Rare wonders reunite at the inaugural Pininfarina concours

Earlier this month at the Parco Valentino Salone & Gran Premio motoring festival, the first Pininfarina Concorso d’Eleganza took place – celebrating 85 years of the coachbuilder’s existence in typically flamboyant style…

Pininfarina has made so many notable cars in its history that it’s often given its own dedicated class at concours shows – but, for the first time, the coachbuilder’s classics enjoyed their very own event, as part of the Parco Valentino Salone & Gran Premio in Turin earlier this month. A total of 50 prominent automobiles gathered in the courtyard of the Valentino Castle, after completing a tour through the city centre, much to the delight of the patriotic locals.

Pininfarina towers

Among several one-off Ferraris – including the Glickenhaus P4/5, the 308 GTB prototype and thefour-door Pinin currently for sale in the Market – other rare models included a Lancia Aurelia B24, a Cisitalia 202 and the eventual winner of the ‘Best in Show’ award, the Lancia Florida I owned byesteemed Italian collector Corrado Lopresto.

Photos: Degler Studio (info@deglerstudio.com)

You can find various Pininfarina-bodied cars for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

60' ......

Super VW Festival 2015

WRC, Rally Poland : L’été pied au plancher / a flat-out summer in store!

Avec le Rallye de Pologne et le Rallye de Finlande, le Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA 2015 aborde les deux épreuves les plus rapides de la saison qui seront parcourues à environ 120 km/h de moyenne.

L’an passé, la spéciale polonaise de Wieliczki (ES9) a été remportée par Andreas Mikkelsen à 136,88 km/h de moyenne. La pédale d’accélérateur du Norvégien est restée « au plancher » sur 8,98 des 12,86 km de la spéciale, la plus rapide de la saison 2014.

Cette année, Wieliczki a été modifiée, mais le parcours du Rallye de Pologne – renouvelé aux trois-quarts – s’annonce tout aussi rapide qu’en 2014 avec des spéciales roulantes tracées dans la région des Lacs de Mazurie. La petite ville touristique de Mikolajki, très prisée des Polonais et Varsoviens pour ses activités nautiques, accueille une manche mondiale des rallyes pour la 3^efois.

Le rallye est de nouveau basé dans l’immense complexe hôtelier de Golebiewski, aux portes de la cité lacustre, avec le parc d’assistance installé sur le parking, la Superspéciale située à 200 mètres et la plupart des équipages et des teams logés dans les 689 chambres de l’établissement.

Ces deux épreuves terre particulièrement rapides nécessitent une préparation minutieuse des machines et des accords suspension/pneumatique optimums. Cette année, Hyundai Motorsport et Volkswagen Motorsport ont mené une séance d’essais sur place, en Pologne. Citroën-Total Abu Dhabi et M-Sport n’ont programmé qu’une séance de mise en point en Finlande mi-juillet.

Volkswagen avait dominé l’édition 2014 avec ses trois pilotes Sébastien Ogier, Andreas Mikkelsen et Jari-Matti Latvala qui avaient remporté 18 des 22 spéciales. Sur sa Hyundai i20 WRC, Thierry Neuville avait conclu sur le podium devant Mikko Hirvonen sur Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Ce Rallye de Pologne n’avait guère souri aux Citroën DS3 WRC qui n’avaient marqué que 6 points au championnat Constructeurs. Cette année, l’équipe française a une 2^e place provisoire à défendre face à Hyundai.

Le team sud-coréen engage pour la première fois une 4^e voiture officielle ! Kevin Abbring rejoint ainsi Neuville, Dani Sordo et le héros du dernier Rallye de Sardaigne Hayden Paddon dont on attend une confirmation ce week-end.

La catégorie WRC-2 est une nouvelle fois bien représentée avec les ténors de la série (Al-Rajhi, Lefebvre, Kruuda, Ketomaa, Al-Attiyah, Tidemand, Lappi, Parn, Fuchs…). Le WRC-2 accueille deux des trois premiers du Rallye Dakar 2015 avec Nasser Al-Attiyah et le Polonais Krzystof Holowczyc, au volant d’une Ford Fiesta R5.

Le Rallye de Pologne compte également pour le championnat Junior J-WRC (10 engagés) et la Drive DMack Cup (12 engagés). Quentin Gilbert et Max Vatanen sont leaders respectifs de ces séries.

