Aquariva by Gucci“Over the decades, the iconic Riva boat has become without doubt one of the most evocative images of Italian style, sophistication and elegance.” So says Gucci’s Creative Director, Frida Giannini, announcing the new, made-to-order ‘Aquariva by Gucci’ which was unveiled at the International Cannes Boat Show on 7 September... “Over the decades, the iconic Riva boat has become without doubt one of the most evocative images of Italian style, sophistication and elegance.” So says Gucci’s Creative Director, Frida Giannini, announcing the new, made-to-order ‘Aquariva by Gucci’ which was unveiled at the International Cannes Boat Show on 7 September.
This is a model customised by Giannini herself, as part of the celebrations of Gucci’s 90th anniversary in 2011. “The Riva boat is a symbol of a glamorous lifestyle that sparks fond memories of La Dolce Vita – a golden age when both Gucci and Riva attracted an enthusiastic following among the international jet set,” she continues.
The exclusive new boat has come about thanks to a collaboration between Gucci, Riva and Officina Italiana Design, the company which created the original Aquariva in 2000.
The DNA of the original project, we’re assured, has been respected. The boat’s glassfibre hull and detailing, painted in Gucci’s own hue of glossy white, contrasts with Riva’s signature use of mahogany, boasting a classic varnish finish – 20 coats in all, 10 by brushing, 10 by spraying – for the cockpit and walking decks.
The waterproof fabric of the seats and sundeck features Guccissima print, while the bed upholstery is in Gucci white cotton. Gucci’s green-red-green web detailing edges the floating line, complementing the green crystal windshield, while the boat is also customised with a series of Riva by Gucci accessories.
Powered by two 380-horsepower Yanmar engines, the Aquariva by Gucci promises a maximum speed of 41 knots and a 150-mile range at cruising speed. Following its unveiling in Cannes, there will be a special presentation on 22 September, the opening day of Milan Fashion Week. A show boat will then travel the world, visiting prestigious boat shows throughout 2011.
The Aquariva by Gucci is available exclusively on a made-to-order basis through Riva’s dealer network.
Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: RivaClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!The Swedish Le Mans winner, former Ferrari Grand Prix driver and still very active international racer is well known for his on-track heroics. Not everyone will be aware of the ‘Stefan Johansson Växjö’ watch company, though... The Swedish Le Mans winner, former Ferrari Grand Prix driver and still very active international racer is well known for his on-track heroics. Not everyone will be aware of the ‘Stefan Johansson Växjö’ watch company, though...
I met up with Johansson at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, held last month at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
A Classic Driver reader, the ever-friendly Swede was winning in Zak Brown’s ‘Blaupunkt’ 1986 Porsche 962, and sporting on his wrist a timepiece from his own watch company – in this case a Mark VIII E 033 (Black).
The 47mm matt-black (PVD-coated) chronograph is just one in a range of limited-edition watches produced by the company. The dial celebrates the FIA motor racing flags in much the same way that yachting watches use racing pennants. It’s powered by a self-winding 13 1/4 ETA Valjoux Caliber 7750 movement, which features a date display, plus hour/minute/second stopwatch function.
The rear of the case is clear, revealing the movement, and features an etched ‘chassis number’ (this watch is limited to just 250 examples). Owners can also specify their name, or an image, on the reverse, as an option. For straps, the client has a choice of snakeskin with orange, red or blue hand-stitching, or the custom-made black rubber sported by Stefan here.
The veteran of over 100 Grands Prix has many business interests outside the driving seat. He’s also a talented artist. So the watches cleverly marry his sporting background with a flair for design – and will be joined by other branded accessories including fragrances, eyewear and luggage.
The Stefan Johansson Växjö Mark VIII E 033, in black, costs $US9,500 (excluding customs & shipping). For further information, see www.sjwatch.net.
Text - Steve Wakefield Photos - Classic Driver / Stefan Johansson Växjö ClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription! Classic Life on the ocean waveSubstitute ‘Royal Yacht Squadron’ for ‘British Racing Drivers' Club’ and you’ll have an idea of the level on which these classic yachts, real ‘wooden boats’, operate...Substitute ‘Royal Yacht Squadron’ for ‘British Racing Drivers' Club’ and you’ll have an idea of the level on which these classic yachts, real ‘wooden boats’, operate.The famous club in Cowes, just a short trip from Southampton off the British South Coast, hosted the prize-giving for this year’s British Classic Yacht Club (BCYC) regatta. This year, for the first time, luxury watchmaker Panerai had included the British event in its Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge series.
As a headline sponsor since 2005, Panerai, with its long tradition of nautical timekeeping, has put its name to some of the world's leading classic yacht regattas including the Régates Royales, Cannes, the Opera House Cup, Nantucket and the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. The class winners of each heat receive a Panerai Regatta 1/8th Second Titanio 47mm Chronograph (below).
At Cowes, the overall (and class winner) was the 1957 fractional Bermudan sloop, Cetewayo. The boat’s owner, British Classic Yacht Club Commodore David Murrin, was therefore presented with two watches, one of which was immediately donated to his favourite charity, the Special Boat Service Association.
I was invited to join the action on the Solent this July. The weather was fair, and members of the press were able to enjoy a ringside seat aboard an original Dunkirk ‘little ship’, the Bounty motor-cruiser.
The rules - which can be mastered quite quickly (by an Oxbridge Don or a chess Grandmaster) - need not trouble the Classic Driver reader. What matters most is the ethereal sight of these stately yachts creaming through the grey waters of the Solent, spinnakers billowing and sterns as elegant as any Maserati 250F's standing proud of a bubbling wake.
More than 500 yachts compete in the Panerai Classic Yacht Regattas worldwide, split into classes for ‘Vintage’ (built before 1950), ‘Classic’ (constructed between 1950 and 1975) and ‘Spirit of Tradition’, for authentic replicas of old designs launched after 1975. ‘Large Boats’ – those with hulls more than 30 metres long – make up a separate class if enough are present.
The Cowes event saw some of the big yachts, such as the wonderful 125ft Mariquita (above), as well as smaller, Northern European entries including three ‘Windfall’ class boats taken as prizes of war by the British from the Luftwaffe after WW2.
All yachts are given a ‘rating’ which results in a ‘Handicap Per Mile’ (HPM), thus equalising differing performances.
But, before you reach for your slide-rule, trust me: you do not need to master the intricacies of the rules to appreciate Classic Yacht Racing. If you fancy a break from things automotive, do try to catch one of the remaining rounds of the Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge:
CORINTHIAN CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA
August 6th – 8th, 2010
Marblehead, MA (USA)
OPERA HOUSE CUP
August 12th – 15th, 2010
Nantucket, MA (USA)
COPA DEL REY
August 25th – 29th, 2010
Mahon, Minorca (Spain)
MUSEUM OF YACHTING CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA
September 3rd – 5th, 2010
Newport, RI (USA)
VELE D'EPOCA DI IMPERIA
September 8th – 12th, 2010
Imperia (Italy)
RÉGATES ROYALES
September 20th – 25th, 2010
Cannes (France)
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Classic Driver / PaneraiClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!In a sale celebrating “all that is cool and iconic from the period 1940–1990”, one of the highlights is the Challen upright piano from Abbey Road studios, as played by The Beatles and Pink Floyd...In a sale celebrating “all that is cool and iconic from the period 1940–1990”, one of the highlights is the Challen upright piano from Abbey Road studios, as played by The Beatles and Pink Floyd.Estimated at £100,000 – 150,000, the piano was originally located in Studio Three at Abbey Road, until it was retired from service in the 1980s. It was used on Tomorrow Never Knows and Paperback Writer, and is believed to have featured on other recordings at the world-famous studios, including Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon albums.
The new-for-2010 auction will be held on the last day of Goodwood’s innovative ‘Vintage at Goodwood’ event – the first of what will be an annual music and fashion festival celebrating popular life from the 40s to the early 90s.
Brian Jones's jacket,
1963, charcoal grey wool with matching lining. Sold with a receipt made out to Brian (found in one of the pockets) and a copy of The Sunday Times News Review, August 2003, which features a photograph, by Terry O'Neill, of Brian wearing the jacket
Estimate: £12,000 - 15,000
An Electric Solidbody Stratocaster by Fender 1965. Overall length 970mm (38 3/16in), blonde finish with Tortoiseshell grain plastic pick-guard in black Fender case
(2)
Estimate: £18,000 - 25,000
A poster for the Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Fillmore Auditorium, June 1967,
designed by Hapshash & The Coloured Coat, printed by the Osiris Agency, OA103, 49.5 x 75cm (19½ x 29½in)
Estimate: £200 - 300
Also in the sale (which does include some motoring entries) will be a variety of toys, watches, jewellery, pop music ephemera, clothing and photographs.
We particularly like ‘Brian Jones's jacket, 1963’ for £12,000 - 15,000, as well many of the b/w photographs from the 60s, several of which have iconic figures such as Jimi Hendrix or the Stones as their subject. And where else could you buy a Dalek?
Rolex. A stainless steel automatic wristwatch Air King Precision, Reference 5500, Case Number 4036321, Circa 1974. Fitted maker's folded Oyster bracelet with folding Oyster clasp numbered 357, case, dial and movement signed
34mm.
Estimate: £400 - 500
Gered Mankowitz: A photographic portrait of Jimi Hendrix, London, 1967, a limited-edition b/w print of arguably Gered's most iconic image of the guitarist, signed by the photographer and inscribed A/P, mounted and framed, 38 x 41cm (15 x 16¼in) within mount
Estimate: £800 - 1000
It’s a fascinating catalogue that can be ordered from Bonhams or viewed online at www.bonhams.com.
For further information on Vintage at Goodwood, which will be held from 13 – 15 August 2010, see www.vintageatgoodwood.com.
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: BonhamsClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!Your off-road home-from-home…Rugged types who still like their luxuries can now acquire an ‘off-road camper trailer’ from Jeep. Despite the deceptively small size when folded up and hitched to the back of an off-road vehicle, the trailers accommodate (at a push) four adults in relative comfort...Rugged types who still like their luxuries can now acquire an ‘off-road camper trailer’ from Jeep. Despite the deceptively small size when folded up and hitched to the back of an off-road vehicle, the trailers accommodate (at a push) four adults in relative comfort. There’s a queen-size bed, a sofa (which folds out into another bed), a stowable table, a built-in aluminium cabinet, 110V power supply and a canvas enclosure to keep you safe from the elements.
