am in that period, including the Alfas, Porsches, Datsuns, and BMWs limited to 2.0 liters of engine displacement (bumped to 2.5 liters in 1971).
The Trans-Am cars will join another class of competition cars – drag racing's slingshot rails – as well as 19th-century automobiles, jet-age station wagons, microcars, and three-wheeled motorcycles as this year's featured classes at the concours. The concours will also include featured classes focusing on the Corvette-Jaguar rivalry and on a yet-to-be-named automotive designer.
The 2012 Concours d'Elegance of America at St. John's will take place July 29 in Plymouth, Michigan. For more information, visit ConcoursUSA.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment