In 1963, when the visionary Ferruccio Lamborghini laid the foundation of his iconic company, he took a decisive stand – his automotive marvels would not be confined to a single paint finish. Instead, they would dazzle the world in myriad shades, designed to captivate diverse clientele and grant them the gift of uniqueness. The early Lamborghini 350 and 400 GT models exemplified this philosophy, boasting a selection of exquisite yet conventional color options, constrained by the prevailing trends of soft, pastel shades.

Miura

The color palate exploded with the Miura’s arrival in 1966. This model perfectly complemented bold hues that were in vogue as the jet set embraced vibrant tones featured in architectural magazines. The Miura attracted a breed of young, charismatic customers who defied conventional norms, leading lives of dynamism and ambition. They craved a supercar that mirrored their individuality, resulting in a profusion of greens, oranges, and yellows – bold and captivating. Even the legendary Twiggy, the epitome of 1960s fashion, flaunted her Miura S in lime green with orange racing stripes – a timeless combination now known as “Verde Scandal.” In the iconic movie “The Italian Job,” the Miura scaling the Great St Bernard Pass was painted orange, christened “Rosso Miura” (Miura Red). Furthermore, the Shah of Iran commissioned a rare Miura SVJ in the splendid “Bleu Ischia Metallizzato” (metallic blue) with opulent white leather interiors.

Countach

In 1971, the game-changing Countach emerged, introducing various color possibilities in true Lamborghini tradition. Despite the diverse offerings, many opted for bespoke paints, often in two-tone combinations. Canadian magnate Walter Wolf’s limited-edition LP 400 exemplified this trend – his first car donning a special Rosso (red) with black wheel arch extensions, gray rims, and mustard-hued interiors. In 1976, his second car showcased a breathtaking “Bleu Metallizzato” (metallic blue) accentuated with black wheel arch extensions, gold rims, and Senape interiors. This proclivity for vivid colors extended beyond supercars to the Espada, a family-oriented vehicle frequently ordered in striking hues like “Oro Metallizzato” (metallic gold). The Espada VIP limited series, in particular, became renowned for its captivating two-tone combinations, with orange and black being the most sought-after. Not even the unconventional LM 002, with its distinctive contours and proportions, was exempt from personalized color requests, like the unique “Verde Speciale” (special green), which, ironically, was a shade of blue.

With the advent of the Diablo, the early years saw a predominance of pastel hues, later transitioning to a plethora of metallic shades. The exquisite “Oro Elios” (gold) dazzled admirers, but it was the presentation of the Diablo SE 30 in 1993 that unveiled the captivating “Viola 30th” purple, initially crafted exclusively for this limited series. However, the overwhelming demand led to its integration into the paint range, etching it into Lamborghini lore forever – even inspiring the music video of Jamiroquai’s “Cosmic Girl.”

Murciélago

The Murciélago, making its grand entrance in 2001, brought with it a profusion of pearl finishes that artfully contrasted with carbon fiber. The captivating “Bianco Perla” (pearl white) emerged as a favored choice, revered for its allure. Additionally, the Murciélago paved the way for introducing matte colors to the Lamborghini spectrum. The subsequent “baby” Gallardo in 2003 boasted two popular paint options: the vivid “Arancio Atlas” (orange) and the evocative “Giallo Orion” (yellow), both proudly echoing Lamborghini’s iconic heritage.

Personalization

In the contemporary era, symbolized by the Aventador, Huracán, and Urus, a new chapter unfolded with the advent of striking finishes that morphed with the play of light – the dazzling Harlequin or iridescent colors. The demand surged for multicolored marvels, personalized shading, and bespoke liveries. Yet, amidst the innovation, Lamborghini remained grounded in tradition. For the Huracán Sterrato, paints reminiscent of the iconic LM 002 were resurrected, including the captivating “Sabbia Desertum” – a sandy beige masterpiece.

Lamborghini’s commitment to fulfilling customer aspirations soared to new heights in 2013 with the inception of the Ad Personam Department, empowering clients to craft their automotive dreams. A visionary step culminated in creation of the first studio within the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory in 2016, welcoming patrons to customize their future cars amidst the company’s historic headquarters. The Ad Personam process fosters a deep sense of representation, with customers meticulously curating colors and combinations that speak to their essence. The Ad Personam team diligently fulfills every bespoke request while preserving Lamborghini’s unmistakable identity. The soaring popularity of this program is exemplified by the Aventador, with 90% of production tailored through Ad Personam, followed by the Huracán at 80%, and the Urus at approximately 70%.

Fast forward to today

Today, the palette comprises over 360 resplendent colors, categorized into five families – Sporty, Contemporary, Eclectic, Classic, and Technical – reflecting the essence of Lamborghini’s heritage, current lineup, and future direction. The Ad Personam palette boasts an additional 300 mesmerizing colors, including the most special tones and sophisticated technologies. Some are accessible through the Lamborghini Car Configurator system, while others demand a visit to the illustrious Ad Personam studio, the heart of automotive personalization. As Lamborghini embarks on the next chapter of its extraordinary journey, the vibrant tapestry of colors stands as a testament to the passion, innovation, and indomitable spirit of this legendary marque.

Original story HERE

All photos © Lamborghini SpA

Gallery

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A mere hundred years have passed since the first Grand Prix d’endurance de 24 heures, a somewhat humble beginning for the race now considered the ultimate test of man and machine, a grueling challenge set over 24 hours where the world’s best drivers fight for one of the ultimate prizes in motor racing. It was back in May of 1923 when the first race was contested, with no official winners prize to fight for, the field of cars fought to see which team could cover the most distance over the 24 hour period. The field comprised of predominantly French cars with the notable inclusion of a single Bentley and two Belgian Excelsiors, the overall winners were Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard, who piloted a Chenard-Walcker Type U3 15CV Sport one hundred and twenty-eight times around the track, covering an astonishing 1372 miles over the course of the 24 hours.

The track itself has evolved over the years, but unlike many of its contemporaries, retains most of the charm and mystique, which have characterized the race over the years. The Mulsanne Straight, now punctuated by two chicanes, introduced in 1990 in an attempt to curb the ever increasing speeds along its former 3.7 mile grandeur, still offers a scintillating thrill, where top class prototypes can realize their top speed potential, as the track cuts through the forests which lead into the French countryside south of the circuit. Still considered a pure test of both driver and car, the fast sweeping corners, tight chicanes and blisteringly fast straights combine to offer a challenge unlike any other, more raw than other circuits used for the World Endurance Championship.

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In naming its first battery-electric vehicle, Rolls-Royce sought to maintain and strengthen these important ‘genetic’ links, while also marking a definitive shift into new territory defined by innovation and progress. As the following brief history explains, it found the perfect solution with Spectre.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

According to a Chinese proverb, ‘the beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names’, reflecting our innate need to identify and classify objects as a way to make sense of the universe. This is entirely obvious in relation to people, of course; and for our early ancestors, naming objects was a crucial survival technique. But why name an inanimate object like a motor car?

The practice is as old as the motor car itself. Before the First World War, road transport was still dominated by horses and horse-drawn vehicles and those who could afford a Rolls-Royce would certainly have also kept and used horses themselves. It would therefore have been entirely natural and logical for them to name their new car, just as they would have done a favourite steed.

The marketing potential of this fundamental human trait was immediately evident to the keen business mind of Claude Johnson, the commercial managing director of Rolls-Royce. Between 1905 and 1913 he personally devised, often in consultation with the client, individual names for almost 50 cars the company produced – the most famous of which was ‘The Silver Ghost’, created for the 1907 London Motor Show. The car’s silver paintwork and silver-plated brightwork so impressed motoring journalists and the public alike that ‘Silver Ghost’ was adopted as the official model name for all 40/50 H.P. chassis built until 1925, when the New Phantom was introduced.

Johnson would surely be gratified that these ethereal, otherworldly names, intended to capture the car’s near-silent running, still grace Rolls-Royce models, referencing this same quality more than a century later.

‘THE SILVER SPECTRE’ (CHASSIS 1601, 1910)

In August 1910, the marque built Chassis 1601, which Johnson used as a trials, or demonstrator, car. Johnson named it ‘The Silver Spectre’ ­– the first recorded use of the Spectre name in the company’s archive.

Chassis 1601 was sold to the War Office in 1915 and its last known whereabouts was at a firm of motor engineers in Sheffield in 1933. Over the course of its lifetime, this car was rebodied at least three times. This was typical during this period, often to suit the new owner’s tastes if the car had changed hands, and sometimes for more prosaic reasons: early coachwork employed materials and methods that, while perfectly suited to horse-drawn vehicles doing 10mph, quickly succumbed to the strains of travelling at 50mph or more in automotive use. While the eventual fate of Chassis 1601 remains somewhat unclear, one thing is certain: no Rolls-Royce would bear the Spectre name again for over 20 years.

THE EXPERIMENTAL PHANTOM III ‘SPECTRE’ CARS (1934-1937)

Early in its history, Rolls-Royce established a special naming convention for its experimental cars, giving them chassis numbers with the suitably tantalising suffix ‘EX’. Beginning with 1EX in 1919 and running through to 45EX in 1957, these ‘large-horsepower’ development models were subjected to test-runs of up to 15,000 miles, often covering 800 miles a day on the unforgiving roads of France. They also clocked up thousands of additional miles in heavy London traffic and through the British countryside. The EX designation continues in the modern era, the latest example being the 103EX electric vision vehicle, unveiled in 2016.

In 1930, Sir Henry Royce began developing a brand-new V12 engine for a completely new chassis with independent front suspension. However, his death in 1933 meant he never saw the project through to completion. The new car, 30EX, was finally ready for road-testing in November 1934.

As with all innovations, maintaining secrecy around the new V12 engine was commercially critical. Therefore, together with its chassis number, 30EX was also assigned a codename: ‘Spectre’. Nine further EX cars, with the ‘Spectre’ codename would follow, before the car entered production as Phantom III in 1936. Of these development chassis, seven would later be repurposed for sale to private customers, who presumably never knew of their motor car’s previous covert operations. It was the testing and refinement conducted using these ‘Spectre’ cars that allowed Phantom III to uphold the marque’s reputation, first established by Silver Ghost in 1907, as “The best car in the world”.

ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE (2023-)

Like the EX cars of the past, the present-day Spectre represents a bold and enormously significant shift, both technically and philosophically, for Rolls-Royce. As the first all-electric Rolls-Royce, it marks an evolution in powertrain technology arguably even greater than the introduction of the marque’s first V12 engine – the configuration, which after almost 80 years, is still used in every current Rolls-Royce model.

The Spectre name itself sits alongside Ghost, Phantom and Wraith as an evocation of silence, refinement and mystery; of something imagined and dreamlike that exists outside normal parameters and experience. And though it has previously been given to individual and experimental cars, no series production Rolls-Royce has worn the Spectre nameplate until now. This meeting of innovation and continuity makes Spectre the perfect name choice for a car of such singular and historic importance.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, says, “There is a pleasing symmetry between the Spectres of the past and the present-day incarnation. In our history, Spectre is a name synonymous with technical innovation and development, and Rolls‑Royce motor cars that go on to change the world. Though separated by almost a century, both the Spectres of the 1930s and our own today are the proving-grounds for propulsion technology that will shape our products and clients’ experiences for decades to come.”

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The Bugatti Owners’ Club was founded in 1929, just two decades after Ettore launched the automobile company that bore his name. Born out of a shared passion for Bugatti models and the superior design, engineering and driving experience they provided, the Club held its inaugural meeting at one of London’s oldest and most famous restaurants, ‘Simpson’s in the Strand’.

“Our birth occurred on December 18^th, 1929, when three total strangers met to discuss over a meal the possibilities of starting a Club in order to bring together the particular enthusiasts who own Bugatti cars,” wrote D.B. Madeley two years later in the first issue of Bugantics, the Bugatti Owners’ Club magazine.

By then, the Club was already hosting driving events on various loose-surface hill climb courses in England, enabling members to indulge in the type of judicious full-throttle exercises their cherished Bugatti models had already established a fearsome reputation for on motor circuits throughout the world. However, these were temporary venues only, leading to the search for a permanent course.

A home worthy of the marque

In 1937, Colonel (later Brigadier-General) G.M. Giles, who had been present at the first Bugatti Owners’ Club meeting at Simpsons, and his brother Eric, purchased the Prescott Estate and country house. Realizing the potential of the then rutted, muddy drive to the house, work began on rendering the surface more suitable for motorsport. After all, a home in celebration of Bugatti must have some form of race track – the two go hand-in-hand.

In April 1938, Colonel Giles led a convoy of 130 Bugatti Owners’ Club members and guests in his Type 18 Bugatti ‘Black Bess’ to Prescott, where the first untimed runs of the hill were held. At the first proper meeting in May of that year, Arthur Baron blasted his Type 51 Bugatti to the summit. Setting the fastest time of the day of 50.70 seconds, Baron triumphed over the similar car of Jack Lemon Burton by a mere 0.04 seconds.

Arrival of the Bugatti ‘works’ team

In July the following year, the Bugatti Owners’ Club held its first international event, attracting the attendance of Jean Bugatti and the company’s star driver, Jean-Pierre Wimille, who had just won the Le Mans 24 Hours for the marque. “It is a grand thing to realize that the Bugatti equipe, including Monsieur Jean Bugatti himself, has come here specially for today’s event, all the way from Molsheim in Alsace, and we wish him a pleasant visit and the best of good luck,” recorded the race programme.

Wimille’s ‘works’ Bugatti was based on a Type 59 chassis with a Type 50B engine of 4700cc. Unfortunately, the car did not prove the ideal choice for the track and the French driver was disappointed not to take the fastest time of the day. This elicited an apology from Jean Bugatti. “I am sorry,” he said, “I have brought a car that is unsuitable for your hill. Next year we will bring over a 1.5 litre car – one of our new ones – and I hope that we shall do better.”

Ettore himself was also a visitor to the Club, presenting a version of the Type 51 to its members in 1937, and it’s possible that one of the Club’s modern members himself rebuilt this very car. Member John Horton said: “The historical details were a little sketchy, but the car was believed to be based on the one that Ettore Bugatti presented to the Club at a dinner in London in 1937. The car later ended up in the hands of a P Monkhouse, and it ran at the first event at Prescott after the war but was then involved in a severe road accident and indeed was said by some to be completely written off. But I rebuilt it with a Bugatti engine and now it resides in the Caister Castle Car Collection on England’s Norfolk coast.”

Driving in the wheel tracks of legends

When Prescott House was sold, the Bugatti Owners’ Club retained ownership of the 69-acre (28-hectare) estate and the Prescott Speed Hill Climb course. The technically challenging 1127-yards (1-km) long course rises more than 200 feet (60 metres) incorporating short straights, fast and slow corners, and a breath-taking hairpin.

Today, the hill still resonates to the sound of Bugatti models, like those that joined Colonel Giles and ‘Black Bess’ to Prescott in 1938, being pushed to the limit. Rupert Marks is a regular and extremely rapid competitor on the hill in his 1934 Bugatti Type 59. And he never fails to appreciate the experience every time he takes to the course.

“We are so incredibly fortunate to be able to drive this hill today, especially when you consider that so few historic racing venues have survived with the passage of time,” says Marks. “Set here in the magnificent surroundings of the Cotswolds, it makes your spine tingle every time you drive. We really do owe a great debt to those pioneering members of the Bugatti Owners’ Club who created it and passed it on for future generations to enjoy today.”

Trust in the future

Also located on the Prescott Estate is the Bugatti Trust. Operating as an independent entity to the Bugatti Owners’ Club, the trust provides an unprecedented wealth of Bugatti resources including some 27,000 historic documents and 10,000 images.

The Bugatti Trust was set up by Hugh Conway in 1987, and today, his son, also called Hugh, serves as Chairman. “My father was a huge Bugatti enthusiast and collected an enormous wealth of resources relating to the marque, which visitors are welcome to access today. The Bugatti Trust is here not only to provide a resource for knowledgeable Bugatti enthusiasts, but also to inspire the next generation of engineers. If, through our exhibits, we can inspire younger visitors to use their imagination, then we will keep the engineering spirit of Ettore Bugatti and his son Jean alive.”

The Bugatti Trust is dedicated to the study of the works of Ettore Bugatti and preservation of the heritage of the marque. It is an independently funded UK registered charity with educational aims and objectives. Current display highlights include a stunning Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic – which has been totally rebuilt after a crash, the Type 1 Prinetti & Stucchi tricycle by Ettore Bugatti on loan from The Pearl Collection and Jean Bugatti’s personal diary from 1939 on loan from the Musée National de l’Automobile – Collection Schlumpf, Mulhouse (France).

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As such, the Miura plays an oversized role in Lamborghini’s long V12 engine story, which has powered its iconic cars for almost 60 years and come to epitomize the cornerstones of Lamborghini’s DNA. This year, 2022, marks the final year of the last pure Lamborghini V12 combustion engine. Mounted in the Aventador Ultimae1, it brings the curtain down on a glorious era ahead of the first hybrid production model in 2023, which will mark the start of the hybridization process at Lamborghini.

Ferruccio Lamborghini: “I like this one: it’ll earn us legendary status”

Less than two years after Lamborghini was founded in 1963, the Sant’Agata Bolognese company was still small but had managed to establish itself solidly at the top end of the tricky grand tourer market, with the 350 GT being manufactured on a steady basis. Ferruccio Lamborghini was satisfied because he had triumphed in his own personal technical challenge despite rather widespread initial skepticism. Nonetheless, he was dreaming of making an even more stunning car that would take everyone’s breath away. And that is just what happened.

