Magneto Magazine issue 15: Autumn 2022

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A G N E L L I ’ S F E R R A R I 166 & T E S TA R O S S A S P I D E R

WHY MERCEDES SOLD I T S €135 M 300 S L R

THE RACE CAR LEGACY OF DR FRED SIMEONE

BRIGGS CUNNINGHAM’S J A G U A R E-T Y P E R E T U R N S

£10 | AUTUMN 2022

PRINTED IN THE UK

When timing is everything.

THE WR-22

Time does not respect machines, or the desire to be quick.

It exists to measure the margin of victory in a sport where precision is paramount.

The Bremont WR-22 is the first official timepiece designed in collaboration with Williams Racing, drawing on a shared British heritage and dedication to engineering expertise.

ERNESTJONES.CO.UK/BREMONT

Top from left to right:

1970 LAMBORGHINI MIURA P400S 1936 DELAHAYE 135 COMPÉTITION SPÉCIALE 1956 MASERATI 300S Middle from left to right:

1929 BENTLEY 4½LITRE WEYMANN SALOON 1955 MASERATI A6GCS/53 2008 LOLA ASTON MARTIN B08/60-HU02 (DBR1/2-4) LMP 1 Bottom from left to right:

1965 JAGUAR E-TYPE 1964 SHELBY AC COBRA 1958 LISTER JAGUAR KNOBBLY

SUMMER 2022 14 Queens Gate Place Mews London SW7 5BQ Phone:+44 (0)20 7584 3503 Email: cars@fiskens.com Website: www.fiskens.com

THE FINEST CARS FROM A WIDE RANGE OF ERAS WILL BE ON SHOW

G O O D I N G & CO M PA N Y – L I VE AU C T I O N S ATU R DAY 3 R D S E PT E M B E R

THE RAREST CARS IN THE WORLD AT HAMPTON COURT PAL ACE

FOR TICKETS VISIT CONCOURSOFELEGANCE.CO.UK

PRESENTED BY

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20 COMING SOON There’s plenty going on over coming months; here’s our round-up

31 S TA R T E R Concours on Savile Row, Bentley Continuation, Jacky Ickx, BMW M series, flying cars, Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4, Alain de Cadenet memories

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AGNELLI’S FERRARIS

FRED SIMEONE REMEMBERED

T A L B O T- L A G O T26 GRAND SPORT

LUDVIGSEN ON... €135M 300SLR

Pairing up the unique 166MM Barchetta and Testarossa Spider once owned by Fiat’s playboy president

We bid a fond farewell to the neurosurgeon who assembled what many consider to be the world’s foremost car collection

One-off Antem-bodied Coupé with Grand Prix-derived mechanicals and fluid lines that flow like molten quicksilver

Mercedes-Benz parted with one of its gems this year. But how was the Uhlenhaut Coupé worth so much and why was it sold?

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Concours standard restoration to original specifications 1948 ALFA ROMEO 6C 2500 SS CABRIOLET €600,000 - €800,000

Entries invited Important Collectors’ Motor Cars Knokke-Le Zoute, Belgium | 9 October 2022

The annual event in Knokke-Le Zoute is set to be another exciting auction from the Bonhams Europe motoring department. Contact a specialist today should you wish to submit a motor car for consignment to this exclusive event

INQUIRIES +33 142 61 10 11 eurocars@bonhams.com bonhams.com/zoute

* For details of the charges payable in addition to the final hammer price, please visit bonhams.com/buyersguide

Download Bonhams app for iOS & Android

1957 LANCIA AURELIA B24S CABRIOLET WITH HARDTOP €300,000 - €350,000

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J A G U A R E -T Y P E SURVIVOR

GIORGETTO GIUGIARO

TOP 50 GIUGIARO CARS

A uniquely original ex-Briggs Cunningham roadster resurrected from deep storage and put back in the spotlight

Celebrating Il Maestro – the world’s most lauded automotive stylist, whose designs have appeared on 60-plus million cars

From Fiat to Bertone, Ghia, Italdesign and now GFG Style; the work of the most influential car designer ever

169 ACQUIRE Buying a Bristol 404/405, navigating fakes, frauds and replicas in the marketplace, collecting watches, motoring art, Le Mans posters and cigars, plus new products and books

196 LEGAL: AUCTION OVERHAUL

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198 COLLECTIONS: M G B S O N D I S P L AY

200 HISTORIC RACING: TESTING TOUR AUTO

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202 BEHIND THE LEGEND: SWA RT’S G R E E N H E L L

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Editor’s welcome

15 There are so many people who have changed the face of the car world as we know it. In every Magneto we celebrate some of them in one way or another, and in this issue we focus on three true greats.

Let’s start with Giorgetto Giugiaro, whose designs have permeated every aspect of our lives, from the everyday cars such as the Fiat Panda and VW Golf, to the more exotic – think Ghibli, BMW M1 and Esprit – to the unexpected… from cameras to pasta shapes.

Who better than Magneto contributor Winston Goodfellow to talk with Giugiaro and to recall their past conversations? He gives an insight into the many phases of design Giorgetto has experimented with and what’s driven him over 60-plus years of sketching.

And then there’s fellow Italian Gianni Agnelli, a rather more flamboyant and controversial character, whose first and last specialbodied Ferraris we drove for this issue. The two cars were the stars of our Concours on Savile Row in June.

Finally, Dr Fred Simeone, the former neurosurgeon who built up one of the world’s finest collections, concentrating on the most original, provenanced race cars. He passed away in his native Philadelphia just as dawn broke on his favourite race, the Le Mans 24 Hours. Writer Harry Hurst and photographer Michael Furman have combined forces to pay tribute to their friend and colleague.

Once again, we are reminded that cars are great but it’s the people who bring them to life.

David Lillywhite Editorial director

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Contributors WINSTON GOODFELLOW US-based Winston is Magneto’s go-to writer for the Italian greats, because he’s not only met them all, he’s been great friends with many – including Giorgetto Giugiaro and son Fabrizio. His in-depth profile of Giorgetto, based around their many meetings, makes for a great read.

HARRY HURST Who better for the sad task of writing the tribute to the remarkable car collector Dr Fred Simeone than Harry Hurst, who bonded with Fred over their shared love of the Sebring 12 Hours race and helped him to launch the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in 2008.

PETER LARSEN Talbot-Lago Grand Sport expert, author and former owner Peter describes the resurrection of a unique Antem-bodied T26 in Czechia, ahead of this year’s Grand Sport class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

It doesn’t quite count as ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’, but here at Magneto we knew Alex best as Car magazine’s designer. Yet a few years ago he turned pro photographer; for this issue he has caught on camera the two ex-Gianni Agnelli Ferraris – the 166MM and Testarossa Spider.

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ILLUSTR AT IONS P ET ER A LLE N

A L E X TA P L E Y

REGISTER TO BID

18-20 AUGUST 2022

MONTEREY 1959 FERRARI 250 GT LWB BERLINETTA ‘TOUR DE FRANCE’ Coachwork by Scaglietti

1992 FERRARI F40

Estimate: $5,000,000 - $6,000,000 USD

Estimate: $2,500,000 - $2,900,000 USD

1973 FERRARI DINO 246 GTS ‘CHAIRS & FLARES’ Coachwork by Scaglietti

1958 FERRARI 250 GT LWB CALIFORNIA SPIDER Coachwork by Scaglietti

1995 FERRARI F512 M

Estimate: $550,000 - $650,000 USD

Estimate: $7,000,000 - $8,500,000 USD

UK +44 (0) 20 7851 7070 HEADQUARTERS +1 519 352 4575 CALIFORNIA +1 310 559 4575 FLORIDA +1 772 219 9215

Estimate: $475,000 - $550,000 USD

1958 FERRARI 250 GT CABRIOLET SERIES I

Coachwork by Pinin Farina

Estimate: $6,000,000 - $7,000,000 USD

Coachwork by Scaglietti

Estimate: $7,500,000 - $9,000,000 USD

1966 FERRARI 275 GTB/C

RM Sotheby’s Lic. No. 84391

Who to contact

Editorial director

Managing director

David Lillywhite

Geoff Love

Managing editor

Art director

Advertising sales

Sarah Bradley

Peter Allen

Sue Farrow, Rob Schulp

Staff writer

Designer

Accounts

Elliott Hughes

Debbie Nolan

Jonathan Ellis

West Coast US contributor

Lifestyle advertising

Winston Goodfellow

Sophie Kochan

Contributors in this issue Julian Balme, Jonathon Burford, Nathan Chadwick, Robert Dean, Michael Furman, Martyn Goddard, Rob Gould, Rick Guest, Sam Hancock, Richard Heseltine, Matt Howell, Harry Hurst, Dave Kinney, Peter Larsen, David Lawrence, Karl Ludvigsen, John Mayhead, Petr Michalek, Riiko-Andre Nüüd, Clive Robertson, John Simister, Alex Tapley, Jeremy Taylor, Rupert Whyte Single issues and subscriptions Please visit www.magnetomagazine.com or call +44 (0)208 068 6829

HOTHOUSE MEDIA Geoff Love, David Lillywhite, George Pilkington Castle Cottage, 25 High Street, Titchmarsh, Northants NN14 3DF, UK Printing Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE, UK Printed on Amadeus Silk supplied through Denmaur as a Carbon Balanced product.

Made from FSC® certified and traceable pulp sources Specialist newsstand distribution Pineapple Media, Select Publisher Services Who to contact Subscriptions and business geoff@hothousemedia.co.uk Accounts accounts@hothousemedia.co.uk Editorial david@hothousemedia.co.uk Advertising sue@flyingspace.co.uk or rob@flyingspace.co.uk Lifestyle advertising sophie.kochan2010@gmail.com

©Hothouse Media Ltd. Magneto and associated logos are registered trademarks of Hothouse Media Ltd. All rights reserved. All material in this magazine, whether in whole or in part, may not be reproduced, transmitted or distributed in any form without the written permission of Hothouse Media Ltd. Hothouse Media Ltd. uses a layered privacy notice giving you brief details about how we would like to use your personal information.

For full details, please visit www.magnetomagazine.com/privacy/

Magneto [mag-nee-toh] noun, plural mag·ne·tos 1. Electrical generator that provides periodic high-voltage pulses to the spark-plugs of an internal-combustion engine, used mostly pre-World War One although still fitted for emergency back-up of aircraft ignition systems.

2. Fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

3. Great quarterly magazine featuring the most important cars in the world.

ISSN Number 2631-9489. Magneto is published quarterly by Hothouse Publishing Ltd. Great care has been taken throughout the magazine to be accurate, but the publisher cannot accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions that might occur.

The editors and publishers of this magazine give no warranties, guarantees or assurances, and make no representations regarding any goods or services advertised in this edition.

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ask@swissgallery.co.uk

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www.swissgallery.co.uk

The Classic roars back onto Silverstone circuit

Chantilly event to bring the cream of the crop

Audrain Concours in Rhode Island, US

All our favourite events listed in one place

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THE CLASSIC (S I LV E R S T O N E) August 26-28, 2022 The Silverstone Classic – or The Classic as it now likes to be known – has to be one of the best-value events on the UK Historics calendar. It puts classic motor sport at its heart, but there’s so much more to it than that.

Car clubs from around the country, and for almost every marque you can think of, fill Silverstone’s open spaces, with on-track parades for anniversary cars. There’s also a sale courtesy of Silverstone Auctions that offers racing and road cars, plus live music and a funfair.

The racing is the highlight, though, with spectacular access to the cars and drivers across the famous circuit’s two paddocks. This year the Masters Endurance Legends event brings GT racing from 1995 to 2012. It is likely to be a big draw, as well as the Masters Racing Legends event for F1 cars from 1966 to 1985 and Group C celebration. www.silverstone.co.uk

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C H A N T I L LY A R T S & ELEGANCE September 24-25, 2022 A welcome return for one of the most romantic events in the concours calendar – France’s Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille, just to the north of Paris.

It’s been three long years since the last staging, thanks to the pandemic, but this summer’s event is anticipated to be the best yet, with 900 cars expected in the grounds of the Château de Chantilly.

There are three concours events: one for private owners, another for manufacturers and their concepts, and another still for car clubs.

There will also be tours for the owners of classic cars and supercars through 100km of perfectly pretty French countryside, plus gastronomic delights. www.chantillyarts etelegance.com

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SUMMER

AU T U M N

WINTER

SPRING

Coming soon

Coming soon

SUMMER

AU T U M N

WINTER

SPRING

AUDRAIN NEWPORT CONCOURS AND MOTOR WEEK September 29-October 2, 2022 A packed weekend of gastronomy and automobiles awaits visitors to the Audrain Concours and Motor Week in Newport, Rhode Island, US. Taking place around the striking Audrain Auto Museum, an entire week of social events and driving tours builds up to the concours itself. Those events range from coffee meet-ups to exclusive dinner parties, while The Gathering on the Friday allows you to mingle with like-minded enthusiasts, with big names such as Jay Leno dropping by.

The concours is the highlight, however. Held at the Vanderbilt family’s Breakers mansion overlooking the Atlantic ocean, it sees an international panel of judges preside over around 100 cars dating from the start of motoring right up to the current day. www.audrainconcours.com

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MONTEREY CAR WEEK August 12-21, 2022 Nine days of car appreciation around Monterey, California, US. Highlights include Motorlux, The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering, Automobilia Monterey, Concours d’Lemons, Concorso Italiano, Exotics on Broadway, RetroAuto, Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Pebble Beach Concours and several massive auctions. www.seemonterey.com/events/ sporting/concours

CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE PALEIS SOESTDIJK August 26-28, 2022 Renowned Dutch concours at this former royal palace, with added classic tour and even a golf match. www.concourselegance.com

BELOW Classic car glamour comes to the Las Vegas Concours; time travel at the Goodwood Revival.

ST MORITZ AUTOMOBILE WEEK September 6-11, 2022 Motorsport Rendezvous concours, now two days, joins Bernina Gran Turismo Swiss mountain race, RM Sotheby’s auction and more. www.bernina-granturismo.com

RADNOR HUNT CONCOURS September 9-11, 2022 High-end BBQ, rally and concours d’elegance staged in Malvern, Philadelphia, US. www.radnorconcours.org

BEAULIEU AUTOJUMBLE September 10-11, 2022 An institution: the UK’s greatest autojumble in the grounds of the National Motor Museum. www.beaulieu.co.uk/events

SALON PRIVÉ

COLORADO GRAND

August 31-September 4, 2022

September 12-17, 2022

Five days of top-level cars and hospitality, each day different, at Blenheim Palace, UK. Includes concours and supercar day. www.salonpriveconcours.com

One of the greatest US road runs, with 85 classics through Colorado. www.co1000.com

LIME ROCK HISTORIC FESTIVAL September 1-5, 2022 Now in its 40th year, the Connecticut, US festival also features more than 1000 classics on the Sunday. www.limerock.com/events/ historic-festival-40/

CLASSIC GALA SCHWETZINGEN September 2-4, 2022 Concours at castle near Heidelberg, celebrating 110 years of Bertone and 120 years of Cadillac. www.classic-gala.de

CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE September 2-4, 2022 Prestigious concours at Hampton Court Palace, UK. This year marks the tenth running of the event and 70 years of Ferrari in F1. www.concoursofelegance.co.uk

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DETROIT CONCOURS September 16-18, 2022 Hagerty’s new tribute to US car culture in the centre of Detroit, US. www.detroitconcours.com

GOODWOOD REVIVAL September 16-18, 2022 Only the world’s best Historic racing festival, near Chichester, UK. Be sure to dress in appropriate period outfit. www.goodwood.com

THE BOSTON CUP

LAS VEGAS CONCOURS

September 25, 2022

October 28-30, 2022

Great classic concours and show in New England, US. www.thebostoncup.com

Third edition, including 35 years of the F40, at Wynn Las Vegas, US. www.lasvegasconcours.com

MODENA CENTO ORE

RALLY OF THE TESTS

October 2-7, 2022

November 3-6, 2022

Some say this is even better than the famous Mille Miglia...

Five days across Italy, via Florence and Modena. https://modenacentoore.canossa.com

Blackpool to Torquay, UK, in the 20th running of this Historic rally that evokes the classic RAC Rally. www.heroevents.eu/event-schedule

ZOUTE GRAND PRIX CAR WEEK October 6-9, 2022 Rallies, tours, art, concours and sales in stunning Knokke-Heist, Bruges and Ostend, Belgium. www.zoutegrandprix.be

CHATTANOOGA MOTORCAR FESTIVAL October 14-16, 2022 Third running of this successful concours, Historic race festival, rally and auction in Tennessee, US. www.chattanoogamotorcar.com

HILTON HEAD ISLAND CONCOURS November 4-6, 2022 Cars and planes in South Carolina. www.hhiconcours.com

LONDON TO BRIGHTON VETERAN CAR RUN November 7, 2022 The legendary run from Hyde Park, UK for pre-1905 vehicles.

Take part, hitch a bus ride or spectate. The previous day, Saturday, is the Regent Street Motor Show, too. www.veterancarrun.com

AUTO E MOTO D’EPOCA

GENERATIONS RALLY

October 20-23, 2022

March 24-26, 2023

The most beautiful of all indoor classic vehicle shows, staged in stunning Padua, Italy. www.autoemotodepoca.com

Second running of the rally for crews from different generations.

Northern England and Scotland. www.rallytheglobe.com

A U C T I O N S & P R I VAT E B R O K E R A G E

G O O D I N G C O .C O M

FRIDAY AUG 19 AT 5PM SATURDAY AUG 20 AT 11AM LIVE AUCTIONS OFFICIAL AUCTION HOUSE OF THE PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE®

1937 BUGATTI TYPE 57SC ATALANTE Among the Most Significant and Beautiful Bugattis One of Only 17 Examples Built Known History from New Chassis 57523

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SATURDAY 3 SEPT LIVE AUCTION OFFICIAL AUCTION HOUSE OF THE CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE HAMPTON COURT PALACE From a Private Collection From left to right: 1932 BENTLEY 8 LITRE TOURER 1932 BENTLEY SPORTS SALOON 1929 BENTLEY SPEED SIX SPORTS SALOON 1928 BENTLEY 4 1/2 LITRE SPORTS TOURER

CONTACT OUR SPECIALISTS TO LEARN MORE INQUIRY@GOODINGCO.COM Pebble Beach® and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® are trademarks and service marks of Pebble Beach Company. Used by permission.

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1 st IN CLASS

REMAKING A MASTERPIECE THE BIZZARRINI 5300GT CORSA REVIVAL 24/65

What’s in a name? If it happens to be Bizzarrini then the answer is one of the most mythical marques in automotive history. Thanks to Pegasus Brands it’s a name with renewed relevance and a story with a thrilling plot twist: the return and rebirth of Bizzarrini.

To appreciate the marque you have to understand the man who’s name it bears. As one of the founding fathers of the Italian supercar, Giotto Bizzarrini’s brilliant mind shaped some of the true greats. From development of the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO to designing the magnificent V12 engine that would power an iconic series of 12-cylinder Lamborghinis from 350GT to Muciélago.

An instinctive engineer with a passion for racing, he loved to innovate in the pursuit of pace. His work reflected this, with a pioneering approach that was prescient of principles which have since become the bedrock of modern supercar and race car design.

His use of advanced materials and appreciation of low-drag aerodynamics shaped the unmistakable look of his cars. Likewise, the quest for a low center of gravity and low polar moment of inertia defined their dazzling dynamics.

Fittingly, of all his creations the one acknowledged as his masterpiece was the first to bear his name: the Bizzaririni 5300 GT Corsa. Continuing where he had

finished with the Ferrari 250 GTO, it was the master’s opportunity to evolve his concept into the ultimate front-mid-engined GT racer.

The result was a design so advanced it put its rivals to shame. With a wind-cheating body designed by Giugiaro, refined by Drogo and moulded from then state-of-the-art glassfibre, fully independent suspension at each corner and a powerful, low-slung V8 engine

mounted way back in the chassis, the 5300GT Corsa was an extreme expression of engineering genius.

His decision to use a small-block V8 instead of a home-grown V12 might have surprised some, but Bizzarrini knew the American powerplant was perfect for his application. Compact, less complex, blessed with tremendous torque and, in his opinion, superior response to Ferrari’s V12, it gave him the freedom to push his front-mid-engine concept to the limit.

The 5300 GT Corsa’s finest hour – its finest 24 hours, actually – was at Le Mans in 1965, when French drivers, Régis Fraissinet and Jean de Mortemart drove to a sensational win in the over 5-litre class. As if to underline this stellar feat of endurance, Bizzarrini himself triumphantly drove the victorious car back from Le Mans to Livorno in northern Italy.

It is that very car – chassis 0222 – which the revitalised Bizzarrini marque is honouring with no more than 24 examples of the 5300 GT Corsa Revival 24/65 – a limited series continuation car built to celebrate an

extraordinary car and one of the most admired and enigmatic Italian car makers in automotive history.

What do owners of the 5300 GT Corsa Revival 24/65 have to look forward to? A time warp creation crafted with forensic engineering. A car that’s utterly authentic and jaw-droppingly gorgeous, with scintillating curves, waist-high roofline and a rakish rear screen melding to create a shape quite unlike any other car from the period. Details authentic only to the Le Mans-winner add to the magic.

The cockpit is equally period-perfect. Quilted black leather wraps the broad transmission tunnel.

Instruments are deployed in eccentric original fashion; temperature and pressure gauges set immediately ahead of you, while the tacho is set to one side in tacit acknowledgment that drivers will soon learn to judge the pounding Chevrolet V8’s rpm by ear alone.

With the engine mounted so far back the driver is positioned closer to the rear axle than the front. It is an evocative place to sit. Especially when you start the engine and become immersed in the chatter of the transmission, thrash of engine pulleys and snorting of hungry 45 DCOE Weber carburettors. It’s a view and soundtrack straight from 1965.

The inherent rightness of Bizzarrini’s design shines in every move the 5300 GT Corsa Revival makes.

Precise corner weighting – which sees 25% of the car’s

mass sit evenly on each wheel – ensures ideal balance and consistent handling, while a 1250kg kerbweight means this potent machine (with power outputs ranging from 400-480bhp depending on customer specification) pulses with performance to shame many a contemporary sports car.

Given the 5300 GT Corsa’s origins, it was vital that the Revival 24/65 could be built and specified to comply with FIA’s stringent period-specific Appendix K historic racing regulations. Such accuracy and authenticity are paramount, hence the only deviation from the original blueprints are in the name of safety, with the integration of a modern roll-cage and safety fuel cell.

These additions are common to all 24 cars, along with a light, strong and perfectly detailed one-piece carbon fibre body. Use of this modern material is a small departure from the original specification, but true to Bizzarrini’s ethos as he would have unquestionably used the same had it been available in the 1960s.

For those who intend to go racing, an alternative glassfibre bodywork option can be specified where required by regulation.

A celebration of Giotto Bizzarrini’s brilliance, the 5300 GT Corsa Revival 24/65 is also a beacon. One to guide the revitalised Bizzarrini marque on its journey to inspire a fresh generation of enthusiasts and collectors, and in shaping future cars that respect and reimagine the passion and performance for which Bizzarrini has long been synonymous.

For more information please contact us:

sales@bizzarrini.com www.bizzarrini.com

Concours on Savile Row: accolades for new annual show

Bentley Speed Six Continuation model announced

50 years of BMW M: the ultimate driving machines

Inside pre-war Aston Martin specialist Ecurie Bertelli

Behind the wheel of Lamborghini’s new LPI 800-4

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Words David Lillywhite

Photography Matt Howell

WE’RE BIASED BECAUSE IT was our own event, but the Concours on Savile Row has been hailed by all involved as a great success.

First conceived of in 2019 but postponed due to the pandemic, the idea of the Concours was always to celebrate bespoke cars at London’s home of bespoke tailoring. With the assistance of the tailors, Westminster City Council and The Pollen Estate, we were able to close the road to traffic for two days to display the best cars – with the show open free of charge to the public.

Tailors were paired with sponsors and manufacturers, many running special demonstrations and talks on tailoring, craftsmanship, wine- and whisky-tasting and more. A great example was JP Hackett working with Aston Martin, Bowmore Whisky and The Little Car Company, plus displaying clay modelling out front.

Or Dege & Skinner, which retrimmed a Morgan Super 3 for the Concours.

Meanwhile, the Association of Heritage Engineers demonstrated traditional skills around the event.

Sponsor RM Sotheby’s worked with Ozwald Boateng to run several fascinating talks, Hagerty did the same with Hackett, jewellery maker Fope produced a special-edition men’s bracelet and timing partner Chopard brought along none other than F1 and Le Mans star Jacky Ickx.

The car line-up was deliberately eclectic, with hypercars – including UK debuts of the McLaren Artura and Czinger 21C – displayed with greats from famed collections such as the Mullin Automotive Museum and the Bamford Collection. The Westminster City Lions Hagerty Youth Judges chose Clive Beecham’s Ferrari 166MM as Best of Show.

The 2023 Concours on Savile Row is provisionally set for May 24-25. www.concoursonsavilerow.com

Cars and tailoring combine The inaugural Concours on Savile Row matched bespoke cars to the world-famous tailors for a remarkable free show 32

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BELOW Free event on Savile Row attracted families, style aficionados, stunning cars – and fabulous weather.

RIGHT Many of the Row’s tailors hosted special events and demonstrations for public and for invited VIPs. This is inside JP Hackett, with The Little Car Company’s DB5.

LEFT Display cars included Bizzarrini 2500GT, Aston DB4 GT, Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica and Ferrari 225S.

ABOVE Formula 1 and Le Mans driver Jacky Ickx attended with timing partner Chopard, giving talks on the central stage, ahead of flying to Italy for the Mille Miglia.

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MARTYN GODDARD

LEFT AND BELOW Ex-Gianni Agnelli Ferrari 166 and one-off Testarossa Spider with Facel II and Barnato-Hassan Bentley; dancing to the Swing Ninjas on the central stage.

MARTYN GODDARD

ABOVE, LEFT AND RIGHT One of two artists in residence, the Reverend Adam Gompertz, in action.

The other was Simon Britnell, based in The Service café; model David Gandy, one of several stars on the central stage; demonstration of clay-model styling

by Aston Martin.

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Speed Six Continuation announced Crewe marque reveals limited-edition series of Bentley Boys’ 1929-30 Le Mans-winning Team Car

Words David Lillywhite

Photography Bentley Motors

AS PRODUCTION OF THE LAST of the 12 Blower Bentley Continuation cars continues in the Mulliner division at the Bentley Motors factory in Crewe, Cheshire, the company has announced a second Continuation series of a dozen cars.

This time it’s the turn of the Speed Six, the high-performance version of the 6½ Litre that became the most successful racing Bentley, winning Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 at the hands of Woolf Barnato, Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin and Glen Kidston.

Three Team Cars were entered into the 1930 Le Mans, all of which survive. The best of the trio is known as ‘Old Number 3’, which despite a difficult race at the time remains in excellent condition, and is still raced and road-driven today by its owner.

Bentley owns another of the three, GU409, which has been restored to Team Car spec with an identical four-seater Vanden Plas body. The third is now a single-seater, heavily modified from Le Mans spec.

While the Blower Continuations were near-identical copies of the brand’s own 1929 Team Car Number 2, the Speed Six Continuations will not be based on a single car, although Old Number 3 acts as the main reference. GU409, from Bentley’s collection, will give benchmark performance and handling data for the Continuation cars.

The series will be developed and built at Crewe with assistance from long-established Bentley specialists for many of the components – most crafted using the same techniques as used in the 1920s. At the time of writing, a full 3D CAD model of the car has been produced, referencing Old Number 3 and GU409. The plan is for the testing and development ‘Car Zero’ to be running by the end of 2022.

All 12 cars have already been reserved, and it’s thought that around half of them have gone to customers who bought a Blower Continuation.

The Speed Six was an improved version of the 1926 6½ Litre model.

WO Bentley believed that the best

LEFT The original Old Number 3 Speed Six on track with Bentley’s prototype ‘Car Zero’ Blower Continuation.

36

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way to increase power was to increase capacity, rather than supercharging the 4½ Litre, as favoured by Bentley Boy Tim Birkin.

With a bore of 100mm and a stroke of 140mm, his new straightsix had a capacity of nearly 6.6 litres.

In base spec, with a single Smiths five-jet carburettor, twin magnetos and a compression ratio of 4.4:1, the 6½ Litre gave 147bhp at 3500rpm. In this form, 362 examples were built at Bentley’s factory in Cricklewood, north London, on a variety of chassis

‘Two wins at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 cemented the model’s place in Bentley history’ of different lengths depending on the bodystyle required.

The Speed Six chassis came about in 1928 as a sportier version of the 6½ Litre, with twin SU carburettors, a higher compression ratio and a high-performance camshaft, taking power to 180bhp. The chassis was available with wheelbases of 138 inches (3505mm), 140.5in (3569mm) and 152.5in (3874mm), with the short chassis being the most popular. Between 1928 and 1930, 182 Speed Six models were built.

The racing version of the Speed Six had a wheelbase of 11 feet (132in; 3353mm) and a further-developed engine running a compression ratio of 6.1:1 and producing 200bhp. The wins at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 cemented the model’s place in Bentley history, with the ’29 victory setting a new benchmark for dominance at the race. Driven by Barnato and Birkin, a Speed Six led from the first lap until the chequered flag, followed by three other Bentleys. A new lap record of 7:21 had been set by Birkin, taking 46 seconds off the previous best, requiring an average speed of 83mph and covering 2844km.

CONSIGN TODAY | OCTOBER 20-22 | HOUSTON | 480.421.6694 1967 CHEVROLET CORVETTE CUSTOM CONVERTIBLE Built by Jeff Hayes Customs and powered by a new GM LS3 540hp V8 engine paired to a 4L70E automatic transmission. Features an Art Morrison sport chassis with 4-wheel Wilwood disc brakes. NO RESERVE.

SELL YOUR COLLECTOR CAR WHERE THE BIDDERS ARE Over 300 Auction Records Broken So Far In 2022

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Starter

Words David Lillywhite

Photography Mercedes-Benz Classic

THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE saying to me: “How can you be part of a process to sell our heritage? How could you be so cold-hearted?” Give me a break! I was born in Stuttgart; I wouldn’t do anything that could be harmful to Mercedes-Benz.

We had offers for the Uhlenhaut again and again. Two things: first of all, if somebody offers you money, you can’t say: “Okay, here’s the deal.”

Nowadays it’s under the compliance guarantee law. Because you might be asked by a shareholder who holds just one share: “How could you do that? How could you give it away for $50 million? I would have paid you double. I will sue you!”

That’s the reason why, if you do it, you have to have a partner. I took RM Sotheby’s as a trusted third party, and we set up an invitational auction, a live auction at the museum at Stuttgart. We identified all the people who had given us offers over the years, for this and for other cars, and some other people. They all had to fit Mercedes-Benz values. And they all had to sign a pre-contract that they would allow – in case of a successful bid – the car to appear in the same way in public as has happened in the past and to have it maintained by us.

So we set up a live auction, and it ended up at €135 million. We started at €50m, because the previous highest sale, the 250GTO, was €47m.

Oliver Barker did it, Sotheby’s chief auctioneer, the guy who auctioned off the Banksy ‘Love is in the Bin’ artwork. It was very exciting!

And here comes the second point: why did we do it now? We had offers all the time. There’s another kind of [Mercedes-Benz] heritage that you have to understand, to do with its

‘We identified all those who’d given us offers for the Uhlenhaut Coupé over the years’

orphan – Wilhelm Maybach – in a machine company close to Stuttgart, which was owned by the church; the church was running industry in that area. All this because the talent of the young boy was recognised and he was given the formal education he otherwise never could have afforded.

So due to this part of our history, we have created a fund for uncertain times. This is when you have to decide what you will do: will you send millions to certain countries or regions; will you spend money for climate change? So we decided that we would give away scholarships for talented young people who are not in a position to get a formal education because of their limited family backgrounds, in the fields of decarbonisation, electrification and environmental technology linked to the future of the car. Also, as a

Why MercedesBenz sold the Uhlenhaut Coupé Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz Classic, explains to Magneto the €135m sale of the 300SLR 38

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humble and modest beginnings in a relatively poor area, and how our understanding of ‘luxury’ could grow there [more to do with quality and longevity than superficial qualities].

So of our three founders (Mr Maybach, Mr Daimler and Mr Benz), two of them – Maybach and Daimler – came from very limited family backgrounds. Maybach was an orphan; Daimler’s parents had a bakery in a very small house. In the 1850s it was not a great place to be.

Young Gottlieb [Daimler] was talented, but his parents couldn’t afford to give him any education other than from the craftsman who lived two doors away, who happened to be a gunsmith. And Daimler excelled as a gunsmith. In Germany if you finish your apprenticeship you do a practical project. For the pistols he made, Gottlieb received a scholarship to the Stuttgart Polytechnic Institute [via a spell at Stuttgart’s School for Advanced Training in the Industrial Arts] and became an engineer.

And then because he was very good at that, he gained another scholarship. He worked in the locomotive industry for three years in Manchester and Coventry, UK, which was the ‘Silicon Valley’ of the world at that time.

He brought all this knowledge back and worked with a 15-year-old

BELOW Marcus Breitschwerdt at Goodwood, with SLR ‘704’, recently bought back by Mercedes-Benz.

second element, we give money to schools for project work.

We have organisations all over the world, so we will manage them, we will meet them, we will be with them in their education and help them, and we will take them for internships.

Now a lot of people say: “Okay, but you made billions of profit in the first quarter. Why couldn’t you just take €135 million?” In a publicly listed company you can’t just change a five-year plan; every single penny coming in is planned to be reinvested or given as profit to the shareholders.

Vintage cars are more than 30 years old; the Uhlenhaut around 70 years old. So the value in our books is, say, one euro 50 cents. It’s just a memory, a reminder. So this is not planned for anything; we can take the money [from selling a classic] to the full amount and use it for such a purpose. So, you know, we are very proud that we’ve achieved €135m.

Read more about the history and sale of the Uhlenhaut Coupé on page 104.

1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S

1995 Ferrari F50

1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 LWB Landaulet

1981 BMW M1 OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE

1991 Jaguar XJR-15

1954 Bentley R-Type Continental H. J. Mulliner Sports Saloon

1972 Ferrari 246 GT Dino

REGISTER TO BID +1 313.312.0780 ⊲ broadarrowauctions.com

1926 Mercedes-Benz 15/70/100 PS OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE

Starter

Words Richard Heseltine

Alain de Cadenet

“I GOT INVOLVED IN MOTOR racing because I thought it could be a good way of picking up girls,” Alain de Cadenet was fond of saying. “It was, too. Of course, I knew nothing about the sport when I started. I picked it up as I went along and got to know the right people.” And few men have ever been more adept at twisting arms and calling in favours than ‘De Cad’, who sadly died on July 2, 2022. He was 76.

Charm personified and a born raconteur, de Cadenet was many things to many people. He was a respected philatelist and an authority on historic cameras, but motor sport was his first love. He came to epitomise the determined underdog, the Englishman with the French name being a fan favourite during his endeavours at Le Mans in assorted exotica. And that is before you factor in the many fabulous preand post-war classics he owned, of both two- and four-wheel variety.

