Magneto issue 19: Autumn 2023

ISSUE

19 AU T U M N 2023

D E TH

G N I AR

ADV

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F O ES

S Y O Y B

£12.95

SUPERCAR MADNESS: VECTOR MEETS ISDERA

MARIO ANDRETTI’S A L L- C O N Q U E R I N G L O T U S

T O P 50 E U R O P E A N C A R S WITH AMERICAN HEARTS

F I G O N I : T H E G R E AT E S TEVER COACHBUILDER? PRINTED IN THE UK

A PLACE I KNOW

Among the clouds is a place I know Free from the burdens far down below And I’ve witnessed a steed that can carry you there So you too may gallop through pastures of air You see This place, Only the winged may chance; The great halls of sky in which they dance Beyond the horizon Look!

Just there!

A place I know - the Spitfire’s lair…

Our guests are often surprised by the emotions that accompany their day with Aerial Collective. The astonishing views over the wing and the weightlessness of flight as you explore the British skies in a way that only a few have known. Over the years we have met those who laugh, and those who cry; those who touch back down with a tale to tell, and those whose smile utters everything they need you to know. Whether a lover of history, or a lover of adventure; an explorer or a dreamer. We look forward to welcoming you to Aerial Collective Duxford, and taking you on a journey… to a place we know.

TO F I N D O U T M O R E V I S I T U S O N L I N E O R C A L L O U R O PS T E A M

A E R IA L C OL L E C T I V E . C O. U K

+44 (0) 1223 653 830

I M M E R S I V E WA R B I R D F L I G H T E X P E R I E N C E S F R O M F O R M E R R A F D U X F O R D A I R F I E L D

THE LIMITED-EDITION TRIPLE-FOUR RACING CHRONOGRAPH IS MORE THAN A BEAUTIFUL WATCH It’s a Swiss Chronometer with heritage features that offer a journey of discovery, inspired by iconic automobiles and featuring details paying homage to British motorsport history. Designed by the legendary Sir Terence Conran, and limited to just 500 units. www.brooklandswatches.com

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20 COMING SOON There are still plenty of concours, rallies and races to come for 2023

25 S TA R T E R Germany’s stunning National Automuseum, Tyrrell, alternative fuels, Group C racing, Savile Row, DB12 and more

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ADVENTURES OF THE BENTLEY BOYS

SPEED 8’S 2003 LE MANS VICTORY

BECOMING A BENTLEY BOY

B ENTLEY CONVOY R A C E S AT L E M A N S

GOODWOOD BADGES

The real-life Boy’s Own story of the bravest, the most audacious and the most glamorous racers of their generation

Guy Smith and Tom Kristensen recall the anxiety and elation of their 24 Hourswinning Bentley drive

Andrew Frankel drives the marque’s very own 41/2 Litre ‘Blower’ Continuation in the Le Mans Classic 2023

Benjafield’s road trip of a lifetime, followed by unique anniversary race at La Sarthe.

Magneto was there

Celebrating event milestones with a collection of historic members’ badges

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V E C T O R TA K E S ON ISDERA

M A R I O ’ S K A R T: THE LOTUS 79

JOSEPH FIGONI 100 YEARS ON

TOP 50 TRANSAT L A N T I C C A R S

Two of the wildest supercars from the 1990s, built by small companies with big plans

A complicated and emotional journey to World Championship domination for ‘Black Beauty’ and Andretti

On the centenary of his carrosserie’s founding, we look at the dazzling career of the world’s greatest coachbuilder

European styling and engineering mixed with all-American muscle – the most beautiful yet brutish cars ever made

179 ACQUIRE Buying a MercedesBenz SL W113 ‘Pagoda’, collecting vintage sunglasses, watches, art and photos, books, products and more

204 T H E L AW Y E R : COPYRIGHT CASES

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206 T H E C U R AT O R : F U N I N VA N S

208 THE RACER: O N -T R A C K E T I Q U E T T E

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MY HERO: WAY N E C A R I N I

Achieving results since 1929

RECENTLY SOLD 1922 BENTLEY 3 LITRE The very first Le Mans Bentley, driven to a fourth-place finish by John Duff and Frank Clement in 1923

KIDSTON S . A . 7 AVENUE PICTET DE ROCHEMONT, 12 07 GENEVA , SWITZERLAND TEL+41 22 740 1939 WWW.KIDSTON.COM Keeping History Alive

Editor’s welcome

19 We might have got a little carried away. What started as a timely piece on the Bentley Boys just grew and grew, until... well, you’ll see the extent of the features in this issue. But all or nothing felt like the right attitude when talking about Birkin, Barnato, Kidston and co.

What I love about the Bentley Boys story is that it has never really ended. Sure, the original protagonists mostly left this earth rather sooner than they should have, as Andrew Frankel explains in his evocative essay on their exploits – but their spirits have lived on in the owners and drivers of Vintage Bentleys that followed.

Indeed, Andrew himself could now be counted as a Bentley Boy, seeing as he raced Bentley Motors’ own 4½ Litre Continuation at Le Mans Classic this year – another great tale in this issue.

And the sense of adventure, speed and fun embodied by the Bentley Boys was certainly channelled this summer by the members of the Benjafield’s Racing Club, who drove their Vintage Bentleys from London to compete in the all-Bentley race at Le Mans Classic.

How did they get on? Brilliantly, I think. They were last seen doing the conga into the Hotel de France – having raised a generous amount for Sepsis Research FEAT in the meantime, which the charity is over the moon about. The spirit of the Bentley Boys is still with us, and we hope you enjoy our tribute to all of them in this issue.

David Lillywhite Editorial director

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Contributors DUKE OF RICHMOND When a friend uncovered a stunning, complete set of Goodwood Motor Circuit badges dating back to 1966, we agreed to feature them to mark this year’s major Goodwood anniversaries – and who better to explain their significance in writing than the Duke of Richmond himself?

PETER M LARSEN It’s 100 years in 2023 since Joseph Figoni founded his coachbuilding business, later to become the globally famous Figoni et Falaschi.

World authority and author on the subject Peter Larsen, who’ll be judging the Figoni class at Pebble Beach, explains Joseph’s importance.

ANDREW FRANKEL Seeing as he’s now a Bentley Boy, having driven a Works Bentley for the factory on the Le Mans circuit, Andrew was the obvious choice to explain why the legends of the original Bentley Boys have endured so long – and why we should never underestimate their achievements.

Renowned historian Doug christened Lotus’ World Championship-winning Type 79 ‘Black Beauty’ in period – and with Mario Andretti’s car, 79/4, soon set to go under the hammer, who better to write the history of what to many is the most beautiful machine of the ‘modern’ F1 era?

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ILLUSTR ATIONS PETER ALLE N

DOUG NYE

I N V I T I N G

C O N S I G N M E N T S

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 Fabio Affuso, Jonathon Burford, Wayne Carini, Nathan Chadwick, Simon Clay, Tavis Coburn, Ben Dale, Robert Dean, Simon de Burton, Duke of Richmond, Indira Flack, Jayson Fong, Andrew Frankel, Winston Goodfellow, Alex Goy, Sam Hancock, Richard Heseltine, Dave Kinney, Evan Klein, Dale LaFollette, Peter M Larsen, Doug Nye, Roman Rätzke, Clive Robertson, Ricardo Santos, John Simister, Joe Twyman, Don Wales, Rupert Whyte Single issues and subscriptions Please visit www.magnetomagazine.com or call +44 (0)208 068 6829

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

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1960 PORSCHE RS60 I Outstanding Example of Porsche’s Ultimate Four-Cam Spyder Successfully Raced by Bill Wuesthoff Between 1960–1963 I Coachwork by Wendler I Chassis 718-060

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Register to Bid 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.

More from Magneto

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CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE TICKETS

SUBSCRIBE TO MAGNETO

Magneto readers are being offered an exclusive promotional deal for Concours of Elegance tickets.

The 50 percent discount applies to all admission types for the prestigious event, which takes place at the UK’s Hampton Court Palace on September 1-3, 2023. The code is MAGNETO23. Please see link for details. https://buff.ly/3Oh515E

Don’t miss out on any issues of Magneto! You can subscribe for one year for £54 including p&p (€62 or $68, plus postage), or two years for £94 including p&p (€108 or $120, plus postage).

Magneto is delivered in strong cardboard packaging. www.magnetomagazine.com or telephone +44 (0)208 068 6829

NEW HOTHOUSE MEDIA WEBSITE

MAGNETO SLIPCASES

Hothouse Media, the publishing team behind Magneto, also creates content, events and publications for leading brands such as Pebble Beach Concours, M1 Concourse, Thorough Events, Bicester Heritage and many more. Our new website has all the details. www.hothousemedia.co.uk

Slipcases are now back in stock. Each elegant slipcase holds a full year of Magneto magazines. They’re made from Colorado cloth with a Suedel Luxe lining, with ‘Magneto’ embossed on both sides. Keep your publications in pristine condition and easily accessible. www.magnetomagazine.com

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Effortlessly elegant accessories.

Scan the QR code or visit shop.BentleyMotors.com to explore the Bentley Collection.

The name ‘Bentley’ and the ‘B’ in wings device are registered trademarks. © 2023 Bentley Motors Limited

Coming soon

ROAD TO HANOI MARATHON January 27-February 23, 2024 Beautiful beaches, challenging mountains, bustling cityscapes and classic cars – the Road To Hanoi Marathon promises it all. Now postponed to early 2024, the event starts in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with four days exploring the coastline and mountains. It then heads into Cambodia and across the Mekong River, before arriving in Siem Reap to explore the Angkor Wat temple.

Next stop is Thailand, to Nakhon Ratchasima and Mae Sot, with a visit to Chiang Mai, too. Then it’s across to Laos and the Mekong River again, taking in Vientiane before heading to Luang Prabang, then heading back to Vietnam to tackle a 200km mountain challenge that includes the nation’s highest road, the Tram Ton Pass.

From there it’s on to Ha Long Bay, and finally to Hanoi for a prize-giving dinner and a well earned spot of R&R after four weeks on the road. www.rallytheglobe.com/ road-to-hanoi Magneto

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Coming soon BELOW A week of fine automotive culture includes hillclimb, at the new St Moritz Automobile Week.

MONTEREY CAR WEEK

GOODWOOD REVIVAL

August 11-20, 2023

September 8-10, 2023

Epicentre of classic car culture, featuring Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca, The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, Concorso Italiano and many more events. The jewel in the crown is the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. https://monterey.org

Celebrations aplenty, including 75 years since the circuit opened. www.goodwood.com

SILVERSTONE FESTIVAL August 25-27, 2023 The world’s largest Historic racing festival – more than 20 races, 1000 entries and 10,000 club cars. www.silverstone.co.uk

SAN MARINO MOTOR CLASSIC August 27, 2023 More than 400 top-tier collector cars do battle across 30 classes. https://sanmarinomotorclassic.com

SALON PRIVÉ August 30-September 2, 2023 Exclusive concours at Blenheim Palace, which then opens up to 1000 classics and supercars. www.salonpriveconcours.com

CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE September 1-3, 2023 London’s Hampton Court Palace plays host to the finest cars from around the world. https://concoursofelegance.co.uk

DIX MILLE TOURS September 1-3, 2023 Group C racers hit 180mph at Paul Ricard, among other Historic racing highlights. www.peterauto.fr

INTERNATIONAL ST MORITZ AUTOMOBILE WEEK September 8-17, 2023 Stunning Bernina Pass hillclimb, concours, auction and much more. https://i-s-a-w.com

CIRCUIT DES REMPARTS September 15-17, 2023 Historic racing in Angoulême. www.circuitdesremparts.com

RALLYE PÈRE-FILS September 15-17, 2023 Monte Carlo or bust... https://en.happyfewracing.com

DETROIT CONCOURS September 22-23, 2023 Celebrating car culture in the heart of the Motor City, Michigan. www.detroitconcours.com

BOSTON CUP September 24, 2023 A very high-calibre car show. https://thebostoncup.com

RENNSPORT REUNION September 28-October 1, 2023 Porsche heaven at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, US. www.porscherennsportreunion.com

AMERICAN SPEED FESTIVAL September 28-October 1, 2023 Action at Michigan’s M1 Concourse. https://m1concourse.com

AUDRAIN NEWPORT CONCOURS/MOTOR WEEK Rhode Island hosts East Coast’s answer to Pebble Beach. www.audrainconcours.com

ZOUTE CONCOURS October 7-8, 2023 On Belgium’s beautiful coast. https://zoutegrandprix.be

MODENA CENTO ORE October 9-14, 2023 From Rome to Modena on the best roads, circuits and special stages. https://modenacentoore.canossa.com

CHATTANOOGA MOTOR CAR FESTIVAL Concours plus high-speed demos. https://chattanoogamotorcar.com

September 1-4, 2023

AUTO MOTO D’EPOCA

Magneto

Historic cars charge around Florida’s legendary circuit through the night. www.daytonainternational speedway.com

LONDON TO BRIGHTON VETERAN RUN November 5, 2023

LIME ROCK PARK HISTORIC FESTIVAL

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November 1-5, 2023

September 28-October 1, 2023

October 13-15, 2023

Glorious racing cars from days past spend Labor Day Weekend doing what comes naturally. https://limerock.com

CLASSIC DAYTONA AND DAYTONA HISTORICS

October 26-29, 2023 Italian cars and automobilia. https://autoemotodepoca.com/en-GB

Celebrating the oldest, finest cars on public roads. www.veterancarrun.com

LAS VEGAS CONCOURS November 11, 2023 Stunning American concours in the city that never sleeps. www.lasvegasconcours.com

GULF HISTORIC December 8-10, 2023 1970s-themed event, complete with Historic racing at the Dubai Autodrome (left). https://gulf-historic.com

PER ARDUA AD INFINITUM February 10-11, 2024 Head into Wales covering hallowed former WRC stages. https://heroevents.eu

3 Day Boutique Auction with Curated Cars WorldwideAuctioneers.com | 260.925.6789

2021 Ford GT Carbon Series

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Coachwork by Carrozzeria Castagna of Milan 1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Roadster

Known history and provenance including the collections of D. Cameron Peck and Al Ferrera, Retains its original chassis, engine and body, Documented restoration to exceptional standards, Eligible for concours, tours and important events worldwide, Well known in Isotta Fraschini circles, The pinnacle of Italian luxury car design

1980 BMW M1

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First look inside Germany’s superb new car museum

Former racers and staff pay tribute to Tyrrell founder Ken

Exclusive cars and style at Concours on Savile Row

New DB12 ‘Super Tourer’ shows off Aston’s ambitions

Alternative fuels for classic cars explained

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Starter

Words Nathan Chadwick

Photography The Nationales Automuseum The Loh Collection

IN ONE SECTION LIES A BUGATTI Type 57 Atalante, while in another there is the one-of-one Maybach Exelero. Look further, and there’s a multitude of DTM, NASCAR, endurance racing and Formula 1 cars, including Michael Schumacher’s first World Championship-winning Ferrari. As museums go, there’s no faulting this one’s diversity.

The Nationales Automuseum The Loh Collection was founded by Professor Dr Friedhelm Loh, and has been set up on the University of Nürtingen-Geislingen’s campus, in the heart of Germany halfway between Frankfurt and Dortmund.

The spread of cars is vast – 150 machines dating from 1886 up to the modern day, displayed in a 7500sq/m exhibition space designed to evoke the ambiance of historic industrial halls; there’s even a graffiti artwork for the sports car section.

“These unique cars reflect courage, the power of innovation, pioneering design, craftsmanship and a love of detail,” explains Loh. “All of that is to inspire, delight and entertain people who are interested.”

The museum has been many years in the formation – the problem was finding the right location to do justice to such a large collection.

“When I started building my collection decades ago, in admiration of the achievements by the engineers and designers, its current size couldn’t be envisioned,” Loh says.

“For some years, I have had the desire to make this collection accessible to the public – now the time has come to do so.”

The University of NürtingenGeislingen teaches applied sciences, focusing on the economy and the environment, automotive and mobility businesses. It is led by accident researcher Professor Jochen

Plenty to see here...

Major new German car museum has set out to ‘inspire, delight and entertain’ – and we reckon it will succeed 26

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Starter Buck, who will be using the museum space to deliver lectures.

“It is my goal to use the fascination of automotive tech to excite young people for technology as a profession, and to make them choose an exciting education,” Loh adds.

The central collection is certainly fascinating all by itself, but there will also be temporary themed exhibitions. The first one, 100 Years Le Mans 24h, has a 20-strong lineup of cars on display, dating back to 1928. How about the Couper/Bevan Birkin Bentley 41/2 Litre and Divo/ Bouriat Bugatti T50 from 1931? Or the 1952 Ferrari 250S, as driven by Ascari and Villoresi at Le Mans, and which also scooped Mille Miglia victory the same year?

Too old? Then there’s the Ecurie Trois Chevrons Aston Martin DB4 GT prototype of Patthey/Calderari, and also the first DB4 GT Zagato.

Turn a corner, and another priceless, rarely seen car comes into view.

You can expect no fewer than three Group C endurance racers, including the Porsche 956 that bagged the 1983 World Endurance Championship for Bell and Bellof.

The display continues right up to the ’00s, with cars such as the Bentley EXP Speed 8 and 2004-winning Audi R8 among others. The depth and quality are astounding – there are few opportunities to see a CLR outside of a locked hall at MercedesBenz’s Stuttgart HQ...

The museum itself is interesting on a technical level, too. All the cars have been arranged with painstaking attention to detail, and there’s an automated parking system that contains 30 sports and racing cars, covering the entire width of the hall.

There’s also a wide array of engines, sectional models and technical displays, from a 16-cylinder Bugatti motor to a brand-new EV platform.

In addition, there’s a dedicated area for meetings and exhibitions, catering for up to 600 people, plus a cinema. There’s also a vast parking area, which the founder conceives as a meeting point for classic car rallies.

What’s clear is that this museum isn’t about dusty exhibits, as Loh explains: “It is a particular intention for us to tell the exciting stories behind the cars, the racing teams and the drivers. That’s what fascination on wheels is all about for us.” www.nationalesautomuseum.de

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THIS PAGE Plenty of outside space allows for visiting classic car rallies; a banked, curved section introduces a sense of speed to the vast collection; the 1975 Ferrari 312T that took

Austrian Niki Lauda to F1 glory; a rare chance to take in hypercars such as the MercedesBenz CLK GTR and the one-ofone Maybach Exelero, and two Ford GTs.

‘These unique cars reflect the power of innovation, craftsmanship and a love of detail’

Entries Invited Important Collectors’ Motor Cars and Automobilia Chichester, Sussex | 9 September 2023

ENQUIRIES +44 (0) 20 7468 5801 ukcars@bonhamscars.com bonhams.com

The ex-Herbie Muller/Gijs van Lennep, 4th place Le Mans 1973 MARTINI RACING-PORSCHE WERKS CARRERA RSR 3.0 PROTOTYPE ‘R7’ Refer to department

Meet the new dedicated website for Bonhams Collector Car Auctions bonhams.cars.com

Starter

Words Nathan Chadwick

Goodwood hillclimb goals...

The McLaren Solus scored the fastest hillclimb time at this year’s Festival of Speed, clocking 45.342 seconds over the 1.16-mile course. Very fast, but some way adrift of the quickest cars of all…

MCMURTRY SPÉIRLING

What is it?

How fast, and when?

VOLKSWAGEN ID.R

MCLAREN MP4/13

GOULD GR51

JAGUAR XJR-8/9

Carbonfibre-clad, single-seat monster (above) is named after the Irish word for thunderstorm.

Twin electric motors with rear-wheel drive, 1000bhp and a fan-powered downforce system that provides 2000kg at standstill – and it weighs less than 1000kg. Generates 3G in cornering...

Fully electric monster that broke records at Pikes Peak and the Nürburgring Nordschleife before smashing Goodwood’s time.

Dual motor per axle, four-wheel drive, active torque distribution, 671bhp. Carbonfibre construction means it weighs under 1100kg with the driver strapped in.

Adrian Neweydesigned 800bhp V10 F1 car for the 1998 season. Earned McLaren its first Constructors’ Championship since 1991 with Ayrton Senna. Also bagged Mika Häkkinen the drivers’ title. The fastest F1 car that year, with David Coulthard clocking 219mph at the old Hockenheimring.

Single-seater built for sprint racing and hillclimbing with an Isuzu-derived Opel-Cosworth DTM naturally aspirated 2.8-litre V6 engine with 500bhp. Weighs in at a mere 475kg.

Jaguar’s first assault on Group C, the XJR-8 has a 720bhp 7.0-litre V12 in a 900kg body. Won the 1987 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships with eight victories from ten starts.

1988’s XJR-9 won at Le Mans, en route to the teams’ and drivers’ titles; 1989 was less successful.

39.08secs (2022)

39.9secs (2019)

41.6secs (1999)

42.9secs (2003)

44.19secs (2008)

Who took the brave pills?

Max Chilton, ex-Marussia F1 pilot.

Also, Chip Ganassi and Carlin Indycar driver.

Romain Dumas, double Le Mans 24 Hours winner and current Glickenhaus race team member.

Nick Heidfeld (left), then McLaren test driver. Later raced for BMW Sauber in F1 and had WEC, ALMS and Formula E stints.

Graeme Wight Jr, Scottish hillclimber extraordinaire. Aside from his Goodwood FoS efforts, he was the first person to complete Shelsley Walsh in less than 25 seconds.

Justin Law, son of Don Law, the UK-based specialist for Jaguar’s Group C cars and XJ220s.

Justin also competes in Historic Group C racing and at the Goodwood Revival.

Can I buy one?

Not in the prototype Goodwood Festival of Speed form, but see www.mcmurtry.com to buy a track-only version.

No – plans for a second car were abandoned.

Depends if McLaren need to refinance...

McLaren’s Formula 1 cars rarely come up for public sale. The ex-Senna MP4/5B sold in 2022 for an undisclosed amount.

Not new, but its descendants are available – and just as quick. GR51s are still competing in hillclimbs, and successfully, too.

See www.gouldracing.co.uk/racing.

The last Group C Jaguar to sell at auction was a 1988 XJR-9, which won the Daytona 24 Hours in 1990. It was sold via RM Sotheby’s for $1,917,500, back in 2022.

Could it be beaten, like-for-like?

McMurty has revealed a track-only variant called the PURE, designed for the GT1 Sports Club races as part of the Fanatec GT World Challenge races. Production will be limited to 100, at £820,000 each.

Volkswagen is scaling back road-car EV production due to a lack of customer engagement, and is cutting costs across the board – which means Wolfsburg’s motor sport charge has come to an end.

For now, at least...

While the focus is on EVs and big-budget projects, never discount British ingenuity born from sheds and several cups of tea.

Getting a Group C aero package designed for the Mulsanne to work for Goodwood is a challenge...

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Goodwood promptly banned timed F1 car runs up the hill, so unlikely to be beaten.

Goodwood 2017

For Auction...

1924 Alfa-Romeo RLS Targa Florio (Chassis 7668) Estimate: £250,000 - £280,000

Bidding closes: Wednesday 6th September at 6pm Bidding opens: Saturday 2nd September at 10am Viewing at Easters Court, Leominster HR6 0DE For more information contact: matthew.parkin@brightwells.com

01568 611122 | classiccars@brightwells.com

brightwells.com

Starter

Words Nathan Chadwick

Photography Peter Auto

‘The fervour for the Group C era has never been higher, from owners and spectators alike’

find cars, largely because ownership is now more widespread – previously, most of the machinery belonged to Brit drivers and teams. The inclusion of the C2 class opens up less expensive cars for racing, too, such as those from Spice and Lola – although there are still issues: “Brexit is a challenge – a lot of the parts are made in the UK, and for continental teams it’s taking time to get the components through customs.”

There are broader challenges facing the series – and the Historic motor sport community at large.

“You can’t put silencers on Group C cars, and track limits are usually 100dB plus a margin of five percent.

We have to ask tracks for a derogation,” he explains.

A more pressing concern is maintaining old tech. It’s not insurmountable, however. With the advancements in 3D printing, it is much easier and cheaper to remanufacture new parts. More cars racing adds an economy of scale, and many cars now run a modern Motec or similar engine-management system, allowing far greater control and also extending engine life, too.

The grid is growing, with the main aim to have at least 25-30 cars at each event. While some have suggested running GT machines along with the prototypes, this isn’t something Pierre-Antoine is keen to do on safety grounds. He also

C change After several years in the doldrums, a bumper grid at the Spa Classic and Le Mans Classic could be the turning point for Group C racing

“THE GRID IS FANTASTIC, YOU know?” says Peter Auto’s PierreAntoine Lecoutour. “The cars look amazing, the sound… it was the heart that spoke. That’s why we decided to include Group C in Peter Auto.”

The fervour for the Group C era has never been higher, from owners and spectators alike – as witnessed by the bumper grids at this year’s Spa Classic and Le Mans Classic. It’s welcome news, because since taking over the Group C package in 2015-16, Peter Auto found it hasn’t always been easy to fill the grid.

“We probably made a mistake by organising too many races for the grid,” Pierre-Antoine explains. “This year, after discussion with the drivers, we reduced the number of events, and the grid looks good – we had almost 30 cars at SpaFrancorchamps, and 45-50 at Le Mans; Paul Ricard in September looks very promising.”

He adds that it’s become easier to

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doesn’t want the series to become dominated by professional drivers.

“Our series is mainly designed for gentleman drivers, but we understand that professionals can be a help, and work as a coach,” he explains. “To make it fair, we penalise professional drivers by adding extra time during a mandatory pitstop, to ensure there will always be one gentleman driver among the people on the podium.”

Henry Pearman is one such driver.

“I never dreamt I would ever own a Group C car, let alone have the opportunity to drive and race one competitively,” he says. “After an unsuccessful attempt to acquire a pair of Silk Cut Jaguars at Le Mans in 1989, it was not until 2000 that the dream became reality.

“I returned to Spa last year in our Cabin RLR 962 and, hugely aided by co-driver Mark Sumpter, we achieved a fourth overall and thirdin-class podium finish. I then switched to the 1987 championshipwinning Silk Cut Jaguar to fulfil the dream of racing that car at Le Mans – it doesn’t get much better.”

As for Pierre-Antoine, he has seen some of the best Group C cars ever made, but there’s still one he’d love to see on the grid. “The Densoliveried Toyota 90CV from 1990,” he says. “The Japanese cars were always well built, and always had great liveries. The Denso would be my car.” www.peterauto.fr

Practical, viable and ready to compete Group C cars were designed from the outset not only to be driven flat out by Grand Prix drivers for 24 hours but also to allow a gentleman driver to compete without difficulty. As endurance cars they can run two seasons comfortably without a full rebuild – at a similar budget to running an E-Type or 911 at the sharp end in competition. They’re not complex and don’t need a large team to run – and parts and spares are readily available and constantly being remanufactured.

Now available

Now available

Discover more

Derek Bell’s 1989 World Championship and Le Mans Porsche 962, ready from a bare tub restoration, fresh engine, and Motec engine management to allow simple running – includes access to our huge inventory of Porsche spares.

1988 Works Le Mans Taka Q Toyota comprehensively restored and complete with a substantial spares package, from its podium-winning 1989 season in IMSA – including a second fresh engine, dyno tuned and with the latest Motec systems.

Visit our website to learn more about Group C and watch our recent films about Group C’s 40th anniversary, including our new ‘In Car 962, with Derek Bell at Silverstone’ where he is reunited with his 1989 Cabin RLR 962.

Discover more at

historicgroupc.com

01825 831 028

Starter

Words Nathan Chadwick

Photography Motorsport Images

Exposing Ferrari A new book by veteran Formula 1 journalist James Allen features two infamous photographers, viewing the Scuderia from vastly different angles

LEFT Author James Allen’s favourite image from the new book: Enzo kissing the head of Villeneuve.

“ANY HUMAN ACTIVITY THAT involves pressure, risk, beauty, speed, dedication, tragedy, triumph and more, wrapped up in an enterprise that’s mastered mystique and branding – it’s resulted in a brand that recognisable the world over,” says James Allen, author of Ferrari: From Inside and Outside.

But with a brand so well known, how do you get a fresh perspective?

“I chose to talk about the lived experience inside Ferrari from those who’ve led the team since Enzo’s death, and contrast that with the perception from the outside.”

As befits its title, the new book proposes two different takes on the illustrious brand, spearheaded by two photographers working inside and outside the Scuderia’s orbits – Ercole Colombo and Rainer Schlegelmilch respectively. “I look after Ercole and Rainer’s collections for Motorsport Images, and I realised they had never worked together before, even though they’d been in the paddock at the same time for so many years,” James says.

“Ercole is the ultimate insider – he had a commerce background, but loved racing and grew up around Monza. He started photography as a way of getting closer to the sport. He quickly got in with sponsors and in with Enzo – unofficially he became Ferrari’s official photographer.”

Rainer’s approach was different: “He saw himself as an outsider – he liked that persona. He was influenced by the Magnum photographers, capturing the decisive moment.”

The book covers the Scuderia from the 1960s onwards, capturing triumph, defeat and every emotion in between. While the images are astounding, for either the physicsdefying driver feats or the back-room access, the book talks to the likes of

him,” says James. “Then a week later, going to Zolder, where Villeneuve had his crash – Pironi said he’d settle the story, and give Villeneuve the win back, presuming they were in a position to do so. Forghieri says he never believed him – and I think I’ve never heard that story – and it speaks to that human component that is special about all sport, but particularly in F1 as it’s a life lived on the limit.”

Another fascinating insight is how close Todt came to being fired. “He had a huge challenge to build the team up from the state it was in when he arrived. Michael Schumacher was the final piece of the jigsaw, but it still took four years to win the championship,” James says. “Todt goes into great detail about how close he was to being sacked, yet Schumacher – who didn’t know him all that well but could see what he was doing – said ‘if you sack him, I’m leaving’.”

However, it is the photography that really stands out – in particular of Villeneuve’s lurid antics, capturing unfeasible angles that somehow lose their power in split-second video footage. Yet it’s another Villeneuve image that is James’s favourite – Enzo kissing the Canadian on the head.

“It was the driver announcement for the next year’s championship, and just prior Villeneuve had a accident.

He had come from the hospital and was late, so Enzo stopped the press conference,” explains James. “Enzo shook his hand spontaneously – Villeneuve didn’t know him well then, and didn’t know how to conduct himself. He shook back, which is the shot everyone got, but Enzo pulled him closer and gave him a kiss on the head. Only Ercole got that shot.

It’s just magic – I love that picture.”

Ferrari: From Inside and Outside costs between £60 and £500 (for special editions) from www.accartbooks.com.

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Piero Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, Stefano Domenicali, Jean Todt and Mauro Forghieri about what life really is like behind closed doors, with some remarkable revelations.

“In Ercole’s chapter we’d had the story about how out of sorts Gilles Villeneuve was after Didier Pironi took victory at Imola; what he saw as the betrayal after Pironi hadn’t stuck to their agreement and overtook

Preserving the past, present and future:

+44 (0) 1784 436 222

www.ferrariparts.co.uk T H E O N LY AUT H O R I S ED WO R L DWID E F ER R A R I C L A S S IC PA R T S DIS TR IBUTO R

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The Object Nuvolari’s GPwinning badge A unique souvenir of the Alfa Romeo P3 in which Tazio famously beat the Nazis on their home turf at the 1935 German GP

THE ALFA ROMEO P3 WAS arguably one of the greatest Grand Prix cars ever, with the likes of Tazio Nuvolari, Achille Varzi and Rudolf Caracciola achieving more than 40 victories between 1932 and 1935.

A total of 15 of the Vittorio Janodesigned cars were built – and the 11th was a Series 2 with uprated independent front suspension. It was in chassis 50005 (SF45) that Nuvolari won perhaps his finest race, at the 1935 German GP. In front of 300,000 Nürburgring spectators, the ‘Flying Mantuan’ took on the German favourites in their superior Auto Unions and MercedesBenzes. The crowd applauded him on his achievement – known as the ‘Impossible Victory’ – but the Third Reich officers in attendance were enraged at their humiliating loss.

Following 50005’s active career it went to New Zealand, before being sold to Japan’s Yoshiyuki Hayashi in 1989, who tasked Tony Meyrick with restoring the car. At a time when such things were less relevant, the original badge that would have represented Scuderia Ferrari and Alfa Romeo on that day in 1935 was deemed to be too distressed to be retained on the car.

Luckily, despite instructions to discard it, it was preserved. It now resides in a prominent collection, and is presented here – on the 70th anniversary of Nuvolari’s death on August 11, 1953 – with the well earned battle scars of its illustrious career.

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Words Joe Twyman

Photography www.legacyandart.com

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Words Nathan Chadwick

Photography Don Wales Photography

F1’s family team, Tyrrell, remembered Sir Jackie Stewart, Martin Brundle and a host of former Tyrrell staff congregate at Brooklands to pay tribute to founder Ken

FORMULA 1 LEGENDS SUCH AS Sir Jackie Stewart, Martin Brundle and Eddie Cheever joined a host of former mechanics, designers and other staff from Tyrrell at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey to celebrate the publication of a new book on the team.

Tyrrell: The Story of the Tyrrell Racing Organisation has been a labour of love for author Richard Jenkins. Tyrrell arrived on the F1 scene in 1968 as a privateer, and within only a few years had garnered three Drivers’ Championships and a Constructors’ Championship.

Although the team would fail to repeat the halcyon days of the early to mid-1970s, it developed a strong following among the sport’s fans, and would sporadically taste success before being acquired by British American Racing in 1998. The outfit’s ‘descendants’ flowed into Honda, Brawn GP and now the Mercedes-AMG team. The book has been released by Evro Publishing, and chronicles the history of the team with in-depth insight from members either side of the pitwall and paddock. It contains many previously unseen photographs, too.

At the head of it all was Ken Tyrrell, who navigated the set-up through to the start of the 1998 season, with very little in the way of funds: “Ken was a remarkable man – he did things his own way,” said Sir Jackie Stewart.

“He pushed people along, particularly his mechanics – for me, they were the best. Forget the championships or Grand Prix victories; if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today.

Whenever I got into a [Tyrrell] car, I felt comfortable.”

Taking a view on the Tyrrell

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team’s longevity in the public consciousness, Sir Jackie puts the popularity down to Ken himself.

“He was a tough guy – I think I got off with a lot because it was the first time for him in F1,” he said. “There is a great collection of very good people who went through the experience of working for Tyrrell.

Ken was a man of his own way, and he drove people his own way.

“He looked after his staff very well. He would pay his mechanics very well, which was different to other mechanics [for other teams], who earned very little money for very long hours. There were very few of us at [Tyrrell], on the other hand.

Nowadays, there are 100 people to look after two ‘ballerina’ racing drivers; back then, there were seven to look after one ballerina driver.”

For racer Martin Brundle, Ken was critical to his career: “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Ken and the Tyrrell family. It’s my 40th year in F1, and if Ken hadn’t decided to take a chance on me, I would still be selling Toyotas in Norfolk,” he said at the Brooklands event.

Martin was signed onto a threeyear contract, with his money doubling every year. “The problem was, it started at a very small amount,” he chuckled. “The team hardly had any money, but it always turned up on the last day of the month, or the

FROM TOP Tyrrell gathering included Sir Jackie Stewart (right) with author Richard Jenkins; Eddie Cheever (left) and Martin Brundle.

day before – it was extraordinary.”

He continued: “It was just wonderful – I finished fifth in my first Grand Prix, and then in the fifth race I finished second in Detroit, which I thought he would be happy about. We went out for dinner that night with my engineer, Ken, and representatives from Cosworth, Ford and Goodyear – and Ken gave me the biggest bollocking. He said: ‘Jackie says you shouldn’t have overtaken Elio de Angelis in the last chicane.’

“De Angelis was missing a gear, I had been following him for five laps, but what Ken knew was that I was getting too confident. It was going too well. Five days later, I smashed myself up in Dallas – I hadn’t paid enough attention to what Ken was saying. I broke my legs and feet, and pretty much ruined my entire F1 career.”

