96Magazine - Issue #01

#01

WINTER 2020 96 MAGAZINE

$96.00 ISSN 2635-1382

9 772635 138007

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GRAND TOURING REINVENTED Be taken on a new adventure by Overdrive Club – people passionate about cars who know what it takes to tailor an exclusive road trip perfect for you.

The Pyrenees Plan 29 April - 5 May 2021

The Dolomite Dash July 2021

The Corsica Caper September 2021

For a personal consultation, please contact Alex on 01977 801102 or alex@overdriveclub.co.uk overdriveclub.co.uk

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Michael Scott Founder of the 96 Club

Dear Friends and Colleagues, During a lifetime spent in working with cars and luxury brands, I have always tried to bridge the gap between customers and companies. Today, I am proud to present what is my lifelong dream: 96 Magazine.

A collection of incredible people, their successes and failures. A curated “ensemble” of products and services. A place where dealers in the finer things of life and their discerning audiences can meet.

96 I Winter 2020

WELCOME TO THE WORLD’S GREATEST GOLF COURSES & EXCLUSIVE

EXPERIENCES BEYOND GOLF

Singapore

“Privatus is an invitation only global private membership club, with a focus on access to the most iconic world class golf courses and luxury lifestyle services”.

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www.privatusclub.com chris@privatusclub.com

KEVIN HAGGARTHY, Managing Editor Kevin Haggarthy is a highly accomplished motoring journalist and broadcaster, having worked prominently in the industry for over 25 years. Kevin has had a glittering career in motoring journalism, having been a contributor to many mainstream motoring titles and the national press as a motoring correspondent, road test editor, and feature writer.

Kevin has made numerous appearances on screen and television, previously as an ITV motoring programme presenter, and subsequently as a motor industry business news commentator. As a motor industry consultant he has worked with several top car manufacturers, has piloted the wheels of some of the world’s greatest cars, and is one of the most respected journalists in the field.

JOHN BROOKS, Photo Editor/Sub Editor A motoring enthusiast since childhood, John followed his dreams some twenty-five years ago, leaving behind a career in advertising and design to write about and photograph cars, especially in the endurance and GT racing scene. This has led him all around the globe, working for most of the big names in the sport as well as on a host of books and magazines. In recent years he has extended his scope to cover classic car motoring events.

NIALL JULIAN, Automotive Journalist & Photographer Niall is an automotive journalist and photographer with a keen interest in classic cars. In 2015 he founded the award-winning blog Take to the Road. Like many other 96 Club Members, Niall has been bitten by the classic car bug and currently owns a 1947 Armstrong Siddeley Lancaster, a 1982 Vauxhall Viceroy, a 1990 Bertone x1/9 Gran Finale and a 1995 VW Golf GTi Mk3… probably as diverse a fleet as it gets. He is passionate about classics and loves the human stories that are attached to them.

JAMES SOHL, Automotive Specialist Contributor One of James’s first journeys as a babe in arms was in a Ferrari 250 Pininfarina Spider that his parents bought from the South of France; this set the scene for his love of cars.

As a child he memorised every column of data in “Car Magazine” and has since acquired an ‘Encyclopedic’ knowledge on cars old and new.

Many of James’ formative years were spent watching and asking questions to a string of specialists working in the garages of his house.

On passing his driving test it was important to James to have interesting cars, hence when he was 19 years old James bought a BMW 635 CSi which still resides with him to this day.

CAROLINE KEMP, Luxury & Lifestyle Editor Educated at Queens College in London – Caroline grew up between Paris, New York and the South of France. Her parents loved car rallies, and dragged her along to the Tour de France, the Italia Classica and the Vintage Equator Rally. Whilst they were cruising in style in a Ferrari 275, a Lancia Stratos, or a Bugatti EB110, she followed their trail in the support vehicle! Caroline’s first job was on a fashion magazine, progressing onto a career in TV News at ITN, and later changed paths into PR for Louis Vuitton.

She organised the Louis Vuitton Concours at The Hurlingham Club, and moved on to work with Audemars Piguet, Hublot, McLaren and NetJets.

ALEX VINCENTI, Luxury & Lifestyle Editor Some twenty odd years (some very odd) at the BBC as broadcast journalist, radio producer, trainer and organiser of media programmes for journalists from the Former Soviet Union. Commercial development manager for motor racing technology p u b l i s h e r. Te c h n i c a l w r i t e r a n d b l o g g e r.

Passionate about cheese.

MICHAEL SCOTT Founding Director michael@96magazine.com PAOLO CALLEA Managing Director paolo@96magazine.com KEVIN HAGGERTY Editor in Chief Kevin @96magazine.com JOHN BROOKS Photo Editor/Sub Editor john@96magazine.com LUCA PISETTA Head of Advertising luca@96magazine.com Specialist Contributing Writers: CAROLINE KEMP Watches & Jewellery caroline@96magazine.com NIALL JULIAN Automotive niall@96magazine.com JAMES SOHL Automotive james@96magazine.com ALEX VINCENTI Luxury & Lifestyle alex@96magazine.com LAZAR KACKAROVSKI Design lazar@96magazine.com Guest Contributors SARAH BENNETT-BAGGS MASSIMO PINI PUBLISHER 96E LTD Building 3 North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London, United Kingdom, N11 1GN www.96magazine.com SUBSCRIPTION & PAST ISSUES £96.00 world wide info@96magazine.com All rights in the licensed material belong to 96E LTD and may not be reproduced whether in whole or in part without prior written consent.

The publishers make every effort to ensure the magazines contents are factually correct at the time of going to press. We cannot accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions.

MICHAEL SCOTT, Founding Director

PAOLO CALLEA, Managing Director

LUCA PISETTA, Head of Advertising

The 96 brand, logos, copyrights and associated URLS’s are owned exclusively by 96E LTD. Copyright © 96E LTD. Cover Picture: Photography© Niall Julian

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The most valuable investment is a quality book of your car. www.bookedimages.com

Email: Nicole@bookedimages.com Telephone: 0118 976 2796

ISSUE 1

EDITOR’S WELCOME I

am not Lewis Hamilton, but at least I understand what it’s like to be standing on the podium celebrating our first issue of 96 Magazine.

Lewis knows better than anyone that nothing is possible without the efforts of a great team. None more so than the dedicated team of writers and supporters who have put all their efforts into making this first issue of 96 Magazine a reality. Thank you ‘Team’ you are amazing, and I am honoured to humbly present the results of your efforts.

We at ‘96’ are lovers of fine motoring and share a genuine passion for protecting, preserving and promoting our rich motoring heritage. We are also keen to acknowledge the efforts and tell the stories of so many pioneering

industry leaders who make that history both past, present, and future.

Yet equally so we are keen to share with you the finest in art, fashion, jewellery, design, or in a word ‘lifestyle’ accoutrements that combine to represent the very best of the many talents you will read about in this and future issues of our magazine.

2020 has been a year of unprecedented challenge, and great human tragedy. 2021 will be a brighter year and a time to rebuild, but if we have learned anything at all it is about the importance of making the most of the here and now, and to take the opportunity to make the most of the things we enjoy and the people we love. 96 is here.

Enjoy.

Kevin Haggarthy, Editor

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ISSUE 1

WINTER 2020

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110 not out, Alfa Romeo celebrates

La Passione!

Kevin Haggarthy tests the new all electric Porsche Taycan…

Owners and enthusiasts join in the birthday celebrations for this iconic Italian brand

Dimitrios Spyropoulo tells our editor all about his love of cars, his passion for Ferraris and his fabulous F40

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Motoring History in the making...

Ariel Tivon, representing the fusion between tradition and contemporary in jewellery

Michael Scott It’s a Wonderful Life

Accomplished racing driver and engineer, Ivan Dutton talks about his love for motorsport and restoring cars

Ariel talks about tanzanite, hero stones and crafting memories in silver and precious metals

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Are Porsche setting the performance benchmark with their first all-electric car

Multifaceted and multi-talented, the 96 Club founder is profiled

51 The longest day A quarter of a century has passed since McLaren dominated the Le Mans 24 Hours at their first attempt

Gallery Rouge, in the vanguard of modern art Kuldip Chohan, on recognising new and exciting talent

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Italian style meets Dutch flair in London

From the other side of the ledger

Anke Summerhill reflects on Minotti, the ultimate in Italian furniture

Jeremy Vaughan on how to start and lead the way in private banking

Vertex Watches, a new generation of military inspired timepieces

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Mixing it with the new Bentley Continental GT

Freethinking meets free riding

Kevin Haggarthy drives this longdistance tourer to the hills of Wales

68 Gentleman Driver Extraordinaire Peter Blond looks back on his racing career and his love for Rolls-Royce

Graham Kresfelder talks about e-bikes and the importance of being a disruptor

81 London Concours Cars on the lawn in the heart of the City of London

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Re-incorporated 100 years after the company’s creation by the founder’s great-grandson

88 2020 Concours of Elegance In a summer bereft of the traditional motoring events, the Concours of Elegance stood out as a beacon of excellence

92 We Never Closed...

The Salon Privé has retained its place as one of the great concours d’elegance while evolving into a motor show for the 21st century

1– 4 SEPTEMBER 2021 BLENHEIM PALACE

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James Sohl reflects on the passion for the brand and its legendary racing history

Alfa Romeo celebrates its th 110 Anniversary

Photography © John Brooks & Niall Julian, Alfa Romeo

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lfa Romeo is a brand that has everything going for it; history, racing heritage, patina, style, flamboyancy and a fan base the world over that loves them. It’s a make that conjures huge emotions from its Alfisti (Alfa Enthusiast) who both use and love the cars. In June 2020 Alfa Romeo celebrated its 110th anniversary, making it one of the oldest car makers out there, but this has passed with little or no fanfare. As Italy and the world went into lockdown planning a party was not a priority.

It is said that every petrolhead should own and drive an Alfa at some point. At a personal level this has eluded me, although as a child my mother had an Alfasud. As a family we went to buy a sensible Ford Escort and came home with an Italian hatchback. She fell in love with the car from the moment she saw it and I remember that her mind was made up. Love at first sight if you like, and we never even opened the door of the Ford. The Alfa was not without its issues, the principal one being a recurring brake problem. This turned out to be a cracked caliper that took a number of visits to the garage to fix. I clearly remember its little 1.3 twin cam rasping away, making sweet music; the rasps, crackles and pops from the exhaust were louder when Dad was driving. I remember turning up to

school in the car with its sculpted velour seats and the slightly off-white cream coachwork; it was a pretty cool car.

Passion We were not the only ones impressed by the Alfasud; on talking with Grant Richardson, the Secretary of the Alfa Romeo Owners Surrey Section. He fondly recalled the first time he saw an Alfa Romeo in the flesh. As a New 96 I Winter 2020

Zealander and later living in Australia, his love of Italian cars started with Fiat.

The Australian market was dominated by poorly built American and Australian cars, but he wanted a European motor as they were rarer and much cooler, and an Italian car was even cooler so he bought a Fiat. On one occasion, while getting his Fiat repaired, he was given an Alfasud as a loan car. The moment he drove it he was ‘besotted’.

Not long after this experience Grant moved to the UK and set about buying

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Alfa Romeo Anniversary

a car. It had to be an Alfa, and the search was on for an Alfasud like the one he had driven previously. This was quickly followed by a TI variant. In 1999 he upgraded again this time to a GTV6, which he has owned since and is unlikely ever to sell. Grant tells me that his GTV6 has only let him down once, and it’s no garage queen, being driven daily in the early years and has regular usage now as his prized classic. He sums up Alfas as being “all about the driving experience and how they make you feel”. For him he clearly likes driving a car, and a GTV6 of this era driving the rear wheels with that Italian soundtrack blasting out of the exhaust, you can see why.

Next up I chat with Chris Ayre who owns a more modern GTV 2.0 JTS. It’s fair to say that Chris is an enthusiast of extreme portions. He has owned many an Alfa and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Alfa Romeo. His passion for the brand is enormous and it’s probably fair to say that if he cut his finger his blood would have the Alfa logo

etched onto the platelets! Chris is the guy that has just spent £18,000 on the restoration of a 2003 Alfa GTV, typically worth £3,000. I asked him why he would spend that amount of money on a car like this….. “it’s not an ownership experience,” Chris tells me, it’s more like a good marriage with moments of pure joy and frustration. An Alfa gets under your skin and touches your heart, the car is worth more to me than the money”. He goes on to say that “if you can’t afford a Ferrari, an Alfa with a Busso V6 engine gives you the drama and experience of its brethren”.

Racing Talking of Ferrari, if it wasn’t for Alfa Romeo you wouldn’t have Ferrari. Racing forms a huge part of the brand’s DNA. A year after they formed A.L.F.A as it was then called, they

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entered the grueling Targa Florio race in the 24HP. By 1925 they established themselves as the sporty brand and won the inaugural World Championship.