“I raced an AC Ace for a few years from 1966, and then became inspired by what Mark Koenig was doing building his Nomad sports cars,” he said during a decidedly one-sided interview in the Anglesey Arms, South Kensington, a while back. “I

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GETTY IMAGES

Charm personified, a born raconteur and an accomplished motor sport star, the recently departed ‘De Cad’ will be much missed

had this idea that I could take this thing called a Diva Valkyr and put a Martin V8 into it, but then my mechanic partner in the scheme walked away so I got a Porsche 904 instead. Michael Pearson [now Lord Cowdray] had a house in Elystan Street that was our gang’s hang-out, and we prepared the car in his garage.”

The 904 gave way to a Dino 206S and a Porsche 908, and Petersham Mews subsequently became centre of operations. Under Ecurie Evergreen, a team he’d set up with the American David Weir,Alain then commissioned a Cosworth DFV-powered McLaren M8C before touching the hem of Formula 1 on fielding Chris Craft in the 1971 Canadian and US GPs. Le Mans remained the big draw, however, Alain having made his debut that same year aboard an Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari 512M. In ’72 he returned as a driver/constructor, placing 12th in the Gordon Murraypenned Duckhams Special.

Fast-forward three years and the plucky équipe moved to nearby Queens Gate Place Mews. Recalled De Cad: “We had a pretty good setup. We put in a level floor, installed work benches and machine tools, and had just enough space for a van. For

1975, I got hold of a new Lola.

Gordon worked his magic on the suspension, and we adapted it to better suit Le Mans. We christened it the De Cadenet-Lola.”

There was, however, a problem on the eve of the 24 Hours: “We loaded our old Transit full of stuff and hooked up the open trailer, but it wouldn’t go. So I put a tow hitch on the back of my 1928 Bentley Speed Six and towed the car from the mews to Le Mans with that.”

Career highlights included third place overall at Le Mans a year later, and outright honours in the Monza 1000 Kilometres and Silverstone Six Hours in 1980. Not that he was ever remotely career orientated...

“I used to play snooker with James Hunt. One day he said: ‘Alain, if you don’t give up this Le Mans stuff, it will give you up.’ Well, 1986 was my 16th 24 Hours on the trot and my third with Yves Courage’s team. It was a case of goodbye Tertre Rouge, goodbye Mulsanne – it’s been fun.

“You know, I never had any money when we were racing, but I look back at what our little team achieved and I’d say we punched above our weight.

I was always an amateur, but I don’t think I did too badly.”

ABOVE With the De Cadenet-Lola LM78, just days before the 1980 Le Mans. Alain finished seventh.

‘I put a tow hitch on the back of my 1928 Speed Six and towed the car from the mews to Le Mans with that’

HOUSTON TO SAN FRANCISCO 20 AUGUST TO 9 SEPTEMBER 2023 As always with our adventures the route will take us on roads less travelled and whilst to see America is to cruise the freeways and highways, the roads that beckon those who choose to take on this trip will be an altogether less straight forward affair, giving us all the pleasure of seeing an America that many eyes never get to see. As Kerouac himself said, “There is nowhere to go, but everywhere.”

U

LENGTH OF ROUTE:

DAYS:

VEHICLE ELEGIBILITY:

5,300 Miles

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hero-era.com world famous classic car rallies @ heroerarally

|

t. + 44 (0 ) 1869 254979

|

info@hero-era.com

Starter

Words David Lillywhite

INTERVIEW

check seating positions for driver, passenger and so forth. We’re hoping to have a – possibly unclothed – prototype running in 2023, then do the proper development through ’24.

Production cars are starting in ’25.

Adrian Newey on Red Bull’s RB17 hypercar

Have you designed the car with a particular type of circuit in mind?

No, not particularly. One of the challenges will be, if it’s not a smooth, billiard-table circuit, to get it to drive well. At that level of performance, taking it to, say, Snetterton might be a bit brave, though...

The renowned designer on Red Bull’s plans to build 50 examples of a new £5m two-seater track machine with F1 performance levels

You’ve got a car here without any rules. What’s that like?

You could say the laws of physics are regulations. And we need to package two people, and we’ve got to assume that at least one might be quite tall.

We also need to use existing tyres, because developing new tyres tends to be a very lengthy process. So there are some constraints.

Do you bring to this car a design philosophy that’s new to you?

As you can imagine, we’ve used all the tricks that we have learned over the years, in terms of performanceenhancing technologies that have often subsequently been banned [sliding skirts, for example]. So it’s very much the Formula 1 approach applied to a slightly different vehicle.

BELOW Adrian Newey at the Red Bull Technology Campus, where he and Christian Horner introduced the RB17 plans.

Could the RB17 develop into a road-going hypercar?

Not at this point; I think that’s less central to our DNA at this time.

What we have tried to do is make sure its handling is progressive, and we’ll probably put different modes into it, depending on your confidence and ability. So you can drive it at a lower performance level easily, and as you become more confident you can make it a bit more edgy.

Will this have more performance than the Valkyrie? If so, how?

Yes, it will have significantly more performance. Valkyrie was created as a road car, and that comes with limitations compared to when you are purely chasing performance. The

biggest thing is trying to get the weight down, which will be a lot of work; power is almost the easy bit nowadays, such is the advance in engine technology. Aerodynamics is the other big contributor, and there are quite a few tricks from the past that we’ll be using today.

How will you balance all the demands on your time?

The key thing is that we now have a great technical team on the Formula 1 side, which means that while I’m very involved I can also step back and give them their head as well. I keep saying I want to do fewer days, but I love design and I enjoy the kind of design that gives fresh challenges.

Does this feel like a watershed moment for Red Bull?

I joined at the end of Red Bull’s first Formula 1 season – after Christian had relentlessly pursued me. To join Red Bull as this young team that was not taken particularly seriously and see how it’s grown has been tremendously exciting. So to be at this point, 16 years later, where we have been lucky enough to win championships in Formula 1, and now we’re about to embark on a two-seat track car, is something that neither of us could have foreseen all those years ago.

What will the engine be?

We’ve come up with specifications of the combustion engine, which will be a V8 twin-turbo. We are now considering how we do that. We have our own in-house powertrains; equally, we can look to other specialists, so we’re in that process.

What will the RB17’s price be?

I always feel slightly embarrassed when we mention the £5 million mark, but the reality is – as Christian [Horner] well knows [laughing] – I will spend whatever the income is.

How far along is the project?

There’s a lot of CFD work. There’s a mechanical design layout. I can’t show any parts, but it shouldn’t be that long before we can. There will be an interior mock-up so you can

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Starter

Words Nathan Chadwick

Things that make you go M

1976 530M L E (E12)

1978 M1 (E26)

1980 M535i (E12)

BMW M was formed to develop a model to beat European touring car all-comers: the 3.0 CSL. At this point the department focused on the racing cars, although the CSL was updated over the 3.0 CS for homologation purposes, with several displacement boosts and extreme lightening.

In 1973 the wild ‘Batmobile’ bodykit was homologated.

The results worked – BMW CSL drivers won the ETCC six times between 1973 and ’79.

The first proper M products were tuning parts for the E9, including entire engine swaps. But the E12 was the first actual M-made machine; 100 were built to homologate a racer in the South African Modified Production series.

The M department stripped back weight and used lighter body panels, while power came from a tuned 3.0-litre M30 engine.

The M1 was conceived to defeat Porsche in endurance racing, but conflicts with original contractor Lamborghini meant the rules had changed by the time the car was ready. BMW built it in-house, and would use it for the one-make Procar series. The brand sold 453 273bhp road-going versions.

With its fingers burned by the M1, the future of M turned to faster versions of its line-up. The first of these was the M535i, which used a 215bhp version of the M90 straight-six and paired it with a short-ratio dogleg manual ’box, limited-slip diff and suitably butch bodykit.

1998 M5 (E39)

2000 M3 (E46)

2005 M5 AND M6 (E6X)

2006 Z4M (E85/E86)

2007 M3 (E9X)

The car that truly delivered for BMW in the US was a major departure from other M5s, thanks to an n/a 5.0-litre V8 that sent its 394bhp to the road via a six-speed manual ’box and multi-link rear suspension (the latter a first for the breed).

Powered by the final evolution of the n/a S50 straight-six, the M3 was available only in coupé and drop-top form, yet it outsold the E36. Its 338bhp rose to 358bhp in the lightweight CSL. Six V8 GTRs were built to homologate US racing cars.

In its F1 pomp BMW needed a suitable halo car, so it put a 500bhp 5.0-litre V10 in its exec saloon and estate. This also appeared in the same year’s E63 M6.

Wildchild Coupé and Roadster with Bangle styling, E46 M3 engine and CSL steering rack.

It was enjoyably sweatinducing in the rain and on adverse cambers.

BMW chased US sales with its new M car, fitting a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V8 and boosting the model’s dimensions and weight. Engine provided 414bhp in standard tune, although this swelled to 444bhp for the limited-run 4.4 GTS and CRT. Proved to be the last n/a M car.

(E2

M1

6X (E3 Z3M 6) (E4

Z4

M(

E85

/E8

6)

M3

9) (E3

The decision to introduce the E36 M3’s 3.2 engine to the Z3 Roadster was a fairly simple one, but the Z3 M Coupé was a pet project for engineers.

Despite reservations BMW said yes, and the ‘Clownshoe’ has since become hot property.

Later cars used an E46 M3-spec engine.

M5

1997 Z3M (E36/7 A N D E36/8)

/8)

M5

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i (E

12)

3.0

CS

L

For 50 years the M department has been BMW’s motor sport weapon of choice and produced the ultimate of ultimate driving machines.

Here’s to five decades of magnificent road cars

6)

1972 3.0 C SL

1992 850 CSi (E31)

The E30 M3 was built to dominate Group A touring car racing, and it underwent drastic styling changes to accomplish that aim.

The M3-only front splitter, rear apron, sills, bootlid and C-pillar helped to reduce drag to 0.33Cd. Its S14 four-pot developed 192-235bhp. It all paid off – on track and on rally stages.

This used a sleeveddown M3 engine to get around Italian and Portuguese displacement taxes.

The second M3 upped the cylinder count to six and added a host of luxury appointments to make something that approached 911 levels of performance and usability, but without the price tag. Two engines were available, both variants of the S50 straight-six: 3.0 litres (282bhp) and 3.2 litres (316bhp from 1995).

North American markets used detuned S50 and S52 engines. It was not as loved as the E30, but was arguably more influential as a road car...

Although not designated as an M car, this really is a true M product thanks to its engine designation: S70B56. Its 5.6 V12 produced 375bhp, and a mere 1510 were built.

(E3

An increase in weight and refinement for the last naturally aspirated (n/a) six-cylinder M5.

It came in both 3.6 and 3.8 form, and spawned the final hand-built M car – the rare Touring.

M3

1988 M5 (E34)

6)

1992 M3 (E36)

85

0C

Si

(E3

1)

M6

(E2

4)

M3

(E3

0)

Right-hand drive and turbocharged M30 wouldn’t work, so the M department slapped the peaky M88/3 engine into this South African special. Some ended up racing...

The fastest production saloon car at launch, it blended the M88/3 engine with the E28 5 Series chassis. Much as with the M6, the US had to make do with a detuned version of the engine. Extremely rare nowadays.

1987 320iS (E30)

4)

1984 745i (E23)

1985 M5 (E28)

1986 M3 (E30)

(E3

First use of the M1’s engine – now called the M88/3 – outside of the supercar. Smooth straight-six delivered 286bhp in non-North American form; 256bhp for those across the Atlantic.

1985 M535i (E28)

M5

1984 M6 (E24)

UP CO

2011 M5 (F10/06/12/13) The first turbo M5 made a huge 553bhp.

The M6 followed a year later as a coupé, convertible and fourdoor Gran Coupé.

2017 M5 (F90)

2021 M3/M4 (G80/82/83) Controversially grilled M3/M4 had 3.0 twinturbo straight-six ranging from 473bhp to 503bhp.

Convertible, coupé, saloon and, for the first time, estate available.

3)

2020 X5M AND X6M (F95/F96)

THE FUTURE? X M The first bespoke M car since the M1 is… a plug-in hybrid superSUV. Its twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 produces 650bhp and 590lb ft of torque, and the grille could suck in a passing solar system.

2/8

2019 M8 (F92), X3M AND X4M (F9X)

0/8

M3 now just four-door; coupés were M4s. Car returned to straightsixes, with 425bhp S55 twin-turbo. Comp Package took power to 444bhp; 454bhp for the lighter M3 CS.

Taking up where the 1M left off, the firstgen M2 used a 365bhp 3.0 turbo non-M straight-six, replaced in 2018 with a detuned 405bhp F80 M3/M4 engine. CS had 444bhp.

(G8

2014 M3/M4 (F80)

2015 M2 (F87)

7) (F8

M3

(E9

X)

M2

M3

(F8

0)

1M

2013/14 X5M AND X6M (F15/86)

/M4

This was designed to thrust BMW back into the small-coupé market for young enthusiasts. It made 335bhp from its twinturbo straight-six.

M3

2011 1M

The scourge of the M purists? The first turbo M cars and the first SUVs, some hate these but they sold by the stein-ful. The X6M alone outsold the Z4M Roadster and Coupé combined. É

2009 X5M A N D X6M

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Starter

Words David Lillywhite

Much more than just car storage As stylish automotive destinations go, the luxury clubhouse at Henry’s Car Barn takes some beating

FROM ABOVE Authentic buildings and fittings – down to original fuel pump – give the café a period feel.

IT IS TRUE THAT SOME automotive destinations shout more loudly than others. But for every public-facing Bicester Heritage and Caffeine & Machine – to name just two UK-based venues of so many worldwide – there are the places that you’d drive straight past without being aware of their existence.

Henry’s Car Barn is one such venue. Indeed, we did drive straight past it initially. “If you know, you know,” smiles its founder Henry Warhurst. Even if you have heard of the Barn, you’d probably assume it’s all about car storage – which is indeed its main business, based on the family farm in Warwickshire, UK and established more than 35 years ago by Henry’s father.

But from this, Henry has recently taken things further. “I wanted to make it a proper automotive hub, to

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have everything down one drive,” he says. What he also desired in addition to top-end storage was somewhere that like-minded car people could use as a clubhouse, for events, meals or just socialising.

However, all the farm’s modern barns had already been repurposed for storage and other car businesses.

The only option was the old haybarn, which dates back to the mid-1700s and was “the last dumping ground” for the farm. To

‘VIP car reveals, private suppers, club gatherings, and cars and coffee meetings’

the initial consternation of friends and family, Henry emptied it of decades of farming detritus and set about having it converted into a luxury clubhouse, complete with kitchen, bar, dining, car-display area, bathrooms, a mezzanine complete with – of course – driving simulator, and an outdoor entertaining area.

The result is impressive, with plenty of nods to automotive history without it being over the top. The venue has already been used for discreet VIP model reveals, private

suppers and club gatherings, as well as cars and coffee meetings.

Close by are the storage barns; the first of these is fully dehumidified and climate controlled, and has room for 145 cars, while the second, non-dehumidified, barn next door currently allows space for 400-plus vehicles – with expansion likely.

With high security, logistics services and car-maintenance options, it’s set up for the very best collector cars.

Henry has his own detailing business on site, too, so cars can be prepared and detailed when returned into storage. There’s also a workshop, Pennant Classics, which prepares Historic race cars as well as services and maintains storageclients’ car. More specialists and barns are on the way – but unless you know, you wouldn’t know… www.henryscarbarn.co.uk

HOODPIN

ABOVE AND LEFT Clubhouse in converted haybarn; dehumidified car storage on the site.

1925 Bugatti Type 35A Grand Prix Rare and thrilling opportunity to own a highly authentic and correct prewar racing icon, Documented by the American Bugatti Club; well-known by marque experts including David Sewell, Roster of former keepers includes Louis Chiron’s patron, Fred Hoffman, Raced in period by Bugatti concessionaire, Jean Ollivier, Competition history includes Provence Grand Prix in 1926, Documented restoration; toured over 4,000 miles through Europe in 2017, Winner, Monterey Cup race at Laguna Seca, 2009, “On the button” and ready to race, show, tour, and enjoy

September 1-3, 2022 | Auburn, IN

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Coachwork by Murphy

1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe ACD Club Certified, Original and matching engine, body, chassis and firewall, Fresh restoration by a marque specialist, 2021 ACD Club Annual Meet Best Duesenberg award winner, Never before offered for public sale

From the Rockhound Collection

1964 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 3,200 actual miles; known history from new, Accompanied by a Massini Report, Platinum Preservation and Premio di Platino award winner, The personification of vintage preservation, A rare opportunity to own a fascinating Ferrari Offered Without Reserve

Roderick C. Egan, Auctioneer - IN License #AU10000207 • John Kruse, Auctioneer - IN License #AU19900072 • Worldwide Auctioneers Company License #AC31400111

Starter

Words David Lillywhite

Photography Matt Howell

a part made, what it was made from,” Robert continues. “If I get hit by a bus it won’t make a difference to the business. I don’t want Ecurie Bertelli to be known for me; I want it to be known for consistently putting out the right quality of work.

Aviation helped with this: things such as risk management, team working, high-quality communication.”

So what’s the solution? Robert worked with a friend to develop a bespoke computer program that replicates the paper system used by Ecurie Bertelli for decades, rather than trying to rework the analogue archives to suit a digital database.

With this system, each part can be classified by which cars it’s fitted to, who made it, where it was made, the material it was made from and how many are in stock. It also records individual chassis numbers, with all

ABOVE AND RIGHT Original factory literature helps research; Ecurie Bertelli’s paperwork has been transferred to a new, bespoke computer system.

Ecurie Bertelli archives Can a 45-year-old firm specialising in pre-war Aston Martins remain relevant in the current world? Yes – and here’s how...

“MY GUIDING PRINCIPLE IS TO make myself redundant in the business,” says Robert Blakemore, managing director of vintage Aston Martin specialist Ecurie Bertelli.

In our world of businesses so often revolving around the skills and knowledge of just one or two people, this is an unusual sentiment. But then Ecurie Bertelli is an unusual company, an historic British business that uses the latest technology to ensures it remains future-proof.

It was started in 1976 by Nick Mason, Derrick Edwards and Judy Hogg. They were joined a year later

by Andy Bell, who took over the running of the company in 1992. He was joined in 2014 by former airline pilots and customers Robert and Ali Blakemore, allowing Andy to move into semi-retirement as a consultant.

“Andy would know where he had

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ABOVE One of more than 2500 original technical drawings – this one is a gearbox cross-section.

LEFT AND BELOW Medals for the 1934 RAC Tourist Trophy and 1935 Le Mans, the latter for Aston Martin driver Maurice Faulkner.

RIGHT Precious 1950s records from Friary Motors, Aston Martin company owner Gordon Sutherland’s car repair, parts and sales business.

Starter

RIGHT Albums contain gems, such as LM12 and LM14 Team cars racing in 1934, and press cuttings from the early days of Aston Martin, in 1914.

records of work carried out and parts fitted detailed on the database.

To these chassis-number records are added relevant documentation.

That could be the original factory build sheets from the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, registration docs, FIVA cards, owners’ records and histories, magazine articles and press cuttings, competition entries and results, or simply photographs from any point of the cars’ lives.

To compile these records, the Ecurie Bertelli team has not only been working with former and current owners, but it has also been sourcing historic documents. These include owners’ handbooks and period ads plus technical drawings

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– around 2500 of them at last count.

There are even private archives, such as the scrapbooks packed with photographs and press cuttings compiled between 1914 and ’85 by former mechanic Ted Inman Hunter.

These period images not only help complete competition records of particular cars, but also illuminate specifications at certain points in that car’s history. With all this extra information, maintenance and restoration are made easier in current times, and the cars and the company are future-proofed.

Except… who is going to continue this work? “We have a young workforce,” says Robert. “Everybody is empowered to instruct anyone

else; we’re not sitting in our own little bubbles.” As he explains this, he is giving a tour of the workshop, introducing the various employees and explaining how the more experienced staff work with the new intakes to continually pass on skills.

Sure, it helps that the pre-World War Two Aston Martins that Ecurie Bertelli specialises in represent just 0.5 percent of the cars produced by the marque. But that’s still six models and many variations of bodystyle.

Of these, the Works and Team cars are the most important, followed by the Ulster – which Robert says will always be the go-to model, for its race pedigree. Then there are the Speed Models; less desirable in the

market but technically better than the Ulsters, and eligible for the same number of events, if not more.

“We cover everything from the earliest Bamford and Martin era cars up to the most advanced of the prewar Aston Martins, the Speed Model, including very special examples such as the Red Dragon,” says Robert. “Our biggest issues are that people don’t know we exist, or they think the cars are dull, slow or break down. In fact you can drive them to the pub or you can race them.”

We round off the visit with a run out in a Speed Model. Sure enough, it is fast, flexible and exciting; everything a sports car should be.

Please visit www.ecuriebertelli.com.

4 to 15 June 2023

T

he fourth in Rally the Globe’s popular ‘Carrera’ series of events will take eleven days to explore the array of scenic delights and perfect driving roads that France has to offer.

Starting in the north of the country, the Carrera Riviera will wind its way through river valleys, vineyards and rolling fields, past ancient chateaux and a mountain range or two, and will take advantage of the fine regional cuisine en route to the Mediterranean Coast. Expect hotels oozing luxury and character, and plenty of convivial competition along the way.

Start PARIS

Finish

WEST COUNTRY

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RALLY

MARATHON

For more information and to register your interest visit www.rallytheglobe.com +44 113 360 8961 info@rallytheglobe.com The Carrera Riviera is open to cars of pre-1977 specification, with a separate classification for pre-1946 specification cars.

Starter

Words David Lillywhite

Photography British Motor Heritage

British Motor Heritage archives Treasure trove of documents for UK classic cars digitally preserved for posterity after years in shipping containers

ABOVE Archive includes technicaldrawing gems such as these for a Triumph engine and the Morris Traveller estate.

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FOR TWO DECADES, FOUR shipping containers have hidden a challenging problem for British Motor Heritage, the UK company best known for its bodyshells and panels for Minis, MGs, Triumphs, Morris Minors and Jaguar E-types.

The contents of the containers?

An estimated one million historic documents: technical drawings, design sketches, advertising posters and more. The containers are filled with plan chests, with each drawer holding up to 500 documents each.

“Actually, the estimate of a million drawings could be way under,” says Graham Payne, who took over as managing director in late 2020.

So what to do with this incredible archive? And how did it end up in shipping containers for so long? The answer to the second question is rooted in BMW’s sale of Land Rover to Ford in 2000. It’s said that the Blue Oval didn’t think it was getting value for money, so BMW threw in Gaydon’s British Motor Museum.

Deep in the museum’s basement at the time was the well organised archive of drawings – in which Ford had no interest at all. And so British Motor Heritage was given just 48 hours to clear the basement – which remarkably it achieved, filling those four huge shipping containers.

The containers became rather an embarrassment, taking up valuable room on a BMH storage site and being impossible to enter fully in

order to access the precious drawings.

So, what to do? The decision was made to digitise them, working through drawer by drawer, case by case, container by container. Each drawing would be scanned and backed up, in triplicate. At the time of Magneto’s recent visit, 40,000 had already been scanned.

The oldest found at that point were technical drawings for a 1906 Wolseley, yet it’s the sheer variety that stuns. There are 1946 plans for the Lode Lane Land Rover site, but there’s also a drawing for a factory hand cart.

There are original Lucas posters and a wealth of technical drawings showing the details of every part of now-classic British production cars.

The work continues, so by the time you read this, thousands more drawings will be on the system.

Meanwhile, BMH’s core work of producing original-spec components continues to be honed alongside the maintenance and repair of existing press tools, rediscovery of old tooling, updating of the factory including LED lighting and solar panels and, most importantly, improvement of production efficiency.

Additionally, more companies are being bought up to ensure product availability – one of the latest adds carpets to the existing extra ranges of Tex mirrors, wipers and other original-spec accessories. It’s a busy time for British Motor Heritage…

More details at www.bmh-ltd.com.

A MAJOR AUCTION OF DESIRABLE CLASSIC & COLLECTOR CARS

THE BICESTER HERITAGE SALE

Bicester Heritage, Oxfordshire UK Saturday 24th September

ENTRIES ARE INVITED +44 (0)1753 639170

+ 44 (0)1753 639170 auctions@historics.co.uk www.historics.co.uk

1971 MERCEDES-BENZ 280 SE CABRIOLET Sold at Historics 16th July 2022 £156,800

Starter

Words David Lillywhite

Photography Caton

to cure that. Producing 185bhp instead of the original’s 90bhp (the 100S was 132bhp), and lightened to weigh 920kg, the Caton does not hang around, either.

The gearing is so high and the engine so flexible that I barely bother with fifth on the A-roads, except on a long stretch of fast dual carriageway.

On a motorway it will be a godsend, taking the revs down to just above 2000rpm at 70mph. The shift is

good but could do with feeling a little more precise, more mechanical.

Despite the low height of that beautifully formed glass screen, the Caton never feels uncomfortably blowy. There is no further weather protection, though, which is why today’s blue sky is so welcome; a tonneau will be available, and a bespoke hard-top should be possible to create if required.

The suspension has been honed and tweaked with uprated springs and dampers by JME Healeys, whose experience Caton has sensibly called upon for help developing the new car.

It works superbly. Same goes for the brakes. No tricks, just straightforward, straight-line, wheel-locking stopping power, aided by much-improved feel through the custom pedal box.

If there’s a weak link it’s the

Classic Brit revisited New Healey by Caton builds on the venerable ’50s sports car with even more power, refinement and all-round usability

THE SKY IS BLUE, THE SUN IS shining. I’m heading out in this – wait for it – £395,000 (including donor) rework of the Healey 100, and straight into a two-hour odyssey of fast A-roads, busy Cotswolds towns and bumpy back lanes.

This, then, is the first Caton Healey 100. Caton? It’s derived from the name of the family that owns UK automotive engineering tour de force the Envisage Group. The Caton uses the firm’s expertise gained building prototypes and Continuations. It sits on mostly original running gear, save for a Tremec five-speed ’box, but the bodywork has been reshaped to rid it of the seams and awkward fits that came of 1950s small budgets and low-volume pressing tools.

So back to those A-roads… The BMC-derived Healey 2660cc fourpot – now 2954cc, lightened and with a steel crank, high-compression pistons and hot cam – is sweeter than it has a right to be. If it wasn’t for the occasional whiff of unburnt fuel at idle you would assume it was running on throttle bodies and mapped ignition – but no, it’s on twin SU H8 carbs plus conventional points and distributor. Remarkable!

From idle it pulls cleanly, but it really starts to sing over 3000rpm – the point at which a vibration through the floor ceases. A rubber mount on the exhaust in place of the current solid mount is expected

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‘There’s never a time when the bespoke Caton doesn’t seem like a true Healey’

FROM ABOVE With 185bhp and a honed body, Caton is the next incarnation of the classic Healey. steering, with its vagueness around the straight-ahead position that no amount of tweaking can disguise.

Blame this on the steering box, which could in theory be swapped for a more modern rack but not without significant re-engineering.

Ultimately, there’s never a time when the Caton doesn’t seem like a true Healey. Sure, the interior – with its Bridge of Weir leather, cosseting seats and generous legroom, makes for a big change – but it just feels like a Healey always should have.

Does it justify the price? Hmm, tricky! This is effectively a brand-new car, built to personal specifications and extremely low numbers – just 35 are planned. And this first example is a funny spec, perhaps to show what’s possible. There are traditional carburettors and ignition, but LED projector headlights. It sits on wire wheels, yet the typeface and design on the instruments feel distinctively modern. The interior is luxurious, but there’s no hood.

Much of that is irrelevant, though. If you’re paying big bucks for a bespoke car, then you’ll be able to choose your spec and enjoy the Caton for what it is – a sports car that provides huge enjoyment for minimal fuss. www.caton.uk

Find Your Passion.

PASSION – This is ultimately the driving force behind who we are. We are more than a brand; we are a team of car enthusiasts with a desire to develop the best car care products possible while creating and fostering authentic connections with others who also share a love for cars.

For free personal car care advice, go to Meguiars.com

Starter

Words Nathan Chadwick

We have take-off!

For many years, combining cars with aeroplanes was the work of science fiction; flights of fancy that were just a lot of hot air. Today, however, there are plenty of flying cars to choose from... so which do you pick?

AEROMOBIL 4.0

KLEIN VISION AIRCAR

TERRAFUGIA TRANSITION

PAL-V LIBERTY

SAMSON SWITCHBLADE

So, what is it?

In development since 1990, this Slovakian machine entered its fourth prototype version in 2017. Built by the original makers of the Klein Vision AirCar when they left the company.

Looking a bit like a kebab-skewered Porsche 917K, this carbon-bodied machine has a propeller between the fuselage and tail.

Geely-funded, USdeveloped driveable aircraft with carbonfibre build and Rotax groundadjustable propeller.

Lotus to do the handling, Volvo to do the interiors?

Three-wheeled, two-engined autogyro designed in the Netherlands and due to be built in India.

Designed and built in the US, this is a three-wheeler with the propeller integrated into the rear clamshell.

Technically classed as a motorcycle in the States.

What powers it?

A choice of 110bhp electric engine or 300bhp petrol Subaru Boxer. Can we get Prodrive to do an even hotter one?

A 139bhp 1.6-litre BMW petrol engine to begin with. More recent prototypes have an unspecified 300bhp version.

A Rotax 912ULS petrol engine with 95-100bhp.

Road engine has 100bhp, air engine has 200bhp.

Supercharged three-cylinder engine with 200bhp.

How fast does it go?

99mph on the road and 160mph in the air.

75mph on the road and 105mph in the air.

70mph on the road and 115mph in the air.

105mph on the road and 111mph in the air.

125mph on the road and 200mph in the air.

How far can I fly?

Around 460 miles, or London to Frankfurt.

620 miles, or London to Milan.

425 miles, or London to Düsseldorf (ish).

310 miles, or London to Paris.

450 miles, or London to Le Mans.

How much does it cost?

£1.3m is the unofficial online price, or 5726 London-Frankfurt return flights.

£326k: 2006 return flights from Düsseldorf.

Base Sports model is £257k: 1400 return flights from Paris.

From $150k – or the cost of fuel to get to Le Mans these days.

Close to take-off?

£448k: 5670 return flights from Milan.

It’s due in 2027, and is seen as being used as an ultra-luxury taxi service.

Type approved as an aircraft (in Slovakia) in January, although yet to be approved for road use.

“Within three years” according to a press release from, er, 2017.

Certified for road use in March 2022 and flight certification agreed – so, imminently...

1500 punters have bought into it, but it’s still in testing.

Encountering turbulence?

2015 test crash left the pilot uninjured.

No journalists have driven or flown in it.

That 620-mile figure is theoretical. Last summer it managed a 35-mile flight from Nitra to Bratislava.

You’d be able to do that trip 74,666 times by train for £448k.

Still, it flew! For a bit.

In development since 2006, it still looks like a US postal van-based Transformer having an existential crisis.

Company laid off most of its staff and moved production to China late last year.

Smart-looking Italian design elevates the looks.

Jury is still out on whether sales will be similarly ascendant.

Still, looked great on the concours lawns this year, didn’t it?

According to the website you can apparently partbuild it yourself and “complete the vehicle in as little as one week with minimal training required”.

Hmmm!

In summary...

Lost baggage.

Fasten your seatbelts.

Losing cabin pressure.

Complimentary Champers.

Deploy the oxygen masks.

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Starter

Words Nathan Chadwick

Photography Matt Howell

Keeping time with Jacky Ickx

LEFT AND BELOW Ickx wearing the new Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition, and with Chopard’s Karl-Friedrich Scheufele.

Veteran racer explains his love of the Mille Miglia and Chopard

“YOU COULD ONLY HAVE AN event like that in Italy,” says Jacky Ickx of the Mille Miglia. The multiple Formula 1 and Le Mans 24 Hours race winner continues: “When the Italians hear an engine, they don’t say it’s a noise, it’s music – and to watch the police going all the way to Rome and back with you, and with thousands of people watching, it’s fascinating.”

We’re speaking at Chopard’s New Bond Street boutique in London, ahead of Concours on Savile Row, to celebrate the launch of the Mille Miglia 2022 Race Editions. These 44mm chronographs, based on the Mille Miglia GTS, mark 35 years of Chopard’s role as the event’s official timekeeper, and 40 years of the MM itself. Available in a limited edition of 1000 in stainless steel and 250 in 18-carat ethical rose gold, they use a self-winding mechanical movement with a 48-hour power reserve. The strap is lined with rubber patterned like the tread of Dunlop racing tyres.

Jacky’s association with Chopard goes back as far as the watchmaker’s sponsorship of the event itself, and started with a chance meeting with brand co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele at the Nürburgring. “We started talking; I’d bought a bracelet for my future wife. Sometimes when dancing it went flying because the spring wasn’t strong enough. KarlFriedrich said he’d fix it. My wife was very happy – and therefore so was I.” Thirty-five years later, the bonds

‘Success is linked by a large group of people; even if you don’t see them, they are there’ 58

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between Jacky and Chopard are as strong as the latter’s with the Mille Miglia. Ickx sees a direct correlation between leading a team, and leading a timing brand: “It’s fairly easy to win if you have the right car,” he says. “The driver is the final step to the goal, but you represent only a small part of the process. There are many more people in a team. If you win 80 percent of the time, you have to thank the guys who have made it possible.

“It is the same in the watch business. While you can create the passion for a watch through its design or precision, in the background are those who design it, build it and make the jewellery. Success is linked by a large group of people; even if you don’t see them, they are there.”

Jacky likes Chopard’s philosophy; unlike other firms with shareholders to appease, the watchmaker has been in the same family for generations.

Similarly, the Mille Miglia is all about the generation game. As the event has grown ever larger over the years, Jacky is now seeing the sons and daughters of those who took part in the first few revivals on the startline: “It’s still growing, with more than 400

entrants this year, and 250 applicants who didn’t get an entry,” he says.

Over the years the circular route from Brescia via Rome has gone both clockwise and anti-clockwise, the latter as used by the 1927-1957 event.

In 2022 it covered 1005 clockwise miles. And it’s Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson’s 1955 victory that really stirs Jacky’s passion: “Ten hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds, 32 minutes ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio in second place. Incredible!”

For the modern MM, Jacky prefers

to act as a co-driver, which came as a surprise to Karl-Friedrich the first time they took part together: “I said you drive, I watch, because I’ve not been in Italy for so long and it’s so beautiful,” Ickx chuckles. “You are supposed to read a road book, but the crowd is so big that they give you directions anyway. You have plenty of time to look around. When you cross Tuscany and the mountains on the way to Rome, it’s beautiful.”

He is full of praise for KarlFriedrich’s abilities behind the wheel.

“He’s a talented driver with a huge passion for cars,” he says. “He can change gear smoother than I can; sometimes it’s so comfortable and the engine’s so warm, I fall asleep.”

Jacky believes that in an era of increasing social digitalisation and isolation, thanks to home working and home delivery, such events are a great way to come back to the joy of shared experiences.

“In a world that doesn’t always go well, the Mille Miglia is a fantastic moment,” he says. “When locals are making a noise and sharing their enthusiasm, it’s wonderful.” www.chopard.com

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Starter

Words David Lillywhite

The secrets to LEJOG rally success

IT’S KNOWN AS THE TOUGHEST Historic rally in Europe, if not the world – LEJOG by HERO-ERA covers 1500 miles in around 75 hours, through the depths of the British winter. Competitors battle cold, rain, snow, darkness, reliability and fatigue. So, why do it?

