| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
mercredi 17 décembre 2014
ANDORRA 500 - Les inscriptions sont ouvertes
Racing heroes set the pace at the London Classic Car Show
It’s not only elegant road cars making up the ever-expanding roster at the inaugural London Classic Car Show in January. Numerous racing legends in both human and automotive form will also be in attendance…
One of the highlights of the new event will be the 40 classic road cars paraded along the Grand Avenue ‘catwalk’ – four from each decade of the 20th Century. But for many, the static displays will be just as ‘moving’: as well as a showcase of six Le Mans racing machines with genuine competition history at La Sarthe, tributes to Hall of Fame heroes will be illustrated by displays of their old steeds. As such, visitors will see Nuvolari’s Alfa Romeo P3, Fangio’s V16 BRM and Senna’s Lotus 97T, among others. There will also be a special display curated by Adrian Newey, featuring his personal road-biased classics alongside a selection of his often-unbeatable F1 creations.
Newey will personally open his display at the exclusive preview evening on Thursday, during which Top Gear host James May will also introduce his selection of 13 cars that he believes changed the motoring world. Limited-availability Premium tickets will provide entry to the opening night, as well as access to the private enclosure with views of the Grand Avenue. As an exclusive offer to Classic Driver readers, you can receive a £10 discount on these Premium tickets by entering the code LCCS6 when ordering (available on Premium tickets Thurs - Sunday, valid until 31st December).
Photos: London Classic Car Show
Palm-find: Lost Mercedes Gullwing found under banana tree in Cuba
Piotr Degler was so intrigued by the rumour of a Mercedes-Benz 300SL ‘Gullwing’ abandoned in Cuba that he set about finding it himself. After weeks of unsuccessful searching, he was ready to accept it was a mere myth – until he caught a glimpse of something silver under a tree…
Automotive photographer Degler roamed the Caribbean island to find the subjects for his 2015 calendar Carros de Cuba, reasoning that there was nowhere else on earth with a streetscape unchanged since the 1950s, the result of a decades-long ban on importing new cars. With the government recently relaxing this rule, it seemed the ideal time for Degler to capture the island’s beautiful automotive timewarp – especially once he’d heard rumours that a Mercedes 300SL ‘Gullwing’ was lying abandoned somewhere on the 42,000-square-mile island.
Hidden treasure en route
For a solid month, Degler roved from east to west, travelling 3,000km by car and taking 300,000 footsteps. He asked every inhabitant he came across whether they knew where the silver car was, or even if they’d heard the same rumour. No luck. With his hopes fading by the day, Piotr had all but given up – but then there it was, with a banana tree making a futile attempt to shelter its carcass. “I found many hidden treasures on my travels across Cuba – a Hispano-Suiza being one – but the Gullwing eluded me until a few days before my planned departure,” Piotr told Classic Driver. “When I first found it, I spent the whole day taking pictures, but then I realised a night shoot might be more appropriate. Finding the car was an indescribable experience.” Well, they always say you find love when you give up looking.
The 12 best from 25,000
Degler’s Cuban treasure is now being showcased in his 2015 calendar, along with 11 others he found along the way; the 12 chosen images were selected from no fewer than 25,000 taken during the trip. It’s available in three versions, with the Special Edition housed in a rusty metal frame. Further information can be found at deglerstudio.com.
Photos: Piotr Degler (www.facebook.com/deglercalendar)
You can find numerous Mercedes-Benz 300SL ‘Gullwings’ for sale in the Classic Driver Market.
Matchless reloads legendary Model X
Is one of Britain's very first, large-scale motorbike makers (and the first winner of the Isle of Man TT in 1907), about to be revived… not just as a fashion brand, but also as an evocative name on real-life new motorcycles? It looks like it is…
In today's fast-moving world, there isn't always time to make history – so it's just as well that it's often readily available to buy. A case in point could be seen in lot 554 of a Bonhams auction held on 23 April 2006 at Stafford in the north of England, where the opportunity arose to bid for one of the greatest names in motorcycling: Matchless.
Slow bidding for a fast legend
After some fairly slow bidding, the rights to the Matchless marque were sold for £45,500 including buyers' premium – and then, for several years, things went quiet. Precisely who the Bonhams buyer was remained confidential, but it seems likely that it was the current owner of Matchless, the Italian Malenotti family. Franco Malenotti is a talented motorcycle designer and rider from a wealthy movie-making dynasty who went to work for the British clothing brand Belstaff in the 1980s. He ended up rescuing the company when it fell into financial difficulties, moving it from its original base in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, to a new location near Venice.
Another Belstaff in the making?
In a relatively short space of time, Malenotti transformed Belstaff from an ailing maker of motorcycle kit to an ultra-cool, luxury label beloved of the Hollywood set – and, in the summer of 2011, the firm was sold to the Swiss-based Labelux group for a sum thought to have been in excess of 100 million euros. And now Franco Malenotti is hoping to repeat the feat with the revival of Matchless as an equally trendy fashion brand, which recently launched its first range of chic and beautifully made, biker-inspired clothing for men and women.