Fully tested for off-road use, there are two versions of the trailer. For what Jeep calls ‘casual campers’, the Trail Edition has a lightweight all-aluminum construction, with 32-inch BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tyres and 12 inches of ground clearance. For your more hard-core off-roading types, there’s the Extreme Trail Edition – this time with a heavier frame, 35-inch tyres and a full 15 inches of ground clearance. Not to mention a full-underbody skid plate.
The styling is suitably rugged, too. But at least the trailers come in a flamboyant range of colours… from Flame Red to Mango Tango Pearl.
The all-new Jeep Trail Edition camper costs $US9,995 and the Extreme Trail Edition $US11,995.
Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: JeepClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!Bonhams at the Goodwood Revival, 17 September 2010 - PreviewBidders at the Bonhams Revival sale like to be presented with cars eminently suited to the South Downs circuit. In addition to the catalogue-topping 1953 Jaguar C-type, there’s a superb ex-works. 'Jim Clark' Lotus Cortina...
Ex-Jim Clark, Trevor Taylor, Dan Gurney, Sir John Whitmore, 1963 Ford Lotus Cortina - £110,000 - 130,000
Bidders at the Bonhams Revival sale like to be presented with cars eminently suited to the South Downs circuit. In addition to the catalogue-topping 1953 Jaguar C-type, there’s a superb ex-works Lotus Cortina, ‘166 RUR’, a car driven by many ‘greats’ including Jim Clark and Dan Gurney.
To Gurney and Clark’s names you can add that of ‘Gentleman’ Jack Sears, Trevor Taylor and Sir John Whitmore. As an enduring image, a three-wheeling Lotus Cortina of the 1960s is right up there with SWBs on the Tour de France and GT40s at Le Mans. This particular car has been prepared at quite considerable (all documented in the catalogue description) expense and looks very much ‘ready to run’ in next year’s Revival meeting. Estimate: £110,000 - 130,000.
The Jaguar C-type’s estimate (£800,000 - 1,000,000) reflects the fact that this particular car has many – but not all – original components, and is lacking a period-specification C-type straight-six. The reason for this was a serious accident on the 1953 Mille Miglia which led to the car remaining unrestored in France until the early 1980s – by which time many parts had been stripped and sold on.
That said, the car has an FIA Fiche d’Identité and as described in the catalogue is “within its class, a potentially highly-competitive Historic sports-racing car of uncontested lineage and with now well-understood, well-established and substantiated continuous history.”
Other enticing historic racing entries include the 1954 Le Mans 24 Hours , 1954 Kieft 1500 (£130,000 - 180,000), the ex-works (Seigle-Morris, Mäkinen, Hopkirk, Morley twins) 1962 Austin-Healey 3000 MkII Rally Car ‘67 ARX’ for £70,000 - 100,000, and the 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Competition Coupé – a tow-car-busting barrel of fun for £30,000 - 35,000.
Away from the track, the sale includes many entries of interest to the Classic Driver reader. The Aston Martin marque is represented by seven cars, including a very early (1959) DB4 for £140,000 - 180,000, a ‘barn find’ 1952 DB2 Saloon (£60,000 - 70,000) and a ‘wedge’, the 1979 Lagonda Series 2, reasonably priced at £15,000 - 20,000.
1952 Aston Martin DB2 Saloon - £60,000 - 70,000
1972 Ferrari 365GTB/4 'Daytona' - £165,000 - 185,000
On the Jaguar front, we like the Old English White/red leather 1953 Jaguar XK120 Roadster, originally LHD and green/green so estimated accordingly at £45,000 - 55,000. There’s also a Primrose/black leather 1965 E-type S1 4.2-Litre Roadster for £50,000 - 60,000.
Moving back in time, the catalogue lists a racy 1931 Lagonda 2-litre Supercharged Low Chassis (£100,000 - 120,000), a 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GT 4th/5th Series Tourer (£100,000 - 130,000) and an ex-Le Mans finisher (6th overall in 1934), the 1934 Riley Works Team Ulster Imp. The latter is estimated at £300,000 - 400,000: a cracking pre-War British sports car.
1937 Ford V8 Model 78 Deluxe 'Woodie' Station Wagon - £50,000 - 70,000
1972 BMW 3.0 CSL Coupé - £27,000 - 32,000
1962 Austin-Healey 3000 MkII Rally Car - £70,000 - 100,000
1956 Porsche 356A Speedster - £90,000 - 110,000
As far as Italian entries go, the Blu Sera/blue leather 1972 Ferrari 365GTB/4 'Daytona' would look nice in my garage for £165,000 - 185,000, and who can resist an Alfa Romeo of the immediate post-War period? The 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Cabriolet is estimated at £170,000 - 200,000 and surely represents a chance to buy one of these hugely elegant cars before prices rise inexorably.
Finally, we like to pick a couple of entries that catch the ‘spirit of the Revival’. This year, I propose the 1937 Ford V8 Model 78 Deluxe 'Woodie' Station Wagon (£50,000 - 70,000 – just the machine for taking the boys to a pub post-ops in 1940) or the Peter Sellers-era, 1965 Ferrari 330GT 2+2 for £40,000 - 45,000 – just don’t let Inspector ‘Nosey’ Parker catch you in it when recce-ing a job.
Prior to the motor cars, Bonhams will sell over 200 items of automobilia and children's cars including a 2/3 scale recreation of a 1955 'long-nose' D-type Jaguar estimated at £10,000 - 12,000.
The 2010 Bonhams Revival auction will take place at Goodwood Circuit on Friday, 17 September. Automobilia will start at 14:30 with motor cars commencing at 17:00.
To see the complete lotlist please click HERE.
Text - Steve Wakefield Photos - BonhamsClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!Bonhams Europe has assembled a catalogue of 40 cars for its forthcoming Reims sale, which includes this 1996 ‘Sportsman Estate Car’, estimated at 400,000 - 500,000 euros...
1996 Aston Martin Sportsman Estate Car - 400,000 - 500,000 euros
Bonhams Europe has assembled a catalogue of 40 cars for its forthcoming Reims sale. The Aston Martin marque features large, with seven examples entered, including the 1996 ‘Sportsman Estate Car’ estimated at 400,000 - 500,000 euros.
The sale is being held at the annual ‘Week-End de l'Excellence Automobile Reims’ event, based at the still extant ‘Circuit de Gueux en Champagne’ location, with its colourful pit buildings and characteristically flat, public road straights. The auction itself will be held within the pit complex site.
The Aston shooting brake was one of two factory-built cars constructed on standard coupé chassis from September 1996 to December 1997. As a ‘V8’ rather than a ‘Virage’, with its circular rear lights, the whole ensemble is a much more balanced creation. This, and the Newport Pagnell (rather than an independent coachbuilder) connection, helps justify the robust estimate.
In addition to the estate, there’s also a LHD 1965 DB5 Vantage Coupé (300,000 - 400,000 euros) and a 1957 DB2/4 MKII Drophead Coupé for 140,000 - 180,000 euros. Enthusiasts for more modern Astons will like the 2003 Vanquish, a metallic green/saddle leather car reasonably estimated at 50,000 - 70,000 euros.
Elsewhere in the catalogue, there’s a silver-blue with blue leather 1967 Lamborghini 400GT (150,000 - 180,000 euros), a tasteful (special-order gunmetal grey paint with tan hide) 2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta (125,000 - 175,000 euros) and a Classic Driver office favourite, the 1972 Citroën SM. The latter is a 5-speed manual car, finished in very pale metallic green with restored black leather and reasonably estimated at 20,000 - 30,000 euros.
Finally, despite the location, purely sporting cars are a rarity. However, two stand out: the historically important, ex-1977 London-Sydney Rally, 1977 Fiat Abarth 131 Diesel (60,000 - 80,000 euros) and the c.1971 Ford Capri RS2600.
If your 250 GT SWB, fresh from its Ferrari Classiche restoration, is just a touch too pristine for the Tour Auto or Tour de España, why not bid on the Capri, a Cologne competitions-department-built car, estimated at 75,000 - 95,000 euros?
c.1971 Ford Capri RS2600 - 75,000 - 95,000 euros
1957 Aston Martin DB2/4 MKII Drophead Coupé - 140,000 - 180,000 euros
To see a full lotlist, please CLICK HERE.
For further information on the ‘Week-End de l'Excellence Automobile Reims’ event, see www.weea-organisation.com.
Text - Steve Wakefield Photos - Bonhams ClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!A ‘lost’ 1958 Aston Martin DB 2/4 MKIII drophead coupé, originally owned by David Brown, has emerged from beneath the tarpaulin which concealed it for the last 30 years...A ‘lost’ 1958 Aston Martin DB 2/4 MKIII drophead coupé, originally owned by David Brown, has emerged from beneath the tarpaulin which concealed it for the last 30 years. It will now be auctioned by Barons at the upcoming British Heritage sale at Sandown Park on 7 September.
This drophead coupé, one of just 84 built, was first registered to David Brown himself, before passing into his wife’s ownership – and then being sold on to a Yorkshire mill owner who had the car regularly serviced by Aston Martin. It was then acquired by a London-based architect, who sold it to the current vendor in 1974. The car now offers the chance of a “fascinating rolling restoration project” for the right sort of buyer – one who is willing to meet the estimate of £80,000-£100,000.
Says Laurence Sayers-Gillan, MD of Barons, “It is amazingly sound, and complete with its 2922cc engine, original buff logbook and workshop manuals and a comprehensive history file. ‘Lost’ cars of such importance come along very rarely and, with the direct association with such a pivotal figure in Aston Martin’s history, it should be a hugely rewarding project.”
