Magneto Magazine issue 14: Summer 2022 by Hothouse Media

ISSUE

14 SUMMER 2022

T O P 50 G R E AT E S TEVER TV CARS

DISCOVERED! FERRUCCIO LAMBORGHINI’S FERRARI

ra 17 of ant c the wo t r o p rld’s most im

m ro f , ts me l e sh h

i lar o v Nu

ill, Sheene and Senna , via H n o t il am H o t

A S T O N M A R T I N VA L K Y R I E THE INSIDE STORY

T H E R E C R E AT I O N O F M AT R A’ S 4 W D F 1 L E G E N D

£10 | SUMMER 2022

PRINTED IN THE UK

Hanna Schönwald Designer & Car Enthusiast

Hanna Schönwald - the designer and artist with a passion for the mechanics of classic cars. Cares for her classic cars with polishes and waxes from Swissvax.

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84 14

20 COMING SOON Static or all action, here are this summer’s must-go-to events

31 S TA R T E R Driving the new Bizzarrini 5300GT, 60 years of Martini in motor sport, Glen English’s scale models, one-owner 120-car collection sale from Broad Arrow

106

122

MOTOR SPORT’S HEAD CASES

FERRUCCIO’S FERRARI

M A T R A’ S M S 8 4 ONE-OFF F1 CAR

INDIANAPOLIS 500 CAUGHT ON FILM

Personalised liveries make helmets the most recognisable item in a racer’s kitbag. Here are our favourite famous lids

The car that started Lamborghini. Remember the tale of Ferruccio falling out with Enzo? This is that Ferrari...

Resurrecting a unique 4WD racing car from a handful of spares takes a miracle – but sometimes the impossible is possible

US motor-racing photographer Bob Tronolone’s images ensure we’ll never forget the glory years of Indy

106 Magneto

HERITAGE IS ABOUT

EXPERTISE

Thanks to the experience and skills of our team of specialists and technicians, we can offer certification services, the highest standard of restoration and a selection of classic vehicles for sale just for you.

Discover our world. www.fcaheritage.com

132

144

154

ASTON MARTIN VA L K Y R I E

ROLLS-BENTLEY G R E AT E I G H T

TOP 50 TV CARS

A glimpse into the roller-coaster ride behind the British marque’s drive for perfection with its F1 car for the road

Karl Ludvigsen on the post-war V8 that would serve both Rolls-Royce and Bentley for a record-breaking 61 years

Bringing automotive icons into your living room, these small-screen stars made a huge cultural impact

173 ACQUIRE Buying a Honda NSX supercar, debunking classic car myths, collecting watches, motoring art, Hasselblad cameras and Jaguar’s Leaper, plus new products and books

196 LEGAL: USE IT OR LOSE IT

154 174

198 COLLECTIONS: G O O D W O O D S TA R S

200 HISTORIC RACING: T H E R I G H T S E T- U P

202 BEHIND THE LEGEND: FIRST ROAD TRIP

Magneto

Editor’s welcome

14 Crash helmets on the front cover? Well, it’s a first for me, but I hope you’ll agree that there’s something really special about them. There’s sometimes blood, there’s certainly sweat and there are probably a few tears in many of the helmets worn by the greatest-ever racing drivers – and here we have, I think, the most magnificent selection ever gathered together for a single article. Until the 1990s, a driver might have had only a few helmets throughout his or her motor sport career. Until the 1970s, that number could have been as low as two or three. Graham Hill is thought to have had just two. And take a look at the state of Barry Sheene’s: you wouldn’t believe he’d have raced with it so badly damaged, but there are plenty of pictures to prove that he did. During our photoshoot, I found myself carrying the Hunt crash helmet in one hand, the Senna in the other. There was something otherworldly about the experience that I’ll never forget. I hope that you feel a bit of the same when you see them within these pages. I felt a bit of that crawling around the Ferrari once owned by Ferruccio Lamborghini as well. To think, without that car there might never have been the Miura, the Countach, the Diablo and so many more. Perhaps Ferruccio would have done it anyway – he was certainly ambitious and entrepreneurial enough – but there’s little doubt that the problems he suffered with his Ferrari and his spat with Enzo spurred him on to produce his own cars. And it’s a great tale.

David Lillywhite Editorial director

Magneto

RM 72-01

www.richardmille.com

Contributors LIONEL FROISSART Award-winning French sports journalist Lionel Froissart spent more than 30 years covering both F1 and tennis. While we don’t know much about the latter, we do know that the former set him up perfectly to write the feature on the recreation of the four-wheel-drive Matra MS84.

ANDREW FRANKEL Who better to drive the new Bizzarrini 5300GT Revival than experienced writer and racer Andrew Frankel? Editor David Lillywhite missed out after testing positive for Covid, but Andrew’s return to Magneto just about made up for his disappointment...

RICK GUEST Witnesses to the photoshoot of the crash helmets in this issue would surely have got the idea that this was Rick’s idea of heaven, merging his passion for motor sport items with his talent for photographing still life, combining multiple images to create the sharpest-possible pictures.

A repeat victim of our Top 50 commissioning emails, journalist Richard is one of the few willing to take on the huge task of this Magneto regular. Indeed, he leapt at the chance to write this issue’s feature, on his pet subject of great TV cars. The result is as comprehensive as it is entertaining.

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ILLUSTR AT IONS P ET ER A LLE N

R I C H A R D H E S E LT I N E

Early Highlight 1992 Ferrari F40 Estimate: $2,500,000 - $2,900,000 USD

19-20 AUGUST 2022

MONTEREY NOW INVITING CONSIGNMENTS

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Who to contact

Editorial director

Managing director

David Lillywhite

Geoff Love

Managing editor

Art director

Advertising sales

Sarah Bradley

Peter Allen

Sue Farrow, Rob Schulp

Staff writer

Designer

Accounts

Elliott Hughes

Debbie Nolan

Jonathan Ellis

West Coast US contributor

Lifestyle advertising

Winston Goodfellow

Sophie Kochan

Contributors in this issue Jonathon Burford, Nathan Chadwick, Sam Chick, Rachael Clegg, Ian Cooling, Robert Dean, Massimo Delbò, Lies De Mol, Max Earey, Andrew Frankel, Lionel Froissart, Rob Gould, Rick Guest, Alexandre Guillaumot, Sam Hancock, Germain Hazard, Richard Heseltine, Matt Howell, Dave Kinney, Frédéric Le Floc’h, Jean Michel Le Meur, Bart Lenaerts, Karl Ludvigsen, John Mayhead, Doug Nye, Andy Reid, Clive Robertson, David Shepherd, John Simister, Joe Twyman, Rupert Whyte, John Wiley Single issues and subscriptions Please visit www.magnetomagazine.com or call +44 (0)208 068 6829

HOTHOUSE MEDIA Geoff Love, David Lillywhite, George Pilkington Castle Cottage, 25 High Street, Titchmarsh, Northants NN14 3DF, UK Printing Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE, UK Printed on Amadeus Silk supplied through Denmaur as a Carbon Balanced product. Made from FSC® certified and traceable pulp sources Specialist newsstand distribution Pineapple Media, Select Publisher Services Who to contact Subscriptions and business geoff@hothousemedia.co.uk Accounts accounts@hothousemedia.co.uk Editorial david@hothousemedia.co.uk Advertising sue@flyingspace.co.uk or rob@flyingspace.co.uk Lifestyle advertising sophie.kochan2010@gmail.com

©Hothouse Media Ltd. Magneto and associated logos are registered trademarks of Hothouse Media Ltd. All rights reserved. All material in this magazine, whether in whole or in part, may not be reproduced, transmitted or distributed in any form without the written permission of Hothouse Media Ltd. Hothouse Media Ltd. uses a layered privacy notice giving you brief details about how we would like to use your personal information. For full details, please visit www.magnetomagazine.com/privacy/

Magneto [mag-nee-toh] noun, plural mag·ne·tos 1. Electrical generator that provides periodic high-voltage pulses to the spark-plugs of an internal-combustion engine, used mostly pre-World War One although still fitted for emergency back-up of aircraft ignition systems. 2. Fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. 3. Great quarterly magazine featuring the most important cars in the world.

ISSN Number 2631-9489. Magneto is published quarterly by Hothouse Publishing Ltd. Great care has been taken throughout the magazine to be accurate, but the publisher cannot accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions that might occur. The editors and publishers of this magazine give no warranties, guarantees or assurances, and make no representations regarding any goods or services advertised in this edition.

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The Gstaad Sale

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Starter

Words Nathan Chadwick

Jim Taylor Collection in no-reserve sale From a D-type to Pebble Beach stars, the secondannounced sale from Broad Arrow Auctions is estimated to bring $30m

A 1955 JAGUAR D-TYPE IS among more than 120 classics being offered by Broad Arrow Auctions in a single-collection sale. Collectively entitled Passion for the Drive: The Cars of Jim Taylor, each of the models will be available at no reserve between October 14 and 15. Taylor’s collecting habit started at an early age, and his eclectic tastes encompassed everything from US and European classics to muscle cars and modern supercars, along with plenty of associated models and many examples of automobilia. The D-type, chassis no. XKD 515, is the 15th of 42 built and has spent most of its life as a road car. It’s the highlight of a 20-strong Jaguar selection that incorporates an SS100, an alloy XK120, XK140s, X150s and several E-types and XJs. Further British highlights include a one-of-77 1952 Allard J2X that was formerly part of the MH ‘Tiny’ Gould and Kirk F White collections. Switching to transatlantic fare, a brace of Shelby Cobras catch the eye

BELOW More than 120 classics from the Jim Taylor Collection will go under the hammer with Broad Arrow Auctions in October.

– an all-original 1964 289 and a three-owner, 8000-mile 427. Two former stars of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance also grace the lot list: a 1937 Horch Model 853A Cabriolet A that won a Preservation Class award, and a Vignale-bodied 1954 Cunningham C-3 that garnered a class prize. The latter also won a Best in Class award at the Amelia Island Concours. Other auction highlights include a collection of factory-built, manualtransmission Shelby Hertz Mustangs dating from 1966, 2006, 2007 and 2016, all of which were produced in either double- or single-digit numbers. There is also a pair of Heritage Edition Ford GTs, one dating from 2005 and another from 2020. There’s a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster with a factory hardtop, too. “Vintage cars and the lifestyle surrounding the classic car hobby have been a tremendous source of joy and pleasure for me, whether vintage racing on the historic Mille

Miglia or competing on the show fields at Amelia Island or the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance,” said Jim Taylor. “Each experience, usually marked with a different car and like-minded participants, has been nothing short of exceptional. “Over the years I have tried to support the hobby as generously as possible, whether by hosting charitable events at the garage or through my philanthropic support of numerous automotive museums, including the Saratoga Automobile Museum,” he added. “Sharing this hobby with others is what keeps the passion alive for future generations, and I hope that in the sale of my cars and memorabilia we will continue to help foster that love and passion in and among generations of enthusiasts to come.” The collection will be auctioned in Taylor’s hometown of Gloversville near Albany, New York. More information can be found at www.broadarrowgroup.com.

‘I hope this sale will continue to help foster love for our hobby in generations to come’

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Starter

Words Rachael Clegg

Photography Jon Ailes

A model craftsman It’s the tiniest attention to detail that makes Glen English’s miniature car and motorcycle models a very big deal indeed

GLEN ENGLISH’S FASCINATION with model making started at ten years old. His uncle – renowned industrial designer Jim English – gave him a miniature replica as a present, and this left a lasting impression. Today, Glen is a renowned model maker among aficionados of historic cars and motorcycles. His clients include Brabham, McLaren and T.50 designer Gordon Murray, McLaren Formula 1 director Neil Oatley and 23-times Isle of Man TT race winner John McGuinness MBE. And it all goes back to Glen’s boyhood model of an Alfa 158: “It was the form of that car I fell in love with,” he explains. “My uncle Jim enthused about design, and – thanks to him – I learned to appreciate how form follows function.” He continues: “I do love that era

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ABOVE From Alfa Romeo 158 to MV Agusta, Glen’s models are highly regarded for their accuracy.

of racing. I’m a huge Juan Manuel Fangio fan, too. I have to have an emotional connection to a machine, or be passionate about its history, to enjoy making it. I find it really hard to make something I don’t like.” It takes weeks to build a model from concept to completion: “The first one requires a great deal of thinking, and quite often I wake up in the middle of the night and think: ‘Ahh, that’s how I can make the bonnet louvre.’ It is amazing how

many practical problems are solved while you sleep.” Model making is in Glen’s blood. Not only via Jim (who, incidentally, gave the Raleigh Chopper its name), but Glen’s cousin Michael Johnson is a renowned coppersmith, while his father crafted medieval armour for Hollywood – including Sean Connery’s costume for the 1984 film Sword of the Valiant: “I worked for dad when I left school, and my first job was dressing Sean on set.” It was while making armour in his teens that Glen quickly realised he had a propensity for craftsmanship. Indeed, his attention to detail is extraordinary; the tyres on his models

are cut with period tread markings, the leather seats are hand-stitched and the paintwork is perfectly matched to the original colour. “I really get into the zone when I’m on a roll,” he says. “When I started my first MV Agusta motorbike model some years ago, it was Christmas Eve. When it came to Christmas Day, I couldn’t wait to get away from my dad’s and back into my shed.” Fortunately, it’s a big shed – and for company Glen has Radio 4, Moto GP and, at the time of writing, the Winter Olympics. “It can get quite lonely,” he says. “And I have a lot of orders on now, with a 15-month waiting list. That’s a lot of time in my shed – but it still beats getting a proper job.” Glen English’s Alfa Romeo 158 costs £3250. All models can be seen at www.glenenglishmodels.co.uk.

A MAJOR AUCTION OF 200 FINE CLASSIC & COLLECTOR CARS SATURDAY 21STMAY ASCOT RACECOURSE

THE MAY SALE

2015 FERRARI 458 SPECIALE Estimate: £295,000-£350,000

+ 44 (0)1753 639170 auctions@historics.co.uk www.historics.co.uk

Starter

Words David Lillywhite

The perfect place to fuel up Gilks’ Garage Café in Warwickshire keeps a family tradition alive and proves the ideal eatery for petrol-heads

FROM ABOVE Authentic buildings and fittings – down to original fuel pump – give the café a period feel.

IT IS ALWAYS EXCITING TO find a new car-themed destination. Gilks’ Garage Café in Kineton, Warwickshire, UK, ticks all the boxes: good food, plenty of parking, great local roads and a family history that dates back to the early 1900s. We came across it thanks to Aston Martin, as a meeting place to try out a couple of V12 Vantages. Although the café has been open for two years, the pandemic initially kept visitors away – but you wouldn’t know that now, with classics, performance cars and a wide selection of motorcycles all coming and going during our morning there. It’s run by Keith and Linda Gilks with daughter Katherine, who explain the café’s history. It all started when George ‘Toby’ Gilks returned from London to set up a blacksmith’s shop in 1904 in Kineton’s Market Square. He was joined by son Cecil and then his son Gordon, as the business diversified into agricultural engineering. In 1949 the business moved to new premises on Banbury Road, where the café is now based. George retired

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and Cecil took on an agency for Esso fuels and oils, which were initially served in cans. It wasn’t until the late 1950s that fuel pumps arrived on the forecourt – by which time the agricultural-engineering side was losing business. To compensate, Cecil and Gordon took on a Rootes Motors dealership in 1958, selling Hillmans. An extension was built to act as a showroom, with room for just one car. A few years later Rootes insisted that the showroom be expanded, forcing a second extension to be built in the 1960s (at around the same time a further fuel pump was also added, which is now on display in the café). Despite this, when Chrysler eventually took over the Rootes Group it began to favour large

‘The atmosphere is lively and the food is a notch above the typical café stock’

chain garages, prompting Cecil and Gordon to relinquish the dealership and instead become an independent MoT and service centre. In the 1980s, Keith became the fourth generation of the family to join the business, but he found that he wasn’t a natural mechanic and instead joined the fire service, while working at the garage in his spare time. A few years later, in the 1990s, Cecil died and, prompted by the need to replace the fuel pumps for the move to sell in litres instead of gallons, Gordon closed the garage in 1996. After lying empty for a while, the premises were rented out for storage, remaining in Gilks family ownership despite offers from supermarkets and housing developers. But with the

building in need of work, Keith decided on a new, more exciting use for the old garage, adding a third extension for a kitchen, to allow the launch of Gilks’ Garage Café. It launched in late 2019, with involvement from the family’s fifth generation, Katherine and Thomas, and is packed with automobilia from the garage in its heyday, including original Rootes and Hillman signage. It soon had to close again due to the pandemic, but when it reopened business was brisk and it’s now a local success story. You can visit 9:00am3.00pm Wednesday to Sunday, with a 5.00pm-8:30pm opening on Friday and Saturday nights. What’s it like? It’s great! The atmosphere is lively, the staff are super friendly, and the food is a notch above the typical café stock. Neat touches include the Full Service and Interim Service breakfasts (including veggie) and the Mighty Mechanic Beef Burger and the Hungry Mechanic pizza. Sure, Magneto is all about cars, not food reviews – but we can thoroughly recommend the brunch! www.gilksgaragecafe.com

Starter

Words Nathan Chadwick

5 is still alive on its 50th birthday Renault’s popular 5 hatchback marks its 50th anniversary this year. Rétromobile played host to a major celebration of the car, just as the French maker readies a new 5 – this time with EV propulsion. Here are five takes on the mini marvel

Well, what is it?

What’s it packing?

Was it any good?

What came next?

THE ORIGINAL: RENAULT 5

The 5 was designed by Michel Boué in his spare time. His work impressed Renault, which immediately signed off on the development. The R5 was among the first wave of hatchbacks in the 1970s. Sadly Boué died just before his creation was due to be released.

Mechanically similar to the R4, but its monocoque build was new for Renault. Engines were all four-pots. Being one of the first cars with plastic bumpers made the 5 a popular city car, as it was useful for the ‘contact sport’ that is parking in a French urban environment.

Customers seemed to think so – 5,276,630 first-generation Renault 5s were sold, not including those built in Iran. The Alpine edition (Gordini in the UK) was among the first of the hot hatchbacks, launched in 1976 with 92bhp and a subten-second 0-60mph time.

A Marcello Gandini restyle came in 1984 and ran until 1996, despite its replacement, the Clio, being launched in 1990. The 5 GT Turbo (not to be confused with the Turbo 1 or 2) became an icon of the Max Power world, and was forever immortalised in the Ali G film.

THE FASTEST: RENAULT 5 TURBO 1

Aimed at rallying’s Lancia Stratos, the 5 Turbo 1 was a mid-engined RWD (the normal R5 is FWD) hatch styled by Bertone’s Marc Deschamps. Announced in 1978, 400 first-series cars were built to meet homologation rules.

Its turbocharged 1.4-litre four-pot meant 158bhp in road trim. The Alpine A310 V6 offered up its rear suspension, while a 30 TX donated its gearbox, albeit rotated 180 degrees. The Turbo 1’s brightly coloured interior was a riot of wonderful 1970s sci-fi excess.

Even wound up to 345bhp in Maxi Turbo trim, it was not enough to fend off the march of 4WD rally cars on gravel. It was more successful on Tarmac, winning the Monte in 1981, plus the Tour De Corse in 1982 and 1985, all with Jean Ragnotti behind the wheel.

The 5 Turbo 2 swapped out the Bertone seats and dash for a standard R5 interior, as well as other lightweight items; 4457 were built. Its spiritual successor was 2001’s Clio V6, which also stuffed its engine behind the front seats and spawned a race series.

THE WILDEST: RENAULT 5 SUPERTURISMO

Developed out of the Renault 5 Turbo 1 for the 1984 season, it ended up against Group A machinery due to the rules of equivalence. Despite being light, it was the smallest engine in the field. Renault squeezed a rally-car-besting 385bhp out of the engine.

Despite the car’s low weight and relatively high power, overall victory went to its Group A rivals – although Jean Ragnotti and Jean-Louis Bousquet took two victories in 1986. Formula 2 refugee Érik Comas joined the team in 1987, and duly won the title.

It was replaced by Ragnotti’s all-conquering 21 Turbo Quadra for 1988. Renault later entered the British Touring Car Championship in 1993, winning the title with Alain Menu in 1997 in a Laguna developed and run by the Williams F1 team.

THE WEIRDEST: LE CAR VAN

In 1979 famed coachbuilder Heuliez built the Le Car Van (a play on words regarding the US R5, which was marketed by American Motors Corporation dealers as Le Car). Based on a 5 TS, just 450 were built before production wrapped up in 1983.

The mechanicals were standard 5 TS, but this was a strict two-seater with the quarter windows removed and replaced with an injected polyester panel complete with a tinted porthole window. The spare wheel was moved to the outside to aid load space.

THE DROP-TOP: THE SUPER 5 BELLE

Car Système, famous for its R4-based JP4 buggy, decided to make a drop-top 5. Despite many orders of its prototype revealed at the 1988 Paris Motor Show, delays getting approval from Renault meant CS went bust. Coachbuilder Gruau took the job on in 1989.

Halfway between a pick-up and a convertible, a panel between the taillights popped outwards and down over the bumper to provide access to the storage space. If it rained, a canvas top covered the back – although apparently that was more hope than expectation.

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Later versions used R5 Automatic and R5 Alpine underpinnings. Renault also made a commercial version of the Clio, beginning in 1999. It had a better payload than its Vauxhall Corsa and Ford Fiesta van rivals, but didn’t come with its own porthole. Pity.

Gruau planned for 715 cars, but just 500 were made before production halted in 1991.

Renault launched a Mégane convertible in the 1990s.

15th and 16th of June 2022 The Art of Bespoke www.concoursonsavilerow.com

Starter

Words David Lillywhite

‘Sneak peek’ of Qatar museum An exhibition in Doha reveals three of the star cars already secured for the planned new Qatar Auto Museum

RIGHT AND BELOW Ferrari 250GTO, Delahaye 175 S and Pontiac Ghost Car are on show until 2023.

LEFT Design concept shows circular structure with a roof terrace and open public spaces.

AN EXHIBITION HAS OPENED in Doha to preview the plans for the forthcoming Qatar Auto Museum. Many of the cars for the planned museum have already been secured, including the three stars of the current exhibition: a Ferrari 250GTO, the Pontiac ‘Ghost Car’ and a 1949 Delahaye 175 S Saoutchik Roadster. This exhibition, which will remain open until January 20, 2023, is based in the National Museum of Qatar. The new museum, however, will be created nearby in the former exhibition centre that hosted the first Qatar Motor Show in 2011. The 40,000m2 venue will include permanent galleries exploring the

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evolution of the car and how it has influenced culture in Qatar, along with temporary exhibition spaces for special displays, an ‘Edutainment’ Center and a restoration workshop, as well as areas dedicated to children’s activities. Development will begin after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Well known US specialist broker MM Garage, headed by Miles Morris and Malcolm Welford, has sourced most of the cars for the museum, including the three revealed to date. “They don’t do anything by half in Qatar,” says Miles. “We helped them acquire a Schumacher F1 Ferrari for the newly opened Olympic and Sports Museum at Khalifa Stadium.

The three cars that we presented were what they are calling a ‘sneak peek’ of the museum collection. The 250GTO, 5095GT, is a great example; there are probably two GTOs left that are unmolested and unrestored – and this is one of them. “The Delahaye was owned by Diana Dors, although she didn’t buy it new. There’s a clip on Pathé News of her climbing into the car to be driven to the première of A Star Is Born. “And then the other model is the famous Pontiac Deluxe Six that was built for the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair and was the very first Plexiglass car. There are many more, but these are the first to be revealed.”

The museum’s design will be led by the Pritzker Architecture Prizewinning architect Rem Koolhaas of OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture). It is one of three new museums planned for the area, the others being for art and culture. “The Qatar Auto Museum will be a showplace for our unsurpassed collection,” said the president of the museum, Her Excellency Dr Hessa Al Jaber. “As with all Qatar Museums institutions it will spark innovation, creativity, dialogue and community, and it will act as a destination that will offer new and exciting experiences on each visit.” See www.nmoq.org.qa/en for details.