Reflecting on the enduring appeal of Tyrrell among racing fans, long after the team’s demise, Martin said: “Ken was a man of total integrity, and he was a racer at heart.”

For more about Tyrrell: The Story of the Tyrrell Racing Organisation, head to www.evropublishing.com. Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb will be hosting a Ken Tyrrell centenary in July 2024 as part of Classic Nostalgia, where there will be a chance to see live demonstrations of several Tyrrell cars.

NEW ORLEANS | SEPTEMBER 28-30 Consign. Bid. Experience. Barrett-Jackson.com

WHERE WORLD-CLASS COLLECTOR CARS MEET WITH THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF A ONE-OF-A-KIND DESTINATION.

Louisiana Auction License #LA AB-555. 10% - 12% buyer’s premium added to vehicle sales (15% for Automobilia) – see bidder agreement for details.

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The Interview David Richards We speak to the chairman of both Prodrive and Motorsport UK about what the future holds for Historics on track, rally stage and road

Words Nathan Chadwick

Photography Prodrive

Reflecting on Historic motor sport right now, what are its strengths?

Nostalgia around Historic motor sport is growing all the time. Modern cars are so good, but at the same time rather boring. People tend to look at their vehicles today as a convenience, something just to get you from A to B. The nostalgia of Historic motor sport, those lovely cars, the noise, the smell and the performance, are things people aspire to – and I think that bodes very well for the future.

Several race series are moving to sustainable fuels. Is this a long-term solution, and what can be done to keep motor sport sustainable?

We have to be very conscious of the environment, even in Historic events. You drive an old car down the road today, people wave at you, give you a thumbs-up and are very appreciative. You drive a modern sports car down the road, and you don’t get the same reaction.

That might not always be the case, so we have to be mindful of how we address these environmental issues – we can’t ignore them. Sustainable fuels play a key role in this, but we must continue to evolve and be very conscious of our responsibilities.

How can we encourage even more people to get into watching Historic motor sport?

The audience is growing all the time, so I don’t think there’s a necessity to encourage – that just happens automatically. Attendance numbers at events such as Goodwood and Bicester Heritage easily speak for themselves. The great thing about Historic events is that you can get close to the cars and drivers, which has become far less possible with modern motor sport.

Historic motor sport’s main focus still appears to largely be centred on pre-1970s cars. Is there a risk this might cause stagnation of interest?

The Historic motor sport world is starting to look at the next group of cars from the 1990s and, of course, that brings the complications of electronics and more modern tech.

I honestly believe interest in old cars will continue to evolve, and the Historics of the future will be those cars we lusted after as teenagers. As the population ages, so these more modern cars will become popular, just as those of the 1970s are today.

Do the speeds of Group C prototypes and newer formulae pose a long-term problem in terms of marshalling/circuit availability and getting the cars to run on scarce, old technology?

We’ve got to be very responsible about the type of cars that are raced at Historic events, and Group C is a good example of this. In the main I would say the people racing them are sensible and cautious, but we certainly need to think about restricting the vehicles’ use to tracks with all the right safety facilities.

LEFT David with the Ford Escort in which he and Ari Vatanen won the 1981 World Rally Championship.

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Group A and WRC cars are very popular, but the four-wheel-drive systems cause problems tearing up forest tracks in a way twowheel-drive cars don’t. If such cars aren’t allowed to compete, would this limit the appeal of Historic rallying as tastes change?

Historic rallying has, certainly in the UK’s forests, more environmental challenges than any other form of motor sport. Modern-day rallying in these locations is already under pressure, and we have got to be very conscious that this will inevitably filter down to the older categories.

We’ve got to look at the potential for rallies on closed public roads, as well as forestry events. Perhaps we need to look at control tyres that don’t inflict as much damage, and generally be very conscious of how we go rallying in the forests.

What initiatives are in place to encourage the next generation of drivers and navigators?

As with most of us, people start in local motor clubs and at grassroots events. The opportunity to compete in a 12-car rally with your best friend in a car you are going to drive to work in the next day is a great starting point. So often people think motor sport is all about singleseater racing cars and Formula 1, and they don’t realise they can take their standard road car, join the local motor club and compete in a wide range of events.

That is the whole basis for Motorsport UK’s ongoing StreetCar initiative, so I encourage anyone who is thinking about going rallying and racing just to join your local motor club. I used my mother’s car in the first instance, so there is a place for everyone. Motorsport UK’s role is to ensure future generations can enjoy participating in the sport as much as we have. www.motorsportuk.org

Find Your Passion.

It’s difficult to recall what came first; my love for car design or my pursuit for the perfect driving experience.

Through the years, I developed an immense passion for prolonging the analog feel behind the wheel and third pedal. It’s that passion that afforded me joy in both creating and sharing the thrill with other enthusiasts.

And, yes, the rumor is true, I wholeheartedly support efforts to #savethemanuals…one 911 at a time.

I’m Peter Nam and that’s what you’ll see reflected in my life.

Peter Nam Founder and President

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

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Porsche RS at 50 One of Porsche’s most iconic cars, the 1973 Carrera RS 2.7, marks a major milestone this year. We look at the history of the rennsport – the ultimate in hardcore 911s, right up to the new 992 GT3 RS

Words Nathan Chadwick

1973 CA RRE R A RS 2.7 (R IGH T) This homologation special was designed to give Porsche the racing edge over Ferrari and De Tomaso, and was the start of the RS legend. It was based on the 2.4 S, with a 207bhp 2.7-litre engine and stripped-back cabin.

The fastest German production car of the day, it sported wider arches and racing rubber, plus a novel ducktail spoiler at the rear. Porsche needed to build 500, but ended up making 1580.

1993 964 CA RRE R A R S A ME R ICA

1993 964 CA R R E R A R S 3.8 With a turbo-style body allied to a 296bhp 3.8-litre engine, only a handful were made, for Europe – just 104 in all, 55 for the road.

After complaints from US enthusiasts that they were missing out on the RS, an America model was built on a Carrera 2 basis. It featured a whale-tail spoiler, partially stripped interior and no rear seats, but lacked full-monty lightweighting as per the European RS models; the weight saving was 35kg.

1974 CA R R E R A R S 3.0 Porsche upped the engine size to 3.0 litres for 227bhp, blending it with a chassis similar to the 1973 Carrera RSR’s and the 917’s brakes. The body was upgraded to homologate the car for racing; the price was twice that of a 2.7.

1992 964 CA R R E R A CUP US E D ITIO N The US didn’t get a ‘proper’ Carrera RS, but Porsche imported 45 Carrera RS-alikes for a racing series. Andial was supposed to convert them to racing cars, yet none of it happened.

1992 964 CARRER A RS (BELOW) Inspired by the Carrera Cup racing car, this had a 260bhp flat-six, lightweight flywheel, close-ratio G50 trans, LSD, lower and stiffer springs and dampers, and no power steering, unless you were in the UK. A stripped-out cabin meant a 155kg weight saving over the Carrera, and the N/GT was stripped down further for racing. The Touring added sound deadening plus electric seats and windows.

1995 993 CA R R ER A R S (B E LOW) Based on the narrow-body Carrera, this car’s 3.8-litre engine pushed out 296bhp with the aid of a VarioRam variable-length intake, forged pistons and further tweaks. The ’box was upgraded, while the 911 Turbo donated its brakes and LSD. It also had a fixed wing, Bilstein dampers, adjustable anti-roll bars and a basic cabin. ClubSport added a huge wing and did away with carpets, air-con and radio. Just 1014 were built, including 227 ClubSports. Not sold in the US.

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2003 996.2 GT3 R S (L EF T)

2006 997.1 GT3 RS

The GT3 line had replaced the RS as the sportiest 911, but Porsche felt more could be done.

The engine was revised, while the suspension used progressive springs and stiffer dampers.

Carbonfibre brakes, hood and rear wing were used, and the marque badge could be a (lighter) sticker if so desired. Not officially exported to the US or Canada.

The RS name returned to America with this homologation model. Lighter than a standard GT3 by 20kg, it had no extra power, but more important was the 2.5in-wider rear body from the Carrera 4 shell. US versions lost the Plexiglas rear window and long-range fuel tank; 1168 were built.

2024(?) 992 GT2 RS At the time of writing, Porsche hadn’t revealed details about the next RS model. The internet suggests hybrid power, 700bhp and more wings than Heathrow Airport. Probably...

2022 992 GT3 R S (R I G H T) Power was unchanged from the standard GT3’s (503bhp), but the aero package delivered 860kg of downforce at 285km/h – twice that of the 991.2 GT3 RS. ‘Gooseneck’ wing featured active aero inspired by F1’s drag-reduction system. The 1450kg car could hit 62mph in 3.2 seconds.

RM SOTHEBY’S / BONHAMS / GETTY IMAGES

2018 991.2 GT3 R S Facelifted car added 20bhp and extra torque, plus NACA ducts for brake cooling, full balljoints and lightweight glass. Optional Weissach package had carbon body and cabin bits plus BBS magnesium wheels.

2017 991 GT2 R S (B ELOW)

2015 991.1 GT3 R S (R IGH T)

Twin-turbo 3.8-litre kicked out 691bhp in a 1470kg package to provide 211mph. Magnesium was used in the roof, carbon on the wings and bootlid, among other lightweighting techniques.

Weissach package shaved another 30kg; 1000 built in all.

The RS model added extra intakes on the front and rear wings, a magnesium roof plus 918-inspired carbon bucket seats. The GT3’s engine was replaced with a 490bhp 4.0-litre unit; gearchanges were via paddle-shift only. Also featured rear-axle steering and torque vectoring, with a variable rear-axle diff lock.

2011 997.2 GT3 RS 4.0 (BELOW)

2010 997.2 GT3 R S

2010 997 GT2 R S (L E F T)

Facelift model added 15bhp via a new 3.8-litre engine, bringing output to 444bhp.

The first GT2 RS wasn’t really supposed to happen. Irked by the Nissan GT-R nabbing the GT2’s Nordschleife lap time, this skunk-works project yielded a 70kg weight loss over the standard GT2, allied to a 612bhp engine and rear drive only. Timo Glock subsequently beat the GT-R’s time by nine seconds; 500 were built.

Some say this was the best 911 ever, and current prices reflect that. It featured the final version of the Mezger flat-six engine, in 4.0-litre form – then the largest engine offered in a street-legal 911. The racing RSR donated its crank, and an increased stroke upped power to 493bhp. Its chassis was informed by GT2 RS developments, while front dive planes add downforce. Weighed 1360kg and could hit 60mph in 3.5sec. Just 600 sold worldwide.

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Words David Lillywhite

Photography Indira Flack

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT Jodie Sloss on Hielke; Derek Bell at his home circuit; Jason Plato on the bus...

Indira Flack’s favourite GBRD images The photographer behind the Great British Racing Drivers book chooses the pictures closest to her heart

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AT THE GOODWOOD FESTIVAL of Speed, photographer Indira Flack launched her book of driver portraits.

These are some of her favourites: Derek Bell MBE, July 2015 “It made complete sense to me that the only place to photograph Derek was at the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Hearing the sounds of the racing from his local family farm, he was inspired to become a driver, and this was where he first marshalled and then had his first race.

“By the time Derek arrived, rain was lashing down and wind was blowing, so we retreated to the pits.

As you can see, he has a lot of hair, and it was being blown around and causing a bit of a problem. Luckily, his wife had sent him with a can of Elnett hairspray. Problem solved.”

Jason Plato, September 2018 “I met Jason at the cricket match at the Goodwood Revival in 2015.

Very enthusiastic about the project, he agreed to be photographed, saying: ‘We need to hatch a cunning plan.’ I then spent two and a half years trying to hatch that cunning plan.

“Pinning Jason down is like trying to pin down a whirlwind, but much more fun. I resorted to queuing for his autograph at the 2018 Autosport International show. Halfway through

signing, he stopped and said: ‘You don’t want an autograph.’ ‘No,’ I replied. ‘I want a bloody date.’

Luckily, he thought that was funny.

“After one false start, plan B for the Goodwood Revival swung into action. I knew Jason raced with Craig Davies of Sub Zero, and that Craig had a vintage bus converted into a car transporter. We were able to set up, wait for Jason and then shoot without interruptions.”

Jodie Sloss, November 2022 “I met Jodie at Sleeping with Art in 2022. It soon became apparent that as one of the newest drivers in motor sport, she should be added to the project. Because she’d already had a career in eventing, the image that popped into my head was Jodie on a large, rearing black horse. When I explained my idea, she agreed with a big grin but a ‘how on earth are you going to organise that?’ kind of look.

“With no budget, I thought I’d try my luck ringing a few riding stables on the off chance of finding a large black horse that would rear on command. Twenty minutes later the shoot was arranged at The Moss Livery, Formby, with impressive Friesian horse Hielke.

“The fee? A bag of carrots.”

For more, see www.gbrd.photos.

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Tailor-made for success Collector cars and bikes, celebrity connections and bespoke style at the second Concours on Savile Row

Words David Lillywhite

Photography Jayson Fong / Matt Howell

EVENT REPORTS ALWAYS SAY that the latest one was ‘bigger and better’, don’t they? But truly, the 2023 Concours on Savile Row, put together by the team behind Magneto, really did build on last year’s.

It’s run with The Pollen Estate, which owns much of Savile Row, and Westminster City Council. This year the event extended around the corner past the famed Royal Academy of Arts – allowing more cars, more motorcycles and extra attractions.

Auto manufacturers and owners are paired with tailors and retailers along the famous London street.

The event is free to the public, but guests of the companies involved and the car owners are able to access VIP areas, hospitality and talks. On the street, everyone is able to enjoy

live music from the Swing Ninjas, as well as talks on the stage on subjects as diverse this year as car design, rock photography, BRM, MercedesBenz Heritage, tailoring and E-fuels.

Highlights included the debut of two models co-created by Bentley and Huntsman, George Harrison’s Mercedes 600, Paul McCartney’s Lamborghini 400GT, Jenson Button’s Jaguar C-type, the Mullin Museum’s Delahaye Type 145 V12 and the first Bentley to compete at Le Mans.

More new additions for this year were Wednesday night’s Gala Dinner and Thursday morning’s seminar, both at the Royal Academy.

Thanks to sponsors Hagerty, FOPE, Chopard, EFG, RM Sotheby’s, Aranyani and Blick Rothenberg. www.concoursonsavilerow.com

FROM TOP LEFT Many names joined the on-stage discussions, including TV’s Richard Hammond, Formula 1 and Le Mans star Jacky Ickx, antiques and classic car expert Drew Pritchard, and model David Gandy.

ABOVE Bentley revealed its two special collaborations with tailor Huntsman at the Concours.

RIGHT Designer Peter Stevens talked shop, while Jarvis the cocker spaniel styled it out in his owner’s DB2.

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ABOVE, RIGHT AND BELOW For 2023, the Concours extended into Burlington Gardens, with added sparkle from the Nyetimber bus; Hagerty Youth Judging by the Westminster Lions; the

new-for-2023 classic car seminar was held at the Royal Academy of Arts, where a Gala Dinner also took place.

LEFT Rock photographer Gered Mankowitz with Hendrixinspired Electric Lady EV E-type, paired with Norton & Sons.

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1928 BENTLEY 4½ LITRE VANDEN PLAS TOURER

n Fresh total restoration by R.C. Moss n Semi-team car specification, striking blue coachwork with red leather interior n Wartime history in Africa and epic tours from Zambia to South Africa n Prior long-term ownership and concours-winning restoration n Accompanying report by marque expert Dr Clare Hay

1931 BENTLEY 6½ LITRE SEDANCA

n H.J. Mulliner designed, first displayed as the 1929 Olympia Motor Show Car n A continuous history of custodians, all of who prized it’s originality, including 20 years with The President of the Bentley Drivers’ Club of Australia n Extensive history file of invoices from marque specialists Elmdown and RC Moss n A most original 6½ Litre Bentley as confirmed by full Dr Clare Hay report

1931 BENTLEY 8 LITRE

n One of 25 short chassis 8 Litre Bentleys and the only surviving example with it’s original Silent Bloc Saloon Coachwork n Ordered by cigarette magnate J.A. Player to owner-driver specification n Sympathetically restored and displayed at the Bentley Centenary Rally at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance n Continuous documented history with long-term ownership from 1956–2018

14 Queens Gate Place Mews London SW7 5BQ T: +44 (0)20 7584 3503 W: www.fiskens.com E: cars@fiskens.com

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“THE SECOND TIME I MET LUCA Cordero di Montezemolo was one of the most awkward experiences of my life,” recalls Frank Stephenson, then the first-ever design director for Ferrari and Maserati.

It’s all to do with the Maserati 3200GT, which this year celebrates its 25th birthday. Penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro with an Enrico Fumiastyled cabin, it would feature the last purely Maserati-built and -designed engine in a Trident-badged car until the MC20, two decades later.

Although never an official US import, the 3200GT was a relative sales success. In four years, 4795 rolled out of the factory, nearly double what its Ghibli II predecessor managed in six years. It did much to reignite marque interest, and the next challenge was returning Maserati to North America after an 11-year hiatus.

Out went the twin-turbo engine, in came the Ferrari/Maserati F136 naturally aspirated V8. The new car (called the Coupé or Spyder, but now known colloquially as the 4200) would retain much of the 3200’s exterior style, yet that car’s stunning ‘Boomerang’ LEDs had been replaced with disappointingly ‘normal’ taillights at the very last moment – and in the years since, numerous stories

Words Nathan Chadwick

THIS PAGE The 3200GT’s iconic Boomerang taillights were the victims of a design power struggle.

LED astray in the name of di Montezemolo Frank Stephenson on the time his legendary boss demanded that he defy design guru Giorgetto Giugiaro

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Photography Maserati

have sprung up as to exactly why.

“It had nothing to do with US regulations, quality control or the Japanese,” chuckles Frank, citing several ‘conspiracy theories’. “Luca di Montezemolo called me into his office; he told me that I was going to ItalDesign to review a few things.

Then he asked me what I thought about the tail-lights on the 3200…”

Frank was a big fan. “I mean, who comes up with an idea like that?

Today they’re normal, but back then in the age of square rear lamps, Giugiaro had come up with a brandnew idea, so I told di Montezemolo I thought they were a stroke of genius,” he recalls. However…

“Then he said: ‘No you don’t.’ But I said: ‘Yes I do.’ Then he said: ‘No, no, no – no you don’t.’ I was thinking, am I getting into an argument here?” Frank remembers.

Despite an illustrious CV at Ford, BMW and MINI, he admits that just starting the world’s best design job meant he had serious imposter syndrome – and now he was under strict instruction from the boss to go down to ItalDesign and tell Giorgetto Giugiaro that he didn’t like the signature part of the 3200’s design.

“The next week I was in ItalDesign’s showroom; I didn’t speak Italian then,

so I had a translator from Ferrari with me. Giugiaro was showing me the cars, and then we came to the back end of the 3200, looking at the Boomerangs,” Frank recalls. “I asked the translator to tell him I didn’t like the tail-lights and they needed to change. Giorgetto flipped.

“He has a fairly high voice to begin with, and it just got higher – it felt like I was being screamed at by an angry Italian housewife. So I asked the translator, and he said not to worry – ‘I won’t tell you what he said’ – but I was shaking in my boots because I was telling the god of design what to do: who the hell am I?” In the end, the lights were changed for the launch. “He was so angry, he designed the most boring thing he could come up with – and that’s what we went with,” Frank says.

So why the determination to mither the master? “I later found out Montezemolo wanted to establish my rule within the Ferrari group, and unless I made a big statement, it wasn’t going to happen,” Frank muses. “My job was to make these guys listen to me – and it worked.

Giugiaro and I ended up being very good friends, but it was a terrible experience – there was no real reason to change the lights.”

New ‘Super Tourer’ shows off Aston’s ambitions Just a reworked DB11?

The company says the DB12 is much more than that, so we hit the Route Napoléon to find out

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THERE’S A GRAPH AT ASTON Martin HQ that charts luxury versus performance of prestige brands. The vertical axis is luxury, the horizontal one is performance.

As you’d expect, Rolls-Royce is high up on the left, for ultra luxury.

Ferrari is on the far right, with way more performance, but lower down on the luxury scale.

Current Aston Martin is about one third of the way over the performance axis, and halfway up the luxury axis – so, a little more performance than Bentley and similar levels of luxury to Porsche.

But the Aston Martin of the future is projected to be in a very different position – above Bentley on luxury, and almost as far over on the performance axis as McLaren and

Ferrari. Now that’s punchy!

Yet suddenly Aston is punchy.

Suddenly the marque’s future seems bright again, thanks to additional investment from Geely (£234m to increase its stake to 17 percent), making the Chinese giant the third largest shareholder after a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

It’s a company that’s been through tough times – not just historically, but in the past five years, too. When the down-to-earth Dr Andy Palmer breezed in from his long stint at Nissan to take over from the more mercurial Dr Ulrich Bez, he brought new visions and a four-model, ninederivatives plan. It was under Palmer that the DBX was launched and the Valkyrie programme started. His

Words David Lillywhite

downfall came when he took Aston Martin Lagonda public. The muchpublicised flotation couldn’t have gone much worse, and Palmer took the heat. Stroll bailed out the company in early 2020, replacing Palmer with the more combative former Mercedes-AMG CEO Tobias Moers. Several talented personnel including director of design Miles Nurnberger and dynamics man Matt Becker soon left.

Now Moers has gone, replaced by former Ferrari boss Amedeo Felisa.

Nurnberger is back, refreshed after 18 months in Paris with the Renault Group, while new recruits from Bentley, Ferrari and the like have filled the gaps elsewhere – and set about a major reboot of the great but not exceptional DB11 to create a new ‘Super Tourer’: the DB12.

When Simon Newton joined from Bentley (you can thank him for the brilliantly bonkers Continental Supersports), as the new director of vehicle performance, his first focus was to boost the accuracy and feel of the steering for the DB12. That sounds easier than it proved, involving a

seven percent overall increase to the stiffness of the body structure, changes to the suspension and a new electronic-control system, including an E-diff. Modern cars ain’t easy.

The front track increased by 6mm, the rear by a brawny 22mm, but the width of the car at the widest point – the mirrors – is reduced a little, as is the length.

Broader rear haunches give the car more presence. So does the wider, deeper metal front grille – for once without resulting in eyepopping ugliness, unlike some rivals – necessary to satisfy the cooling needs of the upgraded AMG-based V8. There’s no V12 option now, that smooth beast of an engine killed off by future emissions regs.

Hear this, though: the DB11’s V12 produced 600bhp and 516lb ft of torque. The AMR version managed 630bhp, and the later V8 528bhp. The DB12 is powered by essentially the same V8, but it’s been reworked and remapped for 671bhp and 590lb ft.

The result is a 202mph top speed and 3.5-second 0-60mph time.

And so, out onto the road – in this

Photography Aston Martin

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ABOVE New seats narrowly escaped on-screen controls, but retained physical buttons.

RIGHT Is this how the DB11 should have looked all along? Front grille, splitter and rear arches are the big changes, with wider track and new 21in wheels.

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FROM FAR LEFT Interior is all new, with vastly better infotainment; frameless mirrors reduce width and improve side vision; the wider rear haunches give extra character.

case, around 250 miles taking in southern France’s beloved Route Napoléon and the less exciting A8 autoroute. As the route heads into the Alps, and long straights are swapped for unpredictable twists and off-camber turns, the DB12 seems to hunker down to the task of keeping all four bespoke Michelin Pilot Sports firmly glued to the road.

It’s all remarkably seamless and forgiving; even the most ham-fisted of inputs don’t phase it. Aston’s much-changed team of development engineers have relocated the rear suspension pick-up points, beefed up the anti-roll bars and made use of the latest generation of intelligent adaptive dampers from Bilstein.

There are four driving modes: Wet, GT, Sport and Sport+, and in none does the car rattle or shake, although there’s only so long you’d want to leave it in Sport+ on typical roads. The big difference, however, is in the steering response. Turn-in is sharp without feeling unsettling or skittish, and there’s more feel via the electronic power-assisted steering.

This is thanks to all those changes to the structure and the suspension, as well as the new electronic rear differential, which can go from fully open to 100 percent locked in just

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a few milliseconds. This, combined with a new Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system that monitors body movement from sensors around the car as well as from a new, six-axis accelerometer, makes for a much more nimble but even safer machine.

The 1685kg DB12 isn’t a lightweight, and it isn’t small, yet it feels sporty whenever it’s asked to be.

The V8’s increased power helps too, of course, but so does the 15 percent-lower (than the DB11’s) final-drive ratio, which effectively brings the eight ratios of the reworked ZF automatic transaxle closer together for a more exciting feel. There are paddles on the steering wheel to flick between the ratios – but on the road it’s usually better to let the transmission do its own thing. It rarely gets caught out.

That engine is AMG sourced but hand-built at Aston Martin. For the DB12 it features modified camshaft profiles, a lower compression ratio, larger turbos and increased cooling – hence that much larger grille.

And that leads us into the looks, which are more aggressive and better balanced than the DB11’s. The wider rear arches and redesigned front splitter are the obvious changes over the DB11, but it’s the smaller

tweaks that make the DB12 feel more resolved and grown up: the frameless mirrors, the presenting door handles, the changes to the badging and the 21-inch wheel designs.

None of the exterior updates has anything on the total restyle of the interior, though. What a difference!

Apparently there were discussions right up to launch on how many controls should be physical and how many operated by screen, and it feels like they’ve got the balance right, The volume and temperature controls are physical, and suitably tactile, as are the seat adjustments.

The now fully connected infotainment is much slicker, although the text was too small on the pre-production version we tried. Everything is so much better – including the sideto-side visibility thanks to those physically smaller mirrors.

It all makes sense of Aston Martin’s

‘This is a car that can be driven fast for hours on end, over hundreds of kilometres’

new Super Tourer tagline. This is a car that can be driven fast for hours on end, over hundreds of kilometres – I know, because that’s exactly what I did from the Monaco starting point. Sometimes I tried it in Sport+ mode, allowing the exhaust to blare and bounce off the rock walls and tunnels of the mountain passes.

Other times I left the transmission in automatic and the mode setting in GT, still pushing hard through tight turns and not overly bothered by the slight reduction in steering precision that the extra body roll brings about.

But, seeing as I didn’t have time to tailor my own bespoke setup, mostly I left it in Sport and just enjoyed the still-civilised ride, sharp handling and reasonably unembarrassing exhaust note. A violent rainstorm at the end of the long day even allowed me to try out the Wet mode, which softens responses to help keep the DB12 on the road.

This is exactly how a modern DB should feel. Aston has been through difficult times, but it feels like it’s bounced back higher and faster than anyone expected. Will the trajectory of that bounce help it to establish itself as the “ultra-luxury British performance brand” that’s hoped for?

We shall see over the coming years.

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Words Nathan Chadwick

Photography Alpina / Roman Rätzke

Mountain climbing ALPINA HAS BEEN ON A BIT of a roll. Sales are double those of only a few years ago, and the firm’s unique take on BMW’s base products has been lauded across the globe.

That company recently announced it had acquired the rights to the Alpina brand, with the development of new cars due to be taken in house.

The first models will appear under the Alpina banner from 2026. The originator itself will transition from making actual cars to becoming Alpina Classic, working from its historic Buchloe headquarters.

What’s behind this? The company says the general move to electric propulsion means Alpina’s USP – ultra-high-speed luxury for long distances – no longer fits with battery technology. Its current customers still hanker after six- and eight-cylinder engines, and the firm expects the last of its home-developed models to be highly sought after. Indeed, its latest – the B5 GT – has sold out its 250-strong allocation already.

Meanwhile, the increasing interest in Alpina’s back catalogue, especially in the US, is where its long-term future lies. The brand has already restored some cars: an E24 B7 Turbo

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Alpina is to become BMW owned, but the Buchloe team lives on – catering to its classic era.

We speak to boss Florian Bovensiepen about just what the future holds

‘The focus is on drivetrains, with engine parts being in particular demand’

S was being prepared for a long-term client when Magneto last visited, and it has just finished a E12 B7 Turbo S for its heritage fleet.

“We’re not going to be doing full restorations on complete cars,” says Florian Bovensiepen, who heads the company alongside brother Andreas, and father and founder Burkard.

“We will be focusing on engines, gearboxes, axles, suspension and brakes. Bodywork is far into the future – we can look into this when we see how the business develops.”

This is fairly new territory for Alpina – the firm was previously reluctant to take on such work.

“Pricing a total restoration is difficult,” Florian admits. “The bill could end up more than the car is worth.”

While he concedes that the values of classic Alpinas may increase over time, the focus is on drivetrains, with engine parts being in particular demand. “We have a long history of know-how, so we are looking to produce new ‘old’ parts,” Florian explains. “We’re seeing most interest from the B7 Turbo coupés and saloons [based on the E12 and E28 5-Series, and the E24 6-Series].”

He says the biggest problem is the

fuel system: “Ten years ago we moved from Bosch to a smaller supplier, but the quality was not so good. So we used our know-how to rebuild some parts and repair the old systems; that’s not the best solution for those who want to drive their car after a few months in storage, though.” To that end Alpina has developed a new system, as seen on its restored E12 B7 Turbo S. However, while the brand is developing replacement parts, it’s not considering going the restomod route – for now, at least. “We have thought about it, and some of our guys visited Singer,” Florian admits.

“Classic parts supply from Porsche is very good, though – very far away from that of Daimler and BMW.” The bigger issue goes back to what people are willing to pay. “Such cars have a high-level price – does this work with a BMW? We’ll have to see. Our priority is on our daily business at the moment.”

That business will remain making new cars, up to 2026. “The next twoand-a-half years are about building 5000 cars. The classic business is our focus for the next 25 years.” www.alpina-automobiles.com

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Riding the waves of nostalgia Classic motorcycles meet Italian hospitality, culture and scenery... trying out Ride 70s’ new antidote to modern sportbikes

Words Simon de Burton

Photography Fabio Affuso

SVEIN LANGHOLM MIGHT HAVE been Norway’s national road-cycling champion back in the day, but even his mighty thigh was defeated by the kickstart of the Moto Morini 350, the fuel tank of which he was now slumped across, hands hanging limply over the bike’s handlebars.

“I know the engine’s hot, but try using the choke on the left-hand carburettor,” I suggested sagely (on the basis of absolutely no logic or inside knowledge whatsoever). He did. He kicked it over. It fired instantly.

As any Magneto reader will know, such perverse behaviour is a common denominator shared by all forms of old vehicle – but it doesn’t seem to put us off. That’s what Pietro Casadio Pirazzoli is counting

on, anyway. He’s recently launched a business called Ride 70s in the unlikely location of San Marino – or, to give it its true title, The Most Serene Republic of San Marino.

It might be the fifth smallest country in the world, and bounded by mountains and the sea, but it’s now the place to go if you want to experience some of Italy’s best riding roads on bikes from a bygone era.

Casadio Pirazzoli, 55 years old and an artisan carpenter by trade, used to get his thrills from up-to-the-minute sportbikes, until the first of his three daughters arrived almost 20 years ago. Newfound responsibilities made him think twice about the wisdom of spending Saturday afternoons on

local mountain passes, getting his knee down with his mates – so he kissed goodbye to his latest plasticclad rocket ship and bought a 1971 Honda CB500 Four instead.

Finished in candy gold with a quartet of gleaming chrome silencers, it promised to satisfy Casadio Pirazzoli’s need to be on two wheels, only at a slower, gentler, more lifepreserving pace. And he liked it so much that he soon began to seek out further classics, to the point that he now owns around 20, which he keeps in a converted stable beneath San Remo’s Monte Titano and its towering Guaita fortress.

The collection initially inspired Casadio Pirazzoli to establish Ride 70s as a club where fellow classic fans could hang out, and from where

bikes could be rented for short rides into the surrounding countryside.

He styled up the stable’s interior, decorating the walls with vintage motorcycle adverts, old-school riding kit and a functional but aesthetically pleasing workshop. A well stocked fridge, counter top, coffee machine and a couple of lived-in sofas make the space welcoming, comfortable and interesting.

And, if you love old bikes, being able to glance across at motorcycling landmarks such as a first-series Moto Guzzi Le Mans, an early Kawasaki Z900, a Norton Commando Fastback and a BMW R90S in signature ‘Daytona orange’ makes the place feel like heaven.

Recently, however, Casadio Pirazzoli decided to make his

THIS SPREAD Moto Morini 31/2 Sport and Ducati 450 Scrambler in the Italian sun; author Simon de Burton in yellow Roof crash helmet.

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Starter collection available to anyone who fancies the idea of really getting to experience a classic bike by riding one on a proper tour covering hundreds of miles over the course of several days – and the idea soon gained traction, not least due to the ‘cash-rich, time-poor’ lives that many people now lead.

He explains: “Classic bikes from the 1970s have developed a really strong following because of their retro looks and slower pace – but they have become expensive to buy and restore, and they need to be properly maintained and, most importantly, regularly ridden.

“Many people just don’t have the time in their lives for all that, or they prefer the ease and convenience of riding modern bikes – which made me think of starting Ride 70s to give them a chance to experience adventures on a classic superbike without having to own one.”

Even though I have my own collection of old knackers (sorry, ‘classics’), the idea of being able to ride a whole new selection of somebody else’s machines certainly appealed, so when Magneto received an invitation to take part in an inaugural Ride 70s tour, I was never going to say no. What I hadn’t expected, however, was that the other members of the ten-strong group of riders would come from

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‘Classic bikes have developed a strong following because of their retro looks and slower pace’

BELOW Ride 70s offers classic bikes from Italy, Japan, Britain and the US; Simon leads the pack on the Moto Guzzi 750S.

such diverse backgrounds.

In addition to cycling champ Langholm, there was Cassie Bennitt, a documentary film producer who’s been working on the Netflix Drive to Survive series for three years; Kerry Sano, a New York coffee-shop entrepreneur who also runs an upstate bike-repair shop specialising in Ducatis; British biker Mike Federer from Zurich – he owns a high-end bathroom-fittings business – and Zubin Jaafar, a 40-year-old, Abu Dhabi-based Indian who variously markets a Jamaican restaurant in Dubai and an electric-skateboard manufacturer called Evolve.

Being the inaugural event, Casadio Pirazzoli and his small team were on as much of a learning curve as some of the participants, who were not necessarily familiar with the aforementioned quirks and foibles that are often part of riding a classic.

That means gearchange levers often being on the ‘wrong’ side, those recalcitrant kick-starters and brakes that can be less than pin sharp.

But as we gently wove our way east to west between Tuscany’s green and velvety fields, rumbled past canyon walls and cruised through avenues of lofty Cypress trees, what began as a bunch of strangers soon gelled into a band of brothers and sisters on a road trip back in time.

And it wasn’t long before we

bonded with our bikes, too. I quickly grew to love the loping gait of a 1974 Moto Guzzi 750S, while cool Spanish videographer Guillem Ventura soon settled into cutting a Persol-shaded dash on the gold Honda.

The journey took us across the width of Tuscany via Montalcino, on to the island of Giglio and back via Montepulciano. The overnight stops were in well chosen hotels and, on the island, in a villa rented for the occasion, where we enjoyed a vast communal dinner cooked by Ride 70s photographer Fabio Affuso.

It proved to be a superb trip, taken at an easy enough pace to enjoy the scenery and to avoid any ‘incidents’, while also allowing us to experience different bikes on numerous roads – and always in the blissful knowledge that, in the event of breakdown, someone else would be around to fix it. You could say it’s the perfect way to enjoy a classic bike...

