Hi Chris,
Thanks for your quick response to the new monocoque.
A reply to your comments on ‘war’- Iraq and monocoque!
History often repeats itself. In 1963 I was having great fun at Porsche and suddenly with little warning the world was faced with the so called ‘Bay of Pigs’, John F Kennedy, Kruschev, Cuba, missiles and all that. After work one evening I popped into my local little supermarket to find it three quarters empty. The Germans for whom the memories of the horrors of war were still fresh, panicked and started stock piling. I, the eternal optimist went home to my apartment, filled with feelings of doom and gloom. I was 6 000 miles from home and here I was staring WW111 in the face. Right till the 11th hour it was a case of brinkmanship between JFK and Kruschev and in the end the Russian backed down. It’s amazing how quickly the issue blew over and how soon it was forgotten.
The situation in now virtually identical with George Bush confronting Saddam Hussein. Right now, as in 1963, things look ugly but I’m putting my money on Hussein backing off and a negotiated settlement being found. If not one helluva lot of innocent people are going to get killed or injured. We’ve been through that crap in South Africa. It’s all so unnecessary particularly now that we’re supposed to live in global village. Remember 1963 and 2003.
With regard to a monocoque war, I sincerely hope not. Not any ‘war’ at all between GT40 replica constructors.
When I sold my shares in CAV I agreed to a restraint of trade on the GT40 and any comments or postings on GT40s have been and will be done in journalistic mode. I’ve been a freelance journalist since the mid-1960s and am a member of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ). I’m therefore in a position to view anything with GT40s in an objective light and would in fact hope that those in the industry could even help one another. To give a case in point, CAV has had the BRM wheel made, not the more sophisticated split rim but the single cast version. Had I still been involved with the company and for example Roaring Forties wanted to buy the wheel I would gladly have supplied them, the so-called ‘opposition’.
Even when the new monocoque MK11 hits the US later this year there’ll be a niche market for all the companies. Some people will still buy CAVs from Bob Lacey and Gary Gibbs simply because they know them or like the CAV car, likewise Roaring Forties has a good reputation and will enjoy ongoing sales. Besides which there are those who prefer a MK1 to a MK11.
Peace and goodwill,
Andre40