Forget everything you know about cars for a moment. Don't think about your pre-conceived notions of what's cool. Don't think about history. Don't think about driving. Don't think about building. Just think about shape and what makes your eye hap... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
I was just going through a bunch of these same images and cars with Hotdamn a couple days ago simply in aww. These cars look like they have been blown out of glass the way that they simply roll and streamline themselves in what seems to be a natural design for liquids. I will always go back to cars like this when I need a real kick in the ass and to see what we are are capable of as builders. They also make me want to rent the new Speed Racer movie that came out.......well maybe I won't go that far.
great post ryan, i really never really studied cars like your showing, so i dont know much history on any of them but ive had this picture saved for quite some time, its in an album that is my screen saver here at work every time it comes to this car i stop and look at it a minute theres something about it....
Was happy to see Jocko Johnson's work represented,another one of HotRodding's genius types who puts lots of the highbuckers/throw money at it guys to shame.
Maybe it's a right brain vs left brain thing. While there's an unmistakeable beauty not only in the curves and colors, but also the setting....... What drives the beauty is intelligence, no matter how hard I stare at each contour, cannot shake the underlying knowledge that they are purposeful. And that purpose is more than beauty. It's not a sculpture or a static display, it's the closest to a living creature we can create by purposeful design. To know that engineering and intelligence can flow so naturally into something so beautiful, it makes you wonder if engineering and art are as disconnected as the modern world says. The earliest masters, were masters of both genres.
extra cool stuff! they made a toy of this one back in the old days. it's about 15 inches long. any decent example goes for about $600.00 on up
Are you sure about that? There were 4 of the 'Jocko liners' built. One very much like image 20 came to grief at the hands of Norm Longfield here in Australia in the 90s. The Moonliner is still out there, though the Allison V12 is gone from it (not sure whats in it now) the car still wears the same paint. Jocko Johnson is a legend! Wonder if 'triple nickel' will ever get built? Doc.
I don't know about you, but I think about what makes my eye happy first. Everything else has to fall into place around it. Those types of shots always make me happy though.
That would be Henry Seagraves 'Golden Arrow', held the outright LSR in 1929 at 231.446, run on Daytona beach. Doc.
Thanks for the great pictures - good variety in the shape/form solutions different people have used to try and achieve similar goals. My view has always been that vehicles, (as well as planes, boats, etc.) which are thought of as beautiful are most often those which achieve harmony in art and engineering, and meet or exceed their intended objectives. Not always the case no doubt but, I think my favorites would fit that discription.
Not sure at all. I know none of the history and had no idea there were four of them. Just saw the obvious similarity of the shape. The whole thing was meant to be a question. (just put the mark in the wrong place)
I love this stuff, but the one bike pic seems out of place with all that history... Maybe something like the Moto Guzzi v8 with the dustbin fairing would have been more at home there... I don't know if it was ever run for a LSR but it sure as hell would have been neat to see. I know there is at least one in a private collection here in the states...
D'UH! No its obvious its a question, now I look again! I cant remember if it was a Jocko idea or he was commissioned by Dean Moon to design the car. The Moon car was never raced I believe and was only used for promotional purposes. It eve ended up green for a Kirin Metz beer ad once. I'm sure it was the second one that ended up out here, was totaled racing. (Why, for the love of god why race something so rare these days?) Doc
I am kind of embarrassed to admit it, but I have a hard time relating to "streamliners". While I can fully appreciate the beauty in their design and singularity of purpose, I feel like a little kid looking at a spaceship. It is either just a dream or at the very least something I will never fully comprehend. I went to Bonneville for the first time this year and when I looked at Poteet's streamliner and some of the others I felt totally overwhelmed. I do loooove to look at them though. Thank you for broadening the HAMB horizon once again, its why I love this place.
It never makes my eyes hurt to look at pics of the Arivett Bros. experimental top fueler from several years back. Their LSR cars looked good too.
I have always thought old sport racers, Can Am cars and 60's and older formula cars were the nicest road racing cars ever built. These land speed record cars are just a nice. Sports racing was one class of road racing I wanted to try but never got to, the class was empty by the time I got there. jim h
What's really amazing is to see some of these cars with the skins off. Seems like there is something packed into every available cubic inch of space inside the skins. Truly beautiful craftsmanship in most of them, engineered to the 'enth degree.
My Dad had a slot-car racing kit from the 1960s and I always loved that style of car. Not sure what it's called though, but from some searching it looks mostly like Le Mans style. 1960s Ferrari, Ford GT-40, things like that.
My dad came home from an antique auction with one of those toy's when I was in grade school. that was my first introduction to the golden arrow, he's still got it hanging up on the wall.
The British National Motor Museum Beaulieu has several of the old liners. Great to see in person. http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/
Along with the Golden Arrow are 2 of Sir Malcom Campbells Bluebirds. I had the opportunity to visit in '95 during their fall Autojumble while working at The Eastwood Company. The grounds, swap meet and museum was overwhelming. Also met the Lord of the Manor, a second generation car crazy guy.
The Jalopy Journal
