This, the engine in John Carroll's Marcos GT, which we featured in a recent blog, is pure artistry. At least I think it is and I suspect John does, too. But why, exactly, am I mesmirised by his little 1.6 liter Cosworth? Because it actually looks like an engine and also because, by contemporary standards, it is relatively simple in concept. In fact, if you look hard at the underhood photo, you'll note that everything is clear, clean, and accessible. Heck, you can even see some of the Marcos' plywood frame. Perhaps I'm more affected by such things because of my other job as an About.com test driver. Photographing the test vehicle's engine has always been part of the assignment but lately it's become a waste of time. Lift the hood and what you get is a stylised engine cover that blocks out everything except the essential fluid fillers. Gone are the days when one could appreciate the sculpturing of engine blocks or the artful shape of exhaust headers… when one could actually recognise the various mechanical and electrical elements. Nice work, John.
Kids nowadays probably don’t even know what a spark plug looks like, much less how putting half a California grapefruit on a flatehead Ford V8 fuel pump can cure vapor lock crossing the continental divide.and get you “over the hill” and back to the Oklahoma flatland.
September 14, 2007 @ 7:47 am