“It’s a proper challenge,” says Andy Lane, who has taken part in 11 LEJOGs since 2003, having never tried Historic rallying before that.

“It’s a test of the navigator, the driver and the car. It’s relentless but the rewards are fantastic when you get to the end, whether you win or lose.

“It starts early Saturday morning, and then we’ll get into Wales at, say, four in the morning, back out again at about 9am, so you might get three or four hours’ sleep. Then the next day is about 12 or 13 hours, but you don’t start off until around 8am the following morning – so you should get a full night’s sleep. And then the Monday starts at 8am and finishes at around 11am on the Tuesday morning, so that’s 27 hours – but you get three rest halts of two hours.

“If I’m falling asleep, I pull over for five minutes (not on a regularity section, of course) and close my eyes, and then I can do at least another hour before I need to do it again. That

Andy Lane tells all on one of the most gruelling Historic rallies, HEROERA’s Land’s End to John O’Groats epic

FROM TOP Andy Lane (left, with Iain Tullie) with 2002Tii, which he’s entered for the 2022 LEJOG; and navigating in Derek Skinner’s Cortina in 2019.

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Photography Blue Passion

RIGHT Volvo Amazon is always a popular choice for this event; Morgan less so despite the festive lights – Andy was frustrated when it broke down...

is a good reason for pushing on, to give time for those breaks.

“Everyone has an hallucination at some point. I had a vivid one at one point, when I said to my co-driver that we were at a T-junction. He said: ‘We’re not!’ I blinked and saw we were on a long, straight road.

“Reliability is key. The first LEJOG I did was 2003 in a TR4, and we were plumb last because we broke down so many times.

“We tried to do it in my vintage Morgan 4/4 once, but the steering box seized near Telford, by which time we were soaked to the skin. But we won in 2009 in a 1966 Mercedes 300SE automatic; you don’t need the fastest car, you need one that will get you to the finish. By 2012 I’d got a BMW 2002Tii that was built for me.

Touch wood, it’s never broken down.

“There aren’t many opportunities in this day and age when you can push yourself to the limit. Also, I love being in Cornwall and being in Scotland; there is no traffic in December and fabulous roads.

“And then there’s just being with lots of like-minded people chatting about cars. Everyone is so supportive of each other. It’s great: I love it!”

The 2022 LEJOG rally takes place December 3-6. See www.heroevents.eu.

Starter

Words Jeremy Taylor

Photography Charlie Magee

LEFT AND BELOW New, 221mph LPI 800-4 is based on the same underpinnings as last year’s Lamborghini Sián hybrid hypercar.

Countach’s comeback New Lamborghini LPI 800-4 pays homage to one of the most outrageous cars ever.

We get behind the wheel

IF ONE SUPERCAR DEFINED an era and vied for wall space in every teenager’s bedroom at the same time, it must be the Lamborghini Countach. Iconic never looked so crazy – or sounded quite as good.

A mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car, the original prototype made headlines across the world at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show.

Marcello Gandini’s creation put everything from the new Ferrari 356GTC to the Maserati Bora firmly in the shade. His ground-breaking, wedge-shaped body styling hid a monstrous, 12-cylinder powerplant producing 370bhp. The Countach marked the start of a new era of automotive design, and the Lambo lived on in various outrageous guises until its demise in 1990.

Now the model is back – although it’s already too late if you want to buy one of the 112 examples being

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hand-built at Sant’Agata. The LPI 800-4 costs a head-spinning £2.1 million, and every example is sold.

Based on the same underpinnings as last year’s Lamborghini Sián hybrid hypercar, the 221mph 800-4 is a very noisy homage to that original Countach – a car that threw away the rulebook – although this time minus the pop-up headlights. It has been designed to reimagine how a Countach of the 1970s and ’80s might have evolved, and its clean and uncluttered lines clearly ape those of the original car. The low, pointy nose and gaping air intakes that dominate the scissor doors say it all.

I’m lucky enough to be driving a white, Bianco Siderale 800-4 – the first example to appear on British roads. It’s a pre-production version,

evidenced by the ‘0 of 112’ plaque mounted on the dashboard.

This naturally aspirated, 6.5-litre V12 Lamborghini not only puts out 770bhp, but it also benefits from the same 48-volt electric motor as is used in the Sián. Fixed between the seven-speed gearbox and engine, it churns out an additional 34bhp.

The ‘crackle and pop’ exhaust is just the same as on the company’s Aventador, but the motor is powered by a super-capacitor. Lighter than a regular lithium-ion battery and three times more efficient, it can discharge and recharge at the same rate, helping to power the wheels at all four corners.

Body panels and monocoque are cut from carbonfibre, which keeps weight down to a trim 1595kg. Hefty

and very necessary carbon-ceramic brakes dominate those 21-inch, ‘telephone’-style wheels that clearly hark back to the 1980s.

Inside, the low-slung cabin also resembles that of the Aventador, with Lambo’s trademark, fighter-jet-style start button and a high-rise centre column housing the touchscreen.

Poke-and-adjust air vents are 3D printed, while a small, photochromic glass roof turns from opaque to clear at the press of a button.

Being excessively wide and wildly impractical, the new Lamborghini is simply too quick to appreciate on public roads. It is virtually impossible to drive slowly; the engine doesn’t need much coaxing to burst into life and is insanely powerful – and that is even before a change of drive mode from Strada to Sport, or up the scale to lunatic Corsa.

As with the original, my test car has a smattering of ‘issues’, too: a creaking passenger door, appalling rear visibility and a windscreen so steeply raked that the glass reflects every shadow on a sunny day.

Still, there probably isn’t a more entertaining way to travel from 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds – or to turn quite as many heads. This futuristic, limited-edition Lamborghini for a new millennium is, in many ways, a chip off the old block – be it this time cut from carbonfibre.

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Agnelli’s Ferraris

LEFT AND OPPOSITE Both models exhibit those beautiful detail touches that make Ferraris so very special.

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OPPOSITE AND RIGHT The years between the production of these two models saw the Prancing Horse progress from a race team financed by the sale of sports cars to a global supercar brand.

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Agnelli’s Ferraris

“OF THE CARS I HAVE DRIVEN, I CANNOT forget my first Ferrari.” So said Gianni Agnelli, often referred to as L’Avvocato (the lawyer) and known as one of the great Italian playboys and industrialists, famous for his style, outrageous antics and unmitigated love of life.

In hindsight, of course such a character would have had a Ferrari, even long before he became part-owner of the company itself. However, Agnelli had to buy his first example of the marque, the 1950 166MM Barchetta Touring, chassis 0064 M that you see here, in secret.

After all, his grandfather Giovanni Agnelli had founded Fiat in 1899, and it was not deemed appropriate that a grandson should be supporting an upstart rival Italian car maker.

Naturally Gianni had grown up surrounded by cars, even pictured with Roland Bugatti in a Bugatti Bébé pedal car at a young age. Yet although born (in 1921) into great wealth, there was tragedy in Gianni’s teenage years when his industrialist father, Edoardo, was decapitated by a propeller in a seaplane accident. Gianni was just 14, but his grandfather summoned him to his office to explain that he was now the heir to the industrial giant that Fiat had become. Gianni was instructed to learn the business and to have fun, both of which he did – with tremendous gusto.

First he studied law at the University of Turin, although he never went on to practise it, not least due to the advent of World War Two. Instead Gianni fought on the Eastern Front in a tank regiment, and later served in North Africa in an armoured-car division. He was wounded twice on the Eastern Front, and was then shot in the arm by a German officer in a fight over a woman. This wouldn’t be the last time he suffered through his relationships...

And then tragedy struck again, when in November 1945 Gianni’s mother, Princess Virginia Bourbon del Monte, was strangled by her scarf during a car accident. And just a month later, grandfather Giovanni also passed away. Gianni was all alone – rich, good looking, wild at heart and devoid of responsibilities while the family business was run by Fiat stalwart Vittorio Valletta.

Gianni had a love of driving as fast as he could, with Italian police usually willing to turn a blind eye to his recklessness, and of course it wasn’t long before one of the greatest sports cars of the time caught his attention. And that’s when he bought the 166MM – one of the first 100 Ferraris built.

“The motor car in those days was still an 70

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Agnelli’s Ferraris

OPPOSITE AND RIGHT Louvres in the engine cover of the Testarossa were unique to the Spider, while the 166MM’s dash layout was also a custom one-off.

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LEFT AND OPPOSITE The ‘little boat’s triple carburettors – added for its second owner by Garage Francorchamps – wear intricately louvred air filters.

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Agnelli’s Ferraris

adventurous thing, and sometimes one knew when he started but was not sure to make it to the destination,” he explained to author Gianni Rogliatti many years later: “The appearance of the Ferrari with Barchetta coachwork by Touring on the market immediately hit me. I was used to driving Bugattis, considered to be a great, great sports car, but the Ferrari was completely different, a new generation of motor cars.

“I ordered one and I personally asked for the bi-colour paint, which was a novelty. I remember very well that car, my first Ferrari; it was light and agile, easy to drive and it gave that unforgettable feeling of the air flowing around your body when you drove fast. The chest was out of the car and the sound of the engine was fantastic since there was almost no silencing.

As a matter of fact there was also no top, no matter whether soft or of another kind, so that the car was to be used only with good weather.”

Agnelli’s description of driving the 166MM still rings true today. The 166 was a race car for the road, built on a steel-tube chassis with a lightweight but intricately styled aluminium body. At the heart of it all is that 1995cc Colombo V12, each cylinder an eggcup-sized 166cc, fed by triple downdraught Weber carburettors and relieved of burnt gases by delicately formed tubular-steel manifolds.

When current owner Clive Beecham starts it up, the lack of silencing noted by Agnelli makes itself known. What a tragedy it would be to muffle that sound. Later Clive hands over the simple key, and I slot it into the dashboard, turn it one click (two clicks to switch on the 76

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ABOVE Agnelli specified numerous bespoke touches, including two-tone paint (so subtle it is sometimes overlooked) and tear-drop taillights.

lights) and press the starter. Whoomph! The engine fires immediately, its growl at idle transformed into a much sharper rip of exhaust on every blip of the throttle.

The steering wheel is large but well placed, and it takes far less effort to turn than you might expect. While the clutch isn’t light it’s not a knee-trembler, so slotting the little gearlever into first and pulling away without fuss is no effort at all – although giving the engine some revs for a more dramatic exit is far more fun.

There’s no synchromesh on these early Ferrari five-speeders, but a quick double declutch is all that’s needed for a smooth change up or down the ’box. It feels high geared for the period, and the 140bhp engine pulls strongly, accompanied by a searing exhaust note that dominates all mechanical and intake additions to the soundtrack. The transverseleaf independent front suspension and conventional leaf-spring live rear axle ride the

‘It’s easy to imagine Agnelli tearing through Italy in the 166MM, glamorous companion at his side’

bumps well, and the drum brakes bite hard. The car feels light, responsive and fast, and although it’s also loud and exposed to the elements, you can see why Clive has continued to drive the 166MM at every opportunity: two “joyful” Mille Miglias and various jaunts through Europe, in addition to winning the Coppa d’Oro at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este (and Best of Show at Concours on Savile Row).

It’s similarly easy to imagine Gianni Agnelli tearing through Italy and the French Riviera in the 166, glamorous companion at his side.

Perhaps that would have been Pamela Churchill, later Harriman, then-recently divorced from the alcoholic, womanising son of Winston Churchill. The five-year relationship between her and Agnelli came to a dramatic end in August 1952 when she returned unannounced to their villa in the South of France in the early hours, catching Agnelli with young actress Anne Marie d’Estainville.

To escape Pamela’s wrath, Agnelli drove Anne Marie home on the coast road, although fortunately not in a Ferrari. Driving at his usual high speed, his luck ran out and he crashed into the back of a milk truck. Anne Marie was largely unhurt, but Agnelli’s left leg was badly smashed.

After a stint in hospital he returned home, where Pamela helped nurse him back to health before deciding to end the relationship for good.

In the same year, Agnelli sold the 166MM to Viscomte Gery d’Hendecourt, who soon handed it to Belgium’s Garage Francorchamps dealership, run by Jacques Swaters alongside his renowned Ecurie Francorchamps race

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Agnelli’s Ferraris

team. There it was prepared for its first competition event, the 1953 Coupe de Spa. Olivier Gendebien was the chosen driver, but in practice he complained about the 166MM’s ratios – until he was asked if he’d tried fifth, and revealed that, having only previously driven Jaguars, he hadn’t been aware that the Ferrari even had such a gear. He went on to win the race.

The Viscomte later used the 166MM for various rallies and races, having first had it painted light blue. There followed a succession of owners, including racer Jean Blaton, who went under the pseudonym of ‘Beurlys’.

Each sale was through Jacques Swaters, and so the 166MM continued to be campaigned throughout the 1950s around Belgium and once in the Copenhagen Cup at Roskilde, which it won. At some point it was painted red and gained large windscreens – a typical tale of a by-then-defunct race car.

And what of Gianni Agnelli while all this was going on? He’d replaced the beloved 166MM with a closed 212 Inter Berlinetta by Vignale, this time in mid-blue with a white roof. Three years later he’d moved on again, now to the 375 America Coupé Speciale by Pinin Farina in green with red roof, which was replaced in 1958 by the 250GT Series 2 Coupé Speciale Pinin Farina and in 1959 by the 400 Superamerica Coupé Speciale Pinin Farina.

Throughout this period he continued to live the high life. He’d married noblewoman and socialite Donna Marella Caracciolo dei Principi di Castagneto in 1953, but his mistresses allegedly included Jacqueline Kennedy, Anita

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‘Testarossa Spider was styled and built by Pininfarina to mark 20 years of Agnelli’s Fiat leadership’ Ekberg and fashion designer Jackie Rogers. In 1963, by then in his early 40s, he finally joined Fiat as general manager, becoming president on April 30, 1966. He moved swiftly to build on the company’s fortune, and strove to quell the industrial unrest that plagued Italy in those days. As he courted union leaders, fellow industrialists, politicians and heads of state, his influence and power grew and grew – as did the fortunes of the Fiat group.

It was around the same time that the 166MM reappeared, tracked down by Christian Philippsen – then a young salesman for Garage Francorchamps, who is now best known as a concours authority and instigator of the Louis Vuitton Classic and the current Peninsula Classics Best of the Best award. The 166MM was resplendent in gold with a black stripe, with evidence of previous damage both front and rear – but mechanically intact.

This time, Jacques Swaters was persuaded to BELOW The sole factory-sanctioned Testarossa Spider, complete with Valeo transmission, was the last of Agnelli’s special-bodied Ferraris.

buy ‘Nonna’ (grandmother), as he’d begun to refer to the car, for himself rather than moving it on, although he grumbled at the $2200 he had to pay. He started to restore Nonna, only to be distracted by other projects and the growth of Ecurie Francorchamps into one of the three elite Ferrari concessionaire teams; the others were Luigi Chinetti’s NART and Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s Maranello Concessionaires.

Finally the 166MM was completed, returned to the subtle two-tone blue and green with unique taillights as originally specified by Agnelli. Its debut outing was the 1989 Mille Miglia with Jacques and Christian, followed by Ferrari Spa Days with Swaters and Chinetti – the latter having taken early victories for the Italian marque 40 years previously at both Spa and Le Mans driving a 166. Displays at L’Idea Ferrari at Forte di Belvedere, Florence in 1990, the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Berlin National Gallery followed.

Agnelli’s 166MM was back and finally receiving the accolades it deserved.

Over those two decades, Gianni Agnelli too had developed a remarkable reputation. He’d added helicopters to his list of interests, and would use them to fly between villa, office and the ski resort of St Moritz. He would also jump from his helicopter into the sea next to his yacht, often naked, which was something for which he became notorious in later years.

It wasn’t all frivolity, though, because as head of Fiat he was in charge of the largest car company in Italy; he controlled 4.4 percent of Italy’s GDP, 3.1 percent of its industrial

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Agnelli’s Ferraris

workforce and 16.5 percent of its industrial investment in research. He oversaw investment in Citroën, only to sell it to buy Lancia, then Alfa Romeo and, in 1969, 50 percent of Ferrari (this increased to 90 percent on Enzo’s death in 1988, with Piero Ferrari keeping 10 percent). Agnelli was the richest man in modern Italian history.

Of course, his car buying had continued, with his next Ferrari the famous one-of-two 1966 365P Berlinetta Speciale ‘Tre Posti’ by Pininfarina. His injured leg made sports cars inconvenient, but there were plenty of others – including his one-off Fiat 130 estate and even special-edition Fiat Pandas, which he adored.

It wasn’t until 1986 that he acquired another Ferrari – this time the only factory-sanctioned Testarossa Spider, styled and built by Pininfarina to mark the 20 years of Agnelli’s Fiat leadership.

It featured a special Valeo transmission which, at the push of a button, would retract the clutch pedal and switch to an electrically operated unit, actuated by moving the gearlever.

The same Valeo tech was used for Agnelli’s very last Ferrari, which was an otherwise standard 1989 F40, so it is the Testarossa that counts as the last of Agnelli’s special-bodied Ferraris. And here it is alongside the 166MM, looking as different as a pair of two-seater open cars from the same manufacturer possibly could.

Somehow the Testarossa’s divisive side strakes look better on the Spider, matching well with the louvres on the one-off engine cover.

The open-top conversion is neatly engineered, with the white hood tucked away under a hard tonneau cover, and an electrically operated hoop to maintain the shape. The silver paint – supposedly chosen because the chemical symbol for silver is AG, Agnelli’s transposed initials – is set off with blue lines below the windscreen and above the front spoiler and sills.

And if you want a demonstration of Agnelli’s power, note the special TO 00000G registration – in a country that doesn’t allow personal plates.

Inside, it couldn’t be more ’80s, with the boxy dash sections and centre console clad in blue leather contrasting with the orange typeface of the dials and the red LED odometer displaying just 23,000km (less than 15k miles). You sit low in the cabin, aware that it’s just as Agnelli

‘The ‘little boat’ and the ‘redhead’ are now owned by old friends Clive Beecham and Ronald Stern’ 80

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would have known it, for the car has been little used since he sold it in 1991 to a family friend.

It might be low mileage, but the Testarossa is ready to use, having recently starred at Concours on Savile Row alongside the 166MM, and at the Heveningham Concours, too (plus in 2017 it won Most Outstanding Road Car at the Ferrari 70th Anniversary concours). The starter motor whirrs only briefly before the fuelinjected boxer flat-12 fires up, turbine smooth and much quieter than you might expect.

There’s no need to make use of the Valeo clutch because it’s not uncomfortably heavy in manual mode, so all that’s needed is to ease the gearlever left and back into the dogleg first and pull away on a wave of torque. Changes are easy, acceleration smooth or violent, depending on how firmly you push on the long-travel accelerator. It’s huge but it doesn’t feel ungainly, and it seems unfussed by, well, anything. Where the 166MM is small, exciting and responsive, awakening all the senses, the Testarossa is more civilised. It’s clear how it would have suited the more mature Gianni Agnelli.

In 1996, ten years after taking delivery of the Testarossa, Agnelli stepped down as Fiat president, remaining as honorary chairman. At around the same time, serial Ferrari owner and enthusiast Clive Beecham first visited Jacques Swaters’ car collection in Brussels, where the 166MM “quite literally took my breath away”,

ABOVE As befitted a captain of industry, Agnelli boasted exquisite sartorial style; wearing his watch over his shirt cuff was a trademark look.

recalls Clive. “Jacques kept it for 46 years, and despite my inept charm offensives would never sell it to me after I started to ask him about it.”

Agnelli died in 2003 from prostate cancer, and Jacques Swaters passed away seven years later. What Clive didn’t know was that Swaters had told his daughter Florence that if she were to ever sell the 166MM then she should look to Clive – and that’s how he came to buy it in 2012.

As for the Testarossa Spider, the children of its second owner offered it for sale at the Artcurial Rétromobile sale in 2016; Ronald Stern, best known for his unrivalled Ferrari archive and memorabilia, “just had to have it”.

And so, the ‘little boat’ 166MM Barchetta and the ‘redhead’ Testarossa Spider are now owned by old friends Clive and Ronald, reunited first on Savile Row where Agnelli bought his Huntsman suits. They represent so much: the progression of Ferrari from a race team financed by the sale of sports cars to a global supercar brand; the ever-increasing power, sophistication and size of cars; and the progression of Gianni Agnelli, L’Avvocato, from fun-loving playboy to stylish statesman.

Thanks to Clive Beecham, Ronald Stern and all at DK Engineering (www.dkeng.co.uk).

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Farewell to Fred Simeone

SOMEHOW IT SEEMS APPROPRIATE that Fred Simeone chose to leave this world just as dawn was breaking on the one race he respected above all others, the Le Mans 24 Hours. The collection he assembled over four decades has no fewer than two dozen cars that competed at La Sarthe, from the 1920s to the 1970s, and he considered the race to be the ultimate test of man and machine.

Fred – and he insisted car friends always call him that instead of Dr Simeone, as he was known in his ‘other’ life – was one of those figures whose accomplishments seem almost fiction: world-renowned neurosurgeon; loving single parent; and assembler of what many feel is the foremost automotive collection on Earth.

It’d be easy to categorise Fred as ‘just’ a wealthy doctor who could afford expensive cars, but that was hardly the case. He came from the working-class neighbourhood of Kensington, Philadelphia, and while his father was also a doctor, they were not rich. His dad did pass on one valuable gift, however: his love of cars.

Fred wasn’t only a motor sport enthusiast like the rest of us. He was a man of science who saw racing as part of our DNA – believing that the ‘spirit of competition’ was something born into us to enable us to advance and succeed. And that was the common storyline which united the cars in his collection: how competition improved the breed.

Fred began collecting as soon as he could afford it, assembling the vehicles he deemed ‘significant’. He put the names and models of the cars he wanted on refrigerator magnets, 84

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‘Fred was one of those figures whose accomplishments seem almost fiction’ and one by one removed the magnets as their real-life counterparts were acquired. He would tell stories of how he obtained certain cars, swapping multiple vehicles among other collectors in much the same way as baseball players are traded. This was done, he patiently explained, to avoid Capital Gains Taxes when a car would be sold. You did not need to pay tax if it was part of a trade of equal value. He would negotiate on the phone in the surgical unit between procedures, still wearing his scrubs.

He always tried to get cars in good, original condition, and he kept them that way, restoring aspects only as absolutely needed. He espoused this philosophy from the beginning, going counter to the prevailing attitudes at the time.

But slowly, over the years, the ‘hobby’ has come to adopt his view, as witnessed by the values now attributed to unrestored race machines.

Certain cars he acquired were for their originality alone, as in the case of the Grand Sport Corvette no. 002. Fred only wanted to have automobiles that were ‘winners’, and the Grand Sport – for all its potential – had very limited success. But this Chevrolet was in incredibly original condition, as verified by the

master craftsman Bob Ash, who knew the car well and pushed Fred to acquire it. Good thing, as it is now one of the most popular exhibits in the museum collection, and a firm fan favourite when it runs on Demo Days.

I first met Fred back in the early 1990s when I was involved with the Philadelphia Vintage Grand Prix. One year, a beautiful green Aston Martin DBR1 was on display at the event. A friend asked me if it was real; knowing their rarity, I replied that I was sure it was a replica.

The photographer Michael Furman, who was standing close by, corrected me, telling me this was part of Fred Simeone’s collection right here in Philly. I was astounded that I had never heard of Fred – a person with cars such as this in the same city. I made a point to meet him at the Radnor Hunt Concours later that year, telling him about my past life as track photographer at the Sebring 12 Hours.

Fred and I struck up a friendship, and when he made his initial foray into displaying the cars at his garage on 8th Street in downtown Philadelphia in the early ’00s, I put my advertising/graphic design skills to use producing the first brochure. Then, in around 2006, he told me he’d bought a large industrial building in West Philly by the airport – a former engine-rebuilding facility, it turned out. I asked him if he had any extra space, and if we could do a swap for some part-time communications work in exchange for an office.

It turned into more than a part-time gig. I handled all the printed brochures, designed the first website, produced a monthly email

PREVIOUS SPREAD: HARRY E HURST, MICHAEL FURMAN. ABOVE: MICHAEL FURMAN

RIGHT Ginther/ von Neumann ex-Sebring Ferrari 250TR was one of Fred’s favourites.

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newsletter, coordinated events and handled public relations with the media.

I remember my first calls to certain automotive editors when the museum opened. While some had heard of Fred and his collection, more than one said: “No one has cars like that – they must be replicas. I would have known about a collection like that.” Only after several editors came in person and met Fred did they come to appreciate what a great collection and a great man the Simeone Museum represented.

The first time I entered the building as it was being converted into the museum, oil and grease were still on the floors and the interior was unpainted. Envisioning what it’d become was hard. Yet the place came alive as Fred walked me through, enthusiastically showing me where the Mille Miglia diorama would go, the Le Mans pits, the Dunlop tyre bridge and – striking near to my heart – the Sebring exhibit.

Fred had several cars that had raced at Sebring: C-type and D-type Jaguars; the Richie Ginther/John von Neumann Ferrari 250TR; the iconic Cobra Daytona Coupe CSX2287; and the Cunningham C4R that Fred told me had won the race in 1953 with John Fitch and Phil

Walters driving. The Craigslist Construction Company, as we affectionately called the motley crew Fred found online to get the job done at a reasonable cost, built the various sets.

I was particularly focused on the Sebring exhibit. We settled on recreating the famous Jaguar Tower and the lit position board that was so much a part of Sebring, using photos I had taken in the day. In front of the Tower went the two Jags, each having finished in third place; the C-type in 1953, the D-type in ’56. The pontoon Testa Rossa was placed in the Le Mans row, and the Daytona Coupe had a place honouring its final competitive outing at Bonneville, where it set 23 Land Speed Records.

The Cunningham had a place of honour in the Winners’ Circle. This final display in the museum boasted five cars that had not only competed in significant events but had also been victorious. Provenance is the major element in assessing the value of a collectable racing car. Who drove it? Where was it driven?

What did it win? Of all these, winning a major race is probably the most important.

Shortly after we opened the museum in June 2008, Fred came into my office with a photo in

his hand. Every car in the collection has an extensive archive of photos and documents to record its provenance. The photo he held was a shot of Fitch in the Cunningham at Sebring in 1953, easily identified by the taped-on number ‘57’ on its flank.

He asked me to scan and enlarge it so he could see the louvres on the side. I assured him I could, but the photo wasn’t too good, so after scanning I used Photoshop to enlarge, highlight and enhance the louvres to see them more clearly. I then took a print to Fred.

“How many louvres are there?” he asked. I told him it looked like nine on the top row, but only eight on the bottom row. It was pretty obvious the rows were not even in width. We walked down to the Winners’ Circle and stood looking at the right side of the Cunningham.

“How many louvres are there here?” he asked. It was very easy to see there were nine louvres on each row, very equally spaced.

“Our car is not the Sebring winner,” he said with a flat tone of voice that reflected the acceptance of very bad news. Even though the car was still the only racing Cunningham outside of the Revs Institute, where the rest of

LEFT Le Mans exhibit at the Simeone Museum, celebrating Fred’s favourite race.

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MICHAEL FURMAN

Farewell to Fred Simeone

Where the greatest cars come to be challenged...

...and new Legends are made

@motorracinglegends motorracinglegends.com Photo: Abby Bowers

Farewell to Fred Simeone

RIGHT Demo Day: Fred explains 917, GT40, Corvette Grand Sport and Daytona Coupe.

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‘This is how I’ll always remember him; in front of a crowd, talking about the cars he loved’ personal tour. He especially loved young adults, and would go out of his way to talk to them and encourage them to learn more. This love of sharing knowledge was the foundation for the museum’s unique Demo Days, where Fred would first lecture on the topic of the day and then take the cars out back so people could see, hear and smell what these priceless race machines were like in their prime. This is how I’ll always remember him; in front of a crowd, talking about the cars he loved, and able – off the top of his head – to link the history of automobiles, drivers and races together into a seamless narrative.

But Fred also wanted to extend the appreciation of the cars beyond motor sports enthusiasts, reaching out to high schools and colleges to use the collection to supplement their curriculum. One innovative event was when he took participants from the Associated Services for the Blind on a specially designed sensory tour that stimulated their tactile senses by focusing on the sounds, scents and feel of the automobiles.

So far I have omitted a significant portion of Fred’s life – the Dr Simeone part. Although he retired from performing surgery when the museum opened, Fred did not retire from

medicine. He took classes to keep up to date on the latest research and techniques. And he’d enthusiastically give his advice to friends on their medical conditions, looking at MRIs, even going as far as recommending doctors. (Full disclosure: he directed me to his cardiologist.)

We’d be at a restaurant or show, and people would regularly come up and say: “You operated on (insert me, my spouse, my parent, my child).”

His workload when he practiced was staggering – he would routinely perform six to eight surgical procedures a day. And this was spinal and brain surgery, a very delicate and complex task.

One morning when we had just opened the museum, I saw Fred sitting in the lobby with an older gentleman, holding his hand. I could see that tears were streaming down the man’s face. I quickly walked through and went up to my office.

A short while later, Fred came into my office. I asked him what had just happened downstairs.

Fred paused and then replied: “About 15 years ago I operated on this man’s daughter when she was very young. She had a sizable tumour on the back of her spine that was lifethreatening, and it took about 18 hours to remove it, strand by strand. It was a very difficult operation. He came in to tell me that yesterday she had a baby girl.”

To say Fred Simeone impacted people’s lives is an understatement. All of us who worked with him, were his patients, or had the pleasure

to hear him talk about cars, feel grateful for this opportunity and honoured to have known a truly great man.

Please also visit www.simeonemuseum.org.

HARRY E HURST

Briggs Cunningham’s collection resides, its primary claim of distinction was now gone.

Fred faced the prospect that his C4R, which had been well documented as being the Sebring winner – Alfred Momo clearly stated this in his Road & Track ad selling the model in 1954 – was in fact the other car on the team.

At this point, to my understanding, only Fred Simeone and I knew this. Also, the quality of the photo he gave me was so poor it could easily have been refuted. But Fred always put the true history of the cars above all else, regardless of the detrimental financial consequences.

“Well, we’re going to need to change the sign,” he said, pointing to the large round ‘1953 Sebring Winner’ placard above the car .

I later learned that Cunningham did not use chassis numbers; it identified its cars with the engine number, and ours had the Sebringwinning motor. But the chassis was indeed not that of the victor. There were other differences that we noticed only later, such as the door-tocowling shape quite clearly not being the same.

Today, the Cunningham still sits in the Winners’ Circle, but now with ‘1954 Le Mans, first in class, third overall’ hanging above it – a significant achievement in itself. No other American car with US drivers had a better placement at Le Mans in the interval between 1921, when Jimmy Murphy won the French GP in his Duesenberg, and 1967, when Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt won the 24 Hours in a Ford Mark IV. More than anything, Fred enjoyed sharing his knowledge of cars, and he treated many visitors to the museum on a slow weekday to a

“WE NEVER GOT MORE THAN FIVE miles to the gallon...” said Betty Locke. “But the faster she went, the better she went.”

It was late summer 2009, and we were in Betty’s modest house in Fallbrook, a small town in Southern California, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. I had been allowed a rare private visit to gather information about the three Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sports she kept in her garages around town, all collected by her late husband Lindley Locke back in the latter half of the 1950s.

Lindley would scour the used-car ads of the Los Angeles Times looking for rare Talbots,

A very special

which he would then buy and squirrel away. All were bought for $800 each, which was the magic number. In time, Lindley discovered no fewer than six spellbinding Talbot-Lagos: one of three T150 C-SS Teardrops by Pourtout; the only surviving T150 C-SS Figoni et Falaschi Teardrop with fully enclosed fenders; a T26 race car; plus the three T26 Grand Sport road cars. A coupé by Figoni, a cabriolet by Dubos, and one extraordinary and significant coupé by Antem, chassis number 110112. All had unique one-off bodies, but the Antem also had unique racing mechanicals. It is a one-off of one-offs.

From 1937 to 1939, Talbot built the exquisite T150 C-SS sports car chassis, fitted with a single-cam 4.0-litre six. In high tune, this engine put out some 165bhp – enough to make the T150 C-SS a competitor of the Bugatti T57 S, if not the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900. Most received a streamlined, two-seater coachbuilt Teardrop body by Figoni & Falaschi of such breathtaking beauty that it has become one of the most iconic automobiles of all time.

The war put a stop to everything, but idle hands are the devil’s workshop, and Anthony Lago and his chief engineer and fellow Italian Carlo Marchetti kept themselves busy on the sly. The 1946 Paris Salon witnessed the première of an impressive new engine, destined to power Talbot’s post-war models: a large 4.5-litre, twin-cam unit, designated T26 for its 26 CV fiscal horsepower rating.

Fitted with this new powerhouse in 190bhp tune, the Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport chassis made its debut at the Paris Salon in October 1947, while the first bodied cars were shown at the Salon in 1948. As it turned out, production was to be extremely limited. In four years, from 1948 to 1952, a total of 32 chassis were manufactured, all individually coachbuilt. Of these, 29 were on the short, 2.65-metre wheelbase, directly derived from the T150 C-SS and the pre-war Talbot racing cars.

Grand Sport 110112 was delivered by the Talbot factory to the Antem coachworks in Courbevoie on April 26, 1949, one of ten GS chassis constructed that year. The name written in longhand on the paperwork was the Fonderies de Pont-à-Mousson, but the real client was Marcel Paul-Cavallier, a major post-war French industrialist, director of the Pont-à-Mousson company and later Ferrari concessionary for France as well as a co-founder of SEFAC. Pont-à-Mousson had been manufacturing pig-iron and iron castings since 1856, and had grown to become one of the most important heavy industries in France.

After 1945, the conglomerate played a dominant part in the country’s industrial

recovery and had a major say in steel allocations.

As a result, Paul-Cavallier had been able to intervene personally in 1946 to help Anthony Lago get his first metal allowance so that he could resume car manufacture. From 1948 Paul-Cavallier held a seat on Talbot’s board of directors, but whether that was due to gratitude on Lago’s part or strong-arming on the part of his compatriot is not known. Future events would indicate the latter. In any event, it is no understatement to say that 110112 was destined to be a very special car for a very special owner.

The body created by Antem for this exacting client was a truly sporting and light all-metal

Talbot – L ago

coupé of serious intent. The fluid lines flow like molten quicksilver, and there is little in the way of ornamentation. Unlike Saoutchik or Figoni, Antem seems to have been inspired by the ascetic early post-war Pinin Farina shapes seen on the Cisitalia 202 and Maserati A6 chassis.

But Antem was undeniably French, and the fender lines on 110112 were typical of his other contemporary work. And while the design lacked the signature Antem chrome air outtake with squared-off portholes that was normally mounted on the flank of the front fender on late 1940s Antem Delahayes, the GS did have the extraordinary, patented mechanism where the hinged front fenders lift up for access to the engine compartment. With these completely opened up, the car looks ready to fly.

Under the svelte metalwork, things are altogether more businesslike. The chassis is fitted with a full Grand Prix engine with aluminium block, dry sump, oil cooler, twin ignition, high compression, special pistons, hotter cams, special GP cylinder head with larger valves, magnesium valve covers, straightthrough GP exhaust... the works. As with the T26C Grand Prix cars, the power output of this motor is in the region of 250-260bhp. This is 60-70bhp more than a standard Grand Sport, and a massive figure for the time.