Upcoming Ride 70s tours include: Rider’s Valley, Sep 9-13 (taking in the Mugello, Imola and Misano race circuits); Sardinia’s Secrets, Sep 17-24 (the island of unspoilt nature and millenary traditions); Tuscany Dreaming, Oct 8-15 (some of Italy’s best roads, food, landscapes and good times); and Endless Summer, Oct 29Nov 6 (experience beautiful Sicily’s vastness of art, culture and nature). www.ride70s.it

THE 23 BICESTER HERITAGE SALE SATURDAY

SEPTEMBER

A SPIRITED AUCTION OF HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE CLASSICS

2005 FORD GT Historics Summer Sale, 22nd July SOLD £312,950

VIEWING DAYS

Wednesday to Friday 20th-22nd September 9am-5pm

SALE TIME

Saturday 23rd September Commences 9.30am Doors open 8.30am

REGISTER TO BID

See the website for full details

ENTRIES ARE INVITED Call +44 (0) 1753 639170

01753 639170 auctions@historics.co.uk

www.historics.co.uk

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Words Dave Kinney

Photography McPherson College

FROM LEFT Stripped frame after the project was unveiled in 2016. Greg Elvin was among first to work on the 300S.

Students eye up Pebble Beach prize McPherson College youngsters are going for the ‘big one’ with their first concours restoration

THREE SEEMINGLY DISPARATE towns are about to have something very much in common. MercedesBenz’s 300S was a hand-made luxury and performance car from the postwar rebuilding period of the famed Stuttgart-based German marque.

McPherson, Kansas is located not too far from the geographical centre of the US’s Lower 48. Set about an hour by car from Wichita, the town is also home to McPherson College, the only establishment in America with a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree in automobile restoration.

Pebble Beach is located on the central coast of California. A golfing oasis, it is known for its pleasant weather and expensive real estate.

It’s also the home of the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Right now, these three places share something special.

Automotive-restoration students at McPherson College have been restoring a 300S Cabriolet for the past seven years – and the dream, which will come true on August 20, 2023, is to have the car finished and competing on the lawn at Pebble

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‘The first time a car restored by students will be shown on the famed golf links’

Beach. Early on, they called it their “Moon Shot”. This will be the first time a car restored exclusively by students will be shown on the famed golf links. And, you should know, these youngsters are there for a win.

McPherson students are no strangers to Pebble Beach. The Pebble Beach Company Foundation has given more than 25 scholarships to the students, which honour Formula 1 World Champion and famed restorer Phil Hill. Many graduates have further connections to the concours, because they now own or work for companies involved in the restoration or management of classic cars.

“I have seen this 300S Cabriolet at every stage: when it was bought, while it was being torn apart and then during the slow process of bringing it all back together,” said Tom Cotter, a member of the McPherson Automotive Restoration Advisory Board.

Also host of Hagerty’s Barn Find Hunter videos, Cotter continued: “I am very impressed. Any restoration is hard; this one is over the top.

Imagine restoring a car where

members of staff are changing every year, and then imagine it being done in addition to each student’s regular classes. I know it will be a hit on the lawn at Pebble Beach.”

McPherson College’s all-student programme sees every phase of the restoration completed by the youngsters themselves. Project guidance comes from faculty and staff, along with Paul Russell and Company and the folks from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Long Beach, California.

Comedian and car enthusiast Jay Leno is a long-time supporter of McPherson College. He said: “Congratulations to the McPherson College students for having their car accepted to Pebble Beach. I’m proud to be associated with the college.

“Much like art historians who clean and repair the works of the Renaissance era, the young men and women at McPherson are doing it with automobiles, recreating skills and techniques long forgotten – and they will make a good living doing it. Our hobby and heritage are safe in their hands.”

T

he fifth in Rally the Globe’s Carrera series will take us through the varied landscapes of southern Germany, with occasional trips over the border into neighbouring Austria. Exquisite luxury hotels, super smooth asphalt roads and spectacular mountain views are on the menu.

16 to 26 June 2024

Frankfurt

Stuttgart Munich Salzburg Konstanz

Berchtesgaden

Sponsored by:

MARATHON

RALLY

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

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Words Nathan Chadwick, David Lillywhite

Fuelling up for the future Sustainable fuels, synthetic fuels, hydrogen... or maybe something else. Here’s the latest from the specialists who are determined to keep our classics on the road

S U S TA I N A B L E F U E L S EARLIER THIS YEAR, CORYTON became the first company to sell sustainable fuels for classic cars in the UK. If you have ever tried to brew your own beer, then Coryton’s approach will be familiar.

“We take biomass – and that can be anything that’s waste from the farming, food-processing or forestry industries – and ferment it to create ethanol,” says the company’s David Richardson. “This is a better use than just letting it go to waste, or into an anaerobic-digestion system that creates a lot of methane that’s ten times worse for the environment than carbon dioxide.”

“We take that ethanol, strip out the oxygen molecules and reform the carbon and hydrogen atoms to create an exothermic reaction. That creates a lot of heat, which is then put back into the process, making it selfpowering,” he explains. “At the end there’s a liquid with a hydrocarbon structure similar to what’s made at a refinery from fossils.”

Instead of releasing the carbon from the ground, such as with fossil fuels today, it’s re-using the carbon, taking it out of the environment and putting it into an engine.

Ethanol and classic cars don’t usually make comfortable bedfellows.

In E10, or even the E5 ‘protection’ grade, ethanol can lead to the corrosion of metallic surfaces and dissolving of some plastics (most importantly, the drying out of rubber hoses, gaskets and seals). However, the formulation in Sustain Classic (where less than one percent of ethanol is used, alongside a complex additive protection package), this problem is avoided.

David says some classic cars will be better than others: “Some vehicles

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have had new fuel lines and gaskets, and they’ll be fine to run with ethanol fuels. However, some people will want to keep their cars’ originality, and so we’re looking to create fuels with additives already pre-mixed.”

While aftermarket additives can still be used alongside Coryton’s products, pre-mixing them into the fuel will be more user friendly, he says: “In many cases, the amount of chemistry in the additive is tiny and carried by a large amount of solvent.

Without a thorough mix, it can sit suspended in the tank as a large slug.

If it goes through the filter and pump, it can cause gumming issues and possibly incomplete combustion.”

Coryton’s road range starts with Super 33, which contains 33 percent sustainable content and is equivalent to premium unleaded; it costs £3.80 per litre. Super 80 contains 80 percent renewable content, delivers a greenhouse-gas saving of 65 percent compared with fossil fuels, and is equivalent to super unleaded: that’s £4.65 per litre. Yes, it’s rather more than current premium unleaded, but David says it is all down to demand.

“We need more support to create the demand that enables us to scale things up,” he says. “Lots of firms are investing in sustainable fuel plants, which will come online in five to six years’ time. We could be looking at pump-fuel parity in six to ten years.”

He believes the use of sustainable fuels will allow the classics hobby to avoid demonisation. “Classics are an easy target for environmentalist groups,” he says. “It’s a group of people who can probably afford to spend more on a sustainable fuel – fuel is probably not the biggest outlay an owner will have in a year – and they can do something positive for the environment, too.” www.coryton.com

LEFT AND BELOW Could Coryton’s Sustain Classic – the UK’s first sustainable fuel developed for classic cars – be the way to go for

After several years in the doldrums, a bumper grid at the Spa Classic and Le Mans Classic could be the turning

by millions of fishermen all over the world – they are never going to be electrified,” he says. “You also have to look at the cost.”

He cites the ease with which liquid fuels can be transported: “You can easily go to where the energy is cheap, make fuel and carry it to where you want it.”

Motor sport is an area close to Paddy’s heart – he has notched up championship-winning stints at Williams, McLaren and MercedesBenz – and this sector, alongside classic cars, is set to become a prime beneficiary of synthetic fuels, he believes. “They are things people are passionate about – and that’s where synthetic fuels will be a great solution.” www.zero.co

CARBON CAPTURE “IT SOUNDS LIKE ALCHEMY, but it’s really chemistry,” says Zero Fuels CEO Paddy Lowe. “We make fuel from air and water, using renewable energy. When you burn a fuel in your car, what comes out of the tailpipe is carbon dioxide and water, which are the products of combusting hydrogen and carbon. We recirculate that carbon dioxide and water from the environment, converting it into hydrocarbons with new energy. It’s a fully circular system, just like the biological carbon cycle that has been running for billions of years.”

Paddy explains that the fuels Zero is designing will be intended to simply “drop in” to existing engines, rather than be mixed with other ingredients.

Zero Fuels is developing the process at Bicester Heritage in the UK – Building 148 has solar panels on the roof that will provide the energy to split water via electrolysis, making green hydrogen. Carbon will be captured from the air, and then

synthesised to make the fuel. “We’ve shown the ability to make a fuel of the necessary quality, by flying an RAF plane with our sustainable fuels,” Paddy says. “At Bicester we will be doing it at engineering scale, making sufficient fuel to gain certification and undertake further research to optimise the process.”

The next step is commercial-scale production, which is well underway and is due to begin in 2025. “It’ll be more costly than fossil fuels to begin with, but we expect to see price parity with those fuels within ten years.”

But what about those who say electric is the only way forward? “In certain sectors, you simply cannot use electricity – a battery aircraft is not a meaningful solution for heavy loads and going distances,” Paddy says. “And agricultural vehicles such as combine harvesters are already on the weight limit, and need to do long shifts without stopping to recharge.”

There are also all the ‘legacy applications’, as Paddy explains.

“Think of the outboard motors used

HYDROGEN HYDROGEN IS OFTEN TOUTED as the perfect solution to our environmental crisis – but, of course, it’s not that simple. However, what a few firms, notably JCB and Toyota, have proved is that it has a strong future for certain applications.

Toyota’s Mirai has been around a while, and uses a hydrogen fuel cell to generate electricity to drive an electric motor. But more recently it’s developed a hydrogen-fed internalcombustion engine – something BMW attempted in the 1990s.

JCB chairman Lord Bamford has been passionately extolling the virtues of hydrogen for his firm’s huge range of commercial machinery over recent years. The company examined electric solutions, and developed prototype machines, but soon found that weight, price and duration of operation all counted against this solution for its large machinery – although electricity is perfect for smaller plant, especially machines operating in tunnels or

our hobby?

Zero Fuels CEO Paddy Lowe believes synthetic fuels will also be a great solution.

shopping centres, for example.

JCB also looked at fuel cells, but found that not only would they be too complicated and expensive for the brand’s applications, but they also don’t deliver power quickly enough. When an excavator is in operation, for example, it may need to go from idle to full load every 27 seconds for hours on end.

So what of hydrogen? Previous work by BMW found that using hydrogen in internal-combustion engines was producing nitrous oxide, which could be as damaging as carbon dioxide. However, the JCB engineers discovered that igniting hydrogen at lower compression ratios and temperatures than had previously been tried would produce power and torque equivalent to that of JCB’s existing diesel units, without the production of nitrous oxide.

That still leaves the question of production and storage of hydrogen.

Creating it involves using energy to break water into hydrogen and oxygen, so for a truly green fuel, the energy used must be renewable and not create carbon dioxide itself (‘green hydrogen’) or the carbon dioxide captured (‘blue hydrogen’).

Hydrogen also needs to be stored under high pressure, and leaks more easily than other gases due to the smaller molecules. However, this is something that’s been dealt with for years. JCB can use portable bowsers to distribute the hydrogen around its large plants, but national distribution for cars is more problematic.

As it is, JCB hydrogen kit is now running cleanly, emitting only water.

For the rest of us, hydrogen is less likely to be a solution – but don’t dismiss it yet. For a more detailed explanation, visit the Magneto website and search for ‘hydrogen’. www.jcb.com

Magneto

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THE-EX TEAM LOTUS, CARROLL SHELBY SPORTS INC, JIM HALL 1957 LOTUS ELEVEN ‘LM150’ – 1,500cc TWIN-CAM COVENTRY CLIMAX FPF

THE EX-STEVE O’ROURKE, TIFF NEEDELL, NICK FAURE, LE MANS 24 HOUR LEADING 1984 EMKA-ASTON MARTIN GROUP C

THE EX-ROBBIE STIRLING, PETER LLOYD, NICKY PAUL-BARRON, MULTIPLE CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING 1976 FERRARI 308 GTB

T. +44 (0)1285 831 488 / E. cars@williamianson.com / www.williamianson.com

THE EX-HRH PRINCE BERTIL OF SWEDEN, PER LARSSON 1926 BUGATTI TYPE 35 GRAND PRIX

THE EX – DYSON RACING, JAMES WEAVER, BUTCH LEITZINGER, ALMS AND FOUR-TIME SEBRING 12 HOUR 2001 RILEY & SCOTT MK3C LMP900 / LMP1

CARMEL CALIFORNIA PERIOD HISTORY 1963 SHELBY COBRA 289

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G N I R A D S E R U T N E V D A E H T F O Y E L T N E B S Y O

E TH

Their escapades read like a Boy’s Own story, but they were the bravest, the most audacious and the most glamorous racers of their generation. They were – and they remain – legends, in the truest sense of the word

Words Andrew Frankel

Illustrations Tavis Coburn

The Bentley Boys

Their light burned so brightly, but for an instant. It is extraordinary to me that the legend of the Bentley Boys left such an indelible impression in so short a period of time that, nearly a century later, the editor of a publication like Magneto should still be providing space such as this to their story. My intent over the next couple of thousand words or so, is to try to explain why – for the answer is not as simple as it might at first appear

The Bentley Boys

THE FIRST BENTLEY TO RACE IN AN international competition was a 3 Litre entered into the 1922 Indianapolis 500. A road car among racers, it both qualified last and finished last.

The final event was Le Mans in 1930 – or, if you include races entered by Sir Henry Birkin and Dorothy Paget’s supercharged cars, the BRDC 500 Miles Race later that year. Bentley went bust in 1931, and the following year Birkin wrote: “I always think that I keep the vividest memories of the ‘Bentley Boys’, who seemed to have combined in themselves all those many diverse attractions of their sport. They had its courage, its patriotism, its humour and its adventurous, never bored, never insincere spirit.

“It is strange how that company has changed in a couple of years: Glen [Kidston] was killed; Clive Dunfee’s tragic end still haunts our memory; ‘Babe’ Barnato has given up motor racing; all the others have for one reason or another disappeared from the road. I believe I am the only one left who still drives; and now that I am so rarely on an English car, I cannot be taken into account.”

Within a year of writing those emotional words, Birkin too was dead.

The references to patriotism and the importance of the ‘English’ car are interesting, because many of the Boys were not English at all. Jean Chassagne and Baron André d’Erlanger were French, John Duff a Canadian, Bernard Rubin from Australia. But they shared a spirit, a belief that there was a way to go racing, to conduct yourself both in and out of the car; and, yes, it was a code derived from their largely privileged backgrounds and upbringings, but from something else too.

To understand the Bentley Boys, to appreciate why their legacy outstrips even their many magnificent accomplishments on track and has endured to this day, first you must understand what they went through before they’d ever heard

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‘After the Great War, most of the Boys would have been pleasantly surprised simply to be alive’ of a car called a Bentley. They called it the Great War – we know it simply as World War One. It is not an efficient use of the space provided here to go into the individual war records of each of them, but almost all served their countries, as was the way with young men from combatant states. And not all emerged unscathed: Duff was seriously injured at Passchendaele in 1917 and was invalided back to Britain, where he spent a year in hospital. Rubin was so badly hurt in France it was three years before he could properly walk again, while Kidston, a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, survived being torpedoed twice and a submarine sinking.

The point is simple: after all they had seen and done, at the time of the formation of Bentley Motors in 1919, most of the Boys would have been pleasantly surprised simply to be alive. So they lived their lives accordingly, treating each new day as a bonus, determined to enjoy every minute to the full and, in certain cases, just perhaps find some small replacement for what they unquestionably regarded as the unique thrill of combat.

Of course, what people tend to see is how they behaved, without thinking too hard about why that might be – so an image of harddrinking, womanising, upper-class, publicschool party animals emerged over time. And while there is truth in it, more with certain individuals than with others, it is by no means the whole truth, nor does it reveal its context.

Some were fabulously wealthy: Woolf Barnato was a diamond millionaire, while Kidston came from a background with interests in everything from shipping to banking. Rubin was immensely well off thanks to a family that farmed and traded pearls in Western Australia, and Birkin’s fortune derived from Nottinghamshire lace.

Others were less affluent; as WO Bentley himself notes pityingly about the Dunfee brothers in his autobiography My Life and My

The Bentley Boys

‘They shared a spirit, a belief that there was a way to go racing, to conduct yourself’

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Cars: “Jack and Clive both had to work for their livings, and I think they found the pace rather fast sometimes.” He was not referring to driving.

Frank Clement was the only professional racing driver Bentley ever employed, but it was a rather different kind of arrangement to that which sees modern top-level racers so well rewarded. He started working life as a mechanic for companies such as Vauxhall and Napier, rising to become chief test driver for StrakerSquire, before becoming Works manager at the brand-new Bentley Motors early in 1920.

He was not merely the only driver to race a Bentley at Le Mans from the first in 1923 to the final participation in 1930, he was also the man who did all the paperwork, organised and shipped all the spare parts, and essentially ran the Bentley racing operation. Quiet, unflappable and with a healthy hatred of publicity, in terms of benefit brought to the marque he is perhaps the most under-rated of all the Bentley Boys.

It was Clement who first raced a Bentley, at a decidedly minor meeting at Brooklands in May 1921 – and the first to win one, too, when he claimed the Whitsun Junior Sprint Handicap later that year. It was Clement who led Bentley to its first success as a team, heading up a three-car squad home in second, fourth and fifth places (with WO himself placing fourth) at the 1922 Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man. And it was Clement who paired with Duff for that first Le Mans, returning to win it in 1924.

But it was Duff who, more than anyone, created the legend of Bentley at Le Mans. More than WO himself? By a margin: when the man who founded Bentley first heard of the idea of a race that would last 24 hours non-stop, he dismissed the idea as “crazy” and predicted that not a single car would finish. Even the day before, when a guilty conscience finally got the better of him and he decided to catch the night boat to France,

he was still describing it as “this stupid race”.

There will be those who’ll tell you Duff wasn’t a Bentley Boy at all, because he never raced directly for the factory. Yet to exclude him on such grounds would be to include a driver such as Leslie Callingham, who drove for Bentley just once, at Le Mans in 1927, crashing out of the race and Bentley’s favour all at once. It is nonsense.

Duff’s first racing car was a 10.0-litre twincam Fiat, graduating to the mighty 18.1-litre ‘Mephistopheles’ Fiat in 1921. Later that year, driving a 21.5-litre Benz, he joined the elite club of people who’d shot over the top of the Brooklands banking and lived to tell the tale, but by then he was already a Bentley owner and dealer. A punctured lung, smashed ankle and broken knee put an end to his leviathan days.

His first achievement in a Bentley was in 1922, in a bid to attack the 24-hour record for cars with engines of under 3.0 litres. Driving solo at Brooklands in two 12-hour stints (local laws forbade racing at night), after the first day his back had been rubbed so raw by the thin metal bucket in which he sat, his mechanic Leslie Pennal had to lift him from the car, carry him to the local Hand and Spear pub, and deposit him in the bath, presuming the attempt to be over. But next day Duff was back behind the wheel for another marathon session, finally covering more than 2000 miles at 87mph, and smashing every record he had sought.

The story of the first Le Mans, and of how victory eluded Duff and Clement, is probably quite well known. In essence, they took an essentially standard – and therefore ludicrously unprepared – car, complete with mechanics and all spares in the back, to the race. Which it would surely have won had not a stone punctured the tank anywhere from three to six miles from the pits – reports vary. What no one disputes is that Duff ran the whole way back to

Clement, Barnato and champion jockey George Duller rotating driving duties. Despite the vile conditions, 12 hours later the record was still on, but the physical and mental strain on the drivers became intolerable. After Duller somehow survived unscathed a 360º spin at over 100mph he brought the car in, unable to continue, only to find no other drivers to relieve him.

Step forward said junior mechanic, just weeks past his 21st birthday. He had no racing experience, was wildly out of his depth and was not even an officially registered driver, which alone would have guaranteed all records being rendered null and void. But it never came to that.

WO always thought it to the lad’s great credit that the mechanic managed even a third of a lap before destroying the car and, nearly, himself.

Those approaching the wreck were very much of the view that its occupant was dead, and were only disabused of the notion when the ‘corpse’ groaned. We should all be grateful he survived, for his name was Wally Hassan and, in later life, he would be pivotal in the development of the Jaguar straight-six and V12 engines, as well as the famed Coventry Climax FW series of powerplants that achieved so much in so many formulae, from F1 downward.

I won’t dwell on the 1927 Le Mans, the White House crash, the extrication of the solesurviving, severely damaged Bentley and its eventual triumph, because it is probably the best-known Bentley Boy story of them all. But it’s worth noting that, despite it all, the eminent bacteriologist and British Racing Drivers’ Club founder Dudley Benjafield and The Autocar journalist SCH ‘Sammy’ Davis won by a margin that has still to be repeated today.

The 1928 race was a much more precarious affair, and shines a light on the skills of Barnato, with whom WO had a complex relationship. It was Woolf’s fortune that saved the marque in Magneto

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ALAMY / MOTORSPORT IMAGES

FROM ABOVE LEFT The Boys in their prime – from Duff and Clement’s 1924 Le Mans victory, to Birkin setting records at Brooklands in 1932, and Birkin and Barnato with the 4½ Litre that the latter shared with Rubin at La Sarthe in 1928.

the pit to alert Clement, who purloined a bicycle – stolen from a French policeman, some say – slung two bidons of petrol around his neck, returned to the car, rigged a temporary bung, threw the bicycle in the back and returned to base to effect a more permanent repair. As AFC Hillstead said in Those Bentley Days: “That was one of the pluckiest rides ever undertaken.

Clement had to travel the reverse way to that in which the race was being run, which meant he had to take to the grass verge on several occasions in order to avoid an approaching car, and that was not at all funny…” Clement himself professed merely to being “terrified”.

In a car that, although still a private entrant, had been properly prepared by the factory, with four-wheel brakes, protection for the headlights and fuel tank, and duplicated fuel lines, Duff and Clement finished the job at 1924’s event.

They were the class of the field, and were winning with ease until the final tyre change revealed a wheel that would not come off. Chief mechanic Nobby Clarke was convinced the car had been sabotaged by the French, by forcing a metal implement between the splines that would then wreck the hub when the wheel was removed. If so, their timing was out – because the car was so far ahead, the distance it had already completed was beyond anything any other competitor would manage.

Of course, these exploits are written into Bentley lore because Duff and Clement were successful, but in terms of sheer futile heroics, I’m not sure any of the noted Bentley Boys topped the achievement of a young mechanic during the marque’s 1926 attempt to prove that a 3.0-litre car could average more than 100mph for 24 hours. A car was specially prepared, with aerodynamic bodywork so ugly it was known as ‘The Slug’, and sent out in filthy weather onto the Montlhéry banking for the attempt, with

The Bentley Boys

FROM ABOVE LEFT Following their 1927 Le Mans triumph, the Bentley Boys attended a special dinner at The Savoy. Still dirty and battle scarred from the race, the ‘guest of honour’ was driven in through the hotel’s front doors and took pride of place in the centre of the banqueting hall.

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the mid-’20s, and his refusal to further bankroll the failing business in 1931 that shut it down for good. Yet WO never denied that Barnato was the greatest driver ever to race a Bentley; Birkin was quicker, but if there was one person you needed behind the wheel of a car with no water in its radiator and two full laps to go, it was Woolf.

Such was the situation in which he found himself in 1928. His unrivalled blend of raw speed and mechanical sympathy is also what earned him his final Le Mans score sheet of played three, won three – a record he holds to this day.

Barnato was an extraordinary man from an extraordinary family, whose multi-millionaire father committed suicide when Woolf was just two. He became a successful racing driver and financier, effective heavyweight boxer, scratch golfer, powerboat racer and county-level cricketer. His parties at his mansion ‘Ardenrun’ wouldn’t finish before dawn, yet he was so careful with money, bets would be laid to see who could steal a single smoke from his gold cigarette case...

Barnato’s drive with Birkin in the Speed Six ‘Old Number One’ in 1929 led to Bentley’s most dominant victory, a 1-2-3-4 finish despite the drivers being held back to such an extent that Jack Dunfee enquired at one pitstop whether WO would like him to “get out and push the bloody thing”. It was the ultimate Bentley driver pairing, the indestructible Speed Six able to handle the punishment routinely dealt by Birkin that his own famed supercharged ‘Blower’ 41/2 Litre cars could not.

And there’s no question that, of them all, Birkin was the purest racing driver – as tough as they come, merciless on machinery and as likely to race for tenth as first place; really he should have been a full-time Grand Prix driver, and had there been a British GP team at the time, no doubt he would. But he was patriotic to his boots and would race for ‘foreigners’ only

when no alternative presented itself. The image of him flying – literally, at times – around Brooklands in his single-seat Bentley, raising the lap record to almost 138mph in 1932, polkadot scarf flying in the wind, is one of the most enduring images in British motor sport.

But there is a sadness to the Bentley Boys story in the fact that so few of them lived what, even then, would be seen as a natural lifespan.

Some were killed, such as Kidston who, having been the sole survivor of one plane crash, died in another aged 32, having just broken the record for flying from London to Cape Town.

Birkin was 36 when he burned his arm on his Maserati’s exhaust while reaching for his cigarette lighter, resulting in septicaemia, which was aggravated by a malaria flair-up and from which he would not recover. When I was editor of MotorSport many years ago, we received quite a credible story that Dr Benjafield, realising the situation was hopeless and wishing to spare his friend further suffering, helped him on his way.

But we couldn’t stand it up, so we never ran it.

Clive Dunfee went over the Brooklands banking in the Speed Six that had won Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 (the first of just five chassis to have ‘done the double’) but, unlike Duff, did not live to tell the tale. He was just 28. Rubin was 39 when he died of tuberculosis, while cancer claimed Barnato at 52. Duff died in a riding accident aged 62. Indeed, of the eight men who won at Le Mans for the original Bentley Motors, just two – Frank Clement, who died in 1970 aged 83, and Sammy Davis, who passed away in 1981 at an impressive 94 – made it past the three score years and ten most could expect, even back then.

But even if they’d known their fates, it’s hard to see any of the Bentley Boys deciding to moderate their lives. They lived hard and they died young, but always on their own terms. For them, it was the only way.

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Racing, Restoration & Engineering for today’s Bentley Boys & Girls

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R E H T R U F S E R U T N E V D A E H T F O Y E L T N E B S Y

E TH

Some seven decades after the legendary marque first dominated Le Mans, Bentley made a fresh bid for success. Guy Smith and Tom Kristensen recall the anxiety and elation of their winning 2003 drive

Words Alex Goy

Illustration Ricardo Santos

MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Bentley at Le Mans 2003

“I REMEMBER DR PAEFGEN BRIEFING all the drivers and the team before the weekend, saying ‘we must get a one-two’. I thought that was quite an ask at Le Mans,” recounts modern-day Bentley Boy Guy Smith, of his pre-race memories of an event that would change his career – Le Mans 2003.

That really was the marque’s year at La Sarthe. The desired finish rounded off a threeyear programme to put the ‘new’ Bentley in front of the right people, and the name back at the pinnacle of motor sport after seven decades. Smith was the man to take the no. 7 Speed 8, co-driven by Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello, over the line that year, fulfilling the then Bentley CEO Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen’s dream of a win. The no. 8 car, driven

by David Brabham, Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell, did as hoped too, finishing in a boss-pleasing second place.

After first competing at Le Mans in 2000, Smith had joined Bentley for its 2001 effort as a young driver in an experienced team. The Speed 8 was decent, but only in the right conditions: “While certainly fast, it was, for want of a better phrase, a one-trick pony. An endurance car needs to be good in all conditions... We’d not really tested it in the wet.”

Water in the wrong place proved to be Smith’s undoing, taking his car out of the ’01 race – although its sister, which suffered similar issues, carried on and managed to clinch third.

“It was a great experience to be part of Bentley’s return to Le Mans after all those years,” Smith says. “To be part of such a strong line-up was a dream come true. It signalled that the marque was back to try to win. What we realised from that race was that the car we had probably wasn’t going to be the one to win Le Mans.”

Kristensen doesn’t remember much of his time in Bentley’s first effort: “It was run way too stiff. And it was incredibly sensitive to the front ride height, so it was easy to wash out on the front. Sometimes it would be alright, then 80

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RIGHT The 2003 Le Mans race was the culmination of a three-year programme to get Bentley back on top at La Sarthe.

it would start porpoising... or understeering after you’d dialled it in.”

To facilitate a new Speed 8 for 2003, Bentley would only be able to field one car for 2002. The team’s move to a single machine didn’t do Smith out of a job, though – he was kept on as a reserve to do test work on the outgoing car, and to stretch the new one’s legs. He saw potential: “Sometimes a car is just quick out of the box, and this one was. Not only that, but it was easy to drive.”

The team shared his optimism about the Speed 8. It was... good: “We simply had this confidence, because the thing was just running and running and running, and it was quick.

We knew we had something very special.”

The new Speed 8’s first official race outing was Sebring 2003, where the Bentley Boys snagged third and fourth place. The car showed promise, and with a few tweaks it would be turned into a real contender.

Kristensen remembers the Le Mans pre-test day, and how the car had been transformed: “We had a good feeling, a confidence. The engineers had sorted all the fine details of running a car efficiently. I was, I believe, 3.8 seconds faster than the second car by the end of the pre-test day. And in a way, it put us in the limelight.”

When it came to the week of the race, Smith recalls something of a mixed affair: “You tend to be in a bit of a bubble, because you go from motorhome to garage to hospitality to motorhome. You’ve got that undercurrent of nerves, that pressure. But the people around me had done it all before. So I followed what they did, maintained my energy, didn’t get too excited...”

Le Mans brings Brits in by the TVR load.

Before the flag drops, there are events, parades, dinners – the works. With a chance of a win after qualifying first and second, the Bentley Boys were the centre of attention. Smith was thinking, quite understandably, about the weekend: “You’re trying to put a lot of it out of your mind.

At that point, you just focus on the race.”

Nerves are understandable for a driver, but

‘It was a great experience to be part of Bentley’s return to Le Mans after all those years’ Magneto

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Bentley at Le Mans 2003

ABOVE The post-race pinnacle was parading the Le Mans-winning Bentley Speed 8 through Paris, accompanied by its historic forebears.

what about everyone else? Smith remembers an air of stress laced with cautious optimism considering where the cars were starting.

Before the race, potential disaster struck: “We had an issue with something on the rear suspension. The car kept losing ride height, and it was getting on the bump rubbers and bouncing on the back like a pogo stick. We had it in warmup, and we didn’t really know what it was.”

The problem was fixed on the grid, and Kristensen remembers it adding a few nerves: “There was a bit of extra tension due to the fact that we didn’t know what would develop [because of it].” In fact, it turned out to be a blessing: “In a way, the car was more driveable.”

The race itself wasn’t a big deal for Smith – a good thing, because it means nothing went catastrophically wrong. That’s not to say it was easy, though. The no. 8 Bentley was on no. 7’s tail for much of the time – the gap would widen and shrink throughout, but never be big enough to relax. That is, until a loose headrest sent no. 8 to the pits, costing a huge chunk of time.

From there, all no. 7 had to do was not break or crash. “We were trying to be a metronome, making sure you do your laps, come in, do fuel and tyres, do your laps... And that’s what we did. It was quite boring in many respects.”

Kristensen was leery of getting too confident.

After a huge lead with BMW in 1999 that culminated in a broken damper ending his car’s 82

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race, he’d been left wary: “I don’t accept anything before the car’s crawling up to the finish line...

But, of course, having a comfortable lead makes it a bit calmer in terms of the chances you take.”

Smith was driving when no. 7 crossed the line first. It was an historic victory, albeit one that took a while to hit him: “While you work towards it, and you hope you’re going to win, it doesn’t really sink in. So when you cross the line it’s a relief more than anything. It’s such a big thing, it takes days, weeks even, to take it all in.”

From the pitwall, Kristensen was a happy man: “The two cars as they crossed the finish line – wonderful! And it was all a relief. It was a one-two. It was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.”

Thanks to the new car, the win that had been on the cards had been hard won. The team was elated. Smith, exhausted and hungry, sought out food. “Being a Brit team, we ended up with a full English breakfast – the best thing ever.” And

‘We were trying to be a metronome, making sure you do your laps, come in, do fuel and tyres, do your laps...’

then, of course, there was a party that ended up with Smith asleep on a motel-room floor, before an early start to parade the car through Paris.

What does winning Le Mans do for you – especially when you’re a comparative junior, as Smith was? “It gives you an enormous amount of confidence. The fact that you’ve done it, you’ve effectively won the biggest race in the world. I think when you’re speaking with teams and people such as that, even now, it elevates you. You’re a Le Mans winner, and I guess it’s something that stays with you forever.” That’s especially true when it comes to future work: “In terms of your career, the fact that it’s on your CV is an instant stamp of approval.”

For Kristensen, this was Le Mans win number five, putting him on a par with Derek Bell: “What touched me was that Derek was the first one I talked to as we were hit by the media.” As a place for torches to be passed, Le Mans is a good one.

Work aside, the win seems to have hit Smith rather profoundly, although family life keeps him grounded: “I feel very lucky and very blessed to have been in a position to do it.

Because there are a lot of drivers who have been in good cars or good teams, but not ended up winning the race.

“I look back and can’t believe it really happened – even 20 years later. I’m just happy, grateful, thankful to be able to say that. And even to tell the kids – not that they’re really very interested...”

Offered for sale 1931 8 litre Bentley Le Mans Style Single ownership since 1965, re-bodied in 1962

On behalf of the family of the late Geoffrey Parker, a very well know/respected WO Member Offered off-market enquire to our office ask@tomhardman.com

Waiting, waiting, then...

Go!

Go!

Go!

Becoming a Bentley Boy Words Andrew Frankel

Photography Jayson Fong

Racing at Le Mans Classic

‘The Bentley was doing its thing, roaring towards the 4000rpm rev limit in top gear, thundering down the road at 115mph’

‘Pleased with the knowledge I’d be able to see where I was going, there was no fear. I just wanted to get out there’

Racing at Le Mans Classic

I’M AFRAID I AM GOING TO BE A frightful disappointment. If any of the original Bentley Boys were left, they’d be looking down their pince-nez at me. For while, like them, I am now a member of that rather exclusive cadre of people who have raced a Bentley, for Bentley, at Le Mans, in all other significant regards there the similarities end. The closest to armed combat I’ve ever come was a day’s orienteering in the Chilterns while I was in the school Combined Cadet Force. I neither hunt nor shoot nor fish. Unlike ‘Babe’ Barnato, I don’t even keep wicket for Surrey.

Even so, and despite the fact I’d be competing on a much-changed, far safer circuit, for a tiny fraction of the time the Boys would have faced, as the car came down the pitlane at 1:30am and I readied myself for my first stint, I was as nervous as I’d been before my very first race, 30-something years ago.

So far the weekend had not gone well.

Bentley had entered its 41/2 Litre supercharged ‘Blower’ into the Le Mans Classic, and invited me to share it with fourth-generation Bentley racer James Morley. I explained that thanks to a lot of bad luck last year and Covid prior to that, I’d not actually completed a racing lap in three years, but they seemed undeterred.

The only smart thing I’d done in advance

was to book some time at Darren Turner’s Base Performance Simulators, to re-familiarise myself with a circuit I’d not raced on in 11 years, but I still felt hopelessly under prepared when I turned up, signed on and was presented with my Bentley racing kit.

Day and night practice involved mainly getting to know the car, and dodging around people who appeared to be even more lost out there than I. Then, in the first race, James went missing even before the safety car had got back to the pits. The only non-Bentley part on the car – a pair of auxiliary spotlights – had blown the fuse that also looked after the fuel pumps.

So instead of a nice gentle day race to reintroduce me to the unique challenge of competing at Le Mans, it would be in the dead of night. And with only a pair of 1920s-spec headlights with which to see where I was going.

Two other problems we knew about already, the first entirely of Bentley’s creation. Our car, a brand-new Continuation of Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin’s 1930 team machine, was completely and utterly standard, down to its last rivet.

With Bentley’s resources it could have created a rocketship, but it was adamant the car had to be exactly as per Birkin’s car of 93 years back.

