Magneto magazine issue 7

ISSUE

7 AUTUMN 2020

+ TYRRELL SIX-WHEELER | FERRARI BARCHETTA

PORSCHE 917 | LAMBORGHINI | 50 F1 MOMENTS

Simplify...

then add lightness

How Lotus innovated its way to the top

£10.00 |

AU T U M N 2 0 2 0

PRINTED IN THE UK

THE 2019 GOODWOOD REVIVAL RAC TT WINNING 1965 AC COBRA MK1 289 Driven to victory in the 2019 Goodwood Revival RAC TT by three time Le Mans 24 Hours winner André Lotterer, setting the fastest lap ever recorded for a Cobra around Goodwood. With a clear, no questions, continuous history from new, confirmed by the ACOC; this is an opportunity to acquire a genuine Cobra prepared to current competitive race winning specification while still retaining its all-important originality. Still bearing the registration it was given in 1966 and accompanied by an extensive history file with the original log book, half a century of service history and invoices, and current FIA HTPs. There are not many cars in which you can win a race like the TT and still drive to the pub!

THE LE MANS 24 HOURS CLASS WINNING 1974 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 3.0 RS One of just 52 examples built, raced from new with an impressive career boasting numerous podium positions both in race, rally and hill climb.

Winner of the Group 4 Class at Le Mans in 1976 in one of a staggering 4 visits from 1974-1978, finishing every time. Raced in the Tour De France in both 1974 and 1976, as well as the 1976 Giro d’Italia and the 1977 Monte Carlo Rally. Driven to victory in La Ronde Cevenole in 1976 by rally legend Jean-Claude Andruet. Featured in Walt Disney’s 1984 movie ‘Herbie goes to Monte Carlo’. With a complete history, 9034 has competed through most of its life and in more recent years has been raced at the Classic Daytona 24 and Peter Auto’s prestigious Le Mans Classic.

T. +44 (0)1285 831 488 / E. cars@williamianson.com / www.williamianson.com

THE FOUR TIME LE MANS 24 HOURS, EX – MARIO & MICHAEL ANDRETTI 1993 COURAGE – PORSCHE C30 LM GROUP C Raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours a staggering four times, both as a competitive Group C and LMP1 Spider. With the sister car taking pole position in 1994, this was the only Courage entry to reach the end, taking an impressive 7th overall. Raced at Le Mans in LMP1 twice by Formula 1 World Champion Mario Andretti, along with Michael Andretti, Derek Warwick and Jan Lammers. Powered by the twin turbo Porsche 962 engine, it was retained by Yves Courage for 25 years and is only in its first private ownership. Restored back to its early Group C configuration by Courage and accompanied by its original C36 LMP1 Spider bodywork and spares. This is an exciting and rare entry to the popular historic Group C and potentially Endurance Legends grids.

THE EX – LE MANS 24 HOURS, DAYTONA 24 HOURS, MULTIPLE SEBRING 12 HOURS 1976 PORSCHE 934 TURBO RSR One of just 31 934s built, supplied new to Nicholas Koob and raced from the outset. Very successful with second owner Hans-Christian Jurgensen in DRM, DARM and World Championship rounds. Bought by Puerto Rican racer Mandy Gonzales for 1980 and taken to Le Mans where it led its class in the 24 Hours before going on to compete in multiple Sebring 12 Hours and the Daytona 24 Hours, taking 3rd in class. Upgraded to the more powerful 930/79 engine specification, subsequently fitted with interchangeable 934 and 935 bodywork and raced with many wins by Kikos Fonseca. Restored by Kremer Racing to 934/5 specification, and benefitting from being 0 hours after engine and gearbox rebuild.

/williamiansonltd

/williamiansonltd

T H E U LT I M AT E B E S P O K E STO R AG E FAC I L IT Y A N D

OFFICAL CUSTOMS WAREHOUSE The most exceptional facility, for the most exceptional cars. Situated on the London, Hertfordshire border in a discreet, yet convenient location. A bespoke, temperature, humidity and dust controlled, high security building. We take care of storage, transportation, detailing, finance and we are an official Customs Warehouse.

19-20 AUGUST 2020

H M RC APPROV ED CU STO M S WAREH O U SE T 020 3973 1520 E info@mossauto.co.uk W mossauto.co.uk

T H E WO R L D S R A R E ST C A R S c o ncoursofelegance.co.uk

PRESENTED BY

ISSUE

7

20 COMING SOON There are still events happening, from rallies to beach racing

31 S TA R T E R Touring’s latest creation, the sad saga of Bristol, Peter Stevens on clay modelling, an update on Aston Martin Bulldog, Lord Montagu on museums and much more

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LOTUS, A HISTORY OF I N N O VAT I O N

STOUT SCARAB AHEAD OF ITS TIME

TYRRELL P34 THE JOY OF 6

LAMBORGHINI JARAMA; THE FAV O U R I T E S O N

Lotus has been refining car design for more than 70 years. We explore Colin Chapman’s dream

With aerodynamic styling the world wasn’t ready for, the first-ever minivan was a streamlined curiosity

Recreating the iconic six-wheeled F1 car was no easy task but ultimately successful. Here’s the story

Ferruccio Lamborghini’s chosen model has been disgracefully overlooked – until now

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August 15, 2021 70th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

We can’t wait to start our engines, shift into gear, and gather with our friends again — and we will.

Stay connected with us through the Insider — a monthly digital magazine sharing inspiring stories, insights and information about the Pebble Beach Concours and the collector car community.

Sign up at pebblebeachconcours.com/insider ©2020 Pebble Beach Company. Pebble Beach®, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, and their underlying images are trademarks, trade dress and service marks of Pebble Beach Company.

