Video Inspiration

By the early 1960s, the horsepower wars were in full swing among American automakers. As we discussed earlier this week, Ford’s FE big-block V8 was evolving, Pontiac’s Super Duty 421 was tearing up the strip, and Chrysler’s “Max Wedge” 413 was on the horizon. The 409, famously enshrined in song, was Chevrolet’s ace from 1961 to 1965, when it was phased out by the mighty 3-9-6 porcupine-headed Mark IV V8.

The Isle of Man, home of the world’s wildest motorcycle race, welcomed road racing cars to the Snaefell Mountain Course for the Merlin Manx Classic starting in 1989. This clip hails from the 1992 running, and highlights a DB4GT Zagato driven by the late gentleman racer Nick Cussons. This particular Zagato—famously known as 2 VEV—lived a short-yet-dramatic early racing career; initially raced by the legendary Jim Clark, it was also one of three cars rebuilt to lighter DP209 specification following the first of its three lifetime crashes. Fortunately, it was fixed up each time and continued to deliver the drama: