Twos that looks like Nines.... why?

[kiseca]

I was admiring @SteveAUS 's superb build of an MFH Ferrari 250 GTO here..

 

 

...and it reignited something that I have seen often over the years that has always confused me. Older racing cars sometimes had twos in their racing number that were painted to look like a 9 with a foot, as on the bonnet and boot of this GTO. Why did they paint the twos like this? I've tried googling it but I can't even get google to understand what I'm asking, so I've failed there.

 

Does anyone on here know?

 

[keefr22]

Not a clue, but it's something I've also wondered about too - often thought it must have sometimes been difficult for the timekeepers to make out what car it was! Only thing I've thought was whether it was a European thing, like a 7 with a line through it?

 

Keith   

[kiseca]

4 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

Not a clue, but it's something I've also wondered about too - often thought it must have sometimes been difficult for the timekeepers to make out what car it was! Only thing I've thought was whether it was a European thing, like a 7 with a line through it?

 

Keith   

 

That's an interesting point. It could just be how a 2 was written in some countries.

 

Either way, a new question comes up.. this GTO has 2s on the door in a style familiar to today's eyes. So why the mixed styles? I also think this GTO is the first time I have seen both styles of 2 used together on a single car.

[Quimp Slattery]

I think it’s a styled version of the Kabel typeface. 
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabel_(typeface)

[Bozothenutter]

Looks more like the 2's were made up from a 9 and a 5, not unheard of with racing cars when you don't have the right sticker/decal/stencil.

[kiseca]

3 hours ago, Quimp Slattery said:

I think it’s a styled version of the Kabel typeface. 
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabel_(typeface)

 

That makes a lot of sense and the 2 looks about right there too, thanks! 

 

 

1 hour ago, Bozothenutter said:

Looks more like the 2's were made up from a 9 and a 5, not unheard of with racing cars when you don't have the right sticker/decal/stencil.

 

I thought that too at first, but it just kept popping up. It's only anecdotal observations, but I got the feeling that too many cars that used to have a number 9 that changed to number 2 have turned up for it to be coincidence. It certainly looks like a 9 changed to a 2 but if that's what it is, it pops up more often than I'd expect it to.

 

Of course I could keep seeing the same handful of photos over and over again, or it might feel like a lot to me but actually I've only seen 5 or 6. I haven't been counting so, it's easy to pick up a false impression.

[Quimp Slattery]

5 hours ago, kiseca said:

Either way, a new question comes up.. this GTO has 2s on the door in a style familiar to today's eyes. So why the mixed styles? I also think this GTO is the first time I have seen both styles of 2 used together on a single car.

Perhaps the doors were changed last minute due to some fault with the locks and there were no more Kabel numbers? Pure speculation of course, I know nothing. 

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, Bozothenutter said:

Looks more like the 2's were made up from a 9 and a 5, not unheard of with racing cars when you don't have the right sticker/decal/stencil.

 

Certainly common in club events (use of insulation tape to make up numbers even more common!) but I'd have thought professional teams would be better prepared - but then we are talking about Ferrari in this case....!! 🤣

 

Keith

[tangerine_sedge]

They appear on several cars that raced at Le Man over the years, I think it's just a stylistic thing.  I vaguely remember reading about it in a Le Mans book, but can't quite remember.

[kiseca]

45 minutes ago, Quimp Slattery said:

Perhaps the doors were changed last minute due to some fault with the locks and there were no more Kabel numbers? Pure speculation of course, I know nothing. 

 

That is a possibility 😄

[Quimp Slattery]

56 minutes ago, kiseca said:

That is a possibility

It’s a fact … that I know nothing. 😁