Also among the entries are a 1934 Talbot 75 Sports Saloon with coachwork by Darracq, the car displayed on the Talbot stand at that year’s motor show and in one ownership from 1936 till 2009 (estimate: £34,000-£40,000); a 1935 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Limousine (£43,000-£48,000); and a fully restored and upgraded 1958 XK150 (£75,000-£95,000). There’s also ‘KUU 33D’, the 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina used as the model for the Corgi Classics model of the 1980s and 90s (£35,000-£45,000).
For details on these, and all other entries, see www.barons-auctions.com, email info@barons-auctions.com or call +44(0)8454 30 60 60.
Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: BaronsClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!Grossing a cool $67 million, at a sell-through rate of 95 per cent, RM Auctions once again mounted the top step of the (hypothetical) Pebble Beach sales-week podium...
Auctioneer Max Girardo and Alain de Cadenet sell another car 'the RM way'
Grossing a cool $67 million, at a sell-through rate of 95 per cent, RM Auctions once again mounted the top step of the (hypothetical) Pebble Beach sales-week podium.
Unbelievably, the two top-selling cars went for an identical sum: $4,620,000. You would have thought once Lot 351, the 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta, had sold for that amount, the successful bidder on the 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Speciale Teardrop Coupé would have chipped in another 50 bucks for form’s sake, to get the top slot, surely?
On a serious note, both of these cars presented superbly and deservedly sold well, the Ferrari under-estimate, the Talbot-Lago on the upper end of its guide price. What about the yellow, ‘Pontoon Fender’ 1958 Ferrari TR 250, I hear you say? A non-seller, I’m afraid, despite being bid to well over $10m. To save you the trouble of looking it up, RM sold the similar, black 1957 TR for 9,020,000 euros at its 2009 Maranello sale – that’s around $11.5m at today’s exchange rate so maybe the vendor was wise to hold out for another day.
1938 Talbot Lago T150-C Lago Teardrop Coupé by Figoni & Falaschi - Sold for $4,620,000
Several other cars broke the all-important million-dollar mark. Among these, the pale-blue, ‘Diana Dors’ 1949 Delahaye Type 175 S Roadster went for $3,300,000, the 1955 Jaguar D-type for $2,090,000, and the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder for $2,612,500.
Ferraris, as ever, sold well with a quite extraordinary $1,622,500 achieved by the 1958 250GT Series I Cabriolet, exceeding, even, the 1954 500 Mondial Berlinetta‘s $1,567,500. More up-to-date, the 2003 Enzo sold for $830,500 and its closely related, track-only cousin, the 2007 FXX Evoluzione, $1,925,000.
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS (Factory Remanufactured Special) - Sold for $440,000
Away from Maranello, and moving back a few years, RM broke the world record price for a Tucker at auction by selling the 1948 Tucker 48 Sedan for $1,127,500. Other older cars of note included the 1939 BMW 328 Roadster ($539,000), the 1931 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan ($693,000) and the 1917 Pierce-Arrow Model 66 A-4 Seven-Passenger Touring, a $319,000 ‘Brass Car’. The 1931 Bugatti Type 51 did not sell; a rarity over the three days at the Portola Plaza Hotel & Spa.
The opening night was an all-Ford (Lincoln and Mercury, too) affair, with a selection of concept cars from the great Dearborn company selling without reserve, generating $1 million for charity, split between the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and The Children’s Center based in Michigan.
1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III - Sold for $1,760,000
Just before that day of the sale, the Editorial eye was attracted by the 1963½ Ford Galaxie Holman & Moody NASCAR Race Car which eventually went for $126,500 – this would have been perfect for Sunday’s NASCAR-only grid at Laguna Seca.
Also on the home-grown front, various Shelbys found new owners, including the 1965 GT350 Fastback for $247,500, the 1967 427 Cobra ($715,000) and a terrific 1964 USRRC Cobra Roadster achieving $1,595,000.
1949 Delahaye Type 175 S Roadster - Sold for $3,300,000
Elsewhere in the results, the 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Series 5 Vantage GT (a genuine twin-plug-head-engined car) sold well for $330,000, while $159,500 wasn’t bad going for the 1959 Jaguar XK150 S 3.4 Roadster. Another British car favoured in the Classic Driver office was the 1953 Nash-Healey Le Mans Coupé, representing good value to its new owner at a modest $77,500.
Finally, the small collection of ‘tinies’ which kicked off Saturday night’s sale was highlighted by the $88,000 paid for the 1963 Goggomobil ‘Krispy Kreme’ TL-400 Transporter Van. Yum yum.
And, before we go, it was another success for RM on Sunday, when a car restored by RM Auto Restoration won the company's fourth Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 10 years. The winning car was the 1933 Delage D8S De Villars Roadster owned by The Patterson Collection in Louisville, Kentucky.
1938 Delahaye 135MS Sports Cabriolet - Sold for $852,500
Rob Myers, Founder and Chairman of RM Auctions, commented after the sale: “We are thoroughly pleased with the results from the weekend’s sale. They build upon RM’s seven previous successful sales this year, including the record-breaking inaugural Monaco event, and are a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the entire RM team.
“The high calibre of consignments combined with accurate estimates provided by our expert team of car specialists led to the very strong 95 per cent sell-through and record number of over 1000 bidder registrations from 29 countries around the world, including Monaco, Brazil, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.”
To see the full results of the RM Auctions ‘Sports & Classics of Monterey’ 12-14 August 2010 sale, please CLICK HERE.
RM Auctions
One Classic Car Drive
Blenheim
Ontario N0P 1A0
Canada
Text: Steve Wakefield Photos: Classic Driver / RM Auctions ClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!The average price per car sold - $609,000 – will give you an idea of the impressive performance by David Gooding’s company at this year’s Monterey week sales...
1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione sold for $7,260,000
The average price per car sold - $609,000 – will give you an idea of the impressive performance by David Gooding’s company at this year’s Monterey week sales. Top seller, and one of the three highest-selling cars (all by Gooding) at the 2010 Pebble Beach auctions was the simply gorgeous, silver 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione, achieving $7,260,000.
Next up came the 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza at $6,710,000, closely followed by your author’s favourite car of the weekend, the Ferrari Classiche restored and certified 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta SEFAC ‘Hot Rod’, selling at the lower end of the estimate, for $6,105,000. The company’s top ten selling cars all comfortably broke the $1.5m mark.
The white 1950 Ferrari 166 Inter Barchetta ($753,500) looked a nice ‘events’ car in the well-appointed Gooding marquee, while another Ferrari, the ‘restoration project’ 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Coupé, stunned experts with its hammer-plus-premium price of $187,000. Factor in a $200k restoration and you’d be nigh-on $400k down on an elegant, but relatively ‘mainstream’ Ferrari.
1950 Ferrari 166 Inter Barchetta - Sold for $753,500
1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta SEFAC 'Hot Rod' - Sold for $6,105,000
1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster - Sold for $632,500
1968 Alfa Romeo GT Junior - Sold for $71,500
We’ve mentioned the great Maranello marque frequently in our opening paragraphs with good reason – it is the benchmark at Monterey and always dominates the headlines. Moving away from Italy, however, and another high-achiever was the 1928 Mercedes-Benz S 26-180 Boattail Speedster, a powerfully sporting two-seater selling for $3,740,000.
The Shelby name is well revered and, of the three American cars in the catalogue, two sold (the 1965 GT350 for $181,500 and the 1967 GT500 Fastback for $118,250), while the 1967 Shelby 427 failed to reach its reserve.
David Gooding sells Lot 27, the 1957 Ferrari 250 GT 'Low-Roof' Boano Berlinetta for $605,000
Of the other cars in the catalogue, a 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America sold mid-estimate for $506,000, neither of the Ferrari 275 GTBs found new homes, the 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT went for a market-reasonable $1,155,000 and the stylish 1954 Fiat 8V for $682,000, well over its $425,000 – 550,000 estimate.
And how about this? A world record (at auction, we believe) was achieved by the 1937 Jaguar SS100 3.5 Litre, selling for $1,045,000. Wow.
The final lot, auctioned late on Sunday night, was the silver 1995 McLaren F1, eventually moving on for $3,575,000. It was the last car sold in another week of Pebble Beach sales and contributed towards Gooding’s 2010 event grossing $64.59 million.
1928 Mercedes-Benz S 26-180 Boattail Speedster - Sold for $3,740,000
Speaking at the close of the sale, David Gooding, President and founder of Gooding & Company, said: “We went into this year’s Pebble Beach auctions with high expectations because of the sheer number of extraordinary cars we had consigned.
“In addition to a packed auction tent brimming with new guests and enthusiasts from around the world, our highest-ever Pebble Beach weekend results at $64.59 million speak for themselves and I couldn’t be happier.”
Please CLICK HERE to see the full results for the Gooding & Company at Pebble Beach 14 - 15 August 2010 sale.
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Classic DriverClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!New Bentley Continental GT – the Wraps Come Off Due to appear at the Paris Motor Show on 2-17 October, the wraps have come off Bentley’s new Continental GT four-seater coupé – a car which aims to build on the success of its 2003 predecessor... Due to appear at the Paris Motor Show on 2-17 October, the wraps have come off Bentley’s new Continental GT four-seater coupé – a car which aims to build on the success of its 2003 predecessor.
The current 6-litre, twin-turbocharged W12 engine now has a raised power output of 567bhp, plus 700Nm (516lb ft) of torque, mated to a new Quickshift transmission allowing double downshifts. Thanks to advanced FlexFuel technology, the engine can run on either standard unleaded petrol or sustainable bioethanol (up to E85), or any mix of the two.
The big news, however, is that late 2011 will see the introduction of an all-new, high-output V8 engine, promising a 40 per cent reduction in emissions compared with the W12, along with a class-leading CO2 emissions-to-power ratio.
Both the W12 and V8 engines will be coupled to an all-wheel drive system with a 40:60 rear-torque bias (compared with the 50:50 bias of the original Continental GT), minimising understeer in hard cornering and increasing the driver’s pleasure.
In styling terms, as we said when we saw the brief, online ‘teaser’ video a few short weeks ago, the new car strongly resembles the outgoing model, rather than being a complete redesign. However, the track is wider, while advanced techniques such as aluminium ‘Super Forming’ (in which a single aluminium sheet is heated to almost 500 degrees C before shaping with air pressure, and hence requiring no seams or welding) are used to give the body a more sharply sculpted appearance, with crisp, highly defined feature lines. It is also more aerodynamic, with the coefficient of drag reduced to 0.33Cd.
Meanwhile, the classic Bentley matrix radiator grille is more upright, and the traditional four-lamp headlight design has jewel-like detailing with LED daylight-running lamps.
Inside, a new touchscreen infotainment system features state-of-the-art navigation, Google Maps and entertainment, plus there’s Balanced Mode Radiator speaker technology and Dirac Dimensions™ digital sound processing to give superb audio quality. Bentley assures us that new levels of cabin design will give even greater comfort and hand-crafted luxury with, for example, seats that provide extra support and rear leg-room, and a stylish, sweeping dashboard and instrument panel finished in premium, soft-touch leather hides.
Says Dr Ulrich Eichhorn, Member of the Board, Engineering, “We’ve distilled nearly 90 years of engineering excellence into the new Continental GT coupé. It represents everything Bentley stands for: breathtaking performance, beautiful design and unparalleled quality, comfort and luxury.”
Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: BentleyClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!After its magnificent victory at August’s Oldtimer Grand Prix, Team Classic Driver is preparing the Ford Fairlane for its next race...After its magnificent victory at August’s Oldtimer Grand Prix, Team Classic Driver is preparing the Ford Fairlane for its next race: the 1000km Classic at the Nürburgring Oldtimer Festival, 10-12 September. This time, Team Classic Driver’s regular pilots, ‘Fred’ and ‘Barney’, will be sharing the drive with German racing legend Roland Asch. The ADAC 1000km Classic will be a serious challenge for Team Classic Driver’s 500HP Ford Fairlane – a 1964 car which will be up against far more modern machinery in this famous race, now resurrected for classic machinery. Adding to the excitement is the fact that the race is held on the world’s most challenging circuit – the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife, combined with the modern Grand Prix track, to give a total lap length of 25.378km. And, of course, a total race length of 1000km. But Team Classic Driver has an ace up its sleeve in the form of its third driver, Roland Asch, famous for his DTM drives and for winning multiple Porsche Cup championships.Classic Driver wishes its team the best of success on 10-12 September. For further details on the 2010 Oldtimer Festival see www.oldtimer-festival.de.Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photo: Nanette SchärfClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!The SLS AMG is already a rare and beautiful interpretation of a great classic. But, should you feel the need for even more individuality, Brabus is ready and waiting...The SLS AMG is already a rare and beautiful interpretation of a great classic. But, should you feel the need for even more individuality, Brabus is ready and waiting. Among the enhancements are aerodynamic components in carbonfibre, ultra-lightweight forged wheels, an electronically adjustable smooth-ride suspension – and, for your acoustic pleasure, a titanium exhaust system with bypass gate.Brabus is still working on the final tuning of that magnificent 6.3-litre V8 engine, but there’s still plenty to talk about. Such as that remarkable, lightweight exhaust, with its four, slanted tips. The entire system weighs just 12kg (40 per cent less than the production exhaust), while adding an extra 10 horsepower to the engine’s output. Another of the exhaust’s special features is the pneumatic bypass gate, controlled from the cockpit. In normal, or ‘coming home’ mode, it’s quieter than the production exhaust, which will appeal to the neighbours when you’re creeping home late at night. But open the bypass and the full eight-cylinder sound is, not surprisingly, louder and sportier than with the stock system.Right through the car, the emphasis is on low weight and sublime handling – plus, of course, highly dramatic styling. The Brabus-designed front spoiler reduces lift on the front axle, while lending the SLS an even more striking face; the new air-outlets for the front wings feature blue-illuminated ‘BRABUS’ lettering and, at the rear, cutouts for the four exhaust tips add further cosmetic appeal. Wheels that are 20 inches in diameter at the front – and 21 inches at the rear – add the finishing touch. Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: BrabusClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!Includes videoWith a debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, McLaren Automotive launched its exciting supercar in North America...With a debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, McLaren Automotive launched its exciting supercar in North America.
The official ‘reveal’ was at David Gooding’s Friday night auction party, a venue used in the past by Bugatti and Pininfarina for super-luxury car launches.
On Sunday, McLaren showed three cars (a Supernova Silver 12C, a Titanium Silver 12C and the XP13 rolling chassis) to over 1000 guests in both its 18th fairway marquee and in front of the Lodge.
The company’s Managing Director Antony Sheriff and Design Director Frank Stephenson were on hand to personally present the MP4-12C to potential customers in this vital market, as well as the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and American talk show host and collector, Jay Leno. The video shows some of the action from the Pebble Beach weekend.
After Monterey, the McLaren road show moved south to West Hollywood, where McLaren Beverly Hills, located on Wilshire Boulevard, hosted a cocktail party for 300 guests, followed by private viewings of the vehicle throughout the day on Friday and Saturday.
In addition to McLaren Beverly Hills, other dealership so far announced in the USA include:
* McLaren Chicago: Lake Forest Sportscars
* McLaren Dallas: Park Place
* McLaren Greenwich (McLaren’s representative in the New York Tri-State area): Miller Motorcars
* McLaren San Francisco: Price Family Dealerships
* McLaren Tampa Bay: Dew Luxury Motor Cars
* The Collection McLaren (representing the Miami market)
No price for the 592bhp car has yet been released, although a figure of “between $225,000 and $250,000” has been quoted by the Woking company. First deliveries in the USA are scheduled for summer 2011.
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos/Video: McLarenClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!Ahead of its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show, Mercedes has released the first pictures of its brand-new four-door coupé, the CLS... Ahead of its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show, Mercedes has released the first pictures of its brand-new four-door coupé, the CLS.
The outgoing model – despite the straitened times in which it was marketed – sold to 170,000 buyers worldwide, and created a new class in the lower-luxury segment for capacious coupés with the convenience of rear doors. The new model carries the Stuttgart company’s latest styling DNA and is, to this writer’s eyes, a far more attractive car.
Mercedes describes the radiator grille as “reminiscent of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG”, as it is a more prominent feature this time round. The grille, the pronounced rear haunches and a more balanced roof treatment result in an appealing, muscular coupé.
As with the latest E-Class saloon and coupé, the new CLS has LED lighting fore and aft. For the rest of the details you’ll have to wait until the Paris ‘reveal’; however, a glance through the specification of the regular E-Class will give you an idea of likely powertrains and performance. An AMG CLS will, no doubt, already be on the books.
The Paris Motor Show runs from 2–17 October at the Porte de Versailles, Paris.
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Mercedes-BenzClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!Chelsea AutoLegends 2010 – ReviewWhat a great day out. For a first event, the all-Sunday extravaganza by the bank of the Thames was an outstanding success... What a great day out. For a first event, the all-Sunday extravaganza by the bank of the Thames was an outstanding success.
Over 5000 visitors enjoyed (mainly) good weather and a genuinely impressive line-up of cars. The main theme was ‘Le Mans’, so the lynchpin of the event was an avenue of cars which had entered the famous 24 Hours race.
Why hadn’t anyone thought of this before? The Royal Hospital, Chelsea’s grounds proved the perfect location for a Sunday stroll through some superb machinery. I counted at least three Ferrari 250 GT SWBs – and these weren’t even in the main display, the ‘Pit Straight’.
In ‘the pits’ you could see a diverse range of racing cars from the history of Le Mans which included several grass-green Talbots, a variety of Porsches including a Rothmans-liveried 962, many Ferrari GTs and prototypes, and more than one Gulf-liveried veteran of the Vingt-Quatre Heures.
You could also admire the Ecurie Ecosse transporter, complete with Tojeiro-Buick coupé and an ex-Scuderia Ferrari transporter. In the ‘Esses’, ‘Porsche Curves’, ‘Tertre Rouge’ and ‘Indianapolis’, the organisers had laid out a display, by marque, of some pretty interesting privately owned modern and classic cars. In addition, London main agent H.R. Owen was showing examples of Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini and Alfa Romeo supercars.
They were joined by Classic Driver dealers Fiskens, Aston Sales Kensington, Desmond J. Smail, JD Classics, Graeme Hunt, Frank Dale and Hexagon Classics.
Celebrity car enthusiasts Jay Kay and James Martin (above) could be seen behind the wheel of the latter’s 1953 Jaguar XK120 FHC, while JD’s Derek Hood was very pleased with whole event:
“I’ve sold two cars already!” said the Maldon-based Jaguar specialist, fresh from his successes on the track, concours lawn and saleroom at Pebble Beach.
In fact, come one o'clock, I’d bumped into just about everybody who’s anybody on the London car scene.
Auction house Bonhams had the 1952 Jaguar C-type it will sell at its forthcoming Goodwood Revival sale on display. The Bonhams team was also in charge of charity auctions, which contributed more than £11,000 to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea Long Ward modernisation programme.
As promised, several personalities were on hand for autographs and to exchange reminiscences with stage host Simon Taylor. Sir Stirling Moss (a regular competitor at Le Mans – often the pace-setter but never a victor) was joined by winners Derek Bell and Richard Attwood, and veteran privateer David Piper.
For an oh-so-modest admission price of £15.00 (for adults - accompanied under-16s were admitted free) you got an awful lot for your money, so it’s well worth putting Sunday, 4 September 2011 in your diary, as this is the date slated for next year’s event.
For further information, see www.chelseaautolegends.com.
Postscript: It didn’t cost me £15.00. No, it ended up considerably more than that, as I bought a framed photographic print (250 GTs in the Pyrenees on the 1960 Tour de France, if you must know) from the excellent Jarrotts, one of many quality trade stands at this year’s Chelsea AutoLegends. Separating your Editor from his hard-earned: truly, the sign of a good event.
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Classic Driver - all strictly copyrightClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!17-19 SeptemberWith just two weeks to go till the Goodwood Revival, talk turns to trilby hats and silk stockings, as period outfits are once again de-mothballed and made ready for their annual outing... With just two weeks to go till the Goodwood Revival, talk turns to trilby hats and silk stockings, as period outfits are once again de-mothballed and made ready for their annual outing. Meanwhile, anyone who has not yet bought their tickets needs to get a move on. Following last year’s record-breaking 134,000 turnout, spectator numbers are being more tightly controlled and tickets are likely to sell out well before the event. For first-time visitors who are unable to make a three-day event of it, there’s the challenge of deciding which day to opt for: so here are some highlights from each day’s action…Friday 17 September is the official practice day so, while there’s the chance to see all the competing cars and motorcycles on track, there are no actual races.
