CAN-AM

The mighty machines of the Can-Am Championship must surely be leading candidates for the title of 'most awesome racing cars ever built'...
Some forty years ago they put out over 1000 horsepower in their most-developed form and hit speeds of up to 220mph (354Km/h) despite aerodynamics that were experimental at best and highly dangerous at worst! They made the Grand Prix F1 cars of the day look tame by comparison.
And even today, the 'Can-Am thunder' still rumbles as huge crowds flock to historic race meetings wherever these incredible cars appear.
Porsche, McLaren, Lola and Shadow were the Championship-winning cars, with Chaparral, Bryant Ti22, March, BRM and Ferrari as the challengers. We focus in depth upon all of these as they rumble and roar around tracks like Laguna Seca with its legendary downhill 'corkscrew' turn. We even recall the days of the 'Interserie' - Europe's Can-Am equivalent - by filming at the Nürburgring round of the current Orwell Supersports Cup series for historic Can-Am cars.
In making this up-close examination of the mighty machines of the Can-Am, we use a great combination of modern action footage, rare archive film and almost 100 superb pictures from the best photographers of the day.
We hear reminiscences from the three Can-Am champions still with us - John Surtees, George Follmer and Jackie Oliver - as well as from Jim Hall - the designer of the incredible Chaparral 'fan car' - and its driver, Vic Elford.
In addition, Hurley Haywood tells us what it was like to wrestle with the mighty turbocharged Porsche 917/10 in the heat of Can-Am competition. He is one of the world's best-ever sports car drivers with three wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, five in the Daytona 24 Hours and two in the Sebring 12 Hours to his credit!
Finally, Peter Bryant, creator of the successful Bryant Ti22 and Shadow Mk2 cars, recalls what it was like trying to design a 220mph (354Km/h) racer without the aid of computers or wind tunnels!
Up until now the definitive documentary on the cars of the Can-Am has never been made. This is it!
Bonus features:
Peter Bryant, Can-Am Challenger - He was a self-taught designer responsible for two of the most successful Can-Am challengers. Here's the inside story by Peter Bryant.
Pete Lyons Looks Back - Acknowledged as the world's leading expert on the Can-Am series, Pete Lyons recalls some personal memories from the day.

Narrated by Sam Posey and Jim Hall. Re-live these exciting days of endurance sports car racing. Adventure, action, speed and ground shaking sounds covering 1966-1973 Canadian-American Challenge Cup. Experience the wildest ride of road racing, an evocative era of fierce race competition, world renowned innovation and intrigue. Heroic drivers from Formula One and around the world race the powerful GROUP 7 prototype sports cars on the daunting, beautiful road circuits of North America - Laguna Seca, Mosport Park, Road America, Watkins Glen, Riverside, and others. A road racing counterculture of pure evolution. Conceived in the USA and ratified by the FIA in Paris, the Group 7 Can-Am rule book had virtually no technical restrictions. Faster than Formula One, Indy and Le Mans race cars. Experience first hand the innovations, escalading speeds and the spectacle driving skills of McLaren, Hulme, Surtees, Donohue, Hall, Revson, Stewart, Gurney, and many other household racing names. Witness the powerful road racing machines of McLaren, Chaparral, Porsche, Ferrari, Shadow, Lola and others. The never seen before archive film footage includes how the Can-Am car sometimes took an unplanned airborne flight at 160 mph and Can-Am IN-CAR on-board archive film footage of Bruce McLaren and Mark Donahue.
The DVD Film is crafted exclusively from rare 1964 to 1973 archive color film and audio. Audio is digitally re-mastered 5.1 Surround Sound.
 

♦ Running Time	95 Minutes
♦ Picture	Color
♦ Sound	FANTASTIC
♦ Format	NTSC
♦ Region Code	0 All Regions
♦ Language	English
♦ Published	2008

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