Further modifications include extra chassis drilling and ventilated brake drums to make sure the car stops as well as it goes. As a result, 110112 was likely the fastest road car in France when it was first delivered; a true hot rod that could blow the doors off anything that came its way. Meanwhile, the unmuffled exhaust made damn sure no one could be oblivious to what had just happened, as slow-moving motorists dug for smelling salts in their gloveboxes.

Marcel Paul-Cavallier had his bolide registered 6637-RS, and for the next six years he used it hard, regularly making the route between Paris and the Pont-à-Mousson plants outside Nancy unsafe, a distance of more than 300km each way. He kept 110112 until 1955, when it was put up for sale with a luxury car dealer named Les Haras du Pur Sang in Neuilly.

Three years later, on March 28, 1958, a California registration card was issued for the car to a Mr Patrick de Goldsmith of 2015 Mandeville Canyon in LA, with number NXW242. According to the card, de Goldsmith had purchased 110112 in 1957, but who the seller was is not known, just as there is no information about how 110112 made its way from France to California. But there are some clues...

Patrick de Goldsmith worked for the famous early California race driver Otto Zipper, who ran Precision Motors, a renowned showroom

Words Peter M Larsen

Photography Petr Michalek

The Grand Sport Coupé by Antem

for imported cars and Porsche-Volkswagen dealership that was located at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and 26th Street in Beverly Hills. During the 1950s, a number of the best Talbot-Lagos, Delahayes, Bugattis and Alfa Romeos in the world passed through his hands before he focused his attention on more profitable Ferraris in the 1960s.

Zipper made regular trips to Paris to buy cars in the mid-1950s, and it is almost certain that Les Haras du Pur Sang was a regular stop on these outings. Perhaps that is where he stumbled upon this quite exceptional T26 Grand Sport, brought the car to the US, kept it for a while

and then passed it on to de Goldsmith.

Patrick renewed his registration of 110112 in 1959, but not in 1960. Whether or not the car was still a runner by then is not clear. What we do know is that $800 was the going price for used Grand Sports in California in the early 1960s. On a note dated September 26, 1962, de Goldsmith wrote in pencil: “Received of Lindley T Locke one hundred dollars ($100.00) as first payment for one Talbot-Lago automobile (Type 26 GS, No. 110112 License NXW242). Balance of seven hundred dollars ($700.00) to be paid according… to the following agreement. Starting on

Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport by Antem

96

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PREVIOUS SPREAD Owner Robert Kudela’s workshop – note his Figoni & Falaschi T26 Grand Sport chassis 110103 on the ramps behind.

ABOVE AND LEFT The Antem body is truly sporting, with fluid lines that flow like molten quicksilver.

The painted dash boasts a full complement of Jaeger dials.

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97

December 1, 1962 Lindley T Locke will pay Patrick de Goldsmith one hundred dollars a month until the entire balance of seven hundred dollars is paid.”

So not only did Lindley Locke buy this fabulous car for 800 bucks – he got it on a $100-a-month instalment plan. On May 16, 1963, he had the California registration suspended for the sum of two dollars. The Talbot-Lago was made roadworthy and reregistered, and he and Betty used the car for a number of years. A tyre blew out on a trip to Santa Barbara in 1980 and left a dent in the offside rear fender. Not long after, mechanical and electrical problems developed. Lindley and Betty couldn’t get the Talbot-Lago started, and it was laid up in one of the Locke garages.

There it remained in storage until Betty sold the car to Robert Kudela in 2015.

By then, 110112 was severely weathered by the California sun and had not turned a wheel in decades. But it was astonishingly complete and unmolested despite the considerable mounds of mouse detritus that had accumulated in the trunk and under the seats.

Apart from some extra Alfa Romeo-style cooling apertures surrounding the grille, the body retained 100 percent of its original metal, the GP engine was entirely complete and 100

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ABOVE 110112 returned to Europe in 2015 for a nut-and-bolt restoration that saw as much of the original materials and parts retained as possible.

unmodified, and all the special go-faster racing parts were present and accounted for.

No. 110112 went back to Europe and a forensic restoration commenced. The body, motor and mechanicals were removed from the chassis and everything was completely dismantled. Great attention was paid to originality and authenticity as body panels were carefully stripped and reconditioned. It was discovered that the original wood could be retained. Antem had used very little of it anyway – Cavallier was not in the market for a heavy car. The original window glass was also meticulously polished and reused.

The engine was found to be well worn, which was no surprise given the firm and enthusiastic use that Cavallier had given his super-fast Talbot. Internal parts that could not be refurbished were exactingly remanufactured to the original tolerances and in the correct materials. Other rare racing components and ancillaries on the chassis were carefully reconditioned. As with the powerplant, remanufacture was seen as the very last resort.

In every process, the overriding brief was that

as much as at all possible of the original materials, parts and pieces had to be retained.

Remains of the first light-grey paint were found on the body side, concealed by the sunbaked blue colour the car had acquired.

Likewise, fragments of the original blue leather and carpeting were discovered in the interior.

All were digitally analysed, and exact paints and leather tanning dyes were formulated to ensure a correct and perfect colour match. As a result, the car now wears its original grey over blue livery. It has emerged like an exotic butterfly from the cocoon of its long slumber, just as it looked when it left the Antem works in 1949.

Today, the voluptuous curves of 110112 present beautifully. It is a singular shape, and unexpected contours are constantly discovered and grasped depending on the light and time of day. The painted dash features a full complement of Jaeger instruments accompanied by beautiful Bakelite knobs and switches. The overall effect is extremely luxurious in its minimalism and underscores the deep sincerity of this car; an utterly bespoke driving machine made for a true connoisseur. There is no tinsel, there are no frills. Who needs any of that in a car so utterly dominated by its fantastic racing engine?

So while the body may be slicker than a greased watermelon, once the starter button is

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Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport by Antem

pressed and the six big-bore cylinders roar into life, all pleasing roundedness disappears and hard edges take its place. There is such urgency to the way the engine revs that one feels each piston stoke as the gasoline mixture ignites in the cylinders inside the thin aluminium block.

The pulse quickens as the crisp, sharp blat of the exhaust exits through the straight pipe. Birds take flight. Engage first, press the accelerator, and this Grand Sport leaps off the mark with a screeching of tyres. It accelerates fast and hard; this is a car that does not enjoy going slow.

Shifts are fast and concise through the Wilson pre-selector gearbox, and throttle response is instant. Dealing with modern traffic on the narrow winding roads of the rural Czech countryside 110112 now calls home is a breeze. Once 100km/h is reached, the car shrinks around you – and it is not terribly large in the first place. Everything comes together as Anthony Lago’s racing chassis comes into its own. Never mind the skinny tyres. Or speed limits. There is always enough torque to kick the tail out, slide through a corner and tromp on the accelerator for a blinding getaway when exiting the curve. Just like on the French autoroutes this car blasted along when new, modern SUVs bumbling along, comfortably anaesthetised, seem to stand still, just as their drivers have no idea what just roared past.

Talbot filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday March 6, 1951, throwing the marque, the factory and its 450 employees into the abyss. The bankruptcy court ordered an investigation into Talbot’s finances, and subsequently a court supervised

‘This fiery Antembodied race machine for the road remains a testament to the greatness of Talbot’ liquidation of the firm. The factory was closed and sealed off, and all activities ceased.

But all was not as it seemed. On Wednesday, March 7, it was reported that the decision to plead insolvency had been taken by the board of directors on the previous Saturday, and that by the time the news was officially announced, the letters to the employees, both workers and management, were already in the mail. A few days later a rumour surfaced that a powerful metallurgic group had pushed for the downfall by presenting its debts. As a result, Automobiles Talbot was put into liquidation on March 12.

There is little doubt that the metallurgic group in question was Pont-à-Mousson, as Lago had nowhere else to buy steel, and that the man doing the pushing was Marcel PaulCavallier. Cavallier later admitted in public that his intention had been to take over Talbot, even as he was still tooling around in his conspicuous Antem Grand Sport, not yet two years old and surely built in close co-operation with Anthony Lago himself. But Cavallier had underestimated Lago, and ultimately failed in his not-so-noble endeavour. The old fox had not lost his abilities

as a wily negotiator and managed to haggle out a loan and a contingency plan with the administrator, which left him in the driver’s seat. But at a price: Talbot’s ruinous competition department was forced to close down the year after the marque’s glorious Le Mans win. The illustrious racing cars were sold off to the drivers.

Talbot continued making cars in tiny series, but never succeeded in bringing a truly modern and competitive model to the market. Things were never the same after the events of 1951, and there would be no more greatness. The final bankruptcy came in 1958 when industry giant Simca took over. More than 60 years later, as we stand on the precipice, gazing at a world that will soon be transporting itself in selfdriving electric cars, this fiery Antem-bodied race machine for the road remains a testament to that greatness. To a time when having a car made to order did not mean checking off an options list, but having a chassis hand-fashioned with a real GP engine, fitted with parts taken directly from the racing department and then clothing it all in a one-of-a-kind functional yet beautiful and understated sports body.

Just the thing for the man who wanted to be faster than anybody else. T26 Grand Sport 110112 is mechanical proof why we will never stop loving the fire-breathing, carbon-burning beasts we grew up with. It is not a question of how much gas you burn, but how you burn it.

Marcel Paul-Cavallier understood that in 1949.

As did Lindley Locke in 1962. So do we in 2022.

The T26 will star in the Talbot-Lago Grand Sport feature at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours.

LEFT Functional yet beautiful and understated; this is why we will never stop loving firebreathing, carbonburning beasts.

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THE

QUESTION

We all know that Mercedes-Benz parted with one of its gems this year.

But how was the 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé worth so much – and why was it sold? Karl Ludvigsen explains

WHEN DAIMLER-BENZ RETURNED TO international motor racing in 1952, it engaged in half measures. That first season’s 300SL was ingeniously made from production-car components to get a feel for the post-war racing scene. Of this, the company’s technical chief Fritz Nallinger said: “We are just opening a little window on the motor-racing scene.”

Nevertheless, the first 300SL was good enough to win Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana.

When Daimler-Benz returned to racing in earnest in 1954, it felt obliged to live up to its exalted tradition. In Grand Prix racing from 1934 to 1939 its cars were memorably successful, troubled only by the rear-engined Auto Unions. Racing heritages of both Daimler and Benz were rich with victories back to the 19th century. So when new Grand Prix rules allowing unsupercharged engines of 2.5 litres came into effect for 1954, the company led by managing director Wilhelm Haspel decided to

Words Karl Ludvigsen

THIS SPREAD Ready to fly: 300SLR’s gullwing doors look just as spectacular today as they did in 1955.

300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé

ABOVE Underneath the smooth skin of the 300SLR coupés was this phenomenally complex yet tough chassis. LEFT Sisters under the skin; the W196 GP car lines up with W196S no. 8.

The GP car’s hood bulge shows that it’s powered by a 300SLR aluminium-block engine.

participate. Most companies would have seen the building and fielding of a team of Grand Prix cars a sufficiently exacting task. For Fritz Nallinger, however, sports car racing also had a strong appeal. He well remembered 1931, when Rudy Caracciola won the Mille Miglia driving a Mercedes-Benz SSKL; the first non-Italian car and driver to triumph in the demanding classic.

Nallinger argued that with shrewd design most of the components of the GP car, the W196, could be used to make a sports-racer, the W196S. He envisioned both machines rolling out in the same season, with the sports-racer making its debut in the 1954 Mille Miglia. Every sinew of the Works at Stuttgart-Untertürkheim was strained to achieve this goal.

As with the 300SL, the W196S’s engine was 3.0 litres. It seemed a bold, even foolhardy decision to field a 3.0 sports-racing car against the fast 3.4-litre D-type Jaguar – always difficult to beat at Le Mans – not to mention Ferrari’s cars of up to 4.9 litres. But it was the most that could be squeezed from an uprated version of the GP car’s fuel-injected 2.5 straight-eight.

Creation of the W196S paralleled work on the production version of the 300SL, a prototype of which made its debut in New York in February 1954. Oversight of both projects fell to Rudolf Uhlenhaut, head of the Daimler-Benz experimental department, whose vision shaped the 300SL. Successful as head of racing engineering pre-war, the half-English Uhlenhaut often tested Mercedes-Benz competition cars at speeds matching those of his professional drivers. Although he did not design the cars, his was the final determination of the attributes that his firm’s racing machines should have.

Common to the W196 and W196S were 108

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those fuel-injected engines with desmodromic valve trains to eliminate troublesome springs, five-speed Porsche-synchromesh transmissions mounted at the rear, plus torsion-bar springing with parallel wishbones in front and low-pivot swing axles at the rear, all carried by an elaborate, light and stiff multi-tubular steel spaceframe. The engine sloped steeply to the right to allow a low bonnet line, while its drivetrain angled across the chassis in such a way as to require the driver to straddle the clutch and propeller shaft. Stirling Moss said that this helped him brace himself in the cockpit. Huge turbine-cooled drum brakes were mounted inboard on the chassis front and rear.

The need to concentrate on the GP cars for 1954 meant that a prototype of the W196S – named the 300SLR – only appeared on test late that year. Nallinger’s goal was not achieved.

However, they were well prepared for 1955, when they won the World Sports Car Championship with victories in the Mille Miglia, Tourist Trophy and Targa Florio. A team driver in two of those races, John Fitch, praised the 300SLR: “The durability of the SLR was unbelievable.

As demonstrated at the Targa, it’d stand up to incredible abuse and continue to operate perfectly. This highly developed sports-racer was built like a tank, yet was as responsive as a jungle cat. A truly fabulous accomplishment in the field of automotive design.”

All the 300SLR’s successes, including wins in the Eifelrennen and Swedish GP, were achieved by cars with open cockpits. Late in the 1955 season, however, loomed the Carrera Panamericana, or Mexican Road Race, which Mercedes had won in 1952 with its 300SL coupés. For this it planned to field four cars:

two open 300SLRs and two closed-coupé versions. One of the coupés would be driven by the team of Stirling Moss with navigator Denis Jenkinson, which had triumphed with record speeds in the Mille Miglia.

Unsurprisingly – for most of the 1952 300SL’s successes were achieved by coupés – one of the earliest drawings of the W196S, dating from March 1954, showed it as a coupé, which would have been ideal for the Le Mans 24 Hours. As with the 300SLR’s open versions, the coupés were styled to be in concordance with the company’s 300SL and 190SL production sports cars.

Heading body design at the Daimler-Benz Sindelfingen plant was Karl Wilfert, to whom most credit was given for Mercedes-Benz style.

However, actual design work was under the direction of Walter Häcker, who had come from Horch before the war. Specialising in the sports models was Friedrich Geiger, who deserves the justified plaudits for the striking and distinctive lines of the 300SL and 300SLR. While its cars for 1955 were being completed, Daimler-Benz brought its drivers in to get their opinions on the cockpit layout and body design. Among them were such luminaries as Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling.

According to Jenkinson, who as Stirling’s racing partner had Works access as well, the drivers expressed a preference for open cockpits. As such the coupés were put on hold for the time being, and the first six chassis, all of which had open bodies, were raced throughout the 1955 season.

In one 1955 race, Le Mans, a 300SLR was involved in the horrendous crash on the pit straight, scything into the packed crowd after

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300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé

ABOVE Rudy Uhlenhaut covered a lot of miles in both 300SLR coupés. Here he’s demonstrating one of them to his son Roger; perhaps earplugs were also worn. LEFT Number 7 was first out of the gate and used for practice at several venues in 1955, as here at Sweden’s Kristianstad circuit.

impacting with cars approaching the pits. It was the instrument of death for its driver, Frenchman Pierre Levegh, and more than 80 spectators in the worst disaster in the history of motor racing.

The fiery crash cast a pall over the race, which continued because ending it would have clogged access points needed to deal with the wounded and dying. With his Fangio/Moss 300SLR holding a two-lap lead, racing boss Alfred Neubauer conferred with his chiefs in Stuttgart and then withdrew his team’s two remaining cars as a gesture of respect to the fallen.

This shattering catastrophe forced a major self-examination by not only racing authorities but also governments. In its wake, that season’s German, Swiss, French and Spanish GPs were cancelled. Switzerland effected a permanent ban on racing on public roads. In the US the American Automobile Association withdrew from its traditional role as the sanctioning body for motor sports and record breaking.

During the forced hiatus, Untertürkheim and Sindelfingen completed an 300SLR coupé on chassis 007/55, using for the first time a frame that was welded of lighter-weight tubing. It was a strikingly handsome automobile with a star in its grille and chrome strips over its side air outlets.

However, for road use its lines were marred by a huge silencer attached to its exhaust stubs.

With its cabin not required to provide room for luggage, its greenhouse was much more compact than that of the 300SL. No rearquarter windows were needed, while doors were – of course – of gullwing design to leave room in the sills for the tubular frame. Instead of the 248-litre fuel capacity of most roadsters, the coupé’s tank held 172 litres.

The instrument panel was much like that of 110

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a 1953 300SL prototype, with a recessed oval at the centre of the panel encircling the minor controls. The car retained the cockpit position that was common to all versions of the W196S, with the driver’s legs spread wide on both sides of the clutch housing and a narrow passenger footwell. Coupé 007/55’s trim was far more lavish than that of the open cars, aping a roadgoing 300SL’s with blue leather and matching tartan-cloth seat facings. Magnesium bodywork contributed to a light 891kg, or 1965lb, dryweight.

On August 3, 1955, four days after the coupé had a brief shakedown on the experimental department’s rolling road, Rudy Uhlenhaut drove it to the GP at Sweden’s Kristianstad.

Seven days later he was back, having covered 1623 miles. During practice for the Swedish GP he drove 122 miles on the track at racing speeds.

Geared for a 165mph top end at 7500rpm, the brand-new 300SLR ran flawlessly throughout.

Denis Jenkinson, who hitched a ride in Sweden with the engineer, commented on the fantastic noise level inside the tiny cockpit: “The noise inside the coupé body was out of all proportion,” he said. “The mechanical thrashing that came from the engine being due to everything running on roller bearings and the central drive, to the camshafts, magnetos, dynamo and injection pump being an enormous train of tiny gearwheels. Uhlenhaut told me that it could be cured for a few pence – and gave me a pair of earplugs.”

Different final-drive gearing raised all the ratios, including top gear to 189mph, for Uhlenhaut’s 681-mile return trip to Monza near the end of August. On that fast track the coupé covered 335 hard miles during tests of the sports and racing Mercedes as an overture

to the Italian Grand Prix. Then the lowest gearing was fitted for practice before the Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland, where 222 miles were covered by Fangio, Moss, Kling and Uhlenhaut while getting to know the unfamiliar and demanding road course.

The coupé’s trip to Belfast and return – a total of 2456 miles – was handled on the outbound leg by a driver new to the MercedesBenz team, Count Wolfgang Berghe von Trips, with the aim of helping him get accustomed to this step up from the 300SL he’d been racing.

“Driving a 180mph coupé across England from Dover to Liverpool was quite an experience for the young German count,” said Denis Jenkinson later, “it being fitted with an enormous silencer on the side of the body.”

Final duty for 007/55 during 1955 was as a practice car for the Targa Florio on Sicilian roads so challenging that an even lower final drive than that used in Sweden was installed.

For a change the car was trucked to Sicily, where numerous drivers contributed to its 840mile total. Its outing ended at that distance when Moss smote a Sicilian rock with its right front corner. The suspension and frame damage was too heavy to repair with the means at hand.

With the cancellation of 1955’s Carrera Panamericana, no immediate race duty awaited 007/55. After repairs it was thoroughly overhauled and readied for Rudy Uhlenhaut’s use at the end of December. At that time it was joined by a sister coupé on chassis 008/55, identical for all practical purposes save for a red interior that was a welcome differentiation between the two coupés.

Plans were going ahead for racing the 300SLRs in 1956, but not the GP cars. Only days

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300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé

after the most tragic Le Mans race in history the Daimler-Benz management board met to consider the future of the firm’s competition programme. They decided to continue in GP racing to the end of the season and thereafter to call a halt to single-seater activity. Not long afterward this decision was made public.

For the sports-racing cars, on the other hand, preparations for the 1956 season were well advanced with a new, lighter construction, outboard front brakes and engine enhancements.

The coupés were in the picture, for the racing department’s notes on the coupé that practised at the Targa Florio said: “With respect to roadholding it is better than the open car.”

This summarised the views of the various drivers after 19 laps of the sinuous circuit with its infinite variety of turns and surfaces. Attribution of the difference was not given, although such factors as weight distribution, stiffness of the body/frame combination and aerodynamics with the coupé roof could have played a part.

On September 28 Fritz Nallinger confirmed in a note to Neubauer that the sports cars would compete in eight to ten events in 1956, and asked the team manager to let him have a list of suitable races for his review. But this was a false dawn. With the company’s post-war markets regaining momentum, the demands of racing were monopolising the research and development skills needed for improved Mercedes-Benz production cars. On October 22 the traditional end-of-season press conference became the platform for the announcement that Daimler-Benz was withdrawing its sports cars, as well as its racing cars, from further competition “for several years” at least.

In 1956 both coupés were readied for a comprehensive road test carried out by the respected Robert Braunschweig of Switzerland’s Automobil Revue, their equipment including the big external silencer used by Uhlenhaut and von Trips in 1955. While the blue number 7 was geared for a maximum of 181mph, the red

HOW THE SLR WAS OFFERED FOR SALE

Rob Halloway of Mercedes-Benz and Peter Wallman of RM Sotheby’s explain the process 112

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‘Moss commented: “Thank God the 300SLR is not for sale. I’d hate to have to run against it”’ number 8 had lower, 162mph gearing. Used for acceleration testing, the latter accelerated to 50mph in 5.2 seconds, 60mph in 6.8, 100mph in 13.6 and 120mph in 20.3 seconds.

Timed on the Autobahn between Munich and Ingolstadt, the blue number 7 was clocked at a two-way average maximum speed of 176.47mph. In all, Braunschweig covered 2021 miles in 007/55, accompanied by either Uhlenhaut or a Works mechanic. The road trials confirmed the remarkable qualities of traction, handling and braking that made the 300SLR so successful in competition.

British journalist Gordon Wilkins racked up substantial mileage in the red coupé, sometimes accompanied by Uhlenhaut’s lieutenant Walter Kostelezky – both amply supplied with earplugs.

Laurence Pomeroy Jr also had a chance to drive it at the Solitude circuit after being given a demonstration by Uhlenhaut. Late in 1956, the latter and US racing driver Paul O’Shea covered 91 miles of Autobahn motoring at speed.

Both of the coupés fulfilled public relations commitments for Mercedes-Benz. Number 7 appeared in Hong Kong in non-driving condition in 1964, for example, while number 8 was used for demonstrations in 1959 and 1960, and shipped to the US in running condition in 1961, not to return home until 1963. In 1967 it was driven on the Works proving ground by members of a British party and demonstrated by racing engineer Erich Waxenberger.

After being refreshed in the UK in 1986 by expert Tony Merrick, the two coupés were

“Mercedes-Benz has a huge collection of cars in its Stuttgart museum, which amounts to about 1100 vehicles,” says Rob Halloway of Mercedes-Benz UK. “For years collectors have been asking to buy one of the two Uhlenhaut Coupés from us.”

“There was a change of mindset a couple of years ago, and the Mercedes-Benz board decided that maybe now was the time do something special with

one of these remarkable cars.

Then we started looking at the best way of getting the SLR into the right hands; we approached RM Sotheby’s due to the reputation the company has. We wanted a private-auction process where we would hope to beat the record for the most valuable car in the world.”

“News travels fast in this world,” adds Peter Wallman of RM Sotheby’s. “We started to get calls from people, but everyone we

allotted distinctive roles; number 7 was for exhibitions and number 8 for driving. Wherever they appeared, as at Goodwood in 2010, they provoked astonishment with their rakish proportions and race-bred underpinnings.

They were far and away the most covetable road cars in the Daimler-Benz inventory.

In a note on September 28, 1955 Fritz Nallinger confirmed that the recently retired racing cars would not be sold. But he raised for consideration an even more intriguing idea. Taking the longer view, he suggested, the firm might consider making and selling, in one or two years, a small series of 300SLRs. The batch might amount to no more than ten or 20 cars, which would be priced very highly, he proposed – say $30,000 to $40,000. It never came to pass, but Stirling Moss’s comment applied: “Thank God it’s not for sale. I’d hate to have to run against it.”

And now, all these years later, car number 8 has been sold – for €135 million (£115m, $142m) – to the highest bidder via RM Sotheby’s and broker Simon Kidston, from a short list of ten qualified parties. The proceeds will help young people gain education in engineering.

We are told that the purchaser has the ability to maintain the car to the same standard as the builder managed. This will have limitations for one crucial reason.

Responsibility for the M-B sports department devolved upon the aforementioned Walter Kostelezky. When he was told to clear space in the department, virtually all the considerable stock of spares for the 1954-55 campaign was scrapped. For that reason the running 2.5-litre GP cars are now powered by 3.0-litre SLR engines, as the bulge in their hoods betrays.

Great Mercedes-Benz racing cars have been copied, the latest being the 1937 W125. But that was child’s play compared with the complexity of the engine of the 300SLR. It’d be interesting to see the owner’s manual that Mercedes has provided to the buyer of the most costly car ever sold in the company’s 137-year history.

invited to bid was done in collaboration with senior management at Mercedes.

“I think it would be very hard for any manufacturer to match this, and MercedesBenz knows that; the only car that could come close or surpass the price paid would be 722, Moss and Jenkinson’s 1955 Mille Miglia-winning car.”

Halloway continues: “We felt that now was the time to beat the records for the most valuable car in the

world, and do something significant and meaningful with the money, rather than put it in our back pocket.

“It doesn’t just have to be in Germany – that money will help breed a new generation of engineers who can work on renewable and sustainable technologies and sustainable things.

Mercedes-Benz will continue to invest – but this fund is designed to make a positive difference.”

For more, see page 38.

CHASSIS

Words Julian Balme

Photography Riiko-Andre Nüüd

URVIVO

875026

How best to ease an ex-Briggs Cunningham E-type out of long-term storage and put it back on the road without spoiling its uniquely authentic attributes? Bring in the grandson of the Jaguar icon’s original engineer, of course...

URVIVO

WILLIAM HEYNES DIDN’T REALLY STAND A chance. As the grandson and namesake of Jaguar’s head of engineering he was always going to struggle to avoid being involved with cars – particularly those of a feline persuasion. Despite being groomed to run the family farm, including several years studying at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, the lure of the internal-combustion engine drew him to the family garage rather than its barns.

Of course, father Jonathan more than aided and abetted this automotive distraction, by putting together a small collection of his own father’s handiwork and exposing William to ‘pace with grace’ from a very early age, albeit inside the safe confines of one of the family’s fields.

It didn’t help that the circle of friends and acquaintances the family moved within had such a close affiliation to the Coventry marque. James Smith from RS Panels was a perfect case in point. Aside from being peerless in his day job of restoring and recreating the world’s most beautiful mass-produced sports car, he is a keen marksman.

Accordingly, each year he joined the Heynes family in their annual deer shoot; a necessary farming cull as

Jaguar E-type survivor

OPPOSITE AND BELOW Resurrected E-type is resplendent with original metal and mechanicals.

Jaguar E-type survivor

ABOVE Bringing this Jaguar back to life while retaining absolute authenticity makes the car a true survivor of its genre.

Jaguar E-type survivor

BELOW No applied patina here; it’s all about preservation.

Inside and out, each element combines to tell the Jaguar’s story.

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opposed to sporting high jinks. Having graduated from his agricultural training, Will still had an ‘itch’. Following a chat with James at one of these shoots, the young Heynes became a mature apprentice at RS. He was there for only a year, in which time he grafted on countless early E-types, including ultimate Lightweight competition versions such as 49 FXN. However, it was the first, flatfloored, outside-bonnet-locked examples that really fired his imagination, and in his time at RS he devoured everything he could about them.

Spending five minutes in Will’s company reassures you that he is deadly serious about his vocation away from farming and into the world of early E-types. He’s not some dilettante frittering away the family silverware. His grandfather’s legacy is rooted in the background, yet this

ABOVE History recorded and cherished; this very special E-type even retains its original service stickers from its years in the US.

is considered an honour rather than a burden with which to be associated. It’s also obvious that Will is as passionate about Jaguars as anyone who worked at Browns Lane.

Following a further year of restoring numerous early cars, William received a phone call from James Mitchell of Pendine Historic Cars at Bicester Heritage. The conversation opened with these enticing words: “We’ve acquired a very significant E-type for a Swiss collector.

It’s done fewer than 50 miles since 1973, and it needs recommissioning.” That was only the start of the tale, and as the car’s story was revealed to William, he once again had little option other than to sign up to the project.

The Jaguar in question was export chassis 875026, a Carmen Red roadster with black leather interior. Apart from being among the very first 40 E-types – which were essentially hand-built before the production line was in full swing – it was also one of the three cars that had been assigned to American sports car and yachting ace Briggs Cunningham. Completed on April 21, 1961, in timehonoured fashion to avoid export purchase tax it was registered in Coventry with the plate 9024 DU. The rest of the trio was made up of Cream roadster, 9023 DU, and the

Opalescent Bronze 9022 DU. A month later, Le Mans entrant Cunningham – along with members of his team, which included East Coast Jaguar dealer Walt Hansgen – arrived at the factory to take delivery and drive their new cars to France for the upcoming 24-hour classic. The trio of beautiful roadsters parked outside the paddock created as much of a stir with the attending public as anything inside the cement walls of the scrutineering bay.

Following the Le Mans marathon the cars were shipped to the States – although it is not known whether all of them made the journey. Myth has it that the Opalescent Bronze car, 875015, was left in France after Briggs himself had driven it there. Its whereabouts is unknown today. The other two Jaguars definitely made it across the Atlantic, with Cream roadster 027 being dispatched immediately to the legendary engineer Alfred Momo to be prepared for competition and the start of a trailblazing track career.

The red roadster, on the other hand, found itself at Walt Hansgen’s New Jersey dealership, where it started an equally tortured life as a customer demonstrator. It’s not known how many clutches were destroyed by prospective clients grappling with the four-speed ‘stick shift’ before the car was put out of its misery and sold to its first owner in Delaware. It stayed in that state when changing hands in 1972, but only a year later – and with very little mileage recorded – it was bought by Dr Thomas Haddock.

Haddock, described by the publisher of his seminal book Jaguar E-type Restoration Guide as having interests in archaeology and the conservation of technical and artistic artefacts, was the ideal custodian of what would turn out to be an automotive antiquity. He initially lent the 1961 E-type to the Henry Ford Museum, but once the car was 122

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ABOVE AND BELOW 026 is the real deal, with genuine detail experts will extol.

returned to his home, he barely drove it. The then-12-yearold Jag was effectively mothballed and the clock stopped.

Since 2013, when James Mitchell set up his Pendine business, he has become nearly as obsessed about early E-types as William Heynes is. His passion for the cars has led to him travelling the globe seeking out the best examples, so it wasn’t surprising that before long he’d find himself in Detroit talking to the reclusive doctor.

“As you can imagine, it was a very emotional negotiation,” he recalls. “Tom rightly felt he’d been the trustee of this treasure for so long that whoever took it on had to be of the same mindset. Nine out of ten buyers would have thrown half of it away in the course of a ‘restoration’, so the idea that we appreciated the car’s condition as much as he did, and wanted to preserve it just as it was, saw the deal over the line.”

The problem was that while time might well have stopped for 026, its short, dozen-year life on the road had been tough. This, followed by a further 48 years in hibernation, had seen chemistry also take hold. Yes the car was totally untouched and original, but it was far from the condition in which it left the factory. Metalwork, rubbers, carpeting, you name it... all these components required attention if the Jaguar was ever to see service again.

“We want it exactly as is, but safe and driveable,” was Mitchell’s brief to Heynes. Such was the conundrum of preserving such a vehicle that Will stared at the E-type for four weeks, simply dissecting and assembling it in his head.

“I was so scared of the project, I just looked at it working out how to do it,” he recalls. “It was all about establishing a mindset. Preservation over restoration.”

As James Smith says: “Restoration is relatively easy. You

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Jaguar E-type survivor

find rust in a sill, you cut it out and you stitch a new one in. Trying to retain as much of the original car by painstakingly removing just the rot can take ages.” In the case of this E-type’s sills, 240 hours...

The rust repairs had to be done one bit at a time to minimise distortion and heat transfer from welding, but despite the arduous task the team managed to fill just three shoeboxes with rotten metal from the whole car. The boot floor in particular was a challenge, with small holes scattered throughout – and this was not helped by a nerf from behind that the Jag received early on in its life, evidence of which can still be seen in the dented reversing light.

Heynes’s team forensically took the car apart and reassembled it bit by bit, taking the utmost care not to disturb important elements such as the paint. They were never going to repaint 026, yet the factory red coating had been touched up in places during its early years. Wearing their conservation hats, the decision was made to retain all that was in front of them – warts and all – hence the varying shades of red, the scuff on the offside front wing and even the overspray on some of the window rubbers from a hasty, partial respray in 1972.

There is no applied patina. Everything is about preservation rather than faux restoration, each element combining to tell the car’s story. Elements such as the soft-top; a previous owner had bought a replacement hood but never fitted it. Being a period Jaguar item it still had lead shot in the seams to help the fabric keep its shape.

The engine, too, contains more original parts than not,

despite the contents not even being seen. Pistons, rods and crank were all X-rayed and crack tested before being reassembled with new rings. “The thought of losing a rod and taking out the block is a nightmare, which is why with a normal restoration we’d replace these internals,” Will acknowledges. “But these were the original components… in years to come, experts can refer to 026 knowing that they are looking at the real deal.” Despite being partially unsalvageable, even the exhaust system is made up from sections scavenged from other early, flat-floor E-types.

It goes without saying that 026 looks amazing, but unlike so many other ‘museum cars’, it drives superbly – as the team discovered at Bicester Heritage exactly 60 years to the day that it was assembled and dispatched by Jaguar Cars. It was a fitting deadline. Given the lack of prior running, the roadster performed remarkably well as everyone who’d worked on it took a turn behind the wheel.

“It’s like driving a solid lump of rubber,” was one comment. “It’s not worn out and full of rattles, nor is it so tight that there’s no compliance in the suspension. It’s just lovely and usable.” All those involved with this resurrection felt rightly proud and considered the task a remarkable position to have been put in.

Of course, this story was meant to end at Pebble Beach in 2021, where for the first time in 60 years 026 would be reunited with the first US racer, 027, in the Preservation Class. Sadly Covid put paid to that, but all being well, at the August 2022 concours the two surviving E-types of Briggs Cunningham’s initial trio will sit side by side once again.

BELOW 9024 DU at Le Mans in 1961 before Briggs Cunningham shipped it to its new US home.

Designer of

Giugiaro

the century Magneto

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Giorgetto Giugiaro

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The creative eye, the steady hand, the natural instinct for form and function... all have combined to make Giorgetto Giugiaro the world’s most lauded auto stylist, whose designs have appeared on 60-plus million cars. Aged 84, he’s still producing stunning, relevant work today

“HE IS THE MAESTRO,” DECLARED Road & Track’s March 1969 cover story.

“Acknowledged as the best by most of his colleagues and rivals, he is also considered the best by countless other lovers of the art who don’t even know his name.”