But there are air displays, and the full circuit-wide ‘theatre’ that is the Goodwood Revival, with bands, actors and parades in support of this year’s tributes to multiple World Champion John Surtees and the marque BRM. There’s also the Bonhams auction of fine cars and automobilia.
On Saturday, as well as the displays and track parades, there will be seven races. First up is the Goodwood Trophy, for ‘sit-up-and-beg’ single-seaters from 1930-50, followed by the Chichester Cup, this year for 1958-62 drum-braked rear-engined Formula Juniors. The two-wheeled Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy is followed by the day’s ‘celebrity’ race – the St Mary’s Trophy for saloon cars of the 1950s. Always a favourite with spectators, this is the one that sees everything from buzzing Austin A35s to thundering Jaguar Mk VIIs. As usual, it’s a two-parter, with celebrity drivers taking the wheel on Saturday, followed by the owner-drivers on Sunday. On Saturday, expect to see the likes of Rauno Aaltonen, Andy Rouse, Derek Bell, Jackie Oliver and Brian Redman in good-natured but extremely determined competition.
Saturday afternoon will see the fastest race of the weekend, with the 1963-66 sports-racing prototypes of the Whitsun Trophy (think Ford GT40 and Lola T70), after which is the Madgwick Cup, a two-driver race for sports-racing cars under 2.5 litres of a type that raced between 1955 and 1960 – typically Lotus 11 and 15, T39 Bobtail and T49 Monaco, and a good helping of more exotic models such as Maserati 200S. The afternoon finishes with the Gordon Trophy for 2.5-litre Grand Prix cars from 1954-1960, and the 75-minute Freddie March Memorial Trophy ‘for cars in the spirit of the Goodwood Nine-Hour races, 1952-1955’. Expect to see Jaguar C-type, Aston Martin DB3 and DB3S, Austin-Healey 100S, Ferrari 750, Allard and HWM.
Sunday’s highlight is the jewel in the Revival’s crown: the magnificent, one-hour, two-driver Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration race – a breathtaking £100 million grid of rare and valuable closed-cockpit GT cars from 1960 to 1964. From Jaguar E-type lightweight, through Ferrari 250 GTO, GT SWB and 330 LMB, to Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato, the provenance and fame of the cars is matched only by the ‘celebrity’ half of the two-driver pairings: Jochen Mass, Emanuele Pirro, Martin Brundle, Tom Kristensen, Vern Schuppan, Richard Attwood and Henri Pescarolo, to name but a few.
The TT takes place on the Sunday afternoon, following a morning’s racing with the 1960-66 production-based sports and GT cars of the Fordwater Trophy (Austin-Healey Sprites with special Le Mans or ‘Sebring’ bodywork, plus special-bodied cars from the likes of Abarth and Alfa Romeo), and then the 1950-60 front-engined GP cars of the Richmond Trophy, along with the second of the two-part motorcycle and saloon car races.
The weekend closes with the 1961-65 1.5-litre Formula One and Tasman cars of the Glover Trophy; and, finally, the Sussex Trophy for front-engined sportscars from 1955 to 1960. This year, the Sussex Trophy will enjoy the first-ever UK race appearance of the recently restored Jaguar E2A prototype – the legendary car which bridged the gap between the D-type and E-type – and the lucky driver will be regular Classic Driver contributor, Tony Dron; so we can expect to hear more from him afterwards.
Whichever day tickles your fancy (or maybe you’ll treat yourself to a three-day historic motorsport bonanza), do be sure to get your tickets asap, by calling +44 (0)1243 755055, emailing the ticket office on ticket.office@goodwood.com, or booking online at www.goodwood.com.
Text - Charis Whitcombe Photos - Classic DriverClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!With just a few days to go, London’s newest event has announced the final line-up for what’s looking to be the perfect end to the summer motoring ‘season’ in the Capital...With just a few days to go, London’s newest event has announced the final line-up for what’s looking to be the perfect end to the summer motoring ‘season’ in the Capital.
At 10:00, on Sunday 5 September, the gates of the South Grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea will open to visitors. For a ticket price of £15.00 (for adults - accompanied under-16s admitted free), the organisers promise a day of nostalgia, good food and the opportunity to meet legendary drivers, including Le Mans winners Richard Attwood and Derek Bell, works Jaguar driver Norman Dewis, motorcycle ace Phil Read and one of the most famous Ferrari privateers (and occasional works driver) David Piper.
London-based motor-racing legend, Sir Stirling Moss OBE, will officially open the event.
The main theme of the 2010 Chelsea AutoLegends will be the Le Mans 24 Hours. In addition to famous drivers, some of the cars which have competed at La Sarthe will be on display. These will include a Gulf-liveried Porsche 917 and a Ferrari 512S – both of which also neatly form part of the Steve McQueen ‘Le Mans’ film sub-theme. Extracts from the iconic movie will be played during the day.
Other cars scheduled to appear include another 917, a brace of ex-Le Mans D-type Jaguars, a Gulf-liveried Aston Martin Racing DBR9 and two McLaren F1 LMs with honourable histories at the 1995 Vingt-Quatre Heures: the Harrods third-place car and the Gulf fourth-place finisher.
New supercars will be on display, too, together with a variety of collectors’ cars spanning 80 years of the automobile.
One of the purposes of the event is to raise money for the Royal Hospital Chelsea and its resident ‘Men in Red’ Chelsea Pensioners. Auctioneers Bonhams will conduct on-stage and silent auctions of generously donated lots. These include celebrity golf days from the Jodie Kidd Foundation, autographed memorabilia, a skiing holiday, and supercar track days from Porsche and Lamborghini.
The ticket price also includes a 40-page official event programme, plus a ‘Chelsea AutoLegends goodie bag’.
For further information, see www.chelseaautolegends.com.
Text - Steve Wakefield Photos - Chelsea AutoLegends ClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription! All the Saturday action from ‘the track’And I really mean action! On Saturday, from eight o’clock in the morning to late afternoon, Laguna Seca, just a 30-minute drive from Monterey, was the place to be... And I really mean action! On Saturday, from eight o’clock in the morning to late afternoon, the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, just a 30-minute drive from Monterey, was the place to be.
Same venue but a new name for the event: RIP the ‘Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races’ and long live the ‘Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion’. The name change reflects the Sports Car Racing Club of the Monterey Peninsula (‘SCRAMP’) taking over its running from Steve Earle’s General Racing company. Whether it was better or worse for the change I am certainly not qualified to say, having only attended the Laguna Seca races once before, in 2008.
I can state, though, that much of the on-track activity was very serious stuff. So much so, unfortunately, that a big accident involving three cars halted the third race. Veteran driver John Morton ended up in hospital for precautionary checks after the Scarab he was driving performed end-over-end flips near Turn Two.
On the restart, this race was won at a canter by the British driver Alex Buncombe, at the wheel of the 1959 Lister-Jaguar Costin prepared and entered by JD Classics. If Morton, Larry Bowman and John Miller had survived the first-lap fracas, it would have been a hell of a scrap.
Practice and racing was all held in one day. Which was great for the spectators, because the short practice periods in the slickly organised event meant the drivers really had to step on it, and whenever you were trackside, there was always something happening.
I don’t intend to give you a blow-by-blow account of each of the nine races. What amazes a European visitor (and I really want to get this across) is the depth of cars that we just don’t see this side of the pond. And, even better, they’re cars which were raced Stateside in period. Such as the horde of Porsche RS 60s and RSKs, the USRRC Cobras and, in addition to various Old Yellers, mad one-offs like Frank Zucchi’s 1960 Piranha Sports Racer with its flame-outs under braking.
For stars-and-stripes, home-grown American racing, however, nothing beats the Trans-Am cars. Following a toe-to-toe battle in the previous weekend’s Pre-Reunion races, the blue #2 1969 Ford Mustang of Bruce Canepa, the orange #13 1970 Chevrolet Camaro of Tomy Drissi and Ken Epsman’s lime green #77 1970 Dodge Challenger were at it again big time this Saturday. It was eight laps of real ‘door handle’ racing, with the crowds never sure who was going to be leading into, through, or out of the corners.
It was Canepa, though, in the ex-Dan Gurney 'Mustang Clubs Racing Team' Boss 302 that took the chequer.
Terrific stuff; an equal to anything at the Goodwood Revival. And the excitement wasn’t just confined to the big-capacity cars, as earlier on a variety of BMWs, Porsches and Alfa GTAs in the under-two-litre class fought it out over another 10 laps of the twisting, rising and dipping track.
As the shadows grew longer, it was time for the 1964-1969 FIA sports cars. The organisers were playing slightly loose with the rules here, as several cars were from 1970-71, but who really cares? And this turned out to be another stormer with Canepa, this time installed in a Gulf-liveried Porsche 917K, trading places with Peter Kitchak’s red Lola T70 Mk IIIB, the Porsche just keeping ahead after eight hard-fought laps.
The all-Bugatti event was, perhaps, more familiar to a Brit, with many European-based cars in attendance. Still, 30 Bugattis in one race is an impressive sight.
The last race of the day turned out to be a benefit for ex-Ferrari Grand Prix driver Stefan Johansson driving Zak Brown’s ‘Blaupunkt’ 1986 Porsche 962. Having been kept reasonably honest in practice by the green/white Group 44 Jaguar XJR of Rick Knoop, the Swede really floored it in the race and was uncatchable, driving in what the commentator quaintly described as “the European style – really using all the track”. Yessiree, that’s how we like to do it over here.
All in all, it was a superb day out and it would have been terribly tempting to high-tail it from the Concours at the Lodge come lunchtime to enjoy Sunday afternoon’s racing, which in 2010 featured an all-NASCAR grid. But then, there’s always next year, oh yes indeed.
