From 1908 through 1911, Savannah, Georgia was the site of a series of international automobile races. By a fortunate play of circumstance, Frank Battey, president of the Savannah Automobile Club, was able to secure the privilege for the city after New York declared its unwillingness to host the events after multiple deaths and frustration due to heavily trafficked roads.
The races went by various names. There was the “International Light Car Race,” “Grand Prize Race of the Automobile Club of America,” “The Southern High-Powered Cup,” “The Vanderbilt Cup,” “The Savannah Challenge Cup,” “The Tiedeman Trophy,” “The Savannah Trophy Race,” and a couple of others. Awards were given in the form of gold or silver trophy cups worth anywhere from $2,000 - $5000.
The automobile was barely ten years old and racing, as a sport, even younger. The cars were primitive and dangerous yet colorful and exotic and the drivers were wild men. France, Italy, Germany, and the United States all sent teams to compete. Savannah prepared itself accordingly.
A track was created that looped through undeveloped portions on the south side of the city and dipped into parts of the historic district. The terrain must’ve been bizarre for people not familiar with the area. There were long stretches of track underneath oak tree tunnels with Spanish moss as well as stretches of palmetto trees, tall marsh grass, and tidal creeks. There were farms nearby selling fresh produce and also chickens, cattle, dogs, and other critters periodically crossing the road and causing wrecks. There were chain gangs cutting back the wilderness, clearing the track, and keeping it well-oiled; state militia armed with bayonets to maintain order; trains passing nearby carrying disbelieving visitors from Wall Street; buglers to warn drivers of approaching hairpin turns; flag-bearers to signal oncoming danger; medics to assist the injured; 30,000 spectators dressed in their best and worst and drinking whiskey at 50 cents a shot; and of course, there was the city of Savannah itself.
My idea is to recreate Savannah during this period as a comprehensive environment for a vintage racecar game. The city was at an interesting turning point. It was an idyllic, easy-going, rural, coastal town that had largely been forgotten since the Civil War except in regards to cotton. Savannah was one of two places in the country quoting international cotton prices, the other being New York. Most people still used horses and carriages to get around. Electricity was brand new. The automobile was the symbol of the impending industrial age of the 20th century. The mayor of nearby Thunderbolt(then Warsaw) actually made a public apology for having the audacity to purchase an automobile. But for the young, there was nothing so exciting as the thought of the new speeds that were possible behind the wheel of these mechanical chariots (top speed in 1911 – approx. 80 mph).
I want to emphasize the borderline between the old and the new, the rural and the cosmopolitan, the human and the machine and I think that cars racing would be an ideal way to journey through this type of space and time. I also am not aware of a racing video game that has taken up vintage automobiles.