Rally Poland and Rally Finland see the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship continue with the season’s two fastest rounds. The winner’s average speed at both events is usually around 120kph!

Last year, Rally Poland’s ‘Wieliczki’ stage was won by Andreas Mikkelsen at an average speed of 136.88kph. The Norwegian’s foot was flat to the floor for 8.98km of the 12.86km test which was the fastest of 2014.

This year, that stage has been modified but, although three-quarters of the route are new, the event’s smooth stages in the Mazurian Lake District promise to be just as fast as last year. It will be the tourist town of Mikolajki’s third time as epi-centre of a world championship rally.

The rally is once again based in the vast Golebiewski hotel complex and the service park uses the car park. The super-special is only 200 metres away and the majority of the team staff and drivers stay in one of the establishment’s 689 rooms.

Poland and Finland are two high-speed events which call for particularly meticulous preparation and perfectly-tuned suspension/tyre packages. This year, both Volkswagen Motorsport and Hyundai Motorsport have already tested in Poland, while Citroën-Total Abu Dhabi and M-Sport have planned mid-July sessions in Finland.

Volkswagen dominated the 2014 Rally Poland with its trio Sébastien Ogier, Andreas Mikkelsen and Jari-Matti Latvala who claimed 18 of the 22 stages. Even so, Thierry Neuville finished on the podium for Hyundai, ahead of Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Fiesta RS WRC). It was a tough weekend for Citroën which only picked up six Manufacturers points. This time round, it will be out to defend its provisional second place in the standings against the assaults of its South Korean rival.

The latter is running four factory cars for the first time, with Kevin Abbring joining Neuville, Dani Sordo and the recent Rally Sardegna hero Hayden Paddon who will be hoping for another strong performance this weekend.

The WRC2 class will once again feature a high-class entry with all the category’s main runners (Al-Rahji, Lefebvre, Kruuda, Ketomaa, Al-Attiyah, Tidemand, Lappi, Parn, Fuchs, etc.). The list interestingly includes two of the 2015 Dakar’s podium finishers: Nasser Al-Attiyah and Poland’s Krzystof Holowczyc (Ford Fiesta R5).

Rally Poland will also count towards the J-WRC (10 entries) and Drive DMack Cup (12). Quentin Gilbert and Max Vatanen provisionally top these competitions respectively.

CAFE RACER CONCEPT

LIFE, THE SAYING GOES, is a journey, not destination. Along the way, you discover your passions— which in turn beget inspiration, the wellspring of your life's accomplishments. What happens, though, when you take alifetime's worth of passions and attempt to alchemize them into a single, focused inspiration? Can the entirety of a life be contained within one idea? 
Indeed it can — if the idea (and the life) are worthy.

• Occupying that rarefied spot in the firmament is the CT Scuderia Café Racer, an unparalleled collection of unique timepieces that blend the meticulous mechanics of Swiss construction and movements with inspiration imbued by classic caféracer the mantle of the family trade, he was a professional motorbike racer who was intoxicated by the heady allure of café-racer society: Sometimes the racetrack has a defined start and finish; other times the finish line is but a notion, and you keep going until you find the perfect disembarkation point.
• (A tidy metaphor for a well-lived life, that.) Yet even after Margaritelli left behind the gears and timing devices of one world for those of another, his first passion — motorcycles — had left its imprint on the very fiber of his being. The pleasure of discovery as the journey continues is a driving force in Margaritelli's life.
  Thus café racing — the world's most influential motorcycle movement, in which man and machine are on proud public, symbiotic display, individualism personified Enrico — was a natural inspiration for his next venture.
• 
• The racer's Spartan aesthetic and embrace of aggressive styling makes him (and his bike) unique among men.
  Shouldn't his timepiece be the same?
  The Italian essence of café-racer style embodies this to perfection —
  the jacket (dress or leather), shoes (never boots, thank you) and and sunglasses cohering into a singular personal, unique, style, man atop machine, ready for the next curve in the road, the next café,
  the next stage of the long journey.
  And so the inspiration takes form: the life all dream of but few lead.
  Will you be bold enough to seize it?
  Then the CT Scuderia Café Racer is the watch for you.
  