Taking care of the technical side of things were the young engineers Giampaolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani, who were responsible for development and production at Automobili Lamborghini at the time. A big part in the Miura’s success was – and continues to be – down to its exceptional engine: a 4 liter 60° V12 with 4 Weber 40 IDL 3L carburetors that generated maximum power of 350 CV, 370 CV and 385 CV in the P400, P400S and P400SV models respectively. That was enough to make it the fastest production road car in the world at the time. The outstanding design by Carrozzeria Bertone did the rest and the Miura enjoyed unprecedented sales for a Lamborghini vehicle. The original forecast was for 50 cars to be sold in three years, but in the end the total number reached 763 in seven years, between 1966 and 1973.

Engineer Paolo Stanzani: a linchpin of the Lamborghini V12 engine

The engineer Paolo Stanzani (1936-2017) was one of the first people to be hired by Ferruccio Lamborghini. Appointed straight after he graduated from the University of Modena, he went on to become one of the most important players in the story of the V12 engine and the Miura. Stanzani was the one who took the V12 engine designed by the engineer Giotto Bizzarrini and made it suitable for serial production and use on the road. In addition, Stanzani was part of the small group of young talents who developed and created the Miura and its cutting-edge technical features. He held various roles at Lamborghini, ranging from Technical Director to Production Manager and General Manager. As well as the Miura, he made crucial contributions to the production of the Countach, Espada and Urraco, the latter of which was his personal favorite.

The Miura was a real star whose iconic appeal lay not only in its looks but also in its “voice”

As soon as it was presented, the Miura became the most sought-after car among film directors. It has appeared in no fewer than 43 movies, often in a starring role. One of the most famous is unquestionably “The Italian Job” in 1969. Lasting more than three minutes, the entire opening sequence is dedicated to Rossano Brazzi driving a P400 Miura as Matt Monro sings “On Days Like These”. The accelerating V12 engine can be heard in the background of the sequence, which has gained cult status in the world of car movies.

The Miura has starred on the covers of dozens of car magazines and other publications. Its first appearance in an international article came in November 1966. The piece in question was in the weekly magazine Autocar and it was by Paul Frère, the Belgian racing driver turned journalist. There is no doubt that the most renowned article was the one written by the English journalist Leonard “LJK” Setright for the British monthly magazine CAR. Divided into two parts, it described the delights of a journey from Sant’Agata Bolognese to London in a P400 Miura.

Putting together a comprehensive list of personalities who have owned a Miura over the years is a tough task. For instance, Little Tony and Rod Stewart both owned more than one; Eddie Van Halen kept his for more than 30 years; and Jay Kay of Jamiroquai still has his today. Other examples of notable Miura owners are the actor Peter Sellers; the model Twiggy; the singers Johnny Hallyday (who made headlines when he crashed his P400 into a tree) and Elton John; the opera singer Grace Bumbry; the jazz musician Miles Davis; the racing driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise; and finally the Shah of Iran, who owned a number of Miuras including one of only four SVJs that were ever made.

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Additional time to plan meant that the organizers, Brian and Ken DeFoor, were able to attract celebrities, design a race track, create a rally, coordinate with Mecum, and arrange for streets to be closed in the part of town known as West Village.  Celebrities included Corky Coker, former owner of Coker Tires, as Grand Marshall; Brian Redman as Grand Ambassador to the Festival; Ken Gross as Concours Director and Event Advisor; and Judy Stropus to attempt to manage us media hacks.  Other famous folks who attended the Festival included Justin Bell, Wayne Carini, Tom Cotter (who raced his Cunningham), Lynn St. James, Alain de Cadenet, Ray Evernham, Tanner Foust, David Hobbs, Keith Martin, and Scott Speed.  I suspect a lot of autographs were signed during the three days of the Festival.

Car Clubs

Local car clubs were invited to display their members’ cars on both Friday and Saturday.  Streets in the West Village were closed off from early in the morning until 3:00pm both days.  Some of the clubs represented marques and others were multi-marque.  Single marque clubs included those for Alfa Romeos, Jaguars, Corvairs, Porsches, and BMWs.  The local Southern British Car Club displayed a variety of British cars belonging to their members.  Everyone who displayed a car was given a three-day pass to all the Festival events.  Comments from those who attended were very positive.

Mecum Chattanooga Collector Car Auction

For two days, 543 cars went across the block with 457 sold for a sales rate of 84%.  The top seller was a 2021 Mercedes-Benz G550 Brabus Edition that sold for $302,500.  The top ten selling cars in the auction were:

•   2021 Mercedes-Benz G550 Brabus Edition (Lot S118.1) at $302,500
•   1958 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (Lot S124) at $264,000
•   1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window Coupe (Lot S139) at $214,500
•   1968 Shelby GT500KR Convertible (Lot S180) at $176,000
•   1959 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (Lot S51.1) at $170,500
•   1970 Plymouth Cuda (Lot S120.1) at $165,000
•   1965 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (Lot S101.1) at $159,500
•   1955 Chevrolet Bel Air (Lot S128) at $148,500
•   1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS (Lot S119) at $143,000
•   2021 Ford Bronco First Edition (Lot S74.1) at $137,500

Pace Grand Prix at the Bend

The 2019 Festival included a time trial on a portion of Riverfront Parkway that was closed to traffic.  It was driver and car against the clock.  There was a true race track for 2020.  It was named for Jim Pace, a well-known racer from Mississippi who had been intimately involved in planning the Festival until he caught and died from Covid-19.  The pandemic caused the 2020 event to be cancelled, allowing an additional year for planning and resulting in a street course of about two miles in length.  Sixty-eight cars were entered for the races and ranged from Brass Era cars to nearly new racecars.  There were eight race groups:

1. Brass and Tin Top to 1920
2. Sports and Racing Cars 1920-1964
3. Sports/GT Cars ‘50s and ‘60s Under 2500cc
4. Open Wheel Formula Cars/Treaded Tire Cars
5. FIA – Endurance Cars under 3500cc
6. FIA – Endurance Cars ’90-‘21
7. Exhibition Cars
8. Sports/GT Racing Cars ‘50s and ‘60s over 2500cc

Each group got to qualify individually and compete in a qualifying race on Friday.  There was a second qualifying race on Saturday, then each race group, except Group 1, participated in a timed, wheel-to-wheel race that lasted as few as six laps for the slower group and up to eleven laps for the fastest group.  Winners in the Saturday afternoon race were:

• Group 2 – Robert Boden 1957 Devin Ryan Special
• Group 3 – Denny Wilson 1962 Lotus Super 7
• Group 4 – Gary Johnson 1984 Reynard RF-84
• Group 5 – Jack Lewis 1976 Porsche 911 RS
• Group 6 – Curt Swearingin 2021 Porsche GT3 Cup
• Group 7 – Efrén Ormaza 1994 Spec Racer Ford
• Group 8 – Race Red Flagged – No Result

West Village Road Rallye

Each day, competitors ran a timed rally through parts of Chattanooga and the surrounding countryside.  It was a challenge for the navigators to stay on course and on time with all the beautiful scenery distracting them.  Two teams who were not too distracted won the rallies.  On Friday, Robert and Casey Albertson took the rally win in their Lamborghini Gallardo. Ashley and Riley O’Donald had the best score on Saturday in their 2020 Mazda MX5 RF.

Gathering of the Greats

There was an incredible assortment of important Ferraris outside the Westin Hotel during the Festival.  It was called the Gathering of the Greats – Ferrari Edition, and it included a 1948 Ferrari 166 Spider Corsa, a 1954 Ferrari 250 Monza, a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4S NART Spider, and a 1985 288 GTO.  For car enthusiasts it was a landmark event.  Many photos were taken, and jaws were seen dropping in the crowd.

Concours d’Elegance – Rendezvous of the Greats

The cars from the local car clubs were replaced in the West Village by cars entered in the Concours.  The entries in the twenty-two classes ranged from very nice but not uncommon cars to show cars and prototypes.  It was an incredible assortment of automotive beauty.  There were Brass Era cars, pre- and post-war American and European cars, hot rods and customs, motorcycles, muscle cars, super cars, Radwood cars, competition cars, and even a Tucker.  Awards went to the best cars in each class, and to a number of particularly nice automobiles.  There was also a Chairman’s Award to Ken Gross for organizing such an excellent concours.  Best of all, though, were the People’s Choice Award and the Hagerty Youth Awards, since they acknowledge the cars that really caught the attention of the attendees.  The list of winners includes:

Ferrari Class: Road Cars
1. Ferrari 340 America – Owned by Kevin Cogan
2. 1948 Ferrari 166 Corsa – Owned by Collier/Revs Institute
Ferrari Class: Competition Cars
1. 1967 Ferrari NART Spyder – Owned by Rare Wheels
2. 1952 Ferrari 342 America – Owned by Dennis Garrity
Class 1: Brass and Tin Pre-1916
1. 1909 Sears J – Owned by Van Thurston
Class 2: Prewar Special Interest
1. 1942 Chrysler Royal – Owned by Mark & Hilary Becker
2. 1934 DeSoto Air Flow – Owned by John Wagner
Class 2A: Prewar American Classic
1. 1936 Packard 12 – Owned by Jack Smith
2. 1934 Packard 12 – Owned by Jack Smith
Class 3: Prewar European Classic
1. 1932 Rolls Royce 20/25 – Owned by Forrest McLane
2. 1930 Aston Martin International – Owned by Phil & Rick Rader
Class 4: Authentic Hot Rods and Customs
1. 1932 Ford Roadster – Owned by John Gillespie
2. 1932 Ford B Sedan – Owned by Bob Johnson
Class 5: Vintage and Custom Motorcycles
1. 1942 Indian 442 – Owned by John Landstrom
2. 1969 BMW R60 US – Owned by Norman Buck
Class 6: Postwar American Special Interest
1. 1957 Duel Ghia – Owned by David Salzman
2. 1988 Maverick Sportster – Owned by Tom Chandler
Class 7: Postwar American Sports
1. 1956 Chevrolet Corvette – Owned by Irwin Kroiz
2. 1966 Chevrolet Corvette – Owned by Kevin Mackay
Class 8: Postwar European Special Interest
1. 1969 Mercedes 280 SL – Owned by Randy & Brenda Bibb
2. 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow – Owned by Guy Lewis
Class 9: Postwar European Sports Early
1. 1966 Fiat 1500 – Owned by Terry Herr
Class 10: Postwar European Sports Late
1. 1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal – Owned by Dale Whitney
2. 1973 BMW CSL 3.0 – Owned by Scott Hughes
Class 11: Postwar British Sports Cars Early
1. 1956 Austin Healey 100M – Owned by Peter Davis
2. 1954 Swallow Doretti – Owned by Tom Stronger
Class 12: Postwar British Sports Cars Late
1. 1962 Lotus Elite – Owned by Ron Mitchell
2. 1962 Sunbeam Harrington Le Mans – Owned by Reg Hahn
Class 13: American Muscle
1. 1970 AMC Javelin SST – Owned by Fritz Helmuth
2. 1970 GSX – Owned by Timothy Garland
Class 14: Tucker (No Winner)
Class 15: Jaguar XK and MK
1. 1954 XK120SEDHC – Owned by Robert Farris
2. 1950 XK120SS – Owned by John Gillespie
Class 16: Jaguar E-Type
1. 1961 Jaguar E-Type – Owned by James Strickland
2. 1961 Jaguar E-Type – Owned by Robert Farris
Class 17: Modern Supercar: Display Only (Exhibition Only)
Class 18: Radwood 1980-2004
1. 1981 VW Scirocco S – Owned by Ted Uiterwyk
2. 1989 Ford Mustang Cobra R – Owned by Ben O’Brien
Special Award – Sports Car Market
1. 1948 Simca Gordini Model F2 – Owned by Ray Morgan
Class 20: Porsche Class 356
1. 1964 Porsche 904 – Owned by Ingram Collection
2. 1959 Porsche 356A GS – Owned by Ingram Collection
Class 21: Porsche 911 and 914 Class
1. 1965 Porsche 911 – Owned by Charles Moore
2. 1971 Porsche 911S – Owned by James Yost
People’s Choice
1. 1950 Buick Special – Jeff Hardin
Timeless Elegance 1. 1936 Packard 12 – Owned by Jack Boyd Smith
Best of Show 1. 1967 Ferrari NART Spyder – Owned by Rare Wheels Collection
Chairman’s Award 1. Ken Gross
Hagerty Youth Awards
1. 1938 Jaguar SS-100 – Owned by Wayne Carini
2. 1972 BMW 3.0 CS – Owned by Gary Beck
3. 1962 Sunbeam Harrington Le Mans – Owned by Reginald Hahn

It was quite a weekend.  Hopefully, 2022 will be even better.

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Steam power, though well understood, relatively sophisticated and, at the time, ubiquitous in industry and other forms of transport, quickly proved less practical for use in motor cars.  It therefore fell to internal combustion and electricity to vie for supremacy.

Electric power lost the battle for two main reasons: extremely limited range and the absence of a charging infrastructure.  A century later, despite significant advances, these remain as barriers to widespread adoption (although increasingly less so), both in terms of technology and consumer perception.

But the characteristics that first drew engineers to electric power – silent operation, instant torque, tremendous power and the absence of exhaust fumes – remain highly alluring, particularly for luxury motor cars.  Indeed, some have speculated that, had he been able to solve the range and charging issues, Sir Henry Royce might have chosen electric power alone for his motor cars.

The innate and perfect suitability of electric power underpins the marque’s explicit commitment to deliver an all-electric Rolls-Royce this decade.  In doing so, it can draw on a unique history and heritage; a connection with electric power that pre-dates the company itself, and featuring the main protagonists who would, between them, create the world’s most famous automotive brand – beginning with Sir Henry Royce himself.

SIR HENRY ROYCE

Born in 1863, Henry Royce was one of the world’s first electrical engineers.  After his apprenticeship with the Great Northern Railway was cut short for family financial reasons, he worked briefly as a toolmaker at Greenwood & Batley in Leeds, where he first developed an interest in electrical power.

In 1881, he joined the Electric Light & Power Generating Company (EL&PG) in Southwark. During this time, he attended evening classes in electrics at the City & Guilds of London Institute, having received only a year of formal schooling as a child.  A year later, aged just 19, he moved to the EL&PG’s new subsidiary, the Lancashire Maxim-Weston Electric Co. Ltd, as Chief Electrician, providing street and theatre lighting to the city of Liverpool.  But within two years, the company folded, and the famously driven, hardworking Royce struck out on his own.

His new enterprise, F H Royce & Co, initially made small electrical appliances such as doorbells, lamps, fuses and switches.  The business thrived, and was soon producing larger, more complex devices including dynamos, electric motors and winches.  In 1902, Royce supplied electric motors for Pritchett & Gold, a London-based battery-maker that had diversified into building electric cars.

Though Royce himself never built or owned an electric motor car, he created internal combustion engines that delivered the driving experience we associate with electric propulsion today: effortless torque, silent running and the sensation of one continuous, powerful gear. His technical expertise and pioneering achievements underpin the marque’s historical claim as a world leader in electrification in both luxury and social settings.

 THE HONOURABLE CHARLES ROLLS

The Hon. Charles Rolls was also a highly gifted engineer; but his enthusiasm for electricity began even earlier in life.  When he was just nine years old, he rigged up an electric bell between his bedroom and the stables at The Hendre, the family’s ancestral home in Monmouthshire.  He also planned and supervised the installation of electricity in the servants’ quarters; deploying the powers of salesmanship that would later make him world-famous, he persuaded his father, Lord Llangattock, to pay for it.

Rolls’ passion for motor cars was equally precocious.  In 1896, aged 18, he travelled to Paris and bought his first car, a 3¾ hp Peugeot Phaeton. Two years later, while still an engineering student at Cambridge, he acquired his only electric-powered car, an American-made vehicle called The Columbia Electric Carriage, imported into the UK by Paris Singer (heir to the sewing machine dynasty) and sold as the ‘City & Suburban’ car. Rolls regarded this as the best then available.

In an interview published in The Motor-Car Journal in April 1900, Rolls described electric propulsion, in terms that, over a century later, carry the ring of prescient prophecy:

“The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean.  There is no smell or vibration, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged.  But for now, I do not anticipate that they will be very serviceable – at least for many years to come.”

Rolls made his own small contribution to solving the problem, by providing a battery-charging station at his car showroom on Lillie Road in Fulham for the private or rentable electric Broughams that were all the rage in London at the time.

In 1904, Charles Rolls agreed to become an agent for the Contal Electromobile electric car.  But on meeting Henry Royce and seeing his new motor car, he cancelled the agreement.

As he correctly predicted, it would be a long time before electric vehicles became truly viable on any scale.  But it is tempting to think that had this visionary entrepreneur survived the air crash that claimed his life at the young age of just 32, the day might have come rather sooner.

A SERIES OF CONNECTIONS

While Rolls and Royce are immortalised as the founders, others, perhaps less well-known, were intimately and crucially involved in the events that led to the creation of the Rolls-Royce marque.  They, too, were luminaries in the worlds of motoring and electric power around the beginning of the 20^th century; history and the marque are indebted to all of the following:

HENRY EDMUNDS

In his early career, Henry Royce worked for Brush Electrical Engineering Company Ltd, where he met Henry Edmunds, the company’s engineer.  Edmunds earned his place in history when, on 4 May 1904 at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, he announced: “Mr. Royce, may I introduce you to Charles Rolls”.

The man who would be remembered by posterity as ‘The Godfather of Rolls-Royce’ was a towering figure in his own right.  A friend of Joseph Swan (the inventor of the incandescent lightbulb) and Thomas Edison (the inventor of almost everything else), he was a pioneer of electric lighting, traction and telephony, and was present at both the first successful sound recording and telephone call.  He also brought into being the world’s first electrified underground railway, when he persuaded the engineer in charge of London’s City & Southwick Railway (now the City branch of the Northern Line) to operate trains powered by electricity rather than steam.

In 1888, Edmunds established W T Glover & Company, which became the world’s leading manufacturer of electricity cabling.  In 1894, he supplied lighting cables for a vast dock complex and industrial estate (the world’s first) serving the Manchester Ship Canal: the lighting itself was designed and installed by Henry Royce.

