vendredi 31 juillet 2015
Concepts, prototypes and one-offs in the Classic Driver Market
If a rare colour or bespoke features just aren’t exclusive enough for you, then you’ll need to turn to a unique prototype or concept car to express your individuality. Here are 10 such cars currently for sale in the Classic Driver Market…
10 one-offs for sale in the Classic Driver Market
FACTORY CLASS: RENARD SPEED SHOP’S SR400
Custom builders often strive for ‘that factory look’—bikes that are neat and cohesive enough to be mistaken for OEM machines. And when you’ve got an exquisite, limited edition production motorcycle to your name, ‘factory’ is second nature.
Based in Estonia, Renard Speed Shop is the custom division of Renard Motorcycles—the outfit behind the mind-boggling Grand Tourer. So this barely broken-in Yamaha SR400 was in good hands when its owner delivered it to Renard Speed Shop.
“The client was asking for a street tracker,” the guys tell us. “We wanted to make the bike look like it was a factory-built prototype. Like Yamaha were playing with the idea of building a bike to rival the Ducati Scrambler.”
Since the SR400 was practically new, there was no need to fiddle with the engine or airbox. Renard simply removed the emissions kit for a cleaner look, and adapted a Gianelli exhaust (originally designed for a Suzuki SV650) to fit.
Renard gave the bike an extra kick in the rear with a set of Triumph OEM rear shocks; they’re roughly two inches longer than the original SR units. The ergonomics were further massaged into shape with burly, enduro-style handlebars and repositioned footpegs.
The SR’s tank was raised by almost an inch at the back, and repainted in a color scheme inspired by a previous Renard build. The seat’s custom, but the team had to look beyond their own borders to find someone that could execute the bronze stitching.
Renard hand-made a pair of fenders, and a headlight cowl cut from an old Givi screen. The SR’s stock 18” rims were repainted in a bronze color with black pinstriping, and equipped with Dunlop K180s.
A sprinkling of handpicked parts round out the build: a speedo from Motogadget, turn signals from Kellermann, and smaller head and taillights. The guys also upgraded all the nuts and bolts, and sent a bunch of parts (like the shocks) to be ceramic coated—with a method normally used on rifles, to shield them from the elements.
We especially love the new handlebar switches—attractive CNC-milled units that Renard produces in house and sells to the public. They’re designed to mate with the Beringer master cylinder that’s been fitted.
The answer, according to Renard, is a resounding ‘yes.’ The client loves the bike and rides it almost every day. If it was in our garage, we’d feel the same.
It’s as classy a build as we’ve come to expect from Estonia’s finest, and looks utterly rideable to boot. But the real question is whether the client’s happy.
The answer, according to Renard, is a resounding ‘yes.’ The client loves the bike and rides it almost every day. If it was in our garage, we’d feel the same.
4H10 MOTO GUZZI V7
Some things look better naked. Stripped back with just the bare essentials on show. The trend for hiding everything, replacing lights with microscopic LEDs and banishing batteries and wires to ever tighter crevices has pushed builders to come up with increasingly creative solutions, but sometimes less isn’t necessarily more.
Some of us live in a nostalgic dreamworld, gazing back through rose tinted spectacles to a time where riders tucked behind proper fairings, the race track ahead illuminated by the amber glow of bulbous headlights. Back then it was functionality and speed that ruled the day. The Bol d’Or or Suzuka 8hrs in the 1970s must have been special to witness. Luckily, I’m not as old as some of the vari-focal sporting grandads in the Bike Shed so have to use Google and picture books to reminisce but there is something unique about those good old days.
John & Nico from Paris based outfit 4H10 are also spritely young chaps with a shared penchant for endurance racers from yesteryear. That said, the romance of urging a classic engine to fire-up is easily dampened by obstinate components that sought retirement a long time ago. Undeterred, their usual fare is a classic donor or well used basket case given the style treatment to suit the new wave scene. But this project led them down a different path. What to do you do with a new Moto Guzzi V7 with a meagre 50hp wheezing from its angular engine?
The guys took a trip to the fantastic Moto Guzzi museum in Mandello del Lario, up in the Italian Lakes. If you’re an Italian motorcycle fan then this a must-see on the factory trail, along with the Ducati factory in Bologna. Anyway, John & Nico came away from the tour inspired and got to work.
The fairing is from a 250cc bike that was kicking about the workshop. It’s been fairly heavily modified to fit and mounted using a fabricated framework, with holes cut allowing the ‘Guzzi’s heads to poke out. Being one of the last air cooled twins from a main manufacturer, a decent amount of fresh air is required to keep the motor within its operating temperature window. But never mind that, it looks the business. Engines should be seen, and heard, especially when this handsome and iconic.
Further cutting was needed to allow the exhaust to pass down the right hand side of the bike, again allowing more of the functional mechanicals to be on show. Ironically it was a customised Arrow stainless system from a V7 Scrambler that suited the build, with the single muffler mounted up-high on the tail, perfect for maintaining corner speed and removing concern for expensive metalwork dragging along the asphalt. Arrow not only produce quality pipes, but loud ones too, and the motor should have an extra couple of horsepower to compliment the speedy looks.
Nothing quite says seventies endurance like S.E.V. Marchal headlamps, especially with amber lenses, so the guys did the right thing and bolted a pair ahead of the fairing. This instantly wipes years off the box-fresh donor and screams racer.
Paintwork for this project was taken care of in-house utilising the 4H10 homemade spray booth, and from here it looks well executed. The period colour scheme is perfect.
Back in the day, a slightly curvier and more substantial tail was the preferred choice so John and Nico fabricated an aluminium unit with stop lights hidden behind a mesh grille. The seat is of course bespoke to this build and again echoes racers of old.
We love a fairing in the ‘Shed and are pleased to see them making a comeback. John & Nico have succeeded in not only building a great looking bike but have done so on a limited budget, saying “The other point was to create a custom motorycle at a non-crazy price. Bikes at 20k Euros are great but you can have a good looking bike at a much more affordable price”. Frankly, we think they are right on the money.
For more about the guys at 4H10 check out their pages on Bike Shed, or their comprehensive website, or follow them onFacebook and Instagram.
Photos by David Marvier
via PIPEBURN
TOURING ITALY LIKE ENTHUSIASTS USED TO
by (PETROCILIOUS)
Photography by: Federico Bajetti
Going on a vacation with a pre-war car is heroic. It's true that many enthusiasts take their cars on long trips like the Mille Miglia or the Coppa Nuvoari, but to do a trip on your own, relying solely on your companions and a few spare parts is quite an adventure, even by today’s standards. The owners of these machines drove all the way from Germany and were going on vacation: isn't this just plain cool?
Encountering a ’30s Alvis or Fiat on the road is quite a fortunate coincidence. Witnessing an entire group of cars with German license plates, driving together on the roads close to Lake Garda is a great lucky strike.
A lone pack formed by unrestored '35 Lagonda, a Fiat 514, an Alvis, and an Armstrong Siddeley is a wonderful thing to witness, even if you struggle to remember the model and manufacturer names!
Pre-war cars can put your knowledge about cars through serious testing, the early core of motoring culture. Seeing cars like these makes me want to retire and live like a hermit at the Royal Automobile Club Library in order to study everything about them. Cars like the Alvis or the Lagonda are just like a beautiful classic painting, and now almost more art than machine. The beauty, the soul, and the spirit of adventure and freedom define these old, oil dripping machines—and they should be appreciated for this. I’m sure the vacation was one to remember, too.
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