Starter

Brexit bruise won’t go away British classic and collector car specialists feel the pinch as crossChannel tax, shipping and administrative issues continue to cause big problems

Magneto

Words Nathan Chadwick

WE’RE NOW ONE YEAR INTO Brexit proper, and the fog of bureaucracy, import/export rules and customer trepidation has refused to go away. Magneto has covered the effects of Brexit on buying, selling and motor sport before, but as the masking effects of the Covid pandemic start to strip away, more of the cracks in the system are becoming clear. Anecdotal reports from Essen and Rétromobile show that British dealers and customers are less likely to make the trip to Europe due to import taxes and carnet rules. However, Brexit has also severely harmed specialists and restorers. “I had a potential market of 460m people, 30 miles away. The UK treats them like aliens – and now we’ve lost all of our continental business,” says John Scott-Nelson of Austin-Healey specialist Murray Scott-Nelson. “They just don’t want to pay the duty.” It’s a similar situation for Andy Heywood of McGrath Maserati. “There is a lot less restoration work than there once was,” he says. “We

Illustration Peter Allen

are seeing fewer cars from overseas; I was looking at a Khamsin resto from The Netherlands, but it’s just not going to be competitive. We’ve become a small island again.” When it comes to taxes, currently shipping a whole car as a temporary import to the UK doesn’t cost anything. This lasts for six months. As long as HMRC knows where it is and that it’s not being used, this can be extended and there isn’t a fee to pay – but, of course, restorations don’t often take just six months. “This situation means there won’t be an impact on restoration costs, but nobody’s considered it,” says Heywood. “In theory this makes us more competitive with US restorers because we’re on a level playing field – the car’s owner will have to pay VAT if all the work is done here, but they can claim it all back on the way out.” Buying projects abroad, restoring them here and selling them has become more challenging. These are generally not eligible for temporaryimport status, so there’s a five percent duty on cars older than 30 years, and 20 per cent for younger vehicles. “The classic market is closed at the moment,” explains Heywood. “They’re largely left-hand drive and cost a fortune to get in and out of Europe – if you can’t buy the cars, you can’t restore the cars.” However, the parts situation is the biggest cause of stress for specialists and restorers. “The current system is rubbish and pointless. Stuff isn’t being delivered, stuff gets lost, and there’s a massive impact on delivery times,” says Alfa Aid’s Adrian Jardine. “While from a trade point of view we can claim the VAT back, the admin aggravation makes things much harder. Quite a few suppliers have said it’s too much admin for the profit, which I respect – buying out of Germany is the worst; a lot of suppliers say the time everything takes is just too painful.” Germany is also a problem for Heywood. “A few sellers are refusing to sell to the UK,” he says. “We were looking to buy a component part in Germany, and they simply said ‘we can’t help you’.” To illustrate the difficulties, Jardine cites a recent case regarding trying to get parts out of the Netherlands. “Things get stuck in ports, but there’s no communication

whatsoever,” he says. “You have a tracking system, but [on this occasion] it kept saying the parcel was in the Netherlands, then the UK, then the Netherlands, over and over again. The shipping firm said they were ‘ghost scans’; because it’s on the manifest, the staff just tick a box. “Eight months later I’ve got a bill, with VAT paid at the country of origin, or I’ve got to pay it here. There’s a disbursement fee, custom charges for admin and a latepayment charge for a package that I did not know existed, nor did I know when it arrived.” It’s a situation echoed by Heywood: “The average cost of things has gone up by ten to 15 percent, but that’s down to the supply chain. The likes of UPS and FedEx don’t understand the paperwork, although this should sort itself out eventually.” The restoration of larger parts of a car has tailed off, he says: “We used to restore gearboxes and engines, but shippers won’t handle these because they’re too difficult to do the paperwork on. We have to be careful of ‘rules of origin’, because we have to be specific about where any parts have been made, and for an old car that can be quite tricky.” Heywood believes that these issues will be sorted out in the medium term. “If it hadn’t been for Covid, all these problems would have been dealt with by now. When it comes to working with EU countries, it shouldn’t be any more difficult than dealing with the US and Australia,” he says. Scott-Nelson isn’t quite so hopeful. “I don’t think the current situation is hurting people on the continent, but it’s hurting the UK car scene – we had it so good for so long,” he says. “The [UK] government promised us a deal, but there is no deal. People talk about opportunities in Australia and the US, but they’re on the other side of the world – Europe is 30 miles away. Without doubt, Brexit is counter-productive to the classic car fraternity.” www.murrayscott-nelson.com www.mcgrathmaserati.co.uk www.alfaaid.co.uk

Starter

Words Leonardo Fioravanti

Rewriting history? Exciting news that sheds intriguing new light on the Ferrari 365P Tre Posti – direct from its creator Leonardo Fioravanti

Dear Massimo Delbò In reference to your great magazine article, which deals with a famous chapter in motoring history – and in the history of Ferrari in particular – I am taking the liberty of writing to share some true facts about this story, having been personally involved in it from the start. It all began at the Research Centre (Centro Studi e Ricerche), which opened in March 1966 (I had joined Pininfarina in May 1964). As ‘l’Avvocato’ Gianni Agnelli said in an interview given to Franco Varisco in 1996, published in Ruoteclassiche: “I really enjoyed working on those cars with Ferrari and Pininfarina. It’s fantastic watching something being built. And that’s how the 365 ‘Tre Posti’ (three-seater) came about. From an idea of mine. I clearly remember that.” The Research Centre started by building a 1:1 three-seater cockpit scale model in order to check the possible habitability with the centrally mounted steering wheel. This solution allowed Agnelli, whose famous accident had left him with a stiff leg, to turn it and get into the car more easily; moreover, the swivelling seat made it easier for him to reach the driver’s position. Once we had his and Ferrari’s approval, as well as the rolling chassis (no. 8815), we started building this

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first prototype. It was equipped with a Porsche Sportomatic semi-auto transmission that allowed l’Avvocato to change gears without having to use his left leg to press the clutch. It was also Agnelli who asked us to build into the roof a transparent panel, from a German supplier he knew, that would let in light (but not heat), and to add a blue-andblack stripe (family colours) on the side of the car. Once the first prototype was complete I was commissioned to do a road test, after which I added a large rear spoiler to ensure greater stability at high speeds. Although Agnelli wanted it all kept under wraps, word of the car nevertheless got round in Ferrari circles. Chinetti, the US importer, put

ABOVE The first Tre Posti prototype, complete with transparent roof panel and side stripes. BELOW The Ferrari was developed under the auspices of Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli.

in a request for an identical specimen. Ferrari agreed, and commissioned Pininfarina to build this second prototype, with a few variations on the first. It was to be painted white and fitted with black leatherette seats; the front lights were to be mounted under the fender, and there was to be no spoiler, given the speed restrictions in place in the US. In October 1966, this second specimen was exhibited at the Paris Motor Show, where it was a huge hit, thus becoming really well known. The first one (the Agnelli version) was shown at the Turin Motor Show in November 1966, as recounted by Angelo Tito Anselmi in his 1988 book Le Ferrari di Pininfarina. This was the source of nearly all the inaccuracies published since. As regards the opening and closing parts of the article, I would like to point out that the first midengined road Ferrari was the 250LM Speciale, designed by me and unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in early March 1965. Thanking you in advance for your interest. I am delighted to have been able to provide some true facts about the history of a Ferrari that, to me is ‘Il Cavallino nel Cuore’. Leonardo Fioravanti You can read more in Mr Fioravanti’s autobiography Il Cavallino nel Cuore – The Horse in the Heart.

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Head case

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e, d ectiv Prot nctive an table, disti ntly rela liveries insta onalised s the pers e helmet isable mak t recogn r’s mos in a race re a item g. Here famous a t b kit avouri e tor our f rom mo lids f t history spor

Helmet history

RACING DRIVERS HAVE ALWAYS WORN some form of head protection, yet the cloth and leather devices used by the likes of Birken and Nuvolari would have been anything but protective. The evolution of the helmet is a story in itself, but it is not one we are covering (for now); here, we are looking into identities. Since the late 1950s, drivers have used their crash helmets as a way of differentiating themselves from others and creating their own personal identity. When you consider that a driver is given their car, livery and race suit by the team, their helmet is the only personalised item with which they have free rein – it effectively acts as that competitor’s ‘face’ when they’re in the car. Over the years we’ve come to recognise and remember drivers by their designs. Personalised ‘lids’ first appeared in the ’50s, when we saw Mike Hawthorn adopt a dark blue livery, Alberto Ascari light blue and José Froilán González distinctive yellow. The colours evolved into simple designs, with the likes of Jean Behra putting a chequer around the crown. By the end of the decade, Graham Hill was running with the London Rowing Club’s famous oars. Drivers would often paint their own designs, and generally a helmet would last at least a season and almost certainly longer. Stirling Moss was reputed to have had as few as four over his entire professional career. Moving into the 1960s and ’70s, the designs became ever more considered. James Hunt used his Wellington College colours and Jackie Stewart his family tartan, while François Cevert had the bold red, yellow and blue tricolour. Drivers would pick a design and stick to it – their competitors would avoid anything too similar to ensure individuality. During this period drivers likely had the luxury of more than one helmet, but again these were usually carried across multiple seasons. By the 1980s and into the ’90s sponsorship became prevalent in Formula 1, and of course helmets provided an advertising opportunity beyond that of the car itself. Brand logos were increasingly incorporated into the designs, and teams would ‘claim’ areas and influence styling. Drivers were given multiple helmets per season, painted by a growing number of professional artists. Numbered helmets were introduced, and records of where and when they were used were logged against a unique Snell reference. Since then, drivers have often been supplied with far more helmets – and in some instances they are given one per race (generally the further up the grid you are, the bigger supply 66

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you get). Recently, the likes of Daniel Ricciardo have had reworked livery year on year, while Sebastian Vettel changed his design at virtually every race when he was driving for Red Bull. In recent years the demand for helmets has increased. Their individuality coupled with their history makes them collectable pieces of art – and their comparison with that market is interesting, because original used helmets are available in such low numbers compared with, say, a ‘small’ edition of 50 art prints. Each lid has its own history, and each tells its own story. A number of current drivers including Vettel and Fernando Alonso have significant collections – relating not only to their respective careers, but also delving back into the past. In addition, there is a culture of doing ‘helmet swaps’ between competitors and rivals. Of course, there is also a replica market – both official and unofficial – but that’s a different industry, which is more accessible based on both greater supply and lower pricing. When buying a race-used helmet, there are many things to look out for. The best source of supply is direct from a driver or team – however, unless you are in the rarefied position of having one of the 20 current F1 drivers on speed dial, this is an unlikely scenario. There are various reputable outlets around the globe, and often these will ensure that provenance and a good paper trail accompany the item for sale. Over the years helmets have been gifted to sponsors, mechanics and the like, and these are often the pieces that appear on the market. Recently we have also seen some former drivers letting go of some of their duplicate items. From time to time you will see great items offered for sale, such as when the late Phil Hill’s collection was auctioned by Gooding & Co, including his 1958 Le Manswinning helmet that made over $190,000. As ever, people look for a centre point around which to build a collection. Helmets belonging to World Champions and race winners are always sought after, but people also collect designs they recall from childhood, or from drivers whom they have met. The supply from the early years is always lower, mainly because the drivers used fewer helmets, but also due to the potential for loss or destruction. We spoke with some of the world’s biggest helmet aficionados, whose ‘jewels’ give us a glimpse into the collector world. If you feel inspired, keep an eye on the auctions and memorabilia websites... Thanks to Ronald Stern, Neil Twyman, Martin Jordan and Mike Fairholme.

1930S TA Z I O N U V O L A R I Nuvolari – arguably one of the greatest drivers of all time – used this leather helmet over an extended period both pre- and post-war. Significantly he used it in the 1938 Donington Park Grand Prix, which he convincingly won; the scarlet-red helmet stood out against the silver of his Auto Union D-type. The only other known Nuvolari helmet resides in the museum dedicated to him in his home town of Mantova in Italy.

Previous spread

1981 GILLES VILLENEUVE Villeneuve’s racing helmet represents one of the greatest and most widely recognisable designs of all time. His son (and 1997 F1 World Champion) Jacques reputedly watched his father sketch out the plans on a prototype helmet in the family motorhome while away on the road. This GPA-manufactured helmet was used by the Canadian in his penultimate podium appearance at the 1981 Canadian GP, where he finished third. Less than nine months later he was tragically killed during qualifying for the Belgian GP at Zolder.

1 9 5 2 -1 9 5 5 ALBERTO ASCARI Ascari chose a wonderful shade of blue to stand out from the crowd while winning the 1952 and ’53 World Championship for Scuderia Ferrari. This helmet was used for 11 World Championship GP wins in those two seasons, and he continued using it through 1954 and ’55. When Ascari crashed into the Monaco harbour in the 1955 running of the GP, it was the pale-blue helmet that rose to the surface first, its strap having broken upon impact. While the helmet was away for repair, Ascari visited his friend Eugenio Castellotti at a test for an upcoming sports car race at Monza. Despite not having been scheduled to drive that day, he decided to try a few laps and donned Castellotti’s white helmet; on his third lap, he suffered a fatal accident. The repaired Monaco helmet was collected by his family and presented alongside the coffin at his funeral. Obtained from the Ascari estate with its original box, today it sits in one of the world’s best specialist collections, still showing remnants of the Mediterranean Sea salt that was collected on that day in Monte Carlo in 1955.

1950S STIRLING MOSS Moss famously used very few helmets throughout his professional career, and multiple sources suggest he had only four in total. This version, signed “My first white Johnson helmet” under the peak, would have been extensively used by ‘the Maestro’ while in combat for the likes of Mercedes, Jaguar, Maserati and Vanwall. The ‘Johnson’ in the signature relates to Londonbased hatter Herbert Johnson, which supplied helmets to many drivers of the period, and options for colours would have been limited. Painted in a simple off-white, the helmet would have been repaired over the years, with chips and scratches painted over – most likely by Moss himself, who would have carried a little pot of paint with him.

1 9 6 0 -1 9 6 2 GRAHAM HILL This helmet was supplied to Hill in 1960 and used through to his 1962 championship season. It carries a number of personally requested bespoke modifications, such as the double chin strap. Now showing extensive use and a lot of touching in (probably by Hill) to keep the overall look tidy, this is another example of a helmet that saw use over multiple seasons and disciplines: F1 wins with BRM, Le Mans with Porsche and the Jaguar E-type’s first race – this lid has witnessed them all. Hill’s design was based on the colours and logo of the London Rowing Club, and was also adopted by his son, 1996 F1 World Champion Damon.

MOTORSPORT IMAGES

1 9 6 4 -1 9 6 6 JOHN SURTEES

1 9 6 6 -1 9 6 8 CHRIS AMON

To this day Surtees is the only man to have won a World Championship on both two and four wheels. Used by John during his time as a Ferrari driver, and then later on while he was competing for Honda, this helmet is one of very few that is now in private hands. The design – so simple, yet so evocative – is easily distinguishable and recognisable as Surtees’s signature while ‘in car’. John gave this helmet to Tom Wheatcroft, and it resided for most of its life in the Donington Grand Prix Collection before passing into a private collection.

Amon has one of the most notable designs from the 1960s – indeed, the livery was used with the stripes reversed for James Garner’s character Pete Aron in the Hollywood film Grand Prix, which made it even more iconic and recognisable. This spectacular helmet was used by Amon in his famous victories at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours driving with Bruce McLaren in a Ford GT40, and the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours in the Ferrari 330 P3/4 with Lorenzo Bandini. It was also extensively used in Amon’s prime as a Works Ferrari F1 driver.

GETTY IMAGES

1 9 6 8 -1 9 6 9 JOCHEN RINDT Used throughout 1968 and into ’69, this was Jochen’s favourite helmet according to his widow Nina. Rindt’s lids had very little design, and the real interest here is in the extensive damage that was sustained in the infamous crash he had during the 1969 Spanish GP at Montjuic Park. His Lotus 49 was blisteringly fast but fragile; starting from pole, Rindt led the race until the rear wing failed in spectacular manner only a handful of laps after team-mate Graham Hill had suffered the same fate in the sister car. This event marked the last race for the ‘highwing era’ – and for Jochen’s favourite helmet.

1 9 74 -1 9 7 6 MARIO ANDRETTI For the 1974-76 period, Andretti adjusted his traditional livery from red with blue pinstripes to red with gold. Perhaps representing the first influence of sponsorship on a helmet design, the red and gold were to reflect the Viceroy partnership that was associated with the Parnelli Jones Racing GP effort of 1974 and 1975. The helmet also saw action at the 1975 Indy 500, and the USAC scrutineering ticket can be seen when Andretti took it through to use in 1976 while driving for John Player Team Lotus. It was then given to Lotus team boss Peter Warr, who in turn sold it in 1996 through Christie’s as part of a big collection ‘clear-out’.

MOTORSPORT IMAGES

1 9 7 3 -1 9 7 5 BARRY SHEENE OK, so it’s not an F1 helmet, but to deviate from the topic a little in this instance seems appropriate. This extensively used helmet was the first to carry Sheene’s trademark number ‘7’, and also has the infamous ‘cigarette hole’ (was it or wasn’t it for that purpose?). The damage sustained in an accident can be seen in period images – something you would never see in today’s world. Following the helmet’s use it was given to Suzuki team boss Merv Wright, who sold it in 2008 through Bonhams auction house.

1975 JAMES HUNT The simple design using just Hunt’s name and the three colours from Wellington College has become one of the most recognisable ever. He wore it in 1975 at that famous Dutch GP weekend at Zandvoort where he took his maiden win, which means this helmet is a really significant piece of Hunt memorabilia. Given to a Hesketh ‘truckie’, it has since made its way through one significant collection to another, and today it resides alongside the Barry Sheene helmet in a private collection. The perfect pair?

1985 NIKI LAUDA Lauda helmets are incredibly hard to come by in the collector world. Niki was renowned for being a driver who would stick with what he liked, and as such he had an incredibly low product turnover. This is one of three Bell helmets he used in the 1985 season (he tried a GPA model for one race at the start of the year, but reverted back to Bell as he had used in the previous seasons). Sporting a distinctive chip, the helmet can be identified throughout the season and was used up to the penultimate round in South Africa. The Marlboro and Moët decals were removed for this race as part of an anti-apartheid protest by a number of teams and sponsors.

1 9 8 9 AY R T O N S E N N A Senna’s design was one of the most recognisable of all time, and drivers often spoke of seeing the yellow flash in their mirrors as the fast-approaching, imposing Brazilian came up behind them. His helmets have made six-figure sums at auction in recent years, and are arguably the most revered of any. This one was used in the 1989 season – a year in which he won six GPs and had the infamous clash with Alain Prost at Suzuka. Given by McLaren co-founder Tyler Alexander to a top executive at Philip Morris (Marlboro), it has the provenance and documentation required with an investment of this level.

MOTORSPORT IMAGES

2000 MICHAEL SCHUMACHER ‘Schuey’ is synonymous for his predominantly red Ferrari helmet, but it wasn’t the initial design he used while competing in F1. In his Jordan, Benetton and early Ferrari days he ran with a blue-topped helmet with the colours of the German flag around the centre. By the time he was partnered with Rubens Barrichello, the design

was all too similar to the Brazilian’s, so Schumacher adjusted his to have red as the principle colour. The seven-time World Champion introduced the new design at the 2000 Monaco GP – and this helmet is from that race. Arguably, Schumacher lids are fast becoming a runner-up to Senna’s in the collector stakes.

1998 MIKA HÄKKINEN This was the third helmet supplied for Häkkinen in his first championship season. It would have been in use during the period in which he won the Monaco GP – a race Häkkinen refers to as his greatest-ever victory. Still with its radio, the helmet is signed on the reverse and dated to the San Marino, Spanish and Monaco GPs. Another great design (one of the last of the great ‘uncomplicated’ era), painted by Mike Fairholme Designs, this helmet has GP-winning provenance in one of the most memorable seasons of Formula 1.

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2 0 1 1 L E W I S H A M I LT O N Hamilton’s design was initially inspired by Senna’s, but it has evolved over the years into what is an arguably less distinctive composition – that is until this latest season, where Lewis has reverted to his traditional yellow base. This helmet is one of 11 lids painted by JLF (Jason Fowler) for the 2011 season. Being a 19-race calendar, it would have seen action at multiple events – and it shows the battle scarring and repairs one would expect in having this history.

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2016 FERNANDO ALONSO A collector himself, Alonso is known to have done swaps with multiple drivers over the years, and he houses them at his museum in Spain. This helmet has definite GP use, and is as it came off the track complete with rubber, flies and stone chips. Not from one of his greatest seasons, but a wonderful example.

1948 Bristol 400 1950 Healey Silverstone 1957 AC Aceca “Bristol” all previous entrants or eligible for “the most beautiful race in the world”.

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Found! The Ferrari that made Lamborghini

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Words David Lillywhite

Photography Sam Chick

WE ALL KNOW THE STORY DON’T WE? Tractor manufacturer and industrialist Ferruccio Lamborghini, one of Italy’s wealthiest men at the time, buys a Ferrari, but it suffers repeated clutch issues. Ferruccio, already unimpressed with Ferrari’s aftersales service, complains to Enzo who, predictably, gives him short shrift. Ferruccio stomps off, vowing to produce his own cars. How true is all this? We’ll come to that... but what’s fascinating is that little has ever been made of the Ferrari itself in this famous tale of clashing egos. Generally it’s described as a 250GT or a ‘Pinin Farina-designed 250GT’. But the car itself? It never seemed to have been publicly identified. Until now. Here’s where Lamborghini historian and collector Olivier Namèche, along with restorer and technical expert Iain Tyrrell, come into the story. Thanks to their detective work, we are able to show you the very car that prompted Ferruccio to beat Ferrari at its own game. Olivier, a Belgian now living in Quebec, had

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OPPOSITE Ferruccio’s 250GT PF Coupé, as bought in northern Italy after decades in the US, along with one of the icons that it is, in many ways, responsible for – the Countach.

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BELOW As found, the 250GT PF has mysteriously shed many parts and is only partially restored. Now the challenge is to source or remake the lost components.

Ferruccio’s Ferrari

grown up admiring Lamborghinis. He bought his first, a Jalpa, in 1990 – although it turned out to be nothing but trouble. It clearly didn’t put him off, because he’s currently chasing his 29th example of the marque... He formed the Lamborghini Club Belgium in 2007, has met and interviewed many of the most important personalities involved with the company, has consulted for Lamborghini’s Polo Storico division and owns a huge library of marque books and automobilia. One of those items is a rare copy of the only book that Ferruccio ever wrote about his company, of which just 150 were printed (son Tonino published a second edition 20 years later). In it, there’s a picture of a white 250GT PF (Pinin Farina) Coupé, with Ferruccio’s wife Anita and a friend posing in front of it. Olivier later discovered film footage, shot at Ferruccio and Anita’s villa in the grounds of the tractor factory in Cento, in which Ferruccio is seen walking to the white 250GT PF with his dog, opening the door and climbing in. All this had got Olivier thinking. How many Ferraris did Ferruccio own? And where had they gone? So he set out to answer those questions. “There were plenty of erroneous statements about Ferruccio owning three different Ferraris: a 250GT PF, a 250GT SWB and a 250GTE 2+2,” he says. “I spent a lot of time with Ferrari expert Marcel Massini, trying to find Ferruccio’s name in all of the factory records for those three models. There was nothing!” Olivier also managed to meet with Tonino Lamborghini on several occasions, and used the opportunity to ask about the Ferraris: “I was pushing him for evidence or clues in order to try to find and discover the cars. He confirmed that his father had only one Ferrari – the 250GT PF Coupé – not two or three, plus one for his mother – a 250GTE 2+2, because she was taking care of Tonino, who would sit in the rear seats.” So it was confirmed that Ferruccio never owned a 250GT SWB. As a result, Olivier spent the next few years, from around 2007, examining every 250GT PF that he could at classic car events throughout Europe: Auto d’Epoca Padova, Techno-Classica Essen, Stuttgart Retro Classics, Rétromobile Paris and more. Word got out that he was looking for a 250GT PF, and in 2010 he was contacted by an Italian broker about a silver PF in the US. “That was just another US car for me, and I didn’t think about it until much later, when I petulantly made the link,” he laughs, ironically. “In 2013 I was contacted by another broker, who offered me ‘Ferruccio’s 250GT PF’. I asked for evidence, and he sent me a copy of an Italian 102

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ABOVE Ferruccio Lamborghini in his new car factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy in October 1963 – just as the prototype 350GTV is revealed.

document. Most of the information, including the VIN/chassis number, had been erased with black pen – except ‘Lamborghini, Ferruccio’ written in one location on the sheet. “So then I asked for the price of the car. He told me €400,000 – for a 250GT PF in restoration-project condition, when at that time a 250GT PF was €50,000-€250,000. So this was a huge premium for the Ferruccio Lamborghini name. For me, it was not possible. “The same guy came back to me in 2020, just before summer time, and he said that they had started the restoration but wanted to sell it. So I told him if he wanted me to pay the new amount, which was a price that I was pretty surprised I could afford, I wanted the evidence of Ferruccio’s ownership and a VIN, which he gave me. By then I was living in Quebec, no longer in Brussels, and due to Covid it was impossible to travel to Europe, so I agreed to buy the car if somebody could inspect it on my behalf.” Olivier established that the Ferrari was a 1959 250GT PF Coupé Series 1, complete with libretto registration documents showing Ferruccio Lamborghini of Cento, Italy, to have

bought the car in April 1960. He was the second owner, which is why his name didn’t show up on Ferrari factory records. Olivier sought the advice of Enrico Maffeo, then-head of Lamborghini Polo Storico, who explained that the libretto was a Pubblico Registro Automobilistico (automobile public record), held for each province and town in Italy rather than being archived centrally. Next, Olivier double-checked the details with the Lamborghini factory, which confirmed the records, and then called UK exotic car restorer Iain Tyrrell. You might know Iain for his workshop YouTube videos, which are hitting over a million views a month, or from his discovery of the long-lost Italian Job Miura, or from his association with – wait for it – Ferruccio Lamborghini’s personal Countach. At 18, Iain bought a Fiat 130 Coupé, and a year later he was taken on as a mechanic at a local Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist. There, his knowledge of Italian cars began to bring in a new customer base. Aged 21, in 1984, he went it alone, soon landing work on a Daytona, an Espada and a 275GTB/4, followed by a restoration on a Dino 246GT. Four decades later, as Iain Tyrrell Classic Cars, he works on exotic machinery from all over the world. And so it was that Iain

Ferruccio’s Ferrari

flew over to an independent workshop in northern Italy to inspect the 250GT PF. “Olivier provided me with information in the lead up to that inspection,” says Iain. “So I went, I checked over the car. There was no question that it is chassis number 1331 as claimed. The engine is not the original matchingnumbers unit: it’s 1231. But it is of the type that was fitted to the 250GT. So I authenticated that it was the car, but it’s missing a lot of parts.” Non-matching numbers can be a big deal in the Ferrari world, but the incorrect engine wasn’t a surprise to Olivier: “Tonino said that his father replaced the engine because he was testing many things on that car. It was used like a development car. “What is important is the fact that we have official Italian documents showing the first owner, identified by Marcel Massini. We have the second owner, Ferruccio, identified in the Italian records. And in the file when I bought the car I found the US title – this is where I made the link that it had been offered to me in 2010. But nobody knew about its history then.” The US records showed that the Ferrari was bought on April 5, 1971 from Ferruccio and shipped to America. That first US owner sold it in August 1976, and the car was never registered again – and it has still got the original US title. And so, with all this evidence at last, Olivier had the Ferrari shipped to Iain’s place in Chester, UK, for a full concours restoration to original specification, which is about to begin. First, though, we were able to examine and photograph the car before work starts. What exists is in good condition. The body and chassis have been repaired to high standards, but most of the brightwork is missing; that is front and rear bumpers, front grille, all the glass, the roof-gutter brightwork and the glovebox lid, plus many smaller parts. The most likely explanation is that the Ferrari has been moved between workshops over the years, losing these crucial parts in the process. The interior, though, is safe – unfitted, but tucked away on the storage racks at Iain’s place. It’s trimmed in turquoise hide, the colour you’d associate with a 1960s Riva speed boat; indeed, the twin-Lamborghini V12-powered Riva built for Ferruccio in 1968 features the same colour on its seat backs, rear deck and water line. Turquoise, though? Really? Back to the paperwork, and here we have the exterior and interior codes: 10319 bianco (white) for the paint colour code and the interior is plastic and leather, code 3478, turchese – turquoise. Although the seats have been retrimmed and the bodywork repainted (no longer silver), they seem to be in the correct colours. 104

