Traffic in London’s Pall Mall came to a halt yesterday when the “world’s greatest racing car” driven by rock legend Nick Mason from Pink Floyd called into the Royal Automobile Club.
The club welcomed the car after thousands of readers from Octane, one of Britain’s top motoring magazines, had voted for the car which had been nominated by Sir Stirling Moss.
Nick Mason said: “The accolade is well deserved. To many the 250F is the archetypal Grand Prix car and, apart from being one of the most beautiful, it is one of the most progressive and forgiving of racing cars to drive. Who can forget what must be the most iconic of motor racing images – Fangio in a full power-slide at the French Grand Prix in 1957, with battle scars evident on the nose?.” He added: “It was a great idea from Octane to get readers to vote for their favourite racing car and I am delighted that the 250F beat its rivals.”
Now 79, Sir Stirling Moss is one of the best-known racers of all- time. He won 194 of the 497 races he entered, including 16 Formula One Grand Prixs. Ben Cussons, Motoring Committee Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club, said: “We are delighted to have the winning car featured outside the Club. The Maserati 250F combines the very best in both automotive design and racing car engineering of the era. Its style and appeal are timeless.”
The editor of Octane, Robert Coucher, commented: “There has been a huge debate over the years as to which car could be described as the Greatest Racing Car but no-one has ever put it to the test. We decided that we would ask over 33,000 magazine readers and more than 100,000 users of the Octane website to vote.” He added: “From the 1950s heyday of Grand Prix racing, the precise, pretty 250F was the weapon of choice for Moss, Fangio, Bira, Salvadori and Hawthorn.”
© Source: automotoportal
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Nick Mason said: “The accolade is well deserved. To many the 250F is the archetypal Grand Prix car and, apart from being one of the most beautiful, it is one of the most progressive and forgiving of racing cars to drive. Who can forget what must be the most iconic of motor racing images – Fangio in a full power-slide at the French Grand Prix in 1957, with battle scars evident on the nose?.” He added: “It was a great idea from Octane to get readers to vote for their favourite racing car and I am delighted that the 250F beat its rivals.”