No proof exists that Edmunds played any part in the development of Royce’s motor cars. He was, however, the most experienced motorist among Royce’s friends and colleagues, so presumably offered expert advice and encouragement as Royce painstakingly turned his ideas into reality.

E A CLAREMONT

Conventional wisdom states that Royce co-founded F H Royce & Co with a partner, E A Claremont.  However, research has shown that Claremont joined the company some six months after its formation; Royce himself wrote, ‘I was induced to found… a small company in my own name’ and none but his was ever used.

While the original myth may be flawed, it is certainly true that the two men’s careers were closely entwined for many years.  Claremont was a partner in F H Royce & Company, Joint Managing Director of F H Royce & Company Limited, Chairman of Royce Limited and the first Chairman of Rolls-Royce Limited; both were also Members of the Institute of Electrical Engineers.

CLAUDE JOHNSON

Broad-shouldered, extroverted and a talented salesman, Johnson was the self-styled ‘Hyphen in Rolls-Royce’.  In 1903, he quit his role as secretary of the Automobile Club of Great Britain & Ireland – whose members included the aforementioned Henry Edmunds – to work for Paris Singer’s City & Suburban Electric Carriage company.

After less than a year, however, Johnson left to join C S Rolls and Co, later becoming Managing Director of Rolls-Royce Ltd.  He was responsible for much of the company’s early publicity: in advertisements produced for the UK and US markets, he described Rolls-Royce as ‘a petrol car as smooth and quiet as an electric’.  And to complete the symmetry, Paris Singer became the world’s first owner of a Rolls-Royce motor car.

ELECTRIFICATION IN THE GOODWOOD ERA

In the spirit of these founding figures, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars remains an electrification pioneer today.  When the first production fully electric Rolls-Royce reaches the market, it will be the culmination of research and development work that has been in progress at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, for well over a decade.

2011 – PHANTOM EE (102EX)

In 2011, the marque released Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), codenamed 102EX; a fully operational and road-legal battery-electric version of its pinnacle product.

Phantom EE was never intended for production, serving instead as a working test-bed for clients, VIPs, the media and enthusiasts to experience electric propulsion and share their experiences, thoughts and considerations directly with Rolls-Royce designers and engineers.

The car’s 6.75-litre V12 petrol engine and gearbox were replaced with a lithium-ion battery pack and two electric motors mounted on the rear sub-frame, connected to a single-speed transmission with integrated differential.  This system gave a maximum power output of 290kW and torque of 800Nm, compared to 338kW and maximum torque of 720Nm, delivered at 3,500rpm, for the V12 Phantom of the time.

While Phantom EE drew widespread acclaim for its technical accomplishment, particularly its near-total silence and impressive torque delivery, its limited range, long charging cycles and three-year battery life remained significant hurdles that Rolls-Royce would need to address in order to satisfy the expectations of its clients.

2016 – ROLLS-ROYCE VISION NEXT 100 (103EX)

Launched in 2016, this radically innovative concept car set out to define the marque’s long-term vision of luxury mobility.  It presented the motor car as offering truly individualised personal mobility, and an immersive emotional and sensory experience.

103EX was built around four key design tenets:

Coachbuilt bodywork will allow clients to commission a car that reflects their personal vision.  A virtual assistant and chauffeur powered by artificial intelligence offer an effortless journey. The interior creates a Grand Sanctuary, crafted from rare and exclusive materials.  And with its size and scale – 5.9 metres long and 1.6 metres high – the car ensures a Grand Arrival on reaching its destination.

Built on an advanced lightweight platform and powered by a proprietary, all-electric drive train, the motor car is completely autonomous.

The EX-suffix confirms that 103EX was a purely experimental car, never destined to enter production.  Following a spectacular debut in London, the car embarked on a three-year world tour, returning to the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in 2019.

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1. Marzal: the car with the most glass surface area: 4.5 square meters

Developed with the intention to create a four-seater grand tourer, the Marzal, designed by Marcello Gandini for Carrozzeria Bertone, became a worldwide icon of style and design. Among the features that make the Marzal’s design special are the interior, entirely upholstered in silver-colored leather and the hexagon, the central theme of its entire design which was repeated in as many details as possible and is echoed in the shape of the dashboard, the rear window and in the console cut-out. But the most striking feature of all was the extensive glass surface that covers 4.5 square meters, from the gull-wing doors to the roof.

This peculiarity means the Marzal is a fully operational show car with the largest glass surface in history.

2. Miura: the car designed by the youngest team in Lamborghini’s history, with an average age of 29

From the very beginning of his entrepreneurial history, Ferruccio Lamborghini wanted to give ample space to brilliant and capable young people, and the Miura project is a prime example of this choice.

With the aim of challenging the competition of the time and getting his company off the ground, Ferruccio made use of talented collaborators selected from universities and from among the youngest professionals in the automotive world. In 1966, with an average age of just 29, the youngest in the history of the Sant’Agata brand, designer Marcello Gandini and test driver Bob Wallace, both 28, along with chief engineer Gian Paolo Dallara and assistant engineer Paolo Stanzani, both 30, brought to life the Miura, an extraordinary car that was destined to become a legend.

All these young men subsequently became absolute masters in their respective fields in the automotive world, a clear testimony to Ferruccio Lamborghini’s far-sightedness in believing in their abilities.

3. Miura: the lowest production road car at 105.5 cm in height

In the ‘60s, low height and sinuous, aerodynamic forms were the most important aspects in the minds of designers developing a sports car.

At just 105.5 cm in height, the Lamborghini Miura was the lowest mass-produced car ever, a record that is part of Lamborghini’s DNA. Still today, this styling feature is an integral part of the shape of Lamborghini cars.

4. Lamborghini LM002: the first Super SUV in history

Starting as a project aimed at developing a high-performance off-road vehicle for military use, the final model slated to go into production with the name LM002 was first unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show in 1986.

At the time of its launch the LM002, a completely different car from any other available on the market, was absolutely cutting-edge in its forms and performance, similar to those of Lamborghini’s super sports cars. It featured a 5167 cc engine delivering 450 HP at 6800 rpm, excellent off-road capabilities and a design highlighting powerful lines. A total of 300 units were produced between 1986 and 1992.

With a body made of aluminum and fiber glass, equipped with all-wheel drive, two-speed transfer- case with central locking differential and able to tackle slopes up to 120%, the LM002 was the first Super SUV in history. This achievement was reaffirmed by the current Lamborghini Urus, the direct heir of the LM002 and the first super SUV to be mass-produced.

5. Countach: the first car with scissor doors

Lamborghini’s vertically opening doors, also known as “scissor doors”, are the hallmark of the most iconic V12 super sports cars ever produced by Automobili Lamborghini. Designed by Marcello Gandini in 1971, the revolutionary Countach was the first production car equipped with vertically opening doors of this type, still today a distinctive feature of the most powerful cars from the House of Sant’Agata Bolognese.

The choice of this technology is not only linked to aesthetics but also to the utility of the upward opening; in fact, it allowed the driver to lean out to better see the area behind the car when reversing, solving the problem of poor rear visibility as well as that of parking in tight spaces, where a long door could not otherwise be opened.

Starting from the Diablo, heir to the Countach, and moving through the Murciélago, Reventón, Veneno, Centenario and finally through the Aventador range, the vertically opening doors have become an essential characteristic of Lamborghini’s DNA on its 12-cylinder models.

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From the beginning of the modern Volkswagen, the Beetle was a boom car for affordable transportation in Europe and elsewhere, and by 1952 it was sold in 46 countries. Eventually, it would be built in 14 countries around the globe. More than 21.5 million were sold before the final, modern-generation Beetle rolled off the assembly line in 2019.

Yet the longevity of the Beetle was far from assured. Starting in the early 1950s, Volkswagen considered more than 70 potential replacements and off-shoots of the Beetle – but found that the original offered a unique mix of values that couldn’t be easily replicated. It wasn’t until the Golf hatchback launched in 1974 that the true successor for the Beetle arrived. Here’s a look at some of the would-be heirs to the Beetle that never made it into production.

1955/56 EA47-12

Number 12 of 15 prototypes produced between 1953 and the end of 1956, the EA-47-12 was VW’s first attempt at creating a modern successor to the Beetle. It was the first of many Beetle replacements designed by Italian automobile designer Ghia, which is probably why it looks like the quirky Karmann Ghia. The car was powered by a 1192cc four-cylinder boxer air-cooled engine with a power output of 30 horsepower. In addition, it boasted a transverse link front axle, torsion bar rear suspension, and fully synchronized gearbox—unique technology for the time. Top speed was 50 mph.

1955 EA48

Volkswagen began toying with the idea of developing a car positioned below the Beetle in terms of size, performance, and price in 1953. The result was the boxy EA48. Some call it the first “City Car,” an accolade bestowed upon the British Motor Corporation (BMC) Mini because the EA48 never went into production. The EA48 was also the first prototype designed in-house without any input from Porsche. None of the components from the Beetle were carried over to the EA48; instead, engineers decided to start from scratch. The front-wheel-drive vehicle featured unibody construction, a front-mounted 0.7-liter air-cooled, flat-twin 18 bhp engine, and a McPherson-type front suspension. It had a top speed of 60 mph.

1960 EA97

Reportedly the EA97 project was abandoned while workers were prepping its assembly line, and after 200 pilot cars had been assembled by hand. The development of this rear-engine two-door vehicle began in 1957. It featured a more pontoon-shaped body and a 1.1-liter engine. What was the problem? “It was positioned too close to the Beetle and the Type 3,” according to the AutoMuseum Volkswagen website.

1961 Type 3 Cabriolet

The Type 3 released in 1961 gave motorists a more upmarket alternative to the Beetle. This elegant Cabriolet prototype was built for people who wanted a convertible. The folding convertible top featured a glass rear window. Sadly, it was shelved out of fear the model would create internal competition with the Karmann Ghia convertible.

1963 EA128

The EA128 was Volkswagen’s vision for a large luxury car. The four-door vehicle was marketed as a six-passenger vehicle (albeit a tight fit) and was powered by a 2.0 liter air-cooled horizontally opposed engine borrowed from the Porsche 911, which also debuted in 1963.

1966 EA142

While developing the Type 4, which made its debut in 1968, Volkswagen experimented with various body styles, including this elegant EA 142. The rear engine hatchback sported the same 1.7-liter engine that would appear in the production version of the Type 4.

1969 EA276

This was the inspiration for the original Golf, which was sold as the Rabbit in the U.S. The front-wheel-drive hatchback was boxier than many of the other Beetle replacements. Though this car is outfitted with the same air-cooled flat-four-cylinder engine as the Beetle, VW changed to a four-cylinder, water-cooled inline engine before releasing the Rabbit in 1974.

1969 EA266

One of the more innovative replacement candidates was the EA266. It was developed with assistance from Porsche and a team led by Ferdinand Piëch, the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who would later become Chairman of the Volkswagen group in 1993. The mid-engine hatchback features a water-cooled four-cylinder 1.6-liter engine mounted under the rear seat in a longitudinal configuration with the transaxle directly behind it to save space. Despite the sporty design and Porsche DNA, the EA266 fell short of the assembly line – destined for the museum floor instead.

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To aid sales, it was decided the new model would be offered at a lower price of £100, a price drop that inspired Sir Miles Thomas to come up with an idea to further improve showroom appeal. Bill Morris had often advertized the Morris Cowley as a car that would do 50 mph and 50 mpg, Sir Thomas bullishly announced that he would double that with the Minor. The 100 mph, 100 mpg, £100 (Triple Ton) Minor concept was born.

Such an idea would not be allowed in modern times, as the stunt Minor was vastly different to the road car. Not only did it have brand new, streamlined bodywork it was also fitted with a specially built, highly tuned 847-cc side-valve engine fitted with a supercharger and large SU carbureter to achieve 100 mph. The supercharged engine would be removed after the high-speed runs to be replaced with a standard side-valve engine, with smaller, leaner SU carbureter, for the economy runs.

Driven by Bill Von der Becke at Brooklands on Wednesday the 12^th August 1931 the record was set achieving 100.39 mph over two flying mile runs. On a carefully selected road between Birmingham and Coventry, the same car and driver recorded 107.4 miles on a single gallon of pump fuel at an average of 15.3 mph.

Morris never claimed the 100 mph and 100 mpg was achieved using a standard production car, but they did advertise the showroom models with the headline £100/100mph/100mpg and ran a series of magazine and cinema adverts as well as extensive dealer promotions. The Triple Ton Minor also received significant coverage in the motoring press.

The stunt worked, and sales rose in 1932. A total of 19,252 Minors sold (4,487 OHC and 14,765 side-valve) against 20,121 units of the Austin 7. While a very basic specification, two-door, three-speed Minor was offered at £100, dealers were relieved to find the majority of sales were of the higher priced, four-speed model.

It is worth noting that George Herbert Skinner, the inventive genius who had designed and patented all of the SU constant depression carbureters died in 1931, with all motoring press of the time publishing an obituary to the man who invented the carbureter as we know it today.

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In the United States, that process led to vehicles like the Meyers Manx. In Europe, Volkswagen itself adopted the basic Beetle chassis and parts into the Type 181, or as it was later known in the United States, “The Thing.” And, at almost the exact same time, Volkswagen in Australia had a similar thought about how a Beetle-based vehicle could tackle that country’s beach scene. The result: the Country Buggy.

Conceived first as a potential military vehicle, the Country Buggy was designed and engineered in Australia using Type 1 and Type 2 Volkswagen components. Designed with short overhangs to increase its approach and departure angles off-road, the Country Buggy’s exhausts fed through its bumper to raise ground clearance. Power from the stock Beetle flat-four cylinder engine went to the rear wheels via portal axles from the early Type 2 buses. In keeping with its utilitarian approach, the Buggy had no doors, only high side sills that could be closed off with vinyl curtains, and a folding windshield and either hard or soft-top roof. The bodywork was flat-stamped steel, with Beetle headlamps pushed into the fenders.

Though the project had promised when it began for Volkswagen Australia in the early 1960s, by the time the first Country Buggy models left the factory in 1968, conditions warranting its build had changed. The final model wasn’t suited for military applications, and with the Type 181 launching globally, few customers in Australia saw the appeal. After a brief run of just 1,952 vehicles, Country Buggy production ended in Australia.

And yet, it lived on. Partially assembled Country Buggy kits later shipped to the Philippines, where they were generally well received. When the Type 181 went into production, the chassis was sold in the Philippines with locally built Country Buggy bodies. And in 1972, Volkswagen invested with other firms in local production in the Philippines of a lightly modified Country Buggy called “Sakbayan” – a Filipino portmanteau that translates to “people’s car,” which remained in production for several years.

Today, Country Buggy and Sakbayan fans have preserved their vehicles as collector’s items. The Country Buggy was a rare model from a specific era, but thanks to those who cherish them, they will never go completely extinct.

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Artioli’s love of cars is closely linked to his background. Born close to Mantua, the home town of racing driver Tazio Nuvolari, as a child he was fascinated by racing drivers and their cars. At the age of 12, he devoured a book on driver’s licenses. “After that, it was clear to me that my life would be dedicated to cars and engines,” he once told the magazine Classic Driver. Artioli studied mechanical engineering in Bolzano, and after the war he repaired cars.

When in 1952, at the age of 20, Artioli heard the news that production at Bugatti had ceased (at least for the time being), he was shocked. A brand of such superior quality, sophisticated design, ideas and technical achievement had to one day be revived. At that moment he vowed: “If no one reacts to the situation at Bugatti, I will work as long as it takes to one day bring the brand back”. It would take 39 years for him to achieve his ambition. Over the coming years, the Italian earned his living as a vehicle importer, including the brands GM and Suzuki. He became the largest importer of Japanese cars in Italy and the largest Ferrari dealer. His private car collection at that time featured numerous historic Bugatti models.

By the mid 1980s, the Italian had begun to negotiate the sale of the brand with the French government – discreetly and concealed from public view for two years. In 1987, he founded Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. and became its chairman. Artioli initially wanted to resurrect the company in Molsheim. “Molsheim is comparable to Maranello in Italy or Hethel in England. It is a Mecca for Bugatti, but at the time there were neither production halls nor engineers in the region,” says the 88-year-old. He asked fans of the brand to support him to create a link between Molsheim and a new location – Campogalliano.

State-of-the-art car production plant built in Campogalliano

In the years that followed, the world’s most modern car production plant was built with intensive planning on a site covering 240,000 square meters in the vicinity of Ferrari, Maserati, De Tomaso and Lamborghini. The site incorporates an administrative building, design studio, engine and test development area, production halls, test track, a stylish canteen, and exhibition space. The halls are open, bathed in natural light, and fitted with air conditioning systems so that the employees feel as though they are sitting in the open air. He handed the architectural commission to his cousin Giampaolo Benedini, who designed a spectacular building – one which went on to inspire other manufacturers. Benedini also modified the initial design of the future super sports car, smoothing the sharp edges and the extreme wedge shape. “With the EB 110, we had to push the boundaries in terms of performance and quality. I owed that to Ettore Bugatti. Production output was less important than uncompromising quality and innovation,” explains Artioli, who today commutes between his office in Lyon and his family home in Trieste. The car enthusiast enlisted the region’s top engineers and designers to put his plan into action.

The EB 110 came into being on a blank sheet of paper, breaking with many of the conventions of its class and reaching the peak of automotive excellence. It was to become the best and fastest super sports car in the world. The EB 110 featured the first series-produced carbon chassis, all-wheel drive, four turbochargers, and a 3.5-liter V12 engine with five valves per cylinder and a power output of 550 PS. With a top speed of over 351 km/h, the two-seater broke multiple records. Almost 30 years ago, on Ettore Bugatti’s 110th birthday (September 15, 1991), Romano Artioli presented the EB 110 in Paris. Over 5,000 reporters and leading industry figures from all over the world, not to mention countless eager spectators, attended the premiere in Paris. Several hundred security personnel were needed to safeguard the event on the Place de la Défense. All of the fans shrieked as Alain Delon drove down the Champs-Élysées with Artioli’s wife Renata.

