1962 Targa Florio

The 1962 Targa Florio, the 46th edition of the famous sports/GT race, ran on 72 kms of perilous public roads through Sicily on May 6.

In the preceding years, it seemed to be a battle between the Porsches and the Ferraris.

For 1962, Scuderia Ferrari raced their Dino 246 SP (No.152), driven by Willy Mairesse, Olivier Gendebien and Ricardo Rodriguez, and their Dino 196 SP (No.120), raced Giancarlo Baghetti and Lorenzo Bandini.


Ricardo Rodriguez confidently racing the Ferrari Dino 246 SP
Pen & ink and markers on 12"x 9" watercolour paper
© Paul Chenard 2016

Ferrari No.152 finished the 10 laps in first place, taking it in 7hrs2mins56secs, followed by No.120 12 minutes later in second place.

Scuderia Ferrari would have to wait till 1965 to get those winner’s laurels back.

Porsche 911 Carrera RSR

There were enough hints of the competition potential of the Porsche 911. Vic Elford had proven it by winning the 1968 Rallye de Monte Carlo in a Porsche 911T.

Vic Elford, supported by David Stone, 1968 Rallye Monte-Carlo.

More and more privateer racers were choosing the 911 as their weapon of choice for racing and Porsche was taking notice. They started developing more sporting versions such as the 911 RS, and were met with more successes.

 For 1973, they decided to use the knowledge acquired building their race cars and apply it to the 911.


Swiss race driver Herbert Müller, teamed up with Gijs van Lennep, won the 1973 Targa Florio driving a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR.

The result was the 911 Carrera RSR, which was met with great success in its first year.


1973 24 Hours of Daytona-winning Brumos Porsche 911 Carrera RSR of Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood.

The RSR came in 4th overall at the 24 heures du Mans, and was 1st overall in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa Florio and the 24 Hours of Daytona!

The huge success of the Carrera RSR pointed the way for Porsche, and lead to the development of the RSR Turbo, the 934, and the 935, all in turn successful racers.

911@50 – Porsche Carrera RSR

After the relative success of the Porsche 911 in competition, Porsche saw opportunity to bring it into higher levels of racing.

Starting with the 911S, the technicians developed a lightened car, and focused on increasing the capacity of the flat-six engine.

Out of these developments came the non-turbocharged Carrera RSR 2.8 created to compete in the 1973 GT Championship.

Right out of the box, the car showed huge potential, winning the 1973 Daytona 24 Hours at the hands of Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood.

This was followed up by a win of the 12 Hours of Sebring, driven again by Gregg and Haywood, joined also by Dave Helmick.



Pen&ink and markers on gray archival stock
© Paul Chenard

It famously won the last official Targa Florio, driven by Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep.

With the record of important wins and high placings of the Carrera RSR, Porsche took the GT Championship.

Porsche in Formula 1

When someone thinks of Formula 1, the Porsche name does not necessarily come to mind. That wasn’t always the case though.

In the late 1950’s, Porsche was finding success in the sports car and GT classes of racing, sometimes beating out the much more powerful teams. That was the case for the 1956 Targa Florio where the Porsche 550 of Umberto Maglioli and Huschke von Hanstein won the Sicilian race against the Maseratis and Ferraris.

In the late 1950’s, Porsche decided to try their hand in the 1500cc class F2 races with the Porsche 718. In 1961, the former F2 class became Formula 1, so Porsche went F1 racing with the 718.

It’s 1957 design showed itself as outdated, so Porsche produce a new car, the 804, for 1962.

Porsche 804 Formula 1, rear view, 1962
Pen&ink, paint markers and markers on gray archival paper
17"x 12" © Paul Chenard 2012
This original artwork is available, as are limited editions

American Dan Gurney brought Porsche their first and only Formula 1 win as a constructor, taking the French Grand Prix at at Rouen-Les-Essarts on July 8th. Gurney also finished 3rd at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring on August 5th.

With the upcoming Formula 1 rule changes, Porsche decided to withdraw from Grand Prix racing in 1964 to focus on sports and endurance racing.