And, without wishing to impugn the good name of my fellow competitors, it’s not exactly a secret

that very few active competition cars are today as when new. Were that the case, another Bentley claimed in the programme to have a 3.0-litre engine would not have come past my supercharged 4.4 as if we were standing still...

The second issue was that, despite there being no other car on the grid that could be more to the correct period spec, because it was a ‘recreation’ our Bentley had to have a 90-second pitstop, half as long again as anyone else’s. In all races.

When James started that night race, we were placed at the back of the grid in seventysomethingth place due to our failure even to start the race before, let alone finish it. And when he came in, wide eyed at the strain of having to peer through the gloom with the car’s pathetic standard lights, he had more bad news – and, thanks to our interminable pitstop, plenty of time to impart it. In essence the car in front of him had blown up, slathering with oil the Bentley in general and its windscreen in particular. There was no time to clear it; I’d just have to cope.

The first part of the lap was quite well lit as I made my way under the Dunlop Bridge and down towards the Esses and Tertre Rouge, but once on the Mulsanne Straight it was dark as can be. The Bentley was doing its thing, roaring towards the 4000rpm absolute rev limit in top gear, thundering down the road at 115mph at

OPPOSITE An early let-down due to the car’s sole non-Bentley part didn’t stop its drivers from piloting it to a highly creditable 19th place.

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Racing at Le Mans Classic

least – which was fast enough in a machine worth some millions with dozens of other cars out there when I couldn’t see where I was going. If you’ve ever accidentally – or even, God forbid, on purpose – found yourself driving at speed at night on an unlit road on sidelights alone, it’s a bit like that, only probably quite a lot faster and with far greater jeopardy.

Dear reader, I was scared. Not for myself oddly, but for damaging this beautiful machine and rendering the enormous efforts of all those who’d brought it to this moment instantly redundant. And for whatever and whomever I hit, too. The results of receiving 1800kg of Bentley in the caboose, supercharger first, were unlikely to be pretty. More than once, when something just appeared apparently out of nowhere, I waited for a crash that, somehow, didn’t happen.

It was with nothing other than the purest relief that I saw the flag fall. And it was with astonishment that I learned we’d climbed up to 26th by the finish, having dispatched nearly 50 cars en route. Better still, grid positions for the final race were determined by the car’s fastest lap, which happened to belong to me because James hit even more traffic than I. We’d start in 22nd.

There seemed little point in returning to town and trying to sleep. There’ll be city slickers who have spent the night shovelling Bolivian marching powder up their hooters and not felt as wired as I did at that moment. And we had more racing to do. So I went back to the daily, reclined the seat and spent the next couple of hours closely examining a BMW 3-Series estate headlining. Then, at the first sign of dawn, I

RIGHT The Bentley Blower Continuation acquitted itself admirably upon its return to the Le Mans circuit.

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gave up and went off to watch some racing.

Adrenalin is an amazing thing. For various reasons I’d not had more than a dozen hours’ sleep in the previous four days, yet I reported to the Bentley pit as awake as if I’d had that much in a single night. Pleased with the knowledge I’d be able to see where I was going, finally at home with both car and track, now there was no fear at all. I just wanted to get out there.

I knew James would do the job you’d expect of one of the most rapid Bentley drivers in the business when fully dialled into the circuit. But now our grid position put us among the Grand Prix Bugattis and straight-eight Alfas, where the competition was challenging to say the least.

Even so, James still got past five and brought the Blower to the pits in 17th place, reporting that all was well with car and track. But then that bloody pitstop. Having got the car frankly quite a lot further up the grid than any of us had thought possible, having to sit there for half a minute longer than anyone else, losing places all the time, was agonising. But it gave me something to focus on.

I’ll not forget those few laps. Hearing what the Boys called the “bloody thump” of the engine and the scream of the supercharger, feeling my way around the resolutely synchrofree transmission, checking the drip, drip, drip of the oil feeds to the blower’s bearings, hauling the massive Bakelite wheel from apex to apex, savouring the unlikely balance of chassis (bravo, James’ brother Stuart, who did all the development work on the car), being amazed time and again that the car stopped so well by the

pitiful standards of 1920s brakes and, as much as anything, being out there on the same circuit as Birkin and his mates all those years ago... well, it’s not the sort of thing to slip the mind.

Okay, almost the same circuit: it no longer spears into town to the old Pontlieue Hairpin, there are five chicanes rather than none, and the old deep-breath blast through White House corner has been replaced by the only slightly less ballsy Porsche Curves. But chicanes aside, from the entry to Tertre Rouge, all the way to Mulsanne, up over the crests to Indianapolis and Arnage, and to the entry point to said Curves, the track follows almost exactly the same course.

And the car, let’s not forget, is precisely the same, so I have at least some claim to having had a snapshot of something close to what it must have been like for the great men.

In the end we came 19th, having started the previous race dead last. I know it is the biggest cliché in racing to thank the team if you come anywhere, but manager Dave Argent and all those who helped make it happen deserve the highest praise and gratitude for enabling us to put on a decent show in their car. For the truth is that in those circumstances, in a standard machine, with those pitstops, with many cars that would have been far faster even in period, let alone today on the Classic’s pre-1940 grid, a top-20 finish was indeed a decent show.

WO may not have been proud of our paltry efforts, but I was. And if I never race at Le Mans again, to sign off having raced there in a Bentley, and to do so for Bentley... well, where I come from, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

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The convoy of a lifetime, culminating in an anniversary race the likes of which has never been seen before. We join 71 Vintage Bentleys from the famous Benjafield’s Racing Club in their epic jaunt to Le Mans

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Words Nathan Chadwick

Photography Jayson Fong

OPPOSITE Fellow club member Prince Michael of Kent sees off the cars from London’s St James’s.

ABOVE There were always going to be running repairs... but all the cars made it to Le Mans to race.

ABOVE The Vintage Bentleys take part in the pre-race parade through the city centre of Le Mans.

OPPOSITE A quick snooze – or fixing an under-dash issue?

A MOMENT IN TIME, UNLIKELY EVER TO be seen again – 71 Vintage Bentleys from across the world taking to Le Mans with a running start. The 2023 Le Mans Classic was a glorious event, but the jewel in the weekend had to be the Benjafield’s Racing Club’s anniversary race.

The idea was simple, the execution perhaps not; what if Benjafield’s could get as many Vintage-era Bentleys as possible to the Le Mans Classic? It worked – and it all started in the centre of London, with the historic cars taking over the streets before heading to La Sarthe. The convoy was seen off by fellow Benjafield’s member Prince Michael of Kent, with Jonathan Turner leading the pack in the first-ever Bentley to race at Le Mans.

Of course, there were plenty of adventures

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OPPOSITE And they’re off... Bentley drivers take part in a classic Le Mans running start.

ABOVE Crossing the finish line in style, after an epic race.

along the way, but once at Le Mans a 45-minute race around the historic circuit ensued with a traditional running start, waved off by Derek Bell.

“The drive down was special,” said coorganiser Chris Lunn after the race. “We all lined up in central London’s Marlborough Road – we actually closed one road. The whole place from Parliament to The Mall was filled with Le Mans-style Vintage Bentleys. Every car there was racing – we had six Works cars, 3 Litres, Blowers... and they’ve all finished. Whether they can drive home is another matter.”

There was some confusion about the start of the race – was the first lap a warm-up? Were they racing from a certain point after a parade?

“None of us realised it was actually the first lap – very local, very French, but fantastic still,”

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said owner Guy Northam. “They were standing up in the grandstands, clapping. Fabulous!”

In the end it mattered little; Clive Morley was first over the line in his 1926 41/2 Litre but, as in 1923, there was no outright winner. As Chris Lunn said: “Everyone was a winner. No one is upset with anyone, everyone’s going to eat together on Sunday night. The meal will be a riot, it’ll be fun – that’s what everyone really wants, isn’t it? There’s no other club like Benjafield’s.”

London dealer Peter Bradfield, who was there in his 4½ Litre, agreed: “The club is very special – there are just 100 members, and you have to be invited. [When I was invited] I was on a rally. Chris and Nigel Batchelor were in the loo, and they said I should join. I said: ‘I’m not joining any club that I’ve been invited to in a gents’ loo.’ A year later, Chris phoned me up to ask me to join, so I said: ‘Alright, I’m honoured.’”

And that meal? It took place at the Hotel de France, home to so many Works teams over the years, and now owned by Benjafield’s member Martin Overington. Our image of the drivers doing the conga into the hotel should tell you all you need to know about how it went…

The Benjafield’s run was an occasion that will never be forgotten or repeated – and it was used to raise money for Sepsis Research FEAT (Bentley Boy Tim Birkin is thought to have died from sepsis after burning his arm on an exhaust pipe). You can donate via the link below. www.benjafields.com, www.sepsisresearch.org.uk 100

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THIS PAGE The legendary French night-time hospitality includes a celebration meal at the historic Hotel de France, which culminates in a rousing rendition of the conga – of course!

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HONOUR

Words Duke of Richmond Photography www.legacyandart.com

collectable of all Goodwood memorabilia. In a very special year for the legendary motor sport venue, we look back at days gone by

BADGES

Vintage BARC members’ badges are among the most colourful, evocative and

Goodwood badges

THIS YEAR IS A SIGNIFICANT ONE FOR Goodwood [writes the Duke of Richmond], as we celebrate not only the 30th anniversary of the Festival of Speed, and the Revival’s 25th, but also 75 years since motor racing first came to the Estate with the inaugural meeting at the Motor Circuit, on September 18, 1948.

Back in the day, the racing was organised by the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC), which used Goodwood as its ‘home circuit’.

From 1949 onwards, the BARC engaged badge maker Marples & Beasley of Birmingham to produce members’ badges and guests’ brooches, which acted as season tickets, granting the member and their guest entry to the events at the circuit throughout the year.

The badges, which were produced annually until the circuit closed for racing after the 1966 season, featured an array of designs, all of them evocative of the period. For all years, with the exception of 1965 and 1966, they were sent out to members in boxes along with membership cards and accompanying notes for the season.

When motor sport returned to Goodwood, first with the Festival of Speed in 1993, then the Revival in 1998, and finally the Members’ Meeting in 2014, it felt appropriate to revive the tradition of creating badges for both members and competitors. Remarkably, we now produce a dozen different badge designs every year, each granting access into a different area or enclosure across our three headline events.

They have become highly sought after – and the desirability of the modern badges has, in turn, massively increased the interest in (and value of) the period examples, with collectors and enthusiasts looking to complete a run for the 18 years available.

It’s wonderful that something which started out as a purely functional item has become such a collectable part of Goodwood’s history.

The complete boxed collection shown on these pages belonged to a high-ranking British Army Colonel. He kept everything from the period, and they have remained together ever since. To have a full set that belonged to one member, all matched, in their boxes and, in some instances, still in the original plastic with the membership card, is very much the ‘holy grail’.

ABOVE Boxed BARC lapel badge for men and brooch for ladies came complete with card detailing conditions of their use, from 1953.

Goodwood badges

ABOVE 1957 badge holder would likely have watched Stuart Lewis-Evans win April’s Glover Trophy in his Connaught B Type.

ABOVE 1959’s RAC Tourist Trophy saw Aston Martin take the WSC crown with Shelby, Moss and Fairman at the wheel.

Goodwood badges

ABOVE ‘Season tickets’ from the early 1950s; 1952 set shows an alternative brooch design, perhaps for an under-16-year-old guest?

ABOVE A rare find, distributed for what would turn out to be the final year of the Goodwood Motor Circuit in its original incarnation.

Goodwood badges

ABOVE Accompanying card outlined workings of the BARC annual membership system – a great piece of motor sport memorabilia.

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Supercar shoot-out

Words Winston Goodfellow and David Lillywhite

Photography Evan Klein

OPPOSITE AND BELOW Independently produced Vector and Isdera were both in the running for the world’s fastest road car in the late-20th century 200mph era.

AN ALL-OUT BATTLE GRIPPED THE upper echelons of the performance-car arena in the early 1990s. The advent of composite materials, turbos and other tech had opened the speed floodgates – the idea of making the world’s fastest road car conjuring up vivid romantic imagery and attention-grabbing headlines.

The global economy was booming, so manufacturers big and small jumped into the Vmax gold rush, a long-running battle that had commenced in May 1949. Back then, Jaguar’s XK120 hit 132mph; now, at least 200mph was required to have a seat at the table.

As brands flowed in and out of the speed arena in accordance with the economic tides, two tiny firms remained moored in place throughout those yeasty years – one with rather more veracity than the other.

VECTOR W8 If it looks spectacularly unusual now – or should that be unusually spectacular? – imagine

how the first Vector supercar appeared to readers of the April 1972 issue of MotorTrend – two decades before the production W8 TwinTurbo it spawned would finally appear.

Frankly, though, the outrageous styling of the all-American Vector had nothing on the personality of the man behind it. Gerald A Wiegert was a larger-than-life character, who combined a solid background in design and engineering with showmanship and spectacular overconfidence to create a supercar that makes a Lamborghini Countach look pedestrian.

You can read the story in a glass-half-empty or a glass-half-full kind of way. Let’s start with the former, because although the W8 was claimed to have been capable of well over 200mph, no magazine ever got near to that figure.

The car wasn’t a commercial success, either, with just 23 built over a drawn-out production process that was eventually brought to a close by a tricksy financial deal with an Asian heavymetal guitarist and a gangster who happened to Magneto

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‘The economy was booming, so manufacturers big and small jumped into the Vmax gold rush’

be the son of Indonesia’s corrupt dictator.

Are you rolling your eyes already? Fair enough, but how about rolling them over the images on these pages? You have to admit, the W8 is a striking machine, even if it’s something of a jumble of styles: Countach, Testarossa, Pantera, even fighter jet… they’re all in there, but actually the Vector pre-dated many of the now-iconic supercars of the 1980s and ’90s.

And so did its specifications.

The W8 was built on a semi-monocoque chassis based around a substantial chrome-moly steel tube frame strengthened by an aluminiumhoneycomb floorpan, with aluminium panels epoxy bonded and riveted to the frame to form monocoque crush zones. In 1991, Vector’s vice president of production Mark Bailey told Road & Track’s Douglas Kott: “If [the structure] is all monocoque, you get a lot of twist, and it’s tough to build it accurately. If it’s all spaceframe, 118

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you smack one area and you impact everything else, because every tube takes all the load. In the Vector’s case, the energy-absorbing areas are monocoque, because that’s what they do best.”

The point was part proven by the W8 passing the US’s DOT crash tests at the time, using just one chassis to complete the 30mph front- and rear-impact, door-crush and roof-crush tests.

On this platform sat a non-load-bearing body of carbonfibre, glassfibre and Kevlar; once again, advanced tech for the time. Scissor doors and a mid-mounted V8 completed the supercar tickbox list, although you might have noticed that the twin-turbo engine and three-speed auto (yes, really!) were mounted transversely. Well, if such a layout was good enough for the Miura…

In this case, however, the engine was an allAmerican affair. The 6.0-litre aluminium 90º pushrod V8 had all the right bits: Rodeck-made block, Air Flow Research two-valve cylinder

‘The advent of composite materials, turbos and other tech had opened the speed floodgates’

FROM LEFT The W8 had its genesis in the early 1970s, but still looked thoroughly modern by the time the ‘production’ car eventually appeared.

Gerald Wiegert used aerospace practices and military-level componentry on his new Vector supercar, which was especially apparent in the look and feel of the cockpit area.

Supercar shoot-out

heads, twin water-cooled Garrett turbos, forged crankshaft, TRW forged pistons, Carrillo conrods, roller rocker arms and a dry-sump oil system, all assembled and dyno’d by Shaver Specialties of Torrance, California. In many ways it was a drag-racing engine for the road.

Visually, the engine bay was dominated by a polished-aluminium intercooler set-up, secured by quick-release aerospace clamps. Lengths of stainless-steel oil and cooling hoses, with garish anodised fittings and engine mounts, and adapters milled from polished billet aluminium, added to the glitzy effect.

It’s been said that Wiegert’s ambition to be a fighter pilot had been stymied by poor eyesight, but he’d inherited his father’s love of, and aptitude for, engineering. He attended the Center for Creative Studies in his home town of Detroit, and gained an internship at the General Motors Tech Center, before moving to the West Coast to attend the ArtCenter College of Design.

What followed was a wildly varied and creative career in design working on, as Preston Lerner put it in his excellent Hagerty profile of this unconventional man: “Everything from toilets to Grand Prix motorcycles, rocket belts to personal watercraft.” Wiegert’s love of aerospace remained, but his entrepreneurialism saw him focus on cars, because that’s where he thought he could make the big money.

This is where the W8’s sky-high spec came in, as Wiegert made a show of using aerospace practices and military-level componentry on his new supercar. Its appearance, too, has often been said to bear some resemblance to an F-117 fighter jet, particularly in the cockpit area.

Inside the Vector, there’s no mistaking that aerospace influence. The ultra-wide sills and short doors mean that clambering into the topspec, heavily bolstered Recaro seats isn’t easy.

Once in, both driver and passenger are cocooned in a leather- and suede-trimmed,

wannabe-fighter-pilot’s wet dream. There are copious switches, one of the most comprehensive stereos (by Bosch) yet seen, and a now-crude but then-advanced electroluminescent screen to the left of the driver to flickeringly share mechanical vital signs.

The stats are displayed in a ribbon format, which Vector engineers were keen to point out gave a much better idea of the rate of change compared with mere digital numbers – although these figures sit alongside the ribbons.

And there are four different screen layouts available, always with the chosen gear displayed, showing a massive selection of information, including exhaust temperature.

Some have claimed that when the W8 was pushed hard, it was possible to see the glow of the twin turbos in the rear-view mirror. If so, that was probably all they saw – rearward vision is on a par with a Countach’s, and the small door mirrors do little to help.

The gearshift, buried into a recess in the driver’s-side sill, is in the style of an airliner’s thrust lever. It controls a three-speed trans that looks externally like a classic GM Turbo HydraMatic, but Vector’s reasonable claim was that internally it had been completely re-engineered to withstand the car’s power and torque.

And how high are those figures, you’ve probably been wondering? Well, Vector claimed 625bhp at 5700rpm and 630lb ft at 4900rpm, with boost set to 7psi. This would be impressive now, but back then these were huge numbers – as was the claimed performance.

Vector said that the car would red line in top gear, which would equate to over 200mph, perhaps as much as 218mph when accounting for the tyres’ rolling radius growing at high speed. Wiegert occasionally claimed that 240mph could be possible with some further tuning.

Road & Track achieved 4.2 seconds for 0-60mph, 0-100mph in 8.3sec and a quarter-mile from

standing in 12sec, while the only other magazine permitted to try the Vector, Car and Driver, achieved 0-60mph in 3.8sec and the quartermile in 12.0sec at 118mph. This car was quick, even if the 200mph claim was never proven.

With any low-volume car of this nature and era, the fear is that braking and handling might not be up to scratch – but again Road & Track found that on its test skid pan the Vector gave a lateral grip of 97g: “A new high for a production car or even a special”, achieved with “mild understeer, which is unusual for a mid-engine car”. Braking needed high pedal pressure due to the lack of servo, but was deemed impressive, even after multiple high-speed stops.

But then, this was Wiegert’s thing. Everything was over engineered, he said, dismissing other supercars of the day for their build quality and design. The Vector made use of hefty double wishbones and coil springs over Koni dampers up front, with coil springs, Konis and a de Dion tube located by four trailing arms at the rear.

Large, machined-aluminium hubs were fitted with NASCAR wheel bearings, and carried 13in vented discs and Alcon four-pot calipers – at a time when a standard European saloon’s entire wheel diameter would often be 13in or less.

All this had taken so much more time, money and stress than Wiegert had ever envisaged.

He’d started upon his dream of producing a fighter jet-influenced supercar back in 1971, initially sculpting a one-fifth-scale foam model of what became the prototype Vector, named the W2 for ‘Wiegert Twin Turbo’.

He recruited Lee Brown of Precision Auto Body in Hollywood as a partner in the creation of a full-size glassfibre mock-up in olive green, built around a Porsche chassis and flat-six engine that Brown was to provide. This is what appeared at LA’s Auto Expo and on the front cover of that April 1972 issue of MotorTrend, under the headline “Vector: US challenge to

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Supercar shoot-out

ABOVE AND LEFT Commendatore’s cosy interior has more of the feel of a GT than of a supercar, with comfortable bucket seats and plenty of leg- and

Italian styling” – although due to a lack of time and a fall-out with Brown, not only was the engine never installed, but Wiegert lost possession of the car.

What he lost materially, though, he most certainly gained in exposure. Suddenly Wiegert was a name in the automotive world, which held its collective breath to see the next stage in Vector development… and then gradually exhaled in disappointment as years went by with little news, other than another exciting appearance at Auto Expo, this time in 1976.

Wiegert was struggling to find backers, but finally a running prototype appeared in the late 1970s, from his newly formed Vector Car company. His creation this time featured on the December 1980 cover of Car and Driver, but the search for financial assistance continued.

Wiegert and the W2 worked hard, travelling the US to shows to exhibit the car, which clocked up an impressive 200,000 miles in the process.

But it was a tough sell – well, mostly, at least, because Wiegert lapped up the publicity and partied with the stars in the meantime.

Incredibly, one break came when he was able to successfully sue Goodyear for naming its new tyre ‘Vector’. Eventually he was able to go public to raise enough capital to start producing W8s at an ever-growing facility in Wilmington, CA, with over 100 employees – although not before the March 1987 edition of Autoweek had 122

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headroom. When on the move, the trick ‘periscope’ rear-view mirror is surprisingly effective.

run a cover story with the headline “The great Vector myth: At age 15, this would-be American supercar is still a long way from production”.

Still, such was the strong impression that the courageous-looking Vector W8 TwinTurbo (as it was by then named) was still generating, several were sold to wealthy and mostly highprofile buyers. These included two sheiks and – unfortunately, as it turned out – tennis ace Andre Agassi. Why unfortunately? Because the story goes that he was so impatient to receive his car, he was allowed to take it on the promise that he wouldn’t use it until it had been fully prepared and certified for emissions. But Agassi tried it… and heat from the exhaust set alight to carpet in the trunk. Subsequent media reports meant Vector was hit by yet more bad publicity.

The Vector’s price added shock value to the story: The April 1991 edition of Road & Track reported the price of the Vector W8 as $283,750, compared with the then-new Lamborghini Diablo at $211,000 and the US-spec Ferrari F40 at $400,000. But by 1992, Vector was charging closer to $450,000.

Sadly Wiegert’s schemes to keep the firm going, including attempts to buy Lamborghini and the planned replacement of the W8 with a new model, the Avtech WX3, continued to fall by the wayside. Sometimes this was down to bad luck, sometimes simply careless optimism.

The final straw was a deal with that

previously mentioned Indonesian consortium.

Initially Vector received several million dollars, but then the money dried up and the board turned against Wiegert in 1993, voting him out. He reacted in a typically Wiegert way, barricading himself into the factory before admitting temporary defeat. The company, without him, went on to produce 14 Diablobased cars named the Vector M12.

In 1999, Wiegert won a court judgement that returned control of the Vector name and what was left of the firm to him. He somehow resisted the temptation to attempt a relaunch of the Vector name, although years later, in Preston Lerner’s interview, Wiegert revealed plans to create a 3000bhp, 300mph, $3 million hypercar.

Did he succeed? No, he didn’t – and he died (in 2021, aged 76) still claiming that the W8 was better than all of its contemporaries.

Was he right? Well, in some ways he was; despite the hype and the many failures, Wiegert’s remarkable Vector was mostly robust and under stressed, ridiculously well equipped and outrageously fast.

Even now, in a world that has witnessed ever more over-the-top hypercars, from not just Ferrari and Lamborghini, but McLaren, Pagani, Koenigsegg and many more, the Vector stands out. And when the accelerator of the W8 is floored, and that big V8 does its thing,

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Supercar shoot-out

followed after a significant lag by the added input of the two huge turbos, Wiegert could well be looking down at his rapidly accelerating creations and saying: “See, I told you so.”

I S D E R A C O M M E N D AT O R E Unlike Vector and many other constructors, Germany’s Isdera was not a one-trick pony. It offered three distinct models, topped by the startling teardrop-shaped bolide seen here.

When the V12-powered Commendatore debuted at 1993’s Frankfurt Auto Show, it immediately found itself on the Vmax front lines, with a claimed top speed of around 230mph. That figure still gets one’s attention today, but what makes this piece of four-wheeled unobtainium particularly intriguing is its back story – how the car was an intersection for several different trends, and so far ahead of its time that only now has its tale come full circle.

We’ll start with its creator Eberhard Schulz, for he highlights the slow (and largely unnoticed) disappearance of those rare individuals who could engineer and/or style a car themselves.

Schulz may not have a CV equal to names such as Ettore Bugatti, Giampaolo Dallara, Vittorio Jano, Fred Duesenberg and Ferdinand Porsche, but he was certainly cut from the same cloth.

Called “something of a rebel” by Fast Lane, Schulz was born in 1941 and bitten by the automotive bug early in life. While studying for his engineering degree at Darmstadt technical university, he made what became known as the Erator GTE, a mid-engine car created at a time when very few road machines used the configuration. The Erator had a tube chassis and handsome glassfibre body with gullwing doors, both of Eberhard’s design, and looked to be a cross between a Ford GT40 Mk1 and Mk3, and a Lola Mk6 GT coupé. Its first engine was a Volkswagen flat-four, but subsequent mods brought a race-prepped Mercedes 5.0-litre V8.

In 1969, while still in college, Schulz unknowingly mimicked several Shelby employees in southern California by driving his rolling résumé to Porsche and Mercedes, and applying for a job. The former quickly snapped him up, and Eberhard began his career in its design studio. But his skill-set was quite diverse, Road & Track later stating Schulz eventually worked in Karosserie-Konstruktion (the body-engineering department), then became an engineering test driver. In Fast Lane, Eberhard related how Porsche was the perfect training and proving ground, ideal for “learning about suspension – despite the 928’s rear end”.

In fact, that front-engine V8 GT saw him become disillusioned with his employer. The 928 “could have been made by GM or whoever”, 124

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ABOVE Isdera features a spaceframe, glassfibre body, gullwing doors and that monstrous V12.

Schulz told Fast Lane. “It had no identity.” He also felt “Porsche is a good company, the best in some respects – but the modern range, they don’t spell out Porsche to me”.

Which was entirely different from another Stuttgart-based manufacturer. “At least when you look at a Mercedes,” he said, “the 190, 260, 300 – you know it’s a Mercedes.” He left Porsche and started working at AMG, then a relatively obscure Mercedes tuner involved in competition, one of his passions. There, he oversaw design and development of the 450 SLC that competed in Europe’s Touring Car Championship.

Then Eberhard met Rainer Buchmann, the proprietor of b+b Auto Exclusiv Service. The organisation had a reputation for changing Porsches into “high society in velvet and steel”, according to Road & Track’s 1978 profile on the firm. Rainer would hire Schulz to be “in charge of research engineering and design”.

In many ways, the opportunity gave Eberhard a blank canvass on which to paint, for he and Buchmann were captivated by Mercedes’ experimental C111s. The first of the gullwing mid-engine marvels debuted at 1969’s Frankfurt Auto Show, and was followed by a second version at Geneva in 1970. The several cars produced ran a variety of rotary and diesel powerplants over the ensuing years, experimentation that led to the highly ambitious Cw 311 that was clearly inspired by the C111.

Road & Track’s January 1979 cover story on the Cw 311 reported that b+b wanted “to demonstrate its capabilities by successfully having resolved the following proposition: What would a new high-performance sports car, designed by Mercedes-Benz, look like?”

The car’s wedgy shape had the feel of the C111, but was cleaner in looks and had up to 15 percent-smaller dimensions. It used a

proprietary tubular chassis, reinforced glassfibre body with gullwing doors, and a mid-mounted AMG-tweaked 375bhp V8 powerplant mated to a five-speed transmission.

The Cw 311 was so well resolved that R&T concluded b+b hit its target. “What a future Mercedes sports car might look like,” it stated, “couldn’t have been answered in a better way.”

Despite such accolades, along with projected performance of 0-60mph in 4.5sec, the Cw 311 remained a one-off. Schulz knew he had a good thing, though, and in February 1982 he set out on his own to form Isdera in Leonberg, a suburb of Stuttgart. The company’s name was an acronym for Ingenieurbüro für Styling, Design und Racing, and its first car, the 033i, was introduced in 1983.

Essentially a Cw 311 barchetta, the wedgy, windscreen-less prototype had a 136bhp VW Golf GTI engine wedded with a 924 Turbo’s five-speed trans; the 140mph production cars would use Mercedes powerplants. “Eberhard Schulz told us there are too many anonymous, utilitarian automobiles around,” Autoweek’s February 21, 1983 article noted. “The 033i will never dance to that prosaic drummer,” – an observation that applied to all Isderas.

But there was more to this rebel’s madness than simply marching to the beat of his own drum, prosaic or not. “Schulz’s aim with the 033i is to demonstrate his abilities to the industry and to attract consultancy work,” Motor said in March 1983. “It’s supposed to recall dream cars of the ’60s, along with a clear touch of the Porsche 550 Spyder.” The concept worked, because Schulz’s clients included Mercedes, Baur, Bitter and Irmscher.

The Imperator 108i came next. Introduced in 1984, this Isdera was basically Cw 311, 2.0.

It used a Mercedes 5.0-litre V8 producing 300bhp or 390bhp, and compared with the 033i it represented a jump into the big leagues of performance. In Road & Track’s July 1987

Photo by Dom Ardito

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Supercar shoot-out

“World’s fastest cars” cover story, the Imperator went toe to toe with Ferrari’s 288GTO and Testarossa, Lambo’s Quattrovalvole Countach, Porsche’s 959 and more, and came out smelling like an impressively engineered rose.

The shoot-out took place at VW’s EhraLessien test track, where the Imperator hit 60mph in 5.0sec, the quarter-mile in 13.3 and had a top speed of 176mph. “I think this is the most stable car I’ve ever driven here,” enthused former Le Mans winner Paul Frère.

“The steering is beautifully light and accurate... the car remarkably well made and safe.”

Work on Isdera’s next bolide was underway when Fast Lane’s October 1988 Imperator cover story hit the stands, bearing the headline “This car beats the 959”. Buried in the article’s text was this titbit: “Work continues on a new Isdera, designed to accept the forthcoming Mercedes V12...”

With that car, Schulz and his 11 employees would be jumping into frothy waters. Not long after R&T’s article appeared, other publications claimed either Ferrari (with the F40) or Lamborghini (with the Diablo) became the first manufacturer to hit the double-century mark.

Only they weren’t, as Ruf’s so-called TwinTurbo (aka ‘Yellowbird’) touched 211mph when tested by Frère and Phil Hill.

As yet more marque names came and went, Schulz and his tight-knit team quietly toiled away, melding the new with the old. “I wanted a car the way I like them,” he told Automobile Classiques. The Commendatore would follow Isdera’s proven formula of a spaceframe chassis, reinforced-glassfibre body, gullwing doors and, in this case, a mid-mounted 6.0- or 6.9-litre Mercedes V12. Unlike the Imperator, which used a ZF five-speed, the Commendatore had a six-speed Getrag, according to Automobile Year.

“But the most innovative part of the car is the active-suspension system developed by Bilstein,” Auto Capital’s in-period cover story noted. “The variable ground clearance ensures that the car’s ride height remains high up to 50km/h… Beyond this speed, the car lowers by a good seven centimetres (2.75 inches) and simultaneously raises the rear by 17º. Aerodynamic testing has indicated this is optimal for maintaining the right load on the rear axle.”

The Italian publication also reported that Mercedes let Schulz use its wind tunnel, where the Commendatore recorded a drag coefficient of 0.306. “The study of aerodynamics makes the declared top speed credible; 330km/h with the standard 408bhp 6.0 litre, and no less than 368km/h with the 548bhp 6.9 litre,” Auto Capital stated. And in a nod to 1955’s Mercedes 300 SLR, the Commendatore had 126

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‘At low speeds the Isdera seems as easy to drive as your uncle’s SL, only with a lot more poke’ an air brake; use the Brembo binders, and a rear flap would raise up to 78º.

About the car’s sleek, wind-tunnel-tested shape, Schulz said he found inspiration in the work of Wunibald Kamm, an aerodynamics pioneer. But there was much more to the Commendatore’s fluid form than a Kamm tail...

Aerodynamic ‘longtails’ from Ferrari, Porsche, Matra and others frequently duked it out for overall victory at Le Mans and elsewhere.

Longtails continued winning well into the 1980s, but intriguingly the form never translated over to a road-going supercar until Isdera’s 1993 reveal. Indeed, the Commendatore was so unique that it graced the cover of the prestigious annual Automobile Year 1993/94.

The long, low-slung form was startling, yet hauntingly familiar. “The Isdera 112i is a careful cocktail of innovative elements and déjà vu,” Auto Capital explained. “The tail… seems to have been lifted from a sports prototype from the 1960s.”

Road & Track also praised the car, noting: “Isdera celebrates its tenth anniversary with a new model that pays respects to many exotic car makers, starting with Enzo Ferrari, who inspired the name ‘Commendatore 112i’.”

“It’s now about finding customers,” Auto Capital observed, continuing the sales theme.

“But Eberhard Schulz doesn’t worry: five Commendatores have already been sold.”

Or had they? When the Commendatore debuted, it’d been subjected to no real sorting or high-speed testing. “Schulz speaks today of about six months between the time of the contract and the start of production,” Auto Capital noted. “That’s when the customer decides on colours, trim etc. There is another six months for the delivery of the finished car.”

This begs a question: Did Schulz grasp how a rapidly changing economic climate could affect a well heeled client’s mentality, for how many would wait a year or more for Isdera to properly develop the Commendatore,

and then build their specific example?

Whether it was the volatile economy, production issues, development time and/or a new capital structure not going as planned (Auto Capital reported Isdera would become “a joint stock company” in January 1994), in the end this startling machine remained a one-off.

That’s a tragedy, because after experiencing it on our Magneto photoshoot, I [Winston]believe it was a front-runner for the decade’s coolest car.

Isderas had long fascinated me, and they are so rare that with only around 50 constructed in total, the mythical Commendatore was the first of any of the breed that I’d seen in person. It looks utterly sensational, and that Schulz used this shape on a road car nearly three decades before anyone else certainly says something about his non-conformist mentality.

What speaks even greater volumes to his vision and engineering acumen is found behind the wheel. Some ultra-high-performance exotics feel like they are ‘assembled’; in the Commendatore, you immediately perceive how it was engineered, and to a very high degree.

It starts with the tactile feel and minimal effort needed to first open the gullwing doors, and then pull them shut after clamouring into the cosy driver’s compartment. Before traversing that wide door sill, I removed my size-12 shoes so my feet could slip into the tight pedal box.

Once in place, the firm bucket seat comfortably gripped my thighs and back, and there was plenty of leg- and headroom for my 6ft 3in frame.

The view out the expansive windscreen is panoramic, the trick ‘periscope’ rear-view mirror surprisingly effective. That V12 fires easily, and the steering is heavy only when the car is fully stopped. The engine’s impressive torque makes initial take-up and low-speed pottering a breeze; simply release the clutch, and with a whiff of pressure on the accelerator, the Commendatore smoothly gathers speed.

The steering and impressively rigid chassis are quite communicative, turn-in precise, and the big Brembos’ bite is commensurate to the amount of pressure you apply to the short-travel, firm brake pedal. In fact, its placement is ideal for heel-and-toeing, and the six-speed Getrag is an easy reach away. The ride is supple, and at low speeds the Isdera seems as easy to drive as your uncle’s SL, only with a lot more poke.

Today it appears as if the Commendatore’s story has come full circle. In Pagani’s newest, McLaren’s Speedtail and Bugatti’s Super Sport models, longtails have become one of the coolest things around. In that way Schulz was right all along, just decades ahead of his time.

Thanks to Isdera owner Phillip Sarofim, and the owner of the Vector.