The most high-profile customer was Michael Schumacher, who had tested various super sports cars as part of a comparison test for a car magazine and had been particularly impressed by the EB 110, which he regarded as unrivaled. “Michael came to Campogalliano immediately after and purchased a yellow Super Sport with a blue GT interior. He did not ask for a discount – he was clearly a fan,” recalls Artioli. Every owner was able to individually configure their own EB 110, like a tailor-made suit.

However, times changed. While the response to the EB 110 had been extremely enthusiastic despite the global financial crisis, the Americans were suffering from the effects of the Gulf War, and the value of the yen was rising while in Italy the economy was collapsing – the market shrank and sales fell. Moreover, Artioli had invested in the automotive company Lotus and amassed debts; problems with suppliers followed.

After 39 years of dreaming and seven years of hard work, the Bugatti project under Romano Artioli came to an end. On September 23, 1995, after the construction of around 128 vehicles, he filed for bankruptcy. He paid his 220 employees up to the very last day. “The employees understood the spirit of Bugatti. They were what made the EB 110 so special, losing all that was a shock. It was a terrible day for all of us,” explains Artioli. The almost completed EB 112 super saloon could no longer be launched. “An incredible car, a delight to drive, with a 6.0-liter V12 installed behind the front axle. The chassis was made of carbon fiber and the internal suspension was lightweight. It drove like a go-kart,” recalls Artioli. But the legend that is Bugatti did not rest for long. In 1998, Bugatti returned to the French town of Molsheim, to the place where, in 1909, Ettore Bugatti built his first car in his own name.

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For some, the earliest memories of Alpine are of the iconic A110 snaking along snowy Monte Carlo stages high in the Alps, the mountains that inspired the brand’s name. For others, it’s taking on the rocky trails of rallies like the Acropolis and then there’s Alpine’s single-seater racing days, Le Mans or even its rallycross program.

Alpine cars have long taken advantage of their celebrated agility and light weight construction to put French engineering on top, with highlights ranging from the inaugural World Rally crown in 1973 to victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours five years later.

Back on track

After a long spell away from motorsport, there was a desire to rekindle the flame and taste victory once more. In 2013, Signatech-Alpine Team Principal Philippe Sinault was tasked with leading the manufacturer’s triumphant return to the racetrack.

He explains: “Our adventure with Alpine dates back to late 2012. Groupe Renault approached us to explore ways of bringing the brand back into motorsport as part of its bid to relaunch the Alpine name. It didn’t take long for endurance racing to emerge as the perfect arena.”

Thirty-five years after its triumph at Le Mans, Alpine made its circuit racing comeback in 2013, with an LMP2 prototype.

Sinault describes how the winning instinct is embedded in Alpine’s DNA: “The commando-like mindset we have today is the same as that which helped Alpine to forge its rich heritage in motorsport, frequently running with fewer resources than its rivals but driven by creative thinking and gritty determination.”

On the victory trail

Alpine lost no time recovering its place at the top of the podium. After securing back-to-back European Le Mans Series crowns in 2013 and 2014, Signatech-Alpine stepped up to the World Endurance Championship in 2015, claiming the LMP2 crown in 2016 and 2019, and earning class wins at Le Mans in 2016, 2018 and 2019. This season, it has raised the bar further.

“After eight years of success in LMP2, we have set ourselves another challenge for 2021,” continues Philippe Sinault. “It’s the beginning of a new chapter for us because we’re going for overall victory!”

Alpine taking on several motorsport challenges

Beyond Alpine’s switch to the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class and its assault on Le Mans in August, Alpine faces numerous motorsport challenges this season, including participating in the Formula One championship for the first time.

Alpine has also re-entered rallying, in which it reaped its first success of the 2021 campaign half a century after the brand notched up its first Monte Carlo Rally victory. The triumph came from a privately entered Alpine A110 Rally, topping the R-GT order on this year’s winter classic, proving that the brand has lost none of its winning DNA.

Significant motorsport achievements

Rallying

• The International Championship for Manufacturers title in 1971
• World Rally Championship title in 1973
• Monte Carlo Rally wins in 1971 and 1973

Endurance racing

• Performance Index victory at Le Mans in 1964 and 1966
• European 2.0-litre Sports Car Championship for Makes in 1974
• Le Mans 24 Hours victory in 1978

Single-seater racing

• The European Formula Renault Championship title in 1972

Rallycross

• The European Rallycross Championship title in 1977

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The open-top two-seater weighed just 490 kilograms and was powered by a water-cooled, four-cylinder engine with a capacity of just under 1.5 liters and a power output initially of 40 PS, and later of 50 PS. The racecar had a top speed of 150 km/h – a speed that 100 years ago only considerably heavier and more powerful cars could achieve. However, even these cars rarely stood a chance against the light and agile Type 13 before the first bend. Their bodies were heavier, their chassis less precise, and their tires could rarely withstand the ordeal of racing for long.

Ettore Bugatti, on the other hand, discovered over 100 years ago that weight was the real enemy in motorsport, and started to systematically turn his focus to lightweight design. Weight optimization was already a priority in the first car to be built in his name, the Type 10. Work began on the Type 13 in 1910, and the car was continuously developed and optimized over the coming years. Bugatti took the Type 13 to the next level in 1921 with the Type 13 “Brescia”. The former had been equipped with a 1.35-liter engine since 1914. Due to the outbreak of the First World War, production was suspended shortly after, with the result that it was only after the war in 1919 when Bugatti developed a slightly modified model: now with 1,368-cc of displacement, modern four-valve technology, a vertical shaft and 30 PS of power. This made the Type 13 one of the first automobiles with four-valve technology. The use of white alloy for the crankshaft bearings and pistons was just as original 100 years ago, as was a fuel pump and a pump that sprayed oil onto specifically targeted components. A lightweight and easy-to-shift four-speed gearbox enabled the driver to change gears more easily.

Two years later, Ettore Bugatti increased the cylinder bore to 68 millimeters, which expanded the engine volume to 1,453-cc. In addition to the series production car, he also designed a vehicle for competitions. For this vehicle, he continued to fine-tune the details, used ball bearings, among other things, to make the crankshaft run more smoothly, increased the compression ratio of the engine and the carburetor flow rate, and used a magnetic dual ignition for two spark plugs per combustion chamber. Thus, the racing engine compensated for the inertia of the sparks at high engine speeds, initially of 2,700 rpm, and subsequently rising to 4,500 rpm, and ensured reliable and powerful combustion. The Type 13 reacted quickly to throttle inputs, and was easy to maneuver through corners thanks to extremely precise steering. Lightweight wire-spoked wheels instead of heavy wooden wheels reduced the unsprung masses and increased agility.

“What already set Bugatti cars apart 100 years ago was high material performance and quality, as well as careful workmanship,” explains Luigi Galli, Specialist Heritage & Certification at Bugatti. “This made the legendary Type 13 not only the fastest, but also the most agile and reliable car on the Grand Prix racetracks of the last century, and caused a sensation from its very first appearances at the beginning of the 1920s.”

The model celebrated its greatest triumph at the Grand Prix for Voiturettes in Brescia in September 1921, thereby cementing its status as unbeatable. Four Type 13 cars finished in the top four places – the remarkable victory became synonymous with the model. And this remains true up to the present day. In the 1920s, the cars won almost every competition they entered. Especially in the tough road and mountain races, with their tight bends, poor road surface, potholes, sand, and piles of stones, the lightweight, powerful sports cars from Molsheim had the edge over their competitors.

The Bugatti Type 13 heralded a golden decade, and the company flourished. Over the next few years, the French factory sold 711 cars of this type with the 16-valve racing engine, in addition to 388 cars with engines featuring a smooth-rotating crankshaft with ball bearings. Bugatti continued to implement the concept of the Type 13 successfully with different vehicle lengths, for example in the Type 15, Type 17, Type 22 and Type 23. The Type 13 was produced in Molsheim until 1926.

Bugatti sold around 2,000 of the model in total. Employees had already started work on the Type 35 in 1925. This model took the successful series forward, and followed in the tire tracks of its legendary predecessor. Over the next few years, it was to become the most successful racecar of all time, clocking up over 2,000 victories.

The glorious Grand Prix days of the marque continue to be an important part of Bugatti’s company history, and the historic models like the Type 13 and Type 35 are still a source of inspiration for the bran’s modern hyper sports cars

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Teresa de Filippis was the first woman to qualify for a Formula 1 Grand Prix, behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F. Hers is a story of passion and audacity and for this reason, Maserati celebrates her achievements on the occasion of International Women’s Day, March 8.

“I was either courageous or reckless, or foolhardy; Call it what you want, I just liked to go at full speed”

Maria Teresa de Filippis (1926-2016)

Maria Teresa de Filippis was born in Naples in 1926 and decided to enter the world of motor racing almost as a challenge. In 1948, she participated in her first race; at only 22 years of age she won the 10 km Salerno-Cava de ‘Tirreni, 500-cc class of the touring car category, decisively beating her male colleagues. That very first victory ignites her passion for racing and in the following year she triumphed in several competitions in the 750cc category.

During 1953 – 1954 she moved on to an Osca 1100-cc in which she won the 12 Hours of Pescara, the Trullo d’Oro, the Catania-Etna, and the circuits of Caserta and Syracuse.

Maria Teresa de Filippis transitioned to a Maserati 2000 A6GCS in 1955. In an article she later wrote about her racing years, she said: “A powerful car with which I felt I could do anything…and I did”, adding, “Poor car! So many spectacular accidents, but also so many victories!” Chief among which was the victory in the Catania-Etna in record time, which remained undefeated for the following three years. She finished in second place in the 2000-cc class championship of 1955.

In 1958, behind the wheel of a private Maserati 250F, Maria Teresa de Filippis made her debut in the GP of Syracuse and then competed in her first Formula World Championship Grand Prix in Belgium. A number of female racing drivers have competed in motor sport over the years, but only Maria Teresa de Filippis holds the unique record, one that can never be broken or equaled, of being the first woman to compete in Formula 1.

Able to stand out in an environment that had previously been considered exclusively male, Maria Teresa de Filippis earned the respect and esteem of her rivals.

Five years after her death, the strength and importance of her accomplishments continue to define her legacy and her ground-breaking contributions to the advancement of women in sport.

The post Maria Teresa de Filippis: A Story of Audacity appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

Hispano Suiza was founded on June 14, 1904 by Damián Mateu, with the support of engineer Marc Birkigt, a Swiss who had come to Spain to revolutionize the automobile industry, and who had worked on the two predecessors of Hispano Suiza: La Cuadra and J.Castro. Since the beginning of the century, Birkigt had worked on the development of 10 and 14 hp vehicles, which formed the foundations of the company and were delivered at the end of the same year.

A few months later, in 1905, Hispano Suiza produced its first vehicle, the armored type Birkigt system, which was equipped with a four-cylinder engine and delivered 20 CV of power, with a top speed of 87 km/h. It was followed, a year later, by what would be the first car with a six-cylinder engine built in Spain, a model delivering 75 HP of power that came to complete the Perpignan-Paris route in 22 hours, a feat that received a great deal of media attention.

Hispano Suiza began to grow, set up a factory in France and sold the manufacturing license to other manufacturers in the United Kingdom, Italy and the former Czechoslovakia, which contributed to its expansion throughout the world. Little by little, it began to rival the great manufacturers of the time and became synonymous with luxury and high society.

Its cars caught the attention of King Alfonso XIII, a car enthusiast. The monarch gave notable national and international visibility to Hispano Suiza, and came to play an important role within the brand. So much so that a car was named after him, the T45, or “Alfonso XIII”.

The Hispano Suiza Stork

During World War I, Hispano Suiza focused its efforts on manufacturing aviation engines, putting into practice all the experience acquired in the automotive industry. It was an important period for the company, which prospered. Even today, its legacy as a successful manufacturer of aeronautical engines (more than 50,000 units were produced) is still present in Hispano Suiza vehicles, through its legendary logo: the stork. The stork, pays tribute to the French squadron emblem painted on the side of a Hispano-Suiza powered fighter aircraft that had been flown during World War I. Together with the Spanish and Swiss flags, it has become the trademark logo of the manufacturer.

The first model to sport the silver stork was the H6B, a revolutionary vehicle with a 6-cylinder engine, with a top speed of 150 km/h. This car holds an important place in the history of the brand, since it was behind its wheel that André Dubonnet won the George Boillot Cup, an endurance race held in Boulogne (France). His Majesty King Alfonso XIII himself also drove an H6 to compete in the “Cuesta de las Perdices” race, in the outskirts of Madrid. This type of racing subjected the brand’s vehicles to a demanding test, which they passed with flying colours, thus becoming synonymous with reliability and high performance.

Dubonnet himself would play an important role for Hispano Suiza over the following years. In 1932 the Dubonnet Xenia was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. The vehicle, based on the H6B, incorporated the independent suspension system designed by Dubonnet himself, where leaf springs had been replaced by coil springs. In 1936 a second version was launched, even more aerodynamic and spectacular than the first one, with sliding doors, wraparound windscreen, futuristic lines and a Hispano type 68 bis 12-cylinder engine delivering 250 hp.

After the Spanish Civil War, Hispano Suiza continued to develop increasingly powerful engines and vehicles, with an even more exclusive design, such as the T60 or the K36. The company was restructured and divided into three areas: one dedicated to aviation and military equipment, another to cars, trucks and buses, and a third one focused on machinery and tools. In 1953, after a number of financially challenging years, and after the nationalization of “La Hispano-Suiza, Fábrica de Automóvil, SA”, the dream started by Damián Mateu and Mark Birkigt at the beginning of the century was put on hold.

Over the years, Hispano Suiza became synonymous with luxury and exclusivity, only available to a selected few. Hispano Suiza cars belonged to aristocrats, intellectuals and the most renowned artists in the world. Its list of illustrious clients included: Alfonso XIII of Spain, Gustavo V of Sweden, Carlos II of Romania, Luis II of Monaco, Pablo Picasso, André Citroën, Coco Chanel, René Lacoste or Albert Einstein and more recently Paul McCartney, to name but a few.

A new era: the new meaning of luxury on wheels

Hispano Suiza is now back on the automotive scene, with a new project led by Miguel Suqué Mateu, great-grandson of the founder, who keeps alive the legacy of the brand. Belonging to the Peralada Group, Hispano Suiza was relaunched in 2019 at the Geneva Motor Show, when it showcased a fully electric, truly breathtaking vehicle: the Carmen. This exclusive 1,019 hp model has been designed, developed and built entirely in Spain.

Its exterior is inspired by the classic Dubonnet Xenia and shares the values ​​that converted Hispano Suiza into one of the greatest exponents of the luxury automotive industry, with timeless design, meticulous craftsmanship and scrupulous attention to detail. Its most radical version, the Carmen Boulogne, arrived the following year, in 2020. The Carmen Boulogne delivers 1,114 hp and pays tribute to Dubonnet´s victory in France.

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In the late 1950s, Thompson was more closely associated with Pontiac performance than any other racer on the American scene, so when Pontiac Division General Manager Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen was appointed to manage Chevrolet in 1961, it was almost inevitable that he would choose Thompson as an early recipient of Chevrolet’s new 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Z06, Zora Arkus-Duntov’s factory-weaponized racing Corvette.

Thompson eventually came to possess not one Z06 but a total of five, a circumstance that has led to some confusion over the years as to their individual histories. The most persistent mystery has surrounded the car Thompson used as his personal driver and to promote his new line of high-performance wheels in partnership with Rader Wheels. Before delving into that story, however, it is necessary to revisit the histories of the other four Z06 coupes raced by Thompson.

Two Z06 coupes, a Daytona Blue car wearing No. 3 and a silver No. 4, were prepared with their factory 327/360 HP fuel-injected engines for the Daytona Continental Three Hours race on February 17, 1963. The other two, a silver No. 3 and a white No. 4, were modified with Chevrolet’s secret new 427 CI “Mystery Motors” for the Daytona American Challenge race the previous day, February 16.

In addition to the 427 engines, these two Z06 coupes received numerous other modifications that were consistent with the methods used during that period by Holman and Moody in preparing cars for NASCAR competition. These included four extra shock absorbers, flat aluminum floors, frame reinforcement welds, a large adjustable front sway bar on a welded bracket and large exhaust exits through the frame rails in front of the rear wheels. Additionally, a reinforcing brace extended from behind the driver through the floor to the right front frame rail to counteract the G-force loads caused by the steep banking at Daytona. Along with these chassis modifications, one of the most unique characteristics was the oversized six-lug rear spindles and front hubs, in contrast to the standard five on production cars.

The fifth Mickey Thompson Z06, also white and bearing Serial No. 6844, remained in virtually stock configuration. For years, it was claimed that Thompson used this car in the 1964 Bonneville Speed Trials to test and promote Sears Allstate tires. The tests were highly publicized; photographs showing Thompson in a white Corvette Z06 coupe at speed on the salt were published throughout the automotive press.

When collector Mike Pillsbury discovered 6844 in Southern California in the early 1980s, he believed it to be the Sears/Allstate Tire Test Car, or the “Bonneville car” as it later came to be called. It was presented in Noland Adams’ “Corvette Restoration Guide,” and was also listed in the Big Tank Survey and the Registry of Corvette Race Cars. It was accepted into the Bloomington Gold Special Collection in 1995 and the Chicago Chevy VetteFest Ultimate Showcase in 1996. It received the NCRS Special Interest Award at Cypress Gardens Florida in 1997. It was then put on display at the National Corvette Museum for 18 months, during which it was shown at the NCRS National Meet in Collinsville, Illinois, in July 1998, where it again won the Special Interest Award. The car also appeared in over a dozen feature magazine articles.