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Classic Driver - all strictly copyright
ClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription! Includes photo-galleryYou know the sort of daytime party we all like to go to – blue skies, good food and company, and plenty of talk about cars and historic motor racing: in a nutshell, that’s ‘The Quail’... You know the sort of daytime party we all like to go to – blue skies, good food and company, and plenty of talk about cars and historic motor racing: in a nutshell, that’s ‘The Quail’.
Now in its eighth year at Sir Michael Kadoorie’s Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club, the Motorsports Gathering is such a hot-ticket event that it sells out within hours.
If you’ve ‘done’ the Pebble Tour d’Elegance on the Thursday, spent some time in Carmel or at the auctions that night, and plan on visiting Laguna Seca on Saturday (Sunday being sacrosanct: it’s the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach, no question), Friday of Monterey week means a drive down the Carmel Valley to Quail Lodge.
The format is a simple one – but, as is so often the case, it’s just as easy to get it wrong as it is to achieve something really memorable. Doors open at 10:00, with proceedings gently winding down to a close at 16:00. Throughout the day, a combination of on-stage interviews, concours judging, the opportunity to drive the latest products from Land Rover, Porsche, Jaguar and AMG Mercedes, and the arrival of a select number of cars from the nearby Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca late-morning, certainly keeps you occupied.
And lunch, of course, more of which later.
It’s also a who’s who of the worldwide motor industry, collectors’ car and historic motor racing scene. The 2010 global glitterati included Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen of Bentley; Lamborghini CEO Stefan Winkelman; Chief Judge, the Louis Vuitton Classic Awards Christian Philippsen; collector and project manager extraordinaire James Glickenhaus; and concours judge, multi-lingual commentator and classic car consultant sans pareil, Geneva-based Simon Kidston.
Also seen at The Quail in 2010 were Gregor Fisken and Will Stone from Fiskens (that’s Will above, under the sombrero, picking up a prize for the Carrera Panamericana C-type), Bill Harding, Richard Gorman and Richard Gauntlett. Around the grounds of the event, visitors attended book signings at David Bull’s marquee, admired the latest cars from Aston Martin, Morgan and Lamborghini, and discovered the most extraordinary Ferrari ‘barn find’ parts courtesy of Tom Shaughnessy.
The Master of Ceremonies was Bentley’s Director of Royal and VIP Relations, Richard Charlesworth. Elegantly attired in Savile Row’s and St James’s finest, the Englishman provided urbane commentary throughout the day.
A feature of the morning was Winston Goodfellow’s interview with the evergreen Carroll Shelby. Sitting side-by-side in armchairs on the ‘ramp’, Goodfellow quizzed the American legend on his life, teasing some familiar (and some not so) stories of his remarkable career from the early days as a ‘hired gun’ in West Coast racing, through the Cobra, GT40 and Shelby GT350 era to the latest developments with the current-model Mustang.
It was the sort of stuff you could listen to all day; Goodfellow really knowing his subject, having contributed a piece to the deluxe event programme and benefiting from a stellar display of over 30 GT350s and GT500s just a few yards away. Did you know that the one-off 1967 GT500 Super Snake (with a Le Mans-spec 427 under the bonnet...) was the fastest car in the world in 1967, hitting a genuine 172mph and eclipsing both the Miura and Ferrari 275 GTB/4? No, neither did I.
Come 11 o’clock, it’s time for The Quail Epicurean Delights. That’s ‘lunch’ to you and me, so, at a decent period (10 minutes) after the virtual gong had sounded, it was time to take my place at a table of British motoring journalists. On the ‘when in Rome’ principle, we decided to start with Carroll Shelby’s Texan BBQ.
Some 60 minutes later, fortified to the hilt with chilli, peppers and oak-smoked pork ribs, not to mention a vodka martini with the merest threat of the vermouth bottle, the British press corps moved slightly unsteadily on.
In truth, we could have eaten at the Italian, French or German Bistro, or the Carmel Valley Farmers' Market – they are all excellent. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of our party sampled all five; not surprised at all.
Events after lunch centre on concours judging and the award of The Quail Trophy, a silver and granite work of great artistry by master silversmith Pat Areias, presented to all class winners. For all the fun of lunch and messing about with friends, this is serious stuff: the Quail Trophy is one of six events eligible to count towards the Louis Vuitton Classic Concours Award. Best in Show at The Quail is awarded a special trophy from event sponsor Rolex – and a very nice watch, too.
This year it was the 1936 Delahaye 135 Competition Disappearing Top Convertible of Californians Ken and Ann Smith (seen above) that won the top prize, handed over by Sir Michael Kadoorie himself. Each prize-winner crosses the ramp with a brief introduction from Charlesworth.
With early misty skies long gone, the sun shining and a general feeling of wellbeing, the final awards ceremony is a great end to what has proved to be a wonderful day out. There’s just the nearby Bonhams auction to investigate and then it’s back to base for a little lie-down prior to more saleroom action in Monterey.
Roll on next year. But, take it from me, do be quick with the tickets... they’re hotter than Carroll Shelby’s own-recipe chilli.
Next year’s The Quail - 'A Motorsports Gathering' is scheduled for Friday August 19 2011. For further information, see www.quaillodgeevents.com.
You can read the review of the Bonhams auction elsewhere on Classic Driver.
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Classic Driver - all strictly copyright
ClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!Maserati GranTurismo S Automatica: Road Trip to Reims Maserati wants its GranTurismo to disprove the adage that ‘a high-performance sports car should be broad, low and uncomfortable’ and hence ‘not suitable for long trips’...Maserati wants its GranTurismo to disprove the adage that ‘a high-performance sports car should be broad, low and uncomfortable’ and hence ‘not suitable for long trips’. So, Roberto Rasia dal Polo took a GranTurismo S Automatica – the ‘pluckiest’ version, equipped with the MC Sport Line kit – and drove it from Modena, home of the Trident, north through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, and then via a lengthy detour to Reims…
“In Reims, the pits and the stands along the main straight of the famous racetrack, once the scene of legendary battles between such heroes as Fangio, Moss, Behra, Musso and Villoresi, have been renovated and the track’s 5.10 miles are open to public traffic: an irresistible temptation. At 3000rpm, the car responds with ease to the controls and allows gentle cruising through Reims to admire the tallest spires of the famous Gothic cathedral – but just a few millimetres more on the throttle, and the V8 Maserati gets ready to fly. Its nature and sound change radically. The interior is filled with a powerful roar and the cruising ease is transformed into full power on the old track’s straight, where at just 40mph it’s time to lift off: the local gendarmerie are very strict.
“Despite its double nature – sportiness and comfort – being evident from the outset, the GranTurismo S Automatica nevertheless discloses its qualities gradually, increasing the pleasure of taming the car. The comfort is worthy of a saloon and, after a 10-hour trip, we felt like a stroll along the Marne Valley, which spreads from Champillon to Epernay.
“Here you find a breathtaking panorama of the most famous champagne vineyards in the world and so we stopped for the night, enjoying a glass of champagne at the ‘Royal Champagne’, a top-class hotel owned by the Baglioni Group.
“The following morning, we take advantage of the dawn light to photograph the Maserati under the Gueux racetrack’s stands and in front of the pit. The logos from long-ago sponsors are intact, creating a colourful collage on the buildings, and leading one to think the track is still operational… if it weren’t for the modern street signs and pavements.
“We drive the circuit’s 8.2km in respectful silence. The only one fully at home in these dramatic surroundings is the GranTurismo S Automatica. The French onlookers show appreciation for the stylish car, although the 4.7-litre engine is unable to unleash anything like its 440 horsepower in the severe speed limits. Nevertheless, the racing potential of a car which leaps from 0 to 62mph in only 5 seconds can be clearly imagined.
“Before ‘enduring’ a second night beside the champagne vineyards, we head for the heart of the Champagne region. Ten minutes from Champillon, we enter Aÿ, Bollinger country since 1829. Bollinger is one of the three largest independent producers – and it has remained in the hands of the same family since its foundation. ‘Bollinger is renowned as the King of the Pinot Noir,’ Clément Ganier, Bollinger’s marketing manager, tells us. ‘Nature and the history of the Maison have been good to us, offering us Pinot Noir Grand and Premiere Cru as well as Chardonnay, which make up the majority of our vineyards. Our harvest covers more than 60% of our needs and this is an unusual percentage among producers.’ “The 163 hectares of Bollinger vineyards give rise to 2.2-2.3 million bottles a year, but we feel the deepest thrill when Monsieur Clément takes us to the Bollinger cellars. After descending a steep stairway, we come to a treasure trove of 10 million bottles, 6500 of them magnums, stacked to allow settling and to sharpen their character. In Bollinger’s cellars is the heritage of Aÿ’s champagne, immersed in dark corridors and grottos populated by fungi that help maintain the proper amount of dampness. To wander around the cellars is a thought-provoking experience, helping us to understand the essence of such a celebrated and delicate wine.
“While the best champagne and our Maserati both belong to worlds of luxury and sophistication, they are mutually exclusive. To unstop a bottle means we must leave our GranTurismo S Automatica parked for a second night. Tomorrow, we shall abstain from alcohol and return to the road.”
Text: Classic Driver, from a translated text by Roberto Rasia dal Polo Photos: Maserati ClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!John Simister at BaloccoFollowing on from last week’s driving experiences at Balocco, John Simister heads yet ‘further away from normality’ as he settles behind the wheel of three, ever-more astonishing Alfas…Following on from last week’s driving experiences at Balocco, John Simister heads yet ‘further away from normality’ as he settles behind the wheel of three, ever-more astonishing Alfas…Alfa Romeo GTA 1300
We all know about the GTA 1600, the pinnacle of every Alfa Giulia GT fan's aspirations. But race success was eluding it by 1970, so Autodelta, Alfa's competition department, created a smaller-engined version for an engine-capacity class in which success could be found again. So it proved: the GTA 1300 won the European Touring Car Championship in both 1971 and 1972.
And what a complete riot this 1970-built, works-run example is. Hugely flared wings cover fat slick tyres. The short-stroke engine revs to a giddy 8400rpm, making 165bhp on the way. Starting it is a challenge, however.