In the first half of the 1970s, I was one of those “countless others”. That’s when I discovered the art of Italian exotica, and while descending into that alluring rabbit hole, I had no clue of that article’s existence, or noted author Pete Coltrin’s declaration. But it was clear as day that cars clothed by Italy’s carrozzeri were indeed something special, for no one could touch them in terms of pure aesthetic cohesion and beauty. Then I learned each coachbuilder had a chief stylist (as design

heads were labelled back then) and came to realise the man who ‘penned’ most of my favourites was the aforementioned Il Maestro.

For many, Giorgetto Giugiaro’s work was a ray of sunshine in a dark and tumultuous period of automotive history. The ’70s saw much of the globe in a state of upheaval – particularly when it came to the automobile.

A 400 percent spike in oil prices in 1973, coupled with Europe’s widespread (and sometimes violent) backlash against capitalism and its trappings, had caused much of the Continent’s populace to turn against sports cars, and big-dollar GTs in particular. Many viewed them as wasteful products, and those who drove them, pariahs. These severe body blows saw the sports/GT constructors reel, all

Photography Rick Guest

while America’s recently introduced maze of EPA and DoT regulations put the world’s largest and most lucrative market out of contention for many small-volume manufacturers, or their highest-performing, most exclusive (and thus most profitable) models.

In the US, performance-oriented machinery was disappearing at a rapid rate, so many enthusiasts looked to the recent past to satisfy their automotive lust. The 1960s was a time devoid of horsepower-sapping emissions equipment and ungainly bumpers, and that rearward look was how I discovered Giugiaro had styled the Corvette-powered Gordon GT and early Iso and Bizzarrini models during his time at Carrozzeria Bertone, where he also did some eye-catching custom coachwork on Magneto

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Words Winston Goodfellow

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LEFT Alfa Romeo’s GT Junior was an early Giugiaro success, and proved popular on both road and track.

OPPOSITE Car Designer of the Century Giugiaro – pictured here with a model of the Lancia Thema – is a good-looking, stylish man. Even his name sounds exotic.

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Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Aston and Maserati chassis.

He then moved to Carrozzeria Ghia, and out came the stunning Maserati Ghibli Coupé and Spyder, De Tomaso Mangusta and more. And there was more modern machinery such as the wild Bizzarrini Manta, wedgy Lotus Esprit and refined Maserati Bora – all of which he created at Italdesign, where he was a founding partner.

If designing those was not enough to overwhelm your sense of fair play, he was a good-looking, stylishly dressed dude whose name sounded as exotic and elusive as the sports cars and GTs he created. In fact, he was so extraordinarily adept at his craft, so prolific in his work, that even cars such as Volkswagen’s Rabbit (Golf in Euro speak) and Alfas new and old that dotted California’s roads and my college parking lot, were penned by him. They, too, had lovely lines and proportions, so with the immense wisdom one has when they are 20 years old, in 1978 I told anyone brave (or foolish) enough to listen that when Porsche’s then-funky-looking 928 went on sale, it should be sent to Italy – and specifically to Giugiaro and Italdesign – to have it designed right.

Life has a way of surprising you, though, for I would later come to appreciate the 928’s styling in a way my 20-year-old self wouldn’t have thought possible. It also threw me a good curve when my design god suddenly appeared in my backyard of northern California.

Stanford University in the San Francisco Bay Area had long been recognised as one of America’s leading academic institutions, and every year in late July it held a renowned design conference. At its soiree in 1986, one of the headliners was none other than Giugiaro – and the organisers asked for assistance in assembling some cars to augment his talk.

With stars in my eyes, phone calls were made, owners with several of his creations committed to attend, and on a postcard-perfect summer Saturday I headed to the tree-lined university to attend Il Maestro’s lecture. Little did I realise that listening to him, the shaking of hands and our short chat while surrounded by his cars, would be the first of many conversations we would have. Over the ensuing decades as my career veered into the automotive industry, I came to know the man and his lovely family.

If Life was toying with me, it was having a lot more fun with the Giugiaros. I’d pay a king’s ransom and then some in gold, diamonds, crypto – you name it – to have a time machine to go back to 1948 and the quiet, hillside town of Garessio, some 50-plus miles outside of Turin. There, we would track down Giorgetto’s

parents, and watch the shocked expressions on their faces as we informed them that five decades hence their quiet, reserved but artistically talented ten-year-old would be named Car Designer of the Century by an international panel of more than 130 journalists and industry insiders, and inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Perhaps most surprised of all would have been Giorgetto himself. “Until I was 17,” the great designer recently told me, “I did not know what the car was as an interest. Garessio was a small provincial town where very few cars circulated, so few people had one. But it was an object of desire, a distant dream that I didn’t think could be an interest in the future of my life.” In fact, his career in the automotive arena only came about by a chance encounter with Fiat’s chief engineer Dante Giacosa.

Instead of being some young gearhead, dictating his childhood activities was, for lack of a better term, the family gene pool. Giorgetto enjoyed “the figurative arts, influenced by my grandfather and father who painted, frescoed, decorated… Like all kids going to school, my task was to learn Italian and other subjects. But I can say that, compared to my peers, I always had the ‘distraction of colours’ and therefore my interest was purely artistic”.

And here’s where Life shows its sense of humour, for what he said turned out to be an ironic choice of words. Once his young, talented pen hit the proverbial blank sheet of paper in the Bertone design studios in 1959, ‘art’ was not at the forefront of his car design/ visualisation process. Turns out it was a technique with very little to do with aesthetic ‘beauty’, a method Giugiaro learned over the previous four years while toiling anonymously in the Fiat design studios.

“To approach any project,” Giorgetto noted, “the important things were to understand the expectations, starting from the references. At the beginning… you don’t have everything in mind from scratch without first having seen the technical diagram, the mechanical dimension and, above all, knowing and understanding the type of automotive product; whether it will be with two or four doors, sporty or elegant. I learned this approach and developed it in Fiat from the age of 17 to 21. But at that time my job was to illustrate and sketch; I didn’t have the responsibility of designing a car from scratch.”

In other words, he began by closely examining data such as where the engine was positioned in the chassis, the size of the wheels, the steering wheel location, and more. Once this had been

MARTYN GODDARD/ALAMY

Giorgetto Giugiaro

RIGHT Giorgetto considers the Iso Grifo – seen here with the later Gandini nose – to be the most important model he penned during his Bertone years. Contemporary journalists agreed, hailing it as one of the world’s greatest and fastest cars.

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OPPOSITE The mind of an artist, the hands of a craftsman... Il Maestro at work.

digested, only then would he start “imagining variations especially on height, but always in a realistic context, not something illusory”.

Which certainly took the wind out the romantic vision of a design genius previsualising something sure to stun the world, and then immediately creating it. And the irony doesn’t stop there, for you’d expect a guy with this much talent, who could make such beautiful shapes right out of the box, to have spent many hours in and around who knows how many cars. Guess again, for he “only started driving in 1960”, but by then he had “already designed the Alfa 2600 Sprint and Gordon GT. When I left for compulsory military service, I was then able to get a driving licence but didn’t have a car yet… Until then I was riding a fabulous Vespa”.

The Alfa 2000/2600 Sprint were his first actual designs (and the renderings that prompted Nuccio Bertone to hire him), but the first Giugiaro-designed car the public saw was the Gordon prototype that broke cover at 1960’s Geneva Auto Show. Several months later at Turin, the 2000 Sprint debuted; following this were the BMW 3200 CS (Frankfurt, 1961) and Iso Rivolta GT (Turin, 1962). In between these understated, handsome 2+2s were several one-offs: a 250SWB for favoured Ferrari client Enrico Wax (Turin, 1960); Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet (Geneva, 1961); Maserati 5000GT (Turin, 1961); and the ASA 1000GT (also at Turin) that would enter production two years later with revised coachwork.

In retrospect, one can see that by 1962, real creativity was flowing into Carrozzeria Bertone’s work. The proportions Giorgetto now designed were quite eye catching, the detailing more intricate, the surface treatments more sophisticated and refined. This maturation and self-assurance coalesced into one of his true masterpieces – a one-off Ferrari 250GT SWB that was Nuccio’s personal car. Considerably more daring but just as resolved as Pininfarina’s seminal berlinetta shape, its most distinctive and unique feature was a bold ‘split-nostril’ nose that mimicked Ferrari’s World Championship Formula 1 car, the 156 F1.

Chassis 3269 GT broke cover at Geneva in 1962, and must have sounded like a dicey proposition when first discussed. But the lines and details are so harmonious, so well executed, that it’s hard to believe Giorgetto was only 23 years old when he sketched it.

“It was Bertone, who seems to be making the biggest splash these days, that we found the Show Drool,” was Road & Track’s summary of the Ferrari’s (and Giugiaro’s) impact at the

influential Swiss expo. Giorgetto looks back on the Ferrari fondly, noting: “Formula 1 had this particular double air intake and I was inspired by it. Nobody contested anything, and neither did the customer who bought it from Bertone.”

More headline-grabbing stunners followed.

First was the revolutionary Corvair Testudo seen at Geneva in 1963. Then came the striking one-off Iso Grifo A3/L and Giorgetto’s first competition car, the Grifo A3/C; both debuted at Turin ’63, and would go into limited production over the next 18 months. In 1964 came the Grifo A3/L Spyder that remained a one-off, and the ASA 1000 Spyder that entered production unchanged (both at Geneva).

Several months later the sensational oneoff Alfa Canguro bedazzled Paris, and the intriguing one-off Ford Mustang commissioned

by Automobile Quarterly debuted at New York in 1965. Production cars from this yeasty two-year period included Alfa’s Guilia GT (Turin, 1963), Fiat’s rear-engine 850 Spyder (Geneva, 1965) and Mazda’s Luce 1500 sedan (Tokyo, 1965).

While discussing his Bertone years, Giorgetto noted: “In general the Iso Grifo was for me the most important car that I did during that period, the most exciting project. As is well known, the first prototype (the A3/L Coupé) was even more fascinating and innovative…”

I was surprised by this, thinking he would pick the Testudo, Canguro or even the Ferrari, but upon reflection it made sense. After much development work by Iso and Bertone, the A3/L morphed into the beautiful and more refined Grifo GL that debuted at Frankfurt in 1965.

Once in the hands of journalists, it was hailed as one of the world’s greatest and fastest (160mphplus) cars. So timeless were the lines Giorgetto penned that the Grifo remained in production longer than any other high-end GT of the era, ceasing production in 1974 when Iso succumbed to the oil crisis and worldwide recession.

From late 1950s into the summer of 1965, Giorgetto transformed from a shy, quiet kid raised in the country to an assured chief stylist who, at age 27, had nearly 30 production cars and one-offs under his belt. Then Life interceded, and he walked away from the position that saw him sitting on top of the design world.

“I left Bertone with a lot of regrets, because I didn’t want to,” he told me. “But at the same time, I wanted to be a manager – which is, in fact, what they offered me to move to Ghia… So I left with regret, but I was married and my son Fabrizio was just born. Double the salary was convenient and then becoming management was a good goal. In Ghia, I was hired by Magneto

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PIOTR DEGLAR

Giorgetto Giugiaro

Giorgetto Giugiaro

Gaspardo Moro, who was close friend of a journalist who knew me well.”

Being in direct contact with customers was a duty Giorgetto relished at Ghia: “In Bertone I did not do that. Gaspardo Moro managed the order and the project.” This freed the ace stylist to focus on design – and bring about a spectacular transformation that the outside world would soon notice. “I had to change so that people wouldn’t say I was doing the same things as when I was at Bertone. I made a huge effort to abandon that experience, to make another that characterised me in a different way from what I had done before.”

This brings us back to our mythical time machine, for our second stop on the Giugiaro reinvention journey would have been 1966.

Optimism was in the air everywhere, and the golden era of the sports car and gran turismo was approaching its zenith. World War Two was several decades in the rear-view mirror, economic growth was rampant in Europe, Japan and the US, and showing signs of one’s new-found success was a favourite pastime for many. Coachbuilders and car constructors big and small catered to the economic boom and that desire with eye-catching vehicles. New marques and models were announced on what seemed to be a daily basis, and the preferred stage for such debuts was the world’s foremost auto show, the Salone di Torino.

Which is where we would aim the dial on said time machine, for that show in late October ’66 was where Giorgetto burst onto the global stage, and unknowingly sowed the scene for yet another metamorphosis several years out.

During his five years at Bertone, Giugiaro’s designs gathered headlines and magazine covers, but very few people knew he existed.

Yes, Nuccio Bertone openly spoke about his stylists in a way most coachbuilders did not, but the press still referred to the carrozzeria’s creations as “a Bertone”. And while the great coachbuilder would influence the designs with his discriminating eye and recommendations, Nuccio was not the one putting the proverbial pen to paper, doing the actual creating.

Giorgetto’s anonymity all but vanished at that fateful 1966 Turin show. “Ghia, after a few dull years, drew the biggest crowds,” Pete Coltrin noted in Road & Track’s show coverage.

“They really displayed some heavy artillery.

Two new De Tomaso cars were shown by Ghia on their stand, and a new Maserati… was seen on the Maserati display.”

Specifically, the “heavy artillery” was the Mangusta prototype and Maserati’s brand-new 138

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Ghibli. The former was called “the most imaginative design at the show”, the latter the “aesthetic hit” that “featured a long hood, masterful proportions and subtle blending of surfaces. The influence of ex-Bertone designer Giugiaro was evident in the fresh, clean lines of all the Ghia show cars”.

“That year was extraordinary,” Giorgetto beamed. “The Fiat Vanessa prototype was a mass-production car, the others (Ghibli, Mangusta and De Tomaso Pampero) were sports. It was very easy to draw them all, for I was completely free because the project was paid for by Moro… so I did what I wanted.”

When I asked what was key to reinventing his design language, he replied: “I looked for different shapes, edges, trends. And from this the Ghibli, the Mangusta entered a logic of squarer, sharper shapes.”

On the mid-engine De Tomaso: “I had to put the fixed and non-folding headlights, so this straight nose was born, so distinctive. It is a beautiful exercise in the style of a hedonistic car, aggressive but at the same time very sinuous.”

He then made an amusing observation that played into the production Mangusta’s reputation for twitchy handling: “I liked the aesthetic result as much as it was difficult to drive. Whenever I had the chance to drive it, I turned around on myself. And this also happened to Alejandro de Tomaso.”

When queried about the design inspiration for the Maserati: “The Ghibli is a most important car because it came from cars that were ‘very soft’ in the 1960s. It was… from the 1960s but a design of the 1970s… Where the side is rounded, I wanted to break away, to change the look from Bertone to Ghia. The Canguro and Grifo were more round but the Ghibli is straight, and the sections are sharp, and continuous. There was no shoulder over the rear fenders. This was a big change…”

Was creating two disparate landmark cars at the same time arduous? “It was actually very easy,” Giorgetto replied. “Yes, they were very different but, in a way, this made it easier for me… I was alone in the workshop, doing what I wanted. It was one of the most beautiful moments, being there…”

Those moments didn’t last long, though, for in the first half of 1967 Life threw Giugiaro an unexpected curveball. Ghia had been for sale since the time of his arrival, and with the recent burst of design activity and subsequent headlines, a most unexpected purchaser appeared with cash in hand – upstart sports/ GT constructor Alejandro de Tomaso. Tapping

OPPOSITE The Volkswagen Golf took Giugiaro in a new direction, creating a car for the people to replace the iconic Beetle.

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LEFT The Lotus Esprit was so extreme that it looked like a true show car, but it went on sale in 1976 almost unchanged and will forever be associated with Bond outing The Spy Who Loved Me.

Giorgetto Giugiaro

into the deep pockets of wife Elisabeth Haskell’s family and their Rowan Industries conglomerate, de Tomaso took over the rebounding coachbuilder and in the snap of the fingers, the honeymoon was over.

“De Tomaso told me in no uncertain terms that as soon as he could do without me, he would throw me out on my ear,” Giorgetto recalled in the Italdesign Catalog Raisonne.

“Moreover, he didn’t allow me to do the least bit of outside consulting work.”

In short order the talented, ambitious stylist left Ghia and became a design consultant to the company. In this role he penned Iso’s exoticlooking S4/Fidia sedan that entered production in 1968, the one-off Maserati Simun and spectacular Ghibli Spyder, the Isuzu 117 Coupé that also went into production in ’68, and more.

The year also saw him go through yet another reinvention, this time becoming a business owner when he teamed up with friend Aldo Mantovani (a noted ex-Fiat technician specialising in car-body development) and three others to form Italdesign. Two years after Giorgetto’s big splash at 1966’s Turin Motor Show, he and Italdesign staged a repeat performance with the Bizzarrini Manta.

One of the most startling show cars of the 1960s, the Manta was built on a mid-engine Bizzarrini P538 chassis that raced at Le Mans in 1966, and was a one-box design featuring a single fluid line that ran from the car’s nose to its tail. “Once again,” Motor Trend noted on the Manta, “Giugiaro, Turin’s 28-year-old boy genius, showed new ways in car design.” The Manta appeared on the cover of Road & Track’s March 1969 issue, Pete Coltrin observing: “On anyone’s list of the ten most exciting GT cars, Giugiaro probably styled six or seven.”

At Italdesign the mid-engine hits kept coming: the Alfa Tipo 33 Iguana (Turin, 1969), VW-Porsche Tapiro (Turin, 1970), Maserati’s Bora (Geneva, 1971: it went into production in 1972) and Boomerang (Geneva, 1972), and the Lotus Esprit (Turin, 1972). The last creation was so extreme that it looked like a true show car but went on sale in 1976, and also starred in the Bond flick The Spy Who Loved Me. That Lotus, the Tapiro, Boomerang and others such as the one-off Alfa Caimano clearly illustrate how Giorgetto was at the forefront of the wedge/folded-paper automotive design movement. He would also apply the motif to the striking front-engine Maserati Coupé 2+2 that appeared in the automotive dark days of 1974 but unfortunately remained a one-off.

Witnessing the creation of one of those cars would not be our next historical destination.

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that many can lust after but only few can purchase, another altogether to create a car for mass production – let alone one to replace an icon that sold in the millions.

This returns us to 1966, and Turin. “I immediately received compliments and crazy visibility,” Giorgetto recalled of the show’s aftermath. “It was the first time I received attention from the foreign media, and it was a great moment of exaltation.” The press weren’t the only attentive ones: “Later I was contacted

by VW… because, at that show, their managers noticed six cars – and I had designed four.”

Flash forward to 1970, and the VW Beetle.

It had been in production for almost three decades, with more than 12 million sold. Still, management knew a good thing couldn’t last forever, especially when Fiat introduced the 128 in March 1969. The ‘People’s Car’ had roots stretching back to before World War Two, and a replacement was needed. Alternatives were tried in-house, with nothing proving satisfactory.

Which is how Giorgetto found himself at Wolfsburg, in front of a sceptical crowd. Yes, his body of work was tantalising, and most of the VW executives and engineers across the table were convinced the man from Italdesign could make something ‘pretty’ for the sports car set.

But to create a car that could indeed succeed the Beetle? Well, that was another matter altogether.

One can thus imagine the shock the Germans got while reviewing their analysis of the 128 with Giugiaro. That is when the technique Giorgetto learned at Fiat to thoroughly analyse data before commencing work came to the fore. In the midst of their presentation he pointed out they had the wrong dimensions on the 128, and after some tense give-and-take and rechecking of figures, the hotshot Italian designer was proven right. A series of precise questions about manufacturing followed, and Giorgetto smoothly answered them all.

That virtuoso performance landed him the job – and a very tight timeline to perform. But this worked to his advantage as there would be very little meddling with the design – which led to another metamorphosis. As former Le Mans winner Paul Frère noted in his coverage of the Golf/Rabbit’s introduction in 1974: “The body

‘The car was a dream that I didn’t think could be an interest in the future of my life’

is a Giugiaro design… and is exceptionally compact… This is really an outstanding little car… it seats four with ample leg- and headroom by small-car standards and will even seat five at a pinch…” And just like that, the man who had designed many of the world’s most delectable sports and GT cars was becoming recognised as a master of innovative space utilisation.

Two years later he would take intelligent packaging to new extremes. Around the time VW’s landmark car broke cover, the curator of the New York Museum of Modern Art’s design department reached out to VW and other automotive manufacturers to design and construct concept vehicles to address the growing problem of urban transportation. And so was born MoMA’s The Taxi Project: Realistic Solutions for Today exhibit.

In the summer of 1976, five prototype Paratransit Vehicles were shown, defined as “urban vehicles, vans and taxis which are used to provide various urban transportation services”.

The catalogue also pointed out “most paratransit vehicles were not designed nor optimised for the services in which they are used” – a challenge Giorgetto couldn’t resist tackling.

Italdesign’s proposal used an Alfa Romeo F12 van platform, and of the five vehicles on display, it was the most radical. Indeed, with time as our guide, one can see Giugiaro’s New York Taxi was, in essence, a modern minivan several years before the appearance of Renault’s Espace and Chrysler’s Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager. And while the ‘taxi’ remained a one-off, ideas found in it were seen in production cars such as Fiat’s Panda (1980) and Uno (1983), and Italdesign’s Megagamma (1978) and Capsula (1982) show cars.

Space utilisation now became Giorgetto’s calling card, but sleek one-offs and production sports and GT cars continued to dot his resume. This included 1978’s BMW M1, the Isuzu Piazza/Impulse (Geneva, 1981), Lotus Etna (Birmingham, 1984), the Ford-powered Maya (Turin, 1984) and Maya II ES requested

by Ford’s Special Vehicle Operations, and the whimsical Machimoto (Turin, 1986) that was a cross between a motorcycle and a barchetta.

And there were non-automotive products such as Nikon cameras, Seiko watches, Marille pasta, Beretta handguns, water bottles for Fonti San Bernardo, and more.

By the early 1990s Giorgetto’s effervescent son Fabrizio was working alongside him. Reflecting on growing up inside the firm, Fabrizio told me years ago: “I remember well the Megagamma, the evolution of that prototype and how it was made. This was in 1978.” While the two spent time together in the Italdesign works, theirs was

not a traditional ‘father-son’ relationship: “I never really had ‘dad’,” Fabrizio said. “I saw him sometimes late in the evening, on the weekends and so on. But my father has always been so busy that I spent much of my life with my mother…

He was someone who had to do cars, so I never really knew him until after 1990. When I started working with him every day, I understood.”

As they bonded, they made some beautiful and innovative machinery. One of their first efforts was the Nazca M2 (1991), and the lighter and sleeker Nazca C2 and C2 Spider. These lovely, BMW V12-powered mid-engine models were among the first road cars to extensively use carbonfibre, and Fabrizio looks back on the project as a transformation point for him.

“When I worked with my engineers,” he recounted, “they’d known me since I was a child.

This made the relationship really automatic.

But when I found the engineers of BMW… I was alone, there was a table, and there were ten engineers, asking me what I needed… That was the first time I had contact with someone other than my company. With this meeting… I grew up very much. It was a big difference.”

As the two came to truly understand and appreciate each other, Giorgetto realised his son had “good sensibility, especially for the mechanics”, Fabrizio continued. “In fact, my father still calls me when there is some problem.

He says: ‘I am not a mechanic!’ I like that he always calls me ‘a mechanic’.”

The ‘Car Designer of the Century’ and ‘the mechanic’ now make a formidable tag team.

“What I do more is use the passion for racing cars, of aerodynamics, technicals,” Fabrizio said. “But in my father’s tradition of ‘seeing’ shapes, he really sees the form in the beginning and understands immediately if it works or not.

It’ll die if he doesn’t think it is the right idea.”

Fabrizio added another element that sets Giorgetto apart: “He is very good in taste, very good in techniques, so he is very good in method. He is really very complete.”

Over the past three decades the two have created a wide-ranging portfolio. My favourites include those Nazcas, the Lucciola/Chevrolet/ Daewoo Matiz (1993/1998: a marvellous masterclass in attractive design and packaging), Alfa Scighera (1997: a mid-engine one-off that saw the two have a major disagreement over proportions but, in the end, they chose those seen in the 1960s, rather than the 1990s), Maserati’s 3200GT (1998: the return of the Maserati berlinetta, and with cool boomerang taillights), the one-off Corvette Moray (2003), and Lamborghini’s Gallardo (2004). And there were some intriguing concepts such as the Bugatti EB112 sedan and Tank proposal that 144

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ABOVE Now 84, Giorgetto works alongside his son Fabrizio. His venerable career has seen his designs appear on more than 60 million cars worldwide.

never saw the light of day; the VW W12 concepts (1997-2002); Maserati’s Buran (2000) that foretold the current luxury/performance SUV craze; and a one-off Ford Mustang (2006, a beguiling machine that somewhat predicted 2009’s facelifted S197 Mustang, all while referencing the Bertone Mustang of 1965).

In 2015 VW purchased Italdesign, but the Giugiaro design legacy did not end there. “We are not made to manage a styling centre like VW because you end up managing people, not the style,” Fabrizio recently told me of the sale, and the formation of their current company, GFG Style. “We are about 50 employees, so it is not far from what we had in the design studios…

“We are real designers. We like to work on

‘He is very good in taste, in techniques, so he is very good in method. He is very complete’

our sketches, our models, and work directly with the customer. With some, like Bizzarrini, it is very personal and passionate.”

Giorgetto is now 84, and he and Fabrizio continue to gleefully create together. So how does one sum up a career that has spanned seven decades, with a body of work that has appeared on 60 million-plus cars worldwide?

“My luck was that I entered this world last among the coachbuilders of the 1960s,” Giorgetto recently said. “That period gave me the push and notoriety that allowed me to be called for production cars all over the world…

“There are many anecdotes and moments of gratification. Being the first among Italian designers going to Japan, where they see you as someone who has done something, and you don’t believe it. Then you realise you have done something of interest. And then Korea, with Hyundai, who until then didn’t build cars. I had the chance to participate in the birth of a new industry that is now among the first in the world.

This is a great satisfaction and maybe that is the reason I was awarded Designer of the Century.”

With thanks to: Alfa Romeo owner Bill Earlam; Stuart Taylor of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club UK 105/115 Giulia Register (www.aroc-uk.com); Iso Grifo owner Barry Twitchell; Chris Lackner; Lotus Esprit owner Scott Walker; Rob Borrett at Lotus; Nicki Divey and all at Volkswagen UK; plus all the others who helped along the way.

PIOTR DEGLAR

Giorgetto Giugiaro

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Giorgetto Giugiaro’s top 50 car designs

Words Richard Heseltine

From Fiat to Bertone, Ghia, Italdesign and now GFG Style – via stunning sports cars, delectable GTs and exemplars of space utilisation – Il Maestro remains the most influential automotive designer ever. Here’s why...

Top 50 Giorgetto Giugiaro car designs

Italdesign Marco Polo THIS intriguing curio wore Lamborghini badges when unveiled at the 1982 Bologna Motor Show. Nevertheless, it wasn’t instigated at Sant’Agata.

Instead, if the press release from the period is to be believed, it represented Italdesign’s ‘homage’ to the supercar survivor. The

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same PR material also talked up a storm about it having a dragcoefficient of just 0.24Cd. Yet it has also been suggested that the gullwing-doored mock-up was rooted in a prior DMC project; one that was stillborn following the collapse of John DeLorean’s eponymous marque. It seemed a shame to waste the work, so the design was simply rebranded.

Oldsmobile Thor

Innocenti 186 GT ONE of the more intriguing curios of the post-war Italian motor industry, the 186 GT represented Fernando Innocenti’s desire to create a range-topping GT; something more aspirational than the local-market, BMCderived products that bore his surname. He collaborated with

Abarth 1600GT SADLY destined to remain a one-off, the 1600GT was displayed on the Abarth stand at the 1969 Turin Motor Show.

It was based on a Fiat 850 platform, but powered by a rearsited 1592cc twin-cam fourcylinder unit fed by two twinchoke Weber 45DCOE9 carbs. It

Alfa Romeo Caimano WHILE the Giugiaro-styled Alfasud took centre stage at the November 1971 Turin Motor Show, the great man couldn’t resist creating a concept car based on the foundations of the newcomer. The Caimano employed a shortened Alfasud platform and 1286cc flat-four

SOMETHING of an anomaly here, the Thor was essentially an adaptation of an existing production car rather than an original design per se. It’s widely held to have been built by Carrozzeria Ghia at the behest of GM’s styling czar Bill Mitchell, but this is debatable. The Thor

used a standard-wheelbase Oldsmobile Toronado platform and was styled by Ghia’s recently installed wunderkind. Giugiaro shortened the overhangs, lowered the beltline, moved the bulkhead forward and dropped the bonnet line. The screen rake was also adjusted. The result was 100mm (3.9in) lower than standard, but it remained a four-seater.

engine, its signature feature being a domed canopy that also incorporated the doors. Helpfully, two smaller windows were sunk into the lower section, allowing for ventilation and, we’re told,

paying tolls (assuming the tollbooths were sited low down).

The B- and C-pillars, meanwhile, formed a trapezoidal rollover bar that also incorporated a cockpit-adjustable spoiler.

Ferrari on the creation of a 1.8-litre V6 to power this brave new world, with Bertone – and by extension, Giugiaro – tasked with creating a coupé outline.

The result was a handsome GT that sadly didn’t make the leap to production. Only two 186 GTs were made, although some cues later filtered down into the fixed-head Fiat Dino.

produced an alleged 145bhp at 7200rpm. Nevertheless, despite the engine’s competition origins the 1600GT was promoted as being a practical 2+2 sports car, and one that bore many of Giugiaro’s hallmark styling flourishes – not least an upswept window line. It weighed 674kg (1486lb) and was purportedly capable of 150mph outright.

BELOW Bonkers Caimano was based on the sadly maligned Alfasud.

THE cubist Simca 1000 was shaped by the brilliant Count Mario Revelli de Beaumont, a designer and inventor largely overlooked by history. However, Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile turned to Bertone to create a coupé variant having previously

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considered teaming up with Facel. Nuccio Bertone handed the gig to the newly installed Giugiaro, who produced a chic, perfectly proportioned outline.

It’s widely held that the Simca riffed on themes established by Felice Boano’s Fiat 850 coupé.

However, Giugiaro’s offering was first seen in 1962, three years before its Turin rival.

Mazda RX-87

BELOW Elegant Mazda RX-87 made its debut at the 1967 Tokyo Auto Salon.

Fiat 850 Spider LAUNCHED concurrently with the 850 Coupé in 1965, the Spider was shaped by Giugiaro during his tenure at Bertone. It borrowed styling cues from his prior Testudo concept car, albeit transposed onto a much smaller canvas. The 1968-on series 2 variant did away with the

MAZDA commissioned Bertone to shape the Luce saloon (badged as the 1800 in the UK), and Giugiaro’s crisply styled offering entered production in 1966. He followed through with the RX-87 concept, which emerged at the following year’s Tokyo Auto Salon. However, he’d departed

recessed headlights, and was not the work of Il Maestro. Similarly, the fixed-head Bertone Racer edition was also created after Giugiaro had departed for Carrozzeria Ghia. While not one of his better-known creations, the 850 Spider sold in large numbers (around 140,000 were made). It also outlived its Coupé and saloon siblings.

Porsche Tapiro WELL liked in period, the Tapiro was a wedge-shaped reworking of the Porsche 914/6.

Unveiled at the 1970 Turin Motor Show, this gullwingdoored flight of fantasy attracted plenty of column inches (it was a cover car on Road & Track among others). Once its show

Italdesign Project Capsula THIS odd-looking machine wasn’t lacking in originality.

Giugiaro and his team took their cue from bus design in creating a car with a rolling ‘double-floored’ chassis that incorporated everything from the engine to the spare wheel. It was, according to Italdesign “completely equipped

for Ghia by the time it was unveiled. The car’s pillarless outline was elegant and largely unadorned, and it was then adopted for production with only minor tweaks. The Luce Rotary Coupé (aka R130) had a slightly more conventional grille, and did away with the quarterlights. However, only 976 were made from 1969 to 1972.

career was over, the model was acquired by a Spanish industrialist, who used it as his daily transport. The car was destroyed by fire shortly thereafter. Depending on whose version of history you believe, this was either the result of an accident, or a bomb was planted under the car by activists during a labour dispute.

and self-sufficient”. To this, any kind of body could be attached: hatchback, pick-up, ambulance, taxi, fire engine... What’s more, its maker claimed that despite being just 3720mm long in berline form, it boasted more space than a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. An interesting hypothesis, which is now largely forgotten.

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ALAMY

Simca 1000 Coupé

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GIUGIARO tried to tempt BMW into sponsoring a new breed of supercar in the early 1990s, the Nazca C2 boasting a 5.0-litre 300bhp V12 from the 850i sited amidships. Unusually, this carbon-composite-bodied model had conventional doors but with gullwing glass roof panels. The

bonnet and rear deck, meanwhile, were moulded in one piece. It was aerodynamic, too, boasting a drag coefficient of just 0.26Cd. It was unveiled at the 1992 Tokyo Motor Show, and an open-top Spider was created a year later. Several prototypes were made for what could have been the BMW M12, but sadly the suits in Bavaria got cold feet.

Italdesign Scighera AFTER BMW nixed the Nazca C2, Giugiaro decided another maker might be more agreeable.

The result was the Scighera (‘Shig-eera’). Based in part on the Nazca, beneath the car’s carbonfibre skin sat a midmounted 3.0-litre Alfa Romeo V6 along with two turbos plus

Ferrari 250GT Bertone Speciale SHARING styling themes previously explored on the Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet, this striking one-off followed a prior Bertone Ferrari that was built in 1960. Here, a 250GT SWB was clothed in a new body that bore not even trace elements of the

Lotus Etna IT promised much, but sadly fell short. The Etna was a magazine cover star the world over following its unveiling at the 1984 British International Motor Show. It was to have been a rival to supercars from Maranello and Sant’Agata, with Lotus’s regular collaborator and foil Giugiaro

a supplementary supercharger.

Transmitting power to the largely Lancia-derived four-wheel-drive set-up was a six-speed ’box.

PR bumf talked of the Scighera – so named after the ‘fog that shrouds the truth’ – possibly entering limited production.

Giugiaro unveiled the car at the 1997 Geneva Motor Show, but Alfa insiders weren’t receptive.

donor car’s Pinin Farina-shaped origins. The model was built for Nuccio Bertone and first seen at the 1962 Geneva Motor Show.

Giugiaro conjured a much rounder outline, with the two ‘nostril’ intakes that dominated the pointed snout being a nod to the ‘Sharknose’ Ferrari 156 aboard which Phil Hill claimed the 1961 Formula 1 drivers’ title.

GOODING & COMPANY

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Italdesign Nazca C2

penning the outline that was said to boast a drag coefficient of 0.29Cd. It also would have had computer-controlled active ride, traction control, ABS braking and active noise cancelling. Sadly, Lotus’s precarious financial status resulted in delays. GM then acquired a 91 percent stake and decided that attention should be focused elsewhere.

BMW 3200 CS IT’S hard to reconcile the fact that Giorgetto Giugiaro was a mere 22 years old when the 3200 CS emerged at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1961. This V8engined coupé (a lone convertible was also made) marked the end of the road for the traditional coachbuilt approach, but it employed styling features that would filter down to more mainstream offerings. For starters, there was the distinctive, angled ‘Hofmeister kink’ at the rear of the C-pillars (so named after BMW’s then-design director, Wilhelm Hofmeister). The use of circular taillights also became a theme, being employed on the manufacturer’s ’02 series cars from 1966 to 1973.

Isuzu 117 Coupé UNVEILED in prototype form at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, and exhibited at home at that same year’s Tokyo expo, the Giugiaro-penned 117 Coupé entered production in 1968.