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‘The US records showed that the Ferrari was bought on April 5, 1971 from Ferruccio and shipped to America’ So let’s go right back now to the car’s beginnings, along with Ferruccio’s involvement. The 250GT PF Coupé was Ferrari’s first move into semi-mass production, rather than the entirely hand-built nature of the previous road cars, including the preceding 250GT. These earlier 250GTs were fabricated by a mix of local coachbuilders, which was then whittled down to Pinin Farina, Boano and Ellena. No single coachbuilder could cope with the volume of all 250GT orders at that time. By 1958, though, Pinin Farina had expanded to meet the demand. Still, the 250GT PF Coupé was designed with fewer curves and straighter, flatter bodywork for easier production. The mechanical layout followed that of previous 250GTs, with the 3.0-litre Colombo V12 and four-speed gearbox, leaf-sprung live rear axle and coil suspension at the front. Ferraris were conservative in specification back then. None of this would have escaped Ferruccio Lamborghini when he bought the PF Coupé as his first Ferrari, to follow a succession of Alfas and Lancias. By this point Lamborghini Trattori, the tractor business he set up in 1948, was booming. He was also in the process of setting up Lamborghini Bruciatori, the oilburner and, later, air-conditioner business that would really make his fortune. He was a mechanic and engineer at heart, having been born to grape farmers and grown up tinkering with farming equipment. He studied at the Fratelli Taddia technical institute, and in 1940 he joined the Italian Air Force, in which he served as a mechanic. Ferruccio knew his stuff and appreciated automotive engineering, although Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni said years later that this didn’t always extend to mechanical sympathy – particularly with the clutch... This self-made man would make a point of taking out tractor customers in his Ferrari, and wasn’t impressed when it showed him up with clutch problems. He would return the car to the Ferrari factory, where it would be taken from him and apparently repaired away from his view, at a cost of around 1000 lire. It was only

when he decided to have the clutch repaired at his own factory that he found the unit was of the same type and quality as the basic ten-lire versions fitted to his tractors. Already unimpressed with the aftersales service at Ferrari, Ferruccio apparently then managed to intercept Enzo himself, possibly at a local restaurant, to point out the shortcomings and offer the solution of a stronger clutch plate. To this, Enzo allegedly retorted: “You are a tractor driver, a farmer. You shouldn’t complain about driving my cars, because they’re the best in the world.” Or, at least, something to that effect. The enraged Ferruccio supposedly decided there and then that he would show Enzo how to build sports cars... That was 1962, and by October 1963 the prototype 350GTV was revealed at the Turin Motor Show. Ferruccio had lucked out in managing to recruit some of the greatest engineers of the time – helped by the infamous Ferrari walkout – including Giotto Bizzarrini, Giampaolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani. By the end of 1964, production 350GTs had been delivered to 13 customers. The 350GT was equipped with a quadoverhead-camshaft V12, well ahead of Ferrari’s 1967 275GTB/4. And the 350GT had coil-sprung independent rear suspension, while the first road-going Ferrari to move away from a leafsprung rear axle was the 1965 275GTB. The rest is history, of course – an ongoing rivalry that has lasted way beyond either Enzo or Ferruccio, who passed away in 1988 and 1993 respectively. Thankfully Ferruccio’s 250GT PF Coupé lives on, although it may have been a close thing. It’s listed on the Barchetta Ferrari chassis index as “may have been parted”, and indeed many PF Coupés have been converted into replicas of more exotic models or broken for spares. Barchetta also states that the original engine from Ferruccio’s car was fitted to a 1959 250GT LWB California Spyder, and more recently swapped to a 1958 250GT Tour de France. As for the motor and transmission currently in the PF Coupé, Iain Tyrrell says they appear to be in good condition, but they’ll be opened up and rebuilt anyway. Meanwhile, the hunt is on for replacement parts. Some, such as the bumpers, have been sourced but will need adjusting to the car’s shape, as was common at the time. Others, including the grille and the gutter trim, will probably need to be made from scratch. It’s going to be a long, involved project – but who wouldn’t want to save the car that made Lamborghini? Thanks to Iain Tyrrell, www.iaintyrrell.co.uk, and Olivier Namèche. Updates will be posted on Tyrrell’s Classic Workshop YouTube channel.

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MATRA

Recreating a four-wheeldrive one-off

This unique F1 car, the chassis of which was destroyed in period, has been painstakingly recreated for watchmaker Richard Mille following the surprise discovery of its original four-wheel-drive transmission parts

MS84

Recreating the Matra MS84

OPPOSITE AND ABOVE The side tanks are built like 1960s aircraft structures, merged with the chassis so that no space is lost; Maurice Chabord, 77, hand-formed the exhaust tubes the traditional way, with a gas torch.

CAN YOU IMAGINE PALAEONTOLOGISTS working to reconstitute a dinosaur after discovering a few of its tiniest bones? A similar experience occurred when restoring the Matra MS84, one of the few Formula 1 four-wheeldrive single-seaters to have been entered in a Grand Prix. Patience and passion were the watchwords for Bruno Perrin and his small team from the EPAF (Entretien Patrimoine Automobile Français), which specialises in restoring a wide range of Matra racing cars. For it was the discovery of a few components from the MS84’s original transmission that sparked the idea of bringing the machine back to life. In a way, the four-wheel-drive transmission was the backbone of the Matra MS84, the signature of its DNA, the key and the symbolic element underpinning its originality. And it is also what makes the car so rare. Apart from these few original parts preserved in the storeroom of an English museum, the only authentic car – chassis no. 01 – was sadly cut into pieces when it was destroyed. We will come back later to the real reasons that ‘justified’ the wiping out of this magnificent machine, even if the elimination of certain Magneto

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Inside the Rolls-Bentley Great Eight

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT Having built a full digital model, 2D drawings were issued. The front differential seen from inside the rear of the chassis.

BELOW AND RIGHT Front-differential parts; installing the gearbox below the oil tank and behind the cockpit is extremely challenging, needing two people.

older racing cars was a fairly common practice at the time, usually to free up space in cramped workshops or to simply erase painful memories. Luckily, most of the models that have a marked motor sport history have enjoyed a second lease of life, either in quiet museums or in the hands of passionate (and wealthy!) collectors. Thanks to Richard Mille, this is the case of the unique Matra MS84. But before we take a closer look at this revival, it is worth going over some of the dates and experiences that marked the single-seater’s fleeting existence. The idea of a four-wheel-drive Matra came from an unusual observation; at the end of the 1968 season, which was marked by numerous GP races held in the rain, several F1 manufacturers – including Matra, Cosworth, McLaren and Lotus – examined the relevance of designing a four-wheel-drive model. As well as making life easier for drivers competing in the wet, this technology also promised to make cars unbeatable in such precarious conditions. The great Jim Clark, who died in early spring of that same year in a tragic F2 racing accident during a torrential downpour, had declared 114

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ABOVE Side-mounted fuel tanks are baffled. Accuracy is key, as each piece of sheet metal must fit perfectly to ensure there are no leaks. No rubber tanks here!

LEFT AND BELOW Each branch of the exhaust manifold is made from a single tube; rear-wheel axle and suspension parts.

LEFT In period, struts were added once it was realised the chassis was lacking rigidity. The restoration team fitted these in the same ‘afterthought’ manner.

LEFT On the Le Mans Bugatti circuit, Bruno Perrin takes to the wheel of the MS84 that he helped to recreate.

what it was like to drive a single-seater car in the rain, even aboard his superb Lotus 49. “Driving an F1 car on a wet track is like driving an E-type on ice with smooth tyres,” proclaimed the highly skilled Scot. The arrival of the Cosworth 3.0-litre V8 engine in 1967, which was both powerful (in excess of 430bhp back in 1969) and equipped with surprisingly phenomenal torque, made driving even more of a challenge. Mechanical brutality was thus combined with the difficulty of controlling ever-increasing power. Clark’s friend and fellow Scottish driver Jackie Stewart, who raced for Ken Tyrrell (world runner-up in 1968), placed great faith in the idea of racing in an MS80 powered by a Cosworth engine, which was highly developed and offered a new take on previous GP Matras. But since the competition was designing fourwheel-drive cars, the pragmatic Scot and his team manager had lobbied to not get left behind. Jean-Luc Lagardère, the charismatic boss of Matra, was not particularly enthusiastic when the MS84 project was submitted to him, as the Matra Works team was already overloaded. He finally gave the green light for construction to begin, provided that the MS84 would be clearly designated as the ‘third car’ and as the back-up vehicle for Stewart and Jean-Pierre Beltoise. After some testing on a dry track, Jackie realised that the MS84 – the French maker’s 116

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‘The MS84 first appeared on the official entry list of cars for the Dutch GP in 1969’ fifth F1 car – was not the right single-seater for clinching the title. It was more complex (and therefore probably less reliable) and heavier than his agile MS80, which proved itself a formidable prospect in 1969. Stewart also found the MS84 uncomfortable, particularly with its steering offset to the left – but most importantly, he realised there was not enough weight on the front end for the forward wheels to provide real tractive power. Still, he kept his word and qualified the MS84 for each of the remaining races just in case it was ever needed. The MS84 first appeared on the official entry list of cars for the Dutch GP in 1969, but both Stewart and Beltoise relegated it to the stand after a few test laps, preferring to race in

their MS80s. Jackie went on to clinch victory, consolidating his position as championship leader. Meanwhile, at Lotus, Graham Hill also tested the four-wheel-drive Lotus 63 at the rainy Friday practice session, racking up a convincing best lap time as he did so. But Hill viewed the car as a “death trap”, and the career of the 63 was thus as ephemeral as that of its Matra counterpart. The MS84’s role as back-up car was fulfilled at Silverstone in Great Britain, where it was entered into its first GP. Stewart wrecked his MS80 at the practice sessions, so was attributed Beltoise’s MS80 in its stead. The latter, meanwhile, drove the MS84 and watched as his team-mate secured victory in front of his home crowd on Sunday. Matra’s two star drivers never competed in the MS84 again. It was another Frenchman by the name of Johnny Servoz-Gavin who was given the opportunity to race the MS84 during the North America ‘tour’, namely the United States, Canadian and Mexican Grands Prix. For Ken Tyrrell, this was a golden opportunity to secure some juicy extra commitment bonuses, given that the title had already been assured by Jackie Stewart’s victory at the Italian GP. After a brief test run, straight-talking Servoz-Gavin from Grenoble declared that the MS84 was simply “undrivable”. He did, however, finish in sixth place at the Canadian GP, notching up the Matra’s first –

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Inside the Rolls-Bentley Great Eight

BELOW A cross-section of the final V-8 design for 1959 illustrated the shortness of its exhaust ports and the depth to which its head studs penetrated the deep-sided block.

and only – point in the World Championship. This result was achieved in the bright Canadian sunshine in two-wheel-drive mode, with the front wheels disconnected from the transmission because the four-wheel-drive concept had failed to deliver as expected. What’s more, the 4WD Matra was handicapped by its weight of between 610-635kg (without fuel), which was almost 65-95kg more than any of its competitors. This was simply insurmountable, and when Johnny ServozGavin quietly brought the MS84’s modest sporting career to a close, it had entered a grand total of four races. The fate of the Matra was sealed. Back at the factory at the end of 1971, engineer Bernard Boyer – despite being one of the instigators of this machine – ordered it to be taken apart. As a result, the world’s only MS84 was dismantled (which enabled its entire Ferguson transmission to be recovered), cut up and destroyed. Legend has it that colleague Gérard Ducarouge, who oversaw the prototype programme, was horrified when he learned of this sacrilege. Encouraged by several other Matra employees, all of whom were equally 118

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‘Gérard Ducarouge ensured that no other Matra would ever meet the same sticky end’ outraged by this decision, Ducarouge ensured that no other Matra racing car would ever meet the same sticky end. It took over 40 years for the MS84 to return to the fore – initially cloaked in secrecy. In 2014 Kevin Wheatcroft, son of racing-car enthusiast and collector Tom, was forced to sell the famous Donington Grand Prix Collection that had been created by his father. Richard Mille, another enthusiast of timeless artefacts,

acquired part of the collection, and was delighted to discover that his ‘lot’ contained several mechanical elements from the late Matra MS84. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to inspire a mad, and therefore very exciting, project in the mind of Mille, who is addicted to beautiful engineering and is also the founder – lest we forget – of a watch brand that bears his name. Richard already owned some rare four-wheel-drive F1 cars, but his collection lacked this famous creation by the prestigious French brand. “We had to revive it,” he emphasises today. These parts from the blue four-wheel-drive single-seater are akin to those tiny dinosaur bones I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Now to find a restorer capable of rebuilding this machine from the late 1960s. Did such a person exist? Most definitely – in the form of Bruno Perrin. A qualified engineer, former Microsoft employee and unconditional Matra fan who watched the brand’s prototypes in action as a child, Perrin’s hobbies included modelling, which forged his taste for precision and accuracy in reconstructing projects. As for his

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Recreating the Matra MS84

love of restoring racing cars, he said he was inspired by a former girlfriend, a professional renovator of paintings. Sometimes, unexpected links between two passions emerge. When Richard Mille contacted Perrin and presented his MS84 project, the man was both sceptical and thrilled by the fact that it all seemed virtually impossible. Which was, of course, a good reason to try. There was no denying that the task was colossal. As already stated, the only extant relic of the original Matra was the transmission, while everything else had either disappeared or never even existed. This is true of most technical drawings, explains Perrin: “At the time, a single-seater F1 car involved at least 800 technical draughts, if not double for the Matra MS120. Only 220 were drawn up for the MS84, and most were preliminary drawings. The car was modified as it was designed.” Around 150 drawings were recovered through Antoine Raffaëlli (one of the founders of the Musée de l’Automobiliste car museum in Mougins) and Roland Roy, a former Matra designer who owned them. For the rest, the small EPAF team drew on their ingenuity and perseverance to constitute a reliable manufacturing dossier. To achieve this, Perrin pored over almost 300 images from the time, provided by the famous DPPI photographic agency. Fabrice Connen, who was one of those involved in this research, was surprised to come across a number of negatives of the MS84, as well as countless shots of its technical details. Luckily, the agency’s photographers had been inspired to capture this beautiful blue car from every angle at the time. Apart from a few small ‘holes’ in the reconstruction puzzle, approximately 4500 parts were listed. Simply through the magic of a few photos and tech drawings? Well, not really. Bruno Perrin turned his computer on and his CAD (computer-aided design) tool sprang into action. The EPAF team managed to model the photographed parts in 3D, with certain dimensions determined by complex calculations based on the number of pixels in the photos they had. Restorers from the Louvre Museum couldn’t have done any better. The CAD work required to evaluate project feasibility alone required 3000 hours of labour, which was doubled during reconstruction in the workshop. We must remember that the team in Romorantin had nothing more than the gearbox, the full set of driveshafts, the front and rear differentials, and the original rear hub carriers as its starting point. It should be noted 120

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ABOVE The MS84 (left) takes its Le Mans test drive with Richard Mille’s Jackie Stewart MS80.

that the MS84 inherited quite a few suspension components designed for the MS80; about 80 percent of its rear end and 60 percent of its front end. Among the documents at his disposal, Perrin carefully studied Matra’s allimportant design reports. While these books were meant to assess the forces applied to the car’s structure, and the security margins for its components, they included all of its vital technical dimensions. This information was key to making sure the MS84 could be rebuilt with ultimate technical accuracy. Once the documentation phase had been completed, followed by the 3D reconstruction of the parts and the updating of the drawings, ‘all’ that remained was to rebuild each missing part and recondition the existing ones before starting on the machine’s major mechanics. “There were some pitfalls,” acknowledges Perrin. “For example, when we first fired up the MS84 in the workshop, the starter didn’t work properly. It took us a while to calculate that

‘CAD work required to evaluate project feasibility alone required 3000 hours of labour’

there was a dimensional error of about fivetenths on the gearbox shaft.” In the end, only a few questions remained – such as the design for one of the engine/ gearbox-spacer anchor points, for which Perrin had not found any photos. The solution? “We had to imagine the part,” remembers the restorer fondly. As could be expected, a couple of pictures of the mystery component were found months after the car was completed, and proved that the original design was very close to what had been invented at EPAF. Throughout this project, Richard Mille himself had the intelligence to give free rein to those with whom he had entrusted this task. A dozen specialist companies and craftsmen were called upon to manufacture certain parts that required ultra-sophisticated machinery or specific know-how, always using materials from the period – right down to the type of body paint applied. By autumn 2019, after the equivalent of 500 working days, the only Matra MS84 chassis no. 1 model in existence had been both reconstructed and restored. It was successfully fired up in the EPAF workshops before being exhibited at Chantilly. In spring 2020, when the world was waking up to a terrible pandemic, the Matra MS84 roared back to life at the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans beneath a low, grey sky. Of course, Richard Mille was the first to take to the wheel of his car, whose engine purred raucously as soon as he turned on the ignition. Both Roland Roy, the aforementioned exMatra designer, and Bruno Morin, the team engineer who oversaw the evolution of the MS84 on the ground, attended the event trackside. Half a century later, their emotion was palpable as they witnessed the resurrection of this unique machine. Thanks to www.museematra.com.

A WINDOW INTO THE BRICKYARD’S GOLDEN AGE

US motor-racing photographer Bob Tronolone was one of the best, and his evocative images – as now curated by the Revs Digital Library – ensure we will never forget the glory years of Indy

Photographer Bob Tronolone

AMONG ALL THE MOTOR-RACING photographers with whom I have ever come into contact, one of the most capable was the late American semi-pro Bob Tronolone. Equally he was one of the most understated, discreet and relatively low profile of them all. Yet his photography was technically highly competent and, while he did not do his own darkroom work, his black-and-white prints were superb – just top notch for their clarity, tone and focus – and his colour work was beyond reproach. Today a large proportion of his work is owned and in the process of being digitised by the Revs Digital Library, based in Naples, Florida. The Library, and indeed the Revs Institute of which it is an intrinsic part, has been developed by enthusiast and collector Miles Collier from his world-renowned Collier Collection of great cars. This most notably features Porsches of all ages, plus the core of what was for many years the Briggs Cunningham Collection. Miles is both a successful businessman and a most discreet personality, while he and his wife Parker are very active charitable benefactors. He sees the automobile and its social effect as one of the great unsung factors of 20th-century life, and his Collection and the Institute set out to preserve and present the detailed history of that aspect to the public. The approach is both baseline enthusiast and gloriously simple. The Library at www.library.revsinstitute.org offers hundreds of thousands of relevant racing and industry images for examination, reproduction or purchase. I am well aware of the numbers – I have captioned thousands of the blighters… I used Bob Tronolone’s images quite often, but we never met, instead just talking on the telephone or corresponding by email. Mutual friends – such as the great Pete Lyons – tell me he was what I’d come to expect; quiet, pleasant and a gentleman. As a spare-time photographer he covered early West Coast sports car racing, USAC ChampCars as at Indianapolis, and later CanAm sports car competition – which he seems thoroughly to have enjoyed. I thought he told me once he worked for Douglas Aircraft, but others recall him as being either a long-time employee of the LA Fire Department, or indeed of the USPS in Burbank… His fellow American writer Preston Lerner remembers him saying he worked for Hughes Aircraft. Even to his racing associates he remains something of an enigma. But here we offer a taste of Bob’s work, in this instance from the event at which he spent two weeks each time, over so many years from 1955 – the Indy 500. Rare gems of a magnificent racing era, recorded by a ‘snapper’ whom we should all celebrate as a contemporary master. 124

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Words Doug Nye

Photography Bob Tronolone Revs Digital Library

ABOVE The beautiful 1955 Sumar Special Indy streamliner, entered by Chapman Shaw Root and Donald Smith. The former’s grandfather ran the Root Glass Co, which patented the Coca-Cola bottle. Chapman used his Coke-derived fortune to support numerous charitable causes and go racing. The Sumar had a Kurtis chassis and Offenhauser fourcylinder. It was driven by Jimmy Daywalt, but during Indy practice he found that it generated frightening lift. The car handled more stably with its side fairings removed, and in its stripped form he qualified it 17th fastest. On race day he finished ninth.

BELOW Bright pink and gloriously unabashed – 1955 Indy 500 race winner Bob Sweikert with his crew, and car owner John Zink in support. The preparation, car finish and especially the florid liveries of Indy machines in period left Europeanstyle Formula 1 Grand Prix cars looking immensely dull in contrast. When the USAC Speedwayracing teams first came to Europe for the Two Worlds Trophy ‘Monzanapolis’ races of 1957-58, that stark contrast was absolutely rammed home to the GP fraternity. Bob Sweikert would finish sixth in the 1956 500, but within weeks – aged 30 – he lost his life in a Sprint car race at Salem Speedway.

BELOW Bob also shot the stereotypical Indy photos of competing drivers posed in the pitlane. But this 1955 image is special since it captures two-time 500 winner Bill Vukovich in the Hopkins Special Kurtis-Offy KK500C, in which he’d attempt to become a three-time consecutive winner. He qualified fifth fastest, but after 25 laps he was blamelessly involved in a multiple accident. He flipped over the wall, and bounced off parked vehicles before the car landed upside down and on fire; he died from a fractured skull. Part of the challenge over which he’d triumphed regularly was the battering meted out by the brick-paved Speedway, as evident in the background here.

LEFT Despite its conservative image through the 1950s and ’60s, for many years Indy offered such a rich prize that many innovators tried their darndest to gain a foothold there. One was hot rodder and Land Speed Record contender Mickey Thompson. His 1967 entry for Gary Congdon was powered by this startling-looking Chevrolet V8 headed by four-valves-per-cylinder MT heads, sporting 16 intake trumpets. The car failed to qualify – but sounded great.

ABOVE Having seen Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren dominate the 1959 US GP at Sebring in their rearengined F1 Coopers, Indy star Rodger Ward – who had driven there in an optimistically entered Watson Midget car – told John Cooper and Jack that, if they could fit a bigger engine, a car such as theirs could be sensational at Indy. US enthusiast Bill Kimberly backed it, and here, in 1961, it emerged. Double World Champion Brabham drove this lengthened-chassis T53 ‘Lowline’-derived T54, with a 2.7-litre version of his familiar, normally 2.5 Climax engine. Black Jack’s corner speed dazzled the Indy fraternity, but he lost out to the 4.2-litre Offies on straight-line top speed. He qualified 13th and finished ninth – yet it was enough to gain converts to rear-engined race-car design.

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ABOVE In May 1963, Team Lotus debuted its Type 29 with monocoque chassis, sophisticated allindependent suspension, 4.2-litre V8 provided by Ford Detroit – and Jim Clark. Here he is, with Colin Chapman on the far right. He’d qualify fifth, lead the race and finish second after some late-race controversy; the then-leader Parnelli Jones’s front-engined Watson-Offy had plainly been dropping oil, yet officials protected another home win by ‘failing to notice’. It was an honourable defeat for Lotus-Ford, but one corrected in 1965 when Clark won the 500 hands down. Indy’s rear-engined revolution was assured, leaving only a few die-hards continuing to campaign front-engined cars.

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LEFT The old dinosaurs raced on as Bob Tronolone recorded here – 1964 Indy 500 no. 28 had a decidedly ‘ice-cream’ look. Jim McElreath drove the Studebaker-STP Special Kurtis powered by the fabulous supercharged Novi V8. Sponsorship was by Andy Granatelli and his brothers, of the STP Corporation oil-additive concern. Having qualified 26th, McElreath eventually retired with engine trouble.

ABOVE In a sign of changing times, a ‘For Sale’ notice hangs on the florid tailfin of this Hotel Tropicana Novi V8, forlorn and unloved in Indy’s Gasoline Alley in May 1962. Alongside stands the North

Electric Special, entered for the 500 by William Tucker Inc and which qualified in 31st place with driver Bob Christie. The combination would be classified 30th after becoming involved in a crash after 17 laps.

BELOW Bob Tronolone recorded this proud front-row qualifiers’ line-up before the 1968 Indy 500. Left to right: third-fastest qualifier Bobby Unser would ultimately win in his Leader Cards Incentered Rislone Special Eagle-Offenhauser; STP’s Andy Granatelli and brother Vince stand with Graham Hill’s second-fastest LotusPratt & Whitney Type 56 four-wheel-drive gas-turbine car (which would crash out on race day); while on pole is Joe Leonard in the sister Lotus 4WD gas-turbine car. He would lead until the engine flamed out with nine laps to run.

“I just never back off”

The roller-coaster development of Aston Martin’s Valkyrie F1 car for the road is the subject of an in-depth new book, Inside Valkyrie. Here’s a glimpse into the wild ride behind Adrian Newey’s drive for perfection

Words Bart Lenaerts

Photography Lies De Mol

OPPOSITE AND RIGHT Adrian Newey contemplates his creation; despite all the difficulties, there really was light at the end of the tunnel for Valkyrie.

AS 2014 NEARED ITS END, ADRIAN Newey was sitting on a glorious career with ten World Championships for three teams. Yet still frustrations ruled. Red Bull’s Renault engine was no match for Hamilton’s Mercedes, and there was pretty much nothing this cleverest of Formula 1 engineers could do about it. Still, he was not one to sit back and relax. Decades after Gordon Murray – six World Championships – conceived the mighty McLaren F1, it was now Adrian’s turn to engineer a proper F1 machine for the road and, in the same stroke, the fastest road car ever. Other reputed sports car makers never really lived up to their hollow F1 claims. This would be vastly different. Red Bull chief Christian Horner knew Adrian. He understood that this wasn’t a fling. Terrified at the thought of his genius trump card leaving for Italy, he explored all possibilities and impossibilities to make Adrian’s ultimate childhood dream come true – including a flirt with title sponsor Infiniti and an audacious plan to sell ten-ish screamingly expensive track cars on their own. But they all knew that a marriage with Aston Martin was inevitable, if only because Christian was best buds with Aston’s thenCEO Andy Palmer – who had been a generous

OPPOSITE Daniel ‘Redbeard’ Gatrel works on a stripped Lola LMP2 race-car tub that was used to test the new V12 – the Valkyrie tub is even smaller and more complicated.