In 1929 a young Enzo Ferrari formed Scuderia Ferrari when the Alfa Romeo factory team he was team manager for was privatised as a cost saving exercise. He set up Scuderia Ferrari and continued to race for Alfa until 1938. Ferrari is now the most famous car brand in the world, and would go on to become the most successful racing team of all time. The iconic Alfa Romeo 8C with the now famous yellow shield of Scuderia Ferrari on its flanks could be seen winning at races up to the start of the Second World War driven by drivers like Tazio Nuvolari. After the

Second World War ended racing started again, and Alfa Romeo had the best car winning the first ever Formula 1 World Championship in 1950, Giuseppe Farina taking the title with with the

Tipo 158/159 Alfetta. The following year Juan Manuel Fangio won, giving them back to back championships. Since then Alfa Romeo has competed in various race series including GT and Le Mans

with cars like the 33TT, and numerous Touring Car Championships with cars like the GTA and 155. Some private entrants also rallied Alfa Romeos with success. Currently, Alfa Romeo is back in Formula 1 as technical partner to Sauber.

Legend Alfa Romeo can be considered a legendary brand, and a lot of their racing filtered down to production models making them highly desirable. The old adage ‘watch them racing on a Sunday and buy in the showroom on a Monday’ applied to Alfa in the ‘60s and ‘70s like it did with Ford during that time. Through this period - which was probably their golden era - some truly wonderful cars were built. Notable and loved models were the 105/115 Series cars, which

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culminated in the GTA and was made available in both road and racing trim, proving hugely successful both on the circuit and in the showrooms. Let’s also not forget the Demure Spider - made famous with Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 film The Graduate. All models were lightweight, driver-focused cars with 50/50 weight balance, and they looked amazing. Their flagship car of the era was the 2600, which was the last Alfa to have a straight-six engine and this was replaced by the 2000 Series car. They even had a couple of supercars like the

Alfa Romeo Anniversary

Montreal, and my absolute favourite, the incredibly rare 33 Stradale. Only 18 Stradales were produced between 1967 and 1969.

By the ‘70s Alfa pursued a similar strategy with cars like the Alfasud (a small, front-wheel-drive hatchback) the Alfetta Saloon and Coupé, as well as sporting models such as the Alfasud Sprint and the GTV6 with the Busso engine. These cars continued into the ‘80s by which time Alfa fell on difficult times. Racing stopped, and Fiat acquired Alfa Romeo in 1986. The takeover saved

the company, but the cars changed, now sharing Fiat chassis platforms.

Alfa Romeos still looked and sounded great, and continued winning awards, but gone was that sweet weight balance and driver-focused chassis. Alfa Romeo became more focused on ‘design’, a car you bought with the heart, but the competition produced by other manufacturers drove better. Ultimately, this affected sales, and gradually Alfa Romeos became a less frequent sight on the roads.

Alfa magic Fast forward to 2003, and a concept car made its appearance that would later go into production in 2007.

The 8C Competizione was like a shot of adrenalin to the Alfisti. It was stunningly beautiful, wore Quadrifoglio badges on its wings, and was powered by a Ferrari engine. This was followed by the Alfa Romeo 4C, a baby brother that dynamically missed the mark, but was a sure sign of Alfa’s intent to return to form. In 2015-16 Alfa launched the Giulia and Stelvio which, in top-spec Quadrifoglio trim along with the Ferrari derived engine, hit the ball out of the park. Alfa Romeo are back, making cars that not only look great but equally so, are right up there with the competition.

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An owner’s tale

Alfa Romeo SZ A

lthough I had been wowed by the photos and magazine reports of the Alfa Romeo ES 30 concept (as it was first presented at the 1989 Geneva Motor Show) I think I truly fell for the SZ when I saw it up close on display at the Design Museum in 1991 as part of the ‘Alfa

Romeo: Sport through Design’ exhibition.

It looked like nothing else on the road. I was a design student at the time and the SZ seemed to break so many rules, yet somehow, on an emotional level, it delivered in spades and really got under my skin. “One day,” I promised myself.

Some years later, depreciation brought used SZs into my

affordability bracket so I began my search. With only a thousand or so ever made, there were only a handful available at any given time so my first port of call was Italy.

The ‘Scuola Guida Sicura’ based at the Varano Circuit in the Province of Parma was (and still is) renowned for its advanced driver training courses. Amongst its stable of vehicles used for driver instruction was a trio of SZs, one of which was up for sale. A visit and a test drive cemented my desire to own one, but something didn’t feel quite right so I walked away and in the end, I found one of the original 50 UK-supplied cars on sale in Kent and struck a deal.

As a Londoner, much of my driving consists of relatively short trips through urban traffic and while much has been written about the SZ’s abilities along twisting country roads where its sonorous Busso 3.0-litre V6 provides a terrific soundtrack for a spirited drive, let me tell you that this Alfa is also adept at coping

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with the cut and thrust of the capital’s congested streets.

Firstly, the Alfa SZ is compact.

At just over 4m long and 1.7m wide, you can slot it through width restrictions and into standard parking bays with ease. Super slim pillars also give you excellent all-round visibility which is unusual in a coupé and a pert truncated tail makes it easy to judge when you’re backing up into tighter spots.

But the Alfa’s urban secret weapon is its adjustable suspension. A flick of a switch on the centre console raises the SZ’s ride height by around 50mm - enough lift its substantial chin clear of even the most upstanding of London’s speed humps!

As a strict two-seater, rather than a 2+2, there are many occasions when my SZ has to be left at home in favour of more family-friendly transport, but this also makes each drive feel that bit more special.

There’s a true sense of occasion when you venture out in the Alfa Romeo SZ. It still turns heads and after almost two decades of ownership, when I catch its reflection in large shop windows, I struggle to think of a car that could replace it.

Massimo Pini

Welcome back Alfa!

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio revives a legend

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he Alfa Romeo Giulia Quatrifoglio is the new Alfa Romeo enthusiasts have been waiting for. This car delivers on a long-awaited promise. That promise was to show the world that the brand still has the ability to produce a car that embodies the true spirit and sporting capability of an Alfa Romeo. There are no compromises here; it’s a fullon assault, reasserting Alfa’s prominence right up there with the best. Excited? You should be; and take a deep breath, for this sporting flagship combines driving excitement with

affordability, breeding, and an accomplished racing history.

Dna Breath even deeper when I tell you that the Giulia Quadrifoglio (commonly referred to as the QF) has Ferrari DNA too. It takes the form of a Ferrariinspired V6 BiTurbo petrol engine constructed entirely of aluminium. That engine delivers 510 bhp, 600Nm of torque, a top speed of 190mph (307km/h) and a 0-62mph time of only 3.9 seconds. It also has best-in-class emission levels thanks in part 96 I Winter 2020

to its electronically-controlled cylinder disabling system.

For the enthusiast, dynamic highlights include 50/50 weight distribution across its axles, multi-link rear suspension (with an Alfa Romeo-patented solution for toe adjustment) and a new double-wishbone front suspension set up to maximize dynamic performance and enhance driving comfort.

Another first for the Giulia is a new semi-virtual steering axis which optimises the filtering effect and guarantees rapid, accurate steering by keeping a constant caster trail in corners.

Alfa Romeo Anniversary

In the Quadrifoglio version, the use of ultra-lightweight materials extends to other components including carbon fibre for the bonnet, roof, front splitter, rear spoiler and body inserts, as well as aluminium for the doors and wings. The braking system has been tweaked using aluminium elements, while carbon ceramic brake discs and front seats with a carbon fibre structural frame can also be specified as options.

To ensure the purist nature of the Guilia, Alfa decided that technology should only be used to improve the driving experience. Key to accessing that is the Alfa DNA selector, which modifies the car’s dynamic behaviour according to the driver’s selection of either Dynamic, Natural, Advanced Efficiency (a new energy efficiency mode) and Race (only on Giulia Quadrifoglio).

These each modify the engine, suspension, steering, transmission, rear differential, instrument display, brakes, safety, and driver aids. Yes, it’s a computer on wheels. The cabin design is centred around the driver with the main controls grouped together on the steering wheel.

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about everything else on the track; that included a McLaren MC12, a Porsche 911 Turbo, and even a race-spec Ferrari F355 – no problem; phenomenal.

Yet the throaty measured purr of the engine at idle for second time around was somewhat disappointing. There was no sharp growl as the engine started, but more of a muted rumble. The steering felt surprisingly light at low speed instead of firm and purposeful like I expected…. not a good start.

Maybe that first time around heady experience of outright speed deluded me? We’ll see…

A 250-mile commute journey from London to mid Wales quelled any measure of doubt.

170 miles of that journey albeit speed camera monitored M25, M1, M6 and M54 proved a delight. This 191mph driver

QF– the engine note turns to a serious growl, and there is an opportunity to extract the performance to match the sound. In a word ‘Wow’. The QF takes on a transformation; so forceful and powerful is this car under acceleration that I found myself literally unable to turn my eyes away from the road ahead for even a second as the Alfa was covering ground so fast, and the many bends, cambers and ‘hairpins’ were coming up so much faster than I can ever remember…..and I know this road. This Alfa QF is so seriously fast…

Yet not at the cost of tenacious handling. A powerful front-engined rear-wheel-drive car is a race driver’s favourite for a reason, and with such carefully measured balance to front and rear, aligned to the exceptional

focused machine was relaxing, comfortable, luxurious even; I was loving it.

So much so that I forgot the last 70 or so miles of this trip would be the most exciting.

The B458 from Welshpool to Machynlleth is one of my favourite ‘drivers’ roads, and an opportunity to really explore the Alfa’s potential.

A few irresistible switches up to ‘dynamic’ transforms the

grip of those Pirelli P Zero tyres mated to a finely tuned chassis, this Alfa is Viagra on wheels yet fun to drive at any speed.

No, the QF is not as good as I remember it, it’s a whole lot better! The car itself is unchanged, I just needed to savour the Giulia QF experience again, just one more time. With this car Alfa Romeo is well and truly right up there with the best.

Yes, it’s that good.

On the road Lucky me. This is my second road test appraisal of the QF. After my first, I concluded that it was one of the best highperformance saloons I had ever driven. Maybe this second time I might not be so impressed……

Yet on second acquaintance it still felt good behind the wheel.

The seats fitted snug, tight, hinting at the QF’s performance potential. I couldn’t help but smile, for once inside it rekindled treasured memories of my previous test exploits with the car on the Brands Hatch race circuit, where it passed just

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Alfa Romeo Anniversary

Giulietta Spider Prototype, 1955

Portello factory, 1900 production

GP Europe, Silverstone, Farina, 158 - 1950

Portello factory, Guidobaldo Trionfi, Spider 1600, 1966

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Spider 1600 launch on “Raffaello” ship, 1966

GP Tipo 158 “Alfetta” - 1939

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Ivan with his 1914 Peugeot L76 Special which he built himself

Photography © Niall Julian

Motoring History in the making...

Niall Julian talks to Ivan Dutton, racer and engineer extraordinaire… who can’t retire

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I just love cars and racing them and I really enjoy taking things to bits, finding out how they work and putting them back together. It’s been a wonderful life really.

M

ost racing drivers will admit to being much happier at the wheel than on the end of a spanner. It’s one thing to be skilled on the track, but to have a detailed understanding of the car’s mechanics is another.

Ivan Dutton is one of those rare talents, who was not only good behind the wheel, but could also build and tune his own race cars to perfection. In 1973 he became British Production Saloon Car Champion driving a Ford Escort Sport and in 1996 he took home the Itala Trophy at Silverstone driving his Bugatti Type 35B. He also held the record at Prescott Hill Climb for 12 years, which he achieved in a Bugatti Type 51.

In 1979 he founded Ivan Dutton Ltd, one of the world’s most respected Bugatti restoration specialists. At the age of 80, Ivan has retired from the day to day running of the business, which is now in the capable hands of his son Timothy. That doesn’t mean he’s put his feet up however, as Ivan is as busy as ever working away on his own builds and special projects.

Passion Ivan’s passion for engineering began with his father, Victor Dutton. He got involved with George Newman who was an agent for Salmson cars in the 1920s. Both of them had an interest in racing and Victor ended up as Newman’s passenger at numerous race events at Brooklands. That connection lead him to work for the Salmson works racing team, which started the Dutton family obsession with the French marque. “My Dad got to work on racing cars in the 1920s which obviously was a magic time to be involved with them.”

Such were the family connections in the pre-war motorsport world, they were friends with Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, would go on to win Le Mans in 1931 and was later elected President of the BRDC. “We used to have a place in Greenford and Earl Howe used to call into us on his way home to Beaconsfield. My Dad knew them all back then and worked with them all, people like Dudley Benjafield as well. My brother remembered going to Shelsey Walsh and being with the German racing driver, Rudolf Caracciola, going to Brooklands in its heyday and the like… this was all before the war.”

Ivan enjoys nothing more than taking something apart to understand how it works

With his family heavily involved in the early days of motorsport, it is little surprise that it rubbed off on a young Ivan. “When I was born in 1940, the war had been going on for a year, so I spent five years listening to them, my Dad and my brother (who was also called Victor), talking about the good old racing days before the war. I couldn’t avoid it really!”

Those formative years were a big influence on Ivan and he has many fond memories of pestering his brother. “I can

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23 Old cars do break down and it’s Ivan’s job to fix them using old school skills

remember laying under a car with my brother Victor, who was taking the sump off, as they were going to rebore the block in the chassis. He was trying to get the big ends off and the nuts rounded off. So, he had to get a junior hacksaw to cut through the bolts which took ages. And I remember laying there asking him questions, pointing at stuff and going What’s that? What’s this for? What’s that do? In the end he said For Christ’s sake will you shut up and let me get on with it! Ha ha I was only a small child you see but yeah… I couldn’t avoid cars really!”

car to get to work on. We got it fixed and my Dad used to take me to school in it. And all the kids at school used to say What’s that bloody old car? What’s that old thing? So you weren’t posh or flash to be seen in one of them. You had to be a real enthusiast”.