It was initially intended to act as a halo product, much like the Nissan Silvia and Toyota

2000GT, and around 50 were made a month, each requiring a large amount of hand-finishing.

The move to mass production occurred with a facelift in 1973, after which the 117 Coupé remained on sale until 1991, when it was superseded by the Giugiaro-shaped Piazza. This was inspired by his prior Asso di Fiori (Ace of Clubs) concept.

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Volkswagen W12 Syncro ONE of the more intriguing ‘what might have been’ stories, the W12 outwardly appeared to be an unlikely car for Volkswagen to consider manufacturing. Nevertheless, it was a serious project rather than mere concept-car flotsam.

Predictably, it was the company’s self-directed CEO Ferdinand Piëch who instigated the project, his directive to Giugiaro and team being to create a supercar that could accommodate a W12 engine amidships and VW’s Syncro all-wheel-drive system. The resultant W12 broke cover in 1997, with the open Roadster variant following in its wake.

The Nardò edition, meanwhile, recorded a verified top speed of 200.6mph.

Subaru SVX GIUGIARO’S relationship with Japanese brands stretches back to the early 1960s, but the SVX (Alcyone SVX at home) was perhaps the most unlikely to make it into series production.

The ‘Subaru Vehicle X’ was first seen in concept form at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show, and went on

sale two years later with much of its styling creativity still intact. Unfortunately, despite this straight-six-powered coupé boasting a class-leading ride and silky-smooth power, it emerged just as the Japanese economy tanked. All told, just 24,379 were made to 1996, and mooted fourdoor and estate versions never made the leap to production.

Hyundai Pony THE Pony was in no way sexy.

It didn’t make a statement stylistically, but it was hugely important in that it represented the jumping-off point for Hyundai as a standalone brand.

It followed on from a prior Giugiaro concept car displayed at the 1974 Turin Motor Show,

Audi 80 THE original 80 (Fox in the US) had been a great success, and Italdesign was handed the responsibility for creating its successor. Based on the B2 platform (aka Typ 81), this car emerged in 1978 and would remain on sale to 1986. Giugiaro’s outline was typically restrained

with the Pony arriving in December 1975 as a competitor for the Kia Brisa and Saehan Gemini. Giugiaro’s studio would go on to shape future Hyundai models including the Stellar, Sonata and Excel, none of which set pulses racing. They did, however, provide further building blocks to global success for the emergent marque.

and free of extraneous styling tinsel. The model also helped reposition the brand upmarket, the 80 being pitched against the BMW 3-series at home and elsewhere as a car for thrusting young execs. More than 1.5 million would be made, including the larger-displacement 90, although the 1984-on facelift was executed internally.

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Audi Asso di Picche KARMANN and Giugiaro began collaborating in 1969 on what, after endless revisions, became the VW Scirocco. They also created a would-be sports car with an air-cooled flat-four, but the Cheetah remained unique.

The Asso di Picche, by contrast, was pitched at sister brand Audi, the hope being that the design would form the basis for an aspirational coupé with Karmann acting as a bodybuilding subcontractor. Audi was receptive after the prototype was shown at the 1973 Frankfurt

Italdesign Aztec THE loony Aztec emerged at the 1988 Turin Motor Show alongside the fixed-head Aspid coupé and the 6+2 Asgard people carrier, all sharing the same platform and running gear. Only the Aztec was a runner. Powered by a fivecylinder Audi 200 Turbo engine, it represented Giugiaro’s take on how the sports car should evolve.

Reasoning that hot hatches and performance saloons were now holding sway over the traditional two-seater roadster, he sought to reinterpret the genre for future generations. In many

ABOVE First pitched at Audi, Asso di Picche formed part of a series of card-suit concepts.

ASTON Martin is touted as being a profoundly British brand. What tends to be underplayed is the contribution made by Italian artistes during its storied history.

However, unlike Touring and Zagato cars, the Jet was always destined to remain a one-off.

It used the final shortwheelbase DB4 GT platform that left Newport Pagnell in late 1960. Giugiaro, who was then all of 22 years old, rustled up a new outline in double-quick time, the carrozzeria’s artisans forming the new body inside three months

series. The Asso di Quadri (Ace of Diamonds) used a BMW 320 and was shown at Turin in 1976.

The Asso di Fiori (Ace of Clubs) morphed into the Isuzu Piazza.

The Asso di Cuori (Ace of Hearts) failed for unknown reasons.

Alfa Romeo Iguana

the Iguana nomenclature being coined to denote the rear side air intakes: according to Giugiaro, they evoked the scales found on herbivorous lizards...

First seen at the 1969 Turin show, the body was partially glassfibre with metalflake grey paint. However, the skeletal roof plus the A- and B-pillars were brushed metal (a finish later seen on the Giugiaro-penned DMC DeLorean). The Iguana was initially powered by a SPICA fuel-injected 2.0-litre V8 and six-speed Colotti gearbox. This was later replaced with a 2.5 unit from an Alfa Romeo Montreal.

ways, he did just that and more, the Aztec appearing to have driven off the Blade Runner set.

Nevertheless, the story would have ended there had it not been for the Japanese Compact concern. It was so taken with the design that it acquired the production rights and revealed bold plans to sell a run of more than 200 replicas at $300,000 apiece. Savio was contracted to act as subcontractor, with German tuner MTM building engines. However, it would appear that fewer than 20 were made to 1991, by which time the price had ballooned to $500,000.

BELOW Exotic Iguana foretold models such as Bora and Tapiro.

Bertone Aston Martin DB4 Jet

Motor Show. There was talk at board level of using the 80 as a basis. However, VW nixed it out of fear that it would takes sales away from the new Scirocco.

As an aside, the Asso di Picche (Ace of Spades) was part of a

THE Alfa Tipo 33 served as a basis for several show-stoppers, with Giugiaro’s Iguana being perhaps the least outré. Still, unlike those created by rival styling houses, the Italdesign offering served more as a car than a piece of sculpture.

Nevertheless, it was undeniably exotic – the nose in particular foretelling future Giugiaro renderings such as the Maserati Bora and Porsche Tapiro.

The rising window line was also suggestive of many other cars penned by the great man,

ahead of the March 1961 Geneva show. Intriguingly, the Jet was the only Aston ever bodied in steel, save for a 2/4 model reclothed by the Spanish coachbuilder Serra (by which time it was already several years old).

The car’s arrival marked something of a passing of the guard as Bertone transitioned further away from coachbuilding and into being a design house and series manufacturer. As an aside, decades elapsed before Giugiaro’s name was next linked to an Aston concept – Italdesign conjuring the 2001 DB7 Vantage-based Twenty Twenty.

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AMONG the less fondly recalled Italdesign concepts, the Medici super-saloons were nevertheless among the more influential. The initial prototype, seen at the 1974 Turin show, expanded on themes established on the Audi Asso Di Picche show car. In particular, the trapezoidal C-pillar was echoed in a number of future Italdesign-penned production cars, not least Lancia’s firstgeneration Delta. Unusually, it was a six-seater, with two rear benches facing each other.

The second car debuted two

Bertone/Automobile Quarterly Ford Mustang THIS handsome reworking of Ford’s ‘Pony Car’ was dreamed up by L Scott Bailey. The multifaceted American founded Automobile Quarterly in 1962, and conceived a magazine project car following a visit to the 1964 Paris show where he met Giugiaro and his boss Nuccio Bertone.

The trio mapped out the ItaloAmerican GT ideal and, after one more meeting in Turin, a ’Stang fastback was dispatched and stripped. Giugiaro produced an exotic outline that employed

years later at the Paris expo, and took cues from another proposal for Maserati, a 2+2 coupé pitched as an Indy replacement. However, it was substantially bigger. It did away with its forebear’s odd seating arrangement, but did boast a TV, radio phone, fridge…

It was similarly not picked up for volume manufacture, the prototype being sold to the Shah of Persia in 1977.

Nevertheless, the Medici II provided inspiration for the third-series Quattroporte/ Royale, with the front-end treatment being repeated on several other prototypes.

an expansive glasshouse and spindly pillars. In fact, the only body parts carried over were the grille mascot and filler cap.

Inside was retrimmed in tobacco vinyl. Mechanically, however, the car was standard, although the radiator was canted slightly due to the lower bonnet line.

The paint was a striking metallic turquoise, finished off by a set of Giugiaro-designed, Campagnolo-made, magnesiumalloy wheels shod in Pirelli rubber. The car was unveiled at the 1965 New York International Auto Show, but its current whereabouts remain a mystery.

BELOW Only the grille mascot and filler cap remained on ’Stang reworking.

Maserati Bora

remains – a better car in so many ways, not least because it was designed to be fast but also civilised. It’s a supercar that is also a GT, if that makes sense.

Having shaped the Ghibli as a Ghia employee (captive…) under Alejandro de Tomaso, Giugiaro penned the Bora as an independent. If the factory’s stats are to be believed, it had a drag coefficient of just 0.30Cd, while certain details such as

THERE is a certain injustice in the fact that the Bora is somehow considered one of the ‘lesser’ supercars; that it forever lives in the shadow of contemporaries such as the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari 365GT4 BB. The thing is, it was – and

the brushed stainless-steel roof and A-pillars are redolent of those on Giorgetto’s Alfa Romeo Iguana show car.

Launched at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, the Bora was arguably the first truly grown-up supercar. For starters, you didn’t need to contort yourself into a neck-cricking angle to see out of it. Giugiaro later borrowed aspects of the design for its Merak sibling, too.

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HOW and why John Z DeLorean set up on his own has been recounted ad infinitum, as have the reasons behind his downfall. The initial prototype that bore his surname appeared in October 1976. It was fashioned by fellow Pontiac alumnus William Collins.

The production car, by contrast, was shaped by Giugiaro. Even now, the DMC DeLorean hasn’t lost the power to enthral. The outline is neatly proportioned, the gullwing doors serving to add a sense of the theatrical. Giugiaro, who freely admits that he did his best to talk his paymaster into going with a more conventional set-up, has acknowledged that they lend the model an air of the exotic (he called John DeLorean ‘Mr Hollywood’).

What’s more, the end result looked remarkably like his original renderings, the front end echoing that of the Maserati Medici II concept saloon. Nor could you describe the car as being of the ‘origami’ school.

Not really. There are curves here – it’s just that they’re of the subtle variety. Sadly, the raft of sister models never made the leap to reality.

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BMW M1 UNLIKE rival studios, Italdesign eschewed manufacturing cars.

The sole exception was the BMW M1. The Bavarian supercar was shaped by Giugiaro, and followed – if only in spirit – the brace of 1972 Turbo concepts styled by Paul Bracq.

The M1 was displayed at the 1978 Paris show to a euphoric reaction. This heightened the unease of the project leaders; subcontractor Lamborghini had blown on the Cheetah military vehicle project the money it had received from the Italian

Government in its bid to land the BMW gig. It was bankrupt.

Into the breach stepped Giugiaro. He enlisted Trasformazione Italiana Resina to mould the glassfibre body, with Modena’s Marchetti making the chassis. Bodyshells were then bonded to their frames at Italdesign in Turin, before being transported to Baur in Stuttgart for drivetrain installation. This tortuous route ended at Munich for what turned out to be a fair amount of rectification work to meet BMW’s quality-control standards. Giugiaro had saved the day... but once was enough.

Italdesign Lucciola IF there’s a common theme in the Italdesign narrative, it’s that nothing goes to waste. The cute Lucciola concept car grew out of the ID Cinquecento that was shown in static model form at the 1992 Turin Motor Show.

As the name suggests, it was a proposal for a modern small Fiat – and one that miraculously managed to appear retro but without looking in the least bit contrived. The Lucciola was presented at the following year’s Bologna expo and, unusually for the period, it incorporated

Alfa Romeo Brera Concept A TSUNAMI of purple gush followed the unveiling of the Brera Concept at Geneva in 2002. It was a masterpiece: a 4.0-litre V8-engined GT that simply had to enter production if the world’s motoring media was to be believed. And there was no reason not to. What’s more, it was entirely the work of 60-something Giugiaro rather than his studio staff.

Unlike the overtly retro Alfa 8C, nothing about this bold coupé hinted at the past. Instead, it was beautifully proportioned

Bizzarrini Manta THE first car styled by Giugiaro as an independent designer, the Manta acted as a calling card for the Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi (soon rebranded Italdesign) concern he formed with Aldo Mantovani. Based on a Bizzarrini P538 sports-racer chassis, and powered by a midmounted small-block Chevrolet V8, it emerged amid much hoopla at the 1968 Turin show.

Finished in an eye-watering shade of turquoise, this cabforward device boasted an equally out-there cabin. As

with the Ferrari 365P Berlinetta Speciale that proceeded it, the Manta was a three-seater; the driver sat in the middle, flanked by two passengers.

The car subsequently went on a world tour, trotting the automotive red carpet, and had undergone a change of hue in time for its appearance at the following year’s 1969 Los Angeles Auto Expo. The Manta was subsequently resprayed again, this time in a rather more sober metallic silver, before being sold on. It has since been restored to the same spec as when it was first seen in 1968.

a hybrid propulsion system; a two-cylinder diesel engine plus a pair of electric motors positioned on the rear wheels.

This arrangement apparently meant it was good for 100km/h outright, with a range of eight hours with the hybrid system or 40km using electric drive only.

Not only that, its environmental credentials were heightened by the (alleged) use of recycled materials. Fiat rejected the Lucciola, but the exterior design did subsequently form the basis for the M100-series Daewoo Matiz, which became a huge success for the Korean brand.

and aggressive with it – even if the doors that turned outwards before pivoting vertically and the glass roof were perhaps a little over the top.

Following the car’s showing at that year’s Paris expo, Alfa announced plans to produce it as a four-wheel-drive, €80,000 rival for the Porsche 911. It was to arrive in showrooms in late 2004. That didn’t happen.

Instead, the design was transposed onto a smaller canvas, the Brera production car arriving in 2005 and employing a GM/Fiat Premium platform. Oh, and it was built by Pininfarina.

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Alfa Romeo New York Taxi IN 1976, Giugiaro, along with other designers, was invited to create a new breed of ‘individual urban transportation’ for the Big Apple to a brief provided by the New York Museum of Modern Art. The basis for the Italdesign offering was running gear robbed from the frontwheel-drive Alfa Romeo F12, which stretched to the 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.

The car featured a flat floor, complete with a retractable ramp, plus wheelchair-storage space beneath the seats and

Lamborghini Miura WHEN the Miura broke cover in bare-chassis form at the 1965 Turin Motor Show, few took it seriously. When unveiled with coachwork in place at the following year’s Geneva Motor Show, it was a different story.

Since then, debate has raged over who, precisely, styled the performance icon for which the term ‘supercar’ was coined.

Giugiaro left Bertone for Ghia in 1965, his replacement Marcello Gandini basking in the reflective glow of positive press once the Miura was revealed to

WHILE its running gear didn’t push technological boundaries, the Ghibli’s silhouette was among the finest of its era. The use of a dry-sump set-up had the extra benefit of allowing Giugiaro to create an outline with a dramatically low bonnet line. The 20-something shaped the car during his brief spell at Ghia. It was a landmark design for a firm that, during its early post-war years at least, hadn’t always erred on the side of good taste.

Remarkably, Maserati

envisaged selling just 100 Ghiblis, having seriously underestimated demand. The most costly car in the marque line-up was also the most popular, and sales of 400 units were soon targeted instead.

The delicious Ghibli Spider – or Tipo AM115/S – emerged at the 1968 Turin show and, save for extra bracing to the sills and around the trans tunnel, it was otherwise alike beneath the skin. When production ended in 1973, 1149 fixed-lid Ghiblis had been made. By comparison, Lamborghini built 765 Miuras, and Ferrari 1005 Daytonas.

sliding doors on both sides. Five could sit within its 4000mm (158in) wheelbase, the one-box concept stretching to a glass roof panel for a panoramic view of the New York skyline.

The car was displayed in the museum’s The Taxi Project, and was exhibited alongside US-made prototypes plus proposals from Volvo and Volkswagen. Each occupied 30 percent less space than a regular Checker taxi, but none was adopted. Nevertheless, the Italdesign concept did inspire Giugiaro’s subsequent Lancia Megagamma proto-SUV.

a gobsmacked media. Except legend has it that Giugiaro had already mapped out the outline prior to his departure, the design being based in part on a stillborn Bizzarrini project.

According to some sources, Marcello merely filled in the gaps. This is something Gandini has robustly denied – and given his own body of work, it isn’t inconceivable that he did style the Miura. The truth probably lies somewhere in-between. As Giugiaro has been want to say, the important thing isn’t so much who designed it as the fact that it exists at all.

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BELOW Ghibli turned out to be a surprising bestseller for Maserati.

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ANOTHER of Italdesign’s wondrous ‘what might have been’ stories, this striking junior supercar made it closer than most to entering production.

Lamborghini was bumping along the bottom by the time it was acquired by the Indonesian firm Megatech (né V’Power Corp) in 1994. Three new models were mapped out: a much-needed Diablo replacement, an SUV (the Zagato-designed LM003) and a ‘base’ model, codenamed L147.

The latter was the only one to be seen publicly, the Calà being

shown at the 1995 Geneva expo.

The carbonfibre-bodied, V10engined concept was a runner, too. However, the production version could, conceivably, have used a supercharged, intercooled variant of the existing Lotus V8 instead. Negotiations were well underway between Sant’Agata and Hethel, but they came to naught at the last gasp. A key Lamborghini stakeholder failed to provide promised funding.

The Calà went no further, and the next ‘small’ Lamborghini was the Gallardo. This arrived in 2003, by which time the marque was under Audi control.

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De Tomaso Mangusta

BELOW Mangusta is kinetic art – and not the white-knuckle ride you might expect.

Gordon-Keeble GK1 THIS Anglo-American GT was not a commercial success, but it cast a long shadow – not least on Giugiaro, who wasn’t far into his design odyssey when it was shaped. The Gordon GT (as it was originally dubbed) broke cover at the 1960 Geneva Motor Show, although it took an age to reach production.

What’s more, the outline made the leap from rendering to finished article largely intact, and represented a masterwork in terms of balance and proportion. It undoubtedly

ITS reputation proceeds it. The Mangusta tends to be thought of as being a white-knuckle scare ride, but history has been unkind.

It’s nowhere near as lairy as you might imagine unless pushed hard on a circuit. What most people can agree on is that it represents kinetic art. Few supercars can match it for beauty. Giugiaro shaped the car for the never-knowingly notcontrary Alejandro de Tomaso, and it entered production in 1967.

Low, brooding and remarkably unadorned given its market

segment, its signature feature was its centre-hinged rear end, which allowed access to the Ford V8 sited in the middle/rear and the luggage compartment.

It was a stylistic flourish that Giugiaro would repeat on the Porsche Tapiro concept queen.

Depending on your aesthetic bent, the early cars were the loveliest; later Mangustas had two pop-up headlights in place of the previous quad fixed units.

There was a Spider variant, but it remained unique. As a caveat to the story, rumour has it that the Mangusta outline was mapped out for a would-be Iso…

more aspirational image for his road cars. He and future Lotus MD Mike Kimberley had been impressed by the Maserati Boomerang and Porsche Tapiro, even going so far as to drive the latter during a 1971 visit to Italy.

The upshot was that a lengthened Europa chassis, plus a dummy engine that comprised bits of the new Type 907 unit, was dispatched to Italdesign.

The resultant show car, referred

to simply as ‘The Silver Lotus’, was displayed at the 1972 Turin Motor Show to great acclaim.

Some of the styling purity was perhaps lost during the transition to production status, but the Esprit was still a great looker. It entered production in 1976 and later spawned Giugiaro’s Turbo.

Giorgetto was also behind the Elite/Eclat cabin, and shaped the Etna. His M100 Elan proposal, however, was not adopted.

influenced other Bertone offerings from the period, not least the Iso Rivolta and all manner of Alfa Romeos.

Tragically, the glassfibre-bodied, 327ci Chevrolet V8-engined GT never realised its full potential, an attempt to revive the model in 1968 under the de Bruyne nameplate (and with a rather awkward restyle by Roger Fluck) coming to naught.

A mere 100 Gordon-Keebles are said to have been made from 1964-67 (the final example being assembled later on from spare parts), and survivors are highly prized. And with good reason.

Lotus Esprit GIUGIARO’S long-standing relationship with Lotus began with a concept car. Scroll back to the early 1970s, and the firm’s talismanic founder Colin Chapman was keen to project a

ALAMY

TODAY, Giugiaro is dismissive of this Bora-based projectile.

He has labelled it “a bit of a folly”. Even so, it established styling themes explored on subsequent Italdesign projects, and wasn’t without influence among other design houses.

Unveiled at the 1971 Turin Motor Show as an engine-less ‘pushmobile,’ it ran under its own steam by the time of the 1972 Geneva expo; a mid-mounted, 310bhp 4.7-litre V8 drove the rear wheels via a five-speed ’box, with much of the running gear

LEFT Described

by Giugiaro as a “folly”, the Boomerang was actually very influential.

being appropriated from the Bora production car. Inside, the cockpit was as unconventional as the exterior, not least the steering-wheel arrangement that borrowed from prior Giugiaro designs. The instruments were grouped into a circular ‘dashboard’ which, in turn, was encircled by the steering wheel.

The Boomerang continued to make show appearances as late as 1974, the colour being changed from silver to orange and back again prior to its purchase by a wealthy Spaniard.

It was sold at auction in 2005 for a cool US $1,007,005.

ALAMY

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THIS magnificently hedonistic Italo-American hybrid broke cover at the 1963 Turin show.

What’s more, Giugiaro was given virtual autonomy in shaping the super-GT. At this point, it was in the mind of the firm’s dynamic principal, Piero Rivolta, strictly a concept in modern-day parlance;

Alfa Romeo Canguro ONE of the most coveted concepts ever, the Canguro entered into legend the moment the sheets were lifted at the 1964 Paris Motor Show. Based on a TZ (Tubulare Zagato…) chassis, and powered by a 1570cc twin-cam four-pot from a Giulia Ti, the Canguro sat just 1060mm (41/7in) off the deck and weighed 650kg (1433lb).

However, despite the motor sport connotations, the Canguro (Italian for Kangaroo) was not built with circuit use in mind.

Sadly, tragically even, it was

one that studio chief Nuccio Bertone offered to sell once its promotional duties were over.

That didn’t happen. Instead, it entered production with 5.3-litre Corvette V8 power, but in time there would be various upgrades.

Not that it lacked performance from the outset, as befitted the eye-watering price; imported by Peter Agg’s Trojan concern, and

starting from £5950 in 1966, the 327ci Grifo did 161mph while being evaluated by Autocar, which made it the fastest production car the motoring weekly had ever assessed.

Few cars screamed Jet Set quite like the Grifo, but sadly Giugiaro’s Spider variant remained a one-off. The Grifo ran until 1974, with arch-rival Gandini instigating a pop-up headlight rework for 1970.

Italdesign Kensington

Jaguar Sovereign donor that bore it, and a longer front overhang. But that wasn’t the bit which jarred for traditionalists.

Much ink was spilt discussing the high-sited rear three-quarter treatment. This shallow rear screen and high-boot look was deemed controversial in period, but it has since become the norm. Jaguar – which offered no support for the Kensington – was unimpressed. No matter: the outline was subsequently reworked and applied to a number of Italdesign offerings during the 1990s, some wearing Lexus and Daewoo nameplates.

always destined to be a one-off show car. That isn’t to say it didn’t ever venture trackside, though. At some point in the 1960s it was taken to Monza, where footage was to be shot for a promotional film sponsored by petroleum giant Shell.

Unfortunately, this unique Alfa collided with the Bertone Testudo at the Parabolica corner and was damaged extensively.

Its remains were left behind the Bertone factory in Grugliasco, near Turin, although decades later the car was restored to make a triumphant reappearance at the 2005 Villa d’Este Concours.

WHILE perhaps not the prettiest of concepts, the Kensington was one of the most influential.

Giugiaro and his team were eager to move Jaguar’s design language forward, and many of the styling cues here were later applied to all manner of production saloons. It’s just that they didn’t wear Jaguar badges.

Unveiled in mock-up form at the 1990 Geneva show, a fully functional prototype was displayed at the British expo six months later. The prototype had a higher roofline relative to the

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Alfa Romeo Alfasud

BELOW Alfasud: brilliant design, poor execution.

Discuss...

Lancia Megagamma AS with many other concept queens from Italdesign’s bulging back catalogue, the importance of the Megagamma has only been fully appreciated in retrospect.

While perhaps not the first ‘people carrier’ in the accepted sense, its arrival at the 1978 Turin show represented year zero for the MPV with car-like attributes as we now know it.

As is so often the way with these things, it was greeted with as much ridicule as praise, many arbiters of beauty in the media asking why Giugiaro had given

Fiat Uno GIVEN its relative ubiquity, it’s hard to fathom the impact this supermini had when launched in 1983. Giugiaro was tasked with creating a replacement for the aged 127, itself a best-seller, and one that would accommodate a variety of engines. It needed to be affordable and practical, and offered in three- or five-door configurations.

Having redefined the small car with the Panda, Il Maestro did much the same in the next market segment up with the Uno, which boasted class-leading

A BRILLIANT car executed poorly. A harsh assessment – but there is no getting away from the fact that the Alfasud inflicted reputational damage on Alfa. Nevertheless, that was due to its risible build quality and the small matter of it being made from steel that dissolved quicker than Alka-Seltzer, rather than down to the design itself.

Giugiaro and his partner Aldo Mantovani were tasked with shaping the car under the watchful eye of engineering great Rudolf Hruska. Among

up styling pretty cars for making a van with windows.

They missed the point entirely.

It was all about reducing lengths and increasing heights; about providing greater cabin space in a smaller footprint.

Based on a Lancia Gamma 2500, this ‘monospace’ concept was 247mm (9.7in) taller and 290mm (11.4in) shorter than the donor, but its cockpit had an extra 170mm (6.7in) of space.

Sadly, Lancia’s parent company Fiat baulked at manufacturing the model. Instead, French, Japanese and American rivals were left to make hay.

interior space. It was also far more aerodynamic than its outer appearance might have you believe. It had a drag coefficient of 0.34Cd, the same figure as the ‘jelly-mould’ Ford Sierra.

The 1984 European Car of the Year award winner would go on to be made in one form or other as late as 2014 – and that’s everywhere from Poland to Pakistan, Brazil and South Africa (where it was assembled

by Nissan…). Close on nine million examples were sold in all guises, making its platform the eighth most produced in automotive history.

the latter’s stipulations was that the car be capable of carrying four suitcases of a certain size.

He went so far as to provide them personally. Giugiaro admitted in later years that he used to have nightmares about Hruska and his suitcases…

The car was revealed to great acclaim at the 1971 Turin show, and tellingly Alfa Romeo has yet to make another small car that is as fun to drive. As an aside, while the Alfasud nomenclature made perfect sense given that it was made in southern Italy, Giugiaro petitioned for it to be called Sfida (Challenge).

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Volkswagen Golf IT’S hard to comprehend the impact the Golf had on Volkswagen’s image and share price when it was introduced in 1974. Giugiaro was no stranger to small cars – witness the brilliant but flawed Alfasud – and his design for VW’s new hatch was boxy but also chic. It appealed to customers across the social spectrum, becoming arguably the first truly classless car since the Mini. The arrival of the GTI edition merely cemented the Golf’s iconic status.

The irony is that Giugiaro

didn’t particularly like the finished article, claiming that his designs has been watered down and generally buggered about with. Decades after the car’s release, he was still miffed that his favoured rectangular lights had been replaced with circular items without his knowledge shortly before the Golf was signed off for production.

Nonetheless, the link with Wolfsburg would prove an enduring one. Il Maestro penned the first-gen Scirocco among other projects, while Italdesign did a lot of behind-thescenes work on the Up! city car.

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Alfa Romeo Giulia GT

BELOW Perfectly proportioned Giulia Sprint GT is one of Alfa’s greatest cars.

Bertone Testudo DON’T be surprised to see this one-off show car so far up the list. It cast a long shadow in the Giugiaro narrative and car design as a whole. “I wanted to give something of myself, from my mind alone; [to prove] that I was no longer following a chain, following other ideas,” he told Automobile Quarterly.

“With the Testudo, I proved to myself that I was able to break with the past and begin with something coming from my own imagination. I believe it was a radically new kind of car,

GIUGIARO’S ‘step-front’ Giulia Sprint GT remains a styling masterclass, many cues having been lifted from his earlier 2000/2600 Sprint. Not that this was ever intended to be a mass-produced range filler; second-generation principal Nuccio Bertone envisaged a small-series coachbuilt offering, something like the earlier Giulietta/Giulia SS. The thing is, he made the mistake of showing preliminary renderings to the management at Alfa. They were immediately smitten, and it was adopted as a catalogue model in 1963. In many ways, this foretold the situation many years later where Giugiaro visualised the Brera as being an expensive halo model, only for his vision to be a victim of its own success.

The Giulia GT’s outline would receive relatively few updates during its lifetime, too, which is testimony to just how ‘right’ the design was to begin with. The original big-headlight/

step-front arrangement subsequently made way for a smooth front and different lamp treatments, while the tail-light clusters were also changed along the way.

Variations on the theme remained on sale to 1977 (although the open-top GTC version was the work of Touring of Milan). It also looked good denuded of bumpers but with extra pop-rivets, with the circuit-battering GTA variant.

The perfectly proportioned silhouette remained much the same, but 273.5kg (603lb) was saved by means of replacing the outer steel skin – aside from the sills and filler cap – with aluminium. This variant was – and remains – pure sex.

Giugiaro remains a fan of the ‘Bertie,’ too, which is remarkable given his general disinterest in his past achievements. He even owned one in period, although he could only stretch to an entrylevel 1.3-litre edition. What is truly remarkable, though, is that he penned it while performing national service.

a new concept. In my opinion, it seemed to provide a new source for car designs. With it, I felt I contributed to car designing.”

The name, translating to ‘turtle,’ symbolised the design theme for the Chevrolet Corvairbased show-stopper. A sharp crease along each flank divided the body, with the radically glazed ‘bubble roof’ being more akin to Stateside custom cars. A tilting canopy gave cabin access.

It was built in just three months for March 1963’s Geneva show, to which it was driven by studio chief Nuccio Bertone.

While no replicas would be

forthcoming, many cues were transposed onto the Miura, while Anatole Lapine admitted to being influenced by the car when he shaped the Porsche 928.

In an agreeable twist to the story, Giugiaro had long since wanted to own the Testudo. He had driven it back from Geneva following its show debut, and later used it as his wedding car.

As such, the Testudo held great sentimental value. After leaving Bertone in late 1965, his attempts at acquiring the model had been rebuffed. He finally got his chance in May 2011; he paid €336,000 for the privilege.

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IF the Testudo is a controversial choice for the runner-up spot, having the Panda as top dog isn’t going to please everyone.

But – and it is an important but – this car made more of an impact in the real world than any supercar. The first-gen model was as proletariat as cars get, and truly, utterly, captivatingly brilliant with it. If you want to see the great man’s eyes light up, ask Giugiaro about the Panda. It was a car that taxed his intellect as much as his artistic genius.

And, hey, it isn’t as though there was much riding on its success.

The Panda followed in illustrious wheel-tracks, Fiat having previously made such legendary small cars as the 500 Topolino and 500 Nuova, plus the 600 and the flawed but capable 126. However, distinct from its predecessors, the Panda wasn’t designed internally. It is worth remembering that Italy in the 1970s was riven with political and industrial strife.

Fiat’s sprawling Mirafiori plant in Turin was a hotbed of unrest among the workforce, and also starved of investment.

It was against this backdrop that the board made the decision to outsource the styling of this new entry-level model to Italdesign. It was an inspired move. Giugiaro claims the Panda was conceived by the brilliant Rudolf Hruska, with whom he had collaborated on the Alfasud.

However, the Austrian engineer had departed Fiat by the time work commenced on the project – originally codenamed Rustica (later Zero) within Italdesign – in the summer of 1976.

Working quickly, Giugiaro presented a schematic interior

mock-up and preliminary body sketches within three months, while two full-size plaster models were delivered in January of the following year.

They looked remarkably close to the finished article, too, the first prototype bodyshell being dispatched in September 1977.

The most significant alteration to the design between prototyping and manufacture was made at the behest of Fiat CEO Umberto Agnelli; a couple of centimetres were added to the glasshouse. The really clever part of the Panda’s make-up wasn’t stylistic, though, but more something appreciated by engineers. Autocar reported in period: “Less obvious to the eye is Fiat’s efforts to reduce the total number of body components and therefore assembly work.

They quote a figure of 18 percent less parts than usual for their cars, and consequent 28 percent reduction in spot welds, which keeps costs down.”

Launched at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show, the Panda somehow finished second to the third-generation Ford Escort in the following year’s Car of the Year contest.

Nevertheless, it was garlanded elsewhere with Giugiaro claiming the prestigious Compasso d’Oro for industrial design. The man himself told La Stampa: “[The] Panda is like a pair of jeans; a simple, practical, no-frills piece of clothing.”

It was a brilliant analogy.

Thanks to constant upgrades and clever marketing, the original model soldiered on until September 5, 2003, when the last car – number 4,491,000 – rolled off the production line.

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Market Watch: The oh-so-British Bristol 404/405

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Bristol 404/405 Quintessentially British, slightly bonkers and flying in the face of convention; this quirky Bristol is the engineers’ model of choice with exclusivity on its side

BRISTOL: THAT MOST NICHE of post-war British grand tourers.

Bristols were more exclusive than an Aston Martin or a Jensen, much more expensive than a Jaguar and steeped in aircraft heritage. They were eccentric in detail, originally for sound reasons, later as part of the wilfully trend-ignoring vibe that became core to the marque’s eventual decline. They are like absolutely nothing else.

Except that, in the beginning, they were – because Bristols started out as heavily BMW based.

Britain’s Frazer Nash company had sold its own, UK-adapted versions of the BMW 315, 319 and 328 before the war and, with the help of the War Reparations Board, had acquired the design rights to BMW’s model range in 1945. A year later, Bristol’s engine division gained a majority shareholding in AFN, Frazer Nash’s parent company, and duly established a new car division on its site at Filton aerodrome, on the northern edges of Bristol.

Armed with these rights to BMW designs, and the willing help of ex-BMW chief engineer Dr Fritz Fiedler, Bristol launched its first model: the 400, made mostly in two-door coupé guise. Its nose bore the pair of so-called ‘kidney grilles’ used by BMW, as did the subsequent 401 and higher-power 403. Yet despite this obvious visual link, the contemporary motoring press played down the BMW connection to an almost ludicrous degree. Post-war sensitivities about Britain’s recent enemy doubtless played a part here.

One of the tastiest fruits of the new arrangement was BMW’s 1971cc straight-six engine, which looked like it had a twin-cam cylinder head but actually didn’t, as we shall see later. This, lightly updated, went on to power ACs, the continuing Frazer Nashes and even the Cooper-Bristol Grand Prix cars, as well as Bristol’s own models until it was ousted by a Chrysler V8 in 1961’s 407. Its appeal is central to the cars we are considering here; the Bristol 404, an 8ft-wheelbase, two-plustwo coupé launched in 1953, and

ABOVE A place for everything, and everything in its place – plus a driver-centric instrument panel. the 405 launched two years later, the only four-door saloon that Bristol ever made and effectively a long-wheelbase 404.