Bugatti ‘Brescia’ triples estimate at Artcurial’s Paris sale

At Artcurial's Automobiles sur les Champs 8 sale in Paris, a Bugatti Type 13 ‘Brescia’ well exceeded its 150-250,000 euros estimate, fetching a staggering 834,400 euros...

Slow build

In beautifully original condition and boasting single-family ownership since 1953, the Bugatti mimicked the furore of the frenzied Baillon Collection sale when it crossed the block; head auctioneer Hervé Poulain took bids thick and fast before a gradual build to the final figure. A remarkable car at a remarkable price – that's what you call auction fever.

Photos: Artcurial

Missed out? You can find both classic and modern Bugattis for sale in the Classic Driver Market. 

Timeless Classics: Maserati Ghibli Spyder

When it appeared almost 50 years ago, the Maserati Ghibli was a worthy rival to the Ferrari ‘Daytona’ and Lamborghini Miura. But how could Maserati hope to improve on such a desirable road car? By designing an open-topped version, the stunning Ghibli Spyder…

In the late 1960s, the original Ghibli was more expensive to buy than the celebrated Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. And yet, as evidence of both its beauty and superb driveability (not to mention 170mph potential from its 4.7-litre V8 engine, in coupé form), it outsold the hugely admired Ferrari. The exquisitely designed grand tourer (said by many to be Maserati’s ultimate road car) was the work of stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro, while he was working for Ghia. It made its first public appearance at the 1966 Turin motor show, going on sale the following year.

The beheaded beauty

In 1969, Maserati built on the success of the Ghibli by putting the convertible into production, the Ghibli Spyder. Often, the removal of a roof destroys the driving dynamics of a car, but this proved not to be the case with the Ghibli. Although it couldn’t quite match the top speed of the coupé, the convertible Ghibli was renowned for its exceptional driveability, the well-balanced Spyder offering the less-than-expert driver the comfort of predictable handling, even when pressing on.

The Spyder was strictly a two-seater, adapting the rear passenger accommodation of the 2+2 coupé as stowage for the foldaway soft-top. Every bit as beautiful as the coupé, if not more so, the Spyder had the added attraction of extreme rarity, even in its day. Only 125 Ghibli Spyders were ever built, making it a prized collectors’ car today.

Spot the difference

Serious connoisseurs might notice that the pictured car has a few minor styling differences from other Ghibli Spyders – the recesses in the door panels behind the door handles, for example, or the lack of external fuel filler doors on the rear deck. This is because the car shown is not only one of the very few Spyders produced – it’s the very first one, as confirmed by a letter from Fabio Collina, the manager of Maserati Classiche, as well as Maserati-certified copies of the car’s order and delivery sheets. Chassis number 1001, this is the very car that appeared on Ghia’s stand at the 1968 Turin motor show and Maserati’s stand at Geneva in 1969. In October of that year, the car was sold to its first private owner and, after two changes of ownership, it was put into static storage in 1986, where it remained for almost 30 years. Its first public appearance in nearly three decades was at the 2014 Concours d'Elegance of America in Plymouth, where it won the Debut Award, swiftly followed by further concours honours later that same year.

This extremely special example of an already highly desirable model is to be offered by RM Sotheby’s at its Monterey sale on 13-15 August 2015. The estimate stands at $1.2 - $1.8M.

Photos: Darin Schnabel ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This article is part of the 'Timeless Classics' feature series that is presented and supported by our friends at RM Sotheby’s.

Celebrating 50 years of Alpina, with founder Burkard Bovensiepen

Exactly 50 years ago, Alpina was formed as a BMW tuner – a family spin-off from a successful typewriter manufacturer. Today, the company is integrated into the core of the Bavarian conglomerate; we spoke to founder Burkard Bovensiepen about the amazing journey of the family business…

“From a young age I was interested in cars, and I never had the intention of going into the family business of making typewriters,” recalls Bovensiepen. “I was able to convince my father to let me use a small outbuilding on his business premises, and first I modified my own car, a BMW 1500. There was only one tiny Solex carburettor, but it was otherwise a good engine – so I added dual-Weber carbs, which gave it a 0-60mph time of 13 seconds, three seconds quicker than the base model.”