Ivan’s first car wasn’t French however, it was something more homegrown and was a popular first car for many a young driver. “My Mum bought me my first car when I was 14. It was an Austin 7 and by the time I was 17, I’d turned it into a Special and that was my everyday car. It so happened to come about during the Suez Crisis and you were allowed to drive with L plates with no-one with you. So I’d been driving for three months before I took my test. Which I passed of course”.

Bugatti

The Duttons were also very fortunate to have invested in vintage race cars at the right time, when they were no longer fashionable or expensive. By the late 1940s and early 1950s, pre-war race cars were considered old hat and there was very little interest in them. “In 1950 my Dad bought a 1926 Salmson Grand Prix Special race car for £52. I was ten at the time and that was really the first car I got involved with. It had the wrong body on it and someone had cut the tail off it. We swapped the body from another Special so it was a really good

Another marque that has played a huge part in Ivan’s racing and engineering career is Bugatti. “My Dad worked on Bugattis a lot and we had a load of tools and loads of bits kicking around when I was a kid. I remember later on in the 1980s walking into Coys of Kensington and they’d just sold a Bugatti Type 43 to a customer, who happened to be David Hyman. They asked me to help them start it up and we found that the back axle had gone. Which is pretty much where my Bugatti business all started. A few weeks later David phoned me up and asked me to go look at a Type 51, which was owned

by Jack Richards, who was also a Lotus Seven enthusiast.

Graham Hill drove some of his cars. Anyway, David bought that Type 51 and I actually got to race it. Which caused quite a stir in the Bugatti Owners’ Club when a bloke who talks like what I do turned up, driving a Bugatti… I can remember a lady once saying Who’s that terrible chap? Ha ha ha yeah… I burst into that scene and ruffled a few feathers really”.

Ivan races his Peugeot recreation at historic events such as Goodwood and Bicester

The 1914 Peugeot was created to be as close to the original race car as possible

Shrewd investments

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Pre-war Bugatti race cars are highly sought after with many residing in private collections and seeing little action on the track, thanks to their average price tag of around £2m.

So what makes them so special? “Oh, they are very good. You drive a Type 35B running on methanol, you just can’t believe what it is like, especially when you see that it’s from 1929.

So, one of them with big brakes and a blower and straight methanol will take your breath away! Running on that stuff they were close to 200bhp and they can do a standing quarter in less than 14 seconds. It’s like driving a light weight Ford Escort RS as a comparison. The clutch is fabulous and the brakes are fabulous. People used to put extra bits on the front brakes to stop the axle winding up, but you don’t need any of that. If you put a Bugatti together properly you can do 130mph down the straight at Silverstone and you just stamp on the brakes and it will pull up beautifully.”

“I used to race against Tim Llewellyn in his Bentley 3/8 Litre. He could beat me off the line and he’s a very good driver, but I would just drop in behind Tim and wait for the Bentley’s brakes to fade and I’d just overtake him and drive off. The brakes on the Bugatti didn’t fade away, they were just perfect.

They ended up banning my Bugatti because it was so fast! But there was nothing in that car that wasn’t on it in 1929. They once made me polish the red paint off the radiator to show the nickel underneath as they thought it was aluminium. But I just set it up for racing and paid a lot of attention to the rear

suspension to make it really compliant. You see people make lots of demon tweaks to their cars and you don’t need any of that!”

Aladdin’s Cave Turning our attention to Ivan’s workshop, it is an Aladdin’s cave of automotive delights, with rare cars, parts and tools filling every available space. Amongst the numerous Salmson Special projects there is a fabulous and rare 1924 Donnett Zedel saloon. And tucked around the corner was Ivan’s brilliant little Lotus Seven, the 17th example built, which he’s raced at the 96 Club’s track day at Brands Hatch last year. Also taking pride of place in his collection is a stunning homage to the Peugeot race car driven by Jules Goux to victory at the Indy 500 in 1913. Goux was the first foreign driver to ever win the race. Ivan built his 1914 Peugeot L76 Special after carefully studying period photographs of the original car. He sourced the Peugeot chassis from France and the 10-litre Hall-Scott aero engine from America and hand crafted the body to ensure the special looked the part, down to the smallest of details. Ivan even recreated a period correct Resta steering wheel to complete the look. Such is his talent, Ivan can turn his hand to anything, his passion for all things automotive literally knows no bounds.

Ivan might officially be retired but he is still busy on his numerous projects

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26

Fast lane art Alex Vincenti talks to…

Kuldip’s approach is simple: if he doesn’t like it, he does not represent it. Sixty artists represent a variety of genres, from abstract to urban, from floral to superheroes, from impressionist to photo-realistic.

KULDIP CHOHAN

Founder and owner of Gallery Rouge

T

her family were very creative and encouraged him to explore his artistic side and that’s how, 30 years ago, he started collecting art. Then, the call of the muse (his wife in this case) grew stronger. “I got to a stage where

I wanted to do something I really was passionate about – maybe not something I was very good at – and after having badgered my wife over several years she told me to shut up talking about it and do it. And that was the

Paul Oz, Lewis Title 18

here is nothing subdued about Kuldip Chohan’s Gallery Rouge. The crimson showroom front of the Harpenden branch stands out against the anonymous high street shops, anticipating the art displayed inside, from Sleek’s distressed interpretations of Beano’s Gnasher and Dennis the Menace, to the luminous marina of Casimiro Perez, to the shocking pièce de résistance: Paul Oz’s large and thick oil painting of the Lamborghini logo on a real Huracán boot lid.

In the beginning Gallery Rouge started in 2007, an endeavour born out of Kuldip’s passion. “When I was younger, I was very much into art, music and creatives, but I am Sikh, Indian, and mum and dad wanted me to be ‘doctor’ Chohan, a very common situation.” So he got his degrees and eventually moved into a corporate career that had nothing to do with his real interests. But his French wife and 96 I Winter 2020

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Kuldip Chohan, Owner, Gallery Rouge

Lifestyle Leaders

greatest green light I was ever going to get: with my passion, give the service that I would have wanted when I started as an art collector.”

Today, Gallery Rouge is an independent gallery. Kuldip chooses his artists because he admires and enjoys collecting them himself: it’s his taste and his eye that decide what shall be selected, curated and displayed. He receives some five applications a day from artists who wish to be represented and Kuldip’s approach is simple:

if he doesn’t like it, he does not represent it – and that is reflected in his clients. They either like everything Gallery Rouge has to offer, or nothing – and Kuldip makes no apology for it.

Besides the contemporary artwork, Gallery Rouge is recognised for dealing with 20th Century School of Paris Masters. Events have included solo exhibitions for Picasso, Dali, Chagall, as well as mixed shows featuring Miró, Lichtenstein and Braque. Increasingly, 96 I Winter 2020

events juxtapose historical icons and the new generation to provoke debate and reflect the manner in which many of Kuldip’s clients assemble their collections, with classic masters hanging alongside emerging and mid-career artists that fuse traditional craftsmanship with innovative approaches. Some work primarily on digital art and mixed media, like J.J. Adams, who takes published celebrity images and makes them into contemporary statements: in her portrait, the young Queen has

Lifestyle Leaders

28

tattoos of her arm and a labret piercing; the photo booth classic of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley shows Marilyn - with a tattoo on her wrist and ‘Kiss Me Quick’ on her neck - making the ‘V’ sign, while Elvis is takes a selfie.

Genres Gallery Rouge’s sixty artists represent a variety of genres, from abstract to urban, from floral to superheroes, from impressionist to photo-realistic.

Older collectors may have chosen the soft expressive figures of Iranian painter Hessam Abrishami, or the realistic landscapes of Allan Morgane;

their millennial scions may be more attracted by Craig Davison’s self-defined ‘slightly naive, grubby look with lots of

energy’, or provocative Harry Bunce, or Stella Parslow, in the vanguard of new trends in interior design.

Paul Oz, Senna, 24th Anniversary Commemorative

96 I Winter 2020

Kuldip’s relationship with his artists can translate into a direct involvement in their creative process, and Paul Oz is a prime example. “We have been working with, Paul Oz, basically the official artist of Formula 1.

He makes paintings of the great racing drivers like Hamilton, Senna and Lauda. When hosting his recent exhibition, I asked him whether he had ever used a car classic body part as a canvas and came up with this idea to paint on a boot lid of a Ferrari. So he produced this beautiful piece with the Ferrari Prancing Horse on the genuine fibre glass bonnet from a Rosso Ferrari F355. It was snapped up immediately, so I asked him: what about Lamborghini? So we acquired the boot lid of a Huracán and he painted on it, in oil, Lamborghini’s Golden Bull emblem. We have it in the gallery now and it’s just amazing.”

Lifestyle Leaders

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People centric

communications, Kuldip has been able to adopt the best digital and internet business practices to continue offering his art, services and passion to his national and international clients – critically important at a time of coronavirus restrictions on distancing and travel.

A case in point is Kuldip’s unique augmented reality mobile phone app, Visualiser, which allows clients to view any artworks from Gallery Rouge’s website as if it were in their own home, on their walls, to make sure it fully matches their expectations before buying it.

Want to see how Paul Oz’s Lamborghini’s Golden Bull fits in your studio? Kuldip’s suggestion is simple: “don’t think it, visualise it”. Download Visualiser on your mobile phone or tablet and see how the artwork would look on your wall. Just make sure you have more than a square metre space to hang it!

From realism to virtual and augmented reality, Gallery Rouge also stands out for the business approach: very peoplecentric, very client-centric, but with some hard-nosed core business tenets. Artists and styles have changed over time and so has technology: with his background in IT and

96 I Winter 2020

If you could take a classic sports car and improve it in every single way possible, with more power, better handling, superior braking and reliability, whilst retaining all the charm and character of the original...

WHY WOULDN’T YOU? KEVIN O’ROURKE - Moto Technique Limited

La Passione!

Kevin Haggarthy speaks to Dimitrios Spyropoulos on his passion for cars and the story behind his fabulous Ferrari F40

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“S

ince childhood, I can’t remember myself thinking about anything other than cars, cars, cars, … and more cars”. This is, no doubt, why Dimitri Spyropoulos’ ardor for the world’s finest motor cars runs deep.

So deep in fact that his childhood passion is now indeed his business. Dimitri is founder and owner of Veloce Classic & Sports Cars, specialising in the restoration and sale of some of the most desirable cars in the world, with branches in London’s Chelsea Harbour and Padova, Italy.

Enthusiast It’s Dimitri’s enthusiasm that accounts for his great success...

“I started buying cars when I could afford to of course, and got in the car business about 14 years ago. I did auctions initially, and was a business partner of Coys before it was sold. After that I carried on with a little business and a small collection of cars” .. he says modestly, and now Veloce Classics is indeed ‘a thriving global business’.

“My business allows me to indulge in my passion. I see it in two ways, a passion and as an investment. I only buy cars that I like, and have a taste for special colours. I have for example a dark green 550 Maranello, and a dark green Ferrari 456 GT. I like something that stands out, something a little different.”

An F40 is an amazing machine, it’s ‘pure driving’… the definition of the hyper-car. Of course, it is no longer the ultimate Ferrari in terms of speed, but its simply an amazing feeling when the Turbos kick in!

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Whilst a lover of great cars in general, as a Ferrari Corse Clienti customer (one of Ferrari’s VIP Customers) it is hardly surprising that Dimitri owns a number of Ferraris . When we asked him how many Ferraris he owns Dimitri reeled off a list “…two F40s, a 288 GTO, a 308, a 328, a GTC4 Lusso, a 275 GTB, an F355 to name but a few, and whilst some collectors sit, admire, wash, polish and return them to storage, Dimitri ‘drives everything’.

“The need to own one came about in about 2009/2010; a friend invited me to take his F40 out for a drive. I drove it for the first time and thought ‘My God! I just have to own one of these cars!!’ Oddly it felt a little slow in the beginning and I thought ‘Oh its not so fast, and for a moment thought of that old saying ‘never meet your heroes;’ but then the twin Turbos kicked in and the car started flying; I thought this is it!! – it was quite an amazing experience”

Photography © Elena Pizzo

F40 Between 1987 and 1992, to celebrate its 40th Anniversary, Ferrari manufactured the very special limited edition and, now of course, legendary F40. Only 1,315 were produced.

Indeed, it was the very last Ferrari to be approved by Enzo Ferrari himself, and at the time was the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive production Ferrari on the market. To own one now is the privilege of the very few. Dimitri owns two.

“The Ferrari F40 was always my passion; I used to have (a picture of ) one hanging on my wall. The F40 was the holy grail for me. Whilst I’d bought and sold a few in the past, it was around 2013 that I decided I had to own one for myself. I have two at present, one with 29,000 km on the clock (which is for sale) and another with only 3,000km which I plan to keep.”

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Section Heading

Running costs

“An F40 is an amazing machine, it’s ‘pure driving’…. the definition of the hyper-car. Of course, it is no longer the ultimate Ferrari in terms of speed, but its simply an amazing feeling when the Turbos kick in. It is unique, and the way the car handles on a good road or a race track with the right tyres is remarkable. Yet it is quite easily a car you can use for normal driving; it has a wonderfully flexible V8, and once you’ve got used to the size of the car (it’s quite big) you can quite happily drive it around London”!