MARIO’S KART

Words Doug Nye

Photography Simon Clay / Bonhams

Universally known as ‘Black Beauty’ – as christened in period by the author of this very article – the landmark Lotus Type 79 is still considered by many to be the most beautifully proportioned and bestliveried machine of the ‘modern’ Formula 1 era. We follow its journey to World Championship domination

Lotus Type 79

OF ALL LANDMARK FORMULA 1 CARS from what might be described as ‘the modern era’, perhaps the most beautifully proportioned and best-liveried of them all is the 1978 John Player Special Lotus-Cosworth Type 79. Four of those cars were built that year, followed by a fifth for 1979, their sleek lines and blackand-signwriters’ gold (actually a shade of creamy beige) paintwork prompting me in a contemporary story to christen the model “Black Beauty”… and it stuck.

There’s no doubt that for many young enthusiasts, across Europe, within the UK and in the US, the gorgeous Lotus 79 and its exploits endowed a lifelong interest in Formula 1. Not only was this latest machine simply beautiful to the eye, it was campaigned most notably – and with Drivers’ World Championshipwinning reward – by the great Italian-American superstar driver Mario Andretti. What is more, his team-mate was the extraordinarily unassuming and popular Swedish hard charger

OPPOSITE Colin Chapman and Mario Andretti discuss strategy at the 1978 Italian GP. BELOW Driver controls were basic by modern standards but at the leading edge of technology for the era.

Lotus Type 79

Ronnie Peterson – arguably in period the fastest F1 driver of them all.

The Lotus 79 essentially proved that groundeffects aerodynamic undersurfaces within the side panniers, or sidepods, of open-wheeled single-seaters could out-perform conventional rivals. Team Lotus’ preceding Type 77 design (of 1976) had explored weight distribution and wheelbase/track combinations, culminating in Mario Andretti’s win in that year’s closing Japanese Grand Prix.

The Type 78 (of 1977) then combined a very wide front track and centrally concentrated mass with sidepods and relatively short, novel, new underwing surfaces. As Lotus principal Colin Chapman’s ground-breaking ‘wing car’, it proved to be the, albeit unreliable, class of the field through 1977, Andretti winning four Grands Prix, and his tragically ailing teammate Gunnar Nilsson, one.

But where the Type 78 had led in demonstrating the technology, the beautiful Type 79 followed – in absolutely proving it.

Some time earlier – in August 1975 – Colin had compiled a detailed concept document setting out areas to be explored. He presented it to his engineering director, ex-BRM team chief engineer Tony Rudd, who recalled: “Chapman realised that in racing we were down and out, and that we’d got it all wrong by the latest

standards. And he made the right long-range strategic decisions while still involved in racing day to day. In his famous 27-page brief, not only did he suggest the way to go, but he suggested how to do it…”

Lotus R&D retained Charlie Prior, a firstclass model and pattern maker from the Esprit road-car team, to build quarter-scale model vehicles and aerodynamic devices for windtunnel testing conducted by Wright at Imperial College in London. A wind tunnel there was – unusually – equipped with a moving-belt floor, which mimicked the roadway passing at speed beneath a car. Normally, wind-tunnel test models simply sat upon a stationary surface, or – even less satisfactorily – were suspended in space, while an airstream was drawn over them. This was fine for aviation testing, but of little relevance to land-borne vehicles.

Radiator siting is a vital cornerstone of any racing design. Rudd had been in charge of RollsRoyce Merlin aero-engine fault investigation during World War Two, and the inner-wingsection radiator mounting of the de Havilland Mosquito aircraft came to mind. Would similar sidepods generate download when slung either side of an F1 chassis, he wondered?

A model mimic section was made, and tested upside down in the wind tunnel to provide negative lift – the best possible lift for the least

‘For many young enthusiasts, the Lotus 79 and its exploits endowed a lifelong interest in Formula 1’

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OPPOSITE ‘Black Beauty’ went through a series of development revisions in period.

ABOVE Andretti’s Dutch GP win effectively sealed the World Championship.

It would be his 12th and final F1 victory.

Lotus Type 79

possible drag being the target. Tony happily recalled the message he received from Imperial College that Christmas, reading simply: “The Mosquito flies...”

Ducted radiators and pod sections of this type would be used to harness airflow beneath the pod underfloors – or underwings – to generate download. The low-pressure areas created by the acceleration of this airflow would be protected from infilling on each side by a skirt system, which would extend from the pod side panels down to the road surface. And from this, the Type 78 emerged.

By the time Chapman decided to race the new car, his R&D group had accumulated 2.2 miles of test-recording tape, over 150 individual investigations, 54 rig tests and 400 hours of wind-tunnel time at Imperial College. But did the car work? Tests indicated that it did, although aerodynamic values at full size were 25-30 percent less than predicted by model testing.

The Type 78 instantly provided its drivers with the greatest front-end grip they had ever known. This in turn allowed use of near-zeroslip differentials to limit wheelspin. This was partly at the perceptive Mario Andretti’s request. He then prompted the addition of an IndyCar-style driver-adjustable rear anti-roll bar, plus a preferential fuel-drainage system further adjusting weight bias within the car.

Mario and Colin had forged a rare empathy, and during the 1977 season Andretti worked unceasingly to set up his Lotus 78s to an unprecedented pitch. The result of this entire and deep-thinking programme was that through the ’77 Formula 1 World Championship, Mario led more race laps than any other driver.

Overall, the Lotus 78s’ 1977 season was characterised as win or bust. By the end of it, the lack of minor-place scorings left Lotus-JPS second to Ferrari in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, with Andretti third and Nilsson eighth in the drivers’ competition.

The Type 78 had undoubtedly been the star of F1 in 1977, but its performances had not been so clear cut as to convince the opposition – yet – that Lotus really had something in this ground-effects underwing business. Above all, the underwing feature’s aerodynamic drag made the 78 relatively slow along the straights.

Yet it excelled on turn-in bite into corners, and on traction away from them. Its ‘wing-car’ aerodynamics worked, and now for 1978 Team Lotus prepared a new design that would make the most of the 78’s new technology.

The existing Type 78s raced on into the new year. Andretti won at Buenos Aires, as did new team-mate Ronnie Peterson in South Africa.

Meanwhile, a much-refined Lotus Type 79, or

‘Transformed into by far the best-looking Formula 1 car of its time – Black Beauty indeed’

JPS Mark IV, design was on the way. While the 78 had used relatively simple inverted side wings to generate its download, the new Type 79 went much further towards being a true groundeffects vehicle, in that its pannier underwings formed a longer and far more sophisticated venturi section against the road surface, and thus accelerated air passing beneath to reduce its pressure and so download the whole vehicle.

It was now hoped to find a missing 25 percent that had so tantalised Chapman between windtunnel results and actuality…

Now Colin took charge of the 79 project and, according to one member of his design team, “decided perhaps to do it his own way, using sheet aluminium, which he understood from the old days”, instead of much aerospacedeveloped honeycomb chassis panelling.

Consequently the Type 79 grew as a conventional – yet remarkably slender – sheetaluminium tub, with a high-set beam arrangement within its cockpit sides from which to hang the sidepods and attendant structures. One major objective was to improve airflow through the side panniers – and to achieve this, the outboard fuel tanks and rear suspension spring/damper units of the Type 78 were moved inboard.

Without its bodywork the new Lotus Type 79 looked extremely gawky and spare.

With the large and voluptuous new body panels fitted, however, it was transformed into by far the best-looking Formula 1 car of its time – Black Beauty indeed.

Aerodynamicist Peter Wright described the Lotus 78 as a car that tried out new ideas, while the Lotus 79 was the car designed around those ideas. The prototype 79 (chassis JPS/19) was tested at Ricard-Castellet in December 1977. Wright would later reflect: “Nobody fully appreciated what ground effects was going to do to loads, and what those loads would do to a ground-effects car... all structures began to fatigue at an incredible rate.”

After some 150 miles of Ricard testing, JPS/19’s monocoque hull was shown to be woefully inadequate in torsional stiffness.

There was also room for aerodynamic improvement, because the 79 had been intended as a 78 that was also quick in a straight line, and in this original form it just wasn’t.

The new Lotus-Getrag gearbox also showed room for improvement in these initial tests.

At first it felt like a real advance over the Hewland, being much lighter in weight, lighter to use and quicker changing, but after a few laps running, its selection mechanism would wilt under F1 torques. Chassis ’19 was returned to Ketteringham Hall’s race workshop, and Magneto

137

regretfully dismantled. It would subsequently be rebuilt as a gearbox-development hack – replacing an old Lotus 77 in that role – then later in the season rebuilt again to latest spec and pressed into service as a team spare.

Meanwhile, the second Lotus 79, chassis JPS/20 (or, more logically, 79/2), was completed in effect as a Mark 2 car. It featured a stiffened monocoque incorporating stronger cockpit sides, along with a raised dash hoop and taller front scuttle panel to accommodate the lanky Ronnie Peterson.

Mario Andretti piloted the car in this form in the non-championship Silverstone International Trophy race. Peterson’s old Type 78 qualified on pole, with Andretti third fastest but loving every yard he drove.

Lotus designer Martin Ogilvie recalls Peterson proving the Lotus-Getrag gearbox, then suddenly going faster. “And when he came in, we said: ‘Ah, you’ve sorted out the selection problem.’ And he just smiled that slow smile and said: ‘No. I yust stopped you-sing the clutch.’”

On race day it rained furiously. Peterson 138

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crashed during the warm-up, while Andretti led briefly before aquaplaning off and damaging the precious new 79/2 quite extensively.

Nevertheless, he commented: “All in all, the 79 really gave us a message at the Silverstone International Trophy. Boy, that thing was good in the wet, really exceptionally good... But we had to have a Hewland gearbox in the car.

With the Getrag, I was having trouble hooking fifth, even on the first lap…”

The damaged car was rebuilt while JPS/21 (79/3) was being completed, and both emerged in a further-revised Type 79 Mark 3 form. Colin Chapman now reluctantly dropped the LotusGetrag transmission from further development – it would ultimately be shelved entirely – while what he described as Hewland’s “bunch of old mangle-gears” reappeared. Over-thegearbox exhaust systems were adopted to pull in their lateral profile closer to the rear cross-section of the tub.

‘Clapper board’ aerodynamic skirts were adopted, made from rigid Cellite sheet with an abrade-resistant lower edge, running in

ABOVE Midmounted 2993cc Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 kicked out 475bhp.

OPPOSITE The fundamentals of the Type 79’s body design were honed in a wind tunnel.

Lotus Type 79

channels beneath the panniers. This would prove to be the rigid sliding skirt’s definitive form, as only material and guide/control mechanisms would be improved further.

The team’s lads rebuilt 79/2 so rapidly it appeared at Monaco as the spare car, and in practice there Andretti was stunned by its potential: “It turned in as good as the 78, but the back end was at least as good as the front, where on the 78 the front had always tended to try to overwhelm the back. It seemed like here was the perfect race car, with grip at the front, grip at the back, incredible traction...”

It was still considered unraceworthy, especially for the unpredictable hurly-burly of Monaco, but then followed a Goodyear tyretest session at Anderstorp in Sweden, where Ronnie Peterson drove the 79 and set times none of the opposition could even contemplate.

He ran some 700 miles, after which the car was taken direct to Zolder, where it was intended to be Andretti’s spare for the Belgian GP. Team engineer Nigel Bennett told Mario he thought they could “…make a race car out of it”. Andretti talked to Colin, and they put $500 each into an ‘encouragement kitty’ for the mechanics if the 79 survived race distance without a failure.

At Zolder, in the sparkling rebuilt 79/2, Andretti qualified as he had done the previous year in the early Type 78. He recalled: “Before practice, Ronnie told me that the 79 was just fantastic. When I tried it, I was half a second quicker than anybody. I wanted to race it for sure. We went ahead – by half-distance my rear brakes were almost gone and the fronts were fading, but then, Zolder was notoriously hard on brakes.

“Ronnie and I finished one-two. Okay, we figured. That fixes the old 78 – that’s now last year’s race car. We’d decided to run the 79 on the spur of the moment, and it was a gamble.

I’m basically conservative – but I was so happy we made that decision.”

In the Spanish GP at Jarama, Peterson was out in the brand-new 79/3. The Lotus pair not only qualified 1-2 on the grid, but repeated their 1-2 finish in the race, while Andretti again set fastest lap. Mario recalled: “Sunny and smooth all the way. We had already been to Jarama with the 79 testing, but that was some time before redesign and development had been done. At race time it was a different car again, and I was already getting into clichés about it when people asked me how it was.

There’s only so many ways you can say ‘Fantastic!’ But it was all of that…”

In the Swedish GP at Anderstorp, the hastily completed Brabham answer to Lotus ground effects emerged: the controversial ‘fan-car’. Niki 140

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ABOVE Underwings with highlighted venturi sections; Lotus’ pioneering work in ground-effects technology proved to be a Formula 1 milestone.

Lauda won with it after Andretti had started from pole and retired, and Peterson was third, after being blatantly baulked by an Arrows in second place. Mario’s engine failure was put down to titanium valve-spring caps dishing under load, allowing the retainers to fall out in three cylinders, whereupon a valve had broken.

The Brabham fan-car was ruled out of competition thereafter, and the Lotus 79 found itself effectively reinstated as the only ground-effects machine of the season – although other teams such as Wolf made valiant attempts to close the gap.

Another Type 79 1-2 was scored in the French GP, while the British GP saw Peterson qualify his car on pole. Both 79s failed, however, after leading in the early stages. Mario then won the German race from pole. Ronnie started alongside him on the front row at Hockenheim, led and set fastest lap, before retiring with gearbox failure.

Ever since whumping 79/3 over a kerb during qualifying at Ricard, and losing pole there to John Watson’s Brabham-Alfa Romeo because of that error, Mario had felt sure his chassis was somehow out of true, despite it having been back on the jig at Ketteringham

‘Any doubts I had were gone now. Really fast tracks I’d got to dread with the 78, but the 79 could run with anybody’

Hall. Hockenheim dispelled his fears.

Until then, he had doubted the 79’s straightline speed on such a fast circuit: “Any doubts I had about the car were gone now. Really fast tracks I’d got to dread with the 78, but the 79 could run with anybody.”

The prototype car, 79/1, had been extensively rebuilt to the latest standard as a spare machine for the late-season races, while Andretti regularly used chassis 79/3 and Peterson chassis 79/2. In Austria, the twin black-andgold 79s qualified 1-2 on the grid for the third consecutive time, and set new performance standards – although not without problems.

Mario’s car ran new aerodynamic-section wishbones there in practice, and with the rear wing eased off to two degrees incidence for high speed, the car felt “really spooky through the quick turns”. The wishbones were the only new thing on the car, so they were replaced by the normal type, and it all came back as good as ever, indicating just how sensitive to tiny changes these new-era cars had become.

Torrential rain then washed out the first attempt at running that Austrian GP after only seven laps had already seen Andretti crash – he’d been just too anxious to clinch his World Championship. Peterson then won the restarted 47-lap completion of the Grand Prix from pole position in 79/2, and set the fastest lap along the way.

A rather rueful Andretti said: “I thought the win in Germany had given me enough cushion in the championship. I was so happy when I left Hockenheim, and two weeks later I wiped it all out in Austria. The whole weekend was a screw-up really. In the first practice session the car was hopeless, really spooky through the quick turns where it was usually so good. What the hell had happened to mine?

“Ronnie said his car felt fine. The only difference between the two was these new aerodynamic wishbones on mine. So we

Lotus Type 79

put the car back to standard and – hey – suddenly it’s my car again. Just incredible.

Modern race cars are sophisticated beyond my understanding.

“In my mind all the time was the championship, get some points. Just keep it between the fences. I got a bad start. I thought, right, I’m gonna play it cool. Carlos Reutemann’s Ferrari was ahead of me. I thought, I don’t wanna attack him right away, because I could get him on the straightaway.

“I came out of the chicane real fast. I was close to him. There’s a right-hander, and I positioned myself to the left of him, because there’s a straightaway after it which finally kinks left, and I wanted to zap him down there.

We came to the right-hander and, at 200 yards, he backs off. Okay, so there was a little bit of drizzle there, but it was nothing bad. You normally lift at 50 yards there.

“Anyway, when he lifted off I was going to nail him. I was already to his left, so I moved more to the left. Suddenly it looked like there was enough room. So I just thought, let’s go.

And then Reutemann moves over on me, brushes wheels and just puts me right on the grass. I can’t blame him. I don’t think he saw me, but that was that – I spun down the barrier and took the rear wing off…”

In the Dutch GP at Zandvoort, the 79s again qualified fastest in team order, and repeated their 1-2 finish yet again, Andretti winning from pole in new car JPS/22 (aka 79/4 – the car photographed for this Magneto feature). It was created using parts salvaged from his wrecked Austrian 79/3, built onto a replacement new tub.

That Dutch GP had seen Mario lead in 79/4, with Ronnie on his tail, second in the other 79.

But only 20 laps from the finish, Andretti’s car cracked an exhaust and tore past the pits sounding sick: “I guess it sounded worse than it was. I lost some revs on the straightaway, but otherwise I could handle it. In fact, I did my quickest lap of the race after the exhaust broke.”

Mario continued: “Ronnie was getting a little uptight about Niki Lauda [driving a BrabhamAlfa Romeo, and closing third place behind the two Lotus 79s], but Colin kept giving me the gap and I wasn’t worried. Funny thing, people kept going on afterwards about Ronnie coming up alongside me, but actually he apologised to me because he was flat out of brakes.

“No – my chief concern about the exhaust was that it might ignite the rear bodywork. Pieces of glassfibre were coming off and hitting Ronnie, and he didn’t know what the hell to make of it. If it had ignited, Ronnie would have had one big fire to follow for a long time – I wasn’t stopping while that thing had life in it. That was a precious win 142

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ABOVE Despite a far-from-smooth racing career, the Type 79 racked up a raft of successes.

at Zandvoort. I needed it because I was getting edgy before it, no question. Psychologically it was important, and it made me feel good for Monza…”

The year’s Italian GP then followed. In race morning warm-up, Peterson crashed his regular 79/2 following brake problems. No spare 79 was available, so he fell back on his veteran 78/3 spare car for the race. Mario started from pole in his latest machine, 79/4, but a startingprocedure muddle sparked a horrifying multiple collision on the charge into the first corner. Ronnie’s Lotus 78 was tragically barged head-on into a guardrail at high speed, and its single-skin forward monocoque section collapsed upon impact, instantly breaking both his legs. Botched surgery swiftly followed, and poor, so-popular Peterson died that night.

Meanwhile the race had been restarted, Andretti won on the road but was docked a minute for jumping the restart, and thus was classified sixth. He still set fastest lap in 79/4, and had clinched his Drivers’ World Championship title in the car – but any joy the team might have felt was nothing compared to their loss of Ronnie Peterson...

The new World Champion said: “I just wanted to get out of Italy – go home. I just didn’t want to talk about it, about Ronnie, about the championship, about anything. His death just put everything else out of my mind.

We’d lost the race on what I felt was a totally

‘Has any modern-era GP car ever looked and performed with such combined brilliance? Do I hear “never”?’

unjust penalty. I swear I’d have turned Italy upside down the next day, but then Ronnie died, and nothing else mattered. I couldn’t have cared less about anything else... For me there was such a hole left in motor racing – and it’ll never be filled, no question about it.”

Team Lotus remained committed to running two cars in both the subsequent US and Canadian GPs. French driver Jean-Pierre Jarier was engaged to accompany Andretti. At Watkins Glen, Mario qualified 79/4 on pole while ‘Jumper’ Jarier drove 79/3, rebuilt since its Austrian crash. In race morning warm-up, Mario’s car broke its right-rear stub axle and threw a wheel.

He took over Jarier’s 79/3 for the race, guessing at correct adjustments to suit his needs and preferences, while Jarier was strapped into the prototype 79/1 – which had arrived from the UK only that morning – for its race debut.

Mario’s car handled badly and its engine failed.

For the Canadian GP, Mario recalled: “I just could not get the car to handle right. We later found the chassis had a twist from the Watkins Glen accident. Jarier had no problems at all, went really well and got pole. I couldn’t use the spare car because it didn’t have enough fuel capacity for the long, thirsty race. But the race was a mess. John Watson (driving a BrabhamAlfa Romeo) left me no room at the hairpin, and we tangled. He left the gate open, and I moved in. I couldn’t just disappear.

“I guess it was just one of those things.

After being push-started by marshals we both continued, but I lost my brakes again.” He finished tenth, while Jarier had absolutely starred, qualifying on pole and leading by 20 seconds at one point before another engine failure sidelined his Type 79.

Into the 1980 season Martini replaced John Player as Team Lotus’ prime sponsor. The Black Beauty livery of 1978 was replaced by Martini-striped green for ’79, but inherent lack of chassis rigidity within the basic design caught Team Lotus out through this second season as far more ruggedly built Williams FW07 and Ligier JS11 designs most notably excelled.

So the Lotus 79 Black Beauty was a frontiertechnology-confirming, World Championshipdominating design in its day, yet one that already embodied the seeds of its own defeat through that second season. Nevertheless, for Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson, Lotus-JPS and – indeed – Jean-Pierre Jarier fans from the period, has any modern-era Grand Prix car ever looked and performed with such combined brilliance? Do I hear “never”?

Type 79 chassis 79/4 will be offered in Bonhams’ inaugural Abu Dhabi GP sale in November.

Please see www.bonhams.com for details.

MORE THAN JUST CAR STORAGE Henry’s Car Barn is way more than just car storage. Established in the early 80s, we have grown into a destination for car culture.

Find out more on our website.

WWW.HENRYSCARBARN.CO.UK

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‘Compared with other coachbuilders, Figoni worked on a different plane altogether’

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BELOW Delahaye Type 165 represented the height of Art Deco style when it was shipped to the 1939 World’s Fair in New York.

A CENTURY HAS PASSED. ONE HUNDRED years since Joseph Figoni – le grand couturier de la carrosserie automobile – founded his coachbuilding enterprise in Boulogne-SurSeine, a working-class suburb of Paris. A century that has seen such technological and stylistic advances that a modern car would be an incomprehensible spaceship to Joseph if a time machine brought it back to 1923 and placed it in the courtyard of no. 14 rue Lemoine, where the Carrosserie Joseph Figoni had its modest beginnings.

Yet even today, as the era of the internalcombustion engine nears its end, and electricity and hydrogen are poised to take over, Figoni remains a shining star in the firmament of coachbuilding – a reference point car designers look to for a deeper understanding of aesthetics, proportion, beauty and coachwork as art.

Giuseppe Herménegilde Louis Figoni was born on December 29, 1892 in a hamlet southwest of Piacenza in the province of Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region. Life was hard, and Joseph was 14 when he, his parents, brother, uncles and cousins emigrated to France, and Paris’s ‘Little Italy’ – the rue des

Menus neighbourhood of Boulogne-sur-Seine.

He apprenticed as a panel beater sometime around 1910, but because he remained an Italian citizen he was conscripted into the Italian army in September 1913. He would not return to France until 1921, the year he married Victorine Huline. Two years later, he founded his coachbuilding company, the Carrosserie Joseph Figoni, on November 16, 1923.

In the beginning, work consisted mostly of subcontracted jobs for established coachbuilders. However, in October 1924 the first Figoni body was displayed at the Paris Salon de l’Automobile, and in June 1925 cars with Figoni bodies were shown at the Paris concours, including the Concours d’Élégance de l’Auto at the Parc des Princes, and the Concours d’Élégance de Fémina et l’Intransigeant, held at the Grande Cascade in the Bois de Boulogne.

In October 1927 the Carrosserie Joseph Figoni had its first proprietary stand at the Paris Salon.

In 1925 Bugatti became Figoni’s first important client, with approximately 100 bodies built before World War Two put an end to things in 1939. Two especially lovely examples were the 1932 roadster on Type 55

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MULLIN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM

Joseph Figoni at 100

Joseph Figoni at 100

chassis 55221, and the semi-aerodynamic saloon on Type 57 chassis 57739, built for Lord Cholmondeley in 1939.

Panhard, Ballot and other chassis were also bodied in the late 1920s, and Figoni became established as a carrosserie that specialised in lightweight and sporting coachwork. Up to 1930 a sleek design language was developed, often characterised by pointed tails, cycle fenders and no running boards. In the late 1920s Delage became an important client, and more than 70 D8 chassis were bodied – most of which were exported to England, where the model was very much in fashion.

Nevertheless, a body by Figoni was always strictly one-off and to order. The company remained a small enterprise, and even in the best of times it never employed many more than 30 skilled artisans.

The spring of 1928 marked two major milestones in Joseph’s life. On April 28, his only son Claude was born, and on May 1 he was naturalised as a French citizen. It must have been a euphoric week.

Shortly thereafter, Joseph befriended Luigi Chinetti, who ran the Alfa Romeo sales operation in Paris. Chinetti sent the famous racing driver Raymond Sommer to rue Lemoine to have his Alfa 8C 2300 chassis 2111018 rebodied to four-seater Le Mans specifications. The car went on to win the 1932 race with Chinetti and Sommer at the wheel.

For the next two years Figoni bodied several eight-cylinder Alfas as road cars, while the racers continued to be successful on the circuit.

This included two more Le Mans wins: chassis 2211109 in 1933 with Sommer and Tazio Nuvolari at the wheel, and finally chassis 2311249 in 1934 driven by Chinetti and Philippe Étancelin. Suddenly Figoni was the hottest name in French racing circles, and clients included a who’s who of legendary drivers.

By mid-1934 the Carrosserie Joseph Figoni was likely the most famous ‘unknown’ coachbuilder in the greater Paris area. People in the industry were well aware of Joseph’s talents, but in the minds of the general public the little company was overshadowed by grand old names such as Saoutchik, Kellner, Binder and Labourdette. It was therefore no coincidence that fellow Italian and chronic cheapskate Anthony Lago went to Figoni to have his line of ho-hum factory bodies redesigned on a budget for the 1934 Paris Salon.

As always, Lago made the deal. It was the start of a long, durable cooperation and friendship between him and Joseph. The collaboration was a major breakthrough, but with all this 148

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activity the small Figoni premises were bursting at the seams. Profits were not sufficient to allow necessary expansion, and the financial restrictions made it crucial to find an investor.

This investor was Ovidio Falaschi, another Italian and an accountant by trade who was looking for a place to invest some of his wife’s money. He became partner on May 16, 1935.

The firm was reorganised as a limited company under the name Établissements Figoni et Falaschi. It was a partnership that achieved lasting fame. Joseph designed the bodies and Ovidio provided financial security.

At the 1936 Paris Salon, Figoni et Falaschi showed an orange-and-cream roadster built on Delahaye 135 Compétition Court chassis 47247 that simply stood the automotive world on its ear. Not merely in Paris or France, but also internationally – this amazing body drew headlines all over the automotive press.

With design input from Georges Hamel, aka artist Géo Ham – who sued Figoni for copyright infringement but later lost in court – the Delahaye’s futuristic enclosed pontoon fenders

‘A dazzled world finally recognised Figoni as the maestro of metal that he truly was’

BELOW Figoni bodied various Alfa Romeo racing cars, including this 8C driven by Chinetti at Le Mans in 1932.

Joseph Figoni at 100

and swoopy lines defied all then-current thinking about how a car could look. It was a watershed moment, with a before and a very distinct after.

A moment when Joseph Figoni went from being world famous in France, so to speak, and the talk of Paris, to being on everyone’s lips in Milan, London, New York, Detroit and everywhere else automobiles were styled.

Chassis 47247 was eventually sold to Ali Khan and painted black to his specification, but before that the car made an appearance at the London Motor Show at Olympia. There it caused another sensation. Soon, some British (t)wit quipped ‘Phoney and Flashy’ in the press to much collective amusement in the trade on the other side of the Channel. Yet the comment said more about sour grapes and the sender than anything else, and a dazzled world could do nothing but finally recognise Joseph Figoni as the maestro of metal that he truly was.

The following year Figoni developed and patented a new type of enclosed fender, where the ‘simple’ curvature of the convex bulge on the Géo Ham design was slimmed and allowed to flow into a concave indentation capped by a flatter top. This created the optical illusion that the pontoon was topped by an integrated conventional fender that in turn swept down to become a running board along the chassis rails.

This new patented fender design was soon named les ailes Figoni, or the Figoni fender, and the style was seen in various permutations on a number of Delahaye and Delage chassis in the 1937-39 period. These included the shortchassis Delahaye 135 no. 48563 that was shown at the 1937 Paris Salon, and the extravagant roadster design for the V12 Type 165 chassis, of which two were built in 1938 and 1939.

These automobiles were both groundbreaking and devastatingly beautiful – although evidence is lacking that any of the designs were wind-tunnel tested. Nonetheless, aside from the question of whether the cars actually were as wind cheating as they looked, it is beyond any doubt that the designs were deeply emotionally satisfying from an aesthetic and artistic point of view.

Irrespective of whether they were open or closed bodies, they managed to retain the style of the master and display his eminent touch in their beautiful curvature, the elegant taper of hood and fender, the judicious use of trim and ornamentation, and the feminine and luscious lines of the rear deck that bordered on the erotic.

The best-known Figoni design – the one that epitomised all these stylistic elements, and the one with which Joseph Figoni’s name is 150

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‘The Delahaye 135 roadster was a watershed moment, with a before and a very distinct after’

ABOVE Despite living in France, Figoni had no choice but to join the Italian army for WWI.

inextricably linked – remains the so-called Goutte d’Eau, or teardrop coupé, that was mounted on the short-wheelbase Talbot-Lago T150 C-SS chassis, although it was variously named Coupé Amerique or Faux Cabriolet by Figoni himself. The slightly off-beat Coupé Amerique moniker came into being because this most famous of French cars made its debut at the 1937 New York Auto Show.

The Figoni Goutte d’Eau was (and is) universally admired for its glorious shape and ravishing proportions, but the drag coefficient remains unknown. And while it is undeniably sleek and a subjectively wind-cheating design, it is an irony that here, too, there is no indication that Joseph went about developing his body contours in a scientific manner. Nevertheless, there can be no denying that in terms of carrosseries with aerodynamic influences, Figoni’s oeuvre remains the most cohesive and consistent of all the French coachbuilders.

Stylistic activities were suspended after the German invasion of France, and the Figoni works became a subcontractor to the nearby Kellner-Béchereau works in BoulogneBillancourt, which had transitioned from coachbuilding to aeroplane manufacture in the late 1930s, and been expropriated by the Nazis when they invaded. Ovidio Falaschi took off to Italy and Vichy for the duration, while Joseph was forced to manufacture parts on behalf of Kellner for the early jet-driven fighter planes that Messerschmitt was developing in Germany.

To occupy his hands during the war, and generate a small personal profit because everything else had been taken over by the Wehrmacht, Joseph started up a small manufacture of stoves and electric heaters that were marketed under the FiFa brand. To occupy his mind during the long evenings of the Occupation, he would sketch one fantastical design after another, inspired by the narwhal, an extraordinary whale that has a long helical tooth growing from its forehead.

Coachbuilding activities resumed in 1946, and in October 1947 the first Delahaye with a so-called Narval body was built and shown at the Paris Salon. It was an extraordinary excursion into style, design and form over function, with a pronounced proboscis, immense enclosed fenders, and a very long and elegant sloping rear deck.

While it was a directly inspired evolution of the 1939 V12 Delahaye 165 that had been shipped to the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, the Narval design was definitely an acquired taste. Mounted on a six-cylinder 3.5-litre Delahaye 135 MS chassis with no more than

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Joseph Figoni at 100

135bhp on tap, it was also rather more body than the mechanicals were able to propel with authority. About seven Narval cabriolets were built to critical acclaim in period concours.

The 1947-50 period can be regarded as the last spate of great creativity. Ovidio Falaschi left the partnership on July 19, 1951 under acrimonious circumstances and retired to the Hotel Rex, a beach property he had bought in Marina di Massa on the northwest coast of Italy.

There, he passed away on November 27, 1965.

Joseph soldiered on in post-war France’s increasingly inimical climate, and the firm was reorganised and renamed Établissements Figoni et Compagnie. Small-displacement Simca platforms provided the bulk of the business.

In 1954 Figoni had his final stand at the Paris Salon, on which a Simca Aronde Filante was shown, built on one of the last platforms Simca delivered to Figoni. With only two or three built, it was the last hurrah for les ailes Figoni. Joseph handed the daily running of the company over to son Claude, who became director.

Claude knew the old ways couldn’t continue, and he closed down the coachbuilding activities towards the end of the year. Aftermarket trim and dress-up pieces for Arondes continued to be manufactured, but it would never be the same. Établissements Figoni et Compagnie became a BP petrol station in 1956 and a Lancia dealer a few years later. Joseph retired officially in 1961,

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and on February 17, 1975 he received La Croix de Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, presented by the honorary president of the Fédération Française de Carrosserie, Marcel Martin. It was a well deserved knighthood.

Marcel Pourtout, Joseph’s old colleague and competitor, was there to congratulate him.

Figoni died on March 30, 1978 at 10:30pm at no 15 rue de l’Eglise, his private apartment in connection with the shop. He had been a simple panel beater by trade. His very first business card from 1921 said precisely that: Joseph Figoni, Tôlier, a shaper of metal.

He was an unassuming man with an unassuming trade, who came from very little. Yet compared with other coachbuilders in France, he worked on a different plane altogether. It was Joseph who developed aerodynamic thinking into a tightly conceived style language that went into the designs that left the atelier. This not only makes a Figoni body immediately recognisable, but it also ensures our appreciation of the aesthetic depth and artistic vision of its designer.

Joseph Figoni left a monumental legacy. He may have been ‘just’ a panel beater, but his death was the passing of one of the greatest maestros of style and design, a creator of unadulterated beauty, that the world had ever seen.

A special Figoni Centennial class will feature at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

More details at www.pebblebeachconcours.net.

‘His death was the passing of one of the greatest maestros of style and design the world had ever seen’

BELOW The TalbotLago Goutte d’Eau – here in London’s St George Street in 1938 – remains the bestknown Figoni design.

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Words David Lillywhite

Photography Envisage

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE

With its background in cuttingedge concepts, coachbuilding and creative tech, Envisage can bring industry-leading know-how to the machine of your dreams

THE ENVISAGE GROUP IN COVENTRY, UK is one of those hidden gems of the automotive world. You will undoubtedly have seen some of the projects it’s been involved with, but you might never know just how deep its contribution went.

The company is known within the car industry for creating cutting-edge concepts and show machines for manufacturers, as well as for more traditional coachbuilding – but recently it’s also made its services available to private individuals and low-volume brands who might want to create their own cars, or even adapt the styling or workings of existing ones.

Some of those in the public domain include the 300mph-plus 7X Rayo, the Lynk 154

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

ADVERTISING FEATURE

& Co Next Day concept and the evocative Healey-based Caton sports roadster, which we have road tested in a previous issue of Magneto.

Managing director of Envisage Technologies, Nick Colledge, explains: “We can offer a complete solution, or we can take someone’s design and follow it right through to paint and delivery. We will build a 20-30 percent scale model if required, and we’ll work in partnership or collaboration with designers, whether that’s remotely or co-located in our studios.

“We can work with carbon or aluminium; we will redesign the interior, advise on material selection, and design bespoke electronic components and systems. We can organise everything necessary, if required.”

For 7X Design, the firm behind the 7X Rayo hypercar, Envisage was involved almost from the first sketches. The customer had owned several supercars, but had reached the point at which he wanted to exploit his creative side and make a car more suited to his personal tastes.

For this he chose the Lamborghini Huracánbased 7X Rayo, which was restyled and reengineered to hit 300mph-plus. It was the second car 7X Design had created with Envisage; founder David Gomez explained that for the first car his firm created a design and then searched for a good coachbuilder that could convert this from a 3D model to a real vehicle. Envisage was selected because of its experience with auto manufacturers and show models. For the 7X Rayo, Envisage was chosen again because the first project had been such a good experience.

The Huracán was selected because it is small and light relative to other supercars, it has fourwheel drive and its engine is very tuneable.