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Aston Martin Valkyrie

BELOW AND RIGHT In the summer of 2020, test driver Chris Goodwin shares his feedback after a fast drive around Stowe, Aston’s private test track at Silverstone. With Covid rife, it’s hard to find tracks to go full throttle at.

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137

ABOVE AND RIGHT Aston Martin badge? No, chance, too heavy; more testing... note the huge size of the rear diffusers.

Red Bull sponsor during his Infiniti days. Defining roles and responsibilities seemed easy. Christian and Andy broke their heads on the maths, months later resulting in a plan to sell 150 cars at around £2 million each, plus a few more, faster track machines. And Adrian sketched his arms to tatters, sitting old-school style behind his drawing board, while two aerodynamicists translated his renders into workable digital files. Next, Adrian’s team would engineer every nut and bolt that even slightly affected performance, while Aston ensured that all the typical car stuff looked and felt worthy of its logo, before pushing the model through emissions, crashes and other annoying but essential legals. Oh, and the British marque settled all the bills as well. Whether it is concerning interior space, performance or fuel economy, auto makers only ever develop 80 percent of any car’s overall potential, because the last, screamingly expensive bits deliver hardly any substantial gains. However, with Nikita Mazepin typically lapping two seconds behind Lewis Hamilton, F1 represents a rather alienating reality in which 138

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barely one percent separates heroes from jokers. This fundamental clash of cultures obviously spawned endless discussions, fighting egos and crashing conflicts. Adrian’s particular nature didn’t help, either. He is a decent guy and has a funny character, yet he’s extremely focused – some would call it stubborn – and enjoys godly status within Red Bull. No one ever contradicts him, money is too trivial to discuss and he never compromises. Or does he? “Engineering without compromises is marketing chit-chat. You can’t design the strongest yet lightest suspension without making concessions. I just never back off for practical, financial or marketing reasons,” he said. Aston’s then-chief designer Miles Nurnberger instantly smelled the coffee when Adrian presented his first Valkyrie sketches: “This aerodynamic marvel generates more downforce than a F1 car. It’s mind boggling. But its packaging is ridiculously tight and the cockpit is only as wide as one seat and the middle console of the Vantage. How on earth will we ever shoehorn two occupants in?” Further minimalising shape and weight, the

tub’s inner also forms the outer, without any secondary bodywork to hide insulation or technical componentry. With only a 3cm daggerboard between both seats to host all hydraulic lines and electric wires, Miles begged to widen the car by 1.5cm – to no avail. “So much extra frontal area was unacceptable for Adrian, and he didn’t even listen when I explained that pedestrian-safety regulations required a 4mm-higher nose,” he said. “Weeks later, though, he did accept 3.23mm, because he knew we had explored the outer limits. Apparently, Adrian doesn’t do averaging.” Things got even worse when Miles pinned an Aston Martin logo on a full-size model. Four grammes? That was a big no-no. A razor-thin sticker then? Nope, its thickness ruined the aero. Nor was Adrian charmed by the consequences of Aston’s innovative titanium logo of eight microns, imperceptibly hidden under the varnish: “Varnish? Three kilos of varnish on my car? I don’t think so.” As an aerodynamicist, Adrian respects the wind so highly that half of the alreadyminuscule hypercar is sacrificed to this

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Aston Martin Valkyrie

invisible enemy. Mainly the gigantic diffusers eat away so much space, Red Bull’s engineers spent two years 3D-puzzling everything together, continually needing to resettle the lot after one component moved the slightest millimetre. And they again shuffled parts for five days to bury the ECU from the cigarettebox-sized rear-view camera into the front wheelarch. Or not, because there wasn’t any room for the wire... Meanwhile, Aston’s chief engineer at the time Fraser Dunn relentlessly attempted to bridge the grand canyon separating ruthless F1 thinking from the real world in which people respect laws and settle bills: “Car makers love benchmarking: each new model needs to be that big, offer a best-in-class boot and cost this much. But the Valkyrie has no targets. Adrian never drops his pencil, and only the ultimate best barely suffices.” He continued: “We relentlessly begged Red Bull not to push it too far, because we were spending fortunes on engineering and exotic materials, while most clients will never squeeze the maximum out of this blindingly

fast device. Since testing is forbidden in F1, these guys are totally addicted to virtual simulations and always start from a clean sheet. Each new car is largely an evolution of previous vehicles, also in F1. Here, apart from the horn, steering rack and rear reflectors, everything is bespoke. No one ever does that. But we had to. The Valkyrie is so small, all existing parts look gigantic. It’s bonkers. And I fear the worst for testing.” Adrian’s unconditional claim for a V12 suited Aston just fine. His brutal rejection of the company’s rather bulky powerplant was a little painful, though. Still, he got things his way; he always does. For just 150 cars, Cosworth developed an all-new 6.5-litre V12, churning out nearly 1000bhp and revving to an eardrumdestroying 11,000rpm. “It is our ultimate pièce de résistance,” explained Bruce Wood from Cosworth. “But it came at a price. Each crank costs £25,000 and six months of work. Pushing this naturally aspirated V12 through emissions was an absolute tour de force, while its weight was a constant worry. Although we were fairly

proud with 220kg, Adrian required 200kg flat. When we arrived at 211kg months later, it was nowhere near good enough. After another engineering nightmare; we ended at 203kg. Suddenly, he was okay with it, knowing we had done everything we could. His is a ruthless strategy, but it does pay off.” The relentless battle against kilos, grammes and milligrammes didn’t even allow a subchassis. “Each part needs to deserve its place,” explained Red Bull’s chief engineer Ben Butler. As in F1, it’s up to the stressed-member engine and gearbox to endure all suspension loads here. But it proved another ball-breaker for Cosworth to design the engine mounts and the four laden bolts holding the drivetrain – and hence the entire rear end – against the tub. Red Bull’s categoric demands to use imperial bolts, measured in inches, instead of the more common metric ones, once again confronted Fraser Dunn with the project’s extreme focus: “Such imperial bolts originate from aerospace – an industry that adores exotic materials. That might explain Red Bull’s obsession. But they do have more thread per unit length, guaranteeing

ABOVE AND LEFT Newey and designer Miles Nurnberger frequently clashed, but there was huge mutual respect, too; the tub and engine, but no sub-chassis!

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Aston Martin Valkyrie

they’re marginally shorter for the same thread engagement.” Even Weight Watchers would get a little uneasy about such a rigorous diet. The Valkyrie’s performance urge is so excessive, each part became a science project with enough astonishing specifics to fill a book. Since the engine oil remains restricted to barely seven litres – each gramme counts – the catch tank and scavenge pump need to propel each drip 80 times per minute across the engine, also against four G-forces. Bruce Wood is rather proud about the carbonfibre plenum, too: “It’s somewhat problematic to distribute so much air across the ports while tackling so many different pressure zones, considering not all cylinders suck in air simultaneously. Also, there’s such depression when going off throttle at 11,000rpm, it risks collapsing. It required endless CFD tests to optimise all carbonfibre cords to the line.” Because traditional gearboxes choke at 11,000rpm, specialist Ricardo had to invent a bespoke dog ’box as in – naturally – F1. Such directly merging dogs work beautifully in racing as long as the driver shifts with the accuracy of an atomic clock and ignores the brain-damaging shakes at low speeds. Here, a hybrid system – mainly, its clever e-motor – e-synchronises the dogs with the skill of a German Shepherd, while also serving as a rotational damper to filter out all unpleasant slap. Moreover, this e-motor is so strong, it replaces first and reverse gear – again saving kilos and weight. One part fulfilling three separate functions; that’s virtuoso Adrian at his very best. It did cost blood, sweat and tears, though, to get it to work without any exploding teeth or dogs getting slaughtered: “It’s like throwing a ball through two cars crossing each other at 120km/h. It’s possible, in theory, but the timing must be spot on,” said Aston engineer Alex Baxter. Furthermore, this ingenuity needed to fit within Adrian’s mammoth diffusers, without weighing more than baked air. Ricardo even engineered a “bastard” M17 bolt for one linking. M16 wasn’t strong enough and M18 was too heavy. Elsewhere, a bolt was drilled lengthwise. The operation cost £100 a pop, yet again milled out a few grammes. The suspension looks fairly straightforward, with double wishbones all round and torsion bars as in – yep – F1. But it still became nauseatingly complex in order to solve one seemingly simple issue; the car’s crushing downforce pushes its bodywork against the wheels above certain speeds. In racing, this is tackled with ultra-stiff springs and dampers. For a road car with acceptable comfort levels, 142

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‘It seemed mission impossible to get the world’s most complicated hypercar on its feet in such dire circumstances’ Adrian had to invent a unique active suspension that pushes the bodywork back up and even keeps it perfectly flat, without any roll in fast corners or pitch during eye-popping braking. The principle is similar to Adrian’s Williams F1, which helped Nigel Mansell secure the 1992 World Championship with both fingers in his moustached nose. But the software is freakishly compound, while the front torsion bars consist of three telescoping parts yet still measure around one metre. They’re squeezed between other components, too, before penetrating the

In four parts, Inside Valkyrie discusses the project’s development. The first part covers Red Bull and Aston’s complicated marriage, the second explains the aero and design, the third covers the engineering, and the fourth looks at assembly and testing. With c.800 pages, the €950 book is limited to 300 copies. It’s exclusively available through www.waft.be.

tub and ending under the instrument panel. Even if tub supplier Multimatic considered £2.6m a little much for the one machine capable of drilling 150 times two ultra-precise holes for these torsion bars, it dug deep into its wallet and tore down a wall to create enough space. It had to – otherwise, the Valkyrie wouldn’t have existed. That’s how tightly it’s all connected. There was more drama, including an IPO running sour, new owners coming in, an engineering budget going – no, exploding – south, a departing CEO, a new-born Aston Martin F1 team messing up the Red Bull marriage, an ambitious yet eventually cancelled Le Mans programme and, because trouble never comes alone, a global pandemic. It seemed mission impossible to get the world’s most complicated hypercar on its feet in such dire circumstances, but the engineers and technicians never faltered, always a dry joke at hand, a warm smile adorning their exhausted faces. Utterly British, my dear... utterly British. During its turbulent history, Aston Martin has always been the nice-guys’ company; very stylish and cool, yet fairly old fashioned and hardly daring. Suddenly, it was more courageous than James Bond. Granting a leading F1 team a wild card to develop a hypercar from scratch, then giving independent journalists an accessall-areas pass to produce an honest book about it: no one ever does that. The adventure was painful at times, and it cost fortunes, a few careers and more marriages. But it did give Aston a much-needed high-tech credibility. The book turned out for the better, too. Firstly, it underlined to customers why the Valkyrie is an absolute steal, certainly in view of what other hypercar makers unveiled afterwards. Next, it explained why the project was two years late. These boys and girls weren’t picking their noses, nor cheapskating to save a nickel here and a dime there. They went further than anybody with only one goal: to build the first real roadlegal F1 car. That’s mission accomplished.

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EIGHT

GREAT

Inside the Rolls-Bentley Great Eight

Designing from first principles, Rolls-Royce engineers chose a V8 when a new motor was needed after World War Two. Its designers could hardly have imagined that it would serve both Rolls and Bentley for a record-breaking 61 years Words Karl Ludvigsen

BELOW Spark-plug accessibility was dire in the V8’s original design, while engineering the dipstick and pressed-steel sump proved inordinately time consuming.

A GREAT ENGINE THAT SHRUGGED OFF its pensioning time after time took 61 years to finally reach the end of the road. The L-series V8, which made its debut in both Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars in 1959, was kept alive by the latter at the Crewe factory after the marque’s acquisition by the VW Group at the end of the 20th century. Ironically, one of the most pressing issues that helped trigger the company’s sale was the perceived need for a completely new powerplant to replace the existing L410 V8 – and the amount that development work would cost. In its final format, the 6.75-litre L410HT made its exit in the summer of 2020 under the bonnet of a 30-unit commemorative version of the Mulsanne 6.75 Edition by Mulliner. Taking its place as Bentley’s flagship offering was a new Flying Spur, powered by a twin-turbo W12 of 6.0 litres, producing 626bhp. The engine was already pulling the Continental GT to more than 200mph. The need for a new unit was also the spur to

the V8’s creation. In charge at Crewe as general manager for cars from early 1946 was engineer Lawrence Llewellyn Smith. Shadwell Harry Grylls, who had been technical production engineer at the factory, was elevated to chief engineer of cars. Among Grylls’ lieutenants at Crewe was designer Charles Jenner, who had led engineering work on the B-series inline engine family with Jack Phillips, a member of his team. Any new designs had to pass the muster of veteran Stan Smith, in charge of the experimental machine shop. Introduced in 1955 as the R-R Silver Cloud and Bentley Series S, Crewe’s new cars had old six-cylinder engines of 4.9 litres. This was decisively the last gasp of the F-head six, whose main dimensions dated from an overheadvalve 3.2-litre introduced in 1922. A member of the B-series family was the B80 straight-eight, which produced some 170bhp from 5.3 litres and could be as big as 6.5. A test car was dubbed the ‘Scalded Cat’ for its fine performance, but

Inside the Rolls-Bentley Great Eight

this cut little mustard with Harry Grylls. “A straight-eight would necessarily mean increasing the length of the bonnet and moving the front wheels farther away from the driver,” he said. “The difficulty of making a nice motor car free from the sensation of ‘jellying’ varies with the cube of the distance from the driver to the front wheels.” Eight cylinders made sense, to be sure, but to avoid ‘jellying’ they had to be in a shorter package – such as a V8. Cars chief Llewellyn Smith was familiar with the concept. After joining Rolls-Royce from Oxford in 1933, one of his early projects had been an analysis of Ford’s revolutionary V8. In fact, however, the first look at such a unit took place outside Smith’s purview. In 1950, a small group of the aeroengine makers at Derby had proposed a 5.4-litre V8 with heads much like the Chrysler Hemi’s. Although this was a promising design from the Derby team, it had competition from Crewe. Early in 1954 Harry Grylls picked up his phone and rang Jack Phillips, recently promoted to head of engine design. Phillips recalled “quite clearly the usual request when my office phone rang. Grylls, on the other end: ‘Can you come along a minute?’” “Our car engine is running out of steam,” Grylls told Phillips. “We need an engine which will fit within the bonnet of the present car. Go away and think around a 50 percent increase in 148

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‘Good old cubic inches had to be the source of additional power. The clincher was that the vital US market was crazy about V8s’ power and torque.” Here was a dream assignment for an engine designer, one in the execution of which Phillips felt he wouldn’t be secondguessed to death. “I had known Grylls since the early 1930s,” he said. “He was a boss who gave broad-brush instruction of requirements and left the design to the designers. “He proceeded to lay down a broad specification for the future power unit,” continued Phillips. “He said it must weigh no more than the then-present production inline-six; it must use the same radiator frontal area, and be no more costly.” All these stipulations, with a 50 percent increase in power and torque, together with the usual reliability and unobtrusiveness expected of a Rolls-Royce power unit, was a formidable challenge to the engine-design team. Good old cubic inches had to be the source

of additional power. They would need eight cylinders, and the 90-degree vee would be the best disposition. The clincher was that the vital US market was crazy about V8s. In 1955 threequarters of cars sold in America were as such; the V8 had entirely displaced the straight-eight. “Buyer response to the new higher-powered V8 engines has been tremendous,” said US industry ‘bible’ Automotive News. For the first experimental powerplants, said Phillips, “the bore and stroke chosen was 3.8 x 3.5 inches, giving a swept volume of 5.2 litres”. The bore size of 3.8 inches became part of the new engine’s designation. Following the R-R identifying-letter tradition, the eight was the L-series, while the bore size made it the L380. The chosen bore, 96.5mm in modern-day nomenclature, was akin to that of the Derby design, while the 88.9mm stroke was shorter. This enlargement of only 6.5 percent from the six was unlikely to give the mandated increase in output However, the V8’s design was protected to allow future capacity increases. The design’s bore-centre distance of 4.65 inches was significantly longer than the similar spacings of Cadillac and Chrysler V8 engines, which were 4.40 and 4.56 inches respectively. It was identical to the spacing of the pre-war Rolls-Royce Phantom III V12, although that had a bore diameter of only 82.3mm. The opportunity provided by this

RM SOTHEBY’S

LEFT Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was one of the first models to benefit from the new powerplant.

OF FERED FOR S A LE

Inside the Rolls-Bentley Great Eight

LEFT A crosssection of the final V8 design for 1959 illustrated the shortness of its exhaust ports and the depth to which its head studs penetrated the deep-sided block.

generous spacing would not go unexploited. The choice of material for the cylinder heads was a no-brainer. They’d be made of aluminium, like the Phantom III and the latest version of the B60 six. For the block, on the other hand, there were many pros and cons. Cost, weight, strength, noise transmission, heat transfer and production were all issues. The engineers chose aluminium, nominating the high-silicon LM8. Were dry or wet cylinder liners to be used? The decision fell in favour of wet liners, exposed directly to the coolant. Instead of being pinched between upper and lower flanges, as was the Italian style, the liners followed Phantom III practise in hanging free from their tops. The liners were produced from centrifugally cast high-phosphorus iron pots. Honed to a finish of approximately 30 micro-inches, their bores provided an oil-retaining surface. A novelty for Crewe was a pressed-steel sump instead of the traditional aluminium casting. The engine having shown an appetite for oil, this was extensively tested to achieve a design that would allow ample capacity without requiring a level so high that the whirling crankshaft would cause excessive aeration of the lubricant. Designing and producing the dipstick became a project in its own right, which absorbed a disproportionate amount of engineering time. Although the first engine designs had 150

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‘When you changed the spark plugs, you used to take the wheel off and take the panel down under the wing’ conventional solid tappets, Jack Phillips explained that “a design change was made immediately to hydraulic tappets running in cast-iron tappet blocks”. Here was a technology for which it was sensible to get help from America, where such lifters were in wide use. “To do a Rolls-Royce job, one needs to be better than anyone else,” said Phillips. “But there is no sense in ‘re-inventing the wheel’ – and hydraulic tappets were a case in point.” He continued: “I went to America, had a good look around and ordered several sets of tappets from Chicago Screw, which made tens of thousands a day.” Starting late in 1958, the first 500 tappets for production came from Chicago Screw – following a Chrysler design – because, as Phillips said: “No one in the UK could make them, so when they proved satisfactory

Rolls-Royce, in its inimitable way in those days, bought the necessary machine tools, built a clean room and set about making them.” Topping the new block were ambitious cylinder heads. As with the 1950 Derby proposal, the new design from Crewe had veeinclined valves in a hemispherical combustion chamber. The first test cars of 1956 seemed unconvincing in performance, Phillips recalled: “I remember Stan Dean, an experimental test driver, christening it ‘the gutless wonder’, so we had a V8 versus inline-six race up Pyms Lane, Crewe, from a standing start, which dismissed the ‘gutless’ part of his remark. The V8 was much smoother than the six and its gentility was mistaken for lack of power.” But it was heavy, and too wide to fit in the exiting cars. A new design of cylinder head was started to halve the weight of the previous head and increase the combustion ‘squish’ area. This was more conventional, with a single row of rocker arms operating valves in line in wedge-type chambers. This type of chamber allowed a larger area of the head to mate closely with the piston crown at top dead centre, enlarging the space from which the fresh charge squished outward, creating desirable turbulence as the piston rose. “This project was a design experiment,” said Phillips, “but on one of his infrequent visits to the drawing office Dr Llewellyn Smith became interested, and we were told to proceed to

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Inside the Rolls-Bentley Great Eight

fruition.” When built and tested, this simpler head was found to reduce the ignition-advance requirement by half, a clear sign of more energetic combustion. It also reduced engine weight by 30lb and met the Grylls mandate of a slimmer plan view. A signal and distinctive feature of the engine was the manner in which the ten main stressbearing studs on each cylinder bank reached right down into the heart of the block, securing the main-bearing webs, to ensure that stresses were dealt with at source. Concomitantly the main-bearing studs penetrated far upward into their webs. Throughout the V8 most of the studs were elegantly waisted, as in an aero engine, with many anchored in steel Heli-Coil inserts to guarantee a good grip in the aluminium and to facilitate servicing. Close to the exhaust valves, as good practice dictated, the spark plugs were “placed purposely in a position immediately over the coolant jet from the main coolantinlet galleries”, according to Phillips. “Thus, although the plugs are not placed in the best position from the standpoint of accessibility, exceedingly good life results.” Plug accessibility was indeed dire, said Rolls expert Andrew Wood: “When you changed the spark plugs, you used to take the wheel off and take the panel down under the wing – but you soon learned that you could do it by hand when you couldn’t see anything. So I could do a set of spark plugs on an S2 with my eyes closed.” A strong contribution to the V8’s slenderness was made by inclining its valves at 28.5 degrees from the vertical. This was a much steeper angle than was common in American eights with similar chambers, which ranged from nine to 22 degrees. “Pressed-in valve seats were included for the first time in a light-alloy engine,” Phillips explained. “Previously they had been screwed in à la Merlin. The result was a notable improvement in idle quality.” Apart from an initial sensitivity to knocking below 3000rpm, the new ‘ramp’ combustion chamber performed satisfactorily. However, although specific power was all very well, only total engine power and torque – especially the latter – would move Rolls-Royce and Bentley drivers. It was time, the engineers decided, to take advantage of the capability for ‘stretch’ that they’d designed into their V8. For its launch the unit’s bore was enlarged from 3.80 to 4.10 inches and stroke lengthened from 3.50 to 3.60 inches. The result was a capacity of 6230cc and a new designation of L410 to reflect the final bore diameter. By 152

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ABOVE The same essential powerplant was a mainstay of production for six decades.

European standards the L410 was a big engine – indeed, the biggest. During the 1950s, however, the horsepower race had been in full swing across the Atlantic. Cadillac and Pontiac were pikers with only 6384cc and 6364cc respectively, and Oldsmobile made do with 6466cc. Serious capacity was offered by Chrysler at 6769cc, while the largest were Lincoln and Mercury sharing a 7045cc V8. In comparison the new R-R/Bentley eight was ‘adequate’, to be sure, but no colossus. In their race for supremacy, none of these US makers dared to come to market with less than 300 gross horsepower. This was the background against which the Crewe marketers avoided declaration of their output. In its 6230cc format the L410 V8 developed a net 183bhp as installed in the car and 240bhp gross. Matching or surpassing everything on offer in Europe save the biggest-engined Ferraris and Maseratis, its net torque of 258lb ft gave the imperious, serene performance that Rolls and Bentley owners considered their right and privilege. Initial development work on the L410 was

‘It gave the imperious, serene performance that Rolls-Royce and Bentley owners considered their right’

carried out with two American Carter dualdowndraught carburettors mounted at the centre of a manifold similar to those of existing V8s. It was of split-level design with each side serving the central cylinders on one bank and the outer cylinders on the facing bank. The air-side tract consisted of curved aluminium ducts – familiarly known as ‘cow’s horns’ – fed by a large central choke valve. From the crank nose, outboard of the damper, a four-sheave pulley drove the vee-belts to the V8’s accessories: water pump, fan, dynamo and air-conditioning and power-steering pumps. This was a let-down for the engineer editor of Road & Track, John R Bond: “Frankly,” he wrote, “this layout is rather disappointing to us – we had hoped for a nice, clean appearance with all these extra gadgets neatly built in and gear driven.” On the Phantom III V12 the dynamo and the water pump, in tandem, were gear driven. Weighing 713lb with its clutch and all its accessories, the L410 eight undercut the mass of the 4.9-litre six by 30lb in spite of its 27.5 percent increase in swept volume and substantial enhancement of power and torque. As is obvious from this history of its creation, the new eight was a completely indigenous design by the team at Crewe. Several generations later the Bentley V8 bowed out, giving almost three times the horsepower that it had at birth, helped by a longer 99mm stroke that took its final displacement to 6746cc. For a time, said Bentley, its torque of 811lb ft was the highest of any engine in production. For the 30 commemorative Bentleys, a picked crew of seven built the last of the 36,000-odd V8s that powered Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars. Most will still be in service for decades to come.

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THE

TOP 50

TV CARS

0 Bringing automotive icons into your living room, these smallscreen stars made a huge cultural impact. From American muscle to classic Brit roadsters and Italian exotica, they are the ultimate fourwheeled celebrities

Words Richard Heseltine

Top 50 TV cars

BELOW Starring role in Charlie’s Angels gave Mustang Cobra II a new, cooler vibe.

50 49 48 THIS oddly overlooked early1990s smash hit saw Jimmy Nail play ‘unconventional’ detective Freddie Spender, who righted wrongs upon his return to England’s northeast after many years in London. He had a crim for a sidekick and a confiscated Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Sapphire 4x4 (although he sometimes used an Alfasud, too). A pivotal point in the final series was when the Cossie was blown up with Spender’s ex-wife aboard – except all you saw was something on fire at the far end of a car park.

46 156

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FRANK STUBBS PROMOTES

ANOTHER largely forgotten TV show, this comedy-drama saw Timothy Spall’s titular character make the leap from ticket tout to so-so promoter. In the second and last series, he went about his business in a Lomax 224. The assumption, we surmise, is that having Stubbs driving a Citroën 2CV-based three-wheeler added to the sense that he was a born loser. It had the opposite effect in reality, though; it boosted sales of the kit car.

T H E AV E N G E R S (PART ONE) THIS 1960s staple came to an end with the Tara King era. An AC 428 Drophead Coupé earmarked for the super-suave John Steed (Patrick Macnee) was soon handed over to Agent 69 (Canadian Linda Thorson). It was the Frua-built prototype, too, and used a stretched Cobra platform so strictly speaking it was an AC 427. It also appeared in the brochure and several magazines prior to its TV appearance. Thorson didn’t get on with the car, though; consequently it made way for assorted Lotuses.

LOST

A BRILLIANT show with a lacklustre ending, Lost centred on survivors of a plane crash stranded on a seemingly deserted island, with each episode throwing up more mysteries. Among them was the presence of a VW Type 2 Dharma Van, discovered in the jungle looking decidedly worse for wear. How did it get there? Several Veedubs were used, not least in flashbacks, alternating between T2a and T2b models. One went for $47,500 in a sale of Lost memorabilia in August 2010.