“Unlike some, I have never been afraid of the running costs of the F40. A friend once told me that you could buy a car for a couple of million and it can have the same running costs as a car worth £100k. It (the F40) is not a scary thing to maintain, apart from the fuel tanks. My last dealer service on the F40 (without fuel tank maintenance) was £3,500 whereas the last servicing bill on my 550 Maranello was £7,500!

The only scary thing about maintenance of the F40 is the fuel tanks; it costs between £20-25k, and you need to replace them every ten years. But then you have to weigh the maintenance costs up against the value of the car. Ten years ago you could buy an F40 for £150-400k; now it’s a millionpound car, and its value will increase”.

OK, so when it comes to cars Dimitri is the man who has almost everything, so we had to ask which ranks as his favourite? “I am in love with the idea of the front-engined V12 ‘gentleman’s’ Ferrari, so the favourite for me is my 550 Maranello; it is user friendly, very fast, and only one of four right-hand drive dark green 550s ever made”. Touché.

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Business Leaders

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Ariel Tivon

Owner & Creative Director of Tivon Fine Jewellery and Director of Rêver

A

riel Tivon didn’t know he would become a prestigious jeweller dealing in unique gemstones and being inspired by supercar marques like Ferrari and Bugatti.

His first calling was for food, but was dissuaded from pursuing a career as a chef; he also tried his hand at architecture, which didn’t work. So he went for a degree in accounting and auditing, in the belief that at some stage he would be involved in business.

Then, he fell in love. He fell in love with a gorgeous tanzanite gemstone in a jeweller’s window and in his words, “it lit up my world”.

Tanzanite is a royal blue and violet stone, but depending on the light and the angle, the colour can change to shades of purple, indigo, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red and brown. It’s the result of a geological fluke, a one-in-a-million chance, and it exists only in a tiny area in Tanzania, near the Mererani Hills at the foot 96 I Winter 2020

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Business Leaders

FerrariF80-inspired cuff, Burmese rubies and black and white diamonds set in 24 carat gold.

of Mount Kilimanjaro. This makes it the rarest and possibly most beautiful stone found in the last two thousand years. However, it’s likely that the mine will be depleted within the next 20 years, making tanzanite to be defined as the “gemstone of a generation” because this generation will be the last one able to buy new quality stones before the supply is exhausted.

Actually, gemstones were already in Ariel’s DNA, as his father was a well-established jeweller in Johannesburg, South Africa, so the beauty of tanzanite triggered a latent passion that defined Ariel’s successive career and led him eventually to

create the largest and best tanzanite collection in the UK and possibly in Europe.

For Ariel, the process for creating a piece of jewellery starts from a ‘hero’ gemstone. It doesn’t necessarily have to be large. It can be small, but must be exquisitely cut, it must have superb colour and a clear life of its own. Then, in Ariel’s words, “the creative juices start flowing, the imagination runs wild, and you start thinking of how to bring out its potential and create a piece of art that someone else can enjoy for a lifetime. Then we decide on the design – I am in charge of this – and give the best ‘voice’ to the gemstone.”

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Business Leaders

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Ariel Tivon’s creations are intended for the higher net-worth clients who demand something unique and exclusive also from an investment point of view. Ariel’s sister company, Rêver (French for to dream), mirrors the skill and passion to develop bespoke, one-off and special projects where the ‘heroes’ starting points are the customers’ dreams and experiences. The Ferrariinspired cuff is a fantasy of Burmese rubies and black and white diamonds set in 24 carat gold.

Admittedly loud and brash, it is meant to echo the loudness and brashness of the colours and shape – even the mesh grille - of designer Adriano Raeli’s Ferrari F80 concept car.

Rêver has created a number of replica models of supercars in precious metals like the Ferrari F50 and 250 GTO, and Aston Martin DB4. The one that stands out for level of detail, crafted in silver

Two pieces exemplify Ariel’s philosophy: the ‘Love Springs Eternal’ pendant; and the Ferrariinspired gold and diamond cuff, created under Ariel’s separate specialised brand, Rêver.

The ‘Love Springs Eternal’ pendant is part of the Tapestry in Stone collection, where a variety of gemstones are woven into a framework intended to represent a story. “It came at a very interesting time, Brexit, when there was so much doom and gloom and I thought we needed something very positive and uplifting. I happened to have a number of heart-shaped gemstones – an emerald, a ruby, aquamarines, tanzanites and tourmalines – and these were the start of the process. We moved them around until they established a rhythm and suggest the shape of the design. The result was a large pendant with a tree of gemstones. Springing from the earth, its frame, was a trunk made of diamonds and branches reaching out and carrying the heart-shaped gemstones, symbolising life and love.”

by third generation master silver- and goldsmith, Gil Holt, is the Bugatti Veyron. Developed in silver over a period of six months (during which time even special tools had to be devised), it shows a faithful reproduction of the engine and the interiors, its moving parts - doors, bonnets and even the spoiler - paying homage to the original.

“If you can think of it, we can create it. There are no boundaries”, says Ariel Tivon. “A very special creation was commissioned by the wife of a man who had spent his lifetime in the oil industry. She wanted to commemorate his achievements with something really seminal, that stood out, and together with Gil Holt we created a precise scale replica, in solid silver, of one of his oil rigs. It was a work of art and truly a labour of love. This is what we are trying to offer: something that goes beyond the imagination. I am a people pleaser, and am in the people pleasing business.

The main focus of jewellery and my work is to make people happy. This is my calling”.

96 I Winter 2020

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Kevin Haggarthy tests the new all electric Porsche Taycan…

Could this car be the benchmark for the future?

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The more you learn about the Taycan, the more it grows on you.

Its simply massive performance is excitingly outrageous...

W

hen Porsche step ‘out of the box’, we have learned to take the brand seriously. You see, Porsche is the world’s most commercially successful luxury car brand, achieving revenues of 5.8 billion euros in 2019, making it by far the most profitable in the global Volkswagen Group.

It wasn’t always that way. Whilst the Porsche brand is indeed part of motoring legend, post millennium it needed to survive in a global economy where not enough people wanted to drive various reiterations of pedigree sports coupes. At the time Porsche were thus quick to jump on the SUV bandwagon and quickly silenced critics with the launch of the Cayenne, that subsequently became its best seller. Its more compact SUV, the Macan, is currently topping the sales charts with the Cayenne now trailing a close second.

Investment It’s hardly surprising then that there was not a murmur of anorak surprise when Porsche announced an investment of £6 billion to ensure 50% of their new vehicles are electrically

powered by 2025. A wise move particularly for future UK sales and the government’s ‘Green Plan’ set to prohibit the sale of wholly powered diesel and petrol engines by 2030.

Yet Ummh… I hear you say, ….so what of the romanticism of the traditional Porsche enthusiast?....‘that deep throaty roar of an engine, the muscular solid stance, world beating ride, handling, and acceleration’… Can battery powered silence do justice to a brand with such pedigree?

Porsche’s answer to that in the affirmative is the Taycan.

If you’re in any doubt of the commercial logic to this, at launch Porsche were holding over 30,000 pre-production orders, and that’s before a single customer had driven one! The Taycan is indeed Porsche’s most technically advanced car in the whole of its 72-year history.

The Taycan is produced at the Zuffenhausen production plant in Germany, with capacity to build 20,000 cars annually.

It was launched in 2019 in two motor form, with e-motors in two levels of tune.

With the range topping Taycan Turbo S we feature here, Porsche have set some exceptional benchmarks. Here’s a few; a 0-62mph acceleration time of 2.8 seconds, (that’s just one

Electric vehicle power achieves 0-62 mph in 2.8 secs

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43 Taycan is sleek, aerodynamic, and very fast

second slower than a Formula 1 car); a top speed limited to 161 mph, a real-life travel range of 240 miles, and the capability of achieving 90% of its charge in just 25 mins. It is the ‘electrifying performance’, range, and chargeability that no doubt plays a big role in creating that long customer waiting list. It also defines the hyper-car performance we can expect from relatively mainstream high-performance cars.

Seriously fast Yet it’s the sporting character of the Taycan that will ultimately make it a Porsche. Some of my colleagues have argued it is unduly fast, possibly at the sacrifice of truly engaging sporting feel. No doubt Porsche beg to differ on that one; there’s no question however, that the behind-the-wheel experience is indeed pure Porsche. Whilst the dash is flanked by state-of-the-art electronics, there is certainly a tight ‘sporting driver’ feel behind the wheel.

Comfort and space are no longer incumbered by the need to house a combustion engine; instead, the flat battery platform allows Porsche to focus its efforts on aerodynamics, space and comfort – all within the dimensions of a sharp looking machine of comparative size to say, a BMW 3 Series, and not a smaller Panamera by any means. Yet that bulky muscular look of a Porsche is still there, and sitting with the lowest centre of gravity of any standard production Porsche there’s not a chance of mistaking it for something like a Tesla.

The more you learn about the Taycan, the more it grows on you. Its simply massive performance is excitingly outrageous, and that makes it compelling. Four-wheel drive is achieved courtesy of two power trains front and rear. There’s a two-speed transmission to the rear; first gear is acceleration focused rocketing you to oblivion, whilst second gear takes you up to the 161-mph self-imposed limit. The front motor has singe speed gearing, yet when both motors join up on launch control the Taycan generates a crazy 750 bhp, and no other current production Porsche matches its 774lb of torque. Add to that a drag coefficient of just 0.22 and you can see that this is maybe an over serious performance machine.

Porsche have always been very good at the subtleties distinguishing a ‘fast’ car from a ‘driver’s car’; steering feel, brake feel, and suspension composure to name but a few.

Some say the Taycan requires a little too much steering effort, but it is after all a sporting machine whilst no GT2, so the issue remains one of debate.

Brakes are courtesy of carbon ceramic discs; 420mm to the front and 410mm at the rear which means, along with Porsches refined ability to master brake feel; stopping shouldn’t be a problem. And neither should handling, for that is courtesy of Porsche Active Suspension Management, providing that subtle combination of comfort and prodigious grip that is born of experience, competence, a love of driving, and intrinsic knowledge of the wants and needs of the sporting driver.

Defining the future Did Porsche need to make the performance of the Taycan this quick and powerful to prove that it is really a Porsche? Maybe not, but hey I don’t mind, do you?

User friendly dash embraces state-of-the-art technology

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The more you learn about the Taycan, the more it grows on you.

Lap timer at the ready

If you’d like to see our road test on film check out our Iconic cars channel on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZr_N8IW04

The more I write about this car, the more convinced I am that it is defining the performance road car of the future. OK, so it does it in relative silence bar road noise, and maybe us petrolheads will at heart miss the audible music of a tuned exhaust note. If environmentalists are to be believed that may be no bad thing. If you miss changing gears and the purity of a well sorted chassis powered by a combustion engine, you will of course have another toy discretely locked away in the garage to play with when no one’s looking. In the meanwhile, living in the 21st Century won’t prevent a smile and a grin every time you accelerate away from home in the Porsche Taycan.

96 I Winter 2020

The CAPABILITY BROWN SOCIETY

A Community and Family Sports and Arts & MusicSOCIETY and The CAPABILITY BROWN Science Festival Weekend 12th – 13thonJune 2021 12th – 13th June 2021 11th – 12th September 2021 11th – 12th September 2021 with

Magnificent, Capability Brown Society Classic Car Show Hosted by Premier Sports in Heritage Park since 1854 HostedClubs

by Premier Sports Wimbledon Clubs in Heritage Wimbledon Park since 1854

AFC Wimbledon Foundation

Wimbledon Park Angling Club

The Wimbledon Club

Wimbledon Park Golf Club

Hercules Wimbledon Athletics Club

Wimbledon Park Bowls Club

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Sarah Bennett-Baggs interviews our very own motoring stalwart

Michael Scott It’s a wonderful life

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fter a childhood spent deeply entrenched into the automotive world, it was inevitable that Michael would follow his father’s passion. He started his career as an engineer, but his love for life and cars, along with his charismatic nature, has always been best suited to working with people. This skill, Michael has masterfully honed into his profession. Not on a path to riches, but to a lifelong dedication for helping others; finding, sourcing, selling and insuring cars; and offering countless friends a leg up in terms of introductions to get them started.

Photography © John Brooks

Charm Michael is not shy in coming forward. There is a twinkle in his eye and always a friendly smile which instantly disarms you. He can literally sell sand to Arabs, thanks to the ‘Scottie’ charm offensive. He looks back on how it all began…

“Dad was an engineer, supplying parts for all sorts of different cars, tanks and even 96 I Winter 2020

aircraft and our entire family were involved in his passion. He worked closely with all the motor manufacturers including Bentley and Rolls-Royce, and before the war, he even owned Atalanta Motors. I remember when I was a child, we would go W.O. Bentley’s house in Shamley Green for tea every summer. So, you see it really was a family affair.”

“Dad took me to Goodwood for the first meeting after the War. I remember it so well. We also went to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and after that, I was hooked on motorsport and went off to become an apprentice engineer.”

“Through playing squash, I met the editor of Autocar, Maurice Smith, and he invited me to Le Mans. This is where I met Ronald ‘Steady’ Barker, the President of The Vintage Sports-Car Club. He and I became very close friends and I would spend my weekends helping him restore his cars and at VSCC events.”

