Thursday 26 September 2013

A Unipower is a sexy beast

Moss and Mini derivatives make a great combination (click here for Sir Stirling with an Ogle SX1000), so here's another. It shows the racing driver at the London Racing Car Show in 1967 where he poses on the Universal Power Drives stand. Perhaps attracted by that low slung Unipower GT, but more likely by the girl draped over it's bonnet. I found another shot of her on that car and wondered who she is? It turns out to be Monika Dietrich - a model and actress in a few minor roles in the late 1960s. When I typed in her name in the search machine I found an article in a sensational 1968 paper called 'Midnight' in which she stated: “I love being naked and having men hunger over my body,” and “There’s only one thing I like more than exhibiting myself, and that’s sharing myself.” It doesn't seem to have done any good to her career as she disppeared off the radar soon after. Fortunately the pictures survive.

Glamour and glitz. But Moss just wanted to hand over his phone number
Picture courtesy Auto Italiana
Monika Dietrich certainly managed to spice up the Unipower stand in 1967
Picture Jeroen Booij archive
Monika knew how to appetite photographers - and journalists
Picture courtesy Midnight

2 comments:

  1. In the programme for the show it describes how UPD are displaying a race car and a road car. The road car is a red one and the lightweight car I presume is the white one pictured with the knock on Minilites. A very similar white car was pictured with Mabbs at Combe with different silver Minilites and is often described as the Janspeed racer but I'm not so sure because the Janspeed car is well documented as having the wide body ! More to find out on that. Pete

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  2. Just to confirm this white competition car at the '67 Racing Car Show and the Janspeed race car are indeed one and the same. It was bought by Jan in May, raced just like this for four races with 1275 S engine including Brands, Castle Combe and Jarama until August when Janspeed had it sent to the MIRA wind tunnel for development, added a front air dam, rear air scoops, wheel arch extensions to the front, widened the rear body, painted it Tartan Red and fitted some JAP Magna wheels.
    Pete

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