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R I C H A R D AT T W O O D ON WINNING THE 1970 LE MANS

SCALE MODELS WITH A DIRTY DIFFERENCE

FERRARI B A R C H E T TA , BY KARL LUDVIGSEN

TOP 50 MOMENTS T H AT D E F I N E D FORMULA 1

50 years ago, Porsche took its first overall win in the 24 Hours in the fast but dangerous 917

How Amalgam’s new 1:8 ‘Weathered’ models are made to look so authentically mucky

Enzo and Carrozzeria Touring’s radical ‘little boat’ that changed sports car styling history

Winners, losers, smashes crashes, successes, tragedies... the top dramas from 70 years of F1 racing

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M A R K E T WAT C H : DIABLO

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M A R K E T A N A LY S I S : ON THE UP

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KNOWLEDGE: E10 FUEL

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COLLECTIONS: LOCKDOWN!

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LEGAL: HISTORY REWRITTEN

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HISTORIC RACING: VIRTUAL DRIVING

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B E H I N D T H E LEGE ND: JOHN ANDRETTI MAGNETO

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E DI TOR ’ S

W E LCOM E

Issue 7 I won’t labour the lockdown point. We’ve all been through it, or are still going through it, to some extent, and in many different ways.

But I will say that all of us at Magneto wish you well.

Interestingly, although collector car sales dropped quickly at the start of lockdown, they rapidly recovered. Despite the difficulties in visiting vehicles for sale, we’ve all somehow managed to find ways to keep our automotive interests alive.

Events haven’t been so lucky, and there’s a very real danger that some will never return. Even the big ones aren’t immune; the Duke of Richmond has appealed for support to keep the mighty Goodwood empire afloat, and think of the impact on businesses and individuals caused by the unavoidable cancellation of Monterey Car Week.

The silver lining has been the birth of online events, which have brought huge pleasure worldwide. Pioneered by the Isolation Island Concours for scale models, several virtual events for full-size cars have followed. As you read this, the Petersen Automotive Museum’s Virtual Car Week, the Virtually Awful Concours d’Lemons and our own Concours Virtual have either just taken place or are about to – although one of my favourites has been the Reverend Adam Gompertz’s Rev-Limiter weekends packed with online videos from a wealth of car personalities, enthusiasts, specialists and designers.

All absolute gold dust, existing purely through adversity. But let’s hope we’re able to get back to ‘real’ events soon.

David Lillywhite Editorial director

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S:220 mm

AUCTIONS & PRIVATE BROKERAGE

GOODINGCO.COM

1928 BENTLEY 4 1/2 LITRE SPORTS TOURER Period Sporting Upgrades and Show-Quality Restoration by Noted Marque Specialist Coachwork by Vanden Plas I Chassis RN 3040

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+1.310.899.1960

Contributors KARL LUDVIGSEN Renowned journalist and author Karl Ludvigsen makes his bow in Magneto with a fascinating story on Ferrari’s breakthrough Barchetta, which he first saw at Watkins Glen in 1951. Just two years later he started his writing career, but his CV also includes design and executive positions at GM, Fiat and Ford of Europe – the last as vice-president.

PETER STEVENS “Why do car design studios still use clay models?” we asked Peter Stevens. You can read the answer in this issue – a fascinating insight from the man best known for his designs of the Jaguar XJR-15, McLaren F1, Lotus Esprit X180 and Elan M100, Subaru Impreza P1, MG TF and XPower SV, and many, many more. Peter continues as a design consultant and lecturer.

JIM HAEFNER We’re proud of our photography standards, but Jim’s pictures of the Stout Scarab could be the best yet. He’s been involved in automotive photography for 40 years; since graduating from RIT in 1976, he’s worked with most American manufacturers and many European and Asian brands as well, but he’s also shot many great classics, often for pleasure.

More than 40 years ago Paul was pushing Corgi F1 models – including a six-wheeled Tyrrell – around a carpeted circuit marked out by Lego bricks. He’s been in thrall to motor sport ever since. As a former editor of Motoring News, he has spoken to the world champions who drove the full-size Tyrrell for his story on the recreation of arguably F1’s most famous car.

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I LLUST R AT IONS PE TE R A LLEN

PAUL FE ARNLEY

Converting power into performance As a longstanding supporter of the historic car world, EFG has a proud association with events as diverse as Le Mans Classic, Salon Privé and the RAC Woodcote Trophy. As genuine lovers of classic cars, we share the same values of innovation, passion and excellence that drive restorers, collectors, racers and enthusiasts.

We also have a history of building unique, high quality and long-standing relationships with our clients.

It all starts with a conversation.

efginternational.com

Private Banking EFG International’s global private banking network operates in around 40 locations worldwide, including Zurich, Geneva, Lugano, London, Madrid, Milan, Monaco, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Miami, Bogotá and Montevideo. In the United Kingdom, EFG Private Bank Limited’s principal place of business and registered office is located at Leconfield House, Curzon Street, London W1J 5JB, T + 44 20 7491 9111. EFG Private Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. EFG Private Bank Limited is a member of the London Stock Exchange. Registered in England and Wales as no. 2321802. EFG Private Bank Ltd is a subsidiary of EFG International.

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C O N TAC T

Editorial director

Managing director

David Lillywhite

Geoff Love

Art director

Advertising sales

Peter Allen

Sue Farrow, Rob Schulp

Production editor

Lifestyle advertising

Sarah Bradley

Sophie Kochan

West Coast US contributor

Australian editor

European editor

Winston Goodfellow

James Nicholls

Johan Dillen

Contributors Robert Dean, Dale Drinnon, Jakob Ebrey, Paul Fearnley, Rob Gould, Rick Guest, Sam Hancock, Steven Harper, Richard Heseltine, Matthew Howell, Mike Hoyer, Karl Ludvigsen, John Mayhead, Andy Reid, Clive Robertson, Max Serra, John Simister, Dean Smith, Peter Stevens, John Tallodi Single issues & subscriptions Please visit www.magnetomagazine.com or call +44 (0)1371 851892 For US orders or renewal www.imsnews.com/publications/motorsports/magneto or call 757 428 8180 Single issue with P&P £12.50 (UK), €16.50 (Europe), $20 (US), AUS $28 (Australia and New Zealand) Annual subscription £38 (UK), €52 (Europe), $60 (US), AUS $80 (Australia and New Zealand) Subscriptions managed by ESco Business Services. US subscriptions managed by IMS News

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 Finesse Silk from Denmaur Paper Specialist newsstand distribution Pineapple Media, Select Publisher Services Contact For subscriptions and business enquiries geoff@magnetomagazine.com For editorial enquiries david@magnetomagazine.com For advertising enquiries sue@flyingspace.co.uk or rob@flyingspace.co.uk

©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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HERITAGE IS ABOUT

DESIGN

Our historical archives are an endless source of drawings, projects and data. These treasures, amassed over the past 100 years, allow our team of experts and technicians to access all the information they need to take care of your classic car, down to the last component.