You’ll notice from the pictures that the BMW grilles are absent, replaced by an air intake which alludes to that of an aircraft’s jet engine. Here began the definitive Bristol ‘face’, which continued until late 1963 when the new 408 got a large, rectilinear grille better able to pass the amount of air needed to cool that hefty V8.

As a compact coupé with that BMW-derived motor, the 404 is the lithest, most obviously sporting of Bristols. The 405, at the opposite extreme, is potentially the most practical with its extra doors and ample room for rear occupants.

They seemed an ideal pair of models, yet when the squarer-cut 406 replaced them both in 1958 (still on the same 9ft 6in wheelbase and fundamentally the same chassis as the 401, 403 and 405 – a platform that continued pretty much to the end of the original line of 400 and 600-series Bristols), it was a four-seater two-door.

Another very Bristolian feature introduced with the 404/405 pair made use of what designers nowadays refer to as the ‘power dimension’; the distance between

the rear edge of the front wheelarch and the front edge of the door. The greater this distance, the more engine is implied to sit within it and the faster the car might go.

Bristol, probably uniquely, hit upon a neat way to make use of the power-dimensional space; use it as compartments, opened by lifting up the hinged section of front wing below the decorative bright-metal strip, to house the spare wheel on the left and the battery, regulator, fuses and washer bottle on the right. Brilliant!

And yet another: the 404/405 both group their instruments together in a cowling ahead of the driver, beyond a steering wheel with two spokes downwardly drooping to ensure they don’t obscure those dials, and setting the template for the next three decades. Under the aluminium skin, too, things are quite exotic for the era: rack-and-pinion steering, a torsion-bar rear-suspension setup despite the live axle, a oneshot chassis-lubrication system, and some construction techniques both ancient and modern such as a plywood-faced, honeycomb-paper rear floor, a front bulkhead of Paxolin (as used to make circuit boards), and an ash-wooden frame for the windscreen, the door posts and the 404’s rear side windows.

Powering all this is a very longstroke engine that nevertheless reaches 5000rpm before yielding

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its peak power of 105bhp. That’s for the regular 100B unit; if a 100C, with its racier camshaft, sits under the bonnet, it will deliver 125bhp at 5500rpm. Either way, with the help of their slippery aerodynamics both the 404 and the 405 will easily exceed 100mph and cruise happily at 90mph.

A mere 52 404s were built, and even fewer (43) examples of the two-door, drophead-coupé version of the 405 whose body was fashioned by Abbotts of Farnham (best known for its estate-car variants of Ford’s Consuls, Zephyrs and Zodiacs). The fourdoor saloon 405 was replicated more often, but with 265 examples leaving Filton, they are still very rare machines today.

T H E VA L U E P R O P O S I T I O N That rarity makes it hard to pin down definitive values for these Bristols. The Hagerty valuation guide doesn’t even include the 404

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ABOVE The Bristol 404 two-plus-two coupé was launched in 1953, sitting on an 8ft-wheelbase.

‘These figures sound like excellent value compared with, say, an Aston’

or the open 405, such is the lack of data. It does give figures for the 405 saloon, though; regardless of year of manufacture, they are £19,100 for a car in ‘fair’ condition, £31,800 for ‘good’, £42,700 for ‘excellent’ and £65,000 for a concours 405.

Richard Hackett of Bristol sales, service and restoration specialist SLJ Hackett, a veteran of the marque’s former London showroom in South Kensington when the charismatic ex-racer Tony Crook ran the Bristol operation, pitches the values rather higher.

“We recently sold a scruffy 405 saloon for £39,000,” he says, “and a very nice one for £75,000.” And the 404? “We have one here, pretty good but not immaculate, for £189,000. Typical selling prices range from £150,000 or so to £225,000 for the best. The 405 dropheads are about the same.”

Given a Bristol car’s strong appeal to those who appreciate engineering precision and an

automotive version of intelligent design, and given also the models’ rarity, these figures sound like excellent value compared with, say, an obvious Aston or Ferrari. It’s almost as if Bristol ownership is a secretive club of connoisseurs, whose members are happy for their cars’ virtues to become known by osmosis rather than getting sucked into investment hype. It’s significant here that owners tend to use their Bristols quite a lot. These machines don’t lurk, fossilising, under dust-sheets in the collections of HNWs. Some cars, reflecting their tendency to be used and enjoyed, have been modified over the years.

There is a later version of the engine, dubbed 100D2, which has accelerator pumps on the triple single-choke Solexes and another design of camshaft. The result is the 125bhp of the 100C but with a fatter, more relaxing torque curve.

Modern camshaft designs can

VA LU E S F R O M H AG E RT Y P R I C E G U I D E 1955-1958 Bristol 405 saloon UK prices

1955-1958 Bristol 405 saloon US prices

£70,000

$100,000

TIMELINE

$90,000 £60,000 $80,000 £50,000

$70,000 $60,000

£40,000

$30,000 CONDITION 1

£10,000

New 401 model launched with Bristol’s own, more modern styling; later joined by very rare 402 drophead coupé.

$40,000

£20,000

$20,000

CONDITION 2 CONDITION 3

1953

$10,000

CONDITION 4

£0

$0

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Bristol Aeroplane Company, mindful of reduced demand for aircraft post-war, launches car division and reveals BMWbased Bristol 400.

1948

$50,000 £30,000

1946

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Bristol 403, with similar looks but more power, replaces 401.

1953 raise that to 140-145bhp, still with plenty of torque. An engine so equipped would be optimal for a 404 or 405, and would be viewed by the market as an asset rather than a devaluing deviation from standard. Alternatively, some cars have gained the bored-and-stroked 2216cc engine from a heavier 406 at some point in their lives, with obvious benefits. A few late 405s had this motor from new.

T H E D E S I R A B I L I T Y FA C T O R To own a Bristol is to be someone ‘in the know’ about cars. Not that an owner would flaunt this knowledge, but he/she would feel a warm glow from owning something whose virtues of precision and purity were regularly cited by no less a journalistic guru than LJK Setright.

Key to these two Bristols, arguably the purest and most single-mindedly conceived of all the marque’s cars, is a sense of

functional and ergonomic logic arising from an aviation state of mind. Everything is engineered exactly for the job in hand, sometimes shunning the expedient use of proprietary alternatives that wouldn’t have worked quite as well. It’s in the suspension design, the cast pedal box, the radio built into the dashboard. And, crucially, it’s in the design of the body.

It has that jet-orifice nose ahead of a long bonnet, smooth surfaces with minimal disruption to airflow, and a pair of tailfins that aid stability while bringing a taste of the aeroplane to a terrestrial traveller. The 404 has a Perspex rear window, the 405 saloon a much larger glass one in three sections. Some 404s (and all 405s) have an external bootlid, while the backrest of the 404’s vestigial rear seats can fold down to make a bigger luggage platform.

Now, that curious but effective powerplant. Its bottom half is

conventional enough apart from the four-bearing crankshaft’s bolton counterweights, but the cylinder head is something else. The driving force behind its design was to have hemispherical combustion chambers and opposing inclined valves while retaining a single block-mounted camshaft.

So the inlet valves are actuated in a conventional way by pushrods and rockers, enclosed by their own top cover, but their rocker shaft contains six more pushrodactivated rockers that act like bellcranks. These actuate six more pushrods, shorter ones that traverse the top of the cylinder head and actuate another six rockers on a shaft above the exhaust valves.

Their cover is slightly higher than its opposite number, leading to the engine’s curiously asymmetric, not-quite-twin-cam look.

That’s a lot of pushrods, a lot of rockers and a lot of potential slop in the valvetrain, but it doesn’t

Launch of 404 coupé, with wheelbase shortened by 18in and more modern, aerodynamic look featuring jet-enginelike front air intake in place of vertical BMW grilles.

1955

404 is joined by 405 saloon, which marries 404’s front end to original long-wheelbase chassis and four-door bodywork – the only Bristol ever to be so equipped. There’s also an Abbottbodied, two-door drophead coupé.

1958

Both 404 and 405 cease production, after just 52 and 308 cars respectively.

New 406 sets shape of Bristols for next 17 years, ending with 411, but is last to use BMW-derived straight-six. Power thereafter comes from Chrysler V8s.

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seem to matter much. The design also allows vertical, almost straight inlet ports from the three carburettors mounted between the rocker covers; ports that are bigger than they might have been had they squeezed between 12 pushrods.

It’s a great-sounding engine, with a sophisticated six-pot snarl and admirable smoothness. This writer sampled SLJ Hackett’s £189,000 404 mentioned earlier and gained a good taste of what devotees love about Bristols: a remarkable speed, precision and lack of springiness in the steering; an excellent driving position; a ride supple but without float or wallow; a particularly precise and well oiled gearchange with Borg-Warner synchronisers; and an overall feeling of being all of a piece. The 404-specific short wheelbase brought a tidy agility on twisting roads, too.

This particular car had synchro on first gear, normally found only in competition versions of the transmission. The usual fitment for both 404s and 405s is a ’box with no synchro on first but a freewheel operating only on that gear. Most 405s had a Laycock overdrive as standard; the first 404s did not, but it could be specified later in production.

Braking was originally by Alfin drums, ousted by discs for the front wheels of later cars. The perforateddisc steel rims that cover these brakes are another appealing piece of early-Bristol iconography.

T H E N U T S A N D B O LT S “The factory said that when you have done 30,000-40,000 miles, fit new crankshaft bearings and then the engine will be good for 200,000 miles,” says Richard Hackett. It is one pointer to the fact that Bristols are very durable, mechanically at least. The BMWderived chassis is also tough and long lasting, thanks to the deep box sections of thick steel that make up its main members.

A close look under a 404 or a 405 – in this writer’s case, the 405 undergoing restoration at SLJ Hackett – reveals some intriguing engineering detail. The outer ends of the rear axle are linked to what

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T H E D E TA I L S 1953-58 BRISTOL 404 AND 405 ENGINE

STRAIGHT-SIX, 1971CC

POWER

105 OR 125BHP

TOP SPEED

110MPH APPROX

0-60MPH

13 SECONDS (EST.)

look like hefty lever-arm dampers through which pass the rear ends of the torsion bars that form the suspension’s springing medium. In the Bristol 400 these were indeed dampers, but from the 401-on the same castings functioned purely as bearing and torsion-bar housings, and damping was by separate telescopics (Koni is the preferred make nowadays). Not until near the end of production of the Blenheim, well into this century, did Bristol finally use up these castings and have to machine the last few housings from solid metal.

The axle ends of the links to the torsion bars carry a complex balljoint with “a large quantity of machined components” according to one of the 405’s restorers, while the rear axle’s upper location is by a central A-bracket. Damper and front anti-roll-bar mountings apart, there are no suspension rubbers; it’s all hand-reamed metal bushes. And

‘If you want one, you’ll have found yourself drawn into the secret world of Bristol’

the front suspension? Mounted on its own subframe and crossmember attached to the chassis with eight bolts, it uses upper wishbones, a transverse leaf spring that acts as lower wishbones, and telescopics.

Provided the one-shot lubrication system is working and has been used regularly, all those suspension and steering joints and bushes should be in good order. If there’s wear, betrayed by looseness in the joints and knocks when driving, significant bills beckon because there’ll be much bush-machining to do. New Bristol parts do exist – current ownership of the firm and its intellectual property isn’t entirely resolved – but they often have to be fettled to fit a particular car.

The interior has the wood and leather typical in a high-end car of the time, with attendant restoration costs today. Electrics are mostly proprietary Lucas, much of it available now in remanufactured form. And then there’s the body, where the biggest pitfalls lie.

Bubbles in the aluminium skin point to trouble behind, from damp and rot in wooden frames, or corrosion between the aluminium and the steel tubes that form other parts of the body’s supporting frame. Leaking seals will encourage this deterioration. Those neat bays in the wings that house the spare wheel, battery and more are especially prone to water ingress, to the detriment of their steel floors.

Check that the doors open and close tidily – panel fit on a new Bristol was first class – and also that the floor panels, especially those with the paper honeycomb

core, are intact. Fixing these trouble spots won’t be cheap.

If the car on your radar has been restored, check that it has been done by someone who properly understands Bristols. And do take a prospective purchase for a test drive, to gauge its mechanical soundness and to check that the overdrive, if fitted, works. A lot of things – not all good – could have happened since it first left Filton.

THE FINAL DECISION Whether to buy a 404 or a 405 depends on your desires and needs; sporty, wieldy coupé or GT saloon (or expensive drop-top) for four? It also depends on budget, with a 405 saloon obtainable for under half the outlay required for its exotic siblings, and availability; you’re far more likely to find a 405 saloon than either its truncated or its open-top variations.

That much is obvious, and beyond our remit to advise upon.

So maybe the decision is a different one; why buy a mid-1950s Bristol at all? The answer to that is because you’ll know if you want one, in which case you’ll have found yourself drawn into the secret world of Bristol and its eclectic appeal. And you can feel a bit smug about having acquired something probably better-engineered than an Aston Martin of the same age, significantly cheaper and a lot more exclusive. Go for it, we say.

Thanks to Richard Hackett and George Keller at SLJ Hackett, Warminster, Wiltshire, UK. Visit www.sljhackett.co.uk or telephone +44 (0)1985 219551.

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M A R K E T A N A LY S I S

176

Searching for the real deal

Words Dave Kinney

The world of fakes, frauds and replicas is fraught with danger, and so paying due diligence is key when considering any potential purchase

I WAS AN ONSTAGE GUEST AT a recent Hagerty seminar, held in conjunction with the Greenwich Concours in Greenwich, CT. The topic was automotive fakes, frauds and replicas, with a dose of kit cars thrown in. Although we had just shy of an hour to speak, it was obvious that we could have easily doubled or tripled our time and not even come close to running out of comments, thoughts and observations.

I think we can agree that kit cars are the outliers in this group. These are usually DIY-assembled, most often glassfibre copies of other cars, sometimes built at a smaller-thanoriginal scale. Most kit cars are noharm-done replicas that fool few, if any, serious car people. The Nissan or Volkswagen in Lamborghini (or Ferrari, or whatever) ‘drag’ are often a fanboy/dreamer version of the real thing. I am in no way denigrating the efforts of those who work hard to produce an affordable tribute to the cars they love. In fact, I salute them and their creativity.

Replicas include a few specific kit cars (I’m looking at you GRP Porsche Speedsters, non-CSX Cobras and others) up to factorybuilt and -authorised vehicles from automakers as venerable as Aston Martin and Jaguar. Most replicas are not of the manufacturerauthorised variety. Indeed, for many, there is no manufacturer left to do the authorisation.

The slope can get a bit slippery here, because resurrecting a dead brand was and is an ongoing activity. Is a replica XYZ a ‘real’ XYZ if the name alone was resurrected for the purpose of building a Continuation? We can argue the potential for harm if we

wish, however; in this case, the marketplace will speak to its value, and indeed its short- and longterm worth and place in the collector car market.

And that brings us to the frauds, fakes and forgeries. This is the true area of concern, and just for the record, frauds and fakes have existed before there was a car and will likely continue until the end of time. I have a theory that a very large percentage, possibly 95 percent, of fakes in the auto world actually start innocently enough.

The bloke with the Cortina decides to dress it up a bit, and so paints it in Lotus livery. While he’s at it, he finds a few more Lotus Cortina bits and adds them on. He keeps the car a few years, and then decides to flog it to a friend he met at a show. The friend, fully aware that it’s not a ‘real’ Lotus Cortina, owns and enjoys it as well. He places an online ad for it and sells it to a third party. That third party knows the car is actually a ‘tribute’, but ignores that very important fact. He buys a rusted Lotus Cortina bodyshell, switches identifications, thereby committing a fraud, and sells the ‘Lotus’ to another buyer.

This happens thousands of times

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‘How can we protect ourselves from buying a fake? The answer is both simple and very complicated’

and in dozens of ways. The original manufacturer of some vehicles did not keep records as to equipment and options, and somehow many low-horsepower versions with few options become fully equipped examples with every available accessory. This leads to the nowcommon phrase of “they built 50 of them, and 100 exist today”.

The intentional fakes and frauds are not always made by scam artists. Many of us have heard stories about ‘restoration’ shops that would start with one Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz or other marque’s chassis, and magically end up with three complete cars – usually, but not always, with different numbers.

Race cars present another issue, and not just because they were, by design, used hard with little if any concern for originality. Engine, component and chassis swaps were part of their tough life. Was that the car which ran that famous race, piloted by a famous driver – or was that the back-up model?

The Argentinian builder Pur Sang is known for making copies of select Bugatti and Alfa Romeo models. These are often owned by high-end collectors, including some who own originals from the legacy European manufacturers. It is perfectly fine to own and enjoy any replica or any kit car, as long as it is understood by all to be a replica. The costs are generally a fraction of those of the original, and – if a car is properly built and well maintained – these can be great additions to the ‘family’.

How can we protect ourselves from buying a fake or a fraud? The answer is both simple and very complicated. Simple due diligence

RIGHT Argentinian specialist Pur Sang is renowned for building exacting replicas of Bugattis. is the key; do your research, use trusted sources, join the relevant owners’ club and hire a trusted authenticator. If you do the legwork and learn as much as possible about the car you are about to purchase, your chances of making the wrong choice are significantly reduced. The complicated part is that some fakes have grown a long history of their own, and have their own advocates, sometimes paid, often just misguided.

Try to always buy from a trusted source. Not as easy as it sounds, but attempt to find a car with a long family attachment, or an unbroken (or mostly unbroken) chain of ownership. A full service history helps, but few cars of more than 20 or 30 years old will carry full service documents. Are dealers or auction houses trusted sources?

Yes, they can be, and most often are. There is little incentive for a known individual or auction house to sell misrepresented goods, but it does happen. Read the dealer listing or auction catalogue very carefully, and ask questions. A lot of questions.

Remember, few older cars are perfect, have no issues, have never been involved in an ‘incident’, and were always treated well throughout their history. In fact, most models have both stories and backstories, and these often differ. And you know what? That’s perfectly fine.

Just don’t allow your emotions to let you pay more to get less. And always remember, if the deal seems too good to be true, it usually is.

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WAT C H E S

178

Taking a deep dive into Rolex

Words Jonathon Burford

The Ref 1665 Deep-Sea was a technological masterpiece able to withstand depths of 600 metres-plus, reflecting the 1960s advances in ocean exploration

IT IS REMARKABLE THAT IN 1961, when Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was orbiting 350km above the earth, man had yet to explore more than 70 metres beneath the ocean’s surface. And it does make one wonder why Rolex decided to produce a commercial dive watch with a 600m-plus rating.

Part of this, one suspects, is ego.

NASA had recently selected the Omega Speedmaster as the official astronauts’ watch, and Rolex may have felt the need to burnish its exploration credentials by focusing on the deep blue below rather than above. The launch also coincided with a boom in sea exploration by the likes of the oil industry.

While Rolex had been producing submariner dive watches with 200m depth ratings for a while, something a little more complex was required to accompany these divers as they pushed ever deeper into the ocean.

Deep-sea specialist COMEX had pioneered a method of saturation diving that involved breathing hydrogen, helium and oxygen. This let divers work at greater depths for longer, requiring the decompression process only once at the end of their entire dive schedule.

COMEX also found that small helium molecules could force their way past a seal into a watch, so the pressure inside would equalise that of the chamber. However, during decompression, pressure in the watch would be unequal to that in the chamber, forcing its crystal out at great speed. So Rolex invented a Helium Escape Valve (HEV) set first on the left case flank of a standard Ref 5513 and then to a special Ref 5514 from COMEX. The first commercially available

Deep-Sea by Rolex (Mk1) was Ref 1665 and arrived in 1967. The first batch was made in low numbers, prior to the issuing of the patent for the Gas Escape Valve. These watches wear this proudly, with ‘Patent Pending’ heavily engraved on the outside of their case back.

On the dial, the ‘Sea-Dweller’ and ‘Submariner 2000’ text below the hands are printed in red, giving the model its ‘Double Red’ moniker (the print on these has often faded to pink). In addition they feature a date window, but without an acrylic crystal ‘cyclops’ magnifier.

Between 1968-77, Rolex made three additional regular versions of the Double Red Ref 1665, all now featuring Rolex Patent Oyster Gas Escape Valve case backs. Here’s the easiest way to distinguish them: Mk2: ‘Submariner 2000’ text is smaller, coronet is the same (short fingers) as on the ‘Patent Pending’ and early ‘Patented’ versions. ‘D’ in ‘Sea-Dweller’ lines up with ‘I’ in ‘Submariner 2000’.

Mk3: Red-printed text remains similar to Mk2’s, but with heavier print to the depth rating. Coronet is more pronounced and elongated with a flatter bottom. The ‘D’ in ‘Sea-Dweller’ lines up with the ‘R’ in ‘Submariner 2000’.

Mk4: The final version of the original dials again has a slightly heavier print in both red and white.

The coronet has broader fingers and a more pronounced opening.

The extra dial variants (Mks 5, 6 and 7) are usually associated with service dials, and so are much less desirable (a discount of at least 60 percent). With the early Mk1 and Mk2s, the dials’ lacquer reacted to UV light over time, and a larger

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ABOVE Double Red Sea-Dweller Mk2 shows the red print from which it gained its moniker.

number than usual have turned a warm brown, or ‘tropical’. These versions are highly desirable, with their contrasting red text popping against their brown dial plates.

As with all vintage Rolexes, originality and rarity are the key drivers of price. Good Mk1 ‘Patent Pending’ variants have recently been selling at $125,000-$200,000, while prices slide to $45,000$50,000 for a Mk4 ‘watch only’.

Unpolished examples are rare; remember, these were workhorses for divers and the like, and most Deep-Seas reflect the life they have lived. In fact, if you find a watch that has sharp case definition and defined lug facets, proceed cautiously; some examples have had their case recut or lasered.

Given the small numbers and the interesting types of people who first bought these watches, if you have a little extra to spend, do go for one that still has its original papers. Knowing where and when it was originally purchased makes a difference. Similarly, expect to pay a small premium for an example with an original but faded (ghost) bezel insert, while for a legitimate tropical-dialled version, a premium of up to 50 percent can be required.

My pick would be a tropical Mk2.

Although slightly more prevalent than a Mk3, it retains the Mk1 case dimensions and dial layout, but without that model’s premium.

Having said that, given the multiple dial and case variants, the Ref 1665 Double Red Sea-Dweller has something for all vintage Rolex fans.

Writer Jonathon Burford is SVP and specialist at Sotheby’s watch department. For its ongoing Watches sales see www.sothebys.com.

MOTORING ART

The mysterious mouse

Words Rupert Whyte

From industrial scenes to hidden rodents, Cuneo’s work showed technical skill as well as gentle humour

TERENCE TENISON CUNEO (1907-1996) was the son of Cyrus Cuneo, himself an accomplished artist. Terence was considered one of the great artists of the 20th century, demonstrated by his selection as the official painter for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

Although his artistic output covered mechanical subjects including railway, automotive and military vehicles, Cuneo was equally at home painting wildlife, landscapes and particularly industrial scenes. The bustle of factories and building sites was a specialism, with the construction of oil refineries, bridges, power stations and Coventry Cathedral being examples. Towards the end of his life, in 1991, he combined his automotive and industrial interests with a commission from Toyota to paint its newly constructed factory near Derby.

Having graduated from the Chelsea College of Art in the ’20s, Cuneo supplied illustrations to magazines and books. In World War Two he became a notable War Office artist, and once industry began to rebuild its commercial

business, many companies hired him to paint industrial scenes to promote what they were doing.

Some of the most important clients were the railway firms.

His paintings were not only of the locomotives; they extended to the railway as a whole and the men who worked on it. Much of his work was used for now very collectable advertising posters.

His first motoring commission was a scene for The Autocar’s 50thanniversary cover in 1945. Further covers and work for many vehicle and component makers followed.

He had a great understanding of mechanics stemming from riding and owning motorbikes followed by a string of British cars from the likes of Morris, AC, Bentley and numerous Bristols.

As a result, he was always keen to get the detail absolutely correct.

While working on his paintings for the Roots [supercharger] firm that featured record-breaking Sunbeams at Brooklands, he drove his own Bentley along the banking sketching the scene from an open sunroof. All in the name of research…

Yes, you ask, but what about the mouse? It was while Cuneo was

working on the Coronation piece that his cat brought a mouse into his studio. Distracted from the task in hand, he painted a still life of the rodent, which he exhibited at the Royal Watercolour Society’s summer exhibition. It was well received, with requests for further paintings. This gave him the idea of incorporating a mouse into every subsequent artwork. His ingenuity at making the rodent inconspicuous grew ever greater, and finding it in later works became a popular challenge among viewers of his work.

While Cuneo’s prints have largely fallen out of favour with the modern buyer, and consequently are modest in value, his original paintings and examples of his railway-company posters are still very much sought after by collectors. His automotive and railway artworks command far higher prices than those of other subjects. Examples of such paintings have recently sold at auction for £30,000-£50,000, while railway posters regularly achieve £1000-£2000 each.

Rupert Whyte runs Historic Car Art, www.historiccarart.net, selling original works and posters.

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AUTOMOBILIA

180

Poster child for Le Mans collectors

Words and photography David Lawrence

Artwork from the world’s most famous car race can fetch big bucks – but do watch out for fakes

THE LE MANS 24 HOURS marks its centenary next year, and the celebrations and publicity will undoubtedly boost collector interest in associated memorabilia – especially posters both for the original race and for the 1971 Steve McQueen film Le Mans.

Collecting such artwork extends beyond the paper illustrations themselves; I am thinking the actual printing block for the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours VIP (numbered) programme, along with an example of the programme cover that it created. This is unique, as they used only one block to print the cover. I find it astonishing that it has survived 55 years.

I obtained it, along with the printing block for the 1965 event flyer, at Paris’s Rétromobile, prepandemic. I was flabbergasted that they had not been thrown out in the trash years ago. Due to it being a one-off, I believe the value to be in the range of $2500 to $3500.

All the event posters I have for the 24 Hours itself were purchased before 1990, which means it was before the ACO decided to make exact copies of these illustrations.

Thanks to the ACO, the market is

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BELOW Original vintage 1970 24 Hours poster. BOTTOM original title artwork by Nikita Knatz, valued at $4600 to $5000.

confusing at best. So, with prices climbing for the rare ‘real’ posters, it’s no wonder the fakers have come out of the woodwork trying to pass off the later reproductions as genuine vintage ones.

I recently – and unintentionally – bought one of these modern repros from an auction house, which swore the poster was real and vintage. It was not!

All the Le Mans race posters tend to be close to the same size: about 15.5in x 23.5in. The rarest has to be the one created for the June 1968 event, because this was the first time in the race’s history that it was cancelled and moved to a later date. Student riots were in full swing in France during ’68, and the event organisers were concerned for the safety of the attending fans, so they postponed the race until September. Almost all of the June posters were destroyed, and new artwork was reissued a few months later bearing a September date.

Prices are all over the place, at the lowest end ranging from $800 to $1600. But if you’re purchasing from some of the better automotive art galleries and poster dealers, the range is generally higher – more like $2000 to $4000. And remember, if something seems too good to be true, it most likely is, so do consider the poster’s originality as a true vintage item.

The only item shown here from the Le Mans film is an oversize proposed artwork done either for the title sequence for the movie itself or for The Making of Le Mans 14-minute short feature. That short, directed by Nikita Knatz, was broadcast on CBS in 1971.

ABOVE The rare June 1968 Le Mans poster, scrapped after the race’s postponement that year.

Knatz is also the artist of this oversize painting. He was the visual designer in the Art Department for Solar Productions, which produced the Le Mans film.

However, he was really so much more; he was part of the advance crew that scouted locations in France, and he also worked on the entire overall artistic elements of the film. This extremely rare item was acquired from Knatz’s wife at an estate sale after his passing.

She was also part of the Le Mans production crew, serving as the race-office secretary.

I will end with a quick funny story that I was told by a producer who was a long-time resident at Broad Beach in Malibu. Steve McQueen’s house sat just above fellow actor James Garner’s house on a hill. When McQueen did not get the lead role in the movie Grand Prix (a role that went to Garner), he became very despondent. One of the ways he used to act out was to throw his empty beer bottles down the hill onto Garner’s driveway...

Thanks to Automobilia Resource, www.automobiliaresource.com, and David Lawrence, Madison’s Auctions, www.madisonsauctions.com.

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ALLEMANO AND THE FERRARI 125S Italian watchmaker Allemano’s heritage owes much to the first car to be badged a Ferrari THE ALLEMANO NAME DATES back to gauge-making during the 1850s and its automotive connections began with early Fiats, but its fortunes took another upward swing following the use of one of its oilpressure gauges in the Ferrari 125S. This turned out to be quite a coup, and resulted in Allemano gauges being featured in many more racing machines over the following years, including the Lancia D50 and the Ferrari 156 F1 ‘Sharknose’.

Without the 125S, there wouldn’t be the Ferraris that we know today, and without that oil-pressure gauge, perhaps Allemano wouldn’t be alive and well as a watchmaker. Enzo Ferrari, having already run the highly successful Scuderia Ferrari team of Alfa Romeo racing cars, built the first of his own models in 1940 – the Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 – but the first to be badged a Ferrari was the 125S. The car was introduced to the world on May 11, 1947 at northern Italy’s Piacenza circuit. It was clear from the start that this was no ordinary race machine; it was built on a relatively conventional steeltube chassis, with transverse-leaf, double-wishbone suspension at the front and a leaf-sprung live rear axle,

plus hydraulic drum brakes front and back. However, it was the engine that was really special.

Designed by the now-legendary Gioacchino Colombo, the 1.5-litre V12 produced 118bhp at 6800rpm.

Each cylinder displaced just 125cc, hence the name of the car – a Ferrari convention that continued for decades. A trio of twin-choke downdraught Weber carburettors fed the 12 cylinders, with a single overhead camshaft on each bank operating two valves per cylinder.

It proved to be a gem of an

ABOVE AND BELOW Classic Ferrari 125S is inextricably linked with the Allemano watch brand.

engine. With such a small capacity, and unusually oversquare cylinder dimensions (bores wider than the length of the stroke), it was powerful but wasn’t big on torque. In order to compensate, the transmission used five gears rather than the usual four of the time, allowing closer ratios.

The 125S’s debut wasn’t quite the success that Enzo might have hoped for, with it dropping out of its first race at the Circuito di Piacenza with Franco Cortese at the wheel. All the same, it had shown good pace against its rivals, particularly the successful Maserati 6CS 1500.

A mere two weeks later, the 125S took its first victory – again driven

by Cortese – on the Terme di Caracalla circuit, as part of the Rome Grand Prix. In all, it won six of its 14 races in 1947, although not the Mille Miglia. Just two 125S models were built, but they formed the basis for the ensuing machines such as its successor the 159S that followed in the same year, and the better-known 166.

Much more recently, the oilpressure gauge of that very 125S helped to inspire the creation of the current Allemano watches.

For more, see www.allemanotime.it/en.

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Smoking hot

Words Nathan Chadwick

Despite smoking bans and health scares, the cigar market continues to light up

INTERIOR SMOKING BANS. A persistent public health message.

The sheer length of time it takes to enjoy a good cigar. Add all these factors together and you would be forgiven for thinking that the cigar world had, well, gone up in smoke.

The reality is a little different, says Brian Ebbesen. He introduced cigar sales to Christie’s auctions in the late 1990s during a 20-year career with the auction house, and still follows the market keenly.

“There are two types of cigar smokers: those who have a couple per year, on birthdays or New Year’s celebrations, and the guys who smoke on a regular basis,” explains Brian. “The ban didn’t affect regular smokers – it just meant you couldn’t have a cigar after dinner in a restaurant anymore.”

Contrary to expectation, cigar smoking has thrived in London – Brian believes it’s Europe’s top destination for this thanks to highend hotels opening dedicated cigar lounges: “They get around the rule with a couple of open windows or an extraction system, so it’s seen as an outside space.”

Developing a cigar hobby isn’t as simple as buying a box of Cubans.

“If you’re new to regular smoking, you don’t want a Cohiba or Bolivar, as you won’t be able to deal with it,” Brian advises. “It’s important to start with a milder brand like Hoyo or Montecristo, to gently ease you in; there are varying strengths from brand to brand, and they all have an individual flavour profile.”

That profile is what keeps Cuban cigars at the top of the market, as Brian explains. “It’s the same as the wine market – there are great wines other than from, say, Bordeaux, but

they tend not to generate the same collector interest. It comes down to the tobacco itself, which is a result of the climate and soil – much like a Bordeaux – that can’t be recreated anywhere else. You can taste clear differences between a Cuban and a Dominican Republic cigar; nonCubans can be one-dimensional.

They lack the layers of flavour.”

Not all Cuban cigars are created equal, however, with Cohibas generally perceived as the flagship.

“Unlike other Cuban brands, where the tobacco is fermented twice, Cohibas are processed three times,” Brian explains. “This gives them a softer, rounder flavour, which can be quite harsh and strong.”

Fed by a growing Chinese market, demand for cigars is outstripping supply; a box of 25 Cohibas now costs up to £1500. Despite the price rises, collectors tend to take

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their cue from the wine market, by buying a box to enjoy and another to sell later. Brian advises seeking out limited editions: “Habanos, Cuba’s governing body of cigar making, has been offering runs of 8000, 10,000 or 15,000 with cigars that have aged for three to five years. It’s clearly great tobacco and not your average production items.”

Even if you’ve snagged a box or two, however, don’t immediately light up. “Boxes that used to come out of Cuba were aged by one or two years – Cuban cigars are quite harsh when they’re put together, and unsmokeable for the first year,” says Brian. “Because of worldwide demand they’re now released earlier, which means you have to put them away for a year or two before they’re smokeable.”

New limited editions aside, it is worth looking out for Cubanproduced cigars from, say, Dunhill and Davidoff, who transferred production to the Dominican Republic in 1991. “They are very sought after – rare, not produced in a long time and great cigars,” says Brian. “If you’re buying a box of Davidoff Dom Perignon, you’ll have to pay £10,000 to £15,000.

“Then there were a couple of limited editions, such as 1492, which celebrated Columbus discovering tobacco in Cuba. That was a production of 1000 humidors, and they are very sought after – a box of 50 cigars could cost £40,000 or £50,000 now.”

Not all old cigars are worth inhaling, however. “I smoked a Cuban from 1870 – it wasn’t much other than hot smoke, it just faded away,” chuckles Brian. “Still, it was interesting to try something that old

– it felt like I was smoking history.”

Pre-embargo cigars – from before the US blocked Cuban cigar imports in 1959 after the revolution – are still around: “They’re not always the greatest smoke because they are old, and somewhat faded.”

Whatever your take on cigar collecting, Brian is at pains to point out that there should be a fundamental rule: “While the flavours and enjoyment of a particular smoke are important, smoking cigars is as much about relaxing and kicking back,” he says.

“You can’t rush a cigar; it takes a certain time depending on the size, and that allows you to put everyday stresses to one side, relax and just have some important ‘me time’, often in a comfortable chair with a glass of your favourite tipple.”

We can certainly drink to that.

