Ferrari 156 “Sharknose” 50th Anniversary

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ferrari's first rear-engined Formula 1 car, the famous 156 “Sharknose”. It was so named because of the distinctive air intake “nostrils” on either side of the front of the racer.

Battle Plans 1961 Black and white pen&ink (14"x 11), digitally painted, available as a limited edition.

© Paul Chenard 2010

The 156 was designed by Carlo Chiti, and was powered by a 1,476 cc V6 “Dino” engine.

The car was driven to success by such notable drivers as Phil Hill, Wolfgang von Trips, Richie Ginther, Giancarlo Baghetti, Ricardo Rodríguez, Lorenzo Bandini, Willy Mairesse and John Surtees.

Belgian Grand Prix 1961 - "Sharknoses" Limited edition of 50 – 14.5”x 11” (36.8 cm x 27.9 cm) – $150 USD plus S/H

American Phil Hill won the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship driving the “Sharknose”, with a win at the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix, and podium finishes in Monaco, Nederlands, Great Britain and Germany.

Black & white pen&ink (22"x 17), digitally painted, available as a limited edition signed by Phil Hill.

© Paul Chenard 2007

Sadly, all the “Sharknose” F1 Ferraris were scrapped after the 1963 season, but a few replicas have since been constructed.

British Grand Prix 1955

1955 was a very big year for racer Sir Stirling Moss.

The Mercedes-Benz racing team had recruited him because of his strong placings in previous years in all classes of racing cars.

That year, he had won the grueling Targa Florio sports car race with teammate Peter Collins, and the very long and dangerous Mille Miglia with navigator/journalist Denis Jenkinson.

He was also driving the Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 cars in which he won his first Grand Prix race, the British GP at Aintree on July 16^th, ahead of his illustrious teammate Juan Manuel Fangio.

He would finish in second place in the season, and also in the following three seasons.

The above new 22”x 7” limited edition archival Giclee print is available to celebrate Sir Moss’ first Formula 1 win; you can order it by emailing me at paul.chenard@hotmail.com

Sir Jack Brabham - 50th Anniversary

Recently, I have been corresponding with Sir Jack Brabham, who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his first of three F1 Driver's Championship wins. He suffers from kidney failure and is on dialysis; he lends his image and name to Australian Kidney Foundation, now Kidney Health Australia (KHA), for their fund-raising.

In his honour, I did a portrait featuring his wins. Though I will retain the image copyright world-wide, I decided to lend it, with unrestricted usage, to KHA for all and any of their fund-raising within Australia.





Pen & ink, and Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2009

Available as a limited edition of 50 Giclee prints.

I emailed Sir Brabham for his approval of this idea, and at the same time, requested a quote related to the image that I could add directly to the piece.

A week and a half ago, he has emailed back his approval, copying KHA at the same time; he also gave me the requested quote!

KHA even emailed me their thanks, and the pleasure at being able to use the artwork. This is huge honour for me, with Sir Brabham's endorsement of my piece as a representative image for fund-raising.

Gilles Villeneuve — Jan. 18, 1950-May 8, 1982

Sadly, it was 27 years ago today that we lost Gilles Villeneuve.

He still very much in our hearts ...

Mike Hawthorn 1929-1959

Pen & ink with watercolour and Prismacolor pencils on white archival Strathmore stock
© Paul Chenard 2009

John Michael “Mike” Hawthorn was a well-liked British racecar driver from Farnham. He was popular, and fun-loving, almost always sporting his trademark bowtie, even when racing.

His father Leslie owned own and operated the Tourist Trophy Garage and Mike spent most of his spare time working in his father’s garage, located close to the Brooklands race track.

He started racing motorcycles with some success, and in 1950, raced automobiles, also with success. In 1951, he graduated to a Formula 2 Cooper-Bristol that his father bought.

His racing prowess caught the attention of Jaguar’s Lofty England and Enzo Ferrari. Hawthorn was offered a contract with Ferrari and signed up for 1953.

His first F1 win came in the 1953 French Grand Prix at Reims, driving a Ferrari 500. Though less consistent and successful than others, he won 4 pole positions and 3 Grand Prix races in 45 starts. In 1958, he won only one race, but place 2nd in five races, allowing him to take the Formula 1 Driver’s Championship.

After winning, Hawthorn immediately announced his retirement from Formula 1 to pursue his business interests. Sadly, less than a year later, he was killed in an automobile accident.