A return to motorcycle production
Perhaps more interestingly, however, Matchless is also hinting at a return to motorcycle production with an all-new machine called the Model X Reloaded, unveiled at November's EICMA show in Milan. Inspired by the original V-twin Model X built between 1929 and 1940, the 'Reloaded' version is powered by a punchy, 1916cc S&S engine complemented by classic accents such as fish-tail silencers, wire spoked wheels and a heavily chromed fuel tank with inset instruments. If the bike goes into production, it is unlikely that more than 100 machines will initially be made – and they will probably carry a price tag of around 50,000 euros. If the Matchless name really is going to make it back to the road, it is truly good news – not least because the marque, founded in the 1890s in Plumstead, South London, was one of Britain's very first, large-scale motorcycle manufacturers and the first winner of the inaugural Isle of Man TT in 1907.
But let's not get too excited before anything more substantial happens. After all, motorcycles are a lot harder to sell and a lot less profitable than luxury clothes – even when they do carry one of the most evocative names in two-wheeled history.
Photos: Matchless / Bonhams / Getty Images
Classic Matchless motorcycles can be found in the Classic Driver Market.
Cars We Love: Sunbeam Tiger
Who wants to ride a Mustang, when you can tame a Tiger? So thought the sales manager of Rootes American Motors in the 1960s, who kick-started the Sunbeam Tiger concept. Unfortunately, only true connoisseurs ever fully acknowledged this inconspicuous pocket rocket…
Hence the little Sunbeam Tiger never sold on the scale of the much larger Ford Mustang, which – and this is the reason for the comparison – was powered by the same 4.7-litre Ford V8. Inspired by the success of the Shelby Cobra, Ian Garrad, sales manager of the Rootes Group for the West Coast of the USA, sent an Series II Alpine to Carroll Shelby and another to Ken Miles, a former Shelby employee and racer. Both fitted a V8 under the bonnet of the relatively tiny two-seater that was less than four metres long, and just over one and a half metres wide. The prototypes were sent to England, where Sunbeam boss Lord Rootes liked them so much that he commissioned Jensen Motors in West Bromwich to produce a series. Between 1964 and 1967, around 7,100 were built.
Undercover V8
The V8 muscle-car version of the Alpine was no different on the outside from the tame-looking, four-cylinder model – and part of the fun of owning a Sunbeam Tiger was the element of surprise when that powerhouse of an engine fired up. Whether it housed the 4.3-litre V8 with 166HP or the 4.7-litre with 200HP, the sound of the engine was a spectacle in itself, since no one could have guessed that a fully grown tiger lurked under this sheep’s clothing.
Wild about Harry
In the early Sixties, the so-called Le Mans Coupés with fastback bodies were built by British coachbuilder Thomas Harrington. New safety standards and racing ambitions were the reason for these prototypes, and all the bodies rode on Alpine underpinnings – with one exception: ‘Harry’, the only Sunbeam Le Mans Coupé based on a Tiger. This unique car appears in the photographs and, early next year, will be put up for sale by RM Auctions in Arizona. Don’t know about you, but we’re already wild about Harry.
Photos: Matt Jacques ©2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions
This and other Sunbeam Tigers and Alpines can be found for sale in the Classic Driver Market.
Unusual vintage watches, newly interpreted
There are very few established watch manufacturers that aren’t attempting to surf on the vintage watch wave. Despite many attempts, only a handful are successful; here are our favourites…
Baume & Mercier Capeland Chrono
Baume & Mercier produces numerous versions of the vintage-styled Capeland Chrono. In our opinion, the satin-finished brown dial variant with matching leather strap is the most elegant design – all 42mm of it.
Bell & Ross WW1 Guynemer
French watchmaker Bell & Ross is famous for producing aviation-themed watches. The latest offering is the WW1 Guynemer, which pays tribute to legendary French pilot Georges Guynemer, and is inspired by the simple designs he and his fellow aviators might have sported at the time.
Glycine Airman No 1
Just last year, Glycine brought back the famous Airman, 60 years after it was first introduced. For 2014, it has released the Airman No. 1, which boasts a modest 36mm case – the exact same size as the original and with the same secondary 24-hour display used by US Air Force pilots crossing multiple time zones.
Panerai Radiomir 1940 Chronograph
Panerais have traditionally been put to work not high in the sky, but rather at daunting depths. Drawing inspiration from the circa-1940 case, the latest Radiomir chronograph uses a Minerva movement and retains the simple, honest lines of its vintage forebears.
Zenith Montre d’Aéronef Pilot Type 20 Tourbillon Moonphase
The top model of Zenith’s Montre d’Aéronef Pilot collection is not one for the narrow-wristed: the steel case of the Type 20 Tourbillon measures no less than 48mm in diameter. Those that can carry off a watch of this size will enjoy a classic pilot’s watch with a rare twist – the Moonphase variant is limited to just 25 examples.
If only original vintage watches take your fancy, you can find plenty in the Classic Driver Market.
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)