In the early 1960s, Michael set up an insurance brokerage with his brother -‘John Scott and Partners’ - and through Michael’s

48 Scottie on stage with Phil Packer MBE, founder of the British Inspiration Trust.

Severely wounded while serving in Basra, Packer has raised millions for charity at the London Marathon and other events despite his disabilities.

racing connections, they became the official brokerage for the VSCC. In the mid-70s, Michael went on to start Modena Engineering, a Ferrari Dealership in Surrey, “to escape from being an insurance broker”!

It was here that the ‘black book’ of contacts was heavily enriched, as Michael matched many a celebrity or famous face with some heavy ‘Prancing Horse’ purchases.

During this era, Michael really pioneered the power of experiential marketing, without even realising it. Organising dealer parties and driving events, taking customers to Le Mans and grands prix. Introducing owners to the wonderful world of motorsport, not only to watch, but also to experience.

They soon started hiring circuits for Ferrari-only track days the first of their kind.

As you may have guessed, this is where the 96 Club was born. Michael tells the story:

“The idea for the club came in 1988, after a great racing friend, Ray Bellm, lost his licence. He was caught speeding at 96

miles an hour, after driving his wife to hospital in his Ferrari, so that became the name. Frustrated at not being able to use his car on the road, he encouraged me to start a track club, and that was it. Because of both the insurance and the Ferrari businesses, I knew a lot of people, so filling those early track days was easy. They were magical, with people like Duncan Hamilton, Nick Mason, Eric Clapton, Rowan Atkinson and so many amazing cars old and new.”

Very much a creative thinker, Michael has always been the first to boldly go where no one else has been, including selling the first Ferrari via auction, helping to gather cars for the first ever British Concours - Salon Privé; and then the first to introduce Automotive Breakfast Club meetings in London, which later evolved into the Chelsea Auto Legends.

Michael even had a hand in setting up Radio Le Mans (in ’87) for English visitors to the 24-hour French race, so they could follow the action. Michael came up with all these ideas and events that we now take for granted. When asked about his life’s swings and roundabouts he put it very simply: “I’ve had the most amazing life, if left was success and right was failure, a bit like a race track, I always turn right every time. But I have had so much fun, and met so many

The late, great Sir Stirling Moss raises a toast to Scottie.

Scottie assembles a host of Le Mans legends, including former winners Derek Bell and Richard Attwood.

96 Club, the beginning

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I’ve had the most amazing life.

Had so much fun, and met so many wonderful people, I’ve had ups and downs, but I have no real regrets. wonderful people, I’ve had ups and downs, but I have no real regrets.”

Even my own motorsport career has a tiny link to Michael, who invited me to a 96 Club karting event in London in 1998. I was already immersed in the automotive world, but this was the bridge which showed me all the excitement I was missing, and I left my job shortly afterwards for a career in motorsport and have never looked back. I wonder how many other people Michael’s passion has rubbed off on, and changed them for the better?

Roll forward 40 years and the 96 Club is still going strong and gaining in strength and numbers, with a new generation interested in classic cars and sharing their passion. During lockdown, the club enjoyed some virtual gatherings and the members regularly met for breakfast clubs at some exclusive London gardens. There are exciting plans ahead for some larger London-based events.

Michael’s endless enthusiasm for classic cars and bringing people together shows no sign of slowing down. Even in his senior years, Michael has a full job list of events, ideas and projects to fulfill, starting with the launch of this very journal.

It seems the moral of Michael’s life story is; whilst there are many sharks lurking in the automotive pond and not all of them are sincere, Michael has proved it’s not about the money, the deal or the dollar, it’s about friends, fun and sharing that passion with anyone and everyone that you meet.

Sarah Bennett-Baggs Excerpts of this interview were taken from The Apex.

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The Longest Day A victory at Le Mans is one of the highest peaks to conquer in motor sport. Only three marques have achieved it at their first attempt: Chenard et Walcker in the first race back in 1923, Ferrari in 1949 and McLaren in 1995. John Brooks takes a photographic review of the fantastic achievement of the F1 GTR.

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Above: The Gulf Racing team and their two McLaren F1 GTRs line up for the traditional post-Scutineering photograph. In 1995 this was held in the shadow of the Cathedral of Saint Julian of Le Mans located at the Place des Jacobins in centre of Le Mans.

T

he eighty-seven editions of the Le Mans 24 Hours are all special, all different and all significant for those who were participants, in any capacity. However, as Orwell sagely observed: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. This wisdom surely applies to the great race and the 1995 event is arguably one of the latter class. The foul weather alone made it a race like no other. JJ Lehto’s performance in the worst of the conditions during the night has rightly passed into legend but the contributions of his co-drivers Masanori Sekiya and previous double-winner, Yannick Dalmas, cannot be overlooked, nor that of the team assembled at very short notice. In addition, the fightback after adversity of the other leading crews should also receive due recognition.

The Courage of Bob Wollek, Eric Hélary and Mario Andretti lost twenty-nine minutes in the pits after the latter was surprised on Saturday evening in the Porsche Curves to find a very slow-moving Kremer and hit the Armco while taking avoiding action. They dropped down to twenty-fifth place but recovered to second at the Chequered Flag, just three minutes down on the winning car.

A similar tale of redemption could be found at the Gulf Racing pit where the Ray Bellm McLaren spent forty-eight minutes repairing the damage after the owner spun into the barriers, also at the Porsche Curves. Slipping back to thirtyfifth place co-drivers Maurizio Sandro Sala and Mark Blundell dragged the F1 GTR back up the order to fourth at the finish.

There would have been similar tales of heroics to be found in every garage of those competitors who completed the race.

Arguably the most astonishing performance of all came from McLaren with five out of seven F1 GTRs finishing the contest in 1-3-4-5-13 positions. Only two marques have ever won Le Mans at their first attempt, Chenard & Walker in 1923 and Ferrari in 1949. It must also be kept in mind that this was achieved by a road car adapted for racing, one would have to go to the 1930’s to find a comparable state of affairs. The weather conditions and the problems that the faster WSC prototypes encountered played a significant part in the result, in other years the F1 GTR would not have had the raw pace to live with the pure racers. However, the magnitude of the achievement cannot be emphasised enough, an untried, modified road-going sportscar had triumphed at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Bravo!

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Right: The week leading up to the Le Mans 24 Hours is a busy time for the teams, aside from Practice and Qualifying on Wednesday and Thursday, there is a constant process of checking and rechecking every detail on the cars.

Here, David Price Racing are working on the Harrods and West McLarens that they have in their charge at La Sarthe.

Left: In the preamble to the start of the race the cars are lined up along the pit wall in echelon. Father and son, Derek and Justin Bell, savour the unique atmosphere to be found at Les Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans prior to them racing together in the Harrods McLaren.

Below: The race got underway under leaden skies; the rain arrived after the first hour. The downpour played into the hands of the McLarens and by the end of the second hour the top three places were occupied by F1 GTRs. Then Ray Bellm hit the barriers hard at the Porsche Curve after encountering standing water. “I was going round in a leisurely way and the car turned round on me in the Porsche Curves. I hit the wall very hard and I thought I had done a lot of damage.” He managed to get the car back to the pits where 48 minutes were lost changing the radiator, pitching the F1 GTR down to 35th place. This provoked a stirring comeback drive, by the end of the race Bellm, Maurizio Sandro Sala and Mark Blundell had risen to fourth place, a case of what might have been.

The full story of the McLaren F1 GTR is revealed in a new two-volume book from Porter Press International.

Written by the respected author and broadcaster, Mark Cole, the book covers the development and racing history of this remarkable car. www.porterpress.co.uk/products/ mclaren-f1-gtr-definitive-history

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Section Heading Right: In the stands opposite the pits, the fans’ enthusiasm is only matched by their capacity to get well refreshed. The British supporters have long been leaders of that particular pack showing support for all the teams from across the English Channel.

Left: The stars of the show in the first eleven hours were John Nielsen and his West Competition McLaren, leading most of the time despite the windscreen wiper motor expiring in the torrential conditions. Just after 03.00am the clutch failed and the team set about changing it, taking around 80 minutes. The front brakes were also replaced but the Dane was not informed of this and he crashed heavily on his out lap to put the F1 GTR out of the race.

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Above: On the other side of the Pit Straight the fans are also preparing to celebrate the conclusion of the race. They also had to endure the foul weather during most of the race, with only water-proofs and liquid refreshment to comfort them in the hours of darkness, few races breed such a loyal cadre of followers.

Above: The David Price Racing crew celebrate a podium place, any disappointment felt at coming so close to an outright win is washed away by the end of the race. Getting through the 24 hours to receive the Chequered Flag feels like victory no matter where the car is listed in the finishing order.

Left: The rain eventually passed on Sunday morning leaving the lead being disputed by Uneo Clinicsponsored McLaren and the Harrods example. The former was elevated to the head of the field after a legendary performance by JJ Lehto at the height of the deluge, lapping some ten seconds faster than any other competitor. The duel continued till the Harrods car also suffered clutch problems forcing them to concede the race to their rival McLaren.

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Section Heading

Above: Yannick Dalmas brings the Kokusai Kaihatso UK McLaren F1 GTR across the finishing line to take victory after 24 hours and 298 punishing laps, it was his third outright win at Le Mans.

Below: The fans throng round the podium as the winners are presented with their trophies, soon it will be time to return to normality; the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours will become just another memory.

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With over 500 cars, top classic car dealers, hundreds of exhibitors and a selection of the UK’s leading Car Clubs, The London Classic Car Show offers you the opportunity to view and purchase from what promises to be one of the widest collections in the UK.

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Lifestyle Leaders

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Alex Vincenti talks to Anke Summerhill

Minotti London W

hat do you do if you need to fully furnish in style nine properties two thousand miles away? Simple: you ask Anke Summerhill.

Anke Summerhill is the co-founder, managing and creative director of Minotti London, the exclusive representative of the Italian high-end furniture manufacturer Minotti. Anke is in charge of all the business, but her passion is in the creative side, not only in terms of design, but also social interaction - organising showroom events and talks that may not always be related to furniture and design, as well as advising people and making them aware of products and their user-friendliness.

Anke says she got into the furniture and interior design business by accident, but it must have been in her blood as her family in Holland have a furniture factory, Arco. True, it was not on her mind when she came to the UK at 18 to improve her English, her first step in seeking to travel the world, but then she met her husband-to-be, John Summerhill, and settled here. When her family asked if she knew someone who could

sell Arco products in the UK, after some hesitation Anke and John decided to give it a go: armed with a brochure, John approached potential clients around the UK – and sold, and sold again.

More was to come: Arco, the family’s furniture factory, belonged to the Dutch Design Centre, an association of top of the range furniture manufacturers, and with John doing the selling and Anke the logistics they took over eight more. At the time, the UK furniture market wasn’t easy and there weren’t many high-end furniture shops, but after exhibiting at Earl’s Court they caught the eye of Terence Conran and started selling to The Conran Shop and Heals, collaborating with British interior designers.

Then came Minotti, who was looking for a UK representative. Deeply rooted in the Italian company’s design DNA were principles of aesthetic understatement, timeless elegance, continuity in the sign of tradition and artisan knowhow, with great attention to detail - and passion. It was a perfect match. Initially, the Italian luxury brand was added to

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the Dutch collection, but eventually the Summerhills started selling Minotti exclusively from their monobrand showroom in London.

With Minotti London, Anke has built on the strengths of the Italian brand to establish a unique relationship with national and international architects and interior designers: clients don’t always have the time to run around and decide what they want for their living and working space – private or commercial, buildings and even yachts. The majority work with interior designers and architects. That’s why it’s not enough that the products must have the right style, the right quality: design professionals must be sure they also get the

right service because their select customers expect only the best.

Many of Anke’s clients, British and international, have more than one home. Initially, they may come for their piedà-terre in London or their country house, or maybe they have children studying in London and they need to furnish their flat. One of Anke’s most challenging projects is for a foreign client from North Africa who has nine homes to fully furnish.

This has been enormously demanding, not only because of the client’s exacting requirements, but also because of the coronavirus; the next big step will be the forthcoming installation.

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Lifestyle Leaders

Anke feels that more and more people are going not only for luxury, but also sustainability. Obviously, the change brought by the demand for sustainability was already taking place – people want to change the way they live – but the coronavirus seems to have accelerated the issue. It is definitely influencing designers, but rather that looking at new ways, Anke is clear that it is important also to look back at history and the ‘old’ ways, which were very sustainable: one hundred years ago furniture was sustainable by definition.

This is reflected in the 2020 Minotti Collection, which Anke defines ‘a little bit retro’ and mid-century, with selected

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sustainable woods. It is also reaffirmed by the lasting presence in her catalogues of pieces from past collections, classics that stand the test of time. Minotti, purely by its durability, is already sustainable and continuously looking for greener production solutions. On its part, Minotti London only uses renewable energy and all its waste gets recycled – down to coffee beans, says Anke. The same is the case for interior designers, who are increasingly conscious of the need for sustainability in their designs. Anke sees it as a slow and long process – nothing happens overnight, but on the whole, sustainability is a major game changer worldwide.

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We team up to drive with fellow car lovers in the stunning Bentley Continental GT

Love Cars?

Love Driving?