Note: The sketch above is available as a 11"x 14.5" limited edition of 50 signed/numbered archival Giclee print for $150 USD each plus shipping/handling.

Super Swede Ronnie Peterson - Lotus 72E - 1973 Italian Grand Prix, Monza

Watercolour pencils and marker of archival stock, 12"x 6"
© Paul Chenard 2009

This illustration is available for sale.

Swedish Formula 1 driver Ronnie Peterson was one of the few in Formula 1 who was liked and appreciated by all those who met him.

He was quiet, shy and an all-round nice guy. But once in a race car, he drove flat-out, pushing his cars often past their limit.

He started successfully in karts, rose through F3, and F2, and quickly caught the notice of the Formula 1 teams.

He started with March, moved to Lotus, March again, then Tyrrell, than finally back to Lotus. He had a total of 10 Grand Prix wins in eight years, but his life came to an abrupt and sad end in a crash while driving a Lotus 78 in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix.

The impact of the death of this much-loved driver can be seen even today, with countless of tributes set up on websites, and a museum dedicated in his memory in Örebro, Sweden.

Vintage Racing Automobilia

When my son Laurent and I were at the 2007 Mosport Vintage Racing Festival, we met a lot of great people. One of these was Peter Felder from Ontario. And since we’ve met, we have become good friends.



McLaren Racing Corporate Brochure 1971

Peter used to be part of some major racing teams from the 60’s through to the 80’s, and along the way, accumulated a lot of “stuff”.


Marlboro Racing BRM Formula 1 1973 Stickers

A few months ago, Peter was clearing out his attic, and asked me if I was interested in having some of this “stuff”. Of course, vintage racing addict that I am, I said yes.


Various Martini Racing Stickers 1970's

Just before Christmas, a large box arrived, and when I opened it, I was completely shocked. Peter had generously filled it to the brim with amazing items: photos, stickers, tags, patches, posters, some of which were autographed, race programs, corporate brochures, and press kits, all covering Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 5000, Can Am, Trans Am and Sports GT racing, from Watkins Glen to Hockenheim.

Over the next few months, I will be posting some of these items, and adding them to my vintage racing automobilia collection site.

Enjoy!

Phil Hill in winning Ferraris - 4 Print Series

1 Ferrari 750 Monza Pebble Beach 1955

2 Ferrari 250 TR Le Mans 1958

3 Ferrari 246 F1 Monza 1960

4 Ferrari 156 F1 Monza 1961

Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted © Paul Chenard 2006

This series highlights Phil Hill's great successes in Ferraris, culminating with his 1961 World Championship win. This is the only series ever created on Phil Hill.

Each illustration is available as a limited edition of 250 signed and numbered 22" x 17" premium archival Giclee prints.

Mr Hill signed the first 25 of each of the 4 illustrations, which are available directly through me.

Classic & Sports Car features my racing automobilia collection

The December issue of Classic & Sports Car carries a nice feature on my vintage racing automobilia collection.

It's a great honour to be presented in such a fine publication; it's one of my favorites, and I keep every issue as a reference piece. The Editor-in-Chief Mick Walsh did a wonderful job of showing the enthusiam I have for my collection.

He also mentioned doing a piece on my racing history artwork in the spring; I'm very much looking forward to that interview.

Distinct Gift Idea – 1950’s Grand Prix Engines

Maserati 250F - Italy
© Paul Chenard 2008

Mercedes W196 - Germany
© Paul Chenard 2008

Talbot-Lago T26C - France
© Paul Chenard 2008

Vanwall 2.5L - England
© Paul Chenard 2008

Pencil and Prismacolor pencil on coloured paper 12"x9"

Grand Prix race cars of the 1950’s were interesting pieces of rolling engineering.

The French used the best bits of straightforward, tried and true racing technology for their racers, somewhat short of funding. The Germans developed highly engineered and tested machines; the British experimented with new technology and approaches, but were not always fully sorted. And the Italians pushed old technology to the full extent of its development, and always with flair.

National pride drove them all to push for the utmost in their machines, and they all carried their Nation’s colours into the melee; the Italian red, the British green, the French blue and the German silver.

Automobiliart.com offers a series of illustrations of 50’s Grand Prix Racing engines in International Racing Colours. There is the 1957 Maserati 250F in red, the 1956 Mercedes W196 in gray/silver, the 1950 Talbot-Lago T26C in blue and the 1957 Vanwall in green.