But the first hint of its actual history appeared early on when Pillsbury and fellow Corvette specialist Mike Scott discovered Thompson’s Chevron credit card—featuring an expiration date of November 1964—inside the driver’s door. Pillsbury confirmed the card’s origins in a personal conversation with Mickey Thompson, and it has been part of the car’s documentation ever since.

In 1994, Pillsbury sold 6844 to Bill Lacy of Florissant, Missouri. Lacy began restoring the car under the same mistaken impression about its history, an impression shared by many others for years after its completion, as indicated by the aforementioned wealth of awards and honors.

Despite this impressive body of accolades, enough observers had raised questions over the years that doubts persisted as to the car’s origins. To determine the truth once and for all, in early 2012, Mecum Auctions’ Founder Dana Mecum hired Prove It, a forensic investigation service created and headed by Bloomington Gold founder and Corvette preservation expert David Burroughs. Burroughs’ research team, which included Eric Gill and Franz Estereicher, both highly respected Z06 authorities, conducted a thorough forensic investigation, examining period photographs, interviewing expert witnesses, including Lacy, and examining relevant materials associated with 6844.

In June 2012, the Prove It team issued a report detailing the investigation’s findings. Using the “same general procedure commonly used in courts throughout the United States called Preponderance of Evidence,” they were able to determine that 6844 was in fact not the Bonneville Car. Specifically, photos taken during the Bonneville event revealed “that the exhaust exits, anti-sway bar, and the much longer shock absorbers and fenderwell cut-outs used for Daytona are still evident at Bonneville.”

The report further stated that because only one of the two white Z06 Corvettes was prepared in accordance with documented Holman & Moody modifications, it was logical to infer 6844 was not the Bonneville car because 6844 would have borne, at the very least, “permanent and significant scars of alteration to both body and frame,” whereas a pre-restoration video by Lacy shows “no evidence of either the current installation of these NASCAR modifications or any repair from them.

“The frame was nearly perfectly preserved and intact per factory production. Engine compartment fenderwells were also intact with no evidence whatsoever of ever being cut out for installation of the extra-long front shock absorbers. The original 1963 white fiberglass floor remains in #6844 and has never been removed, according to Lacy. These facts are confirmed by Lacy who clearly remembers how nicely preserved (and stock) the frame and body were before any restoration was begun. Although the [front inner] fender wells were replaced with the current ones, Lacy stated that the originals were never cut out and the Lacy video on-file confirms that.”

Simply put, the white Daytona car and the white Bonneville car are one and the same, meaning that 6844 was in fact Thompson’s daily driver and the same car that appeared in the Rader Wheels advertising photographs. This conclusion is also supported by photographs taken at Bonneville of a white fuel-injected coupe, equipped with Rader-Mickey Thompson prototype wheels, that is identical to the car that appeared in the magazine ads for the same wheels.

Another very important piece of evidence, overlooked for years but included in the report, was a letter written to Corvette Fever Magazine by the late Doug Hooper, who won the three-hour production race prior to the October 13, 1962, Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside in Thompson’s Daytona Blue Z06. Commenting on a story about Thompson in the December 1998 issue, Hooper listed the four Thompson racing Z06 Corvettes and wrote, “There was another white one that Mickey used as his personal driver. That car was left stock.” He then concluded, “Maybe that was Mickey’s street car.”

In addition to concluding that 6844 could not be the white Z06 modified, prepared for or raced at Daytona, Bonneville or Riverside, Burroughs’ report also provides persuasive evidence that it was “the fifth Mickey Thompson Z06 Corvette—a very rare and unique vehicle in its own right.” First, the Chevron credit card, the expiration date of which places it “within the period of Thompson’s likely use of the car as his personal driver.” Mechanical details common to the other Thompson Z06 Corvettes and the aforementioned photographs are also part of this body of evidence.

It is fair to ask how 6844 could have been confused with the Bonneville car for so long, a matter also addressed in Burroughs’ report. It comes down to the fact that more connected and corroborated documentation emerged over the years and, when through the efforts of Burroughs and his team it was amassed and examined as a whole, the mystery was finally solved to the satisfaction of everyone involved in the Prove It investigation. Now this rare piece of Corvette and Mickey Thompson history is set to change hands at Mecum Auction’s Kissimmee sale January 7–16. For more information visit www.mecum.com

The post Thompson’s Personal Tank — 1963 Corvette Z06/N03 appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

The 300SL lived up to the promise of that extravaganza with a new standard of grand touring performance and luxury, with an emphasis on performance. Its innovative, lightweight space frame virtually duplicated that of the 300SL racers, as did the all-independent suspension and robust drum brakes. The first 4-stroke production engine to employ fuel injection, the SL’s dry sump-lubricated 3.0L inline-6 powerplant was laid over at a 50 degree angle to allow the car’s low hoodline, and it used long ram tubes feeding the intake charge directly to each cylinder from a single large plenum drawing fresh air from the front of the car. Its 215 HP output was enough to power a car equipped with the highest axle ratio to 160 MPH, making it the world’s fastest production car.

Rendered in steel with aluminum doors, hood and trunk lid, the 300SL’s purposeful bodywork was elegantly accented with dual hood bulges to clear the cam cover and intake plenum, sculpted spears above the wheel openings, and exhaust vents on the front fenders inspired by the contemporary W196 Grand Prix cars. Even by today’s lofty supercar standards, the 300SL’s interior excels in comfort and ergonomics with supportive seating and excellent all-around visibility. A set of custom-fitted luggage was a welcome accessory.

According to Mercedes-Benz factory records, this stunning 300SL “Gullwing” coupe was completed on August 11, 1956, with special-order Graphite Grey paint and a blue plaid interior, and then shipped to the Mercedes-Benz dealer in Düsseldorf, Germany, for delivery to the Prince of Salm-Salm, a mediatized principality in the northwestern area of now modern-day France. The prince retained ownership of the Gullwing coupe until Dr. J. Theodore Luros, a neurosurgeon from Indianapolis, Indiana, acquired it in 1961. Active members of the Gullwing Group, Dr. and Mrs. Luros happened to see another member’s 300SL at a concours event and were so struck by its factory optional Code DB543 Strawberry Red Metallic paint that they decided to have theirs refinished in the same color.

Dr. Luros cared for his beloved Gullwing until 2005, when he sold it to its third owner, a long-time marque owner/enthusiast whose collection had included a number of 300SLs acquired over the years through world-renowned restoration expert Rudi Koniczek of British Columbia, Canada. He commissioned Koniczek and his elite team of specialists to perform a cosmetic and mechanical restoration, once again in the same Strawberry Red finish. Recently, this very special Gullwing’s fourth and latest owner has had the car cosmetically refreshed once again, returning it to its original Graphite Grey paint and maintaining the contrasting tan leather interior.

This magnificent 300SL Gullwing coupe retains its original matching-numbers engine, the original belly pans, highly desirable color-matching fitted luggage, factory-installed Becker Mexico radio, SWF windshield washer system, VDO gauges and tool kit, and comes with extensive documentation that includes the original 1961 title and Bill of Sale, prior registrations, restoration records and owner’s manual.

This unique Gullwing, fit for a prince, will be offered for sale at Mecum Auctions’ upcoming Kissimmee sale, January 7–16. For more details visit www.mecum.com

The post Fit for a Prince— 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

But perhaps less well-known are Aston Martin’s European Grand Prix and, later, Formula 1 exploits. These may not be as famous, but they are equally notable. Indeed, from the very beginning of the Aston Martin business 107 years ago—founded by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in 1913 in a small London workshop—top-flight motorsport participation was integral to the company’s very ethos and identity.

Now, as the British luxury brand prepares to return to the F1 grid for the first time in more than 60 years, it is the ideal moment to look back on the brand’s previous endeavours in the world’s most competitive and challenging motorsport class.

1920s

From his earliest days at the helm of the fledgling sports car firm, Aston Martin co-founder Lionel Martin dreamt of putting the name of the business he had created with partner Robert Bamford into the headline-grabbing arena of Grand Prix racing.

The Aston Martin name had been established on the hillclimb courses of Great Britain and Lionel himself had notable success at the wheel of his own car, but he knew competitive Grand Prix racing around Europe would bring the wider fame he craved for his company.

At the start of the ‘Roaring 20s’ that dream moved toward reality when Martin was introduced to a young racing driver, Count Louis Zborowski. This fabulously wealthy son of a Polish Count and an American heiress had an unquenchable thirst for speed, and a strong hankering for motorsport.

With a fortune that in today’s money would comfortably class him as a billionaire, Zborowski had ample resources at his disposal which, allied to his existing knowledge of Aston Martin as a driver of some the brand’s earliest side-valve open wheel racers, gave him the confidence to commission not one but two race cars from the business.

Working with Lionel Martin and his team they hit on a plan to build two cars to compete in the 1922 Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) event. Zborowski supplied around £10,000 for the project – a small fortune at the time – with the money going toward not only the cars but also the creation of an entirely new 16-valve twin overhead cam four-cylinder race engine.

The first Aston Martin Grand Prix car, featuring this 1,486cc unit, was good for around 55bhp at 4,200 rpm. The car weighed in at 750kg, had a top speed of 85mph and carried two seats – one off-set, as per the Grand Prix regulations of the time, to accommodate the riding mechanic who was an essential member of the team not least because part of his job was to pressurise the fuel tank via a hand pump.

Incredibly, by today’s standards at least, the car was driven by road to the race meetings it competed in.

As ever with Aston Martin, the engine itself has a story behind it. While 16-valve race engines had been successfully developed for a few years by 1922 – Peugeot, Bugatti and A.L.F.A. had all developed large capacity 16-valve units for racing and speed record activities – the genesis of the Aston Martin powerplant is believed to be considerably more colourful.

Count Zborowski’s close friend and fellow racer, Clive Gallop, had an acquaintance with Peugeot engineer Marcel Gremillion. The talented Frenchman had been a pupil of the great engine designer Ernest Henry, now at Ballot.

Gremillion persuaded Henry to let him have details of the 3.0-litre Ballot engine. Henry did no more than tear his drawings in half which Gremillion then adapted into the Bamford & Martin single cam, 16-valve, lower-half in return for what was described as a substantial bag of gold coins!

Thus, with a blueprint torn in two, the Henry-designed 3.0-litre became the Bamford & Martin single cam, 16-valve, 1.5.

Grand Prix debut

While chassis TT1 and TT2 were intended to race in the Tourist Trophy event on 22 June 1922, time was against the team and they could not be made ready. Instead, it was decided to give the cars their first outing at the 2.0-litre French Grand Prix on 15 July at Strasbourg – thereby marking Aston Martin’s debut in Grand Prix competition.

Zborowski was at the helm of TT1, with Len Martin (no relation) as his mechanic, while Clive Gallop piloted TT2 assisted by mechanic H.J. Bentley (also no relation).

Perhaps unavoidably as a result of a lack of power due to the engine’s smaller-than-race-required capacity, alongside their hurried development and a regulated need to carry ballast, both cars retired with engine problems. But the experience was sufficiently exhilarating for the fledgling team, based at Abingdon Road, Kensington, to continue Grand Prix adventure.

Having been hastily constructed initially, the TT cars were developed over time and in the months and years that followed they secured several podium finishes including a second place at the 1922 Grand Prix de Penya Rhin, staged on the Villafranca circuit. The team repeated the result at the same event the following year; and took third at the Grand Prix de Boulogne, also in 1923.

The untimely death of Zborowski in 1924, almost inevitably at the wheel of a racing car, signalled the beginning of the end of Aston Martin’s first foray into top flight motorsport and, many successful privateer appearances notwithstanding, it would be another 20 years before the brand made another serious impression in Grand Prix racing.

1940s

While perhaps technically not a ‘top-flight’ event, the 1946 Belgian Sports Car Grand Prix is worthy of note in the context of Aston Martin’s racing ambitions.

Early post-war motorsport across Europe was a somewhat organic affair by today’s standards of leading-edge technology and relentless development. Many of the cars competing for honours less than a year after World War Two ended were, unsurprisingly, not entirely new.

Pre-war Aston Martin ‘Speed Model’ racers were still competitive, and so it was not a shock to see a now-famous 1936 Aston Martin 2.0-litre sports car compete in the 1946 Sports Car Grand Prix Automobile de Belgique, which took place on 16 June at the temporary road course adjacent to the Bois De La Cambre, Brussels.

At the wheel for this event was one of the most colourful characters ever to be associated with the brand: St John Ratcliffe Stewart Horsfall – or ‘Jock’ as he was widely known.

Born to a well-to-do family and one of six boys, Jock took to the automotive world early and acquired his first Aston Martin in 1934, aged just 24. A successful stockbroker, Horsfall quickly became part of the Aston Martin ‘family’ and helped the brand significantly with development and testing.

During the war he served with MI5 and among his varied duties was the task of driving MI5 officers and agents, double agents, and captured enemy spies from one place to another, very fast. This was all the more remarkable since Horsfall was astigmatic and severely short-sighted, but was averse to wearing glasses to correct his vision.

He was also involved in testing the security of naval sites and airfields and was privy to a good deal of highly classified information. Certainly, his most famous ‘secret’ activity was his role as a driver in Operation Mincemeat – a successful deception of the Axis powers’ forces to disguise the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943.

Interestingly, it is believed that this secret operation was inspired by a memo detailing enemy deception tactics written in 1939 by Rear Admiral John Godfrey, the Director of the Royal Navy’s Intelligence Division, and his personal assistant, one Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming.

In the Belgian post-war Sports Car Grand Prix event, Jock’s own vehicle took the chequered flag ahead of a cluster of Frazer Nash, BMW and Alvis competitors. A notable win for a ‘vintage’ machine.

The race car was powered by a four cylinder 1,950cc overhead cam engine that produced around 125bhp, and weighed around 800kg. With an ‘Ulster Style’ open body, two seats, and separate wings it could hit 120mph.

But even the victory in Belgium was perhaps not Horsfall’s crowning glory. That came three years later when he took second in class, and fourth overall, in the 1949 Spa 24-hour race as a privateer at the wheel of an Aston Martin Speed Model. What makes this achievement so remarkable is that while he had Paul Frère available as a co-driver, Horsfall chose to drive the car for the entire 24 hours single-handed.

Sadly, Horsfall was killed a little over four weeks later in a racing incident at the 1949 BRDC Trophy race, staged at Silverstone in the UK. His standing within the ranks on Aston Martin owners and enthusiasts can be measured, though, not least by the fact that the Aston Martin Owners’ Club organizes an annual race event in his memory: the St. John Horsfall Memorial Trophy.

1950s

The 1950s were an exciting time for Aston Martin. Company owner Sir David Brown, who had acquired the business in 1947 before adding the Lagonda brand later that same year, was steadily creating finely styled British sports cars of growing appeal.

Sir David recognized the importance of motorsport to the brand’s commercial success and, in 1955, hatched an audacious plan to create cars that would take on the best competition in both the World Sportscar Championship and the still relatively new Formula 1 World Championship.

The history books focus on the famous achievements of the Le Mans-winning DBR1, and the DB3S that preceded it, but the initial venture into single seaters, DP155, could be seen as a valuable learning exercise for the brand, and was the precursor to the later 1950s Grand Prix cars. Alongside this project, Sir David initiated work on a new engine, and a new road car design that would become the DB4.

So it was, then, that the Aston Martin DBR4 came into being. Tested as early as 1957, it was not until 1959 that the car made its competition debut at the BRDC International Trophy event, run to Formula 1 rules, at Silverstone in May of that year.

Two cars competed and car no. 1, driven by 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori, came in a creditable second behind Jack Brabham in a Cooper-Climax T51. Powered by a 2,493cc, dry sump, six-cylinder RB 250 engine, from the same basic design as the DBR1 sports car engine, the DBR4/250 was a 256bhp spaceframe single seater which weighed in at 575kg.

Despite being driven by some of the star names of the era, Salvadori and Carroll Shelby among them, the front-engined DBR4 was out of step with the new mid-engined competition and failed to mirror in Formula 1 what it’s DBR1 cousin famously achieved in the sports car arena. After a disappointing debut for its successor, the DBR5, Aston Martin withdrew from top-flight single seater motorsport in 1960.

2010s

In more recent years, and after a break of nigh on half a century, the Aston Martin wings returned to Formula 1 paddocks around the world as the company became title sponsor and technical partner of Red Bull Racing, a relationship that has also spawned the extraordinary Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar which is due to enter production in 2021.

The luxury brand is busy preparing a return to the grid in 2021 with the Aston Martin F1 Team, which will see Aston Martin compete in a competitive F1 race for the first time in over 60 years and continue the legacy created by founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford.

Lawrence Stroll, executive chairman of Aston Martin, said: “The return of the Aston Martin name to Formula 1, set against such a colorful and dynamic history in the sport, is a genuinely exciting time for all of us involved with this great British sports car brand

“The Formula 1 grid is the right place for Aston Martin. It’s where this brand should be, and I know this next chapter of our racing history will be incredibly exciting for fans of Aston Martin, and the sport of F1, all over the world.”

The post Fighting Spirit—A Brief History of Aston Martin in Grand Prix Racing appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

The story of SFM5013 begins with its arrival at Shelby American’s Venice, California, shop on December 20, 1964 as a special-order, partially completed Mustang 2+2 from the San Jose assembly plant, as orchestrated by GT350 Project Manager Chuck Cantwell. Work began on the car, which Shelby designated an “Advanced Prototype,” on January 5, 1965 and was completed on January 25. Upon its completion it served as a PR vehicle and appeared in an early Shelby American promotional poster. On May 20, 1965, SFM5013 was picked up by Hi-Performance Motors in Los Angeles, which sold the car to Christy. A close friend of Carroll Shelby, Christy had been in on the action swirling around Shelby American right from the start. He was one of the first to drive the fabled CSX2000, and he closely covered the Cobra’s development in the pages of Sports Car Graphic. He also completed a course at Shelby’s School of High Performance Driving and was active in SCCA racing. Invited by Shelby to test drive a new GT350 (5007), Christy famously conducted a 10,000-mile road test in the same car, from Los Angeles to Sebring, Florida, to New York City and back to Los Angeles, chronicling his experiences in the June and July 1965 issues of Sports Car Graphic. Christy was so enamored with the GT350’s performance and handling that, immediately upon completing that now-famous road trip, he committed to the purchase of 5013 on May 24, 1965.

