Classic Racing Car Interiors & Cockpits | Kraaibeek Collector Edition
Explore the interiors and cockpits of legendary race cars through the photography of Peter Kraaibeek. This growing collection captures the driver’s view of historic and classic racing cars, from early Grand Prix machines and pre-war racers to iconic competition cars from later eras.
These photographs look beyond the familiar exterior of a race car to reveal the world inside the cockpit: steering wheels, dashboards, gauges, instruments, controls, seats and mechanical details that connect the driver directly with the machine. Each photograph offers a close look at the design, engineering and character of a particular racing car and its era.
The Kraaibeek Collector Edition brings together automotive photographs of remarkable race car interiors and cockpits, including Grand Prix cars, historic racing machines and other significant competition automobiles. Whether you are a classic car enthusiast, motorsport fan, racing historian, collector or admirer of automotive design, this collection offers a different perspective on racing history — from the driver’s seat.
Explore the individual photographs below to discover the cars, their cockpits and the stories behind these remarkable machines.
Featured automobiles include historic Grand Prix and racing cars from manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo, Auto Union, Bugatti, Maserati and Maybach, with additional classic racing cars to be added to the collection.
Kraaibeek Collector Edition
1920 Maybach Spezialrennwagen – Dashboard
A Glimpse into the Cockpit of an Early German Racing Machine
The 1920 Maybach Spezialrennwagen provides a fascinating glimpse into the engineering philosophy of early German racing automobiles.
This photograph focuses on its remarkable dashboard and driver’s environment, with a large wooden steering wheel surrounded by an array of period instruments and mechanical controls.
The combination of warm wood, brass-colored details, aged metal and ivory bodywork gives the photograph a distinctly historical character. It is an intimate view of a racing machine from an era when the driver was surrounded by mechanical instruments and directly connected to the machinery.
Kraaibeek Collector Edition No. 003.
1925 Alfa Romeo P2 Gran Premio – Interior
Inside a Pioneer of Grand Prix Racing
The 1925 Alfa Romeo P2 represents the pioneering spirit of Grand Prix racing. This photograph takes the viewer directly into its cockpit, where a large wooden steering wheel dominates the driver’s position alongside period gauges and exposed mechanical controls.
The combination of Alfa Romeo’s racing-red bodywork, warm wood, aged metal and functional instrumentation provides a fascinating glimpse into the uncompromising environment of early Grand Prix competition.
Rather than viewing a historic racing car as a polished museum object, this photograph reveals the machine from the driver’s perspective.
1927 Bugatti Type 35 Racing Car Interior – Classic Grand Prix Dashboard and Cockpit
Inside an Icon of Grand Prix Racing
Few racing cars are as instantly recognizable as the Bugatti Type 35. Introduced in 1924, the Type 35 became a defining machine of the golden age of Grand Prix and road racing. Its lightweight construction, distinctive engineering and exceptional competition record established its place in motorsport history.
This photograph takes a different look at the legendary Bugatti. Rather than focusing on its famous horseshoe radiator and elegant exterior, it places the viewer inside the driver’s cockpit.
The large wooden steering wheel, period gauges, blue bodywork and exposed mechanical controls reveal the environment in which the driver experienced the car. There is remarkably little separating the driver from the machinery — a striking contrast to the sophisticated cockpits of modern racing cars.
Kraaibeek Collector Edition No. 004.
1936 Maserati V8RI
Inside a Rare Italian Racing Machine
The 1936 Maserati V8RI is an exceptionally rare racing automobile, with only four examples built. This photograph reveals its distinctive driver’s cockpit, including the black steering wheel, period instrumentation, metal dashboard and vivid turquoise-blue bodywork.
It offers a very different perspective on this historic machine – focusing not on its exterior appearance, but on the environment surrounding the driver.
1939 Auto Union Type D – Grand Prix Cockpit
Inside a Silver Arrow Grand Prix Racing Car
The Auto Union Type D was one of the extraordinary racing machines of the final years of the pre-war Grand Prix era. Developed for the 3-liter regulations introduced in 1938, it combined a supercharged V12 engine with the radical rear-engine architecture that distinguished Auto Union’s Grand Prix cars.
This photograph takes you inside the cockpit of the 1939 Type D, away from the spectacular streamlined bodywork and into the driver’s working environment.
The large steering wheel, vintage instruments, mechanical controls and exposed components reveal just how different a Grand Prix cockpit looked before the development of today’s highly sophisticated racing machines.
The 1939 version with twin superchargers produced 485 hp and reached approximately 330 km/h. Auto Union’s Type D also achieved major Grand Prix victories in 1939, including the French and Yugoslavian Grands Prix.
Looking at this cockpit, it is easy to appreciate how directly the driver was connected to the machinery. There was no modern protective cockpit, no digital instrumentation and no electronic interface—just the driver, the controls and an extraordinary piece of mechanical engineering.
Kraaibeek Collector Edition No. 005