In 1983, Porsche returned to Formula 1 as an engine developer through TAG for McLaren and helped them win the 1984 and 1985 Constructors Championships.

Peter Collins – A very respected racer

Englishman Peter Collins was a very well liked and respected Grand Prix and sports car driver.

Pen&ink and Prismacolor pencil on steel gray archival stock 

© Paul Chenard 2010

Born in 1931, he started racing Formula 3 Coopers in 1950, and quickly moved up to Formula 1 in 1952, driving for HWM. He also drove for BRM, Maserati and Vanwall.

Targa Florio - Mercedes 300 SLR

Pen&ink and Prismacolor pencil on steel gray archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2010

In 1955, He joined Sir Stirling Moss to win the prestigious, but grueling 277 mile (445 km) Sicilian Targa Florio open-road race, driving for Mercedes in a 300 SLR.

Scuderia Ferrari hired him in the 1956 season driving in F1 and his first win with the team came at the 1956 Belgium Grand Prix. Collins found more success during the season, and was well on his way to possibly becoming the first British F1 Champion.

At the 1956 Italian Grand Prix, the last race in the season, his teammate Juan Manuel Fangio’s Lancia-Ferrari broke down, so Collins selflessly handed over his car to Fangio, who also had a chance at the Championship. This enabled Fangio to finish the race in second place, giving him enough points at the end of the season to win his 4^th F1 World Drivers Championship.

This great act of generosity gained Collins immense respect in the eyes of fans, the motoring press, and Enzo Ferrari himself.

Mille Miglia - Ferrari 335S, pencil on light gray archival stock, © Paul Chenard 2009

In 1957, Mike Hawthorn joined him on the team, and they became fast friends. Collins married American actress and racer Louise King, proposing to her on their second meeting.

Mike Hawthorn, pen&ink and Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock © Paul Chenard 2009

Tragically, this well-liked driver was killed while racing a Ferrari 246 F1 at the 1958 German Grand on the Nürburgring. Hawthorn was so badly affected by the death of Collins, that he announced his retirement after taking the 1958 F1 World Drivers’ Championship.

Tazio Nuvolari - Targa Florio 1932

Pen & ink and Prismacolor pencils on Strathmore Steel Gray archival stock, image 10"x 22"
© Paul Chenard 2009

Tazio Nuvolari was a driver of great passion, and drove with his heart and his head.

For the 1932 Targa Florio, he drove an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza, prepared for him by the Alfa Romeo racing team manager Enzo Ferrari.

The diminutive Nuvolari wanted riding mechanic smaller than he, so enlisted a new and inexperienced Ferrari mechanic Paride Mambelli to ride with him. He told the young mechanic to duck down low for tricky turns. For the race, Nuvolari drove as Nuvolari always drove and they won.

After the race, Ferrari asked the young man how it went, and he told him that he stayed ducked down for the whole race and basically missed it.

Private collection
Limited editions are vailable.

Martini Racing Porsche Carrera RSR and Herbert Muller - 1974

This poster is part of a collection of racing automobilia gifted to me by my friend Peter Felder. It's autographed by his good friend Herbert Muller.

Herbert Müller - 1973 Targa Florio

Pen & ink and Prismacolor pencils on grey archival stock © Paul Chenard 2008

Swiss race driver Herbert Müller found some successes in long distance racing in the Ford GT40, the Ferrari 512 M, and a variety of Porsches.

In 1966, teamed up with Willy Mairesse in a Porsche 906 Carrera 6, he won the Targa Florio. He came in 2nd at Le Mans in both 1971 and 1974, and in 1973, teamed up with Gijs van Lennep, he again won the Targa Florio driving a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR.

Sadly, this popular racer lost his life in a fiery crash on the 24th of May, 1981 of Porsche 908 Spyder he was piloting at the 1000 km of the Nürburgring.

Limited edition of 25 (11.5" x 22"),
numbered and signed premium archival Giclee prints
$150 plus shipping/handling.