CHARLIE’S ANGELS DON’T think that product placement works? Think again. The Ford Mustang II was not widely liked during the 1970s. However, the appearance of the striped and louvred Cobra II in Charlie’s Angels had a seismic effect on sales. Driven by both Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Ladd, it may have packed only 134bhp but this faux muscle car certainly looked the part. Ish. It became known colloquially as the Charlie’s Angels Mustang, and at least one of the cars used in the series still exists.

45 44 43 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

THE Stair Car was initially paired with a corporate jet in this brilliant US comedy, but went it alone after the jet disappeared along with the Bluth family fortune. It was pressed into service for all sorts of shenanigans, not least a prison break. Consistency wasn’t the producers’ forte, however. The Ford F350 used in the series morphed from a late-1970s example, to a mid-1980s version, and then a 1967-72 model but with a late-1970s grille. As an aside, it also had a cameo in Captain America: Civil War.

THE SAINT (PART ONE)

BREAKING BAD

LESLIE Charteris’s enigmatic hero appeared in six 1980s TV films starring Simon Dutton. The protagonist’s car was meant to be a Jensen S4 Saloon but, in reality, it was a 1976 Interceptor with the latest model’s grille, wheels and so on. Intriguingly, it also had the registration number ‘I ST’ rather than the famous plate ‘ST 1’, after the owner of the number in real life objected to it being used. A second car was also provided via a private owner, but wasn’t used during filming. The series wasn’t a huge success, yet the Jensen driven by Dutton still exists.

THIS lauded US show saw the much-derided Pontiac Aztec became shorthand for the loser status of anti-hero Walter White. It was a lemon of a car for a man whose contributions to life went without plaudits, and who reinvented himself as a meth kingpin. White eventually ended up selling his car – picked by show creator Vince Gilligan – for $50 and replacing it with a new Chrysler 300SRT-8 as he made the leap from protagonist to antagonist. Three Aztecs were used: the main ‘hero’ car, and two stunt doubles. The hero survives.

ALAMY

SPENDER

42 MR BEAN

ROWAN Atkinson’s words-averse alter ego famously drove a Mini, but predictably there was more than one. He had an orange 1969 Mk2 in the first episode, only for it to come to a sticky end before the credits rolled. It subsequently made way for the 1977 Mini 1000 – in Austin Citron Green with matt-black bonnet – with which the character is inextricably linked. However, it was crushed by a tank, only to magically reappear. All told, we think six cars were used – not including promo Minis or the one Atkinson memorably ‘drove’ during the 2009 Goodwood Revival Meeting (left).

41 S T I N G R AY

NOT to be confused with the marionette favourite of the same name, this 1980s show starred Nick Mancuso as Ray. This man of mystery traded help for favours, assisting the downtrodden against all manner of wrong ’uns. All you needed to do was dial the number in his classified ad and he’d find you. Somehow. He flew under the radar aboard a black ’65 Corvette Sting Ray with tinted windows. At least two cars were built for the show, while AMT produced a model as a promotional tie-in. It was introduced just as the series was cancelled...

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DUE SOUTH

ALAMY

DR WHO (PART ONE) BESSIE (left) wasn’t your typical horseless carriage. For starters, it had an anti-theft forcefield, remote control and ‘minimum inertia hyperdrive’ that enabled The Time Lord to drive it at breakneck speed but come to a stop in an instant sans injury. In reality, this prop, which first appeared in the Jon Pertwee era, began life as a Ford E93A-based Siva Edwardian kit car as conceived by Neville Trickett. However, it had an elongated (uglier) nose, while the 1172cc sidevalve boat anchor made way for a 1340cc OHV unit allied to a Consul Classic four-speed gearbox.

A BRILLIANTLY offbeat odd-couple show that paired a stiff Mountie (plus his wolf) and a ‘Noo Yoik’ detective, this show’s real star was the latter’s boat-tail Buick Riviera. It was the love of his life to the point that he spent seven years trying to locate the perfect NOS cigarette lighter. Inevitably, it was blown up – as was its substitute. A third Riv was later set on fire by a ‘performance arsonist’, before it ended its days in the murky depths of Lake Michigan. Oddly, despite there being three standalone cars in the series, they all had the same numberplate.

40 39 38 37 36 THE BARON

THE PROTECTORS

MANNIX

THIS rather good adventure show from the mid-1960s didn’t stretch to a second series, more’s the pity. American Steve Forrest starred as London-based John Mannering, an antiques dealer and reluctant secret agent/crime fighter. The series was created by Johnny Goodman of New World Pictures, whose prior credits included The Saint. He purchased a C-V8 Mk2 directly from the Jensen works (there were no freebies here). The car wore a fictional numberplate ‘BAR 1’ in the series, and anecdotal evidence suggests that Forrest used it off-set. The car was sold in late 1966, and despite a shunt later that decade, it still survives.

IT wasn’t high art, but this half-hour ITC-produced adventure show from the early 1970s remains a boon for car lovers. Everything from a Mini Jem to an Invader beach buggy via Chris Slater’s famous Escort Twin Cam rally car and a Maserati Mistral made an appearance. However, it was the car in which the Contessa Caroline di Contini (Nyree Dawn Porter) was chauffeured that captivated: a 1971 Citroën SM. It exuded glamour, much like the woman crouched in the back – but in reality the car belonged to the Citroën UK press fleet. It still exits, too.

THIS long-running detective show starred real-life car nut Mike Connors as the titular hero. The private eye drove regular production cars early on, but later in the first series he was equipped with a George Barris-customised 1967 Oldsmobile Toronado. Barris went for broke here: the roof was removed, with a giant glassfibre tonneau cover installed over where the rear seats used to be. It was nothing if not conspicuous – not least because it was resplendent in Metalflake Platinum Silver with black inserts. It subsequently made way for a Barris-modified Dodge Dart GTS and ultimately a bone-stock Chevy Camaro.

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THE BRIDGE THIS Scandi drama wasn’t without its twists and turns, not least the question of how the defiantly self-directed detective Saga Norén (Sofia Helin) came to be driving a Jager Grun 1977 Porsche 911S (spoiler alert: she won it). The car (below) was originally sold stateside and arrived in Denmark in 2009 after a motoring writer acquired it for $7000. He sold it to the show’s ‘props lady’ two years later. The car was auctioned for charity at the 2018 Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed sale (Helin was in attendance). It made a cool £141,500 despite being in care-worn condition.

A SHOW where the smell of cheap cologne and coffin nails permeated, even from the comfort of your sofa. The Sweeney was a 1970s staple, full of fishtailing Jaguar S-types, and men with questionable facial topiary armed with ‘shooters’. It also made the heroes’ Ford Consul GT and Granada 3.0S seem improbably cool. The Blue Oval supplied the cars directly, the ‘Granny’ being adopted in the second series. Intriguingly, a red Granada was pranged prior to being used in the fourth series. It was repaired and sold off, complete with camera mounts.

ALAMY

THE SWEENEY

35 34 33 32 31 T H E FA L L G U Y THIS cheesy but enjoyable 1980s staple starred Lee Majors as stuntman and part-time bounty hunter Colt Seavers. Any self-respecting action hero requires a suitable vehicle, and in this case a ‘Rounded-Line’ 1981 GMC K-2500 Wideside pick-up, compete with the Sierra Grande equipment package, was employed. There were variations of ‘Jimmy’ trucks, thereafter, and the fact this was a show which centred around a stuntman ensured that several were wrecked. In the second series, stunt trucks were mid-engined to ensure they were less inclined to land on their noses. That, and fly further with less pitch when airborne.

MAIGRET

ASHES TO ASHES

RARELY has a TV character been more closely associated with a particular model. The BBC’s adaptation of Georges Simenon’s Maigret novels saw the titular detective make use of umpteen 15/6s, resulting in the Traction Avant (below) being widely referred to as ‘the Maigret car’. Of course, it re-appeared in subsequent retellings, most recently with Rowan Atkinson. The original adaptation’s star, Rupert Davies, became so attached to the model that he acquired one in 1963 from the firm that hired cars to the production company. He paid £50.

WITH nods to shows such as The Professionals and The Sweeney, but with added whimsy, Audi’s special stageconquering coupé found a new generation of admirers thanks to the efforts of thieftaker Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister, above). For full nerd value, we must point out that when the series was set, the Quattro wasn’t available with a sunroof. Two red 1983 cars were used during filming, the stunt hack being equipped with a sunroof, while the hero car was mocked up to appear as though it had one for continuity purposes.

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ALAMY

BELOW Glassfibre Alien was built for Dr Who’s Jon Pertwee, and also appeared in the TV show as the Whomobile.

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THE PRISONER

THE precise back-story behind this car’s creation is up for debate, but we know it was built by Peter Farries. A UK customising pioneer, he had previously fashioned the Californian Hot Rod Jagobodied Ford T-bucket. It was displayed at a new Ford dealer in Nottingham, where Dr Who actor Jon Pertwee was on ribbon-cutting duties. The two got chatting and devised a Hillman Imp Sport-engined one-off device known as the Alien. Unsubstantiated rumours suggest it was based on a Bond 875 donor, which would make sense given that it came as standard with Imp power. Paint supplier Berger sponsored the build. Completed in 1973, the Alien had a two-piece glassfibre body. There were no doors; you just ‘hopped’ aboard. Inside were lots of twinkly lights that served no purpose, a TV and a prop computer. While built for Pertwee’s personal use, the Alien subsequently appeared in Dr Who, hence it became known as the Whomobile.

RARELY has a car mirrored a TV show’s character so perfectly. The Prisoner was a series that defied belief as much as description. Even its instigator and star Patrick McGoohan admitted that he didn’t fully understand it. However, the use of a Lotus Super Seven S2 (above) was a master-stroke. McGoohan wanted something befitting a self-directed, antiauthoritarian hero, and originally opted for an Elan – only to spot a Seven on a visit to the Lotus factory. That was it: a Seven was chosen instead, and ‘KAR 120C’ and McGoohan became inextricably linked the moment the series first aired in 1967. Few other cars represented – continue to represent – personal freedom quite like a Seven. And while most of The Prisoner was set in The Village that Number Six was trying to escape, the car’s appearance in the opening titles and fleeting roles in three episodes brought the model to the attention of a new audience. So much so, Sevens in green with a yellow nose-cone have never really gone away.

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CHANCER THE show that made Clive Owen a star, Chancer was compulsory viewing in the early 1990s. The first series saw his character Stephen Crane (aka Derek Love) using his roguish charm to help save Douglas Motors from ruination. The fictional firm – a nod to the Morgan Motor Company – produced pre-war-inspired sports cars, or at least it did until the factory was razed following a suspected arson attack. Crane was brought in to help right the ship and outmanoeuvre those who wished the firm ill. With veterans such as Leslie Phillips in the cast, it was always going to be great, if melodramatic and tacky. The Douglas Leopards that appeared in the show were, in reality, Ford Cortina-based JBA Falcon Sports kit cars with fictitious badging. As many as four JBAs were constructed for the series; some sources claim it was more. At least one ‘Leopard’ still survives, complete with Douglas-branded additions.

HARDCASTLE AND MCCORMICK ONE of umpteen 1980s Stephen J Cannell action shows, this paired a toughnut judge and a racing driver/ thief. Milton C ‘Hardcase’ Hardcastle helps Mark ‘Skid’ McCormick after he faces a stretch for stealing a racing car developed by his murdered friend. They find the culprit, wrongs are righted and Skid gets to keep the car. They then team up, albeit with parolee McCormick being kept on a tight leash. It ran for three series, but arguably the Coyote X was the real star. It resembled a Manta kit car, in turn cribbed from the McLaren M6GT. The car was created by Mike Fennel and Unique Movie Cars, and used a Beetle floorpan and Porsche 914 engine. Several were provided – some for stunts – while a DeLorean-based thing was built for the second series.

ROUTE 66 THIS US adventure drama was massive in the 1960s, running to 116 episodes over four series. It saw two restless young men played by Martin Milner and George Maharis (later replaced by Glenn Corbett) criss-cross the US, each self-contained episode starring a raft of stars. A third principal player was a Corvette – or rather, lots of them. The pilot episode established how one of the youthful main characters came to own a C1 roadster. Given that umpteen variants, including C2s, were used thereafter, the premise was quickly and conveniently forgotten, because it no longer made much sense. The reason was due to Chevrolet sponsoring the series. It naturally wanted to promote its newest wares, and cars tended to rotate on a regular basis. GM also went so far as to loan rear-engined Corvairs for use as camera cars; these were adapted to accommodate brave camera jockeys in the front boot for rear driving shots of the stars.

RIGHT Jaguar XJ-S was Ian Ogilvy’s steed in Return of the Saint. BELOW DRAG-U-LA provided suitably bonkers transport for The Munsters.

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THE MUNSTERS (PART ONE)

THIS macabre sitcom was briefly a ratings success, despite being pitched against the ostensibly similar The Addams Family. For car fans, The Munsters was compulsory viewing, the DRAG-U-LA having been created for the episode Hot Rod Herman. Head of the household Herman Munster lost the family Munster Koach after making a rash bet at the dragstrip. Grandpa Munster set to, building a new car in a week in order to race for pink slips and win back the Koach. Weirdly, the car had a different origin story in the Munster, Go Home! film, the point being that DRAG-U-LA had a life of its own. The car was designed by Tom Daniels and built by fellow Barris Kustoms alumnus, Richard ‘Korky’ Korkes. It featured a tubular steel chassis, 289ci Ford V8 power and a body moulded from a coffin. A recently coined legend suggests that this was obtained from a funeral home in North Hollywood despite it being illegal for coffins to be sold without a death certificate. As many as four further replicas of DRAG-U-LA may have been made.

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THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.

RETURN OF THE SAINT ENIGMATIC hero Simon Templar returned in the late 1970s via Return of the Saint. Ian Ogilvy appeared suave and sophisticated, making good use of a swish pad in Eaton Mews and his trusty white Jaguar XJ-S. The Browns Lane marque had learned its lessons from a decade earlier when it famously snubbed ITC, the maker of the Roger Mooreera The Saint, and refused to supply a car even though the producers offered to buy one. Here, Ogilvy got to seesaw at the wheel of a British

Leyland-provided preproduction 1975 XJ-S, and one with a rare manual ’box at that. Two alternate Jags were also employed, which were autos. These may or may not have been provided by overseas distributors during location shooting. It’s pretty obvious that more than one car was used, especially in the two-part episode The Brave Goose, which was subsequently joined together to make a film. In one scene, the XJ-S sported no sunroof, but it had magically gained one shortly thereafter.

ORIGINALLY conceived as a concept car, and unveiled at the 1966 Detroit Auto Show, the Cycolac Research Vehicle was built to demonstrate the potential of thermoplastics. The low-slung roadster body was moulded by Marmon Chemical – a subsidiary of Borg-Warner – styled by Dann Deaver, and built by race car firm Centaur Engineering. Virtually all of its running gear was from the Chevrolet Corvair. Scrolling forward, product rights were sold and at one point model maker AMT Corporation announced plans to bankroll 50 fullsize road-going versions. The redubbed Piranha got a further promotional boost when it was picked up by NBC for use in its The Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV show. The small-screen variant benefitted at the hand of customiser Gene Winfield, and boasted a raft of spy-fi gadgetry. However, it was written out because the unconventional doors made it difficult for stars Robert Vaughn and David McCallum to access the cramped cockpit in a hurry. Given that the car was often involved in chase sequences, this was rather a stumbling block.

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FOR a car that made only fleeting appearances in the 1970s reboot of The Avengers, John Steed’s Jaguar XJC left a lasting impression. It was a pre-production car, too, and one with fat arches that mirrored those employed on the Broadspeed racers which competed in 1976-77. There were no performance modifications, although that didn’t stop Autocar from performing smoky burnouts when it tested the XJC for its Christmas edition in 1976. Hot Car also made it a cover star that same year, although there was barely a mention of it elsewhere in the issue. As was so often the way, the XJC was overdubbed, often with the sort of fanfare equivalent to a Top Fuel dragster. The Jag did, however, make it onto a circuit during the episode Three-Handed Game alongside a March 752 F5000 car; the one that was raced in real life by stuntman Val Musetti. The XJC was rarely used because the stunt drivers found it hard to throw around due to its fat tyres.

22 ABOVE John Steed’s Jaguar XJC in The New Avengers was a pre-production car. RIGHT Black Beauty from The Green Hornet was based on a 1966 Imperial Crown.

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THIS monstrously successful BBC sitcom followed the ducking-and-diving antics of the Trotter family, in particular the irrepressible Del Boy. For extra comedy value, Trotters Independent Traders famously ferried their hooky goods about in a Reliant three-wheeler (below). It was initially a Supervan II, although IIIs were also used during the programme’s long run. For reasons known only to the producers, they all sported painted-on rust despite the small matter of their glassfibre bodies. As to the vexed question

THE GREEN HORNET of how many were employed, it rather depends on whose estimates you credit. Vans were rented to the production via Action Cars, Telefilm Cars and the Cars of the Stars museum. The latter’s principal Peter Nelson acquired one in 2007 for a huge £44,000, but claimed to have recouped the cost from rentals. British boxer Ricky Hatton also obtained one, but it subsequently turned out to be a replica. Both the show and the Supervan were also referenced during the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony.

ONE of the coolest TV show cars of the 1960s – a period not exactly lacking for candidates – Black Beauty was created by Dean Jeffries at great expense after the ABC network chose to revive The Green Hornet. The model was driven by the hero Britt Reid (Van Williams) who was famously assisted by Kato (Bruce Lee). It was stored beneath Reid’s garage; a control concealed behind a tool wall would rotate the floor, and the car would exit onto the street through an advertising hoarding that separated down the middle. The car began life as a 1966 Imperial Crown, which received all manner of gadgets: retractable panels below the headlights that housed rockets, a grille-sited knock-out gas dispenser, and a scanner surveillance device that launched though a panel in the middle of the boot lid. Jeffries reputedly created the car in just 30 days. He subsequently built another, but only one series aired before the curtain descended. Imperial-based cars also appeared in the 2011 The Green Hornet film, but Jeffries had no involvement.

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T H E N E W AV E N G E R S

O N LY F O O L S AND HORSES

THE intro theme music by the brilliant John Barry set the tone for this much-loved series starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis. The exploits of their respective characters Lord Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde lasted for only one series, but it remains memorable for all the right reasons. It was also ITC’s most expensive show ever, with much of it shot overseas rather than on the back lot at Elstree Studios. And while the crime-fighting playboys each had a suitably exotic means of transport, it was Sinclair’s Aston Martin DBS that intrigues more than Wilde’s Dino 246GT. More than anything, this was because it was the only DBS ever painted in Bahama Yellow, even if it was a straight-six dressed to appear as a V8. Continuity wasn’t the show’s forte, though. In one episode, the Aston was seen wearing the numberplate ‘BS1’ (owned, in reality, by impresario Billy Smart Jr), only for it to duck behind a lorry and reappear as ‘PPP 6H’. More recently, the car has been garlanded at Concorso d’Eleganza Ville d’Este.

T H E A -T E A M

THIS all-action drama was loved and derided in equal measure when it aired from 1977-83. Making stars of Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw as Bodie and Doyle, it was all punch-ups, shootouts, car chases, bad perms and traitorous types doing dastardly things. It’s hard not to get misty eyed, especially if you were inspired by the sight of Ford Capris being steered on their lock-stops. British Leyland products featured prominently during the first series but, as the producers of The New Avengers also discovered, the cars it provided would be whisked away of an evening only for different ones to arrive the next day – as in different colours. It played havoc with continuity. BL didn’t care, but Ford was a lot more responsive, and assorted Capris, Granadas and a ‘droop-snoot’ Escort RS2000 were ragged to within an inch of their lives to the end of the fourth and final series.

IF your formative years were the 1980s, it was impossible to escape the gravitational pull of this show. Here, three Vietnam War veterans were on the run for a crime they didn’t commit. Aided by a brilliant but crazy pilot, they were available for hire despite the small matter of them being hounded by the military police. The violence was cartoonish, and the good guys had a habit to finding themselves imprisoned in warehouses with access to bulldozers, welding torches and sheet metal. Importantly, the chases involving the GMC Vandura of BA Baracus (Mr T) and his gun-totin’ pursuers were usually brilliant. Often, flight was involved. As many as eight GMCs were used, excluding stunt vehicles (some of which were Chevrolets). The signature feature of the muchmerchandised A-Team van was the metallic-grey and black livery with the red dividing slash. Special features included a large box for all the guns and ammo (naturally) and, depending on which episode you were watching, a miniature printing press and an audiosurveillance recording device. The van also had a habit of gaining and losing a sunroof.

THE MONKEES

BERGERAC

ONE of the 1960s’ wildest TV cars, the Monkeemobile (above) nevertheless made only fleeting appearances in The Monkees. Its outsized reputation developed as a result of its countless promo appearances, not to mention its popularity in model form. While George Barris’s name has retrospectively been associated with the design, it was entirely the work of Dean Jeffries. Strictly speaking, there were two cars, with Pontiac providing 1966 GTO convertibles to serve as donors. Model maker MPC was also heavily involved. Boasting an exaggerated Phaeton roof, the first car had a blower atop the 389ci V8 while the second was used for promo work. Legend has it that the cast/band members were barred from driving the version used in the series after one too many hair-raising moments. Several ‘tribute cars’ have since emerged, the original Monkeemobile having travelled to Australia in 1968 before washing up in Puerto Rico.

JERSEY became the murder capital of the world during this long-running series starring John Nettles. His detective character became inextricably linked with a 1949 Triumph Roadster. The thing is, Nettles loathed the car. He once claimed he had almost connected with a cyclist during the first shoot day. He also mentioned that the mechanicals weren’t in the first flush of youth, and that a lot of time was wasted coaxing the Triumph into life. This was perhaps unfair, not least because two cars were used; one was auctioned for £23,000 for Children in Need in 2013. Intriguingly, in the mid-1980s Sporting Cars suggested that Jim Bergerac was set to ‘upgrade’ to an Allard. It never happened.

19 18 17 16 15 LEFT Roger Moore’s Lord Brett Sinclair, suave with his Aston Martin DBS. ABOVE The world’s sole ‘flying’ GMC Vandura, as driven by Mr T, was the star of the A-Team.

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14 13 INSPECTOR MORSE

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T H E AV E N G E R S (PART T WO) THIS beloved pop art spy-fi show was memorable for its profoundly British sense of whimsy. That and its use of cars as extensions of characters’ personalities rather than as mere props. Images of Titian-haired Diana Rigg as Emma Peel bombing around the Home Counties in a Lotus Elan still resonate. “I’m not even sure Diana could drive when she started with us. We had to put her through a crash course, so to speak,” producer Brian Clemens recalled in 2007. “She certainly got on well with the Lotus. I remember Colin Chapman saying that publicity from having his car in The Avengers was worth millions, and I can believe it. The show was broadcast all over the world. For a small firm, it must have been a huge boost. I do recall the Elan with affection, although the pop-up headlights had a mind of their own.” A Series 2 Elan was used in black and white episodes, with a powder-blue S3 drophead employed when the show switched to colour.

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THE great mystery of Inspector Morse was never solved: why would a cerebral aesthete drive a down-atheel, burgundy Jaguar Mk2 with a black vinyl roof (above)? Nevertheless, John Thaw’s considered interpretation of Colin Dexter’s literary sleuth pulled it off. The car became a part of Morse, an intrinsic element of his character – of the series, despite the small matter of him driving a Lancia in print (Dexter retrospectively changed it to a Jaguar, mind). But then you couldn’t be a troubled detective on TV in the 1980s and ’90s unless you drove a traditional British classic. Thaw claimed in an interview that the 1960 saloon had hitherto been a stunt hack used in The Sweeney. It had merely been given a blow-over. There is no evidence to suggest that this was the case, but it made for a good story. What is known is that the car was acquired in November 2005 for a six-figure sum. The man who bought it was later sent down for orchestrating a multi-million-pound swindle. Can you say irony?

MIAMI VICE (PART ONE)

IT was a show that changed the look of TV, and also introduced the world to the concept of suit jackets with rolled-up sleeves (shudder!). Crockett and Tubbs were the coolest detectives on the small screen in the mid-1980s, and even now it is hard not to picture Don Johnson without conjuring images of him guiding his Ferrari 365GTS/4 Daytona through neon-drenched Miami after dark, overlaid with Phil Collins crooning In the Air Tonight. Except the car used in the series was a replica... In reality, two C3-gen Corvette-based cars (top) were built by McBurnie

Coachcraft for the series’ producers; a hero car for close-ups, and a stunt hack. Legend has it that Ferrari had been approached to supply cars for the show (legend doesn’t state which model), but wasn’t receptive. Miami Vice was a ratings colossus, at least for its first few seasons, which would explain Ferrari’s clear change of mind – at which point the ‘Daytona’ was axed. Both Miami Vice cars still exist; read on to find out more about their replacements.

ABOVE Ferrari eventually provided two Testarossas for use in Miami Vice, thus solidifying the model’s status as an 1980s icon.

BELOW James Garner’s skills behind the wheel showed off his ‘Rockford Firebird’ to its best advantage.

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FERRARI tends to take a dim view of anyone using the Cavallino Rampante logo without its permission. It has been known to set its legal raptors on copyright infringers, and that includes many a manufacturer of replicas. The case that gained the most column inches surrounded it hammering McBurnie Coachcraft, which made the ‘Daytonas’ used in Miami Vice. Ferrari then turned its attention to the producers of the show. Matters became heated, but the upshot was that the Italian marque agreed to supply a pair of Testarossas on the understanding that the fakes would be written out. And they were, a Stinger missile connecting with a Daytona clone (or rather a bodyshell) just to emphasise the point. The Testarossas that arrived were black with beige leather trim, but the cars were subsequently repainted white at the behest of exec producer Michael Mann. And – irony of ironies – a replica was used for some of the more challenging driving sequences. A clone was made using a De Tomaso Pantera as a basis, there being only 38mm (1.5in) difference in their respective wheelbases. If Ferrari was aware of this, it didn’t let on publicly.