So, how did a small entity such as the repurposed Alpina become intertwined in the inner workings of the Bavarian giant? “There was an element of luck and good timing, certainly,” recalls Bovensiepen. “When BMW launched the 1500, it released the 1800cc variant soon afterwards, leaving the early adopters quite disappointed; they would gladly have waited for the model with the extra 10 or so horsepower.”

A little bit of luck

“I managed to get a meeting with the head salesman, and convinced him that we could upgrade these cars – but insisted that the original warranty would remain in place. That was very important,” says Bovensiepen. He proudly shows us the original approval document from 1964, on which the future of his company was based. Today, many of Alpina’s modifications take place on the BMW production line itself, a process which has been integrated increasingly since the 1980s, not long after Alpina first gained recognition as a manufacturer in its own right.

Until then, Alpina had indeed operated as a tuning house, but one that had a completely different approach to its domestic adversaries such as Koenig and Gemballa. “In those days, the other tuners only cared about having the most powerful engine; the rest of the car was not very harmonious. With Alpina, it was always the complete package, and remains so today. We designed the cars to be used all year round as daily drivers, but to still have the performance of a weekend sports car.”

A Klasse win

But why BMWs – was it simply a case of geographic convenience, or were there further considerations? “I wanted to see what was on the market in terms of tuning parts. I bought a Fiat and took it to Nardi, a tuning house in Italy. On the way back from Turin, the engine lost power because the crankshaft bearings failed, so I had to take it all the way back to Italy to get it repaired,” Bovensiepen continues. “To me it was clear that Alpina had to provide very well-engineered parts of high quality, to stay far ahead of the tuners. Mercedes didn’t have a sporty image, so I wasn’t interested in those. Then BMW’s ‘New Class’ saloon was displayed at the Frankfurt motor show, and these proved to be the perfect platform.”

So, after 50 years, which was the standout model for Mr Bovensiepen? “Probably our B10 BiTurbo, which was based on the E34 5 Series. It had 360bhp from its inline-six, and could reach a top speed of more than 180mph. In terms of performance, it was similar to a Ferrari Testarossa, but wrapped up in an unassuming saloon body. Paul Frère declared it the best four-door saloon he had ever driven. We have an example in our collection of historic vehicles and, once or twice a year, I’ll attach the red [trade] number plates and take it for the weekend. Even by today’s standards, it’s bloody quick…”

50 years on...

It’s not only Bovensiepen himself who embraces the marque’s history; the whole company does so outwardly, as do so many car manufacturers these days. At the Geneva motor show in March, Alpina unveiled a pair of ‘Edition 50’ cars that embody the company’s long-held signature values: subtle styling, a surfeit of torque, and levels of luxury approaching those of a Bentley. Not bad for a company started in a tiny workshop in the quaint city of Kaufbeuren. What’s more, with fewer than 2,000 cars built per year, Alpina offers more exclusivity than Rolls-Royce and remains very much a family-run organisation.

Photos: Alpina

On 28 June, Alpina will hold an anniversary celebration at the firm’s headquarters in Buchloe, Germany.

You can find several BMW Alpinas for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

MACCO MOTORS FOXY LADY

Posted by Ross Sharp

Billionaire. Has a nice ring to it, usually. That is until images of gambling fat cats in pinstripe suits spring to mind. Each to their own and all that but we prefer human stories of endeavour, and shed based ones all the better. At Bike Shed London we met a bunch of awesome people, one being John Bloor. A chap who started his working life as a plasterer and in 1983 scraped together £150,000 to buy Triumph Motorcycles from the receivers. Let us all rejoice that the man must have infinite vision, unwavering determination and balls the size of planets. Last year one in every five new motorcycles bought in the U.K. was a Triumph and globally nearly 55,000 units were built and sold.

O.K. so this is starting to sound like some poorly prepared investor presentation but we have a lot to thank John and his team for. Without this modern base for customisers, builders and shed fettlers to work on a large void would exist in the current custom scene. The Bonneville and Scrambler are so frequent on our pages for very good reason, they’re a great bike, period.

Two other guys we met were Jose and Tito from Macco Motors in Cadiz, Spain. What they lack in comparative zeros on the bank balance they more than make up for in charisma and craftsmanship. They don’t just build Triumphs but when they do, the formula works and customers keep ordering more. The Foxy Lady was supposed to be a build for the guys to enjoy for themselves, but customers pay the bills so the spec changed to suit.