The series is available as limited edition premium archival Giclee prints, 14.5'x 11' (image size 12'x 9'), signed and numbered to a limit of 100 of each. The suggested retail price is $125 USD each plus shipping/handling, or all 4 for $445 USD plus shipping/handling.

Phil Hill - Ferrari 246 F1 - Reims 1960

Pen & ink on white archival stock, digitally coloured, 9"x 6" © Paul Chenard 2006

Phil Hill started with Ferrari in 1956, he was driving sports cars, and quite successfully at that.

In 1959, he got his break in F1. In 1960, he won his first Formula 1 race, driving the 246 F1 at Monza. It happened to be the last front-engined F1 Ferrari win, too.

Of course, in 1961, he became Formula 1 World Driver Champion in a Ferrari 156 F1 "Sharknose".

A brilliant man, and brilliant racer.

Racing History - My Automobilia Collection

Chime tin wind-up racer (Canada) 1930's

I've been slowly collecting my vintage racing automobilia since the late 1990's. Because I lack the funds to support it, I've picked up most of my large collection with a very small investment.



Spanish-language Lobby Card for "Road Racers" (Mexico) 1959

Though most of my collection comprises of vintage (and newer) toys, over the years I've tried to add some variety to it.

The collection includes toys, games, posters, advertisements, items, models, artwork, cards, limited editions, publications, and books.

Here is a small sampling of my collection. You can see more by going to my collection website at www.piczo.com/racecartoys

Enjoy!

Dinky #23C Mercedes Benz Racing Car (England) 1940-50's

Solido Catalogue (France) 1974


Le superchocolat Jacques "Le Monde des Autos" collector cards (Belgium) 1966

Technofix Rallye 66 Wind-up Racetrack (Germany) 1966

Gilles Villeneuve vs René Arnoux – Dijon 1979

Pen & ink with Prismacolor pencils 22"x 12"
© Paul Chenard 2008

This illustration is for sale; please contact me if you are interested.

The 1979 French Grand Prix had all the ingredients for public relations gold the Renault team.

Previous to the race, Renault had 5 weeks to fine tune and improve their French-designed turbo-charged cars. The cars were raced by 2 French drivers, Jean Pierre Jabouille and René Arnoux, fueled by French fuel (elf) and shod in French tires (Michelin).

The race was started and though Jabouille had to get by a very determined Villeneuve in Ferrari, he advanced easily into a lead that he would not relinquish.

Arnoux had only to do the same, and near the end of the race, he did. But because of a fuel pick-up problem, it was not as easy. The powers that be started popping corks for what was supposed to be a Renault sweep.

Of course, Villeneuve saw things differently. He noticed that Arnoux did not readily pull away, so saw that he had a slim but possible chance to fight for 2nd place, which is exactly what he did.

With worn out tires and a slight power deficit, Villeneuve proceed to regain the lead with a wreckless control that has become legend. He and Arnoux swapped leads a few times, bumping tires and moving on and off the track, with Villeneuve finally taking the flag for 2nd.

The media jumped on the story, almost forgetting who actually won. But Villeneuve exemplified the winning spirit.

Vanwall: The Seeds of an Industry

1/18 diecast Mettoy Vanwall made for Marks & Spencer (missing windshield, and possibly driver), England, circa 1959

The Vanwall was a British race car that got it's name from the combination of the team-owner Anthony (Tony) Vandervell’s name and that of his company's patented “Thinwall” bearings.

The first cars raced in 1954 with Peter Collins at the wheel, but without much success. By the end of 1955, Vandervell hired young Colin Chapman to redesign the chassis, with Frank Costin redesigning the body. The racer showed more potential through 1956, with a win at Silverstone in the hands of Sir Stirling Moss.

Frank Cooper Ltd. marmalade pot, England, 1959

Moss decided to join the team for 1957, along with Tony Brooks and Stewart Lewis-Evans, and as the season unfolded, the Vanwalls became faster and more reliable with wins at the British, Italian and Pescara Grand Prix.

In 1958, Vanwall won Grand Prix's in Holland, Portugal and Morocco (Moss) and in Belgium, Germany and Italy (Brooks), thus winning the Constructor's Championship.

After the death of Lewis-Evans in Morocco in 1958, the team continued half-heartedly until 1961 when it closed all together.


