Killarney Racer wrote:
Without doubt Renaults punched way above their weight. X128 was not considerably slower than the Escort / Alfa GTA and was giving away a good few hundred cc. Mortimers 1000cc version took on and generally took apart Gordon Briggs' Broadspeed Anglia, easily the quickest car in its class in the UK at the time.
Look at the success of the Gordini's in the Springbok endurance races. They always outperformed themselves.
Mostert's hill climb Gordini was in a class of its own. Scheckters R8 and later a blown version was a freak of a car (mind you so was the driver!).
Remember Conchie and Adler is their various R8 and R10 blown and unblown cars. Jeez where are these things now?
And it continued with Spencer Schultz, Bruce Huntly, Rodger Harridene. In fact anyone who had a decent Renault seemed to do well. Check at Cindy Evans today (yes, I know, not true to the historic spirit, but lovely anyway).
Great cars. See what you pay for a Gordini today!!
I beleive the Moster Gordini is still around, a few years I was in Paarl and at the time I didnt realize how significant the car was, only when I saw a road test of the Mostert car did I realize it was highly probably the same car I saw..
Good question what happened to these cars, largely forgotten, just like the Gordon Briggs Anglia...
There is a famous story that in 1994 there was a race, on a quite road and there was one guy that cleaned up, beat everything and of course as he won he ego swelled, anyway in the crowd was an elderly gentleman, who used to work on the Scamp Porter car, he himself bought a brand new Gordini...which be built to racing spec but the car was seldom used.
Anyway on that evening he went up to Mr big ego and told him he wanted to race and went home, took the blanked off the Gordini. Of course when he arrived people laughed and joked, many of them not knowing what this funny looking car was.
The race took place up a twist hill and the Gordini destroyed Mr ego...in fact whereis most guys that lost returned to the start line he didnt, kept driving into the sunset....