Here’s what you do!

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and with a full tank of fuel the Bentley has a range of 411.3 miles.

Behind the wheel and beyond…

I

sleeker looking and less ‘staid’.

The most obvious differences to the eye are a wider front grille, the sleeker, rounded headlamp clusters, and a new oval integrated rear lamp design.

The overall finish on the car is stunning; oozing quality at every point, and the interior has to be amongst the classiest in the world, with tasteful, ambient lighting at night.

Under the bonnet is a 6.0 litre twin-turbo charged W12, generating 900m of torque, 626 brake horse power, 0-62 mph in 3.6 seconds, and a top speed of 207 mph. This is not as selfindulgent as it sounds, for six of these cylinders deactivate under light load. As a result, a credible combined 20.8 mpg is achieved,

Photography © Paul Halliwell

f you love cars and you love driving, then spending a weekend behind the wheel of one of the World’s greatest GTs on some of Britain’s finest roads with a group of friends in an array of fine cars, is no bad thing.

The Bentley Continental GT is one of the world’s finest Grand Tourers, lifting the bar substantially over its predecessor which, despite its competence and ‘best-selling’ credentials, sorely needed replacing. This third generation ‘Conti GT’ is much more than an ‘overhaul’, it is a totally new car; lighter, stiffer and faster than its antecedent. It is better looking too, its contemporary lines and curves making it

I challenge anyone not to pause for appreciation once behind the wheel of this new Bentley. Not once did a passenger sit inside this car without commenting on the car’s excellent finish; add to that the finest leather, combined with the finely embroidered door casings and rear quarter panels (ours had the top Mulliner spec).

What’s more, the touch and feel of the switchgear on the car felt perfect. It is a car you’d be tempted to buy without even turning the key. But when you do…

Visual turns to aural pleasure courtesy of a deep bassy, exhaust note. This is indeed what ultimately separates a Bentley from a Rolls Royce, for this one’s a driver’s tool first.

Yet that first taste of forward motion is sublime, wafting, silent almost, until deeper exploration of throttle travel translates 900 m of torque and 600 bhp into a spine-tingling surge. Get that far and your hooked. – add ‘line’ and ‘sinker’ to the equation for me.

The trip to meet up with fellow driving enthusiasts began with a 280-mile late Thursday evening haul from London to Snowdonia in North

Yellow Mustang V8, BMW M6, M4, the Bentley Continental GT, a 600 BHP Aston Vantage and the Lamborghini Huracán Performante line up for the morning drive

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65 Twin exhausts and muscular stance give away the GT’s prowess

Wales; a familiar destination to us motoring scribblers, as is equally the excellent and friendly hospitality of the Brigands Inn Hotel in Mallwyd, where I shall be meeting the rest of the group for our two-day driving indulgence.

The Bentley had ample space for cameras, cleaning equipment, and luggage. There was also the added advantage that an average sized human being can now occupy the rear seats; this Gen III Bentley Continental GT thus completes the tick list as the ultimate tool for luxurious long-distance travel.

Welcome distraction Anyone other than me on this solitary evening is in for a boring 200-mile drive; there’s 100% motorway speed camera surveillance along my stretch of the M25, the M1 was reduced to 50 mph due to roadworks for what feels like half the length of your life, and then there’s the

M6 Traffic Queuing Disaster. I hit the M54 for the last motorway leg of the journey taking me up to Telford at around 10.30 pm, it being so devoid of other traffic you are indeed inclined to sleep. Yet in the ‘Conti GT’ one is oblivious to it all.

Instead of getting stressed, I chose to introduce six and half grands worth of ‘Nami for Bentley’ premium audio into the reckoning, for what has to be the best sounding in-car entertainment system to grace

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the earth. Your Spotify tracks never sounded so good. By the time I was ready to turn off from the M54 for the more entertaining A458, so engaging was the Niamhsound that I could sit on a boring motorway listening to music without complaining for two years. Now that’s a sound system for you!

Stirrings in the night To arrive at Malwydd feeling so relaxed after a long, congested evening drive was not expected.

The quality of the Bentley driving experience was the reason, having opted for the ‘comfort’ setting on the drive for the journey up. It clearly worked, choosing to reserve ‘Sport’ for tomorrow’s daylight, hopefully more challenging driving, and whatever weather nature chooses.

As I settled down for a night’s rest, a range of clearly distinguishable exhaust notes successively interrupted the refreshing silence of the surrounding Welsh Countryside.

The rasp of a BMW M4, that’ll be group driver Patrick Bryan, soon to be followed by a subtle variation of the same from Paul Sander’s stunning BMW M6 saloon. The deep throated soul stirring of my

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friend’s ‘Panch’s 600 bhp Aston Vantage turned up next, soon to be followed by the wild roar of a rude V8 – that’ll be Steve Holden’s bright yellow Mustang. I missed the wail of John Halliwell’s Lamborghini Huracán Performante, but that’ll be with us in the morning. Time for sleep then…. or so I thought, until close to midnight half of Wales was woken by a sound that can be only likened to a boy racer on steroids with our very own James Sohl in his now rather classic Honda Integra Type R, bought especially for the occasion and quite clearly the loudest car on earth.

Stirrings in the day….

Day two and nature’s promise was indeed rain. Our friends are a bunch of dedicated keen drivers with great cars, so there won’t be much hanging about. The Bentley was going to enjoy ‘mixing it’ with this bunch, despite weighing not far off two and half tons. Last night’s journey was enough to give me plenty of confidence in the Conti’s dynamic abilities, combined with the added reassurance of four- wheel drive, which is handy for Wales.

I was not to be disappointed.

The Bentley set the pace for the rest of the group, with the Lamborghini Huracán Performante, of course matching its performance. These two

driven hard in convoy are a sight and sound to behold; it’s the competence and sheer speed that impresses the most, combined with the magical contrast of deep powerful exhaust notes – the V10 howl of a Lamborghini, and the mighty grumble of a W12 Bentley.

Wow. Meanwhile, the BMW ‘M’ cars diced in a shoot-out, the bright yellow Mustang holding its place in the mix surprisingly well, whilst the exhaust note of James’ Sohl’s Honda Civic Type R kept reminding everyone to slow down.

Authority So back to the Bentley then.

Outside of the ‘comfort’ setting, the Bentley offers the choice of ‘B’ for optimised all round performance or ‘Sport’. Today of course, we are driving on ‘Sport’, reassuringly confirmed by the deep rumbling exhaust note.

The suspension automatically

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tightens up too, but not at the cost of comfort or ride quality, instead just a tighter more rooted feel to the car. Firm acceleration pinches you with the sheer joy of 12-cylinder power combined with the authority and confidence to take every overtaking opportunity safety allows; you just know you ‘can’, so you ‘do’.

No need to chicken out on the bends either, you can attack them with sure footed precision courtesy of a finely tuned chassis, suspension, steering, and grip.

Yet so powerful is this car that you do feel its weight and power needs those substantial front disc brakes to shave off what quickly becomes massive speeds, achieved very quickly and with minimal effort. Yet you’ll still have the mental time to notice how the wipers do their work in silence, the crystal-clear clarity of the music, and when you pull over for a phone call, the in-car phone reception is as clear as talking to a real human being sitting right there beside you.

Authority, speed, confidence, luxury, quality and safety; yes, it’s all here. In fact, it is when driven hard that the true driving character of this Bentley shines; it is fun with dignity, power with pride, quality with character, speed with safety, state of the art technology wrapped in classical tradition. Breeding. Yes, the British can still make truly fine cars.

A ZI E N DA AGR ICOL A

BENEDETTA VERGA FALZACAPPA VINO ITALIANO CONEGLIANO

DAL 1849 TRADIZIONE NELL’INNOVAZIONE ITALIA

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Niall Julian talks to Peter Blond

Gentleman Driver Extraordinaire T

he term Gentleman Driver invokes memories of a bygone era of motorsport, when privateer racers competed against friends and rivals on some of the world’s most famous race tracks. One such noted privateer from those heady days of motoring racing is Peter Blond. A successful textiles businessman and a former Chairman of Sotheby’s, he has owned, raced and restored some exquisite motor cars. And at the age of 90, he is showing no signs of slowing down.

Safer means faster

Photography © Niall Julian

Peter’s obsession with the motor car began when his father promised to buy him his first car for £100. This was on the proviso that he didn’t drink or smoke until he was 21. “It wasn’t easy”, remembers Peter “because I was in the army at the time and you were considered quite wet if you didn’t

drink or smoke”. But he stuck with it and soon had his eye on a Jaguar SS100 that was for sale. It was outside his budget, but showing a knack for being a shrewd and canny negotiator, he mentioned to his mother that if he had another £100 to add to his father’s £100, he would be able to get a much safer car. And by safer he actually meant faster.

So began his automobile journey, one that would see him own and race some of the finest Jaguars on the planet. “My Jaguar SS100 was a dream to drive and the oil in the sump was never cold as I spent all my time driving it! It changed my life!”

Peter enjoyed his first car for a few years but soon felt the need to upgrade to something a bit faster.

In the 1950s, Peter was fortunate to call on Roy Salvadori as a friend. The successful car dealer was also an accomplished racing driver and would go on to enjoy great success around the world. In those early days Salvadori didn’t have a showroom, but instead used to line up his cars in Warren Street in London. “He had a little shack”, remembers Peter

Peter’s gorgeous 1932 Rolls-Royce 20-25

by Gurney Nutting

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70 Restored from a wreck, Peter adores his two door Rolls-Royce

with a secretary inside “who looked like Barbara Windsor!”

Salvadori had his 1950 Jaguar XK120 racer for sale and it soon became Peter’s new set of wheels. Which he promptly took to the race track as soon as the opportunity arose. It was the start of an impressive racing career that lasted from 1952 until he retired in 1959.

During his short seven year career, Peter notched up wins at Snetterton, Brands Hatch and Oulton Park along with numerous podium finishes at Goodwood. He raced for legendary teams such as Aston Martin, Ecuire Ecosse, Lister, HWM and Tojeiro. He also raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1958 and 1959, an experience he described as “not much fun going round and round, especially in the pouring rain. A nice sunny day at Goodwood or Oulton Park was much more enjoyable.”

Even though he would have been considered an amateur driver, he was nonetheless competing at the very top of the sport, rubbing shoulders and probably wheels with future world champions. One of his favourite wins was at Brands Hatch on 19th May 1957, when he took 1st place, beating Graham Hill who finished 3rd on the podium. “I was quite pleased to beat him”, chuckled Peter.

into the world of Formula 1. “Bernie had a camel coat on and it was £1,500 down and £1,500 on the drip… which means hire purchase. Bernie was tough! But I rather enjoyed his company. He was very down to earth.” His first race in his new D-Type was on 14th April 1956 in the British Empire Trophy at Oulton Park, where he finished 5th. This very D-Type was offered for sale in 2018 by Gooding and Co with an estimate of $10 – $12 million. Quite a bit more than Peter paid to a certain Mr. Ecclestone!

Reflecting on his motor racing days, and comparing it to the Formula 1 that we know today, Peter feels that, “F1 has rather lost its savour. I remember being able to watch a race and actually being able to take your car right into the circuit and watch the action from behind a straw bale. And you could really see drivers take on a corner. Now it’s all changed of

The interior is Art Deco luxury at it’s finest

Reflections Looking back on his racing career, Peter feels he “was lucky, especially when you look at all the Jaguars I’ve owned… SS100, XK120, C-Type, D-Type. They actually weren’t that expensive and they didn’t cost that much to maintain. They were all so reliable. But I adored the C and the D, they were wonderful”.

Speaking of Jaguar D-Types, Peter once bought one for the sum of £3,000 from none other than Bernie Ecclestone in 1956. Back then Bernie was a car dealer and had yet to venture 96 I Winter 2020

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course and setup for television and there’s so many passes needed just to get in. So I was very lucky to be around at a time when motor racing was so informal.” Remembering the antics they used to get up to in the paddock, he added, “we used to cheat like mad! Passing programs to girlfriends and friends through the fence with a pass hidden inside, so they could get in for free! We all did it!”, he laughed.

He also recalled how fellow racing driver and team owner, Duncan Hamilton, never stopped teasing him about not being quick enough in the D-Type. One time, while racing at Silverstone, a frustrated Peter told him, “It just doesn’t pick up this car, there’s something about it!” “Well, my men have been through the car” replied Duncan, no doubt believing the problem lay with the driver. Certain there was a mechanical problem Peter insisted they take a look under the bonnet and on opening it up, a dead hare fell out. “There were a lot of hares at Silverstone” joked Peter and “that one really did inhibit the performance… it was very funny times.”

It certainly was a very different era with a great sense of camaraderie, one which he feels the sport has sadly now lost.

One of his great friends was racing driver and aviator, Tommy Sopwith. He always brought a caravan track side and inside he kept a jug of Pimms and lots of sausages. “So he was very popular as we could get in out of the cold!”

Moving on In 1959 Peter retired from motor racing to start a family and his automobile tastes moved away from sports cars and a desire for speed that had been with him since the 1940s.

After a brief fling with Ferraris, which he found expensive to maintain, he began to indulge in Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, cars of exquisite craftsmanship which he says “transformed my life”. His hobby, or as he refers to it, “his obsession” with these fine cars, led him to establishing his own restoration business. “To me two aspects of old cars are one, the smell, and two, the sound. But people don’t talk about them. If you like old cars you can tell what an R-Type Continental sounds like… you can tell a D-Type going down the straight at Le Mans. It’s totally unlike anything else. With the smell you really know if the car is right. It’s very important.”

