Werner Bohrer still produces his amazing technical drawings that we have grown to love. Photo from www.powerslide-mag.de

We absolutely love the old drawings by masters like Werner Buhrer. We run across Buhrer’s 3D cut-away drawing frequently and it never fails, we fall in love with the art of automobiles all over again. We recently discovered one of Buhrer’s drawings that brought out our overpowering love of Chevrolet engines. 

Buhrer’s depiction of John Cannon’s Formula A Eagle-Gurney car owned by Malcolm Starr is still a very powerful piece of art. 

Buhrer’s detailed drawings are powerful reminders of our love for automobiles.

The car featured a 5-liter Traco Chevrolet engine that produced 460 horsepower in 1969. Utilizing the Delco transistor ignition system, this Lucas fuel injected beast started the season by winning the first race at Riverside International Raceway on April 20th. Cannon followed that win with two more during the season. On June 22nd Cannon won a 49-lap SCCA race at Sears Point International Raceway for the Continental 49er event, then took the checkered flag at Mosport Park in Ontario, Canada on August 23rd.

Cannon wins the first race of the year at Riverside International Raceway. Photo from www.autosport.com

Despite the awesome power that the car produced and the three-wins, Cannon finished the 13-race season tied for 4th place when he was unable to earn points in the most of the other races. Two-race winner Tony Adamowicz won the series with consistent finishes with four-race winner David Hobbs taking second. Both Adamowicz and Hobbs were using the Chevrolet engine as well.

Buhrer continues his mastery of the subject. Photo from www.powerslide-mag.de

Cannon, a former Royal Air Force Pilot, found consistency the following season to win the Formula 5000 series Championship. He went on to race in many other series and events. After retiring, Cannon continued in motorsports, even acting as the race engineer for A.J. Allmendinger during the 2006 Champ Car World Series.

Always active, even at the age of 66, John Cannon died as the result of the crash of an experimental aircraft. His greatest racing achievements as a driver were in the 1969 and 1970 Formula 5000 seasons.

Werner Buhrer

Buhrer spent many years as a contributor to car magazines like Road & Track and many others, where the Swiss born technical artist specialized in style analysis of cars. Having studied industrial design in Germany, Buhrer worked in many different fields where his industrial drawings have been held as standards to which others are measured by.

His fascination with all things automotive have continued to be a central theme in his life and he still contributes to magazines to this day.