1973 Paris Auto Show - Karmann Stand, ......and the Flag Cars Options

[wonkipop]

@JeffBowlsby

good thing i got my 914 out this morning on dawn patrol.
had a great drive down in the docklands wasteland with no nongs in SUVs blocking my various hooligan antics. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

nows its cold/raining this afternoon but i am still in 914 mood/mode.

dragged out the Karmann Stand @ Paris Auto Show 1973 photos i dug up.
i discovered them on a blog about historic car shows.
they were captioned as from the Paris Auto show 1973.

time to check veracity.
image 1 i found.



compare and contrast with image from ludwigson on your can am website (from excellence). checks out. see notes on photos. its from paris 1973 if K L is to be trusted. and normally he can be.



these appear to be the two cars you term Can Am prototype 2 and 3.

from your website.


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which led me to the mystery car on the stand you term protogype 4
and which ludwigson described.



and this other image i dug up from the blog.
its definitely another 914 that was on the stand at the Paris Auto Show.
it was captioned as but additionally the carpet floor tiles on the stand are a match for photo of other 2 cars on stand as are general decor wall colors and graphic thematic.



i conclude two possibilities.
1). this is the image of the third car you seek and K L was mistaken. it did not have drop out side stripes as per porsche turbo on porsche stand. instead it had the earlier form of side stripes. it was not an USA model.
or
2) there was a 4th car on the stand and this is it and the drop out side stripes remains still to be found. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)


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additional trivia.

this ones been of interest to me for a while.
the five cars that come under the banner of prototype 1 in your website.
frankfurt auto show cars. the 5 cars with flag themes to do with Can Am.

here is your explanation of the flags and what they represent.




a better clearer picture of the 5 cars in question.




ok i can't see anything french in these graphics or canadian.
i've looked hard.
all that is there is USA, UK and Germany.
no pausible symbols relating to french or canadians.

but i think i cracked it.
there are 5 cars because porsche participated in the CAN AM series for 5 seasons.
1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973.
(winning the series in 72 and 73).
they did not enter in 66, 67 , 68.

and the teams that fielded porsche cars during those five years were from 3 countries.
UK, Germany and USA.

Penske (USA) , J.W.A. (UK) , A G Dean (UK) , Martini Racing (Germany), Porsche-Audi North America. (USA).

its not about the drivers. they came from backgrounds including canada, mexico, brazil and switzerland as well as UK, USA. its just the teams.
thats my theory anyway.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

i wouldn't mind betting there is very specific intentions in the livery that relates each of the 5 cars specifically to each of the teams. but i don't know enough about the particulars of the teams that would be the clue. the english ones are very interesting.
i can see why you thought the one with rondels might have been french. but the french rondel (air force) is a blue dot and red outer ring. thats the UK rondel from the royal air force. its a pointed reference. either J W automotive (john wyer) or A.G. Dean had something to do with the Royal Air Force. same goes for the USA team cars. one of them is very flamboyant.

whoever designed these liveries was really having fun. i think they are very literate as they say in art criticism circles.

[wonkipop]

@JeffBowlsby

last part of the stoopid story concerning idiotic interest in drop out graphics.

33 years ago (1991 - my maths is right?) my dopey dunpy 1.8 with porsche drop out graphic side stripe that everyone laughed at as "go fast stripes" (lose 'em mate along with the engine) and the "stinky" brown interior - oh get rid of that 70s grotesque shite! - was parked in a back lane in south melbourne next to the paris show car turbo.

a bloke called g s had dropped around to see his mate brian c who owned the crayfords green car and also the hamiltons 6. we were standing drinking beers perving at b's freshly acquired 6. i was the youngen' around these two old dudes who knew everything porsche and were real sh$t stirrers as we say in north antarctica.

i still remember b saying to me - mike thats the paris show car turbo.
and i said - what paris show car? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

these guys were loose. and at the same time tight.
check it out.
the paris show car had the same check interior fabric "update" that b c re-upholstered his crayfords 914 2.0 with after the cord seats wore out? probably sourced off his mate the fabrics guy who got material by the roll from india. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) i seem to remember this fabric!!

b c crayfords 2.0



the paris show car turbo after G C converted it to right hand drive and put it on the road after a hamilton had finished racing it.



same fabric - (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) .
these guys were a laugh.

here is the story.

https://supercarnostalgia.com/blog/porsche-...is-911-330-0157

if only i had known about negative side stripes 33 years ago.
the little 914 that G S had a good laugh at but still said to me "good on you" was pretty much one of the earliest in the showroom to cop the stripes - and was sitting next to the first one to get them - little did i know (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . i seem to remember at the time it had no such stripes still on it from paris. i think the exterior restoration came later. back then it was just a dangerously fast car.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

i had to get to the end of the whole thing and work it out mr b.




left hand drive no problem.
we "butcher" them (to the highest standards) despite dr. 914's frowning. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)
paris show cars and all.