One such restoration project was his delightful 1932 Rolls-Royce 20-25 by Gurney Nutting, which he has now owned for almost 50 years. “I bought it for £350 and it was a complete wreck. A dealer in Barnet owned it and every time we agreed a price, he kept changing his mind. So at 5am one morning my mechanic Bill Snook and myself drove up to Barnet, loaded up the car, and I stuck a cheque for £350 under the dealer’s door. When I got home I phoned him up and he agreed to my offer. So that’s how I got my Gurney Nutting. It was a wreck but it is now a joyful car.”

His 1932 Rolls-Royce actually has an interesting royal connection as it was commissioned for the Prince of Wales, who would go on to ascend to the throne as Edward VIII. It is said the young Prince rejected the car as the ride was too firm.

“I believe he bought a Buick instead”. After enjoying a journey through central London in the superb 2 door coupe, it is hard to fathom that the ride could be considered firm. It’s jewellike 3.5 litre straight-six is incredibly smooth, as one would expect for a car of this calibre. The interior oozes class, luxury and comfort and has that combined wood, leather and oil smell that can only be found in cars of this vintage. It literally commands the road such is its presence, both on the move and when stationary. It is the jewel of Peter’s collection, a car that he is very fond of indeed.

Joy “It has been a very absorbing hobby and I’ve been incredibly lucky to have found the people who could do the work.

There’s so much elegance to these cars and there were so many coachbuilders and body styles. Half of the fun is in the detailing. I don’t drive my cars often enough but when I do get them out they are just a joyous experience. They’ve changed my life and I have met so many wonderful people thanks to my hobby.”

It is therefore very fitting that Peter will soon be taking to the skies over Kent in a World War Two Supermarine Spitfire.

The once in a life time experience, a wonderful 90th Birthday present from his daughter Rebecca, will unite the devoted Rolls-Royce enthusiast with the mighty Merlin V12 powered fighter plane. Chocks away Peter! Chocks away!

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Leading the way in private banking services, Alex Vincenti talks to

Jeremy Vaughan, Managing Director of Hampden & Co. 96 I Winter 2020

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W

hen was the last time your private banker visited you because you wanted to borrow money? Or invited you for talks at the British Racing Drivers Club at Silverstone, arguably the most exclusive club in motor racing?

This is not what you expect from your typical bank, unless you are with Hampden & Co. “It’s an essential part of our banking services” explains Jeremy Vaughan, Managing Director of banking and one of Hampden’s founders. “It’s one of the things that differentiates us: we make a point to meet our clients wherever possible for any interaction. Yes, we have emails and telephones, and our clients use them.

However, developing a close relationship with a client cannot be done via email and telephone calls. You must meet them, you have to spend time with them, you have to be with them where they are most comfortable – whether it is their home,

or their business. That often means that it can take the whole day to see a client, but that is crucial and can be commercially viable if justified by the business it generates.”

I’m meeting Jeremy at Silverstone’s British Racing Drivers Club on a very rainy morning. He’s driven more than 150 miles to be here to see clients; in the background is the subdued roar of classic and contemporary GT and sport prototypes. “The BRDC sets its standards incredibly high, with a membership that is second to none, and in many respects mirrors what we are trying to do. We are able to bring our clients here, an experience that money cannot buy.”

It’s fairly unusual to have a chance to talk to a banker without the presence of their PR person, no advance questions, no prepared answers – and on camera. Jeremy, in that sense, is unusual: with more than 40 years’ experience he’s been with the bank from its very inception and can give

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chapter and verse – in fact wrote a lot of its history himself.

Originally responsible for designing Hampden’s product offering, he has seen the bank grow in five years from nothing to almost half a billion pounds deposits and more than £200 million in loans. Significantly, many early clients are now Hampden’s shareholders.

“When I was growing up,” he says “I wanted to join the police force. I wanted the excitement of doing different things every day and particularly being outdoors. So, joining a bank and effectively working in an office was completely the opposite of what I dreamt of being, but after a relatively short time I realised that banking had a lot going for it.”

Bespoke service That was 41 years ago. Fast forward to around 2010, when the retired chairman of a previous bank he worked for called Jeremy and proposed to start a new bank. “I and other colleagues that he contacted thought that, after the financial crisis of 2008/2009, he was slightly mad. So why did we do it?

At the time, we were part of a larger bank and had enjoyed a period of relative independence, but things started to change, and we felt we were being dictated to by the parent company.

We didn’t like that and believed we could do better.”

Jeremy joined the new venture two years before the Hampden & Co. opened its doors to the public in 2015. His challenge? To offer something that no one else was offering.

The answer? No extreme technology, no sophisticated algorithms, no innovative wealth management or financial advisory, but simple, traditional and pure banking: deposits, running accounts and borrowing, but with enhanced individual client service and support extended to the client’s family and business.

“What’s happened in the past 20-30 years,” he explains “is that banking has been commoditized. It’s all about standard products and ticking boxes and no personal approach. We do not tick boxes. We sit down with the client and get to understand truly everything about them and their financial aspirations, where they are heading and want to be, and when

In the BRDC Clubhouse

they want to get there. We can often view their borrowing requirements in a completely different light and it’s nothing more complicated than taking the time to understand – which is what other banks don’t do.”

That’s why clients come to Hampden & Co. Two examples are: when an art dealer urgently needed £500,000 to buy an exceptional painting, having assessed his situation and capabilities, Jeremy was able to make the money available in 24 hours and second; when a businessman with a net worth of £20 million pounds but no conventional income was turned down by his bank for a one million pound loan, Hampden again examined holistically his financial situation and was able to say ‘yes’ where the computer had said ‘no’.

The future Looking at the future, what is the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit on the bank’s operation and how will Hampden & Co be able to continue providing its services to its clients?

“As we started five years ago with a complete clean sheet, no legacy computer system (in fact no legacy anything), we were able to structure the business in such a way that the current Covid-19 crisis has meant that all of our team have been able to work remotely and our service offering hasn’t faulted in any way. I would like to think that the great majority, if not all of our clients can say they have been receiving the same high quality of service since March this year as they had received previously.

The other looming situation proving worrying for some is Brexit. That concerns us slightly less because we are a bank focused on UK tax-resident clients, though we have a small number of clients in the EU. We will still be able, post-Brexit, to move money anywhere in the world – that’s not an issue.

What we will not be able to do, certainly until the UK and the EU reach an agreement, is take on any new clients that are resident in EU countries. As far as our day-to-day services for our existing clients are concerned, wherever they may be, they will see no material change. We will continue to look after them in exactly the same way.”

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34-36 LIME STREET LONDON EC3M 7AT 0203 904 6506 www.mccannbespoke.co.uk

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The Importance of Disruption Graham Kresfelder, MD of Rayvolt UK

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B

y his own admission, Graham Kresfelder is a disruptor. The managing director of Rayvolt UK, exclusive importers and distributors of the Barcelona-based e-bikes in the UK, makes no bones about his attitude to business and to life. “I am the kind of person that is never happy or settled when something is simply repeated. I firmly believe that everything we do can always be done a little bit better, not necessarily faster or cheaper, but better perhaps in value and quality. Disruptors are organic creations, good for our life and for our mental prosperity – besides our financial prosperity.”

Disruption, in the sense of refusal to accept the status quo, has always been Graham’s hallmark. His Company Motorcare, a major service for processing motor insurance

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claims, with 250 staff and €400 million turnover, was born as a reaction to how he was treated by his insurance company following a car accident. Rayvolt touched his disruptive nerve when he saw the opportunities e-bikes could offer for ecofriendly commuting and lifestyle choices.

In Vino Veritas So what do you do when you are CEO of a multinational, a toplevel disruptor in the insurance service world and you want more challenges? Simple, you take a sabbatical in Italy and help a friend to build an award-winning winery in Piedmont. “There is nothing more joyful than walking through the vines at five o’clock on an early summer morning with your two Labradors, seeing the grapes beginning to blossom 96 I Winter 2020

and knowing that what you are experiencing is ultimately a fine bottle of wine in your vision”.

Graham’s interest in Rayvolt started over a bottle of wine in Barcelona, where he was presenting at a conference. He couldn’t find the restaurant he had been recommended to go to in the old city and on route happened to pass the HQ of Rayvolt, where two young men were working on a Cruzer. “I couldn’t help myself: I dashed in, ogled and ordered four immediately before even going for supper.” After supper, he was joined for drinks by the Rayvolt duo and had a first taste of what was going to be his next disruption. “I never had any real desire to go into the e-bike business, but what I found fascinating was that it was so disruptive in terms of its design and most importantly

Business Leaders

of its technology. It was giving people the opportunity of using two wheels in an extremely ecofriendly fashion with a lifestylecommuting device.”

When Rayvolt started looking at having a market presence in the UK, Graham saw it as an obvious opportunity and offered to become their importer and distributor. The rest is history… except that it wasn’t. No e-bikes were sold for several months while Graham studied the strengths and weaknesses of the market and the competition.

The rest of Europe has been quick to embrace e-bikes; in the Netherlands, for instance, 85 percent of all new bikes purchased are e-bikes. In the UK, the figure is 22 percent. Then, most manufacturers have simply jumped onto the bandwagon by converting normal stock to e-bikes, mostly undistinguishable from one another. Largely because of the unexpected demand, suppliers were unable to offer the quality, service and support that the new clients needed.

A Package of Pleasure for Rayvolutionaries For Graham, Rayvolt’s e-bikes stood out from the competition because they were literally built

from the ground up; their design was not accidental, but result of a careful and creative study of form and function; and their advanced technology achieved both performance and reliability.

Graham’s primary emphasis is on customer satisfaction.

“Our approach is not simply to sell e-bikes, but really to sell ‘packaged pleasure’. When you sit on a Rayvolt e-bike you feel enthusiastic, at home and you are delighted. It starts with desire, with the ability to make each bike personal with individual specification of colours and accessories. This is followed up by a comprehensive after-sales service, otherwise one of the most serious and widespread faults in the market.

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We set up a fully stocked workshop, trained technicians, made sure we had every single spare part in stock before we sold our first e-bike. Our customers must know that Rayvolt is always going to be there for them. We do not call them customers. We call them ‘Rayvolutionaries’ and what defines them is what other items of desire they seek in terms of their life pleasure, to which we contribute in small part. Some are classic car or motorcycle enthusiasts, but all are people of particular taste and preferences.”

Graham expects the e-bike market to treble in the next three to five years; “We shall be pushing very hard in the e-cargo segment and I am looking at developing a revolutionary sidecar for the Rayvolt Cruzer to be used either to carry people or goods. As the same time, Rayvolt has a threewheeler that has the same advanced technology, and can be switched from cargo to people carrier. That is an area of disruption that has tremendous opportunities and could appeal to Rayvolutionaries.

There seems no stopping for Graham Kresfelder, and who knows where his entrepreneurial spirit will take him next? For now his attention is focused on Rayvolt.

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London Concours Photography © Niall Julian

From the heart of the City

L

ondon Concours 2020, made a welcome return to the capital on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th of August. Originally scheduled for June, it was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions on public events across the UK. Fortunately these restrictions were lifted just in time for the capital’s finest classic car show to go ahead.

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The London Concours is a rather special event thanks its unique location in the City of London. If you’ve never been to the Honourable Artillery Company headquarters before, you are missing out on one of the best kept secrets in London. That’s because nestling behind the busy streets and high rise buildings is the magnificent Artillery Garden, which at five acres, is one of the largest such gardens in London.

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The line-up of cars on display this year was a testament to the quality of the two day event, with rare and highly collectable motors gracing the lawns of the Honourable Artillery Company. Despite an unfortunately wet day on Wednesday, the weather improved on Thursday, with glorious sunshine welcoming visitors.

This year’s London Concours was very different to previous years, with social distancing measures in place across the grounds to ensure the guests’ safety. For many of those attending it was their first classic car show of the year, making it a slightly surreal but thoroughly enjoyable experience. And it was a fantastic opportunity for the owners of the cars on display, not just because they had a chance to win a prize, but because they could actually bring their pride and joy to a show.

Speaking of prizes, there were some notable winners at this year’s event. The Best in Show award went to the stunning 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS Spider. It also won its group class, “Convertibles: The Golden Era”, making it a very successful event for the Ferrari. This example was originally displayed at the Turin Motor Show in 1967, before being sold to an American buyer in 1969.

Previously restored to a concours level, this Ferrari 330 GTS is no stranger to awards, taking home the Best in Class and a Platinum Award at the Ferrari Owners’ Club National Concours in 2019.

There was further success for Italian marques with gentleman-farmer Harry Metcalfe’s 1970 Lamborghini Espada winning the “Great Marques: Lamborghini” class. This particular Espada is probably the most well-known example on YouTube, thanks to Harry’s hugely popular motoring channel.

It recently received a complete engine rebuild to Miura SV specification, which was installed only a couple of weeks ago… just in the nick of time for the show!

Another notable winner at this year’s London Concours was the fabulous 1961 Facel Vega HK500, which took home the top prize in the “Lost Marques” category. Finished in a stunning dark grey with a light silver roof and a contrasting red interior, this fine example of French luxurious motoring was imported to the UK from the USA in 2016. Since then the current owner has restored the car while maintaining as much originality as possible.