THE opening-credits scene of Tom Selleck smiling before power-sliding a 1978 Ferrari 308GTS (above) on grass set the scene perfectly. It was impossible not to warm to his character, Thomas Magnum. He had access to a supercar (not his own), a great pad (not his own), a helicopter (not his own), and, well, you get the idea. The Vietnam vet, ladies’ man, and Hawaiian shirt-wearing private dick had it all, and that included an impressive upper-lip warmer. As for the Ferraris, the cars loaned by novelist Robin Masters also ran to a 1980 308GTSi and a 1984 308GTSi Quattrovalvole. According to British director Ray Austin, who helmed the pilot episode, Selleck struggled to fit in the Ferrari, resulting in the removal of much of the lower section of the driver’s seat. Also, as anyone who watched the show avidly will recall, Magnum had a tendency to attract gunfire, although replica 308s were clearly employed for the rough stuff. As an aside, the producers’ original choice was not a Ferrari. They wanted a 928 with a few modifications, but Porsche wasn’t receptive.

THE show that introduced the ‘Rockford flick’ to the world. No episode of this long-running James Garner vehicle was complete without a car chase, and it never disappointed. Garner was a class act as a driver, and his ability to perform a J-turn in a Pontiac Firebird was unparalleled. However, contrary to popular belief, not all of the cars driven by the trailer-dwelling hero Jim Rockford were Esprit editions. The model was chosen because the producers (of which Garner was one) felt that the down-at-heel private eye would only be able to afford a ‘lesser’ version, but the cars employed were mostly performance-oriented ‘Formula’ editions dressed to look like Esprits. Cars were updated each year from the show’s first airing in 1974 to 1978, each wearing the licence number ‘835 OKG’. However, the series continued to 1980, but Garner didn’t like the Firebird’s later front-end treatment so stuck with the 1978 bodystyle to the end. That said, some stock footage was employed during the series’ run, so it wasn’t uncommon for different years of Pontiac to appear moments apart.

THE MUNSTERS (PART T WO) IT was a family car like no other. The Munster Koach was designed by Tom Daniel and constructed by Tex Smith (but finished by Dick Dean) at Barris Kustoms. Its chassis was built from scratch, but three Ford Model T shells were knitted together to form the body, although it bore only trace elements of a ‘Tin Lizzie’ visually. Power was from a 289ci small-block V8 with high-compression pistons among other tweaks (the original drawings suggested it was to have been supercharged). Some sources suggest that it was bored out to 425ci, others that it was originally a Cobra unit. Inevitably, a degree of confusion surrounds how many were made. Officially, only one Koach was used on TV, although another was built for Barris in 1982, two years after the ‘King of the Kustoms’ had sold the original. At least one unofficial replica also came into being. The original TV car currently resides in the Volo Auto Museum in Illinois.

T H E AV E N G E R S (PART THREE) FOR a man who was not conceived as the main hero of the piece, John Steed became a televisual legend on so many levels. Patrick Macnee went from a shadowdwelling, mac-wearing spook to a dandyish crime-fighter in a world full of crackpot inventors and supervillains. He made the role his own, and that stretched to the use of vintage cars as an extension of his persona. Steed’s initial AC Greyhound subsequently made way for a slew of vintage Bentleys. These included a 1928 3 Litre (above), 1926 Green Label and 1924 41/2 Litre. There may have been two further Bentleys, but other marques also featured: a 1924 Vauxhall OE Type 30-98, 1937 Alvis 25 Tourer, 1927 RollsRoyce Silver Ghost and 1928 Phantom One. According to The Ultimate Avengers by Dave Rogers, Steed also drove a Bugatti. We’ve been unable to substantiate this despite having spent tens of hours viewing this show – purely for research purposes, you understand.

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SURPRISED to see this entry so high up the list? You shouldn’t be. There were more outrageous cars on the small screen during the 1960s. Had Leslie Charteris’s tales been taken literally, Roger Moore would have been driving a made-up car of his own when he became the latest actor to take up the role of Simon Templar; one that he played with aplomb from 1962-1969. However, instead of a fictional Hirondel, he was armed with a Volvo. A member of the film crew spotted a P1800 in a showroom, contact was

made – and the brand was attentive, to put it mildly. The rest is history: the appearance of the P1800 (below) in a series that was huge in the UK (and very popular Stateside) had a transformative impact on Volvo’s image, making it hip. Various cars were used in the series, Roger Moore also having them at his private disposal. Not only that, Volvo provided cars and drivers wherever he was in the world for decades to come. The firm clearly understood the value of celebrity endorsement.

IT’S hard to comprehend just how big Starsky & Hutch was in the 1970s. That, and how influential the vehicular star of the show proved – the ‘striped tomato’ Ford Gran Torino (below). Paul Michael Glaser’s character Dave Starsky was initially allocated a Chevrolet Camaro drop-top. However, the Blue Oval had a

dedicated lease programme for TV producers, which led to two Gran Torinos being handed over. The premise of the feature-length pilot episode surrounded a case of mistaken identity, with hired killers misidentifying the car of a young couple necking after dark for that of Starsky. As such, the Gran Torino needed to be distinctive, which is where transport co-ordinator George Grenier

came up with the idea of adding white stripes and slot mags. Such was the response to the show, Ford went so far as to offer official replicas in 1976. And, as an aside, one of these appeared in the first episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. Oh, and Ford GB also produced a ‘concept’ version of the Cortina Mk4 which mirrored the paint job but also added side pipes. It was as horrible as it sounds.

THUNDERBIRDS THE late TV great Gerry Anderson was nothing if not persuasive. Of all his many achievements, few were more impressive than his marionette action show, Thunderbirds. However, you could argue that his greatest coup was persuading RollsRoyce to allow the use of the name, radiator grille design and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot for the programme’s star car. Strictly speaking, FAB 1 wasn’t real, but that didn’t stop a legion of young ’uns in the mid-1960s from falling for this six-wheeled, 200mph supercar. Well, that and heroine Lady Penelope, who was gamely assisted in her evil-thwarting by beetlebrowed chauffeur Parker. Rolls-Royce was less impressed when a full-scale car was built for promo purposes. It was created in Berkeley’s former factory in Biggleswade by top props man John Mitchell. Based on a cut ’n’ shut Bedford Duple chassis, it was road legal, too, but the R-R references were soon removed to appease the suits in Crewe. A second car was made years later on a modified Silver Spirit chassis.

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IF you were a young pup in the mid- to late 1980s, this was compulsory viewing. The opening credits alone were enough to hook you, not least Richard Basehart’s resonant voice uttering the immortal line: “Knight Rider: A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man (deep breath) who does not exist.” This didn’t make a lot of sense, but it didn’t matter a jot because here was a show that centred around a man with big hair and a shirt unbuttoned a little too far

WORLDWIDE AUCTIONEERS

THE DUKES OF HAZZARD

AS with Knight Rider, this was essentially a kids’ show. The Duke of Hazzard was also a ratings juggernaut during the early 1980s, and that is before you factor in the merchandising tie-ins. While the series centred on the Duke clan and their attempts to foil the dastardly plots of Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane, the actors took a metaphorical back seat to the real star: a bright orange 1969 Dodge Charger. You rarely had to wait long before the General Lee took flight as it evaded its pursuers. It also compelled children to enter cars via an open window, much to the chagrin of their parents. So much about this show was magical, if only when viewed through the prism of your childhood memory. There would be conversations in the playground about why, precisely, the car’s doors were welded up, why there was always the sound of tyres squealing during driving sequences on gravel or grass, and how the General Lee could land on its nose but look pristine in the

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next shot. The plots were gossamer thin, but who cared? Just to emphasise how central the Charger was to the series, it appeared in all bar one of the 147 episodes that aired between 1979 and 1985. Opinions vary as to exactly how many Chargers were used during the seven series, but 325 seems to be the general consensus. It has been speculated that sourcing cars became a problem late in the day, but this has been pooh-poohed by insiders. Nevertheless, footage from prior jumps was used late in the show’s run, while (shudder!) models were employed during the final season. This irritated the cast as much as faithful viewers, but then other shows – not least Knight Rider – weren’t above using shonky-looking miniatures. Of course, there is a gargantuan elephant in the room: the use of the Confederate battle flag atop the General Lee. It would be the mother of all understatements to say that this has since proved divisive.

ABOVE K.I.T.T. – an automotive Swiss army knife. BELOW The Dukes’ Charger spawned a million muscle-car dreams. Just don’t mention the flag...

driving a talking Pontiac Firebird. When the Firebird wasn’t driving itself. On one or two wheels. Or leaping. Or… This was essentially The Lone Ranger with the horse replaced by a car, and K.I.T.T. (the Knight Industries Two Thousand) was like an automotive Swiss army knife. It had everything, from an ejector seat to a grappling hook, booster rockets so that it could ‘Turbo Boost’ over anything in its way, and a slightly condescending voice. A signature feature was its

scanner; a red light in the nose that moved left to right and back again. The show’s creator, Glen A Larson, had previously made Battlestar Galactica. This was a nod to the effect employed on the evil Cylons sentient robots in the sci-fi show (the same sound effect was used, too). K.I.T.T. was mocked up by Michael Scheffe, whose credits include the DeLorean time machine used in Back to the Future. There were umpteen changes during the show’s run, though, not least to the cabin. In all, 23 Pontiacs were purportedly used, although many more ‘original cars’ are claimed to exist today. As an aside, Louisell Enterprises of Mount Pleasant offered an unofficial DIY package from which you could make your own K.I.T.T. replica.

TED7

KNIGHT RIDER

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BELOW The Caped Crusader’s Batmobile is the most memorable of a plethora of 1960s automotive televisual icons.

THERE was only ever going to be one ‘winner’, and it was always going to be the Caped Crusader’s supercar. There have been umpteen takes on the theme, but the 1960s incarnation remains a televisual touchstone. It is visual shorthand for what in many ways was a golden era of crime-fighting superheroes on the small screen. Yes, there are some comic-book fans who loathe this representation of Batman with a passion, but there’s no denying the impact it made, and the popculture crater it left behind. What tends to be overlooked, or glossed over, is that the Batmobile was a rush job. Dean Jeffries was originally approached to build a car, but he turned the gig down. The baton then passed to Barris Kustoms. The firm’s neverknowingly under-promoted co-founder George Barris was more receptive. It also helped that he had just the perfect foundations for such a car: the 1955 Lincoln Futura, the concept queen that was conceived by the Ford division’s styling czar William M Schmidt and built at vast expense by the artisans at Carrozzeria Ghia. This twin-domed ‘laboratory on wheels’ had an early brush with show business after it appeared in the 1959 film It Started With a Kiss, which starred Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds. The car’s original pearlescent-white hue made way for a glossy shade of a red for its big-screen

appearance, yet it would probably have been forgotten by history but for what happened subsequently. Barris had a relationship with Ford, not least via the popular Custom Car Caravan where leading customisers of the day built one-offs for the Blue Oval, which made show appearances and racked up plenty of column inches. Barris acquired the Futura for a dollar (it had cost a rumoured $250,000 to build). The car was then left to fester behind the Barris Kustoms facility until the Batman producers came knocking in August 1965. Barris’s team had just three weeks in which to create the Batmobile. Much of the basic Futura outline remained intact, although Bill Cushenbery reworked the bonnet, teased open the arches and modified the fins. A ‘saw blade’, rocket tubes and other crime-fighting accoutrements were added along the way, while the rear ‘turbine’ exhaust began life as a five-gallon paint tin. And the rest really is history. Batman was an instant success, to the point that three glassfibre-bodied replicas were built on lengthened Fairlane platforms donated by Ford. Once the show ended, Barris retained ownership of the original car until it was auctioned in January 2013 for a whopping $4.2m (the original estimate was $2.5m), although it has since been sold privately for an undisclosed sum. Holy doodad, etc, etc...

TED7

B AT M A N

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Market Watch: Our Honda NSX buyer’s guide

Watches and art: Monochrome icons, and Michael Turner

Automobilia: On the trail of Jaguar’s Leaper

Collecting: Hasselblad camera is back in the frame

Books and products: From F1 pioneers to luxury goods

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“HEY, I LIKE YOUR FERRARI!” That’s an appreciation commonly heard by owners of the type of car you see here – especially when it’s a red one, as they often are. Yet it’s a model made not by an Italian supercar specialist with a huge top-level racing history, but by a manufacturer of humble but clever hatchbacks and, nowadays, popular SUVs – which also has a pretty good top-level motor sport history, especially with engines. It’s the Honda NSX, of course; a car of many firsts and with no economically sound reason to exist. Instead, as with Volkswagen’s misunderstood Phaeton but with considerable extra excitement, its maker made it because its maker could. The idea was for a supercar with the drama and ability of a Ferrari combined with a Civic’s ease of use and a big-manufacturer level of consistency in quality, accuracy and durability. And, of course, it would be the ultimate showcase of Honda’s capability. Pursued not by the brand’s main design and engineering operation but by its R&D offshoot, the NSX took shape during the late 1980s as a mid-engined, two-seater coupé whose transverse V6 had its ’box not half-underneath, as in Ferrari’s

ABOVE AND OPPOSITE Quality cabin finishes off this unexpected model from a mainstream brand. smaller creations, but on the end as in Honda’s mainstream cars. The structure was the world’s first volume(ish)-production pressedaluminium unibody to complement the aluminium powerplant (with titanium conrods) and forgedaluminium suspension parts. Other firsts? The drive-by-wire throttle was one, the full electronic control of the air-con was another, the remote actuation thus allowing the unit itself to be placed low in

the nose instead of being a bulky presence behind the dashboard. This in turn helped fulfil the brief for an unusually low scuttle and dash, and consequently a panoramic view forward. The view out to the sides and aft was also unusually clear for a supercar; that user friendliness again. The NSX (New Sportscar Experimental) was unveiled at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show and launched in 1990, after a painful gestation. That included deciding, after several prototypes including that show car had been built, to change from the originally planned

M A R K E T WAT C H

Honda NSX Providing a Ferrari feel at a fraction of the cost, Japan’s mid-engined supercar remains durable and surprisingly practical while still ensuring hardcore driving thrills Words John Simister Photography Magic Car Pics

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2.7-litre V6 with a single overhead camshaft per bank to a new 3.0 one able to incorporate twin camshafts and, vitally for this technological showpiece, Honda’s VTEC variable camshaft timing and lift. The new engine was wider, which meant lengthening the structure with all the attendant knock-on effects, but the 274bhp it produced at 7300rpm was reward enough. Despite all that aluminium, though, the NSX proved anything but light at c.1400kg. Nevertheless Gordon Murray, evangelical about lightness, was quick to credit the NSX as validation for elements of his McLaren F1 – a car whose development began before the Honda’s was finished. That low nose, deep glass and nose-mounted air-con was one example. The usability, including easy access even for tall people, was another. A supple ride, helped by surprisingly small, light wheels wearing tyres with compliant sidewalls, was a third. But did, and does, the NSX’s very usability make it less of a mystical supercar and just more of, well, a Honda? In 15 years of production, from 1990 to 2005, 18,685 NSXs were built, so it wasn’t a total sales disaster. Of those, 8997 went to the US, where they were

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VA LU E S F R O M HAGERTY PRICE GUIDE

ACURA NSX 3.0 COUPÉ

HONDA NSX 3.0 V6 COUPÉ

ACURA NSX 3.0 TARGA

$120,000

£70,000

ACURA NSX 3.2 TARGA

Hagerty’s valuations are more comprehensive for the US than for the UK, but the trend is clear – a gain in values five years ago and a current upward surge. We’d go for an early 3.0.

ACURA NSX-T 3.0 TARGA

HONDA NSX 3.2 V6 COUPÉ HONDA NSX-T 3.0 V6 TARGA HONDA NSX-T 3.2 V6 TARGA

ACURA NSX 3.2 COUPÉ ACURA NSX-T 3.2 TARGA

$100,000

£60,000

13%

31%

55% $80,000 £50,000

2011 11%

$60,000 41%

41%

£40,000 $40,000

2022 PRE-BOOMER

BOOMER

GEN-X

badged Acura NSX, but just 1559 came to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Graham Horgan from long-established UK NSX specialist Plans Performance – we will be hearing more from him – estimates total British imports (not counting the entirely new NSX launched in 2016) to have been around 500 cars, including somewhere between 50 and 80 Japanese-spec grey imports. The latter’s rarity in the UK is simply because NSXs are still very highly prized in their home market.

T H E VA L U E P R O P O S I T I O N If potential buyers couldn’t quite commit to an NSX when it was new, given the obvious counterattraction of a safe-bet Porsche 911 as well Lotus’s familiar Esprit and Ferrari’s glamorous 348/355/360/ 430 models, they might have wished for a crystal ball. Had you bought an NSX a dozen years ago, your value proposition would have been extremely good because, reckons

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MILLENNIAL

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Horgan, values have since tripled. Cars rated as ‘excellent’ by Hagerty now comfortably exceed the numeric figure of their cost new, if not necessarily that amount’s buying power, while the very best examples aren’t far off a six-figure value. Or, for the rare, ultra-desirable and grey-importonly R models, some way past it. Some NSXs, though, are more sought after than others. Two attributes in particular knock the value back: an auto ’box (just four gears, a torque converter and a drop in power to 255bhp, to suit a transmission engineered for the

‘Just over three decades ago, to sit in a new NSX seemed almost unworldly’

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engine originally intended), and a targa top instead of a solid roof (available from 1995, extra 40kg, less purity). And there are two engine sizes to consider, as well as the 2002 facelift which, among other things, replaced the pop-up headlights with fixed units to meet new safety regulations that frowned on frontal projections. In the beginning was the 3.0-litre coupé with a black roof; Hagerty reckons £30,000 for a sad one, over £50k for a decent one and £80kplus for the very best. A NSX-T targa, however, upon the launch of which all NSX roofs matched the main body colour, could span £25k£71k. A year before the NSX-T’s launch, Honda compromised its principles and added an inch of diameter to the wheels, originally 15in front, 16in rear, and gave the manual car the power steering always fitted to the automatic. In 1997 there came, for the manuals only, a 3mm increase in

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cylinder bore to take the capacity from 2977cc to 3179cc, teamed with a new six-ratio ’box (instead of five-speed) and an electric power-steering system. Power was unchanged, but additional torque reached its peak at a gentler crankshaft speed: 224lb ft at 5300rpm instead of 210lb ft at a very racy 6500rpm. These 3.2-litre NSXs, known as NA2 instead of the earlier cars’ NA1 designation, are significantly more valuable today. Hagerty records a £39,300 value for a ‘fair’ coupé (NSX-T £33,900), £55,900 for a ‘good’ one (£51,100), £64,800 if in ‘excellent’ order (£85,600 for a targa, an anomalously high figure) and £95,300 for the very best (£91,100). The 2002 facelift brought 17in wheels all round as well as the loss of the pop-ups, further shifting the NSX from its original concept, but Hagerty notes no obvious change in average values relative to the earlier 3.2-litre cars.

TIMELINE

1986

Shigeru Uehara’s design and engineering team completes first prototype.

1989

Honda president Tadashi Kume reveals well developed prototype at 1989 Chicago Auto Show. After that a major redesign brings a new four-camshaft VTEC engine and a longer wheelbase.

1990

Production NSX launched in manual and automatic forms.

1992

NSX-R arrives; stripped of non-essentials, sharper suspension, significantly lightened, but neither featuring nor needing additional power.

1994

Auto gains paddle-shift manual control. All cars get power steering and one-inch-bigger wheels.

1995 That covers the NSX models officially offered in the UK, but a single-minded driving enthusiast’s NSX dreams are likely to involve the remarkable Japan-only R models of which a very few have found their way to the UK. The stripped-out, no-frills cars, always white with a black roof, weigh 140kg less than a regular NSX and have major suspension alterations. These include stiffer dampers matched to stiffer front springs but softer rear ones, a stiffer front antiroll bar and revised rear lower wishbones to alter the geometry. The effects are remarkable, as this guide’s next section will explain. There are two R models: the 3.0-litre NSX-R of 1992, of which 483 were made, and 2002’s 3.2-litre NSX-R, which was replicated just 140 times. Horgan estimates that you will pay £250k-£300k for a really good 3.0, and £400k-£500k for an optimum 3.2. The problem lies in finding one.

ABOVE Sleek, ageless styling belies NSX’s years, while two-door body conceals surprising practicality.

T H E D E S I R A B I L I T Y FA C T O R Just over three decades ago – seems unbelievable, but it’s true – to sit in a new NSX seemed almost unworldly. The view forward was very obviously that of a midengined supercar, but the visual detail in the cabin, the tactility, even the smell, were pure high-end Honda. The super-neat switchgear labelling, the ultra-crisp dials, the bespoke Bose sound system, the fit and the finish – all were of a production-engineered standard probably not next seen in a midengined supercar until Audi’s R8. Rather than making the Honda seem less exotic, this actually instils a sense of calm, relief almost, in its driver. To drive an NSX proves to be not a battle but a simple joy. Everything works smoothly, predictably, properly. The

engine yowls enthusiastically to 8000rpm, yowl turning to howl as the VTEC does its stuff, and although highly agile the NSX never feels nervous or darty. The opposite, actually; the steering, especially the early nonpowered system, initially seems a bit slow around the centre, but it soon wins you over with its accuracy and feel, and of course the ride is remarkable compared with stiffly sprung modern cars’. A ‘compliance link’ between the front wishbones’ rearward pivots and the NSX’s structure, to ensure correct wheel alignment even as the suspension moves, plays a big part in this supple precision. There is a sting in the tail, though – one that even the development feedback of Ayrton Senna didn’t eradicate. Should the tail begin to slide, be that through a panic lift-off in a bend or too much power too soon, it all gets a bit pendulous and hard to

NSX-T targa-top launched; 40kg heavier due to extra structural bracing.

1997

NA2 with 3.2 engine, sixspeed ’box and electric power steering arrives. Automatic continues with smaller engine.

2002

Facelift brings fixed headlamps and 17in wheels. New NSX-R is destined to be even rarer than NA1 version (140 cars compared with 483).

2005

NSX production ends.

2016

All-new, US-built NSX launched with twinturbo V6, three electric motors and 4WD. For all its technological drama, it proves much less satisfying to drive than its ancestor.

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catch. Unless, that is, you’re in an NSX-R, whose tail is tied down more firmly and which reacts both more quickly and more progressively to your inputs. All NSXs should have been like this; that they were not just adds to the enigma of the breed’s whole existence. Should you be drawn to the idea of an automatic (fitted with paddle-shifters from 1994), be aware that a chunk of what makes an NSX wonderful to drive is lost. Less power, fewer gears with which to keep the torque on the boil, blunted responses as you balance the forces in a bend: it all feels a bit flat. Now, the way it looks. Japan meets Maranello, to a degree; functional rather than aggressive, with that neatly integrated rear spoiler hovering above a full-width strip of red light lens-work and a tail that, aesthetically, is a touch longer than ideally it should be. But what the NSX loses there in visual athleticism it makes up for by having a very useful boot. The bubble-curved rear window hinges up, too, to reveal the engine bay nestling under a cover. Black roof or body colour? The former seems more aeronautical, more daring, the latter is more go-with-the-fashion-flow. Pop-up headlights or not? Pop-ups are more fun and look more exotic; they and the accompanying subtler front air intake, split by a horizontal bar, give an NSX-specific visage rather than the more generic face of later variants.

T H E N U T S A N D B O LT S Many NSXs have covered a lot of miles, often well into six figures, because in typical Japanese-car fashion they can. They just need regular servicing; some examples will still bear a fine set of Honda main-dealer stamps, although attention by a specialist is more likely nowadays. Honda can still supply 95 percent of parts, but those that are NSX specific – which is most of them – can be very expensive. A front upright, which must be replaced in its entirety if the lower

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ABOVE Japanese reliability in a supercar body; this Honda coupé gives the perfect combination. balljoint has worn, is well into four figures, for example, although Graham Horgan points out that spares sourced from the US can be a lot cheaper than UK dealer prices: “If Honda can’t supply a part, there are other sources. There are no huge show-stoppers.” The aluminium structure has held up well over the years, but Horgan has detected a recent shift in the NSX work carried out at Plans Performance: “Increasingly we’re doing restoration work as people realise their cars’ value,” he says. “We will be blasting and anodising components, fixing any bits of body corrosion, and putting modified cars back to standard. “We used to do upgrades including a conversion to the Type R suspension spec, which we still offer. But people want the cars back to standard nowadays and a factory-spec model is worth more.” Horgan has found that NSXs are very reliable: “The few issues that they’ve had over the years have become exacerbated as they get older, though. The electronics can be an issue; the ABS, the electric

‘No other rapid mid-engined machine can be more painless to own than this one’

power steering, the circuit board for the air-con, and especially the Bose system. But everything is repairable, and in the case of the stereo it’s possible to build modern internals into the original casing.” Otherwise, the usual checks apply: alignment of body panels and tightness of panel gaps (they should all be ultra precise), no evidence of accident damage, a credible service history, no fluid leaks. The engine should run quietly from cold, and its note should harden as the revs rise, accompanied by a surge of power. If that doesn’t happen, then suspect a fault with either the VTEC system or the VVIS variablegeometry intake plumbing. Some early five-speed gearboxes numbered between J4A4-1003542 to J4A4-1005978 had a faulty snap ring for a countershaft bearing, which could cause major failure, so evidence that this has been addressed early on would be reassuring. That said, if the NSX in question has done many miles and its ’box is behaving, then there’s probably nothing to worry about.

THE FINAL DECISION Is the Honda NSX a ‘supercar’? Maybe, maybe not, but it hardly matters. More to the point is that no rapid mid-engined machine with an inspiring exhaust note and exotic looks can be more painless to own than this one, while simultaneously offering such thrills. And a further point: given that painlessness, you’ll use it all the more. The trouble-free high mileage of many examples

T H E D E TA I L S 1990-2005 HONDA NSX ENGINE

TRANSVERSE 90º V6, 2977CC (LATER 3179CC)

POWER

274BHP

TOP SPEED

170MPH

0-60MPH

5.7 SECONDS

is proof positive of that. The NSX also represents a very Japanese manifestation of bold concept, technical innovation, corporate pride and precise, exquisite detail. It’s a statement designed to endure – and three decades on, it is certainly doing that. So, which NSX? One of the NSX-Rs would be the biggest, most hardcore thrill, all stripped out with no troublesome Bose stereo to worry about. But they’re expensive and extremely rare, and their enthusiastic owners in Japan won’t want to part with them. Of the others, an automatic misses the point, while an NSX-T offers the joy of open air at a slight cost in pace and dynamic precision. Market forces say a 3.2 is more desirable, and certainly it is a punchier drive than the keep-onrevving 3.0, but the smart thing to do might be to take advantage of the 3.0’s current lower value and find an example of the earliest, purest version. The image of that, after all, is what flashes into most people’s minds if you mention those three letters: NSX. Thanks to Graham Horgan at Plans Performance, Dunsfold, Surrey, UK. Visit www.plansperformance.com or call +44 (0)1483 898888.

