Le Mans
 

Just watched it for the first time. Could not stop grinning through the entire movie.

What a BLAST!

(Did a Skip Barber open house last week - and rode as a passenger in a pack of Miata's on Lime Rock race course. Flashbacks to that were continual.)

If you love classic, raw sports/race cars, then you'll like Le Mans. I love it! There are some folks that don't. (I don't understand)

I really love Porsches, and I tried to like "No Man's Land", but just couldn't.

One of my favs as well... found this short video montage on youtube a month or so ago. I don't usually like vids like this but it was well done.

<iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ytn7C9UJ5mo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Superb video, that was really well put together.

If you have a good sound system, play the scene when that 917 flat 12 engine fires off as the clock hand hits 12. One of the best sounds in the world I think. You might also note who is waving the flag at the start.

Without a copy on hand, who would that be?

An Producer I know, Mario Iscovitch, was McQueen's personal assistant decades ago and he worked with McQueen on The Great Escape, Bullitt, and Le Mans.

There will be a 40th Anniversary edition, for the first time in Blu Ray, released at the end of May.



Tim

The flag man was Mr. Porsche himself! A better experience when starting the 917 engine is to have someone spray you with a spray bottle of hot used Porsche engine oil right when that huge roar happens!

The oil thing almost happened to me on a F5000 car.

The local Ferrari club rented out a theater and did a showing of Le Mans. Probably one of my favorite movie theater experiences. :)

I might be a bit weird but listening to a race engine start is pretty neat and since I vintage raced my 914 for over 10 years I got to experience some pretty neat startups. My favorites would be:

1 - 917 (Japanese #3) repaired by Symbolic Motor Cars
2 - 917 built by Carl Thompson - from the frame up
3 - McLaren F1 by Symbolic Motor Cars brought over from Japan
4 - UOP Shadow with the engine set for full power.
5 - Ferrari F1 when they had v12 engines
6 - Tommy Thompson's Corvette Grand Sport big block
7 - Silk Cut Jaguar v12 LeMans car.
8 - Vic Loh's 3 rotor Mazada sports racer from Japan which idled at 5000 RPM or so
9 - MY own 2L six the first time we started it after converting to a six
10 - My buddy from high school's 400 Cu In 6 cylinder GMC truck engine in his modified stock car in 1962 which started all this car craziness!

It was being played in the Sun Valley, Idaho theatre non stop during the '71 PCA parade there. Just show your name tag for admission. My buddy & I must have watched it four times. This was before the movie was released.