Discover our world. www.fcaheritage.com

MOR E

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THE CONCOURS YEAR

CONCOURS VIRTUAL

We can now offer 50 percent off this beautiful 240-page hardback (while stocks last) documenting the best concours of 2019 around the world.

Standard edition now just £29.10 plus p&p, and slipcase edition £39.10 plus p&p. www.concoursyear.com (use code Concours50)

With the disappearance of car events worldwide, we organised a new kind of concours, online. Running from June 29 to August 9, it has featured more than 180 stunning top-level cars judged by 40 leading experts.

It remains online, and is open to donations to Unicef. www.concoursvirtual.com

D I G I TA L I S S U E S

MAGNETO SLIPCASES

If you’d like to sample Magneto in digital form, all issues are now online for just £5. It’s a convenient way to view the magazine, particularly if you missed the early issues that are currently sold out.

But remember, it’s even better in print! www.magnetomagazine.com

Slipcases are now available to pre-order, each one designed to hold four issues. Each is cloth covered with an embossed Magneto logo. You’ll find them under the ‘Magneto Store’ heading.

Slipcase £35 plus p&p. www.magnetomagazine.com

MAGNE TO

+ 44 (0) 1451 860794 info@bobhoughton.com www.bobhoughton.com

C O M I N G S O O N SUMMER

WINTER

AU T U M N

SPRING

PASSIONE ENGADINA August 21-23, 2020 Visit Switzerland’s St Moritz and the Engadin Mountains to experience the tradition, taste, style and beauty of the Italian way of life. For the first time, this year’s Passione Engadina will be dedicated to a non-Italian automotive brand, Aston Martin, and will celebrate the British marque’s deep connection with both Carrozzeria Touring and Zagato.

The gathering is open to Italian classics only, with the exception of Astons and a limited number of sports cars. Main attractions will be the new Julius Baer Rally itinerary – a stretch of which has never before been covered – the St Moritz Challenge Cup, the Bvlgari Ladies’ Cup and the Concours d’Elégance Luigino Della Santa. www.passione-engadina.ch MAGNETO

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ALGARVE CLASSIC F E ST I VA L October 23-25, 2020

PETER DE ROUSSET-HALL

As summer turns to autumn, this end-of-season spectacular is always a popular destination for northern European petrolheads who are looking for some last-minute sun and motor sport action. The Algarve Classic Festival, staged at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, is the biggest Historics event on the Iberian Peninsula.

Celebrating all the success and elegance of the classic world, it’s set to host numerous championships with hundreds of machines and drivers from all across the globe.

Fields typically include Formula Junior, GT and Sports Car Cup, U2TC, Pre-1975 Algarve Sports Cars, Pre-1963 GT, Motor Racing Legends Fifties Sports Cars, Historic Touring Car Challenge, Iberian Historic Endurance, Fórmula Ford Portugal, CSS Group 1, Mini Trophy and Super Seven.

Take your pick! Paddock passes are also available, allowing close-up access to cars, drivers and teams. www.algarveclassicfestival.com

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SUMMER

AU T U M N

WINTER

SPRING

C O M I N G

S O O N

C O M I N G

S O O N

SUMMER

AU T U M N

WINTER

SPRING

PENDINE SANDS HOT ROD RACES October 3-4, 2020

NEIL FRETWELL/VHRA

The Vintage Hot Rod Association’s grass-roots pre-1949 event sees two days of non-stop racing on the historic beach at Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. For this, the eighth annual running, the traditional hot rod and custom action kicks off at around 11am each day and continues for five to six hours, as determined by tide times.

Pit passes are for VHRA members only, but public spectating from outside the pits is free.

Classes cater for all types of eligible vehicles, bodystyles and engines, with Fords and flatheads being a predominant theme.

It’s guaranteed old-time excitement all the way. www.vhra.co.uk

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SUMMER

AU T U M N

WINTER

SPRING

C O M I N G S O O N

BELOW Through Scotland with Rally the Globe.

LONDON CONCOURS

SALON PRIVÉ

August 19-20, 2020

September 23-26, 2020

A “luxurious automotive garden party in the heart of the City of London”. Specially curated cars gather under such themes as Great Marques: Aston Martin, Hot Rods and The Speed of Sand, The Dinos and The Pursuit of Speed.

It’s staged at the Honourable Artillery Company. Wonderful!

Running at the majestic Blenheim Palace from Wednesday to Saturday, Salon Privé promises 2100-plus classics, supercars and hypercars. The prestigious concours will be complemented by club displays and world debuts of the latest models from leading marques, with the programme varying for each day.

www.londonconcours.co.uk

CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE September 4-6, 2020 The hallowed grounds of Hampton Court Palace will again host some of the world’s rarest cars, while Best of Show is uniquely selected by vehicle owners rather than judges. Features include a McLaren F1 GTR Le Mans 24 Hours Celebration, 1966 Ford vs. Ferrari display, The Junior Concours and The Club Trophy. www.concoursofelegance.co.uk

R A L LY E P È R E - F I L S September 18-20, 2020 It’s Monte Carlo or bust for this Happy Few Racing-organised run, with beautiful cars, thrilling drives, fabulous venues and sublime attention to detail guaranteed.