The donor in question is a 2010 Bonnie T100 EFi, that was offered in very good original condition. Jose and Tito don’t hold stock but prefer to find the right donor to match the owner’s budget and expectations. It’s now commonplace for a prospective customer to source a bike from their home market, ship to the builder of choice for the work to be carried out, and then ship it back, reducing the time and admin of re-registering the bike. Although here in the U.K. the DVLA are pretty well set up for importing and the process is electronic and simple. This Foxy Lady is bound for home shores but a sister bike will soon be sent across the pond to Miami.

One component that is subject to the budget constraints of mass manufacturing in a competitive global market is the forks. Gold anodised Scando-suspenders suggest quality to the masses but the associated costs of fitting such exotic parts wouldn’t yield the aforementioned sales figures, so the Bonneville leaves Hinkley rolling on a perfectly good set of conventional forks, fit for the majority of real world situations. Custom customers are a bit more demanding so a pair of upsidedowners were liberated from a Ducati Monster 1100 EVO, complete with Brembo radials, Free Spirits triple trees enable simple fitment, and look the business black anodised matching the painted fork legs. They might not be gold either but the rear shocks are by Öhlins and fully adjustable.

To give that second Brembo disc a home a Thunderbird hub was laced to a 19″ rim and the spindle re-machined, this thing should stop on a Peseta. Metzeler Tourance dual sport rubber grip well in all conditions and come with just the slightest whiff of off-road without screaming faux-scrambler. The tall front wheel, squat forks and de-cluttered cockpit give a hunkered-down, beefy look. We like that. Biltwell bars with LSL clubman grips, a single mini speedo, race levers and a Bates headlight sit well alongside the stock switchgear.

The Triumph subframe is an easy one to plug the ends and leave as is, but it always looks infinitely neater to run a loop to keep the job tidy, a kick up helps visually and allows the rear fender to nestle higher up for a bit more clearance. The guys opted for real farmyard leather for the saddle, rather than the futuristic alternative, which should become supple and marked with age. You can’t put a price on real patina.

The fuel tank was stripped bare and re-coated in matt black, with the side sections receiving just a few layers of lacquer and a gold pin stripe. Subtle and classy for one, but also the raw scallops of steel help to shrink the sometimes bulbous Bonnie tank.

The sweeping yet sectional stainless exhausts were designed and fabricated by Roberto from GR Exhausts. In a bid to steer clear of the more obvious and classic reverse megaphones Roberto has integrated oval versions of their GP end cans. The raw finish of the super neat welds help add that all important new but used look to the finished bike. Not only that, it’ll sound fantastic with the baffles pulled.

The Foxy Lady is now loose on U.K. roads, ready for the British Summer, which I think was here between 10:37 this morning and 13:19 this afternoon, I do hope the new owner enjoyed himself.  It might sound a touch pretentious laying thanks at the feet of a shrewd business man for the steady stream of fantastic custom Triumphs we’ve seen over the last few years, but seriously, look at the pictures above. Spreadsheets, bank managers, bore-mongers from Brussels and the press probably would have seen a radiator fitted to this icon some time ago. We are very, very glad John didn’t listen.

Jose and Tito will take on builds of other marques but as demonstrated here, completely nail the Bonnie and Scrambler. To reach the guys head to the Macco Motors website, follow the progress of other builds on the Facebook page or wistfully daydream on Instagram.

As usual, fantastic photos by Sergio Ibarra from Semimate agency.

via the bike shed

A summer solstice celebration with the Mercedes W123

Rather ominously, the longest day of the year has now passed. Why not take a leaf out of this young lady's book, and get out and enjoy those summer evenings before the nights draw in...

Rendezvous

Here's another series of photos from our friends at Cool & Vintage, this time of a sunset soirée with an original Mercedes-Benz W123 230E. One of the most rugged and durable cars ever built, the sandy shores are no match for this Merc. And we’re sure its famously soft suspension and high-density steel body can more than handle the young lady clambering all over it. What are you waiting for? Mercedes or not, those summer evenings won't hang around for long... 

Photos: Cool & Vintage