As is clearly shown by the GT350’s present odometer reading of just 6,950 miles, Christy drove the car very sparingly. He also fastidiously preserved it in as-new condition, as did all its subsequent owners. According to the Shelby Registry, Steve J. Karlock of Camarillo, California, purchased 5013 in 1976. It changed ownership several times in the late 1980s, passing between several noted California collectors and vintage racers until landing with its present owner (also a highly regarded California collector and racer) in 1989. Recognizing the car’s uniquely original condition, its current owner chose not to so much as move it, except to have it serviced and to maintain its mechanical and cosmetic fitness; otherwise, it remained under cover and well protected. As a result, Shelby GT350 No. SFM5013 is, as the legendary Peter Brock describes it, “probably the only example extant today that remains virtually untouched.”

According to Shelby American Designer Peter Brock:

Among the thousands of Mustang coupes originally built by the Ford Motor Company, only a relative few were selected to be modified by Carroll Shelby. Among today’s generation of young car enthusiasts, who weren’t around when the charismatic Texan’s “Hot Rod Mustangs” debuted some 55 years ago, the rarity and historical significance of this amazing automobile might be missed. But for those of any age who know and love fine cars, any of Shelby’s GT350 Mustangs are a rare and wonderful sight … with a sound that’s pure music to those who can remember when it signaled the approach of true automotive wonder.

For the last couple of decades, discerning collectors have been trying to unearth a “real Shelby” as the dwindling number of still undiscovered examples has shrunk to almost zero. So, when any previously undiscovered GT350 is found in a barn or some dank, distant garage, it’s a cause for real celebration. Most “lost” GT350s, however, are in pretty wretched condition when discovered, and that’s probably why no one paid much attention to the rumors of some “old car” that was stored away years ago. Today, finding a GT350 Mustang in almost pristine condition is more than a minor miracle; it’s headline news on the automotive internet and the source of inestimable car guy conversations.

The recent announcement that GT350 No. 013 in almost perfect condition had been carefully stored away years ago was met with worldwide astonishment and disbelief that such an especially rare example still existed. Originally constructed as an “Advanced Prototype” for the Shelby team’s own promotion and development at Shelby’s legendary racing facility in Venice, California, the car never really left Shelby’s oversight. He sold it to good friend and magazine editor John Christy, who was honored by Shelby as one of the very first to ever drive a GT350, which became the subject of Christy’s road test for Sports Car Graphic. Christy fell in love with the car, and was then given an opportunity to buy Shelby GT350 No. 13 by Carroll Shelby.

When seen today it appears almost as it did back in 1965 when it was first constructed for promotional photos; that was the level of attention that Christy paid to this very special Mustang. Realizing the unique condition the car was in when purchased, its current owner never changed a thing, preferring to keep it as an historic icon of the Shelby era … it’s probably the only example extant today that remains virtually untouched.

Now, after 30 years of museum-quality storage, Shelby GT350 No. SFM5013 is being offered for sale at Mecum Auctions January 7–16 Kissimmee sale. For more information visit www.mecum.com

The post Shelby Time Machine—1965 Shelby GT350 “Advanced Prototype” appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

Many successful Bugatti racing drivers of the “golden era” were former pilots and perhaps not surprisingly many famous pilots were Bugatti enthusiasts.

Uncompromising racing cars and daring pilots. Bugatti is directly associated with numerous historic racing successes, in the glorious Grand Prix days of the brand. Racing cars produced by this French manufacturer from Alsace won several thousand competitions between 1920 and the mid-1930s alone. But apart from the extraordinary cars such as the legendary, agile and light Bugatti Type 35, the racing drivers in particular were largely responsible for this success. They were all cut from a very special cloth, sharing a passion for technology and speed, on land and in the air.

Aviation developed in parallel with the motor car, both of which were driven forward in France at the start of the 20th century. The first motorized aircraft took off in 1906, developed by a Brazilian living in Paris. Frenchman Louis Charles Breguet developed the first helicopter in 1907, and Frenchman Louis Blériot became the first man to fly across the English Channel in 1909. Ettore Bugatti decided to settle in Molsheim, Alsace that same year. The young developer loved extraordinary technology and was just as fascinated by aviation and pilots as he was by the motor car, which was still in its infancy. So it was hardly surprising that Bugatti didn’t just restrict himself to developing and designing light and powerful automobiles and thoroughbred racing cars, but developed speedboats, high-speed trains and aircraft as well. “Bugatti has been closely associated with motorsports and aviation for over 110 years. Early models demonstrate clear parallels to these two technical areas. This includes open mechanical systems, consistent lightweight construction a good power-to-weight ratio and initial attempts to improve aerodynamics,” says Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti. “Ettore Bugatti also designed and produced a wide variety of high-precision, light, powerful and technically demanding machines. In addition to the uncompromising racing cars, this also includes aircraft engines, and his own constructed aircraft.”

The first aircraft engine built by Bugatti around 1915 was a massive eight-cylinder inline engine producing 250 PS. These were followed by 16-cylinder engines with two blocks of eight cylinders, each positioned vertically side-by-side on a shared crankcase. The French government had no interest in the aircraft engines, but the Americans did. The further-developed King Bugatti 16-cylinder aircraft engine delivered 420 PS at about 2,000 rpm. It was planned to build at least 2,000 of these engines, but this plan was rendered obsolete when the First World War came to an end in November 1918. Probably only 40 of these engines were produced. Bugatti devoted himself increasingly to his vehicles in the years that followed, but in 1925 he still built a 16-cylinder aircraft engine, the Type 34, which he later used in a modified form in the Type 41 Royale. Ettore Bugatti was also interested in aviation on a personal level: he maintained close contact with former First World War pilots throughout his life. They wanted to transfer the allure of speed from the air to the road. And this was an idea that particularly appealed to Ettore Bugatti.

Louis Blériot

Louis Blériot was the first Frenchman to drive a Bugatti. This was a real honor for Ettore Bugatti, because Blériot was already famous by then. In July 1909, he became the first person to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane with the Blériot XI, a machine he developed himself, and became a national hero in France. It took him just 37 minutes to cover the approximately 35 kilometers from Calais to Dover. This didn’t go unnoticed by Ettore Bugatti either, who at the time was working as a design engineer at Gasmaschinenfabrik Deutz AG in Cologne. At an air show in Cologne, Ettore Bugatti asked Louis Blériot to stay at his house in Cologne and chauffeured him to the airport in the car he designed himself. Blériot was enthusiastic about the car and implored Bugatti to build the car himself. At that time, the 1909 Type 10 was just a draft design – still before Bugatti founded his own company. The vehicle anticipates what the brand Bugatti has stood for ever since: powerful and fast vehicles with a sometimes unrivalled power-to-weight ratio. With a weight of around 365 kilograms and an output of 10 PS, the car was able to reach speeds of up to 80 km/h, something which appealed to the pilot Louis Blériot. The two entrepreneurs kept in touch for life. Blériot remained loyal to flying, founded his own aircraft company and built his own aircraft. The aviation pioneer died in Paris in 1936.

Roland Garros

Although Roland Adrien Georges Garros (1888-1918) never raced for Bugatti, this French aviation pioneer had a close relationship with Bugatti. Garros bought a Santos-Dumont Demoiselle aircraft in 1910 and taught himself to fly. He then went on to become one of the most famous aviators in France. Garros achieved world fame when he successfully crossed the Mediterranean in an aeroplane in 1912 after winning various flying events and air races.

Garros became aware of Ettore Bugatti and his vehicles after his victory in the Type 18 at Mont Ventoux. Garros, who loved speed, was looking for a car that would allow him to go as fast on land as he did in the air. In 1913, he decided to purchase the Type 18, later known as “Black Bess” (after a British racehorse). The 5.0-liter, four-cylinder engine delivered up to 100 PS and was capable of speeds in excess of 150 km/h. Only six or seven of these racing cars, with a then unknown power-to-weight ratio and uncompromisingly sporty set-up were built. These vehicles became one of the first roadgoing super sports cars. Not only was the sale to Garros a huge marketing success for Bugatti, it was also the beginning of a close, albeit brief, friendship with the pilot, who once described Ettore as “the only artist who succeeds in filling steel with life”. During the First World War, Garros flew for the French Army and was shot down and killed in 1918.

Robert Benoist

Robert Benoist, born on March 20, 1895, served as a fighter pilot and flew reconnaissance aircraft during the First World War before becoming a flight instructor in 1918. After the end of his time as an active pilot, he increasingly transferred his enthusiasm for technology and speed to cars. So it was only logical that this talented young man should start in smaller races from 1920 onwards – initially as a test driver, later as a works driver. In 1924, Benoist became famous overnight when he won the French Grand Prix in a 12-cylinder Delage. He dominated races in 1927, winning the French, Spanish, Italian and British Grand Prix races and becoming the first World Champion. From 1934 onwards, Benoist handled assignments at Bugatti as a kind of motorsports manager, and ensured further successes as sales manager for Paris. But he wasn’t quite able to get by without the buzz that speed gave him: Benoist drove again in a few races between 1934 and 1937, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Jean-Pierre Wimille in a Type 57 G Tank. Robert Benoist was not only a gifted technician and racing driver, but also a man with attitude. During the Second World War he was one of the leaders of the Resistance in the fight against Nazi Germany. Benoist founded a resistance group alongside his former Bugatti colleagues William Grover-Williams and Jean-Pierre Wimille. Benoist’s courageous commitment cost him his life in 1944 – he was executed at the Buchenwald concentration camp on September 12.

Bartolomeo Costantini

Bartolomeo “Meo” Constantini (1889-1941) was fascinated by technical vehicles, and in particular aircraft, from childhood. He won fame as a daredevil ace pilot during the First World War. He began to develop an interest in fast cars not long afterwards. He raced for Aquila Italiana between 1914 and 1917 before then taking a break. Costantini achieved his greatest racing successes from 1923 onwards, when he joined Bugatti. In 1925 and 1926 he won the Targa Florio in Sicily and the French Grand Prix. Costantini ended his career as an active racing driver when his closest friend Giulio Masetti died at the Targa Florio in 1926. That said, he was unable to leave motorsport behind and went on to head the Bugatti works team for the next few years. It wasn’t until nine years later, in 1935, that he gave up his post and retired.

Albert Divo

Albert Eugène Diwo, born on January 24,1895, in Paris, began training as a ship mechanic at the age of 13. His phenomenal understanding of technically complex systems brought him into aviation, which at that time was still in its infancy. Diwo quickly got to grips with aircraft as both a technician and a pilot. He fought the First World War as a pilot while continuing to work on the ground as a mechanic. He didn’t want to leave behind the adrenaline rush in peacetime, and he won a number of races as a driver as early as 1919. Diwo switched to Bugatti in 1928 and soon changed his name to Divo, which means “star” in Italian, before winning the famous Targa Florio in Sicily in the same year and again in 1929 in a Type 35 B. For years, the Type 35 B has been regarded as the most mature and reliable racing car with an excellent power-to-weight ratio. Divo won many races, including six Grands Prix, over a period of 20 years. He continued to work in motorsports after the Second World War, as a race director for an oil producer. Albert Divo died in France in 1966.

Bugatti Aircraft Type 100 P

Ettore Bugatti’s fascination with speed remained unbroken despite the many blows of fate dealt to his friends. In 1937, ten years after Charles Lindbergh travelled from New York to Paris and crossed the Atlantic, the French Air Ministry asked him to design a modern aircraft for an air race – and so he got to work. Above all, this new machine had to be light and nimble.

Initial trials with two counter-rotating propellers, driven by two engines in series, were very promising. Bugatti was aiming to break the speed record of 709 km/h with the Type 100 P. The French Army was enthusiastic about the idea of this powerful aircraft and even offered a bonus if the record were to be broken as this would give the French Air Force a better aircraft than the Germans. However, the outbreak of the Second World War prevented completion of the Bugatti aircraft. It wasn’t until decades later that a replica of the Type 100 P actually took off.

The connection to aeronautics and to particularly light and uncompromising racing cars has existed at Bugatti for over 110 years. And the story is by no means over yet.

The post Bugatti’s “Dare Devils”—By Land & Air appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

George Herbert Skinner (also known as Bert) and Thomas Carlyle Skinner (also known as Carl) created the Skinners Union (SU) brand. Experimenting with fuel mixtures in the early 1900s they made their first carburetor in 1904 and went on to form The SU Company in 1910.

Carl Skinner had two children, Barbara (1911) and Peter (1914), both would become avid motorsport fans and drivers in their own right, but it was Barbara who had the talent to be naturally competitive at a time when women racing drivers had only recently been permitted to compete against men.

In the early 1900s the BARC ruled that women would not be permitted to race, drawing comparison to the fact there were no lady jockeys as a good reason for the ban. Despite outrage the decision stood until 1928 when women were permitted to compete in Ladies-only Handicaps. The BARC agreed women could race men in 1932.

On the 6th of April, 1932, Carl Skinner gifted his Morris Cowley Special for Barbara’s 21st birthday. Registered as YF 15 the Morris had been used as an SU development car before being transformed into a special for Carl Skinner’s own use. Fitted with an MG MKII 18/100 Tigresse road-racing engine the car was both fast and usable, providing Barbara with daily transport as well as a competitive racer.

Later that year, Barbara entered the car at the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb on September 3, the very same year the BARC finally permitted women to compete against men. She won the MAC Ladies Cup, a prize awarded for fastest ascent of the day –  achieved with a time of 56.6 seconds. This outing marked the start of a successful motorsport career for Barbara who proved to be a fast and determined driver.

YF 15 was retired from motorsport in 1932 as it failed to remain competitive, but it stayed with Barbara and she used it to tow her new White Minor racer to events. The White Minor was created on a chassis given on permeant loan to the Skinner family by Lord Nuffield, creator of the Morris Motor Company, acting as a wedding present to Barbara “…to be used by Miss. B. Skinner for racing.”

Barbara went on to win many awards during her racing career and was often the fastest lady at Shelsley Walsh, claiming the ladies record in 1934 with a time of 46.6, a time she would match in 1938 when driving the Red Skinner Special which is still owned by SU parent company Burlen to this day.

As with many great racing drivers she excelled in a variety of motorsport disciplines and In 1933, she entered a Morris in the RAC Rally finishing 30th overall. In addition, she raced competitively at Brooklands and become known as a part of the famous Brooklands Belles.

Barbara’s greatest motorsport achievement took place 85 years ago in 1935 when she raced an MG PA Midget at the Le Mans 24 Hour as one of six experienced lady racers in a three-car entry now known as the legendary “Dancing Daughters” MG works team (pictured at top). Barbara finished the race in 24^th place with co-driver Doreen Evans. Together they had covered 153 laps, equating to 2068km of racing at an average speed of 86.1kph.

Barbara married racer and motoring writer John Bolster and continued to compete under her married name. Tragically she was killed in a traffic accident in 1942.

Mark Burnett, Burlen Managing Director, said “Burlen has long been associated with motorsport and racing. As a company we are inspired by the racing of Barbara. Despite having talent, she entered the sport after a period where women were banned, racing against established male drivers she had many barriers to overcome. To compete successfully in rallying, Brookland racing, hillclimbs, sprints and endurance racing is remarkable, and Barbara deserves to be recognized as one of the pioneers of motorsport equality.”

The post Remembering Racing Pioneer Barbara Skinner appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

Harald Demuth – Rally driver

Two-time German Rally Champion Harald Demuth helped develop the quattro, campaigned Group B and 80 versions in the UK and drove an Audi 100 quattro up a snow-covered Finnish ski jump in the famous 1986 Audi television advert.

“I was driving for Toyota in the German Rally Championship when I had the choice to sign for Audi or Volkswagen for the 1979 season. Volkswagen had an excellent record with the Golf, but Audi had no presence in rallying. However, there was a lot of whispering behind hands that Audi had something special waiting in the bush, as we say.

“To gain experience of the sport, Audi began rallying a front-wheel-drive 80. We were telling everyone how good that car was, but what we couldn’t say was that we were developing the quattro, which was just light years ahead of the 80. We tested an early quattro all-wheel-drive system in an 80 bodyshell.

“On the 1982 RAC Rally, I was lying behind Hannu Mikkola in a quattro. OK, the gap was quite big, but I was on course to finish second.

“Then I had an off on the last day and ended up fifth. David Sutton, who was running the Audi UK rally team, came over and asked me if I would drive for him.

“Over the years I drove the Group B quattro and the 80 quattro in the UK. There was a massive difference in the performance, of course. But the handling and the feeling in the corners was very similar thanks to the all-wheel-drive system.

“I also won the German Rally Championship twice in a Group B quattro. I called my car Christine – after the Stephen King book and film of the same name about the 1958 Plymouth Fury that just kept rebuilding itself and could never be stopped. I’d spin off the track and go through a ditch, there’d be a big bang, and I’d think, “This is it – I’ve done it this time!” But my quattro would just keep going, and later when I had a look in the service halt, there would only be a little scratch.”

Phil Short – Co-driver

Yorkshire-born co-driver Phil Short was the first Briton to compete and win in a rally quattro.