All generations of father-and-son teams – and cars – are welcome.

www.salonpriveconcours.com

BONNEVILLE WORLD FINALS September 29-October 2, 2020 As if Bonneville’s ever-diminishing surface isn’t challenging enough, the Southern California Timing Association is battling against COVID-19-enforced logistical constraints. True to the outfit’s strong racing spirit, however, it’s still going ahead with the World Finals on the famous Utah salt flats. www.scta-bni.org

THE RACE OF GENTLEMEN September 30-October 4, 2020

MONZA HISTORIC September 18-20, 2020

www.theraceofgentlemen.com

Historic racing at its finest, at Italy’s Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. Classes are devoted to different periods from motor sport history and a broad variety of circuit racers: GTs, sports cars, prototypes and touring cars from the Fifties to the Noughties. Nearby Milan helps add sophistication, charm and family appeal. www.peterauto.peter.fr

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MILLE MIGLIA

October 4-9, 2020

October 22-25, 2020

Rally the Globe’s spectacular drive through the Scottish Highlands caters for pre-1977 cars. Starts and finishes at St Andrews, visiting Inverness and the Cairngorms en route as well as taking a trip over the sea to the Isle of Skye.

The 38th edition of the historical re-enactment of the race held from 1927 to 1957 will feature 400 specially selected vehicles. Billed as “the most important vintage car regularity race in the world”, it will start from Brescia and travel to Rome before returning to Brescia for a grand award ceremony and closing party. It will visit Cervia and Parma en route.

www.rallytheglobe.com

Anyone who loves trad US hot rods and bikes should make the TROG pilgrimage at least once. This evocative beach event (below) held at Wildwood, New Jersey, offers speed, thrills and spills. Parties, custom shows and crazy antics round off the weekend. Wild, man!

www.happyfewracing.com

H I G H L A N D T H I S T L E R A L LY

ZOUTE GRAND PRIX October 8-11, 2020 Prestigious classic car and lifestyle festival at Belgium’s Knokke-Heist.

Events include the Zoute Concours d’Elegance, Zoute Rally and Zoute GT Tour, with the added attraction of premium car brands exhibiting their latest models. www.zoutegrandprix.be/en

GOODWOOD SPEEDWEEK October 16-18, 2020 New three-day extravaganza behind closed doors will combine the best of the Festival of Speed and Revival. Inaugural Goodwood Gymkhana rally shoot-out will complement on-track action from famous drivers. Free transmission globally – so you won’t miss out. www.goodwood.com

www.1000miglia.it

C L A S S I C D AY T O N A A N D D AY T O N A H I S T O R I C S November 4-8, 2020 Daytona International Speedway presents two event weekends wrapped up into one very exciting week of racing. www.daytonainternational speedway.com

HERO LE JOG December 5-8, 2020 Demanding Land’s End to John O’Groats Reliability Trial is open to pre-1986 cars. Expect tough conditions en route, but plenty of smiles per mile, too. www.heroevents.eu

9th Edition

21st - 23rd August 2020

Ask who was there For further information and registration: www.passione-engadina.ch

Original poster ‘Golden Mountain, Pullman Express’ by Roger Broders (1883-1953)

Rare porcelain racing car lamp by Aladin Luxe, 1935

Desk model of a Latécoère 521 ‘Lieutenant de Vaisseau Paris’

Large scale aluminium model of the 1938 Bentley Embiricos, by John Elwell

‘Stirling Moss, 100 kms Nürburgring 1958’ by Dexter Brown

Bronze sculpture of the 1966 Jaguar XJ13 by Emmanuel Zurini (French, b.1942), 60 cm long

Original painting, ‘1957 Silverstone International Race’ by Roy Nockolds (English, 1911-1979)

Long established in King Street, next to Christie’s in St. James’s, the Pullman Gallery specializes in important 20th century automobile art & collectables including:

• René Lalique car mascots • • Vintage posters – motor racing, marque & event advertising • • Fine racing car models • • Original automotive art • • Bronze sculpture • •Motor racing trophies• • Rare tinplate toys, cars and aeroplanes •

Unique, prototype electric-powered Alfa-Romeo P2 tinplate toy by CIJ (Compagnie Industrielle du Jouet)

‘1936 Alfa Romeo Tipo C’ by Walter Gotschke (German, 1912-2000)

Sterling silver gilt and enamel pillbox by F. Zwickl, 1928

‘Hibou’ (1931), from an important, complete and perfect collection of all 30 pre-war René Lalique glass car mascots (as featured The Concours Year 2019)

An atmospheric Art Deco bronze sculpture depicting Tazio Nuvolari (Italian, 1892-1953), 1930

Our extensive inventory may be viewed on our website www.pullmangallery.com or by visiting the King Street gallery.

Sterling silver ‘Pillar Box’ lighter (1934), part of the Rolls-Royce desk set

14 King Street St. James’s London SW1Y 6QU Tel: +44 (0)20 7930 9595 gallery@pullmangallery.com

Pullman Gallery London

‘L’Intransigeant’ (1925) by A. M ‘Cassandre’ (French, 1901-1968)

www.pullmangallery.com

Monday – Friday 10.00 – 18.00 and by appointment

S T A R T E R

40 Eagle’s new Lightweight GT: 380bhp, 0-60mph under 5sec, 170mph. And 8000 hours to build

32 Touring Superleggera’s latest creation | 37 How auctions are thriving online | 38 The latest virtual car shows 40 Driving Eagle E-types’ new Lightweight GT | 42 Peter Stevens on clay modelling | 46 The genius of the Mezger flat-six 49 What’s happened to Bristol? | 50 Aston Martin Bulldog | 53 Villa d’Este Style | 54 Around the world – in chaos 56 Interview with Lord Montagu | 58 Motoring books | 60 Automotive archaeology on a Renault 5 | 63 The stainless steel Fords

A legacy of elegance and speed In the midst of lockdown, and on the eve of Touring Superleggera’s latest creation, Magneto talks about the company’s future direction with the designer leading its resurgence

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IF ANYONE, ANYWHERE remains unconvinced – trust me, life isn’t fair. In times past, I’ve typically scheduled my conversations with Louis de Fabribeckers, head of design for Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, to occur in beautiful, sunny Italy, with a nice bit of veal and a bottle of wine on the agenda.