The Spica fuel injection has no cold-start enrichment system and, with a very hot pair of camshafts, a gentle idle isn't in this engine's lexicon. Eventually, though, it catches and fluffs and sputters and hiccoughs until finally it will take a snap throttle opening and not expire.
And then it's alive, my left ear sonically carpet-bombed by the open exhaust immediately below, engine hunting and surging and begging to be set free. Now on the track, it shoots up to that heady rev-limit as though a mechanical lemming, forcing swift upshifts until all five gears are used up. The gearing is very short, the ratios are close, so the fact that there's practically nothing below 5000rpm doesn't matter at all.
It's a blazingly hot day and the slicks are super-sticky as I fling the GTA through the twists with a precision I've never thought possible in a 105-series coupé. Gentle power oversteer is mine for the asking; I rather hope the inside front wheel is hanging in the air as I indulge, just like GTAs used to do in the races. This is the enactment of a dream, remember.
Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti DTM
Touring Car racing was a lot more specialised by 1993, when this 155, driven by Nicola Larini, won the German DTM series – a category which allowed radical modifications. Under the aerodynamically enhanced, ground-hugging body lies a four-wheel drive system which splits torque one-third front, two-thirds rear, the better to channel the 2.5-litre V6's 450bhp, achieved at 12,000rpm, to the road. At up to 188mph with the right gearing.
Pump on, ignition on, fire! The V6 awakes with an explosive bark, the six-speed sequential transmission clatters as loose, unengaged gears rattle around in anticipation, the LCD tachometer flickers unhelpfully within the carbonfibre dashboard. Temperamental instrumentation and a whole new set of racing-car dynamics will make my mental recalibration quite a challenge.
Clunk into gear. Short-travel clutch decisively engaged. Good, I haven't stalled. No more need for the clutch on upshifts, just a throttle-lift for kindness's sake. Downshifts, too, are kinder to this expensive transmission if the clutch is momentarily dipped, while the light flywheel makes for a fantastically responsive throttle-blip.
Am I fast? Slow? The engine is pulling ferociously with a scream to match and the urge continues past every gearshift, so I must be staying in the sweet spot. Yet this is a benign beast when I nail it out of a corner; I can feel that torque-third tugging through the ultra-quick power steering, but powerslides are not this car's natural state. The four-wheel drive keeps it where it needs to be. The Alfa doesn't fight you. It co-operates. It's wonderful.
At least it is until I come off the banking for the last time, to be joined by the smell of burning rubber. The outer front tyre has shredded itself, cords and carcass fragments are everywhere. It could have happened at full tilt, maximum g-force in the middle of the banked bend, but it didn't. The benign beast clearly has a caring heart.
Alfa Romeo Gran Premio Tipo B
This is the car we all call P3, and this 1932 car – chassis 5005 – is the fifth example made. It has always been in Alfa Romeo's possession, although lent out to the nascent Scuderia Ferrari after Alfa Romeo temprarily ceased works racing involvement, and in the fibres of its steering wheel's wooden rim there may still lurk DNA particles from those who drove it back then. Nuvolari, Varzi, Caracciola, Chiron… and now me.
I am overwhelmed. It was in a later version of this car that Nuvolari scored a victory in the 1935 German Grand Prix so astonishing that the military band didn't have with them the music for the Italian national anthem, expecting only a German win. Next to the Mercedes-Benzes and Auto Unions the slender, upright P3 seemed a car from a past era, but it did the business that day as it had many times in earlier life.
In front of me is a 2654cc version of Jano's double-supercharged straight eight, with heads and blocks (two groups of four cylinders) joined as one to cope with the boost pressure. Power is 215bhp, top speed is 144mph, and this car is very fit indeed.
It has to be push-started in second gear, upon which it harrumphs into gear-whining, deeply burbling life. Long gearing makes even second gear fast enough for a near-vertical learning curve as I try to avoid mowing down the gathering of onlookers, and now I'm out on the track.
Grand Prix car it may be, but it's very tractable and extremely torquey. First fast bend, cracked-wood steering wheel rim offering weighty but surprisingly precise directional control; I sneak a look at the passing whoosh-lines below, noticing how unexpectedly large is the angle of drift the P3 naturally adopts. Powerful racing cars drifting on narrow tyres look spectacular, but actually it's what they naturally do.
Working the giant drum brakes firmly into a tighter bend now, and where's second gear? It doesn't want to know, so back into third – it's a non-synchro gearbox, obviously – and rely on the torque. Another bend, try again… aim very carefully for tiny, sharp-edged gateway into gear… get the double-declutch just right… and yes! It's in. Can I repeat that? Don't hold my breath.
On the long straight I'm reaching maybe 120mph, the P3 feeling genuinely, seriously quick as the light-throttle throb changes to a crackle that's as much potent V8 as straight-eight. The tiny rectangular windscreen does its job well enough, but as soon as I lean into a corner my face is blitzed by the airstream. And now there's a misfire.
Fuel pressure is maintained by a handpump near my left knee, but now the pumping has no effect. We've run out of fuel, conveniently just as I reach the pits, and my fragile I-am-Nuvolari fantasy runs out with it.
Dream over? Can't be. I've re-dreamed it far too often since.
Text: John Simister
Photos: Alfa RomeoClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!John Simister at BaloccoIn the first of two driving reports from Balocco, John Simister takes the wheel of four extraordinary competition Alfas… or did he just dream it?As story endings go, it's the ultimate cop-out. You might have used it in desperation when attempting some creative writing in English class at school. “I woke up and it was all a dream.”The difference here is that I never, as far as I know, went to sleep. This particular dream was real. I really did drive seven extraordinary Alfa Romeos in a sensorily overloaded day of unbelievable good fortune. The idea was to mark this 100th year of Alfa Romeo's existence by sampling some of the competition machinery that made Alfa great, to lose myself in the story of the badge that has probably adorned a broader and richer range of wheeled vehicles than any other. Grand Prix cars, creations from myriad carrozzerie, humble hatchbacks, trucks and the sports cars and coupés that everyone knows: the cross-and-serpent badge has been on them all.
The venue was the test track at Balocco, between Milan and Turin, that Alfa Romeo built in the 1930s and is nowadays the Fiat group's main test centre. The cars were numerous, but I settled on seven. They ranged from road-car-familiar with a twist, right through to a racing car I never really thought I would ever drive. Here are the first four, heading further away from normality as we go. (The final three will be covered in next week’s Classic Driver.)
Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Super
A square-cut 105-series Alfa saloon usually lurks within my Top Twenty usable classic cars that I would like to own, and this one is the best of the breed. It's a 1963 Ti Super version, with the 1570cc twin-cam engine in 112bhp tune to make it the most powerful Giulia saloon of this shape, even though the breed continued for another 15 years.
It's a car of contrasts, with a pair of Weber 45DCOE carburettors but triple-shoe front drum brakes. The wheels have bigger cooling slots, the inner headlights are replaced by mesh grilles and the front seats have a semblance of body-huggability. With just 501 examples made, you might expect a raw, rorty homologation special but in reality it's a crisp but civilised joy. Those drum brakes feel fine and, apart from a springiness to the steering, it feels surprisingly modern. You could use this car every day. The problem would be finding one.
Alfa Romeo 1900 Sport Spider
Never has an Alfa breed spawned more genetic variation than the 1900. From the company's first mass-market saloon, intended to kick-start post-War recovery, to the space-age BAT concepts by Bertone, the 1900 spawned some of the most dramatic cars of the 1950s. This 1954 competition car by Bertone doesn't figure much in Alfa Romeo history books, but it's a proper racing car with 138bhp and a 138mph top speed. Just four were made, two open and two closed, and it's a charming and rather forgotten footnote to history.
With its vents, louvres and twin side-pipes, it looks every inch the gentleman's racer. To drive, it's softer than it looks with vague steering and a strong desire to head straight on at corners despite the short wheelbase. Sounds lovely while doing it, though.
Alfa Romeo 1750 Gran Sport
Back in 1930, 102bhp was pretty good for a 1752cc road car. Supercharging the little twin-cam straight-six, a multi-finned masterpiece from the hand of that most artistic of engineers, Vittorio Jano, was the key. It made the Alfa 1750 Gran Sport perhaps the most successful competition car of its time, helped by a simple, pure body by Zagato.
It feels quick even today, once you've gained the courage to stoke it up a bit, but driving the Gran Sport calls for strength and precision in equal measure. The gearchange demands perfect timing, and perfect downshift double-declutching, to avoid the gnashing of teeth, while the steering is very hard work indeed in tight corners. But what a lovely sound the 1750 makes, responding to goading with a crisp blare overlaid with a supercharger whine as Stefano Agazzi, curator of Alfa's Centro Storico, encourages me to drive a little harder.
In the 1960s, Zagato made a few more. This time around it used then-current Alfa 105-series mechanicals, but the body was quite a convincing remake. Nothing quite like that has happened since.
Alfa Romeo Disco Volante
Ah, the Flying Saucer… what a fine idea it seemed in 1952, to make the body a sharp-edged ellipse in longitudinal as well as lateral cross-section, the better to cleave the air and stay stable in a crosswind. And what a shame it didn't work, generating a worrying amount of lift which threatened to make this saucer really fly.
There's another snag: the semi-enclosed wheels are set so far under the body that the track is narrow, leading to comical roll angles if you corner the C52 (the DV's more prosaic name) with the vigour you might employ in a race. So the Disco Volante never raced, at least not until redesigned with a more normal body, but it remains a thing of surreal beauty.
The engine is a 1997cc development of the 1900 unit, its claimed 158bhp said to be enough for a 136mph top speed. It doesn't feel that potent, although the engine is crisp and keen and the gearchange is quick and accurate. The mix of loose, springy steering (again) and the body roll angles make cornering an approximate if graceful business, and it's best just to point and hope. You can forgive it everything for that gorgeous bodywork by Touring, clothing a real spaceframe chassis of perfectly tensioned steel tubes and not the collection of aluminium girders which nowadays usurps the term. Kinetic art? Absolutely.