“Björn Waldegård and I won the Welsh Rally in the Audi UK team in the first-generation Group 4 quattro in 1982. It was unbelievable to sit in that car. In those days we were used to Ford Escorts, Vauxhall Chevettes and Talbot Sunbeams with 240PS and rear-wheel drive. Suddenly we had 330PS with four-wheel drive – and the most staggering performance.

“By the time I co-drove Hannu Mikkola on the 1984 Scottish Rally in a Group B A2 quattro, we were up to 400PS. The car was so good. It was an incredible feeling to sit on the start line and know that, unless something went wrong, you were probably going to win. Which we did, by six minutes.

“I don’t know how much power the short-wheelbase Sport S1 E2 had when I co-drove Walter Röhrl on the 1985 RAC. I did ask, but the engine guy wouldn’t tell me. It was well over 500PS, anyway. It was Formula 1 technology in the forest. When that thing left the start line, it was like a rocket ship. It made your head spin until you got used to the way the forces were working on your body. It was frightening at times. We crashed out, 80 metres down a Welsh mountain, and I remember thinking that the cars cannot go on like this.

“With the switch to more production-like Group A cars in 1987, David Llewellin and I joined the Audi UK team to campaign the normally aspirated Coupé quattro. Suddenly we were back down to 190PS.

“On the first test, we looked at each other and laughed because it felt so slow after Group B. But it got better. We had some great times in it, winning the Scottish and Cyprus rallies.”

David Ingram – Marketing and Public Relations Executive

When the Audi quattro arrived in 1980, it made a huge impression on David Ingram, who had joined the company two years earlier.

“I remember first reading about the quattro in the motoring press – this 200-horsepower, turbocharged, five-cylinder, four-wheel-drive coupé – and I thought wow, this sounds like something else. Then I saw the pictures from Geneva – I was too junior at that time to go out to the motor show. However, I was put in charge of supervising the UK launch, which involved hoisting the car 100 feet up in the air to the top of Kensington Roof Gardens in London.

“The first time I got to drive the quattro was amazing. The characteristics of that five-cylinder engine as the turbocharger came in, and the burble as you came off the accelerator – it was just so exciting.

“And then the rally car arrived. I remember watching it on the 1981 RAC Rally – Hannu Mikkola rolling on the first night and then tearing through the forests to win by 11 minutes. Such powerful images come back to me. The following year, when we started our own Audi UK rally team with David Sutton, was like a dream.

“Suddenly I was working with all my heroes, like Stig Blomqvist, who won the British Rally Championship in a quattro in 1982. It makes me misty-eyed now just thinking about those days.

“It was a spectacular era for Audi, and it enabled the company to emerge from relative obscurity in the UK. Plus, it coincided with us starting to work with BBH, the Bartle Bogle Hegarty advertising agency, and adopting the Vorsprung durch Technik slogan.

“The quattro was an awesome road car and an all-conquering competition car. It was a powerful statement, and there’s no doubt it contributed significantly to making Audi what it is today.”

Graham Rood – Route Co-ordinator

Every rally team needs a co-ordinator to make sure cars, mechanics and service vehicles are in the right place at the right time. In the Audi UK team during the successful 1980s, that person was Graham Rood.

“My job was to make sure that from the moment the car left the workshop until it won the rally, everything went right – that was the theory anyway. It involved creating a detailed route plan and schedule for the rally car, the chase car that would follow it, the management car and the service vans, which I would then go through with co-drivers.

“On a five-day event like the RAC Rally with 65 special stages, there would be 300 tires to look after and maybe fifty service halts to arrange. There’d be fierce competition from all the teams to find farmers who’d let us use their yards to patch-up the cars in the middle of the night. But at the same time, there’d be great camaraderie too; we all knew each other, and we’d help each other out.

“Chief mechanic Ron Lumley and I would follow the rally car in an Audi 100 Avant. It only had front-wheel drive at that time, but it was a great car, it soaked up a lot of punishment, and there was plenty of space for spare parts. We were all navigating on OS maps – no sat nav in those days.

“One of the most staggering performances was when Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer came to do the 1984 Ulster Rally in the short-wheel-base 500PS Sport S1 quattro. All the other drivers had been there for days recceing and making pace notes. But Röhrl just wanted to go out for a couple of hours in the dark. He said ‘OK, I know what these roads are like now,’ and he was good to go.

“That car was incredible. All the other top drivers would come down and watch it leave the start line. It just squatted down at the back, and with the turbo power and quattro grip, it flew.

“Röhrl was up through the gears into fifth before it was out of sight. He was 2.3 seconds per mile quicker than the others and won by four minutes.  But as always at Audi, it was a team effort, and everyone played their part.”

Norman Gault – Mechanic

Having worked as a mechanic with the Audi UK rally team during the 1980s, Scotsman Norman Gault helps keep the Audi historic quattro road and competition cars in fine fettle today.

“The Audi UK quattro rally cars were built by Audi Sport in Ingolstadt, Germany. But when we got them, we didn’t just put them on a trailer and head off to a rally. We modified them to make them easier to work on when we were stuck out in a wet forest.

“For example, the cars had six bolts holding each driveshaft on. We took three of the bolts off and replaced them with dowels. We modified things like the exhaust mountings, too, so we could get the prop shaft off quicker and change the gearbox faster. We could do that in 20 minutes. On a modern rally car, of course, it’s a lot quicker, but that time was quite phenomenal back then. And the German team adopted our modifications on their later cars.

“Our most potent car was the Sport S1 that we ran at Shelsley Walsh hill climb for Hannu Mikkola in 1986. Audi Germany told us to break the course record – whatever it took. We boosted the engine to just under 700PS. It was astonishing. I have never seen a car leave the line so fast in my life. Hannu could barely change gear quick enough.  We broke the record in practice, broke it again during the first run, and then again during the second run.

“These days I help look after Audi’s heritage cars. We’ve got a Group B S1 E2 quattro, and when Michèle Mouton came to drive it up the hill at Goodwood, her eyes got so big behind the wheel – she wanted to do everything at maximum attack again, like the old days. All the drivers we worked with – Hannu Mikkola, Michèle Mouton and Stig Blomqvist – were fantastic, and we still have good times when we get together.”

The Cars

Audi dominated rallying in the early to mid-1980s with a wide variety of quattro models. The brand’s rally success can be traced all the way back to 1912, when an Audi Type C claimed victory on the Austrian Alpine Rally. It was the first of three back-to-back triumphs at the event for the Type C, and company founder August Horch played a crucial role behind the wheel during this famous hat-trick of wins.

Fast-forward to the modern era: when Audi began rallying in 1978, it was not with the all-wheel-drive quattro, but with the front-wheel-drive 80 model. This was the perfect way to get the team match-fit for the arrival of the quattro and a full assault on the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 1981.

The original quattro  – or ‘Ur’ quattro, as it is known in Germany – was initially rallied under Group 4 regulations in 1981. The first Group B quattro appeared in 1983 and was known as an A1 quattro, with the more powerful A2 version following soon after.

All three versions of the quattro were rallied successfully by the Audi UK team. In 1983, Stig Blomqvist used both the A1 and A2 to win the British Rally Championship, before becoming world champion with Audi the following year. The 1983 British championship also saw Harald Demuth campaigning a four-door saloon 80 quattro.

The short-wheelbase Audi Sport quattro S1 made its UK debut on the 1984 Ulster Rally, where Walter Röhrl blitzed the opposition. By 1985, the winged Sport quattro S1 E2, the ultimate rally quattro, had replaced the S1 on the world stage.

Audi UK ran an S1 E2 for Michèle Mouton on two events in 1985. However, the team continued to find further success by campaigning  the S1, winning the National Breakdown and Welsh rallies with Hannu Mikkola in 1986.

After the ultra-powerful Group B cars were banned at the end of 1986, Audi UK signed David Llewellin to drive a Group A Coupé quattro in 1987. The car still had the advantage of all-wheel drive, but its five-cylinder engine lacked a turbocharger. A win on the Scottish Rally and second on the Circuit of Ireland were its best results in that year’s British Rally Championship.

Audi Sport debuted its 200 quattro on the 1987 Monte Carlo Rally, where Röhrl finished third. Three months later, Mikkola won the Safari Rally, chased home by Röhrl in second. The big executive saloon was also campaigned by Audi UK in 1988, while an Audi 90 quattro also appeared on events in Europe around that time. 

The Audi UK team withdrew at the end of the 1988 season, returning to the rally stages in 1993 with a Group N Coupé S2 quattro for Shell Scholarship winner Jonny Milner. The Yorkshireman scored an impressive fifth place overall in the road-going-specification car on the Pirelli International Rally.

The post Audi Quattro—Celebrating 40 Years of a Rally Icon appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

The henhouse

Ettore Bugatti loved pasta more than anything and always had it freshly prepared by an Italian cook. For this h needed chicken eggs. When he went out to get some one day, he returned in an angry state without having purchased a single egg: the prices had gone up yet again. He then decided to keep chickens himself and set up his own little chicken farm. He designed the henhouse with wheels so that he could move it around his large grounds. Of course, the investment required meant that the eggs were subsequently much more expensive than if he had bought them individually. But at least they were fresh and he was no longer dependent on the farmers.

The pasta machine with a steering wheel

One day Bugatti’s cook complained about a malfunctioning pasta machine in the kitchen. It would take several weeks before a new machine could be delivered to the Alsace region. Since Ettore Bugatti was not about to go without his beloved pasta, he designed a new machine – one that was easy to use, aesthetically attractive and capable of producing the best pasta far and wide. The mechanics at his production facility built the machine based on his drafts. The design reflected Bugatti’s automobile roots: instead of an ordinary handwheel, a Bugatti Type 46 steering wheel served as a crank to operate the machine and convert the dough into pasta. Th original machine was auctioned in March at Bonhams for around 37,500 dollars.

Orangery for his basil

For Ettore Bugatti, a proper serving of pasta always required two to three leaves of basil for garnishing purposes. Since his beloved basil was not freshly grown near Molsheim, Ettore Bugatti built a greenhouse of his own with a special ventilation system and based on a remarkable steel construction. This orangery still exists to this day. Bugatti had fruit and other plants grown there in addition to basil.

Ettore Bugatti’s cutlery

As can be seen by the fact that he had his own chicken farm and pasta machine, good food was very important to Ettore Bugatti. He was irritated that there was no specific cutlery for the intermediate course of a regular meal, for example, so he decided to design and develop his very own cutlery. Each item bore an “EB” crest and was ergonomically perfect to hold. He also established a specific method of laying the table with cutlery, plates and glasses that was tailored to his needs. Famous for his impeccable manners and expecting the same of his guests, Bugatti is said to have once refused to sell a car to a gentleman of royal descent because he had bad table manners – he was simply unable to eat with a knife and fork.

Bébé Bugatti Type 52

If you want to be a good driver, you can’t start early enough. As a gift for his son Roland on his fifth birthday, Ettore Bugatti designed a 1:2 miniature version of the Type 35: the Type 52. This vehicle, called “Bébé Bugatti”, was powered by an electric motor and a 12-volt battery and was able to reach speeds of up to 20 km/h. The vehicle served his offspring as a swift means of transport around the château grounds, but it quickly found favour with visitors, friends and customers, too. The Bébé Bugatti became quite popular and numerous orders were placed for it. In total, Ettore Bugatti produced several hundred of these vehicles between 1927 and 1930 – a resounding success. The Bébé Bugatti was recently revived by The Little Car Company.

Ettore’s patents

Ettore Bugatti patented about a thousand inventions in the course of his life. Not all of these patents are directly related to cars like the aluminium wheel rim, the unbreakable windscreen, ultra-light folding seats and automatic filler caps are. Not to mention his very own hexagonal nuts and bolts, which provided more effective and more stable grip than others, even at high speeds. Ettore Bugatti was also interested in everyday objects and had his new ideas patented if they were promising. These included a cylindrical razor, an ultra-light frame for bicycles and motorcycles, and security locks. The ingenious inventor even created a casting rod for anglers. He also designed countless items for practical everyday use that were not patented: these included gates, doors, lighting fixtures, armchairs, vices, surgical instruments, horse harnesses and blinds for windows.

Pur sang

In addition to his passion for technology and automobiles, Ettore Bugatti was particularly enthusiastic about horses – even though he actually made horses as means of transportation unnecessary by producing cars. As an expert on thoroughbred horses, Ettore described cars as he would horses: hot-blooded, fast and reduced to the pure essentials of muscle power – “the pur-sang of the automobile world”. As far as Bugatti was concerned horses were not primarily a means of transportation: they were noble creatures. He bred thoroughbreds (pur sang) which he kept on his grounds in Molsheim, in the North Remise and the South Remise. His love for horses went so far that he had some of the doors in his workshops replaced by special lock plates he designed himself which the horses could open by pressing their noses against them. This meant that he no longer had to dismount and open the doors himself before entering the workshops, but was able to ride through conveniently. Ettore Bugatti also enjoyed welcoming visitors and customers on horseback. Sometimes he was accompanied by his donkey Totosche, which he received as a gift from Count Florio after winning the Targa Florio in 1929 for the fifth time in succession. The lucky animal was able to roam freely around the grounds as part of Ettore’s private zoo. In addition to horse breeding, Ettore Bugatti was also an enthusiastic breeder of terriers.

Ettore’s five-toed shoes

Ettore Bugatti walked around in five-toed shoes long before the modern versions of this footwear emerged. In the 1920s racing driver Louis Charavel – who generally went by the pseudonym “Sabipa” – went to visit Ettore Bugatti in Molsheim. The latter was wearing a colonial helmet, a cream-coloured silk jacket with a blue hem and very special shoes – like fingered gloves, they had a bulge for each individual toe. For Ettore Bugatti, this was the most natural thing in the world and very comfortable: “After all, you don’t buy mittens if you want fingered gloves. Why shouldn’t it be the same with shoes?” he asked his astonished guest. Even though he rarely wore these shoes, they were of course perfectly manufactured – like all his inventions.

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The Newport Car Museum features six galleries (Ford/Shelby, Corvettes, World Cars, Fin Cars, Mopars, American Muscle “Then & Now”), eight driving simulators, and a collection of Mid-Century modern furniture integrated into spacious, inspiring surroundings. Cars are displayed on low-rise platforms with no barrier ropes; award-winning videos play in each gallery; and knowledgeable docents are always on hand to answer questions.

When reopened, the Museum will return to normal business hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Sunday. For more information visit www.newportcarmuseum.org

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On April 13, 1930, just after 5:00 am, the silent shadows beside Lake Garda are shaken by the rumble of an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport spider Zagato driving at 93 mph with its headlights turned off. At its steering wheel is Tazio Nuvolari, from Mantua, nicknamed “Nivola”. Beside him, Gian Battista Guidotti, chief Alfa Romeo test driver at the Portello factory.

It’s a key moment of a mythical Mille Miglia race. The race leader and presumable winner is Achille Varzi. However, some miles before the lake, in Verona, Nuvolari and Guidotti had come up with the unbelievable idea to turn off their headlights. Their only hope of beating their rival was to take him by surprise.

Dawn was approaching. After the lake, the placid countryside would lead to the finishing line in Brescia. It was here that Varzi and his co-driver Canavesi detected the echo of another engine, but before they realized what was happening, they’d been overtaken by an identical car to their own.

Nuvolari went on to win. His average speed was 100.45 km/h. This was the first time ever that the 100 km/h average speed barrier had been broken in this legendary race, a record that made the front pages all over Europe. 10 minutes later, a stunned Varzi came second. Third to arrive was Giuseppe Campari. Fourth was Pietro Ghersi. Different kinds of drivers with one thing in common, they were all racing in the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750. In the following hour and a half, other 6C models arrived, altogether 8 out of the first 11 finishers.

A case of what’s called absolute supremacy, which was to be repeated that year with top-3 finishes in the Spa 24-hour race in Belgium, and in the Belfast Tourist Trophy. The 6C 1750 was simply the fastest car of its era.

The 6C family

Vittorio Jano had taken charge of all Alfa Romeo product planning in 1926, and the 6C was his first creation. His task was to invent a brilliantly performing, lightweight car that would win races and admirers, but also conquer new markets.

The 6C combined structural simplicity with sophisticated engineering, the typical virtues of Jano’s creations. However, it also offered something else that would turn out to become an Alfa Romeo speciality—extremely high power. Jano had an astonishing ability to conjure horsepower from small engines and this allowed him to imagine what today we would call downsizing, designing engines with a displacement somewhere between 1-liter and the 2 or 3 liters of luxury models. Even back then, Alfa Romeo boasted the best power to weight ratio and was therefore the fastest. This engineering intuition led to a stream of cars that became legendary.

Technological innovation

Merosi had previously developed highly original engines for the 1914 GP (blocked by the outbreak of war), which went on to dominate future Alfa Romeo engine design: two overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and dual ignition. The 6C 1900 GT (and later the 6C 2300 and the 6C 2500) introduced further innovations, including independent suspension and a new chassis with welded (instead of riveted) components, in order to boost rigidity.

The handling and road holding performance of Alfa Romeo models became key elements of its DNA.

The 6C 1750

The 6C 1750, presented in January 1929 at the Rome Motor Show, could be said to have expressed the 6C formula’s full maturity. The engine was an evolution of the previous 1500 six-cylinder, in-line engine. It was produced in various versions – single-shaft and double-shaft, with and without volumetric compressor and its power ranged from the 46 hp of the Turismo version to the 102 hp of the Gran Sport “Fixed Head”. The latter was a special version, very few of which were produced, where the cylinder head and crankcase were cast in a single block in order to eliminate the seals (and the risk of burning them), the weight was only 840kg and its top speed reached 105.6 mph.

The engine was not the only factor that made the 6C 1750 a peak of motoring innovation. It used a mechanical braking system, with large drums actuated by a transmission system. Its pressed steel frame was perfectly balanced and outstandingly rigid, boasting reinforced axles. The leaf springs were mounted outside the car body instead of beneath the side members, and the lower center of gravity greatly boosted cornering grip. The fuel tank was set further back, in order to obtain greater weight on the rear wheels and improve axle balance. In line with brand philosophy, all innovative solutions were applied to both racing cars and road cars.