Full disclosure; he is among my favourite interviews, with an easy laugh, an unassuming manner and, I believe, a touch of the Romantic in his soul. Of which, God knows, this business could assuredly use more, and I greatly enjoy his company.

Today, however, we’re on opposite ends of a pandemic-proof Milan to Oxfordshire video call, without so much as a biscotti between us.

What’s more, the split screen makes painfully obvious that a long, barber-free lockdown has left me resembling an elderly hobo freshly

plucked from six months adrift in a lifeboat, while Louis is as dapper and tasteful as ever.

Then again, tasteful is basically Louis’s stock in trade. His designs for Touring, while being as diverse as the bold Alfa Disco Volante Spyder and the understated Maserati Sciàdipersia, all share a common factor. They are smooth, balanced, flowing shapes, inherently elegant by virtue of their very proportions, and lacking any of the awkward corners, jagged angles and tacked-on ‘excitement’ so prevalent in contemporary exotics.

“I think if you can draw a car in one clean, continuous line, without lifting your hand,” he told me, when the Ferrari-based Berlinetta Lusso was introduced, “you’re on the right track.”

The track for Touring’s newest offering became noticeably bumpy,

S T A R T E R however, when it reached the crucial final phase just as COVID-19ravaged Italy had no choice but to close up shop and hunker down.

As with businesses everywhere, Touring sent staffers home with computers and source materials, and Louis and his team carried on via teleconferencing. Still, de Fabribeckers reckons fewer than 24 working hours were lost in the total design process, while mechanical production (albeit only then in the preliminary stage) was by necessity stopped altogether.

But automotive design is a collaborative endeavour, and as Louis tells me: “Things go much better when people can share ideas face to face; the distancing of a screen always inhibits the process.”

So as soon as restrictions allowed, and with the usual Touring design studio being somewhat, shall we say, cosy, he secured larger temporary premises off-campus and resumed operations with the proper space for both contagion control and group dynamics; the business of generating elegance carried on.

And when I start our conversation today by complimenting Louis, sincerely, for creating elegant machines in a world that decidedly is not, he (quite tastefully) demurs. “Ah,

LEFT Generic design rendering from Touring Superleggera shows modern interpretations of the company’s early (1930s) aero heritage.

ABOVE Four images of Touring’s legendary BMW 328MM coupé with overlaid clues to car’s wind-cheating innovations.

BELOW Louis de Fabribeckers, head of design for Touring Superleggera, joined the relaunched coachbuilder back in 2005.

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RIGHT AND BELOW Brainstorming sketch from groupcollaboration phase of a new car design; learning to work under the New Normal.

elegance is part of the Touring legacy; it’s in our DNA,” he says. “We put a lot of emphasis on our history – there aren’t many companies who can say they’ve been around for 95 years; this is something quite important for us and a huge source of inspiration. We are not locked into our past, but it’s important to be respectful of this legacy.

“Of course, much of our work is commissioned to a client’s specific wishes, because we have this history, this legacy that our clients appreciate. But sometimes we create our very own projects, in order to reinforce our brand strategy, reinforce our identity.” The first contemporary Disco Volante, he says – the coupé model of 2013 – was such a project, and was a direct tribute to Touring’s famous Disco Volante aero series from the 1950s.

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“The idea was to do an homage, a reinterpretation of Touring’s streamline design lineage from the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. The original 1950s Disco Volante was the perfect example, an important landmark in Touring’s long history as a pioneer of automotive aerodynamics.”

Indeed, Touring was possibly the first coachbuilder to be guided by its own wind tunnel, while models such as my personal all-time favourite, the Alfa 8C 2900B Spiders that dominated the 1938 Mille Miglia, demonstrate that the company was intimately concerned with sculpting its designs to the wind well before the tunnel arrived in 1941.

Louis agrees: “To me, the creative direction of Touring from the 1930s established some of the company’s signature principles, continued onward even now. Superleggera,

super-light aluminium bodies, these were the mechanical contribution.

Then, on top of that, was the aero shape, with the long and clean bonnet, integral front fenders, teardrop shapes for the greenhouse.

This put us on another level; not just a coachbuilder, but an efficient coachbuilder as well.

“Thanks to these innovations we helped a number of manufacturers win major races, when winning the Mille Miglia, Le Mans, Targa Florio, were even more vital to marketing their products than today. You can see it in the BMW 328MM Touring that won the Mille Miglia in 1940 [Note: a closed-course one-off event officially called the Grand Prix of Brescia] and averaged over 100mph.

The smooth bonnet and the body profile shaped like a wing crosssection for low drag – as is the greenhouse when viewed from above.

“What’s more, you can see it in our modern designs, in the Disco Volante, the same basic elements, in

‘While we are not locked into our past, it’s important to be respectful of this legacy’

the clean, smooth lines, in the teardrop greenhouse. It was the beginnings of our design language at Touring, the beginnings of aero – and of course the designs are different, there’s always a completely new interpretation of these elements, but all the elements are there in both cars. We retain this principle as a Bible for us. It’s part of who we are; a legacy of both elegance and speed.”

Predictably, though, Louis is short on specifics about the upcoming car, except that with construction now resumed under COVID-19 guidelines, a September unveiling is the current target. “And like the modern Disco, the model will be inspired by the signature aero designs of Touring’s past. In fact, we have already started planning the car that’ll come next, also to follow our vision today of this streamline heritage. This new Disco Volante was a milestone in the genre, and although in a way these three will be part of a family, the three cars don’t share even a single line.”

With time running down, I pitch Louis one last question: will this aero family, then, carry on into Touring’s long-term future? “Well,” he answers, smiling. “Who can tell the future with so many other great sources of inspiration in Touring’s past?” Spoken like a true Romantic, I think to myself, and we ring off.

