As the last of the great atmospherics, the Williams FW08 is associated with the daring, swashbuckling style of the great Keke Rosberg. The courageous Finn was the last man to win a World Championship with a normally-aspirated engine before the turbos became omnipotent, though during his championship year, he still had to fight tooth-and-nail to minimize the gap the more-powerful Renault and Ferrari turbos had over him.

Known for his penchant for lurid slides and opposite-lock overtakes, Rosberg perhaps embodied a mentality that this age of efficiency and neurotic fastidiousness could never truly understand. Rosberg, after all, chain smoked Rothmans before hopping into his Williams to set a blistering lap. Back in those days, bravado went a long way.

His car was powered by a 3.0-liter, Ford-Cosworth DFV — the popular engine which stood as the most successful powerplant in the 1970s. By the turn of the techno-oriented eighties, the DFV was beginning to look a little tired in comparison to the flame-spitting turbocharged monstrosities, but a playful chassis and slightly less weight aided the Williams FW08.

Rosberg was most comfortable with a handful of opposite lock.

The car in focus is an upgraded FW08C, which lacked the sliding skirts used on the FW08 from 1982. Now, with a flat bottom, the car behaved more progressively and more safely on the limit, albeit with slightly lower cornering speeds. Nevertheless, this suited Rosberg, whose sideways antics were complemented best by a conventional underbody that did not need to be going straight to generate grip.

With plenty of sideways flicks from the current owner, it seems the car is still being used as it was intended. With quick hands, our man cubobaker, a vintage racing enthusiast, seems to have found his inner Rosberg as he hops curbs and flirts with the limit at the daunting-but-picturesque Mont Tremblant. Now all he needs is a pack of Rothmans and a blonde, billowing mustache.

A bit of nicotine gave Rosberg a bit of extra gusto in the cockpit.