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A C Q U I R E

Debunking the myths Young people do like cars, and not all classics are investments. We explore some common misconceptions in the collector world... Words Dave Kinney

THERE ARE PLENTY OF parables, stories, myths and other ‘truths’ that surround our daily lives. The same is true for old cars – and, like it or not, many of us blindly buy into them. Time to explore a few of these chestnuts. One of my favourite tales is that younger people don’t like cars. This is often backed up with details about teens and 20-somethings delaying obtaining their licence. Are youngsters procrastinating about driving on their own? Yes. Does that mean they dislike cars? No. If you need proof, just visit a local cars and coffee, multi-marque meet-up or any easy-to-enter oldvehicle event. You might not know all the makes and models, but you likely will recognise the passion. The Vauxhalls, Austins, Mercurys

and Chevrolets that an older demographic grew up with have been replaced by other nameplates, with a large smattering of marques which speak to the generations that were born 15, 25 or 35 years ago. Think of it this way. If you were born 60 years ago, in 1962, the cars you grew up with – the ones owned by friends or family members – were probably built in the 1970s, 1980 or 1990s. If you were born 30

‘While the “greats” go stratospheric, many cars from one notch below remain affordable’

years ago, in 1992, the cars that imprinted you with their mark were from the 1990s, 2000s or 2010s. ‘Imprinted’ is an important concept, as the first ‘classic’ most of us buy is something produced in our first 25 or 30 years of age. From there, some collectors buy older cars as we age, some buy newer. With a few exceptions, different generations have different likes, and differing tastes in collectable cars. This is not news; this has been happening since collecting became a hobby. Forty or 50 years ago, swap meets, car shows, parades and just about any North American event with old vehicles included a handful, if not an overwhelming amount of, Ford Model As. Produced in huge numbers at hundreds of factories all around the world, the Model A was the US’s ‘everyman’s’ classic car. This chart from Hagerty – using asking prices from Hemmings Motor News – shows that for a 1929 Model A Roadster, the price of entry was somewhere around $32,000 USD for a good example in 1981. Forty years later, it was $20,000. Mediocre news for a straight investment, but actually great for those who want to drive, show and enjoy their old car. It’s worth less, but it’s not worthless.

BELOW The humble Model A is a collector car staple, but you generally buy one for fun, not as an investment.

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Unlike in some hobbies, with collector vehicles your investment often gives a monetary return. For most of us, that should be just fine. We might wish to leave our car for the next generation of family members to enjoy; conversely, it can be turned into cash. So another myth bites the dust – that the oldcar hobby is exclusively for the wealthy one percent. We do have to acknowledge that the top of the class, the ‘true greats’, have been by and large fantastic investments with an extraordinarily expensive cost to buy. Chances are excellent that unless you already own a Ferrari GTO, worth $50 million-plus, you won’t be buying one in the future. While an R-type Continental at over one million (pounds, euros or dollars, your choice) is not in your current budget, the car it is based upon – the R-type Standard Steel Bentley – could well be something you can afford. Don’t get me wrong, they are most definitely not the same car. But they were built by the same company, at the same time. The Continental continues to climb skyward in value; the factory-bodied car, not so much. Can an R-type Standard Steel give you a feel, a smell, a driving or sensual experience much like a Continental? Yes, it can. Can it go as fast and look as good? Emphatically, no. The cost to own a 1953 Bentley that runs, drives and can attend a show with pride starts at around 50,000 and runs to well above a million (again, pounds, euros or dollars). That’s the point. Saloon cars, ‘production’ cars, offer a large percentage of the sensations, but at a much more user-friendly price. And my Bentley example is far from a one-off. While the ‘greats’ continue to go stratospheric, many of the cars from one notch below remain affordable. Priced out of a 1960s Ferrari? Take a look at the options from a generation or two newer. And that’s my final point. If

HENRY FORD MUSEUM

M A R K E T A N A LY S I S

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you would like to buy a car that remains relevant to a future generation, think about changing your parameters and purchasing something fun that appeals not only to you but also to those onehalf or less than your current age. I have personally acted on this advice; I put my money where my mouth is and bought a new (now discontinued) 2021 Subaru WRX STI with three pedals. It’s not quite a bet on my longevity as much as it is about enjoying a quick, fun ride from a marque that I was only partially cognisant of until its rallying successes of the 1990s.

ABOVE Bentley’s R-type saloon offers a very similar experience to the Continental, but at a fraction of the cost. RIGHT Model A prices have fluctuated wildly, falling by 39 percent over the past 40 years. I can just imagine the car being offered for sale from my estate, 20 or 30 years hence, possibly the only adult-owned-from-new, lowmileage, never-modified, alwaysgaraged and hopefully never-hit example. I expect it will bring a premium for a number of reasons. I’m assuming ‘never vaped in’ will be a major attraction, as well…

1929 FORD MODEL A ROADSTER

Average based on ads in Hemmings Motor News (January issues)

$40,000

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000

0 1971

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WAT C H E S

Monochrome in motor sport Nothing in life is ever black and white – except for these iconic 1960s timepieces with a cultural history steeped in racing glamour Words Jonathon Burford

FOR 40 YEARS, THE HEALTH of the vintage-watch market could be monitored by the relative price of the four-digit Rolex Daytona range, from the c.1963 pump-pusher reference 6239 through to the pre1987 references 6363 and 6265. There are many configurations of the Daytona, and prices fluctuate somewhat, but today you’re looking at $60,000-plus for an early 6239, $100k for a 6263, $250k for a Paul Newman-dialled version of the former, and $600k for a Newmandialled version of the latter. We’ll leave the ‘value for money’ question for another time, while acknowledging that any manualwound Daytona is a significant purchase. So where does one turn if you like the history and aesthetic of these vintage chronographs? A couple of options could be found on the wrist of two of the most stylish personalities in the Formula 1 paddock in the late 1960s: Jochen Rindt – the only driver to ever be posthumously awarded the F1 World Drivers’ Championship, after his untimely death at 28 in 1970 – and his supermodel wife Nina. Bar Newman, McQueen and Bond, few watches take the name of a single owner. Yet both Jochen and Nina have become intrinsically linked with chronographs that carry much of the Daytona’s DNA from two historic brands but at a fraction of the price: the Heuer Autavia 2446M and the Universal Genève Compax 885103/02. The 1962 Autavia was named for

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AUTomobile and AVIAtion. There were both two- and three-register (sub-dial) variants, with reverse‘panda’ dials (black dial with white sub-registers), black aluminium bezels, 39mm steel cases with screw-down waterproof case backs and pump chronograph pushers. The earliest Autavias are the most desirable, rare and valuable, and are defined by their oversized sub-registers (‘big eyes’) and allluminous ‘dauphine’-style hands. The Jochen Rindt version carries a third execution dial and looks more modern and clean. Steel batons replace the painted luminous hour markers, the sub-registers are smaller and the hands are polished steel batons with luminous inserts. Its modified Valjoux 72 is essentially the same movement that is found in Rolex Daytonas. Almost all were sold on Gay Frères beadsof-rice bracelets with HL-stamped end links. As with most watches of this era, avoid marks or hand drag to the sub-dials, dials with re-lumed markers and polished cases that have lost their definition. Prices peaked around 2017, but have now settled at around the $20k-$30k mark for a good, honest example. Daughter of Finnish racing driver Curt Lincoln, Nina Rindt was ever present trackside in signature hat, sunglasses and Compax 885103/02 on a black-leather bund cuff strap. The watch is distinctive yet retains much of the DNA of other eradefining chronographs. Its panda

dial is the reverse of the Heuer’s, contrasting a white main dial, black sub-registers, and bold black hands and markers. Universal also made a reverse-panda dial – the ‘Evil Nina’ – which was regularly seen on the wrist of watch collector and guitarist Eric Clapton. The hands are very distinctive – squared and black with luminous inserts. Two other features look not dissimilar to an Omega Speedmaster of the same era: the case boasts

MOTORING ART

LEFT AND BELOW Jochen’s Heuer Autavia 2446M and Nina’s Universal Genève Compax 885103/02 share a ‘panda’ theme.

distinctive and sharp twisted lugs, and the black tachymeter bezel insert has the ‘dot over 90’. Similar to the Daytona and Heuer, the movement is a modified Valjoux 72, renamed Cal 85, but here cased in only 36mm of steel with screwdown case and pump pushers. The exact number of these watches made is unknown, by either the brand or collectors, but it is rarer than its Rolex equivalent. The most desirable remain on their early GF bracelets and retain their distinctive, preferably unpolished lug definitions. A good number feature ‘tropical’ or aged brown sub-registers that give the dial a softer look in contrast to the stark white main dial, and this increases values. Prices are similar in range to the Heuer’s, and if you’re looking for one, the dial and lug definition are the areas to focus on. With these watches – and as a more general point – don’t get hung up on accessories or lack of them. These were both ‘tool’ watches, and were mostly well used by their owners, who ordinarily discarded the accessories at purchase time. Condition is the driver of value here. A good and honest example with no accessories is much more desirable (and valuable) than an average-condition watch with box and certificate, despite what many new collectors may think. Writer Jonathon Burford is SVP and specialist at Sotheby’s watch department. For its ongoing Watches sales see www.sothebys.com.

Motor sport maestro From magazine illustrations to Grand Prix posters, who doesn’t know and love Michael Turner’s automotive art? Words Rupert Whyte AS WITH HIS BIGGEST influences Frank Wootton and Terence Cuneo, Michael Turner has become famous for his automotive and aviation artwork. Such is the breadth and length of his career that it’s unlikely any Magneto reader is not familiar with his work. Indeed, it’s quite possible that his paintings, in one form or another, will have been seen by more people than that of any other automotive artist. We’ll concentrate here on his automotive works, leaving aside his many book covers, magazine illustrations and aviation paintings. Michael counts two of the latter among the works of which he is most proud; both done for the RAF Museum, one celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee flypast over Windsor Castle and the other was painted to mark the RAF’s centenary. Encouraged by his father, a talented amateur artist, Harrowborn Michael started submitting his motor sport sketches to The

Motor magazine in the late 1940s. After school, one year at art college and two years doing National Service with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Michael was employed at a commercial art studio in London. For three years from 1954 he specialised in car advertising and brochures. While learning the trade he developed his motor sport paintings, and in 1957 he went freelance. During the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s Michael became the go-to artist for motor sport event and Grand Prix posters. He produced artwork for the German, Spanish, Dutch and US GPs, and maybe most importantly, from 1965, five for the Monaco GP, following in the footsteps of two of the alltime greatest French illustrators Geo Ham and Michel Beligond. “I’d been working with track passes for the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) since 1958, so it knew me from that. It talked to me about doing its posters in

1964, which is why the featured cars on the ’65 poster were based on the previous year’s models,” says Michael. His last poster for Monaco was 1970: “The ACM started to want more input as to the content, so I stopped doing them when this became a concern to me.” As with many artists from a professional advertising background, Michael’s favoured medium is gouache on art board, although he does use quickdrying oils or acrylics for larger works. When not creating art, for nearly 30 years he had the pleasure of owning and flying his own classic aircraft, an ex-RAF de Havilland Chipmunk, which provided him with an intimate understanding of flight. He still enjoys his classic cars, one of which he has owned since 1955. Paintings by Michael Turner are always in demand, and while small originals can be found for as little as £500, you should budget £2000 upwards for a mid-sized work. Original posters with Michael Turner artwork range in price from around £100 for the more obscure races to £1000-£2000 for a fine example from the Monaco GP. Rupert Whyte runs Historic Car Art, www.historiccarart.net, selling original works and posters.

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AUTOMOBILIA

The face of the Big Cat How the iconic Leaper mascot bounded into the history books, by a leading Jaguar automobilia specialist Words and photography Ian Cooling

THE LEAPING JAGUAR BY Frederick Gordon Crosby is one of the most instantly recognisable motoring symbols in the world. Yet intriguingly, when SS Cars launched the Jaguar line in 1935, the brochures and other sales literature for the 1935-36 model year did not feature the feline. Instead, the catalyst for SS Cars adopting a mascot may have been the sight of a Desmo version mounted on the radiator cap of a car in the Foleshill Works, probably some time in late 1937 or early 1938. The stories vary, but either Bill Rankin, SS Cars marketing chief, or William Lyons himself saw the mascot and described it as a “cat shot off a fence”. Rankin was then told to arrange a Jaguar mascot of the marque’s own. The story now leaps forward to 1996. At the Brooks Goodwood Auction in June that year, Gordon Crosby’s own bronze prototype mascot came up for sale with impeccable provenance from the family. On his death, it had passed

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to his widow, and on her death, to his surviving son, Michael, who consigned the mascot to the auction. A few weeks after the sale I was told that Michael was in England and would like to meet me. I spent a thoroughly enjoyable day with him, learning much about his father and the mascot. He told me that his father’s bronzes were usually cast by the firm of Parlanti in London’s East End. As many as five rough castings were made, and the best was chosen to be presented to the client for approval. Rejects were returned to Parlanti to be melted down. This is an important point... Several times a year, roughlooking Jaguar mascots appear on the likes of eBay claiming to be the original prototype. In reality, after the design had been approved for production – presumably by William Lyons himself – the sole BELOW Comparing Version 2, on the left measuring 7.25 inches, and Version 3 at 5.0 inches.

remaining prototype was passed back to Gordon Crosby. Returning to the production of the mascot, Version 1 was based on Crosby’s prototype, with some of the details softened and rounded. It was originally announced in the December 23, 1938 Autocar, where a small, captioned photo informed readers that the mascot was available from SS Cars agents for two guineas. A later publicity piece confirmed that the mascot was: “Designed expressly for SS Cars Ltd – manufacturers of the Jaguar Car – by the eminent artist and sculptor F Gordon Crosby.” Version 1 was designed to fit on a radiator cap, and therefore ended around 1951 when the Mark V – the last Jaguar to have an external cap – went out of production. This mascot is 7.25 inches long, and early pre-war examples were often made from ‘pot metal’ – a variable alloy made from scrap metal thrown into a melting ‘pot’. Post-war, this

TOP Crosby’s prototype sold again at auction in 2011 for $75,000 (£45,750 today); still a worldrecord price for a single item of Jaguar automobilia. ABOVE The Desmo jaguar was one in a series of mascots the company designed. was stabilised as a zinc alloy. Version 2 appeared in 1955 for the 2.4-litre Mark I. It was also 7.25 inches and made from the same zinc-based alloy as later Version 1s. This was mounted on the bonnet rather than the radiator cap, and the base was reshaped accordingly. Version 3, a scaled-down lookalike of Version 2 at 5.0 inches, was designed for the Mark X in 1965. By 1970 these cars, and their mascots, were out of production. There then followed nearly 25 fallow years with no mascots on Jaguars until the arrival of the X300 version of the XJ saloons in 1994. Thanks to AutoMobilia Resource, www.automobiliaresource.com.

Screen time Sometimes the best way to connect is to disconnect. And what better way to disconnect than getting behind the wheel? At Hagerty, everything we do - insurance, car values, entertainment - is focused on making it easier for you to enjoy buying, owning, driving and dreaming about the cars you love. Call our team of knowledgeable enthusiasts for exceptional service, fully comprehensive insurance options and more.

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Ready for its close-up... Once favoured by NASA, and with Saab design provenance, Sweden’s top-billed Hasselblad camera is back in the spotlight Words and photography Philip Whiteman

“I AM THE CAMERA,” VICTOR Hasselblad famously declared to a US Customs official who’d noticed that the Swedish visitor had a name like that of the famous photographic instrument. Born in 1906 and scion to a family that both sold photographic supplies and was the established agent for Kodak in Sweden, Victor made a name for himself as a bird photographer and naturalist when he was a young man. He’d used the Graflex – a large-format reflex camera – before turning to the much more portable 35mm Leica. However, due to the small negative size, the latter was not capable of producing images of the quality he desired. The germ of a better idea began to form in his mind… In April 1940, the Swedish Air Force approached Victor with a request to make a copy of a handheld aerial camera recovered from a downed Luftwaffe aircraft. Legend has it that when asked if he could build something similar, he replied “no, but I can make a better one”. Within a remarkably short time he was manufacturing the HK7, which boasted interchangeable lenses. This has followed by the larger, fixed-mount SKa4, which introduced further developments that would become vital to the post-war civilian camera’s success and versatility: interchangeable film magazines and motor drive. Drawing these threads together, Hasselblad was by October 1948 ready to launch a camera he’d been planning for many years; conceived

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by Victor and styled by Saab’s Sixten Sason, it looked remarkably like the classic Hasselblad camera we know today. Unfortunately, this first model came with an inbuilt weakness in the form of its focalplane shutter, whose ultra-thin metal curtains ran horizontally across the rear of the camera body and were exposed whenever the operator changed film magazines. It is fair to say that the first camera to bear the Hasselblad name, retrospectively named 1600F (for its 1/1600th-second top speed

‘NASA made the 500C standard kit for Gemini and Apollo; it became “The Moon Camera”’

ABOVE AND BELOW Period Hasselblads are once again big news for collectors; a very nice 500C/M may now cost £2000. and focal-plane shutter) was more admired than relied upon. In 1952 came the 1000F which, partly by virtue of running the shutter curtains at a lower speed, thus reducing stress on the mechanism, was more dependable. Victor and his team had a better solution up their sleeves, replacing the focal-plane shutter mechanism in the camera body with a leaf shutter in the interchangeable lens. Introduced in 1957, the 500C (1/500th-second, Compur shutter) became the definitive Hasselblad. Outwardly almost exactly the same as the 1000F, it was stone reliable from the outset and soon became the instrument of choice for professional photographers, especially those working in studios or situations where high definition was essential. Developments of it remained in production until 2013. So the rest was history? Not quite – the V-series Hasselblads, as the designs conceived during Victor’s lifetime came to be known, would not have the enduring fame they now enjoy were it not for the NASA space programme. The astronaut Walter Schirra was a keen amateur photographer, and he suggested the agency might adopt the Hasselblad 500C for his, and Gordon Cooper’s, Mercury missions. NASA made the Hasselblad standard kit on the subsequent Gemini and Apollo

programmes. Thus, the Hasselblad became ‘The Moon Camera’. Prices for the most common 500C and improved 500C/M (with interchangeable focusing screen) models reached their nadir in the teen years of this century, when you might have found bodies for £500 and complete cameras for £800. Today, a really nice 500C/M with 80mm f2.8 Planar standard lens and A12 12-exposure back may be £2000. While values are rising, the inflation is nothing like that seen for Leica kit – and older Hasselblad lenses are not costly. Now, the cheapest way into Hasselblad ownership is through buying the motor-driven 500EL (E for electric) or EL/M. Even the ‘20 Years in Space’ 1982 limited edition, finished in grey leatherette and bearing a special silver-plated commemorative plaque, can be bought for around £2000. Film magazines can be had for £150-200. Used mainly by the professionals, eye-level prisms – especially the very compact 45º one – are hard to find in good condition. The ‘user’ tip here is to substitute the near-identical version made for the Soviet Kiev (or should we now be saying Kyiv?) 80 Hasselblad 1000F copy. Used lightly, Hasselblads will work reliably for years. The thing to watch out for is leaking filmmagazine light seals, especially if the camera or film magazine has been stored with the dark slide in place. The seals are easy to replace and spares are readily available.

BRITISH RACING MOTORS ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH OF OUR LIMITED EDITION NEW BOOK

RACING FOR BRITAIN

In celebration of the 60th Anniversary of BRM's Formula 1 Constructors' Championship in 1962, BRM has partnered with renowned motorsport publisher Porter Press International to create 'Racing for Britain'. Written by award-winning author Ian Wagstaff and motor sport historian Doug Nye, ‘Racing for Britain’ features more than 430 images, artefacts, and documents from the BRM archive, many never seen before. This limited edition book tells the story from the early post-war vision to the last factory backed car – the 1974 Motul Sponsored P201, and comes in a range of editions, including: the Collector's Edition, the Unique Edition, the Jackie Stewart Edition, and the Graham Hill Edition.

ORDER YOUR COPY DIRECTLY FROM PORTER PRESS BY SCANNING THE QR CODE / VIA THE LINK BELOW, OR ORDER A COPY FROM YOUR PREFERRED MOTORING PUBLICATION SPECIALIST PO R T ER PR ES S . C O . U K/ C O L L EC TI ONS/ BR M-B OOK S

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DIVERSIONS

Compiled by Nathan Chadwick and Sophie Kochan

MAGNETO HOLDALL We’ve collaborated with Jordan Bespoke’s Simon Jordan for this special holdall celebrating Magneto’s award-winning covers. They feature on a bespoke lining for the holdall, which is handmade in Italy using Bridge of Weir Scottish leather. The straps are crafted from 1960s-spec seatbelt webbing, there are several zipped pockets, and each holdall comes with a leather tag and a Magneto key fob. Colours include Black, Racing Red, British Racing Green, Rob Walker Blue, Classic Tan and Dark Brown. It costs £829.17. www.magneto magazine.com

PATEK PHILIPPE REF. 5326G-001 ANNUAL CALENDAR TRAVEL TIME

CONNOLLY NO. 1 LUGGAGE TAG Connolly leather has a long association with car interiors, and this luggage tag pays tribute to that past. Available in three different shades – red, green and black – they’re made from smoothgrain leather and cost £135 each. www.connollyengland.com

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This new piece from Patek Philippe is the first time the Annual Calendar and Travel Time function mechanisms have been combined. The new 31-260 PS QA LU FUS 24H movement sees the Annual Calendar controlled by the Travel Time function; the local-time hour wheel drives the calendar. Its white-gold Calatrava case measures 41mm, while the dial is a finely graded charcoal grey designed to evoke memories of old camera cases. The watch comes with two straps (beige or black calfskin), and costs £59,200. www.patek.com

Advertising feature

ALLEMANO’S HISTORY OF ACCURACY The Italian Allemano company has a fine automotive heritage, which it has revived for a stylish collection of watches

ALLEMANO… DOES THE NAME sound familiar? You might have seen its distinctive watches over the past two or three years, but it’s a name that dates back to the 1850s, with strong automotive connections. So let’s start at the beginning: as unlikely as it sounds, this current watch brand began life as a manufacturer of heavy machinery, making steam-powered road rollers, and founded by Giuseppe Allemano in Turin, Italy. Now, what does any steampowered machinery need? Accurate gauges to monitor the otherwise potentially lethal boiler pressure and temperature. And so Allemano’s expertise in instrumentation grew, and as the automotive industry started out, both the Italian military and the fledgling Fiat company became the first to use Allemano gauges. One hundred years later, Allemano’s 1919 Collection of watches paid homage to those initial gauges used in Fiat’s first production car, the 501 Torpedo.

Other manufacturers followed suit, including Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Diatto. Meanwhile, in 1929 the company was renamed Allemano F & Figli to acknowledge the part played by Giuseppe’s son Felice, and instrument manufacture was stepped up to include extremely high-precision pressure gauges, thermometers and dynamometers. In 1947, an Allemano oil-pressure gauge was fitted to the first-ever Ferrari to bear the name, the 125S. The growth from here on in was

ABOVE AND BELOW The 1919 Collection celebrates Allemano’s early gauges; the brand has been used in the automotive world since the dawn of motoring.

remarkable, with Allemano gauges fitted to aircraft, ships and yet more racing cars, including the Lancia D50 and, in 1960, the Ferrari 156 F1 ‘Sharknose’ race car. Still, the company’s major focus remained on industrial uses, and by the 1980s it had also expanded into underwater instrumentation such as commercial and recreational Scuba-diving depth gauges along with gauges used in hyperbaric medicine (for the treatment of decompression sickness). In 2010, Allemano created a calibration laboratory to service industry certifications. All this led naturally to a celebration of the centenary with those precisionengineered, stylish watches inspired by the Fiat 501 gauges. Crafted and assembled in Italy, they use Swiss movements and are tested in the Allemano laboratory, and they are packaged in the same style of wooden case in which Allemano instruments were delivered for decades. For more, see www.allemanotime.it/en.

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DRAWSYOURCAR ARTWORK Drawsyourcar is the brainchild of Aaron Hillsdon, an illustrator from Perth, Australia whose love of cars and their iconography stemmed from a young age. His special project (drawsyourcar on Instagram) sees him post an illustration every day. Prices start at $30 for an A3 print, such as the Peugeot 504 shown here, while limited-run prints cost more. www.drawsyourcar.bigcartel.com

ORLEBAR BROWN GT RANGE Orlebar Brown has been crafting design-led swimming apparel for 15 years, inspired by Slim Aarons’ vintage images of Palm Beach and the Riviera. Its new collection, the GT, is inspired by “the elegance, style, speed and romance” of grandtouring cars. The range covers swim shorts, polos and sweatshirts, such as the Egerton zip-thru funnel-neck compact cotton sweatshirt seen here. Available in sizes XS to XL, it costs £195. www.orlebarbrown.com

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MASERATI MAXI TRIDENT SNEAKERS With Maserati seemingly putting the right foot forward with the MC20, a new range of footwear has been produced. The exterior is entirely constructed from calfskin, while the same material also adorns the interior. The 2.5cm sole is made from Vibram for extra grip. This is one of two designs currently available, and sizes range from EU35 to EU46 (UK 2.5-12.5; US 3.5-13). They cost £155 per pair. www.maseratistore.com

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 70 Years of Automotive Excellence

A celebration of the very best of the Pebble Beach Concours: the

The book is lavish in every respect – oversized,

amazing cars, the great collectors, the judges and the partners that

beautifully produced and with over 240 pages of great writing

have enabled this annual event to have remained at the pinnacle of

and stunning photography. Available in Standard, Publisher’s

the historic motoring movement for so many years.

and Chairman’s editions, the book will become a collectors’ item and highly sought after.

