When Playboys Ruled The World is a documentary about Barry Sheene and James Hunt – two of the most iconic racers of the ’70s and ’80s. Hunt was a Formula 1 driver and Barry Sheene was a grand prix motorcycle racer, both men became famous for their antics both on and off the asphalt with James Hunt’s name now being almost synonymous with the concept of a playboy.
In spite of (or perhaps because of) the two men’s extra curricular activities they were both staggeringly talented racers, both men would win world championships – which was wildly irritating to their slightly more serious peers.
The full documentary runs at about an hour long, it’s a fantastic bit of filmmaking and it’s a must watch for anyone interested in vintage motor racing.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
This is the Ken Miles Superformance Ford GT40 from the film Ford v Ferrari, it was driven by Christian Bale during filming, alongside the other Superformance Ford GT40 that was painted to look like the Bruce McLaren/Chris Amon car. The Superformance Ford GT40 Before we go any further we should note that the GT40s built by…
The Alpha One GTO is one of the better-known Ferrari 250 GTO replicas, they were based on the Datsun Z-car platform, typically the 240Z and 260Z, with some using the later 280Z. Many owners ordered their cars as turn key vehicles from Joe Alphabet’s company which allowed them to specify a wide variety of options…
This is the DeLorean documentary by Pennebaker Hegedus Films, it’s a full-length film about the DeLorean Motor Corporation, the DMC-12, John DeLorean, and the trials and tribulations that the company confronted before the launch of their iconic car. Filmmakers Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker are icons of the direct cinema approach to filmmaking, they typically…
We still frequently use the term horsepower as the primary indicator of how much power an engine produces, but very few can explain what it actually means and how it was originally calculated. This concise 9 minute short film explains the origins of the term, how it was calculated by James Watt, and why it…
The Indian 8-Valve board track racer was one of the first factory built superbikes, it was released in 1911 with an advanced-for-the-era V-twin featuring four overhead valves per cylinder, powering a clutch-gear-chain drive system similar to that used on almost all modern motorcycles. The Indian 8-Valve Board Track Racer The 8-valve V-twin was developed by…
The Meyers Manx dune buggy driven by Steve McQueen in the Thomas Crown Affair is undeniably one of the most famous screen cars of its era. It’s due to come up for open auction with Bonhams in a few weeks time and it’s almost certainly going to become the most valuable Meyers Manx beach buggy…