7X Design had it tuned to 2000bhp and, with Envisage, processed 50 CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations to ensure correct aerodynamics and downforce, before taking the car for a shakedown at the MIRA test track.

The Rayo reached 450km/h (280mph) before 156

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ABOVE From the all-new Caton to the Huracánbased 7X Rayo, through all stages of development and build, Envisage has everything covered.

feeling unsettled. With further tweaks, the aim is for 500km/h (310mph). After that, it’s likely that the next 7X Design/Envisage project will be a full carbonfibre chassis with a Nissan GT-R engine.

With the Caton, Envisage has demonstrated its understanding of the classic car world, creating an eye-catching update on the Healey 100 that reimagines how the model would have been built had today’s production techniques been available. The resultant aluminium body is subtly smoother and curvier than the original, although you’d have to park a Caton alongside an authentic 100 to spot all the differences.

At the other end of the scale is the Lynk & Co Next Day concept, which was wholly made by Envisage right down to its futuristic deployable Human Machine Interface driving controls – with a few surprising touches, too.

The cabin design came from Envisage’s worldleading CMF (colour, materials, finish) team, which works with – and develops – the latest interior trends and tech. It’s less well known outside of the industry than the Group’s paint and coachbuilding facilities, but is just as vital.

The company works closely with outside specialists, too, in order to cover every base.

Venture Engineering is one such local company, specialising in modern and historic competition cars as well as one-offs. As commercial director

Andy Williamson explains, the companies work for each other on different projects: “We’ve developed from a motor sport background – sports cars and F1. We are used to working quickly to a deadline, applying the latest tech and thinking to the solutions we’re trying to develop. [With Envisage] we found we had a very similar way of working and approach to projects and problems. And so working closer on certain aspects of activities has become normal between the two businesses.

“That fusing of our skill sets means we can deliver a complete project for people; we work together to deliver them a final solution.”

Another local firm, Avant Design, specialises in low-volume and one-off cars, as well as the UI and UX (user interface and user experience) side of infotainment systems. It works closely with Envisage, which applies its engineering expertise to Avant’s designs. Director Chris Gould says: “We’ve currently working on an exciting project; we’ve gone from the design and 3D phases and are now into the manufacture.”

What does this all mean to car enthusiasts and entrepreneurs? It gives them a onestop shop to create one-off or low-volume panels, remodel interiors, modify suspension geometry, convert to EV power – or conceive and build an all-new car or conversion, whether for a business or personal use. And if you see such a car out on the street, it may well be that the Envisage Group has had a hand in it. www.envisagegroupltd.com

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50 Ghia Cobra

WHO, precisely, commissioned the construction of this Ghia creation remains open to conjecture, as does the identity of the person who shaped it.

The Cobra famously formed a cornerstone of Ford’s Total Performance programme. At some point in 1965, a 427 bigblock V8 car was dispatched to Carrozzeria Ghia, the story being that the entrepreneurial Alejandro de Tomaso sniffed a chance to build a second-gen Cobra in series. Several books state that the Ghia principal hoped to impress Shelby and the suits at Ford. The thing is, de Tomaso didn’t assume control of Ghia until 1967…

Fina Sport Special/ Fina Convertible IT’S a familiar story: a wannabe motor mogul decides that he can do better than the established players, and heaps tons of cash onto the pyre chasing his dream. The Fina Sport was conceived in the early 1950s by father-andson duo Perry and Joe Fina.

They reasoned that American firepower in a European chassis was just the ticket, and thus shoehorned a Cadillac V8 into a Nardi-Danese. They then tapped Alfredo Vignale and Giovanni Michelotti to produce a luxurious Caddie-powered coupé.

However, the Fina Sport remained unique – as did the Vignale-bodied Convertible that followed in its wake.

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Ascari FGT

Ginetta G10

GTD/Spectre R42

AFTER launching the kitform Ultima, and before establishing the marque that bore his surname, Lee Noble created a supercar. The Ascari emerged in 1994 and made the rounds at the various motor shows. Power came from a 6.0-litre Chevrolet V8 sited amidships. However, without the necessary resources to take the project further, Noble sold the manufacturing rights to Dutch tycoon/racer Klaus Zwaart, who installed a Ford Modular V8 into the FGT and went racing. Ascari won at British GT Championship level, but a planned Le Mans bid was voided. Production cars featured BMW V8 power.

UNVEILED at the 1965 Racing Car Show, the 289ci Ford V8engined G10 was warmly received – even if some onlookers couldn’t help but comment upon its likeness to the MGB. Such observations were understandable, given that it incorporated the B’s doors and windscreen. In the November, the Works car ventured trackside at Brands Hatch. Driven by Chris Meek, the G10 was up against Robbie Gordon’s Jaguar ‘Lightweight’ E-type, which represented the best in British GT racers. The Ginetta won. However, only four G10s were made due to issues homologating it for the US. Ginetta recently relaunched the model…

IT seemed a week didn’t pass during the early 1990s without the announcement of another supercar start-up. Ray Christopher’s GTD concern created superb Ford GT40, Lola T70 and McLaren M8 clones prior to stepping up with a unique design. The R42 (opposite, top left) emerged at the 1993 London Motor Show, only for the firm to lurch into receivership. Rights to this Ford V8-engined machine passed to Anders Hildebrand, who relaunched the car under the Spectre nameplate.

However, it proved laborious to build, while some criticised the abundance of proprietary parts. Not even having Derek Bell as chairman/development czar could save it.

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Allard Special

Invicta S1

Ikenga

AC Brooklands Ace

Momo Mirage

KNOWN simply as CLK 5 after its registration number, Sydney Allard’s Ford V8engined car proved the sensation of the trials scene prior to World War Two. In 1937 he attempted to drive the car up Ben Nevis, only for it to overturn during the ascent.

Inevitably there was demand for replicas, and a small run of cars emerged from his premises at 3 Keswick Road, Putney, London. In 1938 the Tailwaggers trials team was created, comprising Allard, Guy Warburton and Ken Hutchinson (whose car had a 12-cylinder unit from a Lincoln-Zephyr). Twelve Allard Specials were built.

A PRODUCTION run of eight cars suggests that this British GT wasn’t a success. That would be a fair assessment, but the S1 (above centre) wasn’t without merit. The Invicta marque had been revived ad infinitum since its pre-war heyday, this distinctive machine being brought to life under Michael Bristow. He engaged Chris Marsh and Leigh Adams to create the Ford V8-engined device, the most interesting bit being the structure; the carbonfibre bodyshell reputedly weighed only 25kg.

Prices in 2004 started at just over £100k, but there weren’t enough individualists who would rather buy an S1 over a Ferrari or an Aston Martin.

THIS McLaren M1B-based machine caused a furore on its release in 1967. What’s more, it underwent two subsequent redesigns, each wilder than the last. The brainchild of Brooklyn-born David Gittens, a photographer and designer of African descent, this low-slung machine featured a tilt-forward canopy for access, 5.0-litre Chevy V8 power and – if the PR bumf was to be believed – a top speed of 162mph. It was a cover star the world over, and appeared on the BBC’s Tomorrow’s World programme, but plans to put it into production came to naught.

The lone Ikenga prototype has since disappeared.

AC attempted to become relevant again with this hand-crafted roadster, the origins of which stretched back to the V6-engined Ace of Spades concept from 1986.

That, and a second prototype from 1991 which was shaped by the IAD consultancy. The finished article (top right) finally emerged two years later with supercharged 4.9-litre Ford V8 muscle, but its £79,950 asking price counted against it. The arrival of powerful mainstream rivals didn’t help, either, with a restyle in 1997 failing to halt the slide prior to the end in 2000. The Brooklands Ace was a good car, but one that was born too late.

THIS intriguing curio was conceived by New Yorker Peter Kalikow. Its outline was mapped out by Kalikow and designer/artist Gene Garfinkle, with the Tom Tjaarda-penned, Ghia-built Lancia Marica acting as inspiration. Nevertheless, the definite design was the work of Pietro Frua, who was also engaged to manufacture 25 bodyshells. Stanguellini, meanwhile, was roped in to design the chassis, with allround independent suspension and a 5.7-litre Chevrolet V8.

The prototype was displayed at the 1971 New York Auto Show. However, exchange-rate fluctuations, allied to Italy’s political and social unrest, saw Kalikow pull the plug.

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Trident Clipper

Qvale Mangusta

Intermeccanica Indra

Marcos Mantis

Panther Six

SCROLL back to the early 1990s, when Marcello Gandini was tasked with shaping a new breed of De Tomaso – the prototype being displayed at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show.

However, it was a project in need of finance. Into the breach stepped former concessionaire Kjell Qvale. A deal was struck whereby Qvale’s son Bruce would take charge of the project. What’s more, they would stump up for a plush new manufacturing facility in Modena. A subsequent fall-out saw this Ford V8-engined droptop being sold as the Qvale Mangusta (top left). There was zero brand recognition, and the rest is history.

FRANCO Scaglione was 64 years old when he styled the Indra, another in a long line of exotica created under the Intermeccanica nameplate.

Backed by General Motors, the car was based on Opel Diplomat running gear with a choice of 2.8-litre straight-six or ‘Opel-spec’ Chevrolet V8 engines. Unfortunately, the Indra (top right) was foiled before it got halfway out of the starting gate following its unveiling in 1971. Initially offered in notchback coupé or roadster configurations, with a 2+2 fastback coming online later on, demand was strong initially. However, industrial and economic ructions, plus GM’s withdrawal of support that prompted a switch to Ford power, conspired to damn it.

MARCOS was a marque that cheated death time and again – and, who knows, it may yet make another comeback. With sufficient backing behind it, this plucky underdog took on the supercar elite from a Nissen hut in Bradford-on-Avon during the 1990s, and did so on both road and track. The Chevrolet-engined LM600 propelled Chris Hodgetts to 1996 British GT Championship honours, while the Mantis road car (above centre) arrived a year later packing a Ford Mustang-derived 4.6-litre V8.

In supercharged form, it was the first series-made British production car that produced more than 500bhp. That said, ‘series’ is a relative term.

PRODUCTION of this rakish fastback began in Market Harborough shortly after the car’s triumphant January 1967 Racing Car Show debut.

Meanwhile, in Blackpool, TVR had every reason to feel aggrieved given that it had bankrolled the creation of four prototypes, the design of the TVR Trident emerging as a standalone marque following one of the brand’s customary hiccups. Visually, the new Ford V8-engined Trident Clipper differed from the TVR original in several respects. For starters, it had a much steeper roofline and fixed, inset headlights in place of the previous pop-ups.

Production continued in staccato fashion to 1976.

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CONCEIVED by Robert Jankel, and inspired by the Tyrrell P34 Grand Prix car, the mighty Six boasted three axles and 8.2-litre Cadillac V8 power. US hot-rodding legend Ak Miller breathed on it a little, not least by adding a twin-turbo set-up. The styling, meanwhile, was by Jankel and Vauxhall design chief Wayne Cherry. Priced at £39,950 – in 1978 – it was eye-wateringly expensive, but demand was there. Unfortunately it became a victim of the Surrey firm’s crash a year later. Only one car was completed by the factory, with an outside concern cobbling another together from parts.

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Dual-Ghia

Griffith

Allard K Type

THIS short-lived marque was born out of the Ghia-made Chrysler Firebomb show car.

Its flame would likely have been extinguished were it not for trucking magnate Eugene Casaroll. The Detroit native was so taken with this one-off, he approached Chrysler with a view to buying the rights to the design. With Ghia agreeing to make a lightly reworked version of the car, the unfortunately named Firebomb morphed into the Dual-Ghia in honour of Casaroll’s trucking firm, Dual Motors.

The laborious nature of the build – 1500 hours per car – effectively hobbled its chances.

ANDREW Jackson ‘Jack’ Griffith had been engaged in a high-performance Ford Falcon Sprint conversion, only to hit the buffers when Ford announced the Mustang.

Unbowed, he decided to ‘do a Shelby’ and install the 289ci Ford V8 into a lightweight British sports car: a TVR Grantura Mk3. It was launched in April 1964 as the Griffith 200, with talk of a 150mph-plus top speed, but road testers didn’t sugar-coat their criticisms. Griffith responded with the uprated 400. The deal with TVR called for cars to be supplied less engine and gearbox, yet a dock strike effectively nixed Griffith’s grand plan.

WHILE the precise spec for an Allard production car remained fluid, the recipe was followed religiously after the K Type was introduced in 1946: lots of ex-War Department parts, V8 power, and looks that were… distinctive. Largerdisplacement Mercury V8s were employed on road cars from 1949. When bored and stroked, they boasted 4375cc and produced a handy 115bhp.

Allard also began to make aluminium cylinder heads and induction manifolds, which bore more than a passing resemblance to go-quicker kit from Edelbrock. Three K Type generations were made, with owners including Richard Dimbleby and Dirk Bogarde.

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MG XPower SV/SV-R THE MG Rover Group acquired the Qvale Mangusta project in February 2001, and thus the X80 programme was born. MG was to build a Ford V8-engined halo car, despite constraints on the cashstrapped design team. Even so, the small crew under the direction of Peter Stevens created an outline that was markedly different from the original machine. The MG XPower SV emerged at the British International Motor Show in 2002, and subsequently spawned the SV-R that employed a V8 tuned by Ontario’s Sean Hyland. MG’s penury soon ended play, though.

Monteverdi 375S

PETER Monteverdi enjoyed a 12-year spell as Ferrari’s agent for Switzerland, only to hit an obstacle after Enzo Ferrari insisted he buy cars up front – 100 of them. Suitably aggrieved, he decreed that he would give Il Commendatore a good drubbing and create an uber-exotic Gran Turismo of his own. Two years in the making, the Monteverdi 375S emerged at the 1967 Frankfurt Motor Show. Powered by a 7.2-litre Chrysler V8, and purportedly styled by Monteverdi himself (Pietro Frua felt differently…), it cost a staggering five times as much as a Jaguar E-type.

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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale ONE of the prettiest sportsracing cars ever made, the TZ1 (the ‘1’ part was added retrospectively) was a prolific race winner in the 1960s. It spawned the glassfibre-bodied TZ2, which was as beautiful as it was successful on track.

There had been talk of a TZ3 as far back as the mid-1990s; the one-off TZ3 Corsa was completed in 2010, and strictly speaking it was a reclothed Gillett Vertigo. The Stradale, by contrast, arrived a year

later and was conspicuously bigger. There was even less Alfa content here, though...

It was, in fact, a reskinned Dodge Viper ACR-X, complete with V10 engine. Inside, it was near-as-dammit identical to the US machine, save for the badging. As such, it rather made a mockery of the lightweight mantra of the cars that inspired it, but the styling was much admired. The Stradale prompted much head scratching among the Alfisti, though. Dodge was part of Chrysler Corp, which now formed part of Fiat, which owned Alfa Romeo, so it sort of made sense. Nine cars were purportedly built.

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29 Nardi Silver Ray THIS one-off was as exotic as road cars got in period. Nardi is now known for its steering wheels, but in the 1950s it was equally respected as a purveyor of tuning kit. The Italian outfit also made racing cars, as well as one or two coachbuilts. The Silver Ray was built for Miami’s William Simpson (owner of the Nardi Blue Ray show queen). It was conspicuously bigger than any prior Nardi, but then it

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was based on a pre-war Alfa Romeo 412 GP car; one that was stripped to its constituent parts and reworked as a sports model for Felice Bonetto in the immediate post-war years.

These foundations served as a basis for the Silver Ray, albeit with the original V12 making way for a Plymouth Golden Commando 413ci V8. The body, meanwhile, was shaped by prolific pen for hire Giovanni Michelotti.

The Silver Ray was shipped in September 1961, although it has since been reconfigured back to an Alfa Romeo.

AMC was not hip pre-late 1960s, but models such as the AMX ‘pony car’ helped change that. It gave styling boss Dick Teague a platform for ever more radical projects as he strove to play to a younger audience.

Buoyed by the great response to 1969’s non-running AMX II supercar, AMC sought to rival the proposed Ford-sponsored De Tomaso Pantera with its mid-engined AMX III. Giotto Bizzarrini designed the semimonocoque platform, with Italdesign engineering the car.

AMC’s 390ci familiar benteight would sit amidships.

The dramatic result was well received on its debut in Rome in March 1970. It never stood a chance; build costs would have proved untenable. Just six were made in Italy, plans for Bizzarrini to make it under his own name coming to naught.

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Murena 429GT

Monteverdi Hai

Monica

Ghia 450/SS

McLaren M6GT

THIS car’s huge potential remained tragically unfulfilled.

Jean Tastevin had the means to indulge his fantasy of creating a supersaloon, plus the drive to make it happen. He was the boss of Compagnie Francais de Produits Métallurgiques, which made and leased rolling stock.

Wishing to diversify, in 1966 he decided to build a car named after his wife, and roped in British designer/racer Chris Lawrence to realise his vision.

By late 1974 an assembly line was in place in Balbigny, near Lyon. After a protracted genesis, several engine swaps (Triumph to Martin to Chrysler) and more than a few rows, this glorious machine was finally ready for production, only to be abruptly canned. The ArabIsraeli oil crisis meant anything a bit thirsty was having trouble selling, and Tastevin got cold feet. Just 32 were built, 22 of them prototypes. Two righthand-drive cars were finished

by Panther Westwinds.

ARGUABLY the most prolific Italian coachbuilder and design house of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ghia was also a marque in its own right. The firm’s Fiat 2300-based G230.S represented more than just a rebodying exercise, and there was every reason to believe it might become a production car. Reaction to its unveiling at the November 1963 Turin Motor Show was overwhelmingly positive. American trucking magnate Gene Casaroll – who had previously bankrolled the Dual-Ghia – allegedly tried to order 200 cars on the spot.

The veracity of this story is open to debate. What is clear is that coupé and convertible prototypes were built, but neither version made the leap to production-car reality.

However, the appearance of one of the fixed-head cars (above centre) on the cover of Road & Track in March 1965 led to an unforeseen outcome.

American Burt Sugarman was so enamoured he charged Ghia with refining the concept and adapting the outline of the convertible version to accommodate Plymouth Barracuda componentry. As many as 57 V8-engined Ghia 450/SS roadsters were made.

LONG before the F1 turned the supercar movement on its head, McLaren unleashed the M6GT (top right). It is worth recalling that the brand was far from today’s international behemoth, more a fledgling operation that nevertheless was participating in Formulas 1, 2 and 3, not to mention CanAm. Inspirational leader Bruce also envisaged taking on the Ford GT40, Porsche 908 and so on in the International Championship for Makes. A plan was mapped out to adapt the existing M6B CanAm car, regs insisting that 25 examples be made for homologation.

Then the rules changed: now 50 cars needed to be built. No chance. However, McLaren also wanted to make a road car, so an unused bodyshell for the proposed racer was allied to an M6B chassis and equipped with a modded Chevy V8. The M6GT was born. Only three were made prior to McLaren’s tragic demise in 1970. The dramatic outline, by Kiwi Jim Clark of Specialised Mouldings, would live on as the inspiration for an array of copyists.

CONCEIVED by New Yorkers, built by a Turin-domiciled, Hungarian-born Canadian and named after an eel indigenous to Sardinia, the Ford big-block V8-engined Murena 429GT was certainly cosmopolitan.

This supercar-cum-shooting brake was conceived by Charlie Schwendler, of the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp dynasty, and marketing guru Joe Vos. They wanted a car with Porsche performance and ski-carrying practicality, which led them to Frank Reisner of Automobili Intermeccanica.

A 1968 deal was struck in which ten cars would be made on the grounds that, since the ski buddies were going to the trouble of building two cars, they may as well make ten and recoup their investment by selling the other eight.

The prototype was displayed at the 1969 New York Auto Show. Elvis reputedly had two Murenas, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr one apiece.

THE Monteverdi Hai 450 Super Sports stole the headlines when unleashed at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show. With a 6974cc Chrysler V8 mounted in a semi-spaceframe chassis, this 450bhp supercar promised to sprint to 60mph in less than five seconds. Or at least it did if you believed the PR bumf...

Cyril Postumus reported in Road & Track: “You have seven litres of Chrysler 426 Hemi stuffed amidships, where it takes much of the passenger space, thrusting forward between the two seats… With a claimed 180mph at the top end, I should hate to have to prove it on a wet Swiss road.”

A second car was built with a slightly longer wheelbase.

Dubbed the 450 GTS (top left), it would also be the final Hai produced in period. For all the hoopla surrounding the car, it lacked development. Rather than squandering more money on the project, Monteverdi pulled the plug – even if the model remained theoretically available into the mid-1970s.

Two more cars were assembled by the Monteverdi factory museum in the early 1990s, ostensibly from spare parts.

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De Tomaso Deauville

Iso Rivolta

Facel Vega FV/HK500

IMITATION is the sincerest form of flattery, apparently.

If this is the case, Jaguar must have been blushing after the Deauville (top left) was unveiled in 1970. Its likeness to the XJ6 was intentional – a point not lost on stylist Tom Tjaarda, who insisted he was just doing as he was instructed by his paymaster.

That said, this was no mere zirconium knock-off, which is perhaps just as well given that it cost almost four times as much as its inspiration. It was a supersaloon packing a 351ci Ford Cleveland V8 that was (allegedly) good for 143mph.

Heady stuff for the period.

A degree of mystery surrounds who instigated the Deauville. Some sources claim that Ford vice-president Lee Iaccoca suggested it; others that, when he first clapped eyes on it, Iaccoca was incandescent that the marque the Blue Oval was sponsoring would produce such a blatant crib. Regardless of who did what, it was not a huge commercial success. As an aside, a high proportion of right-hand-drive Deauvilles were acquired by the Saatchi & Saatchi ad agency.

FRIDGE magnate Pietro Rivolta decided to move into the exotica firmament in the early 1960s. Giotto Bizzarrini and Pierluigi Raggi would engineer a new GT, and Stile Bertone would shape it. Raggi was reputedly smitten with the all-alloy 3.5-litre Buick/ Oldsmobile V8, but ultimately agreement was reached with General Motors whereby it would supply the 5.3-litre Corvette unit in either 300bhp or 340bhp forms. Meanwhile, at Stile Bertone, Giorgetto Giugiaro set about creating an outline for the new car.

The prototype Iso Rivolta GT was unveiled to special guests in the grounds of Rivolta’s villa in January 1962. It proved a hit with The Beautiful People and the media alike. Autocar gushed: ‘‘Clearly the designer has achieved his main objectives, to produce an exceptionally fast and safe touring saloon that is very enjoyable to drive; that readily adapts itself to such humdrum duties as commuting and shopping expeditions.” Variations on the theme remained in production to 1970 (top centre).

NO other car we can think of radiated glamour quite like the Facel Vega (right). Jean Daninos made the leap from coachbuilder/subcontractor to manufacturer following the release of the FV at the 1954 Paris Motor Show. It boasted a 4.5-litre Chrysler Hemi V8 from the DeSoto Firedome, and a chassis designed by former HWM pilot Lance Macklin (the tragic Briton had joined Facel’s export division after his racing career drew to a close). The styling was US-inspired, too, but to some it looked not unlike an upscaled, Facel-made Ford Comète. The FVS (Facel Vega Sport) edition came online in October ’55, various iterations of Chrysler V8 following until it too was replaced by the HK500 in 1959.

In 6.3-litre Chrysler Typhoon-engined form, the HK500 could sprint to 60mph from a standstill in 8.5sec, if the manufacturer’s figures were to be trusted. However, the appeal here never was about outright performance.

It was – and remains – about style, something that was never deficient.

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Koenigsegg CC8S

AC 428

Bristol 407

Bristol Fighter

Jensen CV-8

KOENIGSEGG is a marque that has defied expectations, routinely topping lists whether in terms of acceleration times or most egregious price tags.

However, it’s worth recalling that prior to making its own engines, it started out by using a modified version of the Ford Modular V8 tuned to produce more than 600bhp. According to the manufacturer’s figures, this supercharged device (top) was capable of doing 240mph, with 0-60mph taking less than 3.5sec. Traction permitting, the CC8S could also complete the quarter-mile sprint in ten seconds, with an elapsed time in excess of 135mph.

Shown in prototype form at the 2000 Paris Motor Show, there was little reason to believe that this was anything other than another supercar start-up with a funny name; the sort of thing that was then commonplace. Such cars tended to disappear into the ether before the ink on the press release was dry, but no.

Koenigsegg made six CC8Ss, two of them in right-handdrive form, before pressing ahead with the evolutionary CCR. Its own twin-blown V8 was rooted in the Ford unit, but altered substantially.

THIS big-block Ford V8equipped, Pietro Frua-styled exotic (opposite, top right) promised much. The first car – a convertible – was unveiled at the 1965 British Motor Show.

It was a hit with the press and public alike, the prototype appearing in the final series of The Avengers. A fixed-head coupé followed on at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show. AC had a bulging order book despite the 428 costing nearly twice the price of a Jaguar E-type (a lofty £5573 in 1968).

The deal with Frua meant rolling chassis were dispatched to Italy on slave wheels, with partially completed cars returning to Surrey on open transporters for trimming, wiring and painting. As such, there was considerable time lag between orders being placed and cars being delivered.

What’s more, having untreated double-skin bodies open to the elements didn’t aid matters, and a fair amount of rectification work was needed when they arrived in Thames Ditton.

Worse was to come. A steel strike in Italy in 1969-70 meant delivery dates became a joke.

Just 81 cars were made to 1973.

OLD-World charm meets New World horsepower. Bristol eschewed its own BMWderived ‘six’ for Chrysler V8 power with the 407. Arriving in 1961, it appeared outwardly similar to the 2.2-litre 406, but underneath it was a different beast, complete with new front suspension and steering box.

The fresh V8 was double the size of the previous engine, with twice the power, and its 9.2sec 0-60mph time and 125mph top speed were giddying stuff for the day – and all this in gentleman’s club-like comfort.

It set the template for a raft of V8 Bristols in its wake, some of which were great (think 411) and others less so (603...). As an aside, Zagato bodied a 407, as did Viotti. The latter one-off was built for Bristol MD Tony Crook as a gift for his daughter.

Peter Sellers made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, though...

THIS enigmatic GT-cumsupercar was the first genuinely new Bristol product for decades.

It was also defiantly leftfield, as befitted this once-glorious marque. Designed under Max Bostrom, who’d also shaped the Aston Martin AMR1 Le Mans car, it had a steel box-section platform with an integral front bulkhead, screen surround and rollover structure. The Chrysler V10-engined machine had an aluminium and carbonfibre body, but no spoilers despite its 210mph-plus top speed; there was nothing to upset the airflow, with even the exhausts running through the sills to maintain a smooth underside.

The Fighter arrived in 2004 and variations followed, but not the proposed 1000bhp-plus, 270mph turbo. Instead, it all ended in 2011, by which time as few as nine cars or as many as 14 had been made, depending on whose estimates you credit.

As with all Bristols, you either ‘got’ the Fighter or you didn’t.

INTRODUCED in November 1962, this 541 replacement was similarly styled by resident artiste Eric Neale, and used a new steel chassis designed by Kevin Beattie. As with the 541, the CV-8 featured a glassfibre body (with aluminium door skins), the big news being the adoption of a 361ci Chrysler V8 allied to a column-operated Torqueflite three-speed auto. It was a full four-seater, too, and all in leather-lined comfort.

A second series arrived in October ’63, gaining 383ci Chrysler power along the way, and the June ’65 Series III saw a raft of detail differences. This intriguing coupé was comfy and blisteringly quick, but its quirky styling was met with customer resistance, which may explain why only 499 were made. In fairness, it didn’t quite emerge as Neale intended due to outside interference.

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Monteverdi High Speed 375/4

Railton

IN terms of the uber-exotic, Monteverdi had most marques licked during the early 1970s.

Its protean output spanned many market segments, and one of the few things its cars had in common was the use of a proprietary Detroit V8.

Yet the High Speed 375/4 was something else entirely.

This period wasn’t kind to exotica, but Peter Monteverdi’s business nous dictated that if he couldn’t sell profligate gasguzzlers close to home, he’d instead target a region where the cost of petrol was of no consequence – the Middle East.

The High Speed 375/4 limo looked much like a 375 L coupé up front, but aft of the A-pillars it was a cool supersaloon. The significant deviations befitted a tailor-made car. Monteverdi’s real masterstroke, though, was to change tack thereafter and adopt proprietary fodder rather than creating his own cars from scratch.

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ONE of the earliest exponents of the Euro-American hybrid, Railton was the brainchild of Noel Macklin – also known for his role in the original Invicta marque, Railtons being made from the same Surrey premises.

As Invictas in their various guises were costly to build and increasingly hard to sell, he set about creating something with equivalent power and styling artistry, but more affordable.

Impressed with the Hudson Terraplane, he arranged for the supply of that car’s chassis and straight-eight engine.

Railton began making cars in 1933, with umpteen variants, engine specs and so on. At least seven coachbuilders clothed them, too. Production carried on until the factory was given over to the war effort, although a handful of cars were made during World War Two and immediately afterwards.

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TVR Tuscan

De Tomaso Mangusta

Gordon-Keeble GK1

RECALLING the prior Griffith, the Tuscan arrived in January 1967 with 289ci Ford V8 power. This was one of the fastest (and hairiest) road cars then on sale. Even in standard 271bhp form it was purportedly good for 155mph flat-out if you were brave enough. There were three distinct configurations to the end in early 1970, with most of the 73 cars built being exported to the US. Tuscans were made in shortand long-wheelbase forms, the final-year editions having a bodystyle in line with the forthcoming M-series TVRs. Later cars also had 4.9-litre V8s. But while production of the Tuscan in V6 form would continue into 1971, there wouldn’t be another official TVR with an American-made V8 until the much vaunted ‘new’ Griffith was unveiled in 2017 with a Cosworth-fettled Ford Coyote unit. It still hasn’t entered production, mind.

However… As a caveat to the story, there was a Ford V8-engined TVR during the 1970s that filled the gap left by the Tuscan. John Wadman of TVR North America offered the 5000M, but it wasn’t a production model per se.

IT’S a car on which everyone has an opinion, even if these are not necessarily based on personal experience. The Mangusta (opposite, top left) tends to be talked of in awestruck tones because of its ‘interesting’ handling. In fact, it’s nowhere near as lairy as you might imagine, unless pushed hard on a circuit and you can’t differentiate between braking and cornering. What most people can agree on is that it was stylistically accomplished.

Ghia’s Giorgetto Giugiaro shaped the car for his boss, Alejandro de Tomaso, and it entered production in 1967.

Low, brooding and free of styling tinsel, its signature feature was its centre-hinged rear end, which allowed access to the small-block Ford V8 sited in the middle/rear and the luggage compartment. It was a flourish that Giugiaro would repeat on his Porsche Tapiro concept queen after establishing his own studio.

Depending on your aesthetic bent, early cars were the loveliest, later Mangustas having two pop-up headlights in place of the previous quad fixed units. There was a spider variant, too, but it remained only a prototype.

THIS Anglo-American GT wasn’t a commercial success, but it wasn’t without influence.

It marked the jumping-off point for Giugiaro as a designer, the prototype Gordon GT (as it was originally known) being unveiled in Geneva in 1960.

Despite a long gestation period, it made the leap from rendering to prototype to 1964 production without its styling purity being diluted. Cues were subsequently lifted for umpteen other Giorgetto offerings during his spell at Bertone, many of them Alfas.

Sadly, the glassfibre-bodied, 327ci Chevy V8-engined GT failed to take flight, a post-1968 revival under the de Bruyne name coming to naught. Just 100 Gordon-Keebles are said to have been made (the final car being assembled later on from spare parts). As an aside, a Sunbeam Rapier-bodied version was raced in the early 1970s.

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Facel Vega Excellence

Iso A3/L Grifo

THE Excellence (top right) exuded opulence and trumpeted wealth, which was rather the point... First seen at the October 1956 Paris Motor Show, and entering production in 1958, it cost roughly the same as four Citroën DSs (and that was before you went anywhere near the options list).

However, beneath the outer dazzle the Excellence mostly comprised Chrysler bits. Aside from the use of Hemi and later Wedge big-block V8s allied to a Torqueflite auto (although a Pont-à-Mousson manual was employed in 21 cars), the parts bin was raided for everything from the power brakes to the air-conditioning unit.

The Excellence remained in production until 1964, a facelift three years earlier having seen the tailfins reduced in size among other changes. Intriguingly, this pillarless super-limo could, conceivably, have formed the basis for a new breed of Packard had fate been kinder.

As it stands, the Excellence remains one of the greatest style statements of its era, if not necessarily a great car.

FEW Italo-American hybrids epitomised Jet Set glamour quite like this Giorgetto Giugiaro-penned offering (above centre). The veil was lifted at the Turin Motor Show in November 1963 – the irony being that the car remained in production to 1974 despite being conceived as a one-off.

It was meant to be a concept – one that studio principal Nuccio Bertone would sell once its promotional duties ended. That didn’t happen.

Instead, the car entered production with a 5.3-litre Chevrolet Corvette V8, but over time there’d be various options up to big-block engines of varying kinds.

Imported into the UK by Peter Agg’s Trojan concern, it started from £5950 in 1966, which put it in rarefied company. The Grifo managed 161mph while being evaluated

by Autocar, which made it the fastest production machine the motoring weekly had ever assessed. Sadly, the proposed spider variant remained unique. The GT received a facelift in 1970, with Marcello Gandini being responsible for the new pop-up headlight look.

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Iso/Bizzarrini A3 GIOTTO Bizzarrini began realising his vision of a racing version of the Iso Grifo from within his Società Autostar facility in Livorno. He reasoned that if he seized the initiative, his paymaster would see the light and appreciate the value of Iso getting involved in international motor sport.

What’s more, he was more than prepared to personally finance the construction of the prototype A3/C (‘C’ standing for Corsa, or competition).

Bizzarrini reconfigured the chassis further in 1963, with the small-block Chevy V8 being moved rearwards towards the centreline.

The body, meanwhile,

was sketched out by draughtsman Piero Vanni, under Bizzarrini’s guidance, his drawings in turn being handed over to Stile Bertone.

The A3 Stradale Berlinetta variant was more luxurious, all things being relative, with leather seats, a quilted transmission cover, carpets and roll-down windows.

Even so, it was patently a competition tool with scant attention paid to civility.

Bizzarrini’s relationship with Renzo Rivolta was a fractious one, which prompted him to produce variations on the theme under his own name.

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Allard J2

Sunbeam Tiger

De Tomaso Pantera

IN 1950, the car with which Allard is most famously associated emerged – the mighty J2 (left). This skimpy device was a sort of protoCobra; a lightweight (all things being relative) sports machine with token nods to comfort but bags of American grunt.

The car became famous Stateside, in no small part due to Tom Cole whose 5420cc OHV Cadillac V8-engined model proved immensely successful on-track. The J2 and subsequent J2X (with revised front suspension and a repositioned motor) established the brand in the US. Cole, Mike Graham, Bill Pollack, Zora Arkus-Duntov and Carroll Shelby all enjoyed success, with Sydney Allard himself entering a J2 in the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite completing the race with only top gear, he and Cole finished a remarkable third overall.

Allard persisted with other competition hardware, not least the fully enclosed J2X Le Mans weaponry and the JR sports-racer, seven of which were produced in 1953-54.

THE poor man’s Cobra. It’s a tired epithet, but one that has been attached to the Tiger (bottom left) for aeons.

Introduced at the New York Auto Show in 1964, and built to attract welcome US dollars, this Ford V8-engined variant of the Alpine was not your typical Rootes Group product.

The insertion of the 4.2-litre Fairlane unit into the roadster’s hull represented a masterwork of shoehorning, but the Tiger was only 20 percent heavier than the car that bore it. The adoption of rack-and-pinion steering was another big change; it was in place for packaging reasons as much as improving the drive.