Dale Drinnon

Fueling Passion for the Lifestyle, Since Day One

PASSION – This is ultimately the driving force behind who we are. We are more than a brand; we are a team of car enthusiasts with a desire to develop the best car care products possible while creating and fostering authentic connections with others who also share a love for cars.

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S T A R T E R

$13,941,815 68%

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A U C T I O N WAT C H

The digital revolution has arrived Initial lockdown-induced chaos quickly settled as auction houses old and new embraced the stayat-home ethos. Strong online collector-car sales are the surprising result

AS I WRITE this in July 2020, the collector-car auction market – in fact, our entire hobby – can be broken down into two time periods: before Amelia (BA) and After Amelia (AA).

The week after the Amelia Island Concours, our in-person interaction effectively stopped due to COVID-19.

At first there was turmoil, with auction houses worldwide scrambling to take their sales online for safety’s sake. We all wondered how this would turn out. Would sell-thru numbers and values drop? Would anyone buy high-dollar cars online?

What we saw is nothing short of amazing. For starters, Bring a Trailer – having seen a huge spike in

sell-thru numbers and realised prices – sold to Hearst for somewhere north of $40 million. This well deserved success for the team displayed in a very tangible way the continued value of online auctions.

If you doubt that digital auctions are successful with both entry-level and high-end cars, look at these numbers. Only weeks after the pandemic hit, RM Sotheby’s Palm Beach event saw a 68 percent sellthru rate and a $13,941,815 sales total. Not bad considering the chaos that surrounded it. Sixty days later, RM held Driving Into Summer, and posted a 62 percent sell-thru rate with $16,371,410 total sales. Again, strong numbers for a new effort, showing that a bricks-and-mortar company is able to move online.

In further illustration, Silverstone held an online sale on May 23, and saw an 89 percent sell-thru rate and £4.64m total sales. Cars that sold in excess of their high estimate included a 1984 Peugeot 205 T16 Group B at £336,600 and a 1962 Jaguar D-type short-nose replica at £390,500. Bonhams also got into the mix; its May Live and Online Motoring Auction at Bicester saw a 76 percent sell-thru and total sales of over £2m.

Barrett-Jackson held two online sales, too, the first in May. Usually at its ‘lifestyle’ events, cars tend to sell in the room relying on live energy to get things going. Here, it saw only a 54 percent sell-thru and $3,629,525 total. In its July auction it again saw 54 percent. Of all the auction houses, Barrett might find it hardest to move online, because much of its revenue is live-event based. Without that excitement, I’d guess we will continue to see these kinds of numbers.

Meanwhile, the UK’s The Market online auction house reports that as soon as lockdown started, traffic to the site – and sign-ups – increased by 400 percent, and it’s achieved £1m of car sales every month, with a sale rate of over 90 percent. That’s some going.

Various new online contenders have also sprung up. The one that’s received the most press is Cars & Bids, from YouTube reviewer Doug DeMuro. He’s tasked himself with creating an auction site that offers more features than many others, focusing on interesting cars from the Eighties, Nineties and Noughties. It might be just the place to sell your

‘There was much turmoil as auction houses scrambled to take sales online for safety’s sake’ Acura NSX, if not your E-type.

Another imminent player is Auto Hunter from classiccars.com, which has a pre-existing classifieds section combined with strong editorial content. It promises live customer service, plus support for buyers and sellers, and all vehicles will get a VIN and title check. It should be a compelling online option.

Speaking of which, we also have Hemmings auctions, again with strong classifieds backed by good editorial. So far Hemmings has done a so-so job with its online auctions, but it’s seemingly working hard to bring its site up to a higher level.

One final new player is working to bridge the gap between online and inperson sales. The team has a bricksand-mortar auction background, but also understands the idea of curated digital sales. While the platform is selling only three to five cars a week, it can properly represent the cars and combine the online experience with the expertise of a dedicated staff of specialists whom a bidder is able to contact with questions. A daily sales schedule allows for live market tracking, instead of relying on the traditional seasonal sales model to dictate quarterly and annual valuations.

Cars include a Jaguar XJ220 with 2000km and the diagnostic computer, and a 1989 Nissan 300ZX factory racer once driven by John Morton.

The company is Stratas Auctions at www.stratas.auction.

So, in a nutshell, the auction sector is strong and getting stronger. Over the next few months we will see how it emerges within this new and everchanging market. Rest assured, people are buying and selling cars right now at a good rate – and while we have not yet seen what will happen next, I maintain that it will definitely be exciting. I think the Monterey online auctions will be interesting to watch, and I anticipate some surprising results. Andy Reid

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A concours for lockdown times Magneto’s own Concours Virtual has raised over £30,000 for charity – and showcased some of the world’s most glorious cars

ABOVE Elvis’s BMW 507 and Salvesen Steam Wagonette were among winners.

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TOP RIGHT You can still view the digital concours and donate to the Unicef charity.

THE CONCOURS SCENE has been decimated throughout lockdown, to the great detriment of event organisers, sponsors, restorers and many more – including, of course, the enthusiasts around the world who have missed out on seeing topclass cars up close.

There have been various online events launched during lockdown: the Isolation Island Concours for scale models; Le Mans 24 Virtual; Revs Unlimited weekends; Virtually Awful Concours d’Lemons; and the Petersen Automotive Museum’s impressive Virtual Car Week.

We, as publishers of Magneto, also produced an online show, the first virtual concours d’elegance – Concours Virtual Presented by Hagerty. It opened on June 29 to run to August 9, with profits going to the Unicef charity to help children in hardship due to COVID-19 – and the website is still open for anyone to view the stunning array of more than 180 cars that were entered.

Concours Virtual had 17 separate classes, judged by a who’s who of experts, including five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell, Aston Martin chief creative director Marek Reichman, Goodwood Festival of Speed founder The Duke of Richmond, Pebble Beach chairman Sandra Button and TV’s Chasing Classic Cars star Wayne Carini, among many others.