70 Years of Automotive Excellence reflects on the development of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – from its early role as an

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accompaniment to the Pebble Beach Races to its pioneering role in

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changing attitudes towards restoration and preservation.

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BOOK REVIEWS

BRM: Racing For Britain Honouring the 60th anniversary of the first World Championship win for the small British team with big ideas Review Nathan Chadwick

FROM A TINY LINCOLNSHIRE town came big, bold dreams. The story of Bourne’s racing heroes is similarly big and bold; with more than 300 pages and 400 images, many previously unseen, this has to be the definitive tome on BRM. Co-authored by Ian Wagstaff and BRM authority Doug Nye, the £120 limited-edition book charts the incredible story of determination, patriotic fervour and success. Raymond Mays had become tired of European teams dominating motor sport, and so the ERA founder set about building a truly British car that could beat the world, using only home-grown components and money. The idea dated back to 1945; with the end of the war in sight Mays sent his motor sport manifesto to leaders of industry. Rubery Owen and Joseph Lucas were early adopters, and more followed. The project stuttered for many years – despite the best efforts of the likes of Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio – and was saved from closure only by an injection of cash from Rubery

‘A treasure trove of information and visual splendour: highly recommended’

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Owen’s Sir Alfred Owen. The tide started to turn in the mid-1950s as rigid simplicity replaced rampant complexity, and the first win would finally come in 1959. Yet Sir Alfred wanted more, and threatened to take his money away if further victories weren’t forthcoming by 1962. BRM ended up doing rather better than that – Graham Hill won the F1 title. Although this would be BRM’s high point, the success continued, notably by giving Jackie Stewart his first win at Monza in 1965. The book also details BRM’s adventures in sports car racing and CanAm. F1 was always the dream, but those title aspirations gradually drifted away. The last win came in 1971, and the final race (as Stanley-BRM) was in 1977. Along the way the team had innovated and intoxicated with a mixture of engineering ingenuity and supporting young talent such as Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni. BRM’s story may have fizzled out, mirroring the state of the British motor industry at the time, but this passionately written book captures the team’s true spirit, and its legacy. The superb words are backed up by beautifully presented images and excellent material from the BRM archive, including fascinating letters between management and drivers. A true treasure trove of information and visual splendour, this comes highly recommended. www.porterpress.co.uk

THE IMAGE OF MOTOR RACING

“All of the JARROTTS photographs that I’ve been involved with are of the highest quality, but more importantly for me, they rekindle some truly wonderful and evocative memories” Sir Stirling Moss

• Darkroom, archival or large format • Bespoke garage installations • Editorial, private or commercial use • Trusted suppliers of rarities • Original driver autographs • Vintage memorabilia • Unique items • For the collector J ARRO TTS

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BOOK REVIEWS

Formula 1’s Unsung Pioneers The oft-criticised British Racing Partnership forever changed the way motor sport was funded – but its legacy is much more than that Reviews Nathan Chadwick and David Lillywhite

WHILE THE BRITISH RACING Partnership may be a new name for some readers, this short-lived team had a huge effect on the sport. Formed in 1958 by Stirling Moss’s father Alfred and manager Ken Gregory, its existence would be fleeting and marked by tragedy. However, this little outfit was a trailblazer, and the sport would never be quite the same again. Sponsorship was unheard of in the 1950s and, as Formula 1’s Unsung Pioneers author Ian Wagstaff points out, it’s often erroneously thought that the ‘flying fag packets’ of the Gold Leaf Team Lotus were the first instance of an advertiser changing the name of a European team. In fact, BRP pioneered such sponsorship a decade earlier. In 1959, Yeoman Credit saw racing as a way to boost its standing in the finance world, and so it gave BRP an unprecedented £40,000. Considering that most teams were financed by prize money and trade suppliers, this ruffled a few feathers. The Cooper-Climax-equipped BRP’s optimism for 1960 soon gave way to tragedy, with Harry Schell, Chris Bristow and Ivor Bueb losing their lives. Yeoman Credit then left to set up a team with Reg Parnell,

‘Book reveals BRP to be a dedicated and “human” team that deserves more credit’

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amid a legal and domestic scandal. BRP next landed the United Dominions Trust, which owned crankshaft manufacturer Laystall Engineering. The resulting UDTLaystall team would use Lotus 18s for F1 in 1961, and expand into sports car racing; Innes Ireland took a BRP Ferrari 250GTO to victory in the 1962 Tourist Trophy. Then decline set in. UDT-Laystall had been drawn in by Moss, but following his career-ending crash at Goodwood, it was less keen. BRP built its own F1 car for 1963, just as the sponsorship ran out. At the end of ’64 F1’s revengeful elite barred BRP from joining the F1 Constructors’ Association, saying it built ‘kit cars’. This left BRP little to do but wind up, although there’d be a trip to the Indy 500 in 1965. This 304-page, £94 book is most recommended for devotees of this era of motor sport, and is filled with stories that paint a broader picture beyond racing. BRP hasn’t always been written about kindly, but this reveals a dedicated and ‘human’ team that deserves more credit. www.evropublishing.com

VALENTINO ROSSI: ALL HIS RACES Motorcycle superstar Valentino Rossi’s racing career has taken him to some pretty huge highs and some crushing lows, yet he still remains a unique, entertaining character whose presence in the MotoGP pitlane has been sorely missed since he retired last year. Mat Oxley’s comprehensive guide to his races, from a young age right up to the modern day, provides great insight into arguably motorcycling’s biggest name, and the machinations behind the scenes. The high-quality images from Henk Keulemans make this £50, 336-page book a must-have for fans of two-wheeled gladiatorial combat. www.evropublishing.com

LOTUS: THE COMPLETE STORY Any book with such a definitive title needs to be on the mark, considering the slew of tomes surrounding Hethel’s greatest exports. For hardcore Lotus fans there may not be much that’s new or revelatory here, but for those coming to the marque for the first time – perhaps spurred on by an Emira deposit – it provides a concise and clear overview. For £40 it’s a shame the book doesn’t have much in the way of highquality, bespoke photography, but Johnny Tipler’s prose over 272 pages makes for enlightening reading, while the interviews with the likes of Jackie Oliver and Emerson Fittipaldi are illuminating. www.crowood.com

THE CAR: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MACHINE THAT MADE THE MODERN WORLD What a remarkable, thoughtprovoking book. Everyone should read it. It’s the story of the car, from the pioneers to the present EV-versus-hydrogen debate. Along the way it celebrates the successes but pulls no punches as to the car’s downsides. What’s remarkable, however, is the depth of every chapter, indeed every anecdote. There’s no fluff here – it feels as though every single sentence would have required in-depth research. Best of all, it’s a thoroughly interesting, entertaining read. It’s £22, or $28.95 in the US. Just buy it! www.orionbooks.co.uk www.simonandschuster.com

MAX: THE DUTCH MASTER André Hoogeboom’s 320-page, £25, unofficial biography doesn’t quite get to the root of the newest Formula 1 World Champion’s psyche – you often get a sense of a tough childhood in Verstappen’s own asides in interviews – but it does paint a picture of a focused talent that was clear to see from Max’s earliest days of karting. Perhaps understandably given that the race occurred about five minutes ago, there’s very little about last year’s final victory and championship win – but there’s a bigger issue with this book: the best chapters of Verstappen’s career are yet to be lived, let alone written. Nevertheless, it’s well worth a read for his ardent fans. www.evropublishing.com

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Legal advice

Words Clive Robertson, solicitor, Healys LLP

You snooze, you lose Don’t let developments in the wider transportation world leave you behind; act now to retain your right to continue using your classic vehicles

BUGATTI 35, JAGUAR D-TYPE, McLaren F1 and others of that ilk – all are icons destined for the world of high art. Needing treatment as such, they will likely end up in humiditycontrolled warehouses or specialist museums. Apart from a few renegade owners who might have the temerity to race or rally their prized possessions, these icons will be preserved for posterity, perhaps without ever turning a wheel again. But what of less exalted models that can’t be sheltered from automotive progress? Many challenges lie ahead, not least the advent of self-driving cars, and the headlong rush for electric propulsion. Yet of most concern is the prospective demise of fossil fuel. In Magneto issue 12, I reported on progress being made in the legal aspects of self-driving vehicles, noting that a final Law Commission report was on the cusp of being published. It is now to hand. A new system of legal accountability will be introduced, in three discrete situations. First, the ‘driver’ will become a ‘user in charge’ who will become immune from prosecution from everything from dangerous driving to running red lights. Second, the Authorised SelfDriving Entity – charged with certifying vehicle efficacy – would carry responsibility, if the vehicle drove in a way that would be criminal or unsafe if performed by a human. Third, some vehicles would be authorised to drive themselves, so occupants would just be passengers. Interestingly, the Law Commission comments on marketing, in terms that new safeguards would prevent ‘driver-assistance’ features being marketed as ‘self driving’, indicating an intention to instil a responsible

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attitude in the motorist. A recent AA report dwelt on the fact of technological change in the auto industry being akin to the impact of the iPhone, but said that drivers are reluctant to take up new software. Only one in seven use remotecontrol parking, while adaptive cruise control is operated only a third of the time. Maybe the Law Commission has underestimated the extent of education needed to lead drivers to become enthusiastic ‘users in charge’. And what is the current state of evolution of the electric vehicle? A plethora of myth and fact is circulating. As to the latter, the production of an EV creates more greenhouse gas than that of the equivalent fossil-fuelled vehicle. EV batteries are much larger than those used in petrol/diesel cars, while employing lithium-ion rather than lead-acid chemistry. The lithium-ion battery requires a lot of energy to produce, as does the extraction and refinement of metals such as nickel and cobalt. Notwithstanding that EV firms are putting in a real effort to use only ecofriendly sources of electricity in their battery production, are we all walking into a technological cul-de-sac? Many imponderables need to be resolved. The UK’s present charging structure suits home owners with road frontage, who travel locally. Charging points may be sparsely spread outside of towns. How will the used-EV market unfold? Will there be a flood of EVs requiring prohibitively priced battery replacements? Will

the increasing cost of electricity make use in transport unviable? And then there is the spectre of fossil fuel disappearing – sparked by the Government declaring that no more vehicles could be made from 2030 which relied solely on petrol or diesel. Was that announcement something in the nature of a target with the intention to show commitment to the green agenda? Whatever, millions of vehicles will continue to require fossil fuel well beyond 2030, until the cost of supply becomes commercially untenable. Consequently much research is being done in alternative fuels, with hydrogen topping the list. JCB makes heavy industrial plant that clients require to be operable 24/7, and therefore there is no downtime available for charging. As a result, its engineers have developed a hydrogenfuelled engine for their own use. Moving forward, it is clear that driverless vehicles will become part of our transport landscape. As to EVs, only time will tell whether their justification becomes sustainable – but what are the prospects for our classics? In fact, the old-car industry contributes far too much to the economy to be allowed to drift away. A 2020 report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, commissioned by HERO-ERA, states that the UK classic sector’s annual BELOW Federation Skills Trust is helping youngsters acquire the skills to keep our classic cars on the road.

turnover is £18.3 billion; twice the value of the whisky industry and on a par with those of the arts and ports. The report also highlights pertinent green credentials in terms that such vehicles average 1200 miles a year while emitting 563kg of CO2 – half the emissions generated by a computer or a mobile phone. The sector employs c.113,000 individuals and provides 665 apprenticeships. These businesses are supported by 700,000 classic owners and in excess of three million vehicles. Perhaps you might ponder on the nature of the interface between this important industry and the public, and ask which bodies are managing this vital role? First to be mentioned is the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs, whose charming slogan is: “Yesterday’s vehicles on tomorrow’s roads.” Its primary purpose “has always been to maintain the freedom of vehicle owners to use their vehicles on the roads of the UK whenever they wish”. The Federation Skills Trust has been spun out of the FBHVC to provide sponsorship opportunities for young people to acquire the skills that will keep our classics on the road for years to come. Last year a new pressure group was set up to further represent the classic sector; the Historic & Classic Vehicles Alliance’s stated mission consists of “protecting the future of our past” by promoting and maintaining the long-term health of the industry. So what part can individuals play in supporting these and other worthwhile bodies? Well, we can contribute by joining as members, or by making donations or perhaps buying carbon credits. Then, we can offer our own specialist skills in areas where we have particular sector expertise or knowledge. Finally, we can simply get our classics out on the road more often, leaving the modern at home. The presence of road salt should be the only deterrent to venturing forth at every opportunity. Remember, no car ever died because of inclement weather. Presence is the key; the young person who is captivated by your pride and joy may become tomorrow’s owner-enthusiast.

SHUTTERSTOCK

www.healys.com +44 (0)7768 997439

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The height of creativity What does it take to build the huge Festival of Speed sculpture? A stunning design, skilled engineers and nerves of steel...

AT THE GOODWOOD FESTIVAL of Speed, when you look up at the magnificent Gerry Judah sculptures towering 100 feet above you, have you ever wondered how the cars are positioned on the structure in the first place? So did I, until I had to do it – and then I discovered that, as with all good magic tricks, it’s really quite easy once you know how. Under the grass at the base are concrete blocks weighing 30 tonnes. The base of the sculptures weighs in at 16-odd tonnes, to which several ‘arms’ are attached. The numbers are incredible. I first helped put a car on a sculpture in 2016, to celebrate BMW’s centenary. The design featured six giant steel spikes supporting three historic models. One of those was a Formula 1 Brabham-BMW BT52 – upside down. The finished piece looked fantastic, but the process wasn’t without its headaches. Littlehampton Welding Ltd makes all of the Goodwood sculptures. The boss called, asking whether his team could come and measure this, that and the other on Mr Ecclestone’s Brabham. Eventually, realising things were getting complicated, I suggested that I take the car there so they could measure it to their hearts’ content. Apparently I was the first person to ever do this – but I’m jolly glad I did. I found out that the Brabham was to be hung upside down with straps around the wheels holding it to the arm. This rang alarm bells, because I remembered discussing the BT52 with Gordon Murray; it is one of his favourite cars. He told me that the suspension was held together by a small circlip on top of the dampers, because all the forces were designed to go upwards. I realised that if we dangled the BT52 from its wheels, the forces would all be in the opposite

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Words Robert Dean

direction – and those circlips would be supporting the car’s entire weight. I spent a day with the engineers, and helped design extra strap-down points at the front of the chassis and the engine, which would be hidden when the car was installed. This idea was accepted, and all was well. Another issue was that the BT52’s original front tyres didn’t hold air for more than a day. Because the wheels were one of the primary forms of securing the car, I had to find some used rubber – but I made a huge mistake when I procured low-profile tyres instead of the high-profile versions used in the 1980s. This made the body touch the ground… Thinking “never mind”, I simply had some spacers made to go under the springs, which raised the car again. What I hadn’t realised was that the steel ‘cups’ the wheels sat in had been made to the original tyre radius, so when I took the Brabham back to Littlehampton Welding for the final fitting, the low-profile rubber wasn’t right. Whoops! The engineers had to grind off the cups and roll two new ones of the correct radius. Come the big day, I delivered the car to Goodwood and was told to return the next day at 2pm for the lift. However, I was on tenterhooks, and so I turned up at 10am – only to find the BT52 already positioned on the arm and the lift about to start. I rushed over and had a strong word with the overseeing engineer, and I had to sit on the car, on the arm, to stop proceedings until I had checked it all. However, they were adamant that they were going ahead, so I rang the Duke of Richmond (Lord March in those days) and he came out of his house and stopped everything. When I removed the bodywork to check the hidden straps, I saw they hadn’t been fitted – so we were very lucky. What had happened was the foreman, who knew about all the straps, hadn’t turned up for work, and so the guys just got on with it as usual. It wasn’t their fault; they didn’t know about these extra fastenings. Eventually everything was rigged and the Brabham was securely attached. Charles and I repaired to the balcony of Goodwood House to watch while we nervously drank tea. The lift process was fascinating. First

TOP Behind the scenes of creating the spectacular 2016 FoS sculpture. the engineers welded lifting hooks to the end and middle of the arm, and then they lifted it level and gradually hung it upright. From a cherry picker, the central lift straps were moved round to the arm’s underside, so that when it lifted, the structure came up inverted. It was then manoeuvred into position, and welded into place. Charles and I breathed a sigh of relief. I told him I wasn’t angry at the guys for going ahead without me checking, so much as terrified at the thought of the BT52 falling off onto the crowds below during the FoS. The next year, the BT49 was one of five cars hung from the ‘Catherine wheel’ sculpture during the Five Ages of Ecclestone celebration. The Brabham pointed skywards, and this time the operation went without a

hitch. One reason it was a bit easier was that it didn’t have an engine, but it still needed the extra straps. Both cars were beautifully prepared by George Langhorn, who painted all the McLaren race cars up until he retired. He made up a stencil so we could paint the Michelin name correctly on the new tyres, and he cleaned, painted, mopped and polished every inch of each car until they looked factory fresh. The Five Ages of Ecclestone event was fabulous, and a wonderful way to say thank you to Bernie for building F1 into a world-class business and fabulous entertainment. He really did preside over 50 years of the best motor sport in the world, and I was very proud to be part of the celebration of all that he achieved. Former Ecclestone Collection manager Robert Dean now runs Curated Vehicle Management. See www.c-v-m.co.uk.

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Historic racing

Words Sam Hancock

Why a good set-up is imperative

IT’S SURPRISING HOW MUCH lap time can be lost to an inadequate chassis set-up – yet in Historic motor sport, the subject doesn’t always receive the attention it deserves. If a few simple adjustments make a car significantly more comfortable and enjoyable to drive, not only might it be faster and therefore more successful (and thus potentially more valuable), but the propensity for driver error is likely to be reduced and, with it, the quantity of costly or dangerous accidents. As a driver coach, I’m lucky to jump between dozens of cars season after season. While most are perfectly driveable and could be considered somewhat ‘dialled-in’, some leave mountains of performance on the table through ill handling. Interestingly, I have noticed that rather than spend a few dedicated test days exploring low-cost (or even zero-cost) set-up adjustments that might easily reduce lap times by several seconds, some owners seem far more inclined to commission expensive engine upgrades – despite the fact that these might yield gains perhaps of only a second at best while potentially compromising reliability. So, why does this apparent ambivalence to such an economical influence on car performance permeate Historic racing circles in particular? Well, this is after all an amateur-focused environment and, understandably, few owners have sufficient experience to set up their own cars, or to accurately feed

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MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Properly tuning your car’s chassis can save seconds on the track and pounds in your pocket. But do you know how to do it...?

back their handling observations to professional preparers who can then make the necessary adjustments. Generic feedback such as “yep, the car is fine” or “it’s horrible – all over the place!” is common, and can leave preparers scratching their heads as to how to make improvements. If such observations sound familiar, here are a few tips on how you might become a little more constructive. Start by thinking of corners as one of two types: fast or slow. Then, of those two corner types, consider each in three parts: entry, midcorner and exit. Next, while driving, try to make a mental note of what you’re feeling through each kind of corner for each of the three sections. Don’t panic – you needn’t draft War and Peace while trying to keep your car pointing in the right direction. You simply need to ask yourself: “Am I feeling oversteer or understeer?” And if so: “Is it on entry, through the mid-corner or on the exit?” Finally: “Is it mild, moderate or severe?” A quick side note: if you feel neither oversteer nor understeer, it’s probable that the car is either well balanced in that phase of the corner and no further attention is required, or that you’re simply not carrying enough speed to challenge the available grip and need to pick up the pace. Upon your return to the paddock, instead of a breathless barrage of four-letter adjectives (“fine”, “good”, “sh*t!”) you can calmly impress your mechanics with far more helpful

commentary. For example: “In slow corners I have moderate, mid-corner understeer followed by mild exit oversteer; in fast corners I feel severe understeer throughout.” In time you might be able to add context by explaining what inputs you’re making while experiencing these characteristics. For the most part, however, an engineer who understands vehicle dynamics will be able to translate your observations into appropriate set-up adjustments. For example, the mid-corner understeer you were experiencing in slow – and therefore tight – corners? Perhaps the front of the car is a little too stiff and lacks compliance. Softening springs, dampers or the anti-roll bar would all be worthy considerations – and might address that fast-corner understeer issue, too. As you start experimenting, don’t be afraid of stiffer set-ups. All too often I drive cars that suffer a considerable lack of roll support, and so feel snappy or unpredictable... and occasionally undriveable. Usually,

‘Generic feedback can leave preparers scratching their heads as to how to make improvements’

ABOVE Perfect teamwork: the legendary Graham Hill discusses car set-up with his technician. this is the result of a perfectly noble attempt to provide an inexperienced owner with a ‘soft’ and as such ‘friendly’ balance. But just as a very stiff set-up can be unfriendly, so too can one that is too soft. The scale is broad, and the sweet spot is rarely at one end or the other. A comfortable car tends toward a balance that understeers. This is usually achieved by making the front end comparatively stiffer than the rear, and running the car fairly ‘flat’. Understeer, however, rarely begets sympathy from the stopwatch, because you’re forever waiting for it to pass before being able to get back on the throttle. So for a quick car, aim to dial out some of the understeer by making the rear a little harder or increasing the rake angle (the relative difference between front and rear ride heights). This will help the car rotate, getting the direction change over and done with sooner. All adjustments, however, are usually accompanied by a tradeoff. What works at one corner might feel worse at another. Therefore it is, I’m afraid, a constant game of compromise that can at times become confusing. Fortunately the stopwatch never lies. If in doubt, trust its findings over your feelings, and progress should come quickly – and for substantially less than that engine upgrade.

Where the greatest cars come to be challenged...

...and new Legends are made

@motorracinglegends motorracinglegends.com Photo: Abby Coles

Behind the legend

Words Bryan Appleyard

The first long-distance road trip From a new book by Bryan Appleyard, here is the story of a daring 1888 journey in one of the first-ever cars – driven by Karl Benz’s wife

KARL WAS METICULOUS BUT Bertha was impatient. By the time he arrived at the Mark III Benz PatentMotorwagen, she would have been wondering why her husband’s car was not the worldwide sensation she correctly thought it should be. She decided to take a trip. Maybe she really wanted to visit her mother; perhaps her sons, 13-year-old Richard and 15-year-old Eugen, were, like later generations of teenagers, enthralled by the possibilities of a road trip. But it is more likely that Bertha wanted to free her husband from an excess of caution and humanity from its dependence on the horse. In which case, the first road trip was a brilliant publicity stunt indeed. And so at 5am on Sunday August 5, 1888 Bertha and the two boys set out from the family home in Mannheim in her husband’s car. They drove to Pforzheim, some 66 miles to the south. This story has been told and retold so many times with so many added layers of myth and marketing that it is difficult to be sure of some of the details. Was the trip, for example, Bertha’s idea or the boys’? Was Bertha even driving when the car left Mannheim? Such minor uncertainties, however, cannot diminish the importance of this moment or, rather, the idea of it. This was the first long-distance road trip in what we would now call a car – an automobile with a four-stroke internal-combustion engine. Again, incontestably, Bertha is the heroine

of this story, pushing the machine uphill, fixing it on the road and, in the process, proving herself a gifted engineer. But this was not merely the first road trip, it was the first answer to the question what is a car for. Her answer was to visit relatives. Karl is said to have known nothing of the plan until, on rising, he found a note telling him what they had done. He was horrified. Both Richard and Eugen could drive, but neither had been allowed to do so unless accompanied by their father or his foreman. There were also potentially serious religious and legal issues. The Vatican had declared that an automobile was a devil’s or witch’s carriage; people were advised not even to look at such a machine. In addition, the Grand Duchy of Baden had banned any such machine from public roads, and police had been stationed outside Karl’s home and workshop, forcing Bertha to leave by an alley at the rear. Karl would later negotiate a deal whereby he could drive at 3.7mph inside Mannheim’s city limits and 7.5mph outside. When Bertha telegraphed news of their arrival in Pforzheim, Karl begged

‘She used a hat pin to unblock the fuel line; her garter to insulate the frayed spark-plug wire’

ABOVE Fill ’er up! Bertha Benz’s inaugural road trip made her a pioneer of the new automobile age. them to return. A few days later they drove all the way back to Mannheim, this time avoiding the steep inclines which, on the southward journey, had reduced them to pushing the car. The round-trip distance was astounding – over 120 miles at a time when most automobiles had managed little more than a few yards. Bertha’s talent for foresight and planning served her well on the journey. The engine of the Mark III developed a mere 2hp and attained a maximum speed of 10mph; nevertheless, the car managed only 25mpg. As the capacity of the fuel tank was just 1.3 gallons, it was clear they would have to refuel. Bertha seems to have anticipated this and, at Wiesloch, 20 miles south of Mannheim, she persuaded the local chemist – Herr Ockel at the Stadt Apotheke – to sell her a large quantity of ligroin, a form of petrol then used for cleaning. The Stadt

Apotheke is still celebrated as the world’s first filling station. Further south it became clear that the brakes – simple wooden blocks – were failing because the wood had been polished by use to a frictionless sheen. Bertha then stopped at a shoemaker and bought some leather, which she attached to the blocks. She thus invented the brake pad. A failing drivechain, meanwhile, was fixed by a local blacksmith. Bertha used a hat pin to unblock the fuel line and her garter to insulate the frayed wire to the spark plug. The cooling system was evaporative, which meant it had to be continually replenished from rivers and streams. The trip was, in short, a frenzy of improvisation and invention. Nevertheless, as proof that a horseless carriage could work it was conclusive. When Karl’s motor car subsequently appeared at the Munich Imperial Exhibition, it was a sensation. Taken from The Car: The Rise and Fall of the Machine That Made the Modern World, by Bryan Appleyard, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Magneto (ISSN No: 2631-9489, USPS number 22830) is published four times a year – in February, May, August and November – by Hothouse Publishing Ltd, UK. Magneto is distributed in the US by RRD/Spatial, 1250 Valley Brook Ave, Lyndhurst NJ 07071. Periodicals postage paid at South Hackensack NJ and other additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Magneto c/o RRD, 1250 Valley Brook Ave, Lyndhurst NJ 07071.

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