A battle royal at Blenheim for Salon Privé 2015

A relaxed atmosphere, a beautiful (new) location, a fabulous selection of classic cars and, mercifully, dry weather combined to make the 10th Salon Privé an event worthy of its premier status…

For 2015, Salon Privé was relocated to Blenheim Palace, a grand venue that couldn’t be more ideal for hosting a beauty pageant, both in the automotive and human senses. 

Hard-fought competition

Situated on the South Lawn, the Concours d’Elegance was arguably the finest (and most hard-fought) yet, the choice of ‘Best of Show’ a responsibility that we’re sure hung heavy on the shoulders of the discerning judges (led by Derek Bell, no less). Ultimately, the prize went to the JD Classics-prepared Jaguar XK120 ‘Jabbeke’, owned by Kurt Engelhorn, while Peter Mullins’ opulent Figoni et Falaschi-bodied Delahaye 135MS Cabriolet, known as ‘The Star of India’, rightfully earned the coveted ‘People’s Choice’ – it’s an outstanding example of art deco design.

Food for thought

As we tucked into our lobster lunch (washed down with a flute of champagne, naturally), we mulled over our favourites. The crudeness of the (class-winning) Lancia Sport Prototipo Zagato was a refreshing change from the abundant polished lacquer and chrome elsewhere on the lawn, while in the ‘Wind in Your Hair’ class, the simple yet remarkably charming 1955 Goldmanini vied with the Cisitalia 202 SMM ‘Nuvolari’ Spyder for our affections. The latter was the first prototype built, differing from other 202 SMMs in several significant ways (namely a steel body, rather than aluminium). “When you need to come out of a corner quickly, you can downshift to third but all you do is make more noise,” quipped its custodian.

Back to the future

Modern supercars and concepts play a prominent role at Salon Privé, too – Saturday sees the ‘Prestige and Performance’ competition taking place, for post-1975 supercars, while throughout the event, cars such as the McLaren P1 GTR, Ferrari FXX K and Aston Martin Vulcan were real crowd-pleasers. James Bond’s new Aston Martin DB10 was, unsurprisingly, stunning, and we’re pleased to confirm that the new Ford GT concept looks just as spectacular in the flesh as it does in the photos (the judges clearly thought so, too, as it won the ‘Concept Cars & Prototypes’ class).

Excellent exhibits

In case the excitement of the concours (or indeed the champagne) went to your head and the impulses kicked in, several dealers – many of whom list their wares in the Classic Driver Market – were on hand. Nicholas Mee, Joe Macari, Tom Hartley Snr and Hexagon Classics all had cars worthy of the concours itself, let alone the trade stands. And of course, Silverstone Auctions held its sale on Friday evening, at which Classic Driver was invited behind the scenes. 

Photos: Tim Brown for Classic Driver © 2015

Expedition Overland's Central America Expedition Ep10

The expedition enters the anticipated country of Costa Rica where the guys hope to find some remote trails. They just might have found more than they bargained for! 

Honda CB350 – Escape Collective

Less than two years ago Hill Hudson had his first bike featured on Pipeburn.com and it was predicated “we have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more from this guy in the not too distant future.” Well it seems that prediction has come to fruition, as Hill is back in a big way and his Café Tracker inspired 1973 Honda CB350 sets the bar more than a few rungs higher. While completing his studies in Illustration at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, Hill submitted the first bike in his Escape Series as his major thesis. That Yamaha XS650 was such a success that the philosophy behind the build has manifested itself into a place that is more than just a workshop. Escape Collective is a team of designers, makers, artists and engineers who use their professional talents to create an array of artistic projects, some of which just happen to be motorcycles.

It is in this space and with the help of his friends that Hill has created his latest masterpiece, the CB350 known as ESC Machine #002. With the CB stripped to just the frame Hill set about creating the sort of bare bones that would be the foundation for his automotive art. But he isn’t just a brilliant designer, this bike is built by his hands and having seen the build photos he can weld with the best of them. The original subframe was removed and Hill created a new one from scratch, bending his own pipe, sleeving and TIG welding for the ultimate in fit and finish. Most people who build a twin shock bike keep the standard shock mounts. Not Hill, he used round bar to create his own custom items that were designed to make sure they not only look good but keep the geometry spot on! Not wanting to leave it there the swingarm is extended 3 inches and the lower shock mounts modified to retain the correct leverage angle.