“I am delighted to be involved in the Concours Virtual,” said Charles Richmond, The Duke of Richmond

and Gordon. “It’s a difficult time for events in the classic car world, and this is a creative response and at the same time supports the great work of Unicef.”

The classes included Pre-War Preservation, Pre-War Supercars, Post-War Grand Tourers, Hollywood Legends, Bonneville Cars, 1970s Concepts, a Stirling Moss tribute and many more. There was also a virtual Concept Lawn, to show off the latest limited-production and bespoke models from automotive manufacturers and specialists.

Entries included several former winners of prestigious concours such as Pebble Beach, Amelia Island

‘Profits go to Unicef to help children in hardship due to COVID-19; the website is still open’ and Concours of Elegance, oneoff concepts including the famous Lancia Stratos Zero, and cars once owned by Steve McQueen, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo and Elvis Presley.

Virtual Concours entry was free, but participants were encouraged to donate to Unicef if they were able to.

At the time of going to press, the event had raised £30,000.

To view the cars and winners, or to donate, see www.concoursvirtual.com.

S T A R T E R

FIRST DRIVE

Latest Eagle E-type takes off New Lightweight GT combines restoration and re-engineering to give iconic Jaguar a new lease of life – and, boy, does it fly...

NO, THIS ISN’T one of the fabled 12 Lightweight E-types built from 1963 to challenge the Ferrari 250GTOs. It’s not a ‘mere’ copy, either. It’s an Eagle – and if you’ve had any interest in Jaguars at all over the past 30-odd years, you’ll probably know that Eagle makes the best E-types, adding clever re-engineering to thorough restoration for a subtle transformation to every aspect of a standard model. The 49th full Eagle E-type will be approaching completion as you read this article.

This car, Eagle’s new Lightweight GT, is not one of those ‘subtle transformations’. It’s an homage to the original Lightweight, but it’s a road car, a supercar GT that can be driven (fast) all day long in complete comfort. It joins three previous Eagle special editions: the Speedster, the Low Drag GT and the Spyder GT. Based on a Series 1 E-type, it’s been stripped down and every panel

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replaced in modern grades of lightweight aluminium. The shape is an homage to the first Lightweight but the sills are deeper, giving more strength and allowing lower seating.

Meanwhile, its steeper screen rakes boost aerodynamics, and the arches have been enlarged to accommodate 16in peg-drive magnesium-alloy rims.

It looks absolutely right, and once inside you’re immediately struck by the quality of the fittings and the sheer roominess – the latter due to clever changes to the floorpans, pedal mounts and rear bulkhead. It’s unmistakably E-type, with the toggle switches, alloy centre panel and black dash, but it’s enhanced by Eagle’s specially developed seats, curved console swoop and gorgeous quilted headlining. Despite that long bonnet an E-type isn’t a big car, yet the Lightweight GT isn’t at all cramped.

Every Eagle E-type is built to customer specifications, and this

first Lightweight GT has had all the boxes ticked, starting with the firm’s 380bhp 4.7-litre all-alloy version of the XK six-cylinder. Although fuel injection is available, this is such a well developed engine that it runs beautifully on triple SU carburettors (I know – I’ve tried them on an Eagle Speedster), or on triple sidedraught Webers should the customer require the wide-angle, big-valve cylinder head – which this one absolutely did.

They also specced the rortiest exhaust option. You certainly know about it when the Lightweight GT fires up, although it never sounds uncomfortably loud. The engine is incredibly tractable from low down, but there’s a distinct powerband from around 3500rpm when the car just takes off. It all sounds deliciously raw.

The newcomer gets away with the peaky engine because the total weight is just 1017kg (2242lb), which is 300kg (660lb) lighter than a stock

ABOVE It’s still an E-type Series 1 but enhanced in every single aspect.

S1 coupé. Why not sub-1000kg?

Because that would mean doing without the neat Eagle air-con unit or the soundproofing. And actually that weight reduction is phenomenal.

It’s thanks to the alloy body, of course, but also the magnesiumalloy used for the case of Eagle’s fivespeed gearbox, plus the bellhousing, diff case, sump and rear hub carriers.

The exhaust manifold is Inconel and the system titanium, and the set-up is uncannily light as well as sounding out of this world. There are countless more weight-reduction examples, right down to specially made alloy wheel spinners.

You can really feel the difference, not just in the performance but in the handling and steering response, too. Jaguar developed the E-type to work with crossply tyres, and remarkably it never changed the geometry of road cars for the radials that followed. Eagle’s years of development have perfected the ride and handling, favouring bespoke adjustable Öhlins dampers; the car’s reduced weight means they can be left relatively supple while still giving sharp, precise handling. The steering is light and the E-type reacts to inputs like a much smaller sports car.

More than 8000 hours go into the build of a Lightweight GT, and the materials used are the best of the best.

This means you’re looking at well over half a million to buy one – but it’s the best E-type we’ve ever known.

David Lillywhite

On The Instructions of the Liquidators of Bristol Cars Limited & Bristol Cars Services Limited

For Sale By Timed Online Auction

The Assets of Bristol Cars Limited and Bristol Cars Services Limited to include: Vehicles • • • • • • • •

1949 Bristol 400 1964 Bristol Bullet Speedster (The Original Bullet) Bristol 405 Restoration Project Bristol 406 Restoration Project 4 x Bristol 411 Restoration Projects Bristol 603 Convertible Restoration Project Bristol Brigand for restoration Bristol Fighter Prototype (Car Number 000) Restoration Project

Ephemera • Large quantity of historic framed photographs & design images • Workshop manuals and literature • Design development scale models • Bristol Branded Clothing and merchandise • The Original Neon Showroom Signs from the Kensington Showroom • Historical items from throughout the history of Bristol Cars Limited • New Bullet related items and merchandise

Historic & Contemporary Workshop Tools & Equipment • Wooden Body Bucks & Patterns from Bristol Cars production history • Original Jigs and factory tooling • Antique Workshop, Inspection & Test Tools & Equipment • Contemporary Mechanical & Paint-shop Tools & Equipment The Office Furniture and Equipment utilised at the Kensington Showroom, Filton, Brentford and Windlesham.

