Bugatti in name only, the
EB110 had much more in common with the likes
of Ferrari and Lamborghini...
John Harvey as lead driver would take the GM
Sunraycer to victory in the worlds first cross-continental
solar power race, from Darwin to Adelaide... |
There wasn't much left of Bugatti following the German
occupation of World War II, and the marque faded into
obscurity. That was until 1987, when Italian tycoon
Romano Artioli purchased the Bugatti name and built
a modernised factory in Modena. Artioli’s masterpiece
EB110 was a V12 supercar beast, but owed much of it’s
inspiration to fellow Modena residents such as Ferrari,
Lamborghini, Maserati and De Tomaso, and only in name
was it a Bugatti.
It would prove elusive to even the
most well heeled of society. Unfortunately for Artioli
he found it difficult to sell the vehicles in a market
with too many competitors and too few millionaires.
The company was wound up in 1994 after only making 154
of the supercars - and it is reported that Michael Schumaker
is the owner of one!
1987 would see GM's "SunRaycer" take
out the world's first cross-continental solar race,
run from Darwin to Adelaide. The event was a triumph
in marketing and technological terms with GMH making
a significant contribution to the SunRayeer's success.
Racing champion John Harvey was the lead driver.
That year there was much controversy at Mount
Panorama. Although Peter Brock would cross the finishing
line 3rd, he would be declared the winner after the
Ford "Texaco" Cosworth Sierra's were disqualified.
This would be Brock's 9th, and last, win at the Mount.
1987 would also see the passing of
Professor Julius Sumner Miller. Born on May 17, 1909,
Sumner Miller quickly became known as a scientific
evangelist, popularizing a subject that had most
school children yawning with boredom. He had studied
under Albert
Einstein, then went on to work in various children’s
programs in the US and Canada, including a stint
with Disney Studio’s being cast as “Professor
Wonderful", something he quite literally was.
But
here in Australia he would become famous for his
catch cry, and show, “Why Is It So?” which
enjoyed an enormously long run on television, being
aired from 1963 to 1986. If you are a child of the
1960’s or 1970’s you will no doubt remember
with fondness his famous introduction, "Ladies
and gentlemen, boys and girls, my name is Julius
Sumner Miller, and physics is
my business."
During the 1980s Sumner
Miller appeared in a famous series of Australian television
commercials for Cadbury chocolate,
using his stock phrase "Why is it so?", demonstrating
a simple scientific principle, and describing how each
block of chocolate contained "a glass and a half
of full-cream dairy milk". Click
here to view
one of the many Cadbuy Dairy Milk Chocolate Ad's
This phrase became so
well known that it led to the slang "Cadbury",
used to refer to a person who gets drunk easily (i.e.
after drinking "a glass and a half" of beer).
The ads were sufficiently popular to be played for
some years after his death, and since he was demonstrating
real principles of physics (albeit briefly) they never
damaged his credibility. Unfortunately Miller died
on 14 April, 1987, of leukemia.
Australia, and the world, lost a wonderful man. 
Formula One Championship: Nelson Piquet (Brazil) / Williams-Honda
1987 Bathurst Winner: Peter Brock, David Parsons
& Peter McLeod / VL Commodore
NRL Grand Final: Manly-Warringah (18)
def. Canberra (8)
VFL/AFL Grand Final: Carlton (15.14.104) def.
Hawthorn (9.17.71)
Melbourne Cup: Kensei (L. Olsen)
Wimbledon Women: Martina Navratilova
d. S. Graf (7-5 6-3)
Wimbledon Men: Pat Cash d. I. Lendl
(7-6 6-2 7-5)
The Movies:
- Moonstruck
- Wall Street
- The Last Emperor
- Fatal Attraction
Academy Awards:
- Best Picture - The Last Emperor
- Best Actor - Michael Douglas (Wall Street)
- Best Actress - Cher (Moonstruck)
Gold Logie: Ray Martin (The Midday
Show, Nine)
The Charts:
- Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley
- La Bamba - Los Lobos
- Locomotion - Kylie Minogue
- Run To Paradise - Choir Boys
- Faith - George Michael
- Old Time Rock n' Roll - Bob Segar
- Electric Blue - Icehouse
- Slice Of Heaven - Dave Dobyn
- Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison
- Bad - Michael Jackson
Farewells:
- Andy Warhol (American Pop Artist)
- Rudolf Hess (Hitler's 2IC that tried to broker peace
with England)
- John Huston (Movie Director)
- James Baldwin (American writer)
- Julius Sumner Miller (Scientist with flair)
|
