It was very sad to see that Niki Lauda passed away recently, with ongoing health issues related to his fiery crash at the Nurburgring in 1976, from the inhalation of toxic fumes from burning fiberglass. While that incident dominated the media coverage of his obituary, for me one of the key highlights of his career was his 1984 F1 Championship. He secured this title with just a few laps to spare, beating McLaren team mate Alain Prost by just half a point. A Niki cap and t shirt have been released and now available on the website.
Speaking of McLaren, founder Bruce passed away 49 years ago yesterday, victim of a loose wing on his Can-Am M8D while testing at the Goodwood circuit. I have designed a new t-shirt using the script found on the cars that he drove.
Thankfully very much alive, Fernando Alonso announced (or did he?) his retirement from Formula One and a special design is now available, reflecting the colours of the different F1 teams he drove for.
Italian Concepts
There was a period in the late 1960’s to 1970’s of very innovative car concept design. Perhaps it was the space age, or the creation of new materials or perhaps more that manufacturers were not driven by economic ideals like the large corporates are today.
I have released a new range that is inspired by several concept cars, and all of these concept cars feature on the t shirt sleeve. It was very hard to select which concepts to choose, with the Mercedes C111 and the Maserati Boomerang narrowly missing out.
What made the cut? The Alfa Romeo Carabo, 33 Cuneo, Navajo, Fiat Abarth Scorpione and the Lancia Sibio, the first shirt I have released in brown. While I wouldn’t say no to owning any of these cars, the Carabo would be the one I would say yes to the quickest.
I hope that everyone is doing ok with their health as we endure this period of lockdown.
In this newsletter we feature updated designs for Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and the Mclaren trio of Lauda, Senna and Prost.