But the final three Alfas, the most exotic of the group, will have to wait till next week…
Text: John Simister
Photos: Alfa RomeoClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription!What better year for a plucky British team to re-enact the Saab-flavoured story of the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours? John Simister recounts a tale of derring-do…This is quite a year for Saab. The company is back from the brink with a new owner and a new car, the promising 9-5. That new owner, Victor Muller, who is behind the reborn Spyker marque, entered this year's Mille Miglia with a 1955 Saab 93, because he just loves the little two-stroke cars. Saab CEO Jan-Ake Jonsson did likewise, in another 93, and the pair of them were cheered right round the route. What better year, then, for a plucky British team to re-enact the Saab-flavoured story of the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours? In that year two 93s were entered, their tiny 748cc two-strokes giving them a strong chance in the class for the smallest engines. Originally there was to be just one Saab, a grey machine entered semi-officially by the factory's competition department, but as June drew near a British tuning expert, Syd Hurrell (later to form tuning company SAH Accessories) decided that he and friend Roy North (later to become another car accessories magnate) should enter a second Saab 93.
They duly arrived at Le Mans in a car which, apart from the experimental SAH exhaust, was a standard GT750 model. Dismayed that their car was the same colour as the Swedish entry, they resprayed it in British Racing Green on the spot. For them the race was not a success; they retired after four hours with a holed piston. The Swedish car, however, finished 12th out of 13 finishers and averaged 81mph.
Half a century on, the Le Mans Classic is a fabulous event. To see and hear a sea of authentic, period racing machinery driven in anger, divided into six age ranges each with three races over the 24 hours, is breathtaking. So is the gathering of enthusiasts' classic cars in and around the circuit, making it surely the biggest classic car show in Europe and maybe the world. It's an ambition for many a historic racing enthusiast to enter a suitable car in this biennial festival of wonderfulness, and two teams of Saab evangelists – that's the best word to describe the intensity of their enthusiasm – have been dreaming of doing exactly that with a 93.
Two years ago, a Swedish team led by Bo Lindman with an engine from two-stroke racing guru Niklas Enander entered a perfect replica of Swedish car number 44. They won their class and the Index of Performance for the 1957-1961 category, and joy was unbounded. And this year the three Chrises, Partington, Parkes and Nutt, got the entry for a British replica of car 43 to make real the dream that Chris Partington has had for years.
Now, three men all called Christopher could be confusing, so they have gained nicknames. Chris Partington, the mechanical wizard who knows all there is to know about two-stroke Saabs and who built the racer on his front drive from a sun-baked shell found in California, is called Spanner. Chris Parkes, the publicist and a racer of a Ford Anglia 105E, is Parksie. Chris Nutt, who rallies another Saab two-stroke and has got together a six-Saab team for this year's Roger Albert Clark historic rally, is Nutter. And there's a fourth member: ex-Saab Sweden test and racing driver Ferdinand Gustafson, aka Ferdi.
And I was there to support them, because I drove to Le Mans in my own Saab two-stroke, a 1961 96 in – coincidentally – exactly the same colour scheme as the Swedish racer. Driving something ancient and fragile is much the best way to travel to the LM Classic. It puts you in the perfect mood, enlivened by the bitter-sweet risk of mechanical catastrophe – and elation when you've arrived and it hasn't materialised.
At 13.2mph per 1000rpm in the highest of its three forward gears, my Saab doesn't so much cruise as give its all. But it sat happily at 110km/h – it's a left-hand drive car which I bought in 2001 from a mechanic at the Saab museum at Trollhattan and drove home – and its three-cylinder engine, enlarged to a heady 841cc with 38bhp on tap for the 96, sounded just like a tiny straight-six as France passed under the wheels. Various grand and British sportscars were expiring in the 40-degree heat, bonnets up and radiators empty, but the plucky Saab kept on going with the temperature gauge needle never quite reaching the red. Phew!
This huge heat caused problems for the Saab team in Friday's practice. “It was like driving on icy gravel,” announced Spanner. “The chicane on the Mulsanne Straight nearly finished us off before we’d started.” The extreme track temperature was making the tyre pressures too high and the contact patch too small, so letting some air out restored the Saab's usual benign balance. An incident with a flooded carburettor (it's a rare twin-choke downdraught Solex) scuppered Nutter's practice session, but otherwise things were going well.
Spanner started the race and, indeed, the whole event because this year it was the turn of Plateau Three (1957-61) to take the 4pm send-off. After the Le Mans start with drivers running across the track to their cars, the field heads off at full speed only to re-assemble further round the circuit, before following a course car back to the pit straight for the proper rolling start. “By then we were in any old order,” said Spanner, “and we never quite got back into the practice order. There may have been some shuffling but we ended up much further up. Still, it all sorted itself out after half a lap.”
Which means the Saab was running where it was expected to run, pretty much at the back of the field. But it sounded marvellous as it howled past the pits, its two-stroke scream rending the air with an explosiveness a little out of proportion to the visible motion, cheers breaking out through the crowd as they willed the valiant underdog to greater things.
Flat-out, it would be reaching 100mph as the 748cc three-pot unleashed its full 65bhp, while a gallon of petrol, infused with a four per cent dose of oil, would be lasting about 20 miles. However, there has to be a one-and-a-half-minute pit stop within a specific time band in the middle of the 45-minute race, which is when you change drivers if you want to. Spanner duly swapped with Nutter who, having missed out on practice, was now venturing onto the Le Mans circuit for the first time.
He brought the Saab back in one piece, keeping some mechanical health in reserve. Exhaust temperatures can get very high in a two-stroke, enough to melt pistons, so the Saab had a gauge for each port. “Spanner said it shouldn't go above 1200deg C,” said Nutter, “but I only got it to 1100 degrees.”
Parksie did the night section. “He really got in the groove,” said Spanner, “and we were up to second in the Index of Performance. But then we blew it in the final race, with Ferdi driving. We brought him in too early and got a two-lap penalty which knocked us back to fifth. We might have won it if we'd got that little bit right. What we really needed was a team manager. We hadn't thought of that.”
But the team had a great time, and the car held up well. The brakes were vibrating badly by the end, the starter had stopped working and the dynamo had stopped charging, but the engine held together and the spare one stayed unused. “The suspension is too soft,” reckoned Spanner, “and the engine could do with a little more grunt, but it was a privilege to be here. And to be passed on the Mulsanne by cars like Lister-Jaguars gives you the best seat in the house.”
Might we see both replica 93s together at the 2012 Le Mans Classic? That, I thought as my Saab and I ring-ding-dinged back to the chateau that was our weekend base, would be a wonderful sight. And sound.
Text: John Simister
Photos: John Simister / Classic DriverClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter Free Subscription! 400 Drive 2010 Every year, five Bugatti Veyron owners have the chance to re-open their wallets and invest in an incredible experience: that of driving their car at top speed. Chris Hrabalek was one of this year’s lucky few...Every year, five Bugatti Veyron owners have the chance to re-open their wallets and invest in an incredible experience: that of driving their car at top speed. Chris Hrabalek was one of this year’s lucky few… It was a chance to add to my stock of stories to tell future grandchildren and, in the spirit of Burt Munro, I grabbed the opportunity. The recent news of Pierre Henri Raphanel – Bugatti’s ‘Pilote Officiel’ – taking the new Veyron 16.4 Super Sport to a verified top speed of 434.211km/h and setting a new Guinness World Speed Record in the process, probably evoked a different sensation for those that have experienced the original Veyron at speeds above 400km/h. To date, this numbers 14 owners, a handful of Bugatti engineers and the odd journalist.
Prior to firing up, Bugatti insists on a mandatory ‘Feeling the Road’ safety training at the French L’Anneau Du Rhin circuit. The experience of a 1001PS car – one that weighs significantly more than its Type 35 ancestor – on a twisty and flooded racetrack is probably worth a separate story all of its own. Bugatti is very careful to make the ‘400 Drive’ a positive and (above all) a lasting experience.
Fast forward a couple of days, and there’s a change of scenery, to Wolfsburg, Germany. The local Ritz Carlton serves as a meeting point for the four other automotive adrenalin junkies. After instructions and a pile of waivers to sign, we are sent to bed early with the line: “…oh, and if something happens tomorrow, you will not be back to tell us about it…”. Gulp. The last thought I took to bed was: "…are there pelicans in Germany?".
The location for the 400 Drive is the VW Group’s purpose-built high-speed oval – featuring two very long straights of 9km each, separated by steeply banked turns at each end and surrounded by forest. For a Veyron to reach its top speed, one must first master the psychological challenge of speeding through the banking at 200km/h – seemingly at an angle perpendicular to the ground.
After an initiation lap with Pierre Henri at the helm, doing 300km/h, followed by a swap so that he rides as a passenger at the same pace, and then a final practice run with me on my own doing more of the same, I can honestly say that 300km/h quickly loses its magic. It becomes easy to imagine setting the cruise control at this speed for the daily commute to work (as one brave Veyron owner apparently does quite frequently).
Time for the final challenge: 407.9km/h, or as close as possible to this artificially limited top speed. Mummified in fireproof linen and strapped into the driver’s seat, my character turns more Woody Allen than Steve McQueen. I concentrate for a few seconds on the procedure I studied the night before and that I’ve run through in my mind a million times this morning: …accelerate to 200km/h, set the cruise control, look out for marker points followed by shifts from 7th to 6th, 6th to 5th and 5th to 4th… finally take a deep breath and give it full acceleration to the pre-defined braking point. It’s a good day to die.
To describe the sensation that one gets at top speed – or the even better feeling of returning to the pits afterwards – is almost as impossible as recounting one’s life experiences in a single-volume autobiography. However, anyone who says that it takes skill to do 400km/h in a Veyron is either an attention seeker, a liar, or both. Truth is, even Ozzy Osbourne – who only recently passed his driving test after the 19th attempt – could master the 400 Drive. Skill-wise, it’s probably more challenging to ride a bicycle without training wheels than to take the Veyron to the speeds it was engineered for. What an incredible car.
Naturally, this is not the story I will pass on to my grandchildren. I will tell them that if you have the chance to grab life by the horns, then you’d better do so. You’d better take that diving watch down to its 3900m maximum – and take granddad’s Veyron for a blast down a German autobahn.
Text: Chris Hrabalek Photos: Bugatti
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