Suspension tweaks were limited, mind. The front end was stiffened a little, a Panhard rod being added at the rear. Rootes’ West Coast manager Ian Garrad had a brace of proof of concepts made with further refinements provided by Carroll Shelby (who received a royalty on each car sold). A 4.7-litre unit followed in time, but Chrysler’s takeover of the Rootes Group in 1967 effectively did for the Tiger.

REACTION to the Pantera following the 1971 New York Auto Show augured well.

Styled by Tom Tjaarda and sponsored by Ford, this 351ci V8-engined supercar (above) possessed rare beauty.

As photographs by snapper Rick McBride, of a vivid yellow example parked in Rome’s Piazza del Campidoglio, filtered through to news desks, sales success appeared a mere formality. Distribution was now the responsibility of selected Lincoln-Mercury dealers; with a sub-$10,000 price and 150mph top speed, this projectile represented a slice of exotica that was tantalisingly within reach of mere mortals.

Most road testers eulogised over the Pantera’s straight-line performance but railed against just about everything else. On realising the extent of the car’s issues, Ford initiated a huge redevelopment programme, the cost of which impacted the Pantera’s days as a Blue Ovalbacked product. Ford pulled out in 1974, but Alejandro de Tomaso produced variations on the theme into the 1990s.

HYMAN / MAGIC CAR PICS

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MAGIC CAR PICS

3 Ford GT40

Jensen Interceptor

THERE will be some who will question the inclusion of the GT40 here. It was an American car with an American engine, after all. They have a point, but it’s worth remembering that at the outset of the project the original GT40 was designed by an Englishman operating out of a glorified lean-to in Bromley, Kent.

Oh, and ‘production’ GT40s were made by Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough. The jumping-off point for this glorious machine was the Lola Mk6, its designer Eric Broadley effectively taking a sabbatical to shape the Blue Oval’s sports-prototype.

Ex-Ford UK’s competitions manager Stuart Turner used to laugh when recalling being handed what he thought was a telephone directory on his first day. It turned out to be the costings for the GT40 programme. He equated it to what NASA spent on the moon landings. The point is that the GT40 was a money-no-object race-cum-road car that was born in the UK and perfected in the US. And how.

THINK back to the 1960s, when Italian exotica tended to employ numerical designations, often shadowed by the legend ‘GT’. Think 330GT, 350GT, 3500GT, 5300GT... and then stop thinking. It’s very confusing.

But that same decade also saw Jensen Motors target the Continental Johnnies.

What’s more, this upstart from the Black Country made a break from accepted protocol and gave its muscle-bound GT an actual name. Or rather, it reheated an old one that it had first used as far back as 1950. This was an act of unbridled genius. Even now, just hearing the name ‘Interceptor’ is enough to conjure images of glamour, intrigue and speed; of Robert Vaughn righting wrongs in The Protectors aboard his gloriously brown example.

The Interceptor was a radical departure for Jensen, that’s for sure. The firm took 32 years – 1935 to 1967 – to make its first 1000 cars. The Interceptor changed all that.

Unveiled at Earls Court in late 1966, this was also the first offering from the Midlands concern not to be styled

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in-house. It was shaped by Touring, prompting more than a little consternation within the Kelvin Way factory. See beyond the outer dazzle, however, and the Interceptor was essentially a reclothing exercise, the C-V8’s chassis being retained largely unaltered, with a steel skeletal structure being welded to it. At 1677kg (3697lb), the new strain was only 11 percent heavier than the car that bore it. Power came from Chrysler’s 6276cc V8. That equated to 325bhp and a huge 425lb ft of torque.

The car was reconfigured into drop-tops and notchback coupés, gaining umpteen variations of big-block V8 along the way. It also spawned the mighty four-wheel-drive FF. The Italians brought the style, the British the pomp and the Americans the circumstance. The Interceptor was – and remains – a blue-blooded exotic with blue-collar credentials.

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AC/Shelby Cobra

MICHAEL FURMAN COURTESY OF RM SOTHEBY’S

THERE was only ever going to be one winner – the Cobra.

This instantly recognisable roadster didn’t break moulds, push envelopes or uproot goalposts when it rocketed into the public eye back in 1962. It was a bit of a mongrel, but in its own rough-hewn manner it worked, and worked well. Britain’s oldest sports car manufacturer and America’s newest together fashioned something rather wonderful.

It’s a greatly overused word, but the Cobra is an icon of its kind. Except, as we all know by rote, little about the Cobra or the man who conceived it was ever clear cut.

It would be fair to say that the story behind its creation is true in its generalities, but

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perhaps far fetched in terms of specifics. First of all there’s the nettlesome question over when it is a Cobra, a Shelby or an AC. Deciphering the actual and the apocryphal here is no easy task. For all the sub-clauses, codicils, addenda and all, the Cobra wasn’t a huge commercial success.

Considering that it has latterly become the most replicated car on the planet, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Its outsized status merely mirrored that of the man who conceived it, motor racing’s answer to PT Barnum – the never knowingly underpromoted Carroll Hall Shelby.

Not for him rustling something up from scratch.

Instead, the former Le Mans winner cut corners and envisaged a largedisplacement engine in a proprietary body/chassis. The marriage of 283ci Chevy V8

power in a Big Healey was considered, but General Motors and BMC were less than receptive to his proposal.

No matter, there was always AC Cars. While this esteemed Surrey firm has latterly been airbrushed out of Cobra lore, being dismissed as a mere subcontractor in some quarters, the union of the big-hatted Texan and this profoundly British marque seems entirely natural with the benefit of hindsight.

The AC Ace had proven itself in competition, initially with the John Wellerconceived, in-house-made straight-six and later with Bristol and 2.6-litre Ford units.

And it would be a Blue Oval engine that would propel this new strain. One of the Ford Total Performance scheme’s key players was Dave Evans, a man well known to Shelby.

The upshot was that a couple of 221ci (3.6-litre) Ford V8s

were dispatched to Shelby’s office, which he rented from hot-rodding legend Dean Moon. Meanwhile, back in Surrey, AC’s chief engineer Alan Turner set about modifying the Ace’s frame to accommodate the new, larger motor. He also redesigned the rear suspension tower to permit the relocation of the brakes to an inboard position.

The first car, referred to in Thames Ditton at least as the AC Ace-Cobra, was tested and ready for shipment by February 1962. Then the engine was whipped out as news filtered through from the other side of the Atlantic about Ford’s new 260ci (4.2-litre) small-block V8. This was then inserted, and thus a legend was born.

BORN SLIPPY – WHY YOUR GTI CRAVES GTX

Our cars’ service schedules tell us we need it, but have you ever wondered exactly what the oil in your cherished classic is doing to earn its keep? Paul Cowland takes a closer look

A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

AS EVERY EV EVANGELIST WILL happily tell you, there are an awful lot of moving parts in an internalcombustion engine – and something needs to keep them all apart. Don’t tell Greta, or those nice people in the orange T-shirts, but that task falls squarely at the feet of oil. It perhaps does the most heavy lifting of all automotive components, and without it your engine could be moments away from a seizure.

We are all hopefully mechanically savvy enough to know that our older cars need regular oil changes and top-ups to keep them alive – but for many enthusiasts, that’s about it.

Surely, grabbing any quality oil, with the correct viscosity, off the shelf of your local motor factors is going to keep that four-pot singing sweetly, no? Well, buckle up, because that’s often very much not the case.

Modern cars and modern oils work in a very different way from even relatively recent engines. The lubricants of today are designed to cope with extended service intervals, leaner-running motors, high revs and loads, and even have the ability to withstand fuel treatments and additives. Modern motors are an exemplar of design optimisation, with ingenious oil-transfer and -delivery systems that direct the lubricant to wherever it needs to be.

By contrast, older engines are usually lower revving, and feature much larger oil galleries, with a greater dependence on ‘splash’ and ‘cling’ lubrication. Speaking generally, they also have far larger machining tolerances, and use simpler and cheaper materials. For all of the above reasons, older engines are generally much more fun to rebuild and restore, but it does mean that oil choice and type become all the more critical if you are to keep them spinning and working in the exact

OPPOSITE AND ABOVE With careful formulation and development, Castrol oils have always provided the right kind of protection for the right kind of engines.

RIGHT Now GTX is back, in the same iconic can; its 10w40 spec is perfect for many classic cars.

way that their designers intended.

The key to ensuring an older engine is happy with its oil boils down to a few key factors. Despite common assumptions, oils actually work better with a carefully optimised detergent within them. But the amount required by an older engine is critical. Inadequate detergent can result in gums and lacquers clinging to the hotter components, and blocking oil galleries, whereas too much detergent can cause a buildup of metallic ash in the combustion chambers and piston crowns.

Neither situation is ideal, particularly on cars with high oil consumption, where the latter issue can cause detonation and pinking.

Older combustion engines also

gently build up carbon deposits internally, and it’s the detergent’s job to keep these in check. But, once again, it’s a fine balancing act. Where the carbon has built up over the years, detergents can actually have a scouring effect, causing the carbon to flake off, blocking up oil galleries and spray jets. Excessive levels of detergent can also ‘wash’ traces of carbon from seals and gaskets, revealing oil leaks where the carbon itself is creating a seal. And that means spots on your new block paving. Never good...

Optimised oils for older engines also need to manage oxidisation within the galleries. Insufficient antioxidant means the oil can quickly thicken during high-temperature

motoring, with large amounts of carbon, gum and varnish clogging oil galleries, filters and piston rings.

The really good products also use carefully formulated anti-wear additives to ensure that if the oil film between moving parts breaks down prematurely, metal-to-metal contact and irreparable engine damage are prevented. Internals can also become pitted with corrosion and rust from acids and water vapour formed during combustion. If your oil has all the correct corrosion inhibitors, the components are well protected.

And then there are the special dispersant additives that prevent soot, wear metals and the byproducts of combustion settling in the sump and other areas of the engine, where they form a thick sludge that can block filters and oilways. That’s before we even look at cars that get used in cold months, requiring pour-point depressants to ensure that the oil continues to flow, even at low temperatures. This will prevent excessive strain on the pump or, in extreme cases, oil starvation on start-up causing… complete failure of the lubrication system.

It’s an awful lot to think about, particularly when you’d probably rather be out driving your vehicle – which is why Castrol has taken the noble step of bringing the motorist’s favourite, Castrol GTX, back. Now totally reformulated to a more retrofriendly 10w40 grade, it’s the perfect way of pouring a trusted oil into your pride and joy that very much takes all of the mind-bending metallurgy above into account – so that you don’t have to. The boffins have done the thinking for you, so now all you have to do is treat your car to a new filter and work out how many sugars you want in your tea. www.classicoils.co.uk

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Market Watch: Buying a MercedesBenz W113 ‘Pagoda’

Watches and art: Breguet Type 20 and Peter Helck

Automobilia: Gordon Bennett photo discovery

Collecting: We take a look at vintage sunglasses

Books and products: Latest must-reads and luxury goods

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M A R K E T WAT C H

Words John Simister Photography Mercedes-Benz

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Mercedes-Benz SL W113 ‘Pagoda’ From 230 SL via 250 SL to ultimate 280 SL, the timeless W113 reinterpreted Mercedes-Benz’s saloon-bred technological and styling expertise into a glamorous but authoritatively tasteful two-seater

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE SL – Sport Leicht – universe, back in the 1950s, Mercedes-Benz had two model lines thus suffixed. First came the 300 SL, evolving from racer to gullwinged road coupé and then to rapid roadster. It was joined mid-decade by the 190 SL, similar in its dramatic style but smaller, much slower and a bit of a dullard to drive. When their time was up, Mercedes-Benz elected to replace these two with one.

That might have seemed a tricky task to perform credibly, but the resultant design – allotted type number W113 – was such a handsome machine, and thus so instantly desirable, that it remains highly covetable today with prices to match. Meet the famously concave-roofed Mercedes-Benz 230 SL, launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963 and continuing to make MercedesBenz showrooms beautiful places right up to 1971, by which time it had become a meatier, speedier 280 SL via an interim (and shortlived) incarnation as a 250 SL. Of course, the 230 SL, with its claimed but improbable 150bhp from 2.3 litres (the truth was nearer 140bhp), was rather less rapid than the final 300 SL with 3.0 litres and 225bhp, and predictably the critics considered it much less of a sports car. Not that this mattered; the buying public thought the 230 SL was wonderful, even at – in the UK – nearly twice the price of a Jaguar E-type. And the 230 SL was not without its own motor sport moments, winning the 1963 SpaSofia-Liège rally in the hands of Eugen Böhringer and Klaus Kaiser, finishing third in the following year’s event with the same crew.

Under the skin, the W113 was broadly like the ‘fintail’ W111 saloon, with a foot taken out of the wheelbase. That included the lowpivot swing-axle rear suspension also used on the 300 SL roadsters – a design that ensured the 230 SL, along with its two bigger-engined descendants, handled quite tidily despite the camber changes. All the W113s featured Bosch fuel injection, the old-fashioned sort with a diesel-like, six-cylinder

ABOVE Inside story; the W113’s cabin balances refinement, practicality and design excellence. inline pump, and all came as new with that distinctive concave hardtop dubbed the ‘Pagoda roof’ soon after the model’s launch.

Once the four locking handles have been released, this can be removed by two people to reveal a folding (unpowered) soft-top stored below, under a neat cover.

Or not; when ordering from the factory, you could specify your SL without the soft-top and hope for good weather when driving roofless. US buyers who had forgone the soft-top could even specify a single transverse rear seat, in turn creating the so-called California model.

Several famous Mercedes-Benz names in the engineering and design world were behind the W113. Gullwing mastermind Rudolf Uhlenhaut was one, prolific stylist Paul Bracq was another, while innovative designer Béla Barényi adapted the W111’s pioneering crumple zones for the W113 and devised the hard-top. The result was a showcase of the MercedesBenz technology and styling details already seen in the saloons, all reinterpreted for a glamorous but authoritatively tasteful two-seater.

For 1967 the 230 SL became the 250 SL, with a longer stroke, seven main crankshaft bearings instead

of four, and more torque, although the quoted power output was unchanged. The default gearbox was still a four-speed manual, but a four-ratio automatic (whose fluid coupling contained no torque converter) continued to be an option, as did the ZF five-speed manual offered since 1966. Other 250 SL enhancements included rear disc brakes instead of drums, a brake servo and a significantly bigger fuel tank. The slightly frivolous roadster was morphing into a serious tourer.

Around halfway through a production run lasting just a year, the 250 SL got some interior updates to reflect evolving safety regulations: a padded steeringwheel hub, fewer protuberances, yielding plastic where there might have been plated metal. And then the engine block got cylinders sufficiently bigger in the bore to require a new casting with the bores siamesed in three pairs, and the 280 SL was the result. Power was now up to 170bhp and torque to 180lb ft, and in 1970 the option of finned alloy wheels marked the first obvious external visual change since 1963.

This was a short-lived feature.

By February 1971 it was all over, the W113 giving way to the chunkier R107, whose production life ran all the way to 1989. No MercedesBenz apart from the G-Wagen was built for longer, yet the R107 has

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never quite matched the mystique and covetability of the delicately drawn, strangely timeless W113.

T H E VA L U E P R O P O S I T I O N At the SL Shop near Stratford-onAvon, UK, there must be 20 or so Pagodas in for service, undergoing major restoration or gleaming in the showroom. That’s a lot. “W113s seem to find us,” says chief shopkeeper and guiding light Sam Bailey, source of much knowledge for this guide. So if you want to buy one, what might you pay?

The SL Shop’s website offers a variety of prospects. At the time of writing, these range from a USspec 280 SL auto at £89,995 to one restored by a top German specialist at a huge £325,995. Several that have been renovated or refreshed by the SL Shop itself occupy ground between £150,000 and £300,000, but Sam says the majority of the W113s the firm sells are what he calls ‘mid-condition’ cars (most of

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ABOVE Sleek, stylish, timeless and usable – the W113 behaves almost like a modern car.

‘The W113 is very usable. Here is a classic car from the 1960s that you can rely on’

us would call them ‘excellent’) starting around £125,000.

“You’d pay in the high twohundreds for a fully restored car,” he tells us. That’s for a car which really is as-new, with every finish, every texture, every seam correct.

He reckons the market for W113s is gently on the climb after “a period of calm”, having already sold five of them this summer. The experts at Hagerty, however, have a slightly different take.

Valuations expert John Mayhead quotes data that shows only a 1.6 percent average value rise in the UK in the past five years, with ‘excellent’ cars now at £68,000 for early examples and just under £75,000 for the faster 280 SL. He says insured values have risen rather more than that, by nine percent in three years, while the number of W113 quotes the firm has made worldwide has dropped by five percent over that same period.

He suggests that existing owners

may increasingly be investing in restoration rather than selling their cars, which fits with a demographic analysis that shows 58 percent of owners were born before 1965 and just 13 percent after ’80. The market outlook seems positive for the best cars, but poor-to-middling examples may lose value as the restoration costs swamp investment potential.

The US picture is a little different.

There, ‘excellent’ values dropped from an average of $63,000 in early 2018 to $58,800 during 2019, then rose in 2020 and ’21 to the high $60,000s, before hitting $89,300 by 2021’s end. Through 2022 values stabilised at $93,800, but they have now slipped back to $89,100.

So, what can we make of all this?

Perhaps those existing owners are undervaluing their cars, and as W113s from the SL Shop and other specialists come onto the market at higher prices, a rise in values to mirror the US experience will follow.

Sam points to strong demand and

TIMELINE

VA LU E S F R O M H AG E RT Y P R I C E G U I D E Mercedes W113 SL Pagoda 230L Condition 2 (UK)

Mercedes W113 SL Pagoda 230L Condition 2 (US)

£69,500

$100,000

£68,500

$90,000

£67,500

$80,000

£66,500

$70,000

£65,500

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a limited supply, and concurs with the restoration-costs caveat.

“It’s as expensive to turn an average car into a really good one as it is to start with a rough one – and even they can be £80,000 for the right model,” he explains. “And then – with labour and component costs – it’s £150,000-plus to restore them. Take the tyres: £260 each for the right Michelins. If everything is truly correct, it soon adds up.”

You might expect the most coveted W113 to be the very rare five-speed manual 280 SL, but Sam reckons most buyers favour the automatics. That trans is found in most later cars, but manuals slightly outnumber autos among the 230 SLs – which, incidentally, are a little less valuable than the later, bigger-engined W113s even though their as-originally designed purity and fewer plastic cabin parts add a classic allure of their own.

Which brings us to authentic spec, which adds value – actual

2022

2023

2018

New 230 SL (W113 series) launched at Geneva Motor Show to replace former 300 SL and 190 SL models.

Production starts in June, automatic option from October.

1966

Rare five-speed transmission option offered from May.

1967

Uprated 250 SL replaces 230 SL at Geneva show, featuring longer stroke, seven-bearing crankshaft and larger fuel tank. Revised safety-enhanced interior from August, before enlarged cylinder bores inspire 280 SL designation from December.

1970

Alloy wheels and halogen headlights are new options.

$40,000 2019

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original components more so if in good order. Oddly, though, painting a car in a different colour from that in which it left the factory does not devalue it, provided it is a Mercedes-Benz hue that’s correct for the age and model of car. We’ve noticed in the past that the more upmarket or exclusive the classic, the less an original colour seems to matter. Which cements the W113 as a true top-level collector car.

T H E D E S I R A B I L I T Y FA C T O R Sam Bailey says the W113 is a “gender-fluid” car – which is very modern of it. “It’s always appealed equally to males and females,” he says. “It’s aspirational, especially among older buyers who remember how expensive they were new. It appeals to people with an eye for design and well engineered details.

“Another very big part of its appeal is that it’s very usable. Here is a classic car from the 1960s that you can rely on. It can take you

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down to the Mediterranean in comfort and reliability.”

All of which we’d agree with. The youngest W113 is now well over half a century old, yet it behaves almost like a modern car. It doesn’t have to make excuses, nor do you on its behalf. It just works – provided it’s a good one that’s been properly maintained over its long life or has been expertly restored.

With a 230 SL, 250 SL or 280 SL, you can live the 1960s glamour dream. Early adopters were as diverse as Juan Manuel Fangio and John Lennon, both of whom owned 230 SLs, while numerous celebs had later ones either in period or, to demonstrate their impeccable taste, in recent times.

A W113 looks good anywhere.

Is it a sports car? It can be, but a cerebral one rather than an oozer of machismo. A 230 SL needs to be revved vigorously to make it move with alacrity, and it requires more than ten seconds to reach

1971

Production ends in February as W113 replaced by heavier, squarer and faster R107 series.

0-60mph. A 280 SL five-speed does that in under nine seconds but gains nothing in top speed, which was still given as 124mph.

The key difference, though, is that the 280 feels a lot gutsier and punchier – much more the muscular sports car – when it is not being revved hard, and is a lot smoother when it is, thanks to having seven crankshaft bearings instead of a mere four. The 250 SL, also with seven bearings, naturally falls between its siblings in pace.

All make the smooth and tuneful sound you’d expect from a straightsix, and all handle with poise and security if not the last word in precision. Power assistance was an option more likely found in later cars, but with or without this the steering box is accurate if a touch springy in response. The structure feels stiff, with very little scuttle shake even when the hard-top has been left at home.

You might expect bad behaviour

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from the swing-axle rear suspension as the grip limit approaches, but it doesn’t materialise even though the correct static camber setting is slightly positive. That’s because the ‘low-pivot’ layout has the suspension arms pivoting on the bottom of the differential casing, on the car’s centre line, instead of at the point where the driveshafts emerge from the diff. Therefore the leverage from cornering forces is less, camber change is reduced and the dreaded ‘tuck-under’ does not happen. The camber change is still significant by modern standards, though, so it’s unwise to fit wide, low-profile tyres.

On which subject, the plump alloys offered as an option towards the end of 280 SL production look incongruously butch against the body’s delicate sculpting. Steel wheels with stainless trims and body-colour hubcaps are the definitive 1960s Mercedes-Benz style, as much on an SL as on anything else. Thus equipped, the W113 is a truly delicious-looking device, melding a Gullwing-inspired grille with the lighting design and brightwork flourishes you’d see on Mercedes-Benz’s other upmarket machinery of the time. These were very strong genes.

T H E N U T S A N D B O LT S They rust, of course, and have had plenty of time to do so. Tom, the SL Shop’s metalwork man, paradoxically attributes this to the fact that the W113 is so solidly built.

“It’s all those layers of panels,” he says, explaining that moisture gets between them. There’s also the matter of excessive underbody protection applied at the factory, which typically blocks drain holes in the lowest corners of what would be the rear-seat pan if there were a rear seat, and more drains at the back of the sills’ undersides.

What happens is that the panels the rear suspension’s trailing arms are attached to fill up with water, which runs into the sill structure.

There is no drain in the inner sill.

“I always put one in,” says Tom. Where else might rot be rampant? The rear lower edges of the front inner wheelarches and on

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T H E D E TA I L S 1963-71 MERCEDES-BENZ 230 SL/250 SL/280 SL ENGINE INLINE-SIX, SOHC 12V, 2308/2496/2778CC

POWER 150/150/170BHP TOP SPEED 124/124/124MPH 0-60MPH 10.5/9.7/8.7SEC

into the floors, the boot floor and its bonded join to the rear outer wings, the double-skinned rear wheelarch lip, the front inner wings and bumper crossmember… there’s plenty to check.

The front wings, which are welded on, can rust in much the same way as they do on other cars.

A seam around 15mm long, a result of the pressing process, should be visible heading rearwards from the top inner corner of the headlight.

If it’s absent, or wrong, work has already been done there.

Some factory Mercedes-Benz panels are available, but most new metalwork comes as pattern repair panels from a variety of UK, European, US and Far Eastern

‘It’s aspirational; it appeals to people with an eye for design and well engineered details’

suppliers. The best are very good indeed. The same supply scenario applies to other components, and Sam Bailey has noticed that new, genuine Mercedes-Benz parts are sometimes not as good as they used to be. Aftermarket alternatives can often be better, and actually closer to the period originals.

On the mechanical side, the big enemies are a lack of maintenance and use. The fuel-injection system needs to be set up very accurately, and might have been fiddled with over the years by non-experts, so the SL Shop will set them up from scratch to make sure all the interlinked parameters are correct, using its new rolling road for fine tuning. It also offers a rebuild service, having recently acquired specialist Bosch pump refurbisher Tower Bridge Diesels.

Technical man Dan stresses that W113s hate ‘start-stopping’ – firing up the engine, then shutting it down, as when, say, moving it in or out of a garage. This causes neat fuel to accumulate in the engine, which fouls the spark plugs and washes oil off the bores, causing rapid wear.

Start it, then drive it, is the rule.

Lack of maintenance can also bring on premature wear in the engine’s overhead-camshaft valve gear, and in the front suspension’s kingpins, trunnions and steering joints, where there are 14 grease nipples. A test drive should reveal looseness and untoward noises here (the ride should be smooth

and quiet), and also confirm that the auto trans, if fitted, is shifting promptly but smoothly with an effective kickdown. Deficiencies in this area can often be adjusted out.

SL Shop upgrades can include a higher-pressure fuel pump to improve starting, programmed electronic 123 ignition and even a six-speed manual transmission to remedy the fact that the standard gearing is quite short legged for modern-day cruising.

THE FINAL DECISION A 230 SL has the purity of concept you always find with the first of an automotive breed, and it has the merit of being the least expensive incarnation. But there’s a reason for that: it’s not as satisfying to drive as the later, more powerful cars. The final 280 SL is fastest, the most fun and also the most numerous, but it’s worth the most, too – typically up to 15 percent more than a similar-condition 230 SL, by Hagerty’s reckoning.

Manual or automatic? It’s your call. The former could be the driving enthusiast’s choice, but the latter suits the W113 well in its stylish cruiser role. All the versions have the potential to be a deeply satisfying purchase, maybe even an investment. Just make sure you look at several to get a feel for what a good one is like. And then buy that good one.

Thanks to Sam Bailey at SL Shop, www.theslshop.com.

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M A R K E T A N A LY S I S

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Unsung heroes

Words Dave Kinney

While not all cars were built to be in the spotlight, you need to know that some equally impressive but less lauded stablemates sit in the shadows just waiting for recognition

ASK VIRTUALLY ANY OLD-CAR person what single model should be a foundational piece of a great collection or museum, and they’ll likely mention the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Most will talk about the ‘gullwing’ Coupé, but a few will increasingly opt for the later Roadster. Such is the power of one of the most iconic post-war cars.

That foundational car, not too surprisingly, has a foundational production model itself – the 300 S, and the slightly later fuel-injected 300 SC. The S and SC aren’t exactly being passed by, but my contention is that we are ignoring them, and many others, because of their more famous, and popular, stablemates.

Let’s reacquaint ourselves with the 300 S. It was introduced during

the early years of West Germany’s post-war ‘economic miracle’, a well engineered flagship for a marque that had long ago become a byword for quality. It was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in October 1951 as a development of the regular 300 – now referred to as the Adenauer, after Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor of West Germany.

The 300 S had a 2996cc straightsix that breathed through triple Solex carbs and produced 150bhp, up substantially from the 300’s 115bhp. It was an incredibly strong unit engineered to handle prolonged high speeds, and it drove through a four-speed synchro manual ’box with a column-mounted shift.

Available as a Cabriolet, Coupé or Roadster, the 300 S was designed

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for a select group of upscale buyers, with Mercedes-Benz courting the crucial North American market.

An appreciative automotive press saw it as a moving exhibition for the marque’s engineering talents.

While it could hit 110mph, several testers praised its ‘road-ability’ due to its independent suspension; wishbones and anti-roll bar in the front, a swing-axle set-up at the back, with coil springs all round.

The Autocar had it right: “To the characteristics of high performance, impressive appearance and fine detail finish that distinguished the big Mercedes of pre-war days, are added new virtues of silence, flexibility and lightness of control, while the latest rear suspension, a product of long experience on GP and touring cars, confers a degree of security at high speeds on rough and slippery surfaces which would be very difficult indeed to equal.”

The 300 S was a quick, opulent challenger to Bentley and RollsRoyce, with owners including the Aga Khan and Hollywood stars such as Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn and Cary Grant. It was MercedesBenz’s flagship, and the hand-built model cost about 50 percent more than the 300 Adenauer.

Hagerty’s Price Guide shows dramatic value changes between January 2007 and April 2023. In 2007 a 300 S/SC in no. 2 condition was worth $258,000 and a 300 SL in that same condition was valued at $530,000. Put another way, you could buy two ‘generic’ 300 S or SC models for the price of one SL. In 2023, the 300 S/SC is valued at

$605,000, while the 300 SL is now $2,450,000. This means it will take four (again generic) examples of the S/SC to buy a single SL. The 300 S and SC are not alone in this lack of appreciation (in both monetary terms and perceived collectability) among those cars that are seen to be more luxurious, as opposed to sporting machinery.

In the collectable automobile world, it wasn’t always this way.

Why? First, the word ‘luxury’ is much harder to define than the word ‘sport’, as in sports cars.

Luxury is much more amorphous.

In the 1950s it might mean leathertrimmed seats, a lot of brightwork, full carpets and perhaps power steering and air-conditioning.

For sports cars, the classification is easier to define with horsepower, 0-60mph times, top speed… just name your favourite metric. Noted with interest is the fact that almost any car of the current era, including those for daily use, is more luxurious and ‘sporting’ than models from the past. In other words, the numbers change, but the metrics of the period remain – it’s just that we now value the performance numbers more than the perceived luxury.

There was a time, as recently as

‘It’s possible to find an attractive alternative, from the same marque, for much less’

THIS SPREAD 300 S typified the glamour of a brave new post-war world, and to this day offers more bang for your buck than the SL. 40 years ago, when luxury defeated sport. We valuers have libraries of vintage price guides to refer to.

Most from the 1980s are bad, some are dreadful, but one in particular stands out because it covers both the 300 S (top value, $27,000) and a Ferrari 250GTO ($15,500 – yes, less than half of the 300 S). Just in case you missed it, a 250GTO is now generally considered to be valued above $60,000,000, with the Hagerty Price Guide value in no. 2 condition currently at $64m.

We’re ignoring and will continue

to ignore great cars in favour of those that go – in some cases, only marginally – faster. While we are willing to spend millions on a Bentley R-type Continental, some fantastic Bentley (and Rolls-Royce) coachbuilts now sell for pennies.

Does the Continental go faster?

Yes. Is it 50 times more handsome?

I would absolutely argue that (well, with a few exceptions).

The real argument is this. You can spend less in many major marques and get 80 percent of the performance for 20 percent of the price. When most of us are priced out of the cars costing millions, it’s quite possible to find an attractive alternative, from the same marque and time period, for much less.

VA LU E S F R O M H AG E RT Y P R I C E G U I D E $2,500,000 1954-1964 300 SL

$2,000,000

1951-1958 W188

$1,500,000

$1,000,000

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WAT C H E S

Words Jonathon Burford

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Military precision Why Breguet’s original Type 20 is among the most important, fascinating and evocative post-war chronographs

AS BREGUET REINTRODUCES the Type XX, I thought it might be a good time to look at the original Type XX/20 from the brand – one of the most recognisable and important post-war chronographs.

After the end of World War Two, the French Ministry of Defence had used up most of its stock of military-issued chronographs that had predominantly been supplied by the Americans and British. As part of their aviator standardequipment programme, a spec was drawn up for reliable, legible and accurate instruments for use by the military. These encompassed aircraft dashboard chronographs such as the Type 11, a mono-pusher non-flyback and Type 12 Flyback chronograph and, most well known, the Type 20 wristwatch.

The ministry had specific requirements for the wristwatch, which dictated the design and materials to be used. Firstly it had to be a black-dialled chronograph with a 30-minute counter and highly legible Arabic numerals, and an approximately 38mm steel case with screw-down case back.

In addition, a mechanical selfwinding chronograph movement accurate to eight seconds per day was deemed necessary, along with a minimum power reserve of 35 hours, and it must be able to operate repeatedly at least 300 times without failure.

The most important function, though, was the incorporation of the flyback function on the chronograph. Before the advent of electronic navigation, time measurement was crucial for pilot navigation, because routes were determined by a series of directions and exact speeds.

A chronograph, allowing precise measurement of time intervals, was the perfect tool for these tasks.

However, changing direction still involved three different operations on the chronograph: stopping, resetting and restarting. The faster the operation, the more precise the flight. In addition, the pilot should be able to concentrate on the flight itself, rather than on operating his watch. This established the necessity of the flyback function,

which restarts the chronograph (without the need for the stop/ reset functions) with an accuracy within one fifth of a second.

The ministry put the watches’ spec and production up for tender, and the Type 20 was made in small batches by several brands such as Dodane, Auricoste and Vixa. But it was Breguet that became the leading producer in 1954, with an French Air Force order for 2000 units. These earlier watches did not have the Breguet logo printed on the dial, and were powered by the reliable Valjoux 222 caliber.

This case/movement/dial combo proved a flexible canvas for Breguet to make adjustments, with French Naval Aviation ordering 500 special versions with a 15-minute chronograph counter. A civilian variant had Breguet text on the dial, such as the 1960 timepiece for the French Flight Test Centre with two different specs: a two-register (500 units), and a three-register (50), both with a 15-minute sub-dial.

The military watches had to be regularly and stringently inspected for accuracy, so the date of the next scheduled examination was engraved on the back with the letters ‘FG’: Fin de Garantie (end of warranty). You can sometimes find many multiple service dates embossed on the case backs.

There are some rare versions, with three pieces being made in yellow gold, and six with cream dials, and of course there are Type 20s produced by other brands, with the Mathey-Tissot variant being one of the most attractive. My preference is still for a two-register militaryissued Breguet version, with nonengraved rotating bezel, syringe hands and, if possible, original onion crown. Something else to note: the luminous material is radium, so check with a Geiger counter to ensure the original radium hasn’t been removed and replaced.

For me, these remain some of the most fascinating and evocative vintage chronographs from one of the greatest brands.

Writer Jonathon Burford is SVP and specialist at Sotheby’s watch department. For its ongoing watches sales, see www.sothebys.com.

MOTORING ART

Helck for leather

Words Rupert Whyte

Speed, thrills and danger provided the inspiration for the works of one of the greatest-ever automotive artists

C (CLARENCE) PETER HELCK (1893-1988) must surely be one of the world’s finest automotive artists – certainly America’s finest. His work graces private, museum and university collections including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Congressional Library in Washington DC, the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He was a founder of the Famous Artists School, and a founding member of the Automotive Fine Arts Society, whose Peter Helck Award is given annually at the Pebble Beach Concours to the artist whose work represents the pinnacle of automotive fine art. He authored two books: Great Auto Races (Abrams, 1975) and The Checkered Flag (Scribner, 1961).

In 1905, young Helck was playing with his buddies in the street when a noisy Simplex stripped chassis pulled up and the driver, having given the swarming lads a warning glance to leave his motor alone, disappeared into a nearby house. The boys’ good behaviour was rewarded with a raucous ride through Central Park aboard the car – Helck sharing the

front seat (a sturdy soapbox) with a pal. He was hooked on automobiles for life. The driver was Al Poole, riding mechanic for ‘Daredevil’ Joe Tracy in the 1904-05 Vanderbilt Cup races…

Helck began his career as a commercial artist with a New York department store. He later studied under British muralist Sir Frank Brangwyn. As he gained experience working for ad agencies and magazines, he built both a name for himself and a fine portfolio of automotive illustrations and fine art.

In the late 1940s, Esquire asked Helck to contribute to its Great Moments in American Sport series. Initially the editor had him down to paint famous golfing achievements, but Helck upheld that the first US victory in classic auto racing, George Robertson and his Locomobile’s 1908 Vanderbilt Cup win, was indeed a great moment in American sport.

The finished painting (above) led to another seven artworks for the magazine, as well as commissions for similar pieces from many serious collectors of the time.

Although Helck was fascinated by automobiles, he was first and foremost an artist. He loved to

draw and paint – not just cars and trains, but people, animals, buildings and landscapes as well.

His best racing pictures always told a human story, of which the cars were only one element.