Auction goes live for on-line registration and bidding on Wednesday 19th August 2020 and will close on Wednesday 2nd September 2020.

Due to social distancing measures viewings will be conducted STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT from Wednesday 19th August to Wednesday 2nd September 2020 between 10.00am & 4.00pm.

Registration and bidding available on via the Wyles Hardy website. For further details and viewing arrangements contact David Fletcher at David.Fletcher@wyleshardy.co.uk or on 07967 508542 or contact our offices on 01442 832234.

Photographs by Shener Hathaway ©

www.wyleshardy.com

Ley Hill Road, Bovingdon, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 0NW

S T A R T E R

THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE Car design guru Peter Stevens passes wisdom of his experience on to next generation of automotive modellers.

How the past shapes the future Automotive design legend Peter Stevens looks at the traditional art of clay modelling – and stresses the importance of keeping such skills alive

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THAT THE FORM of some cars comes out looking exactly as the designer intended is not because of highly sophisticated computer-aided tools. It’s because a small team of design sculptors interpreted the original two-dimensional ideas and turned them into a three-dimensional object. This is the element of the design process that produces the wonderfully emotional forms which separate the mundane ‘white goods’ from the desirable rolling sculpture that some automobiles are.

Traditionally, sculptors would use clay to explore their threedimensional thoughts. In order to do this, they’d make small models or ‘maquettes’ of their artistic ideas before starting to carve in marble.

Carving in stone requires great skill because, not surprisingly, once cut from the block, material cannot be put back on to the sculpture. And, of course, the perfect piece of stone has always been expensive.

Many past sculptors would stare at their block of stone trying to imagine what was ‘inside’ it, before working with the maquette. However, the clay would quickly dry out and crack if it was not fired in a kiln, so in the late 19th century Plasticine was invented to modernise this process.

In the early 1890s, William Harbutt of Bathampton, UK, experimented with a mixture of oils, waxes and clay minerals to produce modelling Plasticine. Unlike the modelling clay used by ceramicists and sculptors, it couldn’t be fired in a kiln, because heat made it soften and disintegrate.

Yet it could be easily worked with simple wire tools, and material could be added, removed or used again.

Although Plasticine does slowly lose its malleability and cannot be very smoothly finished, it was much preferred to traditional clay.

Meanwhile, to further address the

shortcomings of clay a different material, Plastilin, was developed and patented by German scientist Franz Kolb in 1880. And Plasteline was developed in France by Claude Chavant in 1892, and became a registered trademark in 1927.

These materials became known as Industrial Plasticine, but today they are called modelling or styling clay and are widely used in automotive design studios for producing both scale and full-size models of future products.

The material contains wax, oils, clay flour, sulphur and lanolin.

Because the clay has to be packed on to the base model at a temperature of approximately 80º Fahrenheit, inexperienced modellers risk getting major blisters on their hands. The lanolin softens the skin and the temperature then overheats it.

Until recently, the modelling process was done entirely by hand.

A thick layer of pre-warmed styling clay was laid on to a buck or armature created from wood and polyurethane foam or high-density polystyrene. The clay was then carved by highly skilled sculptors using evermore refined tools, until a perfectly surfaced form was produced.

In recent times, computer-aided machining is used to create a basic design form from data derived from an initial Alias 3D CAD model, generated by either the designer or, more commonly, a studio Alias specialist. After the hardened clay has been roughly machined, the sculptors then take over the model development guided by the designer.

The relationship between the designer and model maker is a crucial element. The designer has to demonstrate that he knows exactly what he wants the form to be, and the clay sculptor needs the skill to interpret that concept into three

S T A R T E R

THIS PAGE From American Motors to Lotus, McLaren and BMW, clay models have played a vital role in creative design processes.

dimensions. Quite often that successful understanding of the designer’s intentions by the clay sculptor, and the development of a close working relationship, can ‘make’ the young designer’s name – just as a poor working relationship can limit their career prospects.

Three-dimensional design using only the computer and a CAD modelling programme can easily produce extremely badly resolved forms and surfaces. However, a skilled modeller will have the experience to guide the designer and point out surface treatments that cannot be made to ‘work’ in three dimensions. The computer has no such experience.

Harley Earl, founder of the Art and Color Section at General Motors, is credited with introducing clay modelling to the automotive design studio. In the late 1920s and 1930s GM executives viewed Earl’s conceptual ideas as flamboyant and without any sense of reality. Earl struggled to legitimise his design methods against the conservatism of production-oriented executives.

As head of the newly formed section, he was initially referred to as one of the “pretty-picture boys”, and his design studio as being the “beauty parlour”. But with the support of GM president Alfred P Sloan he persevered, and these days all designers owe a debt of gratitude

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to this colourful man, for establishing the credibility of the design process.

One of the problems with working with styling clay is that it isn’t an easy material to ‘read’ unless you are used to the flat appearance of a clay model. For people in the automotive design industry, clay is simply a means of communicating or evaluating a form. It’s a language they understand. But for those for whom the medium is new or ‘foreign’, the form can be just a dull, undecipherable shape.

Some help is at hand for those people; a thin, flexible, plastic sheet called Dynoc. This magical material is almost like a sheet of paint, which after being soaked in water can be carefully stretched over the model to give the impression of a painted vehicle. Dynoc enables the designer to observe, develop and gain control of reflections on the model’s surface – a lengthy but ultimately extremely satisfying process.

Many automotive companies start a project by developing a number of scale models. Frequently used scales include 1:5, 1:4 or sometimes 1:2.5, and half-models are often produced in order to save time. Only one side of the car is modelled, and when this is placed up against a vertical mirror the complete form can be appraised.

However, this isn’t a particularly successful method, because the

centreline can always be viewed.

It is from these models that dimensional data can be taken and then used to machine the full-size clay design model – and it’s only at this point that the true design form can be developed. In order to show the outlines of the windscreen and side and rear glass, as well as the most