ALAMY

COLLECTING

L O NG W I NG TO U R ER

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DIVERSIONS

Compiled by Nathan Chadwick and Sophie Kochan

PORSCHE LIFESTYLE RS 2.7 T-SHIRT To celebrate 50 years of the Carrera RS 2.7, Porsche has produced a range of clothing that evokes the graphic design of the age. There are several T-shirts and hoodies to choose from, but our favourite has to be this Grey Mélange T-shirt that’s styled to evoke the suitably vibrant 1970s colours the 2.7 came in. It’s entirely made from cotton, and is available in sizes S to 3XL. It costs £49. https://shop.porsche.com

ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL DAY-DATE 40 Rolex doesn’t feature platinum very often – only the Cosmograph Daytona boasts this heavy but malleable metal. The Day-Date 40 228236 uses platinum 950 alloy on the dials and the fluted bezel, and it has the mechanical, self-winding Perpetual movement and Rolex’s own 3255 caliber. Its power reserve lasts for 70 hours, and the watch is waterproof to 100 metres. Add in the iceblue dial, and it’s the perfect thing for summer driving in the Alps...

It’s yours for £50,850. www.watches-ofswitzerland.co.uk

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SWISSKUBIK MASTERBOX SwissKubik has been creating ornate watch winders for ten years.

The Masterbox range keeps automatic watches running, while also being crafted from fine materials with a wide range of finishes, from carbonfibre to the Bentley-esque quilted leather unit seen here.

You can also programme your Masterbox via USB or Bluetooth. As shown it will cost £970, but prices vary depending on finish and watch size. www.thebluecompany london.co.uk

Hand-built restorations & bespoke enhancements of classic Land Rovers and Range Rovers WWW.WINDSORCLASSICS.CO.UK

THE MILL, CROUCH LANE WINDSOR SL4 4RZ, UK +44 (0)1344 266 460 INFO@WINDSORCLASSICS.CO.UK @WINDSOR_CLASSICS

R E S T O R AT I O N A N D B E Y O N D , F O R A L I F E L E S S O R D I N A RY

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DUNHILL TRANSMISSION TIE Crafted in Italy from mulberry silk, this tie features a somewhat hallucinogenic repeating ‘Transmission’ motif inspired by automotive gears. Measuring 8cm, it’s available in red over blue, or light blue over dark blue, and costs £160. www.dunhill.com

BREMONT JAGUAR C-TYPE Bremont pays tribute to the Jaguar C-type with its latest watch, which features an anodised aluminium bezel to reflect the car’s aluminium body.

Similarly, the nine-hour sub-dial is inspired by the C-type’s Smiths gauges, while the chronograph hand is inspired by the needle on the Jaguar’s tachymeter. It’s finished with the classic Jaguar logo, and uses a modified 131/4in BE-50AV caliber movement with a 42-hour power reserve.

Three strap sizes are available, and the watch costs £5395. www.ernestjones. co.uk/webstore/ l/bremont-watches/

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SCALEXTRIC BTTF VS KNIGHT RIDER Scalextric has rendered two celluloid car heroes into plastic and metal.

The Back To The Future DeLorean DMC-12 and KITT Pontiac Firebird do battle on a figure-of-eight track in 1:32 form. They light up in suitably cinematic fashion, and Scalextric’s magnetised chassis means there’s an outside chance your decor won’t be destroyed by flying cars. Don’t hold us to that, however. This set costs £159.99, but further DeLoreans styled on their appearance in other films in the BTTF trilogy are available separately at £53.99 each. https://uk.scalextric.com

KNOWLEDGE RESTORATION SERVICE REPAIR www.timwalkerrestorations.co.uk 01296 770596

RESTORATIONS

The Vintage Watch Specialist We are qualified watchmakers with over 30 years of experience and source vintage watches that only meet the highest of standards.

Every watch we sell comes with the reassurance of a 24 month guarantee.

Buying, selling or need advice? www.watchesoflancashire.com Telephone 01254 873399

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RESTORATIONS

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FOPE CUFFLINKS Forming part of Fope’s Vendôme Collection, these handmade-in-Italy cufflinks have been created from 18-carat white gold, with baguette-cut blue sapphire detailing. They can be yours for £5390. www.fope.com

GREUBEL FORSEY 24 SECONDES ARCHITECTURE Greubel Forsey describes this watch as being unlike any other timepiece it has ever created, thanks to a brand-new caliber held within a convex ‘conical frustrum’ shape crafted from titanium. The diameter around the caseback is wider (47mm) than it is around the bezel, and the watch is water resistant to 50 metres. It has 3D variablegeometry lugs, and is hand-polished with hand-finished straight graining. There will be only 11 pieces in 2022, then 18 pieces per year between 2023 and 2025 for a total of 65 overall.

It costs £360,000. https://swissgallery.co.uk

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YOUR LIFE IN CARS The brainchild of illustrator Oliver Hydes, Your Life In Cars provides an illustrated history of your vehicleowning past. There’s the opportunity to have up to 100 cars (if you’re lucky to have owned that many), and you can also provide notes on their ownership history.

Prices start at £105 for one model, with a 100strong collection costing £1165. You can choose from a black, white, oak or grey frame, and there are additional options to further hone the finished artwork, such as with motorhomes, bicycles, lorries or racing liveries. www.yourlifeincars.com

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 70 Years of Automotive Excellence

®

A celebration of the very best of the Pebble Beach Concours: the

The book is lavish in every respect – oversized,

amazing cars, the great collectors, the judges and the partners that

beautifully produced and with over 240 pages of great writing

have enabled this annual event to have remained at the pinnacle of

and stunning photography. Available in Standard, Publisher’s

the historic motoring movement for so many years.

and Chairman’s editions, the book will become a collectors’ item and highly sought after.

70 Years of Automotive Excellence reflects on the development of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – from its early role as an

Published by Hothouse Media in partnership with the

accompaniment to the Pebble Beach Races to its pioneering role in

Pebble Beach Concours. To order your copy visit

changing attitudes towards restoration and preservation.

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Review Nathan Chadwick

WHETHER YOU LOVE OR hate Lamborghinis, you certainly can’t ignore them. Even if you hear one before you see one, nothing quite dominates the visual space like the oft-rabid expressions of automotive excess from Sant’Agata.

Gautam Sen, Kaare Byberg and Branko Radovinovic’s two-volume, 784-page, $250 opus seeks to focus on the aesthetics above all else to differentiate itself from the many Lambo books published lately. There’s a linear timeline across both volumes that profiles each major production vehicle, with profiles of the designers and carrozzerias that played their part along the way. Understandably, though, Marcello Gandini’s pen looms large over the narrative.

It’s a treasure trove of rarely seen – or never seen – sketches, designs, marketing materials and art that makes the book hard to put down (well, until your muscles have given up – it makes a Countach clutch seem light). The Miura and Countach are perhaps the obvious focus of volume one, but what elevates this title is the access to the what-might-havebeens and concepts, particularly in the era between Chrysler’s purchase and Lambo’s eventual

‘Reveals insights into egos, politics and challenges involved in crafting any car, let alone Lamborghinis’

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At the Cutting Edge of Design Another Lamborghini book? While not quite as different as the author hopes, the lavish, oft-unseen imagery makes this well worth pursuing

absorption into VAG/Audi. As with many exotic auto makers, recessiontightened purse strings fostered even greater creativity. It’s an era that, understandably, doesn’t get the same love as the Miura or Countach glory years, but the beautifully reproduced concept cars from Gandini, Zagato, Horacio Pagani and Peter Stevens are fascinating.

So too are the background stories, with insights from designers such as Luc Donckerwolke, Walter de Silva, Filippo Perini and Mitja Borkert, plus Gandini of course.

It’s a pity, then, that a fair bit of the prose retreats into reports of contemporary road tests, much of which will hardly be new to Lambo fans, which somewhat contrasts with the author’s stated raison d’être. Instead, it would have been

good to hear from artists and designers from outside the automotive realm about how Lamborghini’s unique approaches to design have inspired them. An opportunity missed.

It’s only a minor gripe, because simply turning a page reveals more intriguing sketches and designs, and insights into the egos, politics and challenges involved in crafting any car, let alone Lamborghinis.

Pretty soon you forget the downsides as you sink into another set of hand-drawn sketches or insider stories; the Diablo’s tortuous design process is a good case in point. An entertaining read that’s well worth the money for avowed Lamborghini fans and automotive aesthetes alike. www.daltonwatson.com

ABOVE AND BELOW Plenty of rarely seen material in this two-volume, 784-page tome.

PHILIP WHITEMAN

BOOK REVIEWS

WE WILL BE EXHIBITING AT THE CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE 2022

ASTON MARTIN

1965 DB5

Fully restored by Aston Engineering, presented in Black Pearl with Red Vaumol trim and Wilton Grey carpet. Matching numbers 4.7Ltr engine, handling kit, power steering, winged headrests and original style air conditioning. Leather bound restoration book. £POA

ASTON MARTIN

1988 V8 EFI VOLANTE Cumberland Grey with Dark Brown leather, Beige carpets and a newly fitted brown Mohair hood. Just 34 examples were built to this RHD Automatic specification. Previously owned by a well know TV personality. Recently serviced and in superb condition throughout. £210,000

RESTOR ATION

CAR S FOR SALE

ENGINES

SERVICING

PARTS

astonengineering.co.uk Tel:+44 (0)1332 371566 info@astonengineering.co.uk

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192

956 001: Creating a Legend

Reviews Nathan Chadwick

As Porsche’s Group C superhero marks 40 years, this is the story of the first chassis

THE PORSCHE 917 MAY BE feted as Stuttgart’s ‘special one’, but in truth its reign was short but sweet. The 956 and its 962 evolution dominated Group C racing, remaining competitive in the face of more advanced rivals right up to the banning of the category and beyond. As the 956 celebrates its 40th birthday, Thomas Nehlert has crafted a simply irresistible tome dedicated to the beginning of it all – chassis 956-001.

The scale of the manufacturer’s achievement should never be underestimated; barely had the hangovers worn off after its 1981 Le Mans victory than top brass committed to the brand-new Group C class for 1982. In just 85

days the project was ready, with many firsts for Porsche: the first monocoque; the first ground-effect two-seater car; and the need to balance power, torque and fuel economy with a water-cooled, four-valve engine.

‘Born’ on March 1, 1982, chassis 956-001 was pressed into service for testing, with a busy April that saw the likes of Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell, Jürgen Barth and others rack up the kilometres perfecting the mix. Its first competitive outing didn’t quite go to plan – it was fuelled to cover 1000km, but the Silverstone Six Hours actually totalled 1118.3km, which meant Ickx and Bell had to temper the car’s speed – but it was over a second

faster than a lighter Group 6 Lancia.

Although 956-001 would miss out on a competitive crack at what would be a stunning 956 Le Mans podium grand slam, the car would taste victory at the Norisring in the DRM, with Jochen Mass. It would then be used for testing, until a year after it first rolled out of Weissach its Porsche career ended, with 11,709km on the clock.

The 272-page book exhaustively covers the car’s development, with such luminaries as Ickx, Bell, Barth, Norbert Singer and Peter Falk sharing their memories –which sometimes, and entertainingly, don’t always match up. Aside from the extensive technical insight into the testing and development, plus

plenty of previously unseen testing photos, there are great moments of levity, such as Falk blessing the 956 with Champagne as the beginning of a new era – but only over the windscreen, as it was the easiest bit of the car to clean.

Its life after Porsche is not covered in great detail, but the 956 was recently reunited with its creators for an inspection, which has been lovingly captured.

Priced from €149 (for a limited time only), this limited-to-750 book is a riveting account of how a legend was formed, and an insight into the exacting standard within the Porsche development team. Just keep the Champagne away from it. www.sportfahrer-zentrale.com

WRC 50

MASERATI A6GCS

GT40 UNCOVERED

BRUN MOTORSPORT 1966-2009

As the World Rally Championship celebrates its 50th year, Markus Stier’s 320-page, €49.50 book is a timely release from the master of rally photography, McKlein. Given the five-decade scope there isn’t huge depth to each year’s titanic fights, but it’s still a superb read, summarising all the big talking points. It’s backed up with fantastic period imagery, not just of cars at seemingly impossible angles, but also of the personalities.

In no time it’ll leave you nostalgic for losing the feeling in your frozen extremities and being pelted by gravel while wearing a dodgy bobble hat. www.rallyandracing.com

Walter Baumer’s fifth Maserati tome celebrates one of the Modenese firm’s most beloved racing cars. The A6GCS was loved by amateurs as much as pros such as Fangio for its agile yet relatively easy handling. This 400page, $175 book follows the car’s development and coachbuilders, before delving into the individual histories of each of the 54 chassis with fanatical detail, profiling their racing and retired lives. There are superb period images, from the pulse raising to the poignant. There is also an excellent section dedicated to the people who helped shape the legend. www.daltonwatson.com

Claude Nahum and Steve Rendle serve up a different take on the GT40 story, providing fantastically detailed period technical diagrams of each constituent part of Ford’s Ferrari fryer. Most of the diagrams haven’t been published before, so this is a true treasure trove.

Our favourite bit is the quaint image outlining dimensions needed for a road-going GT40, right down to the driver being able to keep his hat on; something those taller than a jockey can only dream about in the finished car. For GT40 lovers this 176-page book (available for £350 for a short time) has to be a must. www.porterpress.co.uk

This exhaustive three-volume set pays tribute to one of the most successful Porsche customer teams.

Its 962 pages chronicle the rollercoaster ride in motor sport, from the highs of the Group C days to the lows of the EuroBrun Formula 1 project, beginning with Walter Brun’s exploits as a driver. Authored by Sacha Brun (Walter’s son), Thomas Nehlert, Eckhard Schimpf and Peter Wyss, the limited edition can be preordered at a discounted €325, and is highly recommended for Group C aficionados, with plenty of period images and illuminating text to savour. www.sportfahrer-zentrale.com

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SPEEDMASTER SPEEDMASTER SPEEDMASTER SPEEDMASTER SPECIALIST SPEEDMASTER SPECIALIST SPECIALIST SPECIALIST ININ HISTORIC SPECIALIST HISTORIC IN HISTORIC INAUTOMOBILES HISTORIC AUTOMOBILES IN HISTORIC AUTOMOBILES AUTOMOBILES AUTOMOBILES Tel: Tel: +44 +44 Tel: (0)1937 +44 (0)1937 Tel:(0)1937 +44 220 Tel: 220 (0)1937 360 +44 360 220 or (0)1937 360 or +44 220 +44 or (0)7768 360 220 +44 (0)7768 or 360 (0)7768 +44 800 or 800 (0)7768 +44 773 800 773 (0)7768 773 800 773 800 773 info@speedmastercars.com info@speedmastercars.com info@speedmastercars.com info@speedmastercars.com info@speedmastercars.com www.speedmastercars.com www.speedmastercars.com www.speedmastercars.com www.speedmastercars.com www.speedmastercars.com

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Acquire

Reviews Nathan Chadwick

Social history meets automotive glitterati as a deep dive into the Shah’s own fleet reveals much to savour

THE LAST SHAH OF IRAN’S life is probably due a Netflix special, but it deserves the accolade.

Moved into power following an Anglo-Soviet invasion, he led the country from 1941 to 1979, when he was forced into exile following a popular revolution.

He’s a divisive figure, and Borzou Sepasi’s forensically researched, 564-page, $150 book doesn’t flinch from this. The story really begins with the introduction of the car to Iran, and the royal garages that followed. However, the last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as he was otherwise known, was a devout petrol-head, and it is his love of cars that drives this book.

After his father was forced into exile, the young Shah first adapted

to his new role with the aid of a Cadillac V16, but his initial trip to the UK saw him order a Touringbodied Frazer Nash. The same trip took him to France, where he had to have a Delahaye 135M bodied

by Ghia. It was the start of a spree that was only partly interrupted by a coup in 1954. Porsche, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz and more were all recipients of the Shah’s interest.

Not all were purchases, with several heads of state giving cars to the Shah as a way of currying favour with regards to Iran’s oil reserves; the Spanish government gifted a Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta Touring, for example. All of this and more is detailed among more than 1000 photographs that form a carpropelled narrative of the Shah’s

reign. Perhaps the most famous of his fleet is the Maserati Scià di Persia, which came about after a chance spotting of a retired 450S race car during a factory visit. He set the firm to work building a road-going model based on those underpinnings, and his Touringbodied 5000GT was born. Maserati loved it – and built 34 more.

The Shah had another passion, however – the Lamborghini Miura.

Or, to be more accurate, several Miuras, as he ordered four of them including the one-off SVJ that stayed in his fleet up until the end.

These stories are backed up with excellent period photographs, and archive documents and letters.

Perhaps the book’s most intriguing section is the one that details what

happened to the cars after the Shah’s exile. While some are in the country’s national motor museum, others have moved into private hands. There are some fascinating tales here, such as the Ferrari 500 Superfast that was expropriated twice by the Iranian Government following the revolution, and patched up with a taillight sourced from a Land Rover.

It’s a book filled with stories and archive photography, and paints an intriguing picture of the Shah’s reign. It’s highly recommended. www.daltonwatson.com

TRANS AFRICA LAND ROVER

THE VINTAGE ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER GHOST VOLUME II

THE MISSING LINK? ALFA ROMEO 12C PROTOTIPO

RICHARD OAKES: MASTER OF DESIGN

The 40/50 was the bedrock of RollsRoyce’s identity, particularly in Silver Ghost form. Steve Hubbard’s 512-page, second (of three) volume covers the evolution of the post-war Derby-built cars, and looks at the anecdotes and characters wrapped up in these icons.

With a beautifully prepared catalogue of sales literature, illustrations and parts lists, this book gets to the heart of one of history’s most famous model lines. There’s plenty of engineering detail, too, while the stories and lives detailed within never fail to intrigue.

The three-volume set costs £495. www.vintagesilverghost.com

What do you get if you combine Ferdinand Porsche, Gioacchino Colombo and Alfa Romeo? The oneof-one 12C Prototipo, produced just before World War Two. Powered by a 3.0-litre S10 V12 in a Porsche-modified 8C 2900 chassis, it’s a fascinating tale told by the likes of Karl Ludvigsen, Pino Allievi, Lorenzo Adizio and Bernd Ostmann. This £250, 273-page book also explores the preservation process. Beautifully designed, written and researched, it’s a fascinating insight into the possibilities lost with the passage of time. https://progetto33-shop.ch

Oakes might not be well known in auto-design circles, but you’ll have seen his work if you love kit cars.

While the GTM and Midas may be more familiar to UK readers, it is the VW Beetle-based Nova – or Sterling in the US – that is most well known.

However, Douglas Anderson’s passionately written, £30, 178-page book reveals further secrets, such as Oakes’ proposal for the Aston Martin Virage and on-spec designs for Alfa and Abarth. With real insight into his life and methodologies, plus sketches and designs, there’s much to savour. andersonandclarkpublishing@gmail.com

Philip Kohler always had a spirit of adventure, even after moving from his native Australia to the UK to study medicine. However, the call of African adventure was too hard to ignore, so in 1957 the 23-year-old set off on a three-year trip across Saharan Africa with a Leica and a Land Rover.

This beautiful book is full of glorious photography of a world that is now merely a hazy memory. There are many superb anecdotes, too. Martin Port now owns Kohler’s Land Rover and Leica; the author’s passion for them shines through. This £30, 146-page book is well worth a look. www.porterpress.co.uk

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PHILIP WHITEMAN

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Words Clive Robertson, solicitor, Healys LLP

Behavioural changes Dramatic advances have heralded a new era for car auctions as online channels come to the fore, altering selling and buying practices forever

THE WORD ‘AUCTION’ IS TAKEN from the Latin word ‘augeo’, which means to increase. Herodotus the Greek historian was the first to record the auction process, circa 500BC, reporting that it was used for the purpose of selling women for marriage. As for the transport business, the horse auction has, time out of mind, been the principal method of sale. As the motor car took the place of the horse, so auction became the main method of acquiring and disposing of vehicles.

Up until 2014, this traditional Herodotus car-auction process remained broadly the same – and then Bring a Trailer Auctions arrived on the US scene with the concept of an online auction, building on the popular BaT classifieds website.

This was followed two years later in the UK by The Market. I had made the acquaintance of the company’s Tristan Judge when inspecting a Ferrari on behalf of a client, and again when returning as a customer while selling my late father’s Jaguar XJ12. I was impressed by the transparency of the process, the attention to detail and the appealing fee schedule.

In retrospect, it’s probably fair to say that the advent of the online sale model changed the classic car auction irretrievably for the better.

I had been curious to know how Tristan and his fellow director Tim Joslyn had happened upon their concept. In 2016 Tim had conjured up the idea of an online database, to be called Patina. Apparently the aim had been to allow classic car owners to record their vehicles’ history, to include photos, in permanent form.

If documents were lost, stolen or perished, the database would exist

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as a last-resort keep-safe.

There was also no charge to participants for the service. It was clear, too, that this digital database could significantly help buyers and sellers transparently describe a car they were transacting remotely on.

So the Patina team added a digital auction process to the website and app, and, voila, The Market was born. The owners determined that if overheads such as buildings and sales staff could be avoided, the transaction fees could be kept low, which of itself would be attractive to potential customers.

The real key to The Market’s success, however, was the quality of its offering. Detailed descriptions – including the highlighting of faults, along with multiple high-resolution images, often running to more than 300 – generated confidence in buyers, which in turn led to more

‘Transparent, simpler and easily accessible; for most, the online auction will be the vehicle of choice’

bids, and hence more sales. Tristan told me that on average each car listed for sale generated at least one actual inspection. Most importantly, the cars could be test driven; a facility that is not on offer at the traditional auction.

The business was boosted by the unfortunate arrival of Covid. Tristan relates that national lockdowns prevented most traditional auctions from functioning at all, accelerating the online auction place’s already rapidly increasing market share.

This effect was even more marked in the US, where the site Classic.com recorded classic car auction sales in 2021 of $2.3 billion – 72 percent higher than sales in 2020, when that figure in turn was 62 percent higher than the one in 2019.

Together, but on a grander scale in the US, Bring a Trailer and The Market changed the way collector cars are bought and sold. A byproduct of this activity is the decline of the classified ad. Gone are the days of peering through Exchange and Mart, Autosport, Motor Sport et al. No more fretting over whether to drive the length of the country to inspect a prospective purchase based on a description of no more than 15 words and no photo.

Aside from The Market – The Market by Bonhams now, which speaks as to its success – the

mainstream auction houses issue terms and conditions that are considerably more extensive and comprehensive. To some degree these are a consequence of the greater range of services on offer, such as collection, delivery, storage, valeting and so forth. These extensive T&Cs are often set out in a number of related documents.

Take Gooding & Company, the Santa Monica concern that will be holding an auction at September’s Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace, the Thames-side former home of King Henry VIII. Gooding’s suite of documents is both extensive and comprehensive, beginning with a step-by-step guide to preparing your vehicle for auction, from paperwork, through travel to the venue, to a final checklist.

The converted consignor will then be presented with a consignment agreement term sheet containing the individual terms of the transaction, with T&Cs attached.

This latter document references further conditions of sale, which can be found on the website or printed in the catalogue.

Whether buying or selling at auction, it is imperative that the parties understand the full extent of their obligations and liabilities. If all proceeds well at auction, the T&Cs will not have been relevant.

However, if issues ensue, the course of events will be governed by the auction contract in all its parts.

At the very least, the T&Cs should be read over, and at best the canny individual should fix an appointment with their lawyer.

Returning to Tristan, I asked how he saw the future unfolding in terms of the process of buying and selling.

He felt that the classified ad had started to be consigned to history, and that there would always be a place for the great houses putting together events to showcase the trophy and art cars, leaving space at the other end of the market for local auctions with more modest offerings. For most of us, the online auction will be the vehicle of choice, where the process is transparent, simpler and easily accessible. That sounds like progress to me.

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Earning their wings What better way to pay tribute to British airborne institution the Red Arrows than with a formation display of classic MGBs?

IT’S FUNNY HOW SOMETIMES one seemingly inconsequential thing can lead to something amazing. Once, while I was testing a 1937 MercedesBenz 540K Special Roadster, I stopped to help a broken-down biker.

His alternator had packed up, so we left the motorcycle in his mate’s driveway and I gave him a lift to work in the 540K. He was a fireman at the local station, and the look on his colleagues’ faces as we drove up in a £4.5 million Merc was priceless.

Colin Hitchins (now Councillor Hitchins for St Paul’s Cray, Kent) was also MD of Air Displays International, which ran the Biggin Hill air show. He later rang to thank me for helping, and asked whether I could help his then-wife Fran to put together a classic car display for the air show. “Yes, of course,” says I… We started with 40 cars over the two days, but word quickly got out about what a good deal and how much fun it was, so the next year was bigger… as was the next. After six years we ended up with around 125 cars and bikes, with pretty much a different selection for each day.

Initially it was free to enter, but we found that some people would book three or four different shows for the weekend and then decide which to go to on the day. This makes it hard for the organiser, because you think you have a certain number coming, which then falls short. Also, there are always people who would have liked to come but couldn’t because the show was ostensibly full.

Once we knew this, we charged £5 to enter; a nominal fee, but enough to make people think before deciding not to come in favour of another show. We gave the Air Ambulance Service all the money we raised; the equivalent to two take-offs and

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Words Robert Dean

landings, we were told. Brilliant!

In 2014 the Red Arrows aerobatics display team was marking its 50th anniversary. It was based at Biggin Hill for the weekend, so I decided to do something special as part of its celebration. I discovered that in 1964, when the team started, MG lent it nine red MGBs to parade in, so I thought I would replicate that.

After all, how difficult could it be?

A friend and I both had red 1960s MGBs, so I then asked the MG club’s local area chairman whether any of his members who had a suitable roadster would like to take part. The task of tracking down nine cars was harder and took much longer than I expected, but I did it. In fact, I ended up with ten – and because the Red Arrows had a spare pilot, he went as ‘Tail End Charlie’ in the final car.

I arranged the car in the ‘Diamond Nine’ formation, and when the pilots came they were amazed at what we’d done. And I had to laugh when they all got into the passenger seat of the car that was their flying position.

The health and safety man said we had to drive the cars in single file while travelling through the public area, but I pointed out that if we were driving through the crowds anyway it didn’t matter whether we were in Diamond Nine or single file. “I never thought of that,” he said – and so he and I ran ahead of the formation MGBs and shooed people out of the way.

Amid much cheering and highfiving, it all looked spectacular. The cars drove around the arena, and I then arranged them back ‘in formation’ so the pilots could go and do their piece on the stage. After that they got back into their respective cars and – despite the pilots needing to return to their aeroplanes – I secretly told the drivers to do two rounds of the arena first.

We were the only people to celebrate the Red Arrows’ anniversary in such style, and even now if I meet an owner of one of the red MGBs they still mention it. In fact, one of them told me that a few years after the event he was visiting the crew’s home base and met the pilot who had been in his car. He was told the aerobatics team members still talk about their Biggin Hill experience.

It always amazed me that I could

ABOVE MGB display was arranged to celebrate the Red Arrows’ 50th. not get the press interested in what we were doing. As a result there is no footage of it, while the only images are those taken by the official show photographer (now lost in time) and any that private people sent me. Still, I know what we did for the amazing Red Arrows, and that those who took part will always remember it.

At the end of the Biggin Hill show we’d give a big cardboard cheque to the Air Ambulance, and I’d present first, second and third prizes to the cars. I always told people bribery and flattery were perfectly acceptable ways of trying to get an award...

Some people didn’t behave very well and were not invited back. One marque club refused to stay until the 5pm deadline, and left during prize-giving, which I pointed out to

everyone. They applauded when I said “you won’t see them next year”.

One owners’ club that shall remain unnamed brought a lovely group of cars, but the participants were very difficult about almost everything, had an over-inflated opinion of their own importance and were actually quite rude. Despite all this, I arranged them into a great display. A single owner of the same marque who wasn’t with the club was lovely. Needless to say, he returned the next year and was not at all surprised that the others didn’t.

Running the classic car display for the Biggin Hill air show was a huge amount of hard work for both me and Colin Hitchins’ team at ADI, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Be part of the machinery.

Former Ecclestone Collection manager Robert Dean now runs Curated Vehicle Management. See www.c-v-m.co.uk.

STUART HITHERSAY

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Words Sam Hancock

Testing times on Tour Auto Tackling France’s roads and special stages at a pace proved exhilarating for our racing driver – even during a surprise vineyard visit

PETER AUTO’S TOUR AUTO, held annually in France, is something of a petrol-heads’ fairytale. Routes through spectacular scenery, idyllic villages and historic towns; lunches in glorious châteaux; sprint races on iconic circuits; and ‘flat-out’ special stages on temporarily closed roads.

All punctuated by pitstops for coffee, croissants, foie gras or even a soupçon of the local grape.

Eligible for vehicles built between 1951-1973, the Tour Auto is today a celebration of what, for much of the past century, was an important and highly competitive road race, the Tour de France Automobile. Hotly contested by Ferrari, Jaguar, Matra, Porsche and Lancia among others, the Tour’s tableau d’honneur was a who’s who of motor-racing royalty.

Today’s concept is straightforward.

For those choosing to enter the Competition section rather than the more civilised Regularity, you simply drive as fast as you can during the circuit races and on the special stages, while trying not to pick up penalties on the transit sections between them. Penalties are generally awarded for those caught speeding on the public highway or late arrival at check-points.

Navigation is via directional ‘tulip’ diagrams detailed in the official road book, and each car is crewed by a driver and a navigator – although they are free to switch roles at any time. For the more serious entrants, preparers field a support team that follows the route at a distance in a van full of tools and spare parts.

Starting in Paris and ending in Andorra, this year’s five-day edition passed via overnight stops in La Baule, Limoges, Bordeaux and Pau, all

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of which greeted the cavalcade of 230 classic cars with tremendous fanfare.

I was incredibly lucky to participate once again in a Group 4 Ferrari 365GTB/4 ‘Daytona’, a truly historic example that finished 12th overall at Le Mans in 1975 for Ecurie Francorchamps, whose famous livery it still wears today. Perhaps not the most obvious choice for an event whose results are heavily influenced by performance on the dozen or so tight, twisty and often incredibly narrow special-stage sections, but a versatile one nonetheless.

Unlike many of the more pure-bred

ABOVE Ex-Ecurie Francorchamps Group 4 365GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ proved a perfect Tour Auto contender. race cars that contest the Tour – think FIA-spec Cobras, E-types, M1 Procars or even the DFV-powered Ligier JS2 – the Daytona is quite comfortable on the scenic transit stages (with the glorious soundtrack of that 4.4-litre Colombo V12 for entertainment) and most capable on the circuits. But it really commands attention on the special stages, which are truly something to behold.

Approximately 10-15km in length,

each stage is held on closed roads for a one-by-one ‘rally-style’ race against the clock (indeed, many of the stages are used in international rallies, including the WRC). Most of the surfaces are hard-standing, some with a light dusting of gravel, but the real problem is that they are all driven blind, without detailed pace notes (the ‘tulips’ reference only intersections and hazards) or any opportunity for an advanced recce.

So a cautious approach is a must.

My co-driver and I discovered that the best strategy was to be ‘suspicious’ of the corner ahead, anticipating that it would likely be tighter than it looked and therefore require a late turn-in and a late apex that opened the exit and provided options if needed.

This worked wonderfully for the corners that did indeed turn out to be considerably more sharp than anticipated. But it was infuriating for those that – in my best co-driver lingo – were “easy flat over crest”.

Navigating each stage from the passenger seat via intercom, I did my best to channel my inner Nicky Grist, and I even studied how to call each corner in the style of a proper rally co-driver (thank you YouTube).

But without formal pace notes or a recce, we simply didn’t have sufficient information and ultimately had to rely on gut instinct.

This served us well initially, and we were pleased to find our names listed higher up the pecking order than expected after the first few stages. Of course, this was the worst that could happen, because it fuelled our confidence daily... right up to the humbling moment that a small mistake ploughed a Daytona-sized path deep into an adjacent vineyard.

Grateful for the soft landing, we were relieved to find negligible damage to the car. Less could be said, however, of the young vines. Within minutes the local landowner arrived on the scene to survey his somewhat mutilated crop. Fearing the worst, we mustered our best French and offered a profuse apology. But we needn’t have worried. Far from being upset, he simply requested a few selfies with the car, gifted us a bottle of his finest vintage and cheered us on our way.

PETER AUTO

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Behind the legend

Words Ed Swart

Abarth of hot water Dutch racer Ed Swart didn’t let his relative lack of knowledge about The Green Hell hold him back

MY WINS IN THE EARLY 1965 races with the Abarth 1000TC attracted the attention of Carlo Abarth, who invited me by telegram to drive for his Works team at the Nürburgring Six Hours FIA Touring Car event in mid-June. This was a very exciting moment indeed, bringing with it a big change from being a private amateur racer to becoming a professional factory driver. When I confirmed that I’d accept the drive, the Abarth team manager Dottore Renzo Avidano asked me if I had ever raced on the Nürburgring. I answered truthfully – only once, one lap in reverse direction during the 1963 Tulip Rally – so he requested that I spend a week at the ’Ring to learn the track... the right way around.

In June ’65, I took my Fiat 2800 saloon to the ’Ring and started driving. Predictably, after a few laps the brakes and tyres overheated, so I went over to the Sport Hotel restaurant to get a coffee and figure out what to do next. There I bumped

into a young Belgian driver, Jacky Ickx, who was also learning the track and had been having the same problems with his car. Jacky said that he had called Ford Belgium to get him a well prepared rally Mustang so he could continue practising. He invited me to join him, which was a very generous offer. Jacky and I started driving with the Mustang, and every lap we swapped turns in the driver’s seat. We started to scare each other when we were going faster later in the week, so on the Thursday we did laps alone and started to get more familiar with the circuit.

On Friday the teams began arriving, and Abarth had three cars

‘I had raced on the Nürburgring only once – one lap in reverse direction in the Tulip Rally’

ABOVE Swart racing at the Nürburgring for the second time in 1965. His first attempt was a much riskier proposition… entered for the event. The first car was for the Germans Kurt Ahrens and Klaus Steinmetz to share, the second one for the German Fritz Jüttner and me, and the third one for Italian duo Calascibetta and Virgilio.

The Germans all knew the track, the Italians had driven there before, and were talking about “11 minutes or so” lap times. I was the only one who hadn’t actually raced on the track.

Friday was practice day, and Abarth allowed each driver to do two laps. Although I was getting faster on my second lap, I knew that I still had much to learn. I predicted that I would be the slowest of the six team drivers, and I asked Dottore Renzo Avidano what my lap time was. Avidano looked at his time sheet and he said “tredici” (13). I thought my lap time was 13 minutes and the others were

doing 11 minutes, so I was sure to be the slowest.

In the garage, Avidano had put down his clipboard, so I had a quick look at it – he had not told me the minutes but the seconds. I was very pleased to see that my second lap had been 11 minutes 13 seconds, making me the third fastest of the six drivers. That gave me a huge amount of confidence for my first race with the factory team.

Fritz Jüttner was a good co-driver, and we finished the race second in class behind Kurt Ahrens and Klaus Steinmetz, who placed sixth overall. We placed tenth overall which, given the quality of the opposition, was pretty decent.

After my first race at the Nürburgring I raced with the Works five more times that year. I had collected 61 points driving in six races and become European Champion.

Taken from Ed Swart: From Zandvoort To Daytona by Ed Swart and Johnny Tipler, published by Coterie Press at www.coteriepress.com.

Magneto (ISSN No: 2631-9489, USPS number 22830) is published four times a year – in February, May, August and November – by Hothouse Publishing Ltd, UK. Magneto is distributed in the US by RRD/Spatial, 1250 Valley Brook Ave, Lyndhurst NJ 07071. Periodicals postage paid at South Hackensack NJ and other additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Magneto c/o RRD, 1250 Valley Brook Ave, Lyndhurst NJ 07071.

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