Obviously we love old racing footage here at BangShift.com and when Charles Wickam sent a note that said, “Watch this and you can thank me later…” it got my interest immediately. Well, I watched it and thanked him immediately and you’ll be thanking him too once you press play below. You are about to watch race footage from the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix that was captured for use in the epic film Grand Prix that highlighted the romantic and dangerous lives of F1 drivers of the era. The footage was great to start with but with the modern 1080p clarity enhancement, it is almost enough to being tears of joy. In fact, it’s just jaw dropping because of how crystal clear the cars, people, colors, and action appears.

The race call has a mix of the fictitious names from the movie and some real driver names as well. The scream of the engines is anything but fictitious and is symphonic in its fury and delivery. The video closes with a full on-car lap of the oldest Grand Prix course in the circus which is effectively identical as it was in 1929 when the first race was run there.

This is not some black and white movie colorized. No, this is a color movie that has been brought to modern standard and it is so interesting that it verges on the uncomfortable at times. Like you are literally looking into a portal to the past and you’re actually there. We’ve never seen a racing film so vibrant that it’s jarring.

Now we have.

Thanks again, Charles.

Press play below to see some of the most amazing 1960s F1 footage ever –