Corgi #150 Vanwall Formula 1 Grand Prix, England, 1957

The international motorsport industry developed from the seeds sown by companies like Vanwall, BRM, Lotus, Cosworth and many others in Britain is such that there are now as many as 4000 companies involved in motorsport manufacturing in the U.K.

In Formula 1, 7 teams competing in the 2008 season are based there: McLaren, Williams, Renault, Super Aguri, Red Bull Racing, Force India and Honda.

Pencil and Prismacolor pencil on coloured archival paper 12"x 9" © Paul Chenard 2008

Available as limited edition premium archival Giclee prints (part of a series), 14.5''x 11'' (image size 12''x 9''), signed and numbered to a limit of 125 of each. The suggested retail price is $100 CDN each plus shipping/handling, or all 4 from the series for $325 CDN plus shipping/handling.

Phil Hill 1927-2008: An American Hero

Working drawing for future serigraph limited edition, pencil on board © Paul Chenard 2007


Hand-drawn birthday card, pen and ink on card
© Paul Chenard 2007
Phil Hill Collection

I’m very sad to hear that Phil Hill, one of my great heroes, has passed away.

Here is a quote from the Race Legends website:
Hill had a varied racing career beginning in 1947 and stretching over 20 years. He was remarkable in winning both his first and last race outings. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times for the team of Enzo Ferrari, Sebring 12 Hours three times and a host of sports car, endurance and Formula One races. He was also the fastest man in an MG, setting a land-speed record for the British firm. Hill was a long-time contributing editor to Road & Track Magazine.

I actually never heard of him until I started reading his Salon features in Road & Track magazine. His articulate and retrospective analysis’s actually nurtured my curiosity in the history of motor sports, and pushed me to find out more, to read as much as I could on the subject.

That’s when I really learned of his amazing accomplishments in a great variety of racers, and his artistry in Ferraris. My research also showed me that no one had encapsulated his success for the Ferrari Team in art. This led me to create a series of illustrations on his wins with them.

Mr Hill not only chose to feature them on his website, but also agreed to sign 100 prints of the series. Keep in mind that this happened just over a year ago, so it was an incredibly difficult task for him. His signature was obviously effected by the Parkinsons, but he none-the-less pushed on and did the series.

His son Derek was kind enough to take some snapshots of his dad signing, and sent them out to me, and they are now my treasured keepsakes.

Godspeed, Phil Hill 1927-2008...

1 Ferrari 750 Monza Pebble Beach 1955

2 Ferrari 250 TR Le Mans 1958

3 Ferrari 246 F1 Monza 1960

4 Ferrari 156 F1 Monza 1961

Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted © Paul Chenard 2006

This series highlights Phil Hill's great success in Ferraris, culminating with his 1961 World Championship win.

* Note: At a request of Phil Hill's Family, all Phil Hill artworks are removed from his website until sometime in November, 2008.

Maserati 250F - A Masterpiece of Speed & Beauty

Polistil-Tonka 1/16 1980's (Italy), Matchbox Models of Yesteryear #Y10-4 1/36 1980's (England), Mercury #52 1/43 1950's (Italy), Solido Ré-edition 1990's (France)

If you ask knowledgeable Grand Prix (or general racing) historians what is the greatest race car of all time, 9 out of 10 would say the Maserati 250F.

Conceived with little funding, but much enthusiasm, dedication and know-how, the 250F was built along fairly conventional lines, but with an incredible visual aesthetic. The car looks fast just siting there, and with it's balanced light chassis and powerful inline 6-cylinder engine, it was!

It's first victory came in 1954 at Aintree in the capable hands of Sir Stirling Moss, and it's last major win came in the legendary 1957 German Grand Prix at Nürburgring in the hands of the Argentinean master Juan Manuel Fangio, giving him his last of five World Championship titles.

The image above includes the Maserati 250F diecasts in my collection. Below, I've included a few of sketches I did of Fangio driving the rolling masterpiece, the heart of the masterpiece, and a paper model I created.





Fangio at Nürburgring 1957, pencil on paper
© Paul Chenard 2006
Charles McCabe Collection


Fangio at Monaco 1957, pen & ink on paper © Paul Chenard 2006


Prismacolor and pencils on red archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2008

Paper model that I created using Adobe Illustrator on a Mac
© Paul Chenard 2001