‘Speed Demons of 1904’ was a typical example. Painted in 1926 in Martini tempera (the medium), and subtitled ‘A Motor Race on the Continent in the Early Days’, it depicted monstrous MercedesBenz, De Dietrich, Mors, Hotchkiss and Richard-Brasier cars roaring through an imaginary medieval village. This 5ft x 4ft work later became the most expensive piece of automotive fine art ever sold at auction, fetching over $100,000 at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2006.

Where values of large pieces are today it is hard to say, but auctions over the past ten years or so have yielded prices of £1000-£2000 for Helck’s small pen-and-ink works and £2000£3000 for small-/mid-sized paintings. Regardless of values, every serious aficionado of motoring art should have at least one Helck in their collection.

Writer Rupert Whyte runs Historic Car Art, www.historiccarart.net, selling original works and posters.

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AUTOMOBILIA

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Collecting vintage photography

Words Dale LaFollette

At well over a century old, these photographs provide a rare, all-action glimpse into the pioneering days of motor racing

MORE YEARS AGO THAN I would care to admit, I read Ten Years of Motors and Motor Racing

by Charles Jarrott, first published in 1906. The book opened my eyes to the beginnings of road racing, and I started on a quest to learn as much as I could about the history of automobile racing in general.

Fast forward to 2022, and I found an online offer of two original pages from an ancient photo album, each having four images attached. It was a eureka moment for me when I recognised Charles Jarrott in the photos; my interest in the era was coming full circle.

The shots were taken at the start the English Eliminating Trials, held to qualify for the English team for the 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup, which was to be held in Germany.

These trials were conducted on the Isle of Man on May 10-12, 1904.

When I find such a series of related images, I always wonder whether the photographer took other shots that are not here. Are

there any missing album pages we’re not privy to, for one reason or another? These questions will no doubt remain unanswered, because the photos are now so old.

Another query I have is regarding the colour; all the images have a yellow cast, and no ‘silvering’ is apparent in the shadow areas, despite the photos’ significant age.

These facts lead to the possibility that they’re albumen prints, but I will need to get some opinions from experts in albumen processing before making that claim.

The albumen process was most popular during the latter half of the 19th century, and was slowly replaced by silver images starting around 1900. Albumen prints have a tendency to fade, so these may have been saved by being in a closed album for a significant part of their lives. I’d value the two album pages at $2000, but at the right auction they could double that.

Thanks to Automobilia Resource, www.automobiliaresource.com.

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TOP LEFT An outstanding action photo of the Earp brothers running flat-out – while even the enthusiastic lady in black, at far right, has climbed the fence to have a better look.

TOP RIGHT This wonderful image shows racer Charles Jarrott and his streamlined Wolseley ‘Beetle’.

You can see the wooden wheels reinforced with metal spokes.

ABOVE Jarrott, in the leather coat, is shown talking with SF Edge, who drove a Napier in these trials. A participant stands behind Edge in what looks like a full leather suit and helmet.

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COLLECTING

Words Nathan Chadwick

“I GET ON THE TRAIN SOME days and see men going to work with their briefcases looking very serious – but they’ve got ridiculous socks on,” muses Vintzshop Optical vintage sunglasses expert Moses Opoku-Serebuoh. “That is his character – even though he’s come out in a blank canvas of a suit, his socks are red with stars.”

The appeal is similar to that of collectable sunglasses: “When we speak to people we go on face value, not on what clothes you’re wearing – and ’glasses perform the same role as those socks.”

It’s why vintage sunglasses have seen such a rise in interest, especially in the social media age.

However, Moses says while a lot of the appeal is fashion based, the ’glasses of the 1980s and- ’90s were made from sterner stuff than today’s versions, and produced in much smaller quantities.

“A lot of it was made in small Italian factories, largely in Padova – there’d be families or teams of people building ’glasses for specific brands,” he continues, pointing to the likes of Marcolin, Luxottica, Safilo and Allison, who produced ’glasses for Gucci, Christian Dior, Burberry and others.

For Moses, however, one brand stands out in the currently hot 1980s-90s era: Jean Paul Gaultier.

“Gucci, Dior and all the others initially went to Murai in Japan, and asked if there was a way to cut corners to bring the cost down; the Japanese said no,” Moses says.

“Only Gaultier stayed with the Japanese. The others went to the Italians, which are still good, but the Japanese are on a completely

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Coming out of the shade As vintage styles and brands become ever more collectable, sunglasses are no longer seen as merely transient, functional fashion accessories

ABOVE Jean Paul Gaultier designs of the 1980s and ’90s are highly sought after recently for their superior build quality.

‘Acetates are also in demand – the big, funky ’glasses that look like spaceman goggles are really in’

different level in terms of quality.”

The superior standard of vintage sunglasses makes them functional collectables – people are buying them to wear, not to display, Moses explains. His best customers are men from 20 to 40, and Dior and Gucci are most in demand – RayBans don’t really get a look in. “I don’t sell them at all – they’re everywhere,” he says. “The preRay-Ban original Bausch & Lomb sunglasses are a different matter.”

While the general fashion is for oval frames, acetates are also in demand. “The big, funky ’glasses that look like spaceman goggles are really in,” Moses elaborates, adding that what is desirable changes from country to country.

“I have 1980s Fred ’glasses with platinum-plated, twisted-rope arms and nose – mind-blowing quality,” he says. “I tried to push them in the UK, but it didn’t go well – yet they are very popular in Europe.”

There’s also a big difference in buying habits between territories – and it’s down to the weather. A Brit

may buy only one pair of ’glasses per season, in the hope of a handful of dry days, but that’s not the case for international clients.

“In predominantly hot countries there is the constant purchase of sunglasses throughout the year,” Moses says. “You don’t wear the same clothes every day, and it’s the same with sunglasses. You might go out in blue one day, yellow the next, and the sunglasses don’t go.

Where it’s sunny most of the time, people see ’glasses as part of a whole ensemble. They might buy a pair every three months.”

He muses: “The Americans and French love rimless eyewear, where the frame isn’t attached to the arm.

The rest of the world doesn’t care so much – as long as it looks good.”

But what about future collecting trends? Moses suggests a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses by the late Virgil Abloh. “His stuff is already going up in price, but if you hold onto a pair for 20 years, they’ll be a piece of history,” he says. www.vintzshop.com

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DIVERSIONS

Compiled by Nathan Chadwick and Sophie Kochan

CHARABANC DIFFUSERS Hand-crafted in steel with a moulded-leather cap and lanyard, these diffusers will make your car’s cabin smell divine. Charabanc themes its scents around road trips; the pictured Signal Red gift set’s Monument Valley Drive fragrance combines raspberry, violet leaves, thyme, cypress oil, saffron, jasmine, amber and more. It costs £155. www.charabanc.com

RICHARD MILLE RM 72-01 LE MANS CLASSIC To celebrate the 11th Le Mans Classic, which in turn marked 100 years of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Richard Mille has produced 150 pieces of this model. It features the company’s first flyback chronograph, which has a patented double-oscillating pinion clutch mechanism.

Stylistically, it pays tribute to the race via the 16 on the hour counter, which is underlined in red as a reference to the start time of the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The self-winding movement has a 50-hour power reserve, and it costs 295,000 CHF plus VAT. www.richardmille.com

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TAYLOR OF OLD BOND STREET LUXURY MEN’S GROOMING BOX This grooming box is hand-made in the UK, and features a Victorian Mach3 razor, imitationivory comb, Pure Badger travel shaving brush, 30ml Sandalwood aftershave lotion, 30ml pre-shave gel and 50ml Styptic Pencil plus Sandalwood shave cream tube. It’s available in a choice of brown or black mock-croc leather, or smooth tan leather with a beige suede interior. It costs £429. www.tayloroldbondst.co.uk

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DIVERSIONS

ARTHUR SLEEP ANTIQUE BROWN CALF PATINA LOAFERS Crafted and hand-polished in London’s Savile Row, these loafers are patinated in dark brown museum calf. They’re coated in Arthur Sleep’s DryWired Texture Shield water and stain tech. They are available in UK sizes 5 to 14, and cost £1250. www.arthursleep.com

CHOPARD MILLE MIGLIA GTS POWER CONTROL BAMFORD EDITION ‘DESERT RACER’ Limited to 50 pieces, this Bamford Watch Department/Chopard collaboration is based on the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control timepiece, with orange, grey and black details, large numerals and a rubber strap. The case is made from bead-blasted titanium.

Costing £9380, it’s powered by the Chopard 01.08C movement. www.chopard.co.uk

SERMONETA DRIVING GLOVES

ROLEX DAYTONA COSMOGRAPH 24 HOURS Rolex’s Daytona Cosmograph marks the Le Mans 24 Hours centenary. Finished in 18ct white gold, it has a Cerachrom bezel in black ceramic, while the tachymetric scale features a red-ceramic ‘100’. The Oyster case has a transparent back and an Oyster bracelet. An exclusive calibre 4132 movement allows the chronograph function to be counted over 24 hours rather than 12. It costs £43,000. www.watches-of-switzerland.co.uk

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Family-run artisan workshop Sermoneta began in 1960s Rome, when it saw the potential of gloves as more than necessary items in the cold. Its classic driving gloves are made from Nappa leather, are available in sizes 8 to 9.5 and come in numerous colours. This pair costs £169 from Sermoneta Gloves UK in London’s Burlington Arcade. www.sermonetagloves.it

Sunset Revival 3 HOUR NIGHT RACE, LE MANS PRE-66 CARS Pre 66 GT, GTP and Touring Cars, Pre 61 Sports cars, and Pre 66 Sports Cars up to 2.0L from 1952

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BOOK REVIEWS

Reviews Nathan Chadwick

Remember when the future was something to look forward to?

This book takes us there – in our dreams, if not in 21st century reality

ONE NEED ONLY TO LOOK AT the motoring landscape of evermore ghastly identikit SUVs to muse that the future isn’t quite what it used to be. That’s the feeling you get when reading Patrick G Kelly’s follow-up to IMAGINE! – this 456-page, $150 book is packed full of ever-more eye-widening concepts from the 1940s onwards.

However, it also incorporates vivid hand-drawn advertisements and magazine covers from the period, and it’s here where you get a real feeling of hope and excitement about the future, in artwork that points to something other than the glumness that currently envelops us. It’s hard not to view Arthur Radebaugh’s 1950s vision of an expeditionary craft on the moon as something of a gleeful escape – even if the 21st century hasn’t quite panned out that way.

We love the deeply fun features such as the blueprint of The Jetsons’ Space Car, before moving onto the famed Motorama shows. In period, these offered a tantalising glimpse of showroom-ready and not-soshowroom-ready machinery, such as Chevrolet’s Corvette and 1969 Astro III respectively.

However, it is the beautiful paintings and sketches of the cars

that could have been which make this book a true delight. While well known names such as Virgil Exner, Ron Hickman, Raymond Loewy Sr and Robert Henry Gurr feature, the joy of this book is discovering new artists and designers, some working within the auto industry, some on the periphery. Indeed, several of the wildest creations are from those whose job could mean toiling away in a truck department.

Although the most outlandish styling immediately catches the eye, real depth comes from identifying where elements have ended up in finished designs. This is especially true of the section on unknown authors; there’s plenty to ruminate on just who informed what.

Beautiful presentation on highquality paper really lets the artwork shine; thankfully the publishers avoided the temptation to use matt stock. The paper brings out a ‘glisten’ to these images, particularly those from the 1950s to the ’70s.

The book ends with an engaging look at the toys made during this time. Even though we aren’t living the retro-futuristic dreams with our day-to-day cars just yet, the front-room-carpet GP has no doubt inspired generations along the way, giving us hope that the future of mobility will stir the soul.

This highly recommended and uplifting tome will have you coming back for more, and idly thinking about the possibilities of printedcar styling (à la Czinger) and some of the book’s designs. Before you get too ahead of yourself, though, we’re sadly probably not going to have nuclear-powered hover cars with fins for some time yet... www.daltonwatson.com

‘It’s hard not to view Radebaugh’s vision of an expeditionary craft on the moon as something of a gleeful escape’

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BOOK REVIEWS

Colin Chapman: The Biography Authorised biography provides fresh texture to the story of the Lotus founder

TO HIS DETRACTORS, HE WAS a talented chancer who played risky cards, with others paying for the consequences. To everyone else he was a genius, walking the tightrope between innovation and political intrigue with ruthless tenacity.

Wherever you stand on the Colin Chapman divide, Coterie Press’s expansive, two-volume, 528-page tome paints a fascinating picture of a character who earned even Enzo Ferrari’s respect.

Produced in association with Colin’s son Clive, along with the crew at Classic Team Lotus, it’s a tribute to the man as the company celebrates 75 years in business.

The book takes its sources from the autobiography of Fred Bushell,

Colin’s confidant and Lotus’s longtime finance director, and Gerard Crombac’s 1986 biography. It’s wrapped up with new contributions from Lotus guru William Taylor.

The text may not be new for ardent Hethel watchers, but this is still an essential purchase for any Lotus fan. Many of the 1500 photographs are rarely seen, some have never been seen before, and some have been sourced from the Chapman family personal archives.

It truly is a treasure trove, although interestingly there are some omissions – the focus is very much on the Formula 1 team, with the road-car side of the business only getting an occasional look in.

This perhaps reflects the man’s

passions – the road cars were the means to the F1 outfit’s ends. It was also the racing team that hurt him the most; the drawn-out battle over the dual-chassis 88 took lumps out of Chapman’s resolve. Without the ability to innovate, he could no longer see the point of F1. This part of the book is particularly sad, because it’s easy to see how the injustice of the car’s banning niggled him, right to the end.

In all, this an excellent record of the race team, the ins and the outs as the years went by. The imagery is truly excellent, and would be worth the book price alone; as it is, the story is beautifully told with an arching narrative supported by Bushell’s observations along with

newly sourced text. It’s also great to see Hazel Chapman’s life celebrated.

Without her, Lotus would not exist.

Some view Chapman as cold and calculating, but the book paints a much warmer picture, helped by seeing the maestro develop his craft from a garage to the multifaceted company it soon became.

There are other volumes that go into great detail about some of the, shall we say, less savoury aspects of Chapman’s character. This authorised biography acts as a worthwhile companion piece, and vice versa. A highly recommended read at £125, and imperative to build up a full picture of one of motor sport’s true visionaries. www.coteriepress.com

KIM: A BIOGRAPHY OF MG FOUNDER CECIL KIMBER

THE LAST LAP: THE MYSTERIOUS DEMISE OF PETE KREIS AT THE INDIANAPOLIS 500

ULTIMATE COLLECTOR: MOTORCYCLES 1894-2020

GREAT BRITISH RACING DRIVERS

The sports cars that bear the iconic letters MG were initially exciting and daring, and in this luxuriously presented £115, 536-page book from Jon Pressnell, it is apparent marque co-founder Cecil Kimber exhibited similar characteristics. The deeply researched profile charts not only Kimber’s meteoric rise within MG, and the industrial politics that forced his departure, but also his somewhat wayward private life. With extensive archive pictures both personal and private, this highly detailed deep dive is a must for those with a love for MGs. www.daltonwatson.com

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While this absorbing 304-page book reads like a pulp detective story, the tale is alarmingly real. William Walker has dedicated years to uncovering just what happened when Pete Kreis drove an apparently healthy car into the wall at turn one at the 1938 Indy 500. He and his mechanic were killed, but the mysterious crash has been debated for many years. With a gripping sense of narrative, this £24.95 book is a great read even for those with no real interest in racing.

Its conclusion hits home hard. www.octanepress.com

Motorcycles often struggle to attract the same glamour as their car cousins, despite their artistry and engineering intrigue. Charlotte and Peter Fiell’s two-volume, 940-page epic should help redress the balance. It’s up to Taschen’s usual excellent standards; the magnificent studio photography alone more than justifies the $250 tag. However, this is a proper reading experience, full of insight and delight about not just well known bikes, but one-offs and prototypes, too. Highly recommended, even for those more used to four wheels than to two. www.taschen.com

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, this 116-page book showcases the photographic work of Indira Flack, capturing the wild and wonderful world of British racing drivers.

Featuring insight from Doug Nye, and a foreword by the Duke of Richmond, these portraits provide a novel take on the men and women who are devoted to motor sport, with names from the past, present and future. Ten per cent of each copy sold, at £39.98, will be donated to Sir Jackie Stewart’s charity, Race Against Dementia. www.gbrd.photos

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A Wild Ride: The Making of Valkyrie Behind the scenes in the saga of Aston Martin’s ultimate hypercar, covered in exquisite detail

SOME OF THE BEST IDEAS ARE formed in British pubs. Most notably in the automotive world, the all-conquering Ford Sierra Cosworth was conceived over a ploughman’s lunch. Yet for anyone who has followed the twisting tale of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the result of a 2015 meeting of minds in a drinking hole near Milton Keynes, the jury could still be out.

Back in the mid-teens, flushed with Formula 1 success, Red Bull had a problem. Adrian Newey, the most talented F1 car designer of the modern age – and some would argue, of all time – had been offered a double-your-salary deal and a free hand to build the ultimate road car by Ferrari. To

keep him energised in Red Bull colours, Christian Horner called on near-neighbour Aston Martin with an idea – the consummate hypercar courtesy of Newey.

There are 40 miles between Red Bull and Aston Martin’s respective HQs, but as Bart Lenaerts’ compelling narrative reveals, it might well have been a galaxy far, far away – there’s certainly enough drama here for a space opera.

Newey’s pursuit of the ultimate might work within the relatively permissive realm of F1, but building a road car is different. The latter is a land of homologation rules, styling needs and, most critically, budgets. Red Bull struggled with all of these elements, and as the

costs mounted, rancour between the two firms soon built up.

It’s a fascinating tale, backed up with Lies de Mol’s behindthe-scenes images. Thanks to unprecedented access to all aspects of the development process, reading the first-person testimony of some of the arguments, anguishes and problems as the alternate worlds of F1 and road cars collide can be difficult to do without wincing.

In the end, Red Bull would withdraw from the project as the Stroll empire began – but the drama hasn’t stopped, with issues with some suppliers and dealers, and rumoured troubles with the first batch of cars to be delivered.

The book doesn’t touch on these,

leaving the story just as the model was finally signed off for production; the truth is, the Valkyrie tale is probably a long way from being over, and further bumps in the road lie ahead.

That shouldn’t dissuade anyone from buying this €90, 326-page book, though. It’s a captivating insight into not only the politics of such a high-profile project, but also the passion, dedication and ingenuity of the engineers and designers who made it happen.

That the Aston Martin Valkyrie exists at all is astounding, and is something to dine out on – although hopefully on finer fare than the usual pub grub. www.waft.be

THROUGH MY EYES: THE COMING OF PROFESSIONAL SPORTS CAR RACING IN CALIFORNIA

LANCIA RALLY GROUP B

24 HOURS: 100 YEARS OF LE MANS

Lancia suffered on the Group B rollercoaster more than most; for all its success, its name will forever be stained by the deaths of some drivers of the snarling hyper-horsepower machines. Sergio Remondino’s €50, 240-page book profiles this heady era, with extensive profiles of the 037, Delta S4 and stillborn ECV, alongside event-by-event reports. Illustrated beautifully from McKlein’s archives, this volume has plenty to enjoy, most notably the contributions from engineer Sergio Limone and an interview with ECV2 designer Carlo Gaino. Essential reading for rally fans. www.giorgionadaeditore.it

Although Le Mans is legendary for enthusiasts, it perhaps lacks the mainstream allure it deserves – witness barely any mention on this year’s rolling news about one of the greatest races ever. Richard Williams’ £20, 496-page book is the perfect starting point for those wanting to understand more. But while pithily written and with a keen narrative, it maybe isn’t a book for hardcore experts. However, it is a great one for getting those less acquainted with the event to understand the romance, risk and otherworldly nature of the great endurance classic. www.simonandschuster.co.uk

ALLARD MOTOR COMPANY: THE RECORDS AND BEYOND

This magnificent tome captures the essence of a critical era in motor sport, when the post-war brightness of the Californian racing scene forged legends that are still revered today.

David Friedman was at its heart, capturing the great names and cars of the day. This 364-page, $295 book features 650-plus rarely seen images of the teams, drivers and owners that competed from 1958 to 1965. However, an unexpected delight is the focus on the crowds, with wonderfully intimate photos of period racegoers. www.throughmyeyes-book.com

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This two-volume book by Gavin Allard – grandson of Sydney, the boss of the firm as it emerged from World War Two – exactingly details the marque’s records, archives, imagery and more. This 836-page, £145 package begins by gloriously reproducing company order sheets and correspondence. Volume two contains fascinating pictures of the cars being used vigorously in their heyday, showroom shots and more archives. There’s a chassis-number guide, too. The hyper-detailed notes make this a must buy for aficionados. www.daltonwatson.com

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The Lawyer Clive Robertson

www.healys.com +44 (0)7768 997439

The recent Jaguar C-type copyright case set some interesting precedents – but nothing is ever simple

BRUNO MUNARI, BORN IN Milan in 1907, was a great pioneer of the applied arts. Over a period of 15 years he designed some 93 machines, among which were the ‘useless machines’, both ironic and iconic, intended to highlight their simple aesthetic function removed from any suggestion of actual functionality.

Having been turned on, the machine turns itself off; in short, it is useless.

As part of the recent Concours on Savile Row, the proposition of ‘Cars As Art’ formed the basis of a seminar at the adjacent Royal Academy of Arts. Humphrey Ocean, professor of perspective, and one-time bassist for Kilburn and the High Roads, stated: “Art is useless; cars are not.” Without wishing to offend him, I’d suggest a better opening might have been “art is useful”. Witness Munari’s useless machines, which were surely intended to create a response – be it positive or negative – from the observer.

Despite appearing as a panel expert at the seminar, my opinion on this, understandably, wasn’t sought.

My involvement in the proceedings was prompted when the issue of the interface between law and art arose.

Assuming cars to be art, there followed the question of value and its protection in terms of copyright.

Just prior to the previous edition of this publication, judgement had been given in the Magnusson vs Jaguar case. In the intervening months I have spoken to a number of individuals engaged in the historic car sector, who have applauded the judgement as a victory for the Magnussons, with Jaguar simply being mentioned as the ‘loser’ in the proceedings. In order to better understand this decision at appeal, consideration needs to be given to the findings of the lower Swedish court where the marque commenced matters.

In 2018, Jaguar began serving ‘cease and desist’ letters stating that recipients whom it had deemed to

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BELOW The Magnussons won appeal in Sweden; would a UK court have reached a different conclusion?

have acted in breach of its copyright in the design of the C-type should refrain from the named activities – in default of which, Jaguar would take further action. It would not be overly imaginative to suggest that Jaguar would seek out a suitably soft target for the purpose of obtaining a headline-grabbing judgement. The Magnussons were so identified, and the British marque subsequently alleged that the defendants had made a copy of a C-type.

The decision of December 11, 2020 was given in favour of Jaguar. The Magnussons were fined one million SEK, circa £75,000, prohibited from making and displaying C-type copies, liable to pay reasonable compensation

‘The Magnussons were exonerated and they were awarded £370k in respect of their legal costs’

for making such copies, and ordered to destroy, at their own expense, their existing copy and to pay for Jaguar’s £300k legal costs plus interest until payment. If that were not burden enough, the Magnussons were still responsible for their own costs.

Undaunted, they launched an appeal. Judgement was handed down on March 22 this year. A game of two halves would be a just description of events. The appeal court held that the Swedish Copyright Act of 1961 permitted the production of one or two copies of published works for private use.

The Magnussons were exonerated, the lower court’s findings were overturned and they were awarded £370k in respect of their legal costs.

The second half went strongly in favour of Jaguar. The court considered four questions: What was the term of protection in copyright? Did Malcolm Sayer design the C-type?

Did he pass the copyright to Jaguar?

And was that copyright effective in Sweden after the UK had departed from the EU? Answers one and two respectively were that copyright endured for 70 years beyond the

death of Malcolm Sayer, in 1970, and that he was entirely responsible for the design of the C-type.

The third answer was a little more complicated. If Sayer was employed

by Jaguar in 1951, copyright sat with the marque. However, if he was an independent contractor, he retained the rights. Because no direct evidence was available to the court, it concluded that as 53 C-types were built, Sayer must have transferred the copyright at that time and for the future going forward. This seems to be a liberal interpretation favouring Jaguar.

Lastly, the court decided that as protection existed in the UK, the Swedish Copyright Act would apply despite Brexit. The second half sees Jaguar winning convincingly on the law. That said, given the reasoning underpinning the nature of Sayer’s employment and the application of Swedish law, might a UK court have reached a different conclusion?

Post scriptum: I wonder what Humphrey might make of the useless machine.

Clive is a solicitor and consultant with London law firm Healys LLP. Contact clive.robertson@healys.com.

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The Curator Robert Dean Towing, lugging, racing or just having a laugh – why you can never have too much fun driving a van

I WAS HAPPILY DRIVING ALONG in my old Ford Transit the other day, towing my client’s car back to his house after some remedial postrestoration snagging, when I realised just how much time I have spent in vans over the years. I started to think about those I have owned and the fun I’ve had in them.

My first was a Mk3 Transit with a smiley face and a Pinto engine. I used it both for work (I had a restoration business back then) and for towing my race car, a Modsport MG Midget (which I’ve now owned for 40 years).

My business partner and I had such a laugh in that van. One of the things we used to do was coast downhill, in gear with the ignition off, then after a few hundred yards turn the ignition back on and the engine would do a big backfire. Of course we pushed this to the limit, and one day the backfire was so huge the silencer opened up along the seam and deposited its innards on the ground.

Needless to say it wasn’t a silencer any more, and we lay on the ground crying with laughter. As I remember, we couldn’t afford a new one, so we simply added a fresh bit of pipe between the front and rear of the silencer and welded it back up… The Transit made a great noise after that.

Towing the MG to Snetterton, the Ford’s bottom-end bearings failed and I just about managed to clatter my way into the circuit and set up for scrutineering and practice. After that, I wandered around the garages asking whether anyone had a Pinto bottom end. Mercifully one garage owner had an old engine under his bench, which he was not going to use again.

I had no money (of course!), so we did a deal in which I promised to send him the cash when I’d made it.

He let me pull the motor out of my Transit in his workshop, and we swapped all the necessary bits to get the van running again, which took all my spare time in between racing. On

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BELOW Ford’s Supervan was the ultimate loadlugger – but Robert has driven a few barn-stormers, too.

the way home I discovered the old Ford had been transformed into a flying machine – it pulled 6000rpm and went considerably faster than it had before. When I rang the lovely man I had bought the engine from, to arrange sending him the money, he told me it had been a race motor and that I should look after it.

My Transit was the fastest on the road, and when it finally rusted beyond repair (the passenger floor was so corroded it stuck to the rubber mat, and when I pulled up the mat I could see the ground beneath), I gave the engine to the scrap man. He put it in his recovery truck, and I would regularly see him at speed on the motorway with

‘My buddy used to say “you’ll never be without friends if you can weld or if you own a van” – and he was correct’

a car on the crane behind him.

When I bought my 1934 MG NA Magnette race car, it came with an LDV ex-Post Office van, which was huge and the noisiest vehicle I’ve ever owned. You had to shout at your passenger to make yourself heard. I was going to replace the 2.5-litre four-cylinder Ford engine with a Rover V8, which would have been a great conversion, but in the end a man at a petrol station offered me enough money that I couldn’t refuse… and so the LDV was sold.

I had a T280 Transit, which was lovely to drive, and I’d take my son to school in it. We would rock up at his prep school with Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix or The Who blasting out, much to his head mistress’s amusement. However, it was frontwheel drive and its towing capacity was limited, so I sold it to my friend Stuart, who still has it and loves it.

My current, rear-wheel-drive Transit T350 has done more miles than the Starship Enterprise. It is limited to 70mph but will tow any amount of weight on a trailer. I even towed a two-tonne-plus 1950s Lister generator down to Cornwall. I think

that was about its limit, though.

The thing about owning a van is that once you’ve had one you can never go back to not having one.

They become part of the family, and get used for everything. My buddy used to say “you’ll never be without friends if you can weld or if you own a van” – and he was correct.

You’ll have so many adventures in a van, and help so many people out, they become an intrinsic part of your life. Everything from rescuing a mate when he rings you at 10pm on a Sunday because he’s binned his motorcycle, to moving a wardrobe for your mum, to racing a car or taking a bike to the Isle of Man’s Manx GP. To paraphrase a 1950s Strand cigarette advert: “You’re never alone with a van.” Go and buy one – it’s the modern-day lifestyle choice. I’ve taken it a step further now because, at 58, I got my HGV licence and so now I can drive rigid and articulated trucks – which are essentially just really big vans. “Ha ha! Poop! Poop!” said Toad.

Keep being part of the machinery.

Former Ecclestone Collection manager Robert now runs Curated Vehicle Management. See www.c-v-m.co.uk.

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The Racer Sam Hancock On-track etiquette can prove a contentious issue, particularly when it comes to right of passage

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can sometimes be inadvertently tied by well meaning directives from the FIA sporting code – which, although probably designed to adjudicate heavy-weight exchanges between the ‘Maxes and Lewises’ of our sport, apply even to a humble Historic meeting if run under FIA jurisdiction.

According to the diagrams I was shown, the FIA’s guidance awards right of passage to the attacking driver, even if their front wheels have yet to align with the rears of the car ahead. While I appreciate the intent is to encourage drivers to give ‘racing room’, I find this guidance somewhat simplistic considering the ease with which one can simply brake a little later (or indeed barely at all, à la Senna on Prost at Suzuka in 1990) and cry “foul” if swiped by the car ahead.

In our case, the fact that the point of impact between the two cars was a meeting of our right rear corner with the prototype’s front left meant that, as per guidance, racing room should have been provided by my co-driver – and that fault therefore lay equally with both competitors.

I found this bizarre. I have always felt that, particularly in the amateur

environment of Historic racing, you should assume no entitlement to an apex until your front axle is level with that of the other car, by which point you are at least visible to your rival rather than lurking in their blind spot.

It seems, however, that the onus of the FIA’s guidance is placed on the defending car to accommodate what might be an overly exuberant attacker, instead of giving the latter pause for thought before ‘sending it’. Suddenly Verstappen’s trademark lunges make total sense – the rules require his rivals to make room.

Fortunately, in Historics, an oftrepeated decree from organisers is that drivers of faster cars are entirely responsible for passing slower ones safely. Despite having on occasion found myself on the wrong side of this diktat, I have of course come to accept it as immutable – and consumed my fair share of humble pie in the process.

The fact is, if you have more pace/ experience/power/performance, you have options that a backmarker may not. Of course, you might not appreciate your progress being interrupted, or your foot being forced to lift briefly from the

accelerator, but you do unquestionably have an ability to pass safely if you are sufficiently patient.

In the aforementioned conflict, the driver of the pursuing prototype was emphatically not patient. By refusing to compromise his momentum, he steered with hope toward a narrowing gap in a move that required assistance from the other driver to complete. In many ways, I don’t blame him. These decisions are taken on instinct in the heat of the moment, and I certainly have been guilty of similar impetuosity over the years.

But we live and learn – and as I saw my disheartened co-driver’s desire to return with his beautiful cars to future events waver in the aftermath of the accident, I was reminded just how little Historic motor racing can afford to tolerate vehicle contact.

With stewards unable to attribute blame or retribution, I was pleased therefore to see the organisers themselves take decisive action, sending a clear message about driving standards expected of us all on track.

Sam is a professional racing driver, coach and dealer in significant competition cars. See www.samhancock.com.

SAM HANCOCK

SMACK! HAVING BEEN MINDING his own business, accelerating up through the gears and following his normal racing line, the sudden arrival of an approaching prototype on my GT-driving co-pilot is announced by an audible wallop.

Those of us gathered around the laptop after the incident gasp as the onboard video relays a disorientating blur of track, bodywork and barrier, culminating in a final thwack. Post carnage, the film keeps rolling as our bewildered colleague shakes his head.

With at least half the circuit width available on the left of our car, why, he wonders, did our assailant choose to pass on the right – especially as the normal racing line closes that partially open door just a few yards later?

For those of you who know SpaFrancorchamps, the point of contact was through the easy right kink after the Stavelot exit, on the run towards Blanchimont. I knew why the driver didn’t chose the left lane; with the momentum he carried out of Stavelot, compared with that of our slower car, he’d have had to momentarily lift and wait for the gap on the left to open up as the natural line guided our car to the right. Easier to keep the right foot pinned, jink right and hope to scythe through before the envelope closes.

An easily made yet ill-fated decision.

Not captured by the GoPro was the subsequent exchange between the two drivers once they had retreated behind the safety of the Armco: “Why didn’t you give me more space? You just turned in on me!” said the driver of the prototype.

“You’re kidding! I was minding my own business, when you came out of nowhere and turned me around into the wall. You’ve destroyed my car!”

Thus ensued a stalemate of conflicting opinion that, despite much video evidence, even the race stewards had trouble disseminating in the investigation that followed.

It turns out that officials’ hands

BELOW In Historics, the faster car is always responsible for overtaking a slower one safely.

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ABOVE Chasing Classic Cars star Wayne shares another joke with Alain at a Pebble Beach dinner party.

My Hero Wayne Carini on Alain de Cadenet I HAVE GOT A LONG LIST OF heroes, including my dad, but one in particular sticks with me – and that is Alain de Cadenet.

I was a big fan of his, watching his Le Mans races, all the things he went through, and I met him several times in New York city at the Louis Vuitton Classic. Once he had one of his old prototype race cars there, and he zipped up and down the street in front of the NBC Studios, which he wasn’t really supposed to do, making a lot of noise of course, and then he pulled up on the stage sideways to get an award. He was just a character.

I’d watch his TV shows, Legends of Motorsports particularly, and I met him at Monterey. I walked up, and I said: “Alain, my name’s Wayne Carini.

We’ve met a couple of times before, and I want to compliment you. You do an unbelievable job as a presenter on your show, it’s just so interesting.

Who writes your material?”

He got this look. He scrunched his eyes and said: “Wayne, there’s no

material written for me. I just speak from my heart.”

I said: “Oh, I’m really sorry.” And he said: “No, no, it’s OK – but I just want to clear the air here. No one writes for me. I just think of these things. I may look something up for basic background knowledge, but I say what I say and it just comes out.”

And so, you know, a bit later I get a break and I’m on TV. In the first year we would do voice-overs, and Hannah, my producer, would send me questions that she was going to ask me the following day. I was to give her the answers for things in the show, like: “Do you remember when you first saw that Stutz Bearcat?

What went through your mind?”

I would write the answers down, and then she’d come to do the voiceover. And in the middle of one, she said: “Stop, stop. You memorised all this stuff you’re telling me, didn’t you.” And I said: “Yeah!”

She told me to just throw that piece of paper away and tell it from

my heart. She didn’t want me to write anything down or memorise anything anymore. I said: “You know what? Alain de Cadenet does that – so damn it, from now on no script.

I’m just gonna talk from my heart.”

A year or two later, I’m walking down Ocean Avenue in Carmel. And there was Alain de Cadenet coming right at me, putting his arms out. I thought, what the hell’s going on here? And he gave me a hug and said: “I’ve got to tell you, your show is so phenomenal. You’ve got it nailed. Did you go to acting school?”

So I said to him: “I talked to somebody in the pits at Monterey,

‘By then he was almost in tears.

From that point on we became very, very good friends’

and he told me to just talk from the heart. You know who that was?” And he started looking at me and smiling.

He said: “It was me, wasn’t it?”

By then he was almost in tears. He was talking to me, his arm around me, and from that point on we became very, very good friends.

Alain was so successful in everything that he did – how many times did he race at Le Mans?

Fifteen! A lot of people build cars, but not many race them themselves; he was a really good driver.

But he had such a goofy side, too. I have gone out to these fouro’clock-in-the-morning parties with him a couple of times. He would just gather an audience and, even in the early hours of the morning, people would be hanging onto every word he was saying.

The last time I saw him was at The Amelia, and then he passed away last summer. I won’t forget how those words from that one guy changed so much for me.

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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