The more races it won, the more the model’s technical reputation grew. From its launch, the 6C 1750 immediately achieved notable sales growth. Between 1929 and 1933, 2,579 models left the Portello factory for sale in Italy but also abroad, notably in Great Britain and the Commonwealth. An exceptional result, especially considering the car’s status as a decidedly elite product. In Italy, for example, it cost between 40,000 and 60,000 lire: equivalent to roughly seven years of an average wage.

The coachbuilding era

The 6C was ultra-fast, but also beautiful. Its success owed a great deal to the coachbuilders who created its bodies: master craftsmen capable of uniting the trades of saddler, panel beater, painter and upholsterer, artistic creators and stylists who left their mark on an era.

Until the 1930s, it was normal for bare frames to leave production plants, equipped only with engine, gearbox and suspension. The customer purchased the car, and then commissioned a coachbuilder to create a practically unique bespoke body. The first bodybuilding department inside the Portello factory was not launched until 1933. It initially co-existed with the previous system of selling the basic bones of the car directly to customers and bodybuilders.

The 6C 1750 offered exceptional opportunities for fine coachbuilder trims. Alfa Romeo’s extraordinary mechanical and engineering base lent itself to the creation of some of the most elegant bodies ever built… designed by the finest stylists and bought by the most famous VIPs.

The 6C 1750 GS Touring “Flying Star”

The “Flying Star” was made to be as irresistible as its owner Josette Pozzo, millionaire, model and celebrity socialite. It was conceived especially to take part in the Elegance Competition of Villa d’Este, in 1931, built by the Carrozzeria Touring of Felice Bianchi Anderloni.

The 6C 1750 Spider was a one-off creation: a jewel of originality, elegance and attention to detail. It was entirely white, including underbody, wheel spokes, steering wheel and saddlery, with the only exception being its contrasting black dashboard.

The Touring endowed the 1750 with new proportions, adding a series of elegant art nouveau aesthetic details, such as the suspended front and rear steps that extended from the wheel arches and crossed beneath the doors without touching each other. The 6C 1750 GS Touring won the Gold Cup for the most beautiful car at the Villa d’Este event and Josette herself drove it to receive the prize, dressed in a matching white outfit.

The post Potent Beauty—Alfa Romeo’s 6C 1750 appeared first on Sports Car Digest.

Over the past seven decades, SEAT has undergone a profound transformation and demonstrated a constant capacity for reinvention, which has enabled it to remain a benchmark throughout its history.

Formally established on May 9, 1950, after an agreement was signed between the National Institute of Industry, with 51% of the share capital (600 million pesetas, which today would be €3.6 million); seven large Spanish banks (42%) and the Italian manufacturer Fiat (7%), which provided technical advice and the production license for its models.

When originally created, the company’s name was Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, S.A., but was officially changed to SEAT in the 1990s.

When production began in 1953, just 925 people worked on the line. Today, SEAT employs more than 15,000 people as well as generating more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs within the supply chain.

To date, a total of more than 19 million SEAT vehicles have been built and sold, and more than 72,000 people have been employed by SEAT. The Ibiza (5.8 million sold) is the most popular SEAT of all time, followed by the Leon (2.3 million), 127 (1.2 million), Cordoba (1.03 million) and the Toledo (1.01 million).

Over the past 70 years the carmaker has launched a total of 75 models, including vehicles that have marked a turning point for the company. This started in 1953 with the SEAT 1400, the first car manufactured by the company, or with the legendary SEAT 600, which was unveiled in 1957 and soon became a symbol of freedom and mobility in Spain.

The 1950s

Following the company’s formation, SEAT built its first factory at Barcelona’s Zona Franca, under the supervision of SEAT’s first president, José Ortiz-Echagüe. Fittingly, Ortiz-Echagüe is as remarkable as the manufacturer he helped build, not only working as a military engineer and a pilot – even becoming the oldest person to fly at supersonic speeds – but also established himself as one of Spain’s most renowned photographers. Having helped build SEAT in the 1950s, Ortiz-Echagüe was later named Honorary Lifetime President.

On November 13, 1953, the first car rolled off the assembly line: the SEAT 1400, with just 925 employees in the factory.

In 1957, SEAT launched the 600, designed to enable Spanish families to enjoy mobility and independence that no car in Spain had offered before. It cost 65,000 pasetas, the equivalent of £340 (€390) today.

In the same year SEAT opened its Apprentice School in Barcelona, where students are still trained today, which has trained more than 2,700 professionals to date.

The 1960s

The 1960s were the years of the iconic SEAT 600, the vehicle that put the country on wheels and shaped an entire generation. The launch signalled the beginning of the mass motorization stage in Spain. By the summer of 1973, almost 800,000 units had been produced.

1960 saw the introduction of a new badge, which was further simplified in 1962, reflecting the changing face of the business.

In 1965, the company made its first overseas export, a SEAT 600 to Colombia.

SEAT’s production facility manufactured its one millionth vehicle in 1968.

The 1970s

In 1971, SEAT became the largest industrial company in Spain, and by 1974 generated a turnover of more than one billion dollars per annum, also becoming the eighth largest European car manufacturer with over two million vehicles produced.

It also acquired the Landaben facilities in Pamplona, and the Martorell Technical Centre began operations in 1975.

During this decade, SEAT expanded its range with the 133 model, the first vehicle designed by SEAT; the 127, the third best-selling model in the company’s history; as well as the 128, 131 and Ritmo, among others.

Unveiled in December 1975, the SEAT 1200 Sport was the first car to be wholly designed and developed at the Martorell Technical Centre in Barcelona. Powered by a 1,197-cc engine generating 67PS, the two-door, four-speed coupe could accelerate to a top speed of 98 mph and later led to the more powerful, tuned up SEAT 1430 Sport, which used the same body.

In 1970, SEAT entered motorsport, competing on circuits and in rallies. Since then, motorsport has always been a key part of SEAT’s DNA and a program which achieved a large trophy cabinet of wins and world titles for the Spanish manufacturer, including the BTCC (British Touring Car Chanpionship) manufacturers’ title in 2006 and WTCC champions in 2008.

Today, the racing pedigree originating from SEAT Sport lives on through the CUPRA brand, which recently launched the Leon Competicion this year, adding to the CUPRA TCR and the world’s first 100% electric touring car, the CUPRA e-Racer. CUPRA also applies the technology and characteristics developed from its motorsport heritage to road cars, offering a sophisticated and performance-oriented driving experience on the roads.

The 1980s

For SEAT, the eighties marked the end of its relationship with Fiat and the beginning of its inclusion in the Volkswagen Group family, starting in 1986. The badge was also changed to the SEAT ‘S’, which is still used today.

SEAT began naming its cars after Spanish locations, such as the Ronda, Malaga and Marbella, as well as the Ibiza in 1984, a vehicle shaped from the pencil of legendary automotive designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro.

To this day, the Ibiza is the best-selling model in the brand’s history with almost six million vehicles sold worldwide.

Construction of the Martorell production factory began.

The 1990s

1991 saw the launch of the SEAT Toledo, the first SEAT model developed as part of the Volkswagen Group.

The 1992 Olympic Games are held in Barcelona, Spain and SEAT became a collaborating partner and official car supplier to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) organisation.

In 1993, the new SEAT factory in Martorell was inaugurated after only 34 months of construction work and an investment of 244.5 billion pesetas (1.47 billion euros).

The first CUPRA model was born in 1996, the Ibiza CUPRA, the same year it won the FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup for the first time. It went on to defend the title for the next two years.

The decade ended with the unveiling of the SEAT Leon, the model that signalled SEAT’s return to the European C-segment.

The 2000s

The new millennium began with the presentation of the Salsa and the Tango concept models, which lay the foundations for the third-generation Ibiza and the second-generation Cordoba.

The launch of the SEAT Altea in 2004 establishes a new generation of models while in 2005, SEAT revealed the next-generation Leon. One year later, the new generation Ibiza was launched.

In 2007, the company opened the new design centre in Martorell.

SEAT’s motorsport prowess continued as Jason Plato, driving the SEAT Leon TDI, won the 2007 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). This was also the first-ever diesel-powered BTCC winner.

And in 2008 and 2009, SEAT won both the drivers (Yvan Muller 2008; Gabriele Tarquini 2009) and constructors World Touring Car Championship titles, as well as the Independent’s Trophy with Tom Coronel in 2009.

SEAT production at Martorell

When vehicle production began in 1953, SEAT employed a workforce of 925 people. Today, more than 15,000 employees work at SEAT in Spain.

SEAT opened the doors of the Zona Franca factory in 1953 with a daily production of five SEAT 1400 vehicles.

After 40 years of producing models such as the 600 and 127, the company decided to build a new, larger, more modern factory, shifting production from Barcelona to Martorell from 1993. The first vehicles built at this new plant was the second-generation SEAT Ibiza and the SEAT Cordoba, produced at a rate of 1,500 units per day.

Currently, the company has three production centres: Barcelona, El Prat de Llobregat and Martorell, where the Ibiza, the Arona and the Leon are currently manufactured.

In addition, the Ateca is built in the Czech Republic, the Tarraco in Germany, the Alhambra in Portugal and the Mii electric, SEAT’s first 100% electric vehicle, in Slovakia.

Today, the same number of cars are produced in three minutes as was built in a whole day in 1950.

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Even Mazda’s first passenger car created a record-breaking sales impression when it was launched in 1960. Arriving just as the Sixties economic boom saw the Japanese public embracing car ownership, the Mazda R360’s arrival on the Japanese ‘Kei Car’ micro car marketplace was a huge success with charming 2+2 coupe capturing 65 per cent share of Japan’s flourishing microcar segment in 1960, which accounted for 15 per cent of the entire Japanese car market.

By 1963 Mazda’s cumulative global production reached one million vehicles, while by 1972 it was five million units. As global sales grew through the 70s and 80s, it was a car launched at the end of Mazda’s third decade of car production that would claim countless sales records across the world – an amazing achievement for a car launched into an automotive sector other manufacturers had abandoned. However, Mazda’s defy convention approach saw it rekindle the affordable rear-wheel drive sportscar, and inspired by the classic British roadsters of the previous decades, the Mazda MX-5 arrived at the 1989 Chicago Motor Show and was an instant sales success.

From its launch in 1989 until today, across four-generations, the Mazda MX-5/Miata has remained one of the world’s most loved drivers’ cars, and in the year 2000 with 532,000 global sales, Mazda’s most famous sports car was officially recognized by the Guinness World Record body as the world’s best-selling two-seater roadster, a title it has retained to this day. By 2016, the 1-millionth MX-5, rolled off the assembly line at Ujina Plant No. 1 in Hiroshima and the Soul Red soft-top then embarked on a world tour during which it would collect the signatures of around 200,000 fans.

However, it isn’t just the popularity of the Mazda MX-5 that’s marked out in sales records, Mazda’s development of the rotary engine set it apart from the rest of the rest of the automotive industry. Launched in 1967, the Mazda Cosmo was the firm’s first production rotary engined car and by 1986 total Mazda production of rotary powered vehicles had reached 1.5 million, setting records for manufacturing this unique type of engine.

Mazda’s famous rotary also helped the Japanese firm to a host of its speed and competition records: from powering a Mazda RX-7 to become the first Japanese car to win the Spa 24 Hour Race in 1981 to achieving more than 100 class victories in IMSA sportscar racing in the US, the rotary engine ticked off the records, even before it’s most famous achievement: when in 1991 the Mazda 787B of Johnny Herbert, Volker Weidler and Betrand Gachot took victory in the Le Mans 24 Hour race, making Mazda the first Japanese manufacturer to win the world’s most famous endurance race.

Away from the racetrack the rotary powered Mazda RX-7 claimed further record for Mazda, when in 1986 an RX-7 set a Bonneville Salt Flats Speed Trial record of 238.442mph – breaking the SCTA’s Grand Touring Class record, while in 1995 a modified third-generation RX-7 broke another land speed record at Bonneville, managing 389km/h. And it wasn’t just in the USA that rotary powered Mazdas set records, as in 2004 the RX-8 picked up where its predecessor left off, setting 40 international FIA records on the high-speed oval at the Papenburg automotive testing facility in northwest Germany, even more impressively unlike the modified Bonneville cars, the RX-8 records where achieved by production cars.

By 2018 another production milestone was reached with the 50 millionth Japanese-built Mazda and more production landmarks are inevitable as Mazda sets its sights on increasing annual global capacity to 2 million units by 2024.

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The majority of 30-98s were sold with a tourer body (the Vauxhall-owned example shown here has coachwork made by in-house coachbuilder, Velox), but the most dramatic-looking was made by Wensum – another of Vauxhall’s in-house creations – with no doors, no hood, flared wings and carrying a £150 premium; a sizeable increase when a standard Tourer cost around £1200.

During its production life, around 600 E- and OE-Type (for “Overhead-valve”) 30-98s were built, and it says much for its legacy that today around 170 still survive, many of which remain in regular use on road and track.

The OE-Type 30-98 model had exceptional performance in its day, producing around 112 bhp from its four-cylinder, 4224-cc engine. But a center throttle, extremely heavy flywheel and weak brakes by today’s standards make this a challenging – if very fast – car to drive on modern roads.

Yet despite that, Vauxhall’s “OE268” – built in the penultimate year of production – has accrued some 25,000 miles as a press and events car in just the last 12 years alone.

Technical Data:

Color: Primrose Yellow

Interior color: Blue

Engine Capacity: 4224-cc

Top Speed: 85 mph (100 mph in performance guise)

0-60mph: 29.8 seconds

Fuel Consumption: 14-18mpg

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Bugatti and Schlumpf are two names that have been interlinked for a long time. Fritz Schlumpf bought his first Bugatti at the age of 22, in 1928, and drove it on weekends and in car races. The car enthusiast kept in touch with the Alsace-based company Bugatti over the coming years, although his passion for collecting didn’t really develop properly until 1961. Schlumpf initially worked as a wool broker, and in 1929 his brother Hans – two years his senior – joined the textile company. In 1935, they founded Société Anonyme pour l’Industrie Lainière (SAIL), a limited company trading in wool. After the war, the brothers bought up several factories and spinning mills in Alsace until they almost fully dominated the textile industry in eastern France. In 1957, they acquired a disused wool factory in Mulhouse, Alsace, in order to build their own automobile museum: in honour of their beloved mother and Ettore Bugatti, but mainly for Fritz Schlumpf himself. After all, collecting Bugatti cars had long become his obsession. From 1961 onwards, he acquired numerous classic vehicles and eventually became the leading Bugatti collector. 

Schlumpf contacts Bugatti owners worldwide

In order to achieve this, Schlumpf wrote to Bugatti owners all over the world in the early 1960s. He obtained the addresses from a register kept by Hugh Conway of the British Bugatti Owners Club, who put him in touch with American collector John W. Shakespeare from Hoffman, Illinois, USA in 1962. Shakespeare had dedicated himself to collecting Bugatti vehicles since the 1950s: his first car was a 1932 Bugatti Type 55; this was followed by a Type 41 Royale Park Ward, the third and last customer car, twelve Type 57, three Type 55, and Ettore Bugatti’s personal electric car Type 56 dating back to 1931. All in all, Shakespeare owned the largest Bugatti collection in the world, comprising some 30 vehicles.  

Schlumpf simply had to get hold of these cars and made Shakespeare a lump-sum offer of US$70,000. But the latter demanded at least US$105,000, whereupon Schlumpf had the collection assessed by Bugatti connoisseur Bob Shaw from Illinois in 1963. Shaw arrived at an unflattering conclusion: “Most of the cars are kept in a part of the building with a dirty floor, broken windows, leaking roof and nesting birds. Every car is in some state of disrepair and none of them have been running for at least 18 months.” Shaw advised against the purchase but Schlumpf was fully committed by this time and offered Shakespeare US$80,000 for the entire collection. After tough negotiations, mutual threats and blackmail, Schlumpf and Shakespeare finally agreed on a purchase price of $85,000 the following year (equivalent to approximately US$720,000 today) – including transport to France. From today’s point of view, it was more than just a good deal – in fact it was a real bargain. 

30 Bugattis on one train

On 30 March 1964, the 30 Bugattis left Illinois on a Southern Railway train heading for New Orleans where they would be loaded onto a Dutch cargo ship. A photo shows the open train with the large number of rare vehicles. A few weeks later, the freighter reached the French port of Le Havre, where Fritz Schlumpf finally received his treasure. He was now one huge step closer to achieving his goal of being the biggest Bugatti collector in the world. It wasn’t until 1965 that the Schlumpf brothers publicised their collection in a short press release – and the idea of a museum was born. But Fritz Schlumpf never officially opened it. 

The Schlumpf brothers had little opportunity to enjoy their unique car collection, and their pleasure in these wonderful cars was only to last a few years: large-scale strikes occurred after they engaged in questionable business practices, and the decline of the French textile industry in the 1970s eventually meant they were forced to flee to Switzerland. The story of the amazed workers who came across the secretly hoarded treasure in 1977 has gone down in automotive history. 

What remains are the exclusive vehicles, showcased in an extraordinary and unique exhibition: the Schlumpf collection is now located in the “Cité de l’Automobile” national museum in Mulhouse in the heart of Alsace – the largest automobile exhibition in the world. Covering an area of more than 25,000 square metres, the exhibition comprises 400 of the world’s rarest, most magnificent and most valuable cars – including around 100 Bugatti models, such as two of just six Type 41 Royale ever built. One of them is the former Shakespeare vehicle with the Park Ward bodywork. Other models from the group of 30 vehicles are to be found in their original unrestored condition at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard (California). There and in Alsace, visitors can admire them after their almost 60-year odyssey.

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