The CB350 tank is a popular swap for not only other Honda’s but many Café Racer builds but Hill wasn’t interested in just being one of the crowd. So he’s taken an old XL250 tank and cut the tunnel out of it, welding in a CB350 tunnel for a perfect fit to the frame. It’s this extra level of detail that makes spending time studying this build such a reward with Hill going the extra mile on every component. He’s even laid down the paint work himself with the white and green acrylic with “Escape Collective” graphics a brilliant throwback to customs of old. Keeping the rustic craftsman like theme going is the leather seat that Hill made from scratch stitching it together on an old industrial sewing machine.

When it comes to suspension on old Honda’s the status quo seems to be either keep the standard forks or go all out using modern USD items. Hill has gone a different route, first the forks were completely disassembled and rebuilt to ensure perfect operation before new covers were machined from scratch that not only look amazing, they give the appearance of what an USD fork might have looked like in the 70’s. Out back the new shock mounts play host to a new set of adjustable shocks with progressive rate springs for vastly improved handling. Steering duties fall to a set of Tracker bars that Hill bent up himself to fit the design of the bike and his personal riding requirements. These are held to the top triple tree with conical-shaped risers that Hill machined up on the Escape Collective lathe.

With a clear love of hands on craftsmanship Hill was back at the tools to create more pieces for the build, off the shelf bolt-on components just wouldn’t do it justice. The classically styled front and rear fenders were hand-made with sheet metal hammers and an English wheel. The rear fender holds the tail light that is one of the few components Hill didn’t make, but his buddy James Crowe from West America came to the party with just the right item. The twin headlight setup is more commonly seen on Street Fighters but using Model T Ford lenses it’s a perfect fit and they sit in custom-made housings. The leather wrapped grips with brass ends are matched to a set of footpegs that have been spun on the lathe from hexagonal solid brass.

Powering this little Honda is the classic CB350 engine that made it such a hit when it was released, smooth, reliable and peak power at 10500rpm were a rare combination in the 1970’s and holds up with similar sized engines today. To extract a few extra ponies over the 36hp from the factory the fitment of Mikuni twin carbs is a popular choice for very good reason. Extracting the gases are a stunning set of stainless steel two-into-one pipes that Hill, naturally, made himself and finished off with a single short reverse cone muffler in true Tracker style. To keep the look of the 70’s alive the drum brakes have been retained, although thoroughly cleaned up and are laced to 1 inch over stock 19 inch rims wrapped in some period correct rubber.

The final product is more than just a well fabricated motorcycle crafted by the hands of a talented young man whose metal work abilities are incredible for a professional Illustrator; This is a machine with a purpose “Let’s be honest, the thought of escaping the day job with a sketchy blanket strapped to your front end and hitting the trail with nothing but a bottle of whiskey and some bacon strips is good motivation to build a tracker style bike” Enthuses Hill. The Escape Collective name says it all, a group of creative friends who find solace in the build process and a physical and mental getaway with the finished product.

via PIPEBURN

Has Porsche blown it with the new Carrera?

The normally aspirated Porsche six-cylinder boxer engine has found a home in the back of the 911 since 1963 but, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The future of Porsche has Turbo written all over it...

The reasons for this radical decision are reduced emissions and decreased fuel consumption. Consequently, the engine of choice for the 2016 Carrera and Carrera S is an all-new, 3-litre, twin-turbocharged, six-cylinder boxer. “The normally aspirated six-cylinder is a famous engine in the 911, but we face some challenges, not only in terms of fuel consumption and emissions, but also from our competitors,” says senior Porsche engineer Dr Erhard Mössle.

Tit for tat

The turbocharged future of Porsche comes with various perks – the Carrera and the Carrera S are now significantly more powerful, both boasting increases of 20bhp (to 365bhp and 414bhp, respectively) and 44lb ft of torque (to 332lb ft and 369lb ft). Impressively, despite this extra performance, emissions have been reduced by around 10 per cent. According to Porsche, a new Carrera with PDK now achieves 38.2 miles to the gallon, and the S will return 36.7mpg. The future of Porsche cars is not only greener, but also more powerful and faster – we’re sure even the most diehard enthusiast will approve of that...

Text: Frank Diebel

Photos: Porsche