The event also continued with its strong Italian theme featuring a wonderful selection of Lancias through the ages,

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brought together by Girado and Co. Such was the calibre of these might motors on show, it was probably the most significant collection of Lancias ever gathered for a UK concours.

There was a very familiar sight too on the lawns of this year’s event, with 96 Club member Tim Carpenter and his fantastic 1966 Unipower GT on display. Tim’s little GT is no stranger to the 96 Club and is a regular feature at their meetings. Unfortunately for Tim there was no class prize for his plucky GT at this year’s London Concours (which went to the Facel Vega). But he was delighted to get the opportunity

to showcase Chassis No 1, the very first road going Unipower GT, at one of the UK’s finest concours events. It was also a great opportunity for the club to be represented at the London Concours.

With summer now behind us and the London Concours over for another year, we can look back with a sense of relief that the show managed to go ahead. With that in mind the organisers should be congratulated for staging such a successful event in such challenging circumstances. Here’s to London Concours 2021 and a return to the “normal” classic car event calendar!

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JAGUAR E-TYPE SERIES 1 3.8 OTS. WITH 0 TO 62 MPH (100 KM/H) IN 7.20 SECONDS. A MAXIMUM TOP SPEED OF 150 MPH (241 KM/H). A CURB WEIGHT OF 2770 LBS (1256 KGS)

Photograph by Tim Scott - fluidimages.co.uk

92 RARE CARS ROAR INTO 1 SQUARE MILE

On 8th – 10th June, the gardens of the Honourable Artillery Company, in the heart of the City, will host a selection of the rarest and fastest cars from 1912 to the present day, each an icon of its era.

A unique automotive garden party with the perfect combination of concours cars from the UK’s leading private collectors, luxury retailers, fine watches, art, gourmet food and champagne; an occasion of pure indulgence.

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PRESENTED BY

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Caroline Kemp outlines the story behind the company’s historic past, and shares the brand’s insight.

Vertex Watches A new generation of military inspired timepieces

D

on Cochrane began the journey to revive Vertex relaunching the brand in 2016, the year that marked the 100th anniversary of the original company. “I am extremely proud that Vertex is once again mentioned when people talk about the British watch industry, I know my Great Grandfather and Grandfather would be tremendously delighted” he comments.

The beginning Vertex emerged in 1916 with ateliers in Hatton Garden, and La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland, when Claude Lyons, Cochrane’s Great Grandfather was at the helm. Lyons had previously founded Dreadnought Watches, selling mainly Gentlemen’s pocket watches, but recognised the opportunity for a more diverse company with greater potential.

The company launched, supplying officers in the British Army, almost immediately, then won a bigger post war contract supplying watches to the military.

Vertex became part of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ group of watches that are so important to watchmaking history (others include IWC, Jaeger-Le Coultre, Omega and Longines). In 1943 the War Office decided they needed to create a standard watch

for the military that ticked a number of boxes. The essential list included: a black dial, clear Arabic numerals, shatter proof perspex glass, a clear sub second, a large crown and waterproof case.

“The watches were crucial for timing battles, bombing missions, and naval encounters. They also became the blueprint for all military watches that followed due to the fact that they were

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built around reliable and robust movements with beautifully finished cases”. Cochrane explains.

Wanting to revive the brand, Cochrane says it was part of his heritage, he also knew that it had a fascinating story, and having worked with other brands, it was suddenly clear that here was his chance to create something special. He says, “the comeback has been an amazing journey so far and I feel very fortunate to have been able to take it”.

So, Cochrane went about creating the new watch asking advice from “industry insiders”, who knew far more about watch manufacturing than he did. He then secured all the trademarks and intellectual property before finding a manufacturing partner in Switzerland to produce the timepieces.

The M100 was the first model to relaunch the brand, “I made the watch available to an initial list of 60 people. They could buy one of the watches on the basis that each could invite five others who, in turn, could recommend further owners. Owners of one of the original W.W.W. watches were also given the opportunity to buy one of the new releases.

I wanted the most diverse group as possible and although there are some people you will have heard of, there are far more that you would not !

The main rule at the get-go was that you wanted to sit next to someone at dinner in order to put them on the list”.

Fast forward Fast forward to “Lockdown” Summer 2020, and Vertex has recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of the end of WW2 with the launch of a new model. The “Vertex Bronze 75” has been made in a Limited Edition of 150 pieces.

The special series is available on general release through the company website without the need of an owner referral.

“To know our watches were on the wrists of soldiers, sailors and aircrew who, 75 years ago through their bravery, tenacity and purpose liberated Europe and Asia is of profound importance to Vertex”, explains Cochrane.

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Honouring the watches supplied to the War Office by Vertex, the “Bronze 75” is a bronze case version of the Vertex M100. In addition to the new case and hands, the Bronze 75 also uses a different tone for the Super-LumiNova to compliment the case colouring.

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“The bronze case represents a fitting tribute to our Military Service during the Second World War, but, of more importance, the Bronze 75 will not simply tell the passage of time, but also the patina of the case changes slowly to taking on a richer hue as the years progress”, adds Cochrane.

The caseback of the Bronze 75 is an exact replica of the Cal 59 WWW of 1944 and 1945.

With the Broad arrow and WWW markings, the military serial number and edition number. “The descriptive code was composed of three words.

In the case of W.W.W. the first word is ‘watch’.

After ‘watch’, the second word is ‘wrist’ (originally ‘wristlet’), to differentiate it from pocket watches.

The third and last is ‘waterproof’. In comparison a Bren gun had the descriptive code L.M.G. for light machine gun”.

Cochrane feels that so many brands are just too commercial. “Vertex is about community, loyalty and shared passions”, he reflects.

“Really, my fascination with mechanical devices doesn’t begin and end with watch movements.

I’m totally fascinated by all things automotive and recall, as a boy, spending hours meticulously stripping down and rebuilding various VW Beetle cars. Today, I’m lucky enough to be able to play with more complicated creations! Downtime, although spent with the family, often includes riding small 1980s Paris-Dakar motorcycles and I get enormous pleasure taking my BMW HPN bike to the roughest locations I can find”.

Stay tuned for news of further Vertex models - and a collection of new straps. The launch of a boutique and owners’ club is coming next year.

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Concours of Elegance S

ince first bursting into the automotive universe back in 2012, the Concours of Elegance has, for many enthusiasts, become one of the highlights of the motoring calendar. Initially staged at Windsor Castle to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, it has found a permanent home in the Great Fountain Garden of Hampton Court Palace, a fantastic setting for such a festival of the motor car.

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that every event in the UK since March has been in doubt of happening and the Concours of Elegance was no exception to this state of affairs. Speaking at the Concours with some of the Steering Committee it was clear that they had moved heaven and earth to persuade the owners of the cars to send them along, regardless of the risk that the whole affair might be cancelled at very short notice.

Their herculean efforts paid off and the result was definitely on a par with previous years, some astounding cars were on display around the fountain. As if this were not enough Gooding & Company held their first ever sale outside of the United States during the weekend. The “Passion of a Lifetime” auction had to be postponed from earlier in the year and it added yet another dimension to the Concours of Elegance.

A unique feature of the Concours of Elegance is that there are no judges, the concours awards are determined by the owners and entrants who vote for Best in Show and also for their choice decade by decade. This year’s winner of the Pullman Trophy was a legend in its own right, Porsche 917 #023, the car that gave the German manufacturer the first of its nineteen outright wins in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Chassis #023 was built in 1969, part of the 25 cars that were presented to the CSI to homologate the racer into

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Photography © John Brooks & Niall Julian

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Group 5, taking advantage of poorly drafted regulations. The car scored three podiums in its seven-race career and, most importantly, took victory at Le Mans in 1970 with Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann behind the wheel.

At the other end of the motoring spectrum and illustrating the broad church that is the Concours of Elegance was the first production Land Rover, #860001. Originally destined for His Majesty King George VI, it ended up in the development department at Rover. Subsequently, it was acquired by a Northumberland farmer, David Fairless, in 1970.

It remained on the farm for nearly half a century before the family sold it.

Each day of the Concours of Elegance there is a new set of cars to admire, courtesy of the car clubs whose members bring along their pride and joy. One that caught my eye was this sumptuous Ferrari 275 GTS that made an appearance on the Saturday. After a little light digging in the archives it would seem that one of its former owners was 1980 Formula One World Champion, Alan Jones.

The auction proved to be a great success with all bar one of the lots being sold. The highlight of the sale was the 1934 Bugatti Type 59 that was previously owned by King Leopold of Belgium. This highly original car achieved the highest price ever for a Bugatti at a public auction, £9,535,000. In addition, a Type 35C was sold for £3,935,000 and a Type 57S Atalante for £7,855,000, setting respective records for these Bugatti models.

The Steering Committee and all the team behind the Concours of Elegance plus those representing the Royal Palace deserve the highest praise for safely organising such an event in such difficult circumstances. Those of us who attended and enjoyed the spectacle are in their debt.

Roll on 2021!

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T H E WO R L D S R A R E ST C A R S

PRESENTED BY

Car photography by Tim Scott www.fluidimages.co.uk

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Photography © John Brooks

We Never Closed

2020 Salon Privé 2020

will go down in history as the year of COVID-19 and lockdown. In the motoring universe we simply did not attend the usual calendar of classic events; either they were cancelled or those that did proceed, such as the Le Mans 24 Hours, did so behind closed doors. So, it was truly a red-letter day back in September to make the journey to the grounds of Blenheim Palace for the 2020 edition of Salon Privé.

Now in its fifteenth edition, Salon Privé has evolved from being top flight concours d’elegance to being a forum for all forms of luxury goods

while retaining its traditional core motoring DNA. The fundamental changes in every aspect of the motor industry have been accelerated by the current pandemic. The traditional motor show is unlikely to survive, the Geneva Salon’s apparent demise is clear evidence that for the manufacturers one size no longer fits all.

Andrew and David Bagley, founders of Salon Privé, have seized this opportunity to create a tightly focussed ‘motoring experience’ for the 21st century and this has been well received by the marketplace. Rolls-Royce exhibited their new Ghost to the public for the first time and Bentley

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hosted a trio of global premiers, a recognition that the attendees of Salon Privé are likely to be the target for these top of the range companies. Others that used the event to launch new products included Bugatti, Touring Superleggera and Koenigsegg, all premium brands.

Further evidence supporting this trend came in the form of a dedicated Media Day with attention concentrated on the new launches rather than the concours. I spoke with David Brabham on the day and he

confirmed that he had received several serious enquiries for the new street-legal Brabham BT62R, justifying the expense and effort of attending the event.

That Salon Privé was able to proceed at all was a testament to the comprehensive measures and precautions taken by the organisers and the Palace. Track and trace app on your mobile and temperature testing at the entrance were both compulsory conditions of admittance to the show. The whole affair would be something of a logistical

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nightmare in a normal year, throw in the challenges of 2020 and things go completely off the scale. Despite all the efforts taken by the organisers there was the distinct possibility that it could be cancelled at a day’s notice. There was a clever catchphrase that summed up the situation neatly, ‘Coming Together, Keeping Apart’.

Fortunately, Salon Privé did go ahead and what a show was laid out for those of us lucky enough to attend. Passing by the Italian Garden the first delight

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was a mouth-watering selection of modern-day endurance classics ranging from a 1972 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT3 to an unraced 2012 Peugeot 90X, a victim of Peugeot’s snap decision to cancel without notice their racing program in

Stéphane Ortelli and Laurent Aïello to second spot in 2000.

The next treat encountered was a dazzling row of McLaren F1s and F1 GTRs, no fewer than six cars in total, including two of the 1997-spec longtail race cars.

Arguably the star of this line-up

February 2012. Another highlight on this grid was a Prodrive-built Ferrari 550 Maranello which was veteran of five Le Mans 24 Hours, including a podium finish in 2004 for Darren Turner, Rickard Rydell and Colin McRae. The Audi R8 further down the line was another Le Mans podium car, taking Allan McNish,

of Woking’s finest was #03R, outright winner of four rounds of the BPR Global GT Series.

These successes propelled owner, Thomas Bscher, and his co-driver, John Nielsen, to the Drivers and Teams titles in 1995 and Bscher to third overall the following year.

This precious collection attracted much attention, a reflection of 96 I Winter 2020

the status of the McLaren F1, the Ferrari 250 GTO of the digital era.

Proceeding further onto the lawn the cars parked up were a much more conventional group that would be found at similar events around the globe.

Classical Ferraris in abundance, none the less gorgeous for that.

My eye was drawn in particular to the fusion of art deco and ‘50s styling exhibited by a Citroën DS19 Le Paris, one of just nine examples produced by the great Henri Chapron in 1958-59. There were many other highlights to savour and appreciate, almost a sensory overload.

The rest of the show reflected the high quality of the automobiles on the grass, whether it is was the delicious and generous catering provided as part of the package to the Pommery Champagne and other fine wines available to those lucky enough to be chauffeured to the Palace.

The announcement that the partnership between Blenheim Palace and Salon Privé will continue in 2021 with a reversion to the traditional early September dates was most welcome. Getting back to some form of normality next year will be vital for all of us, we were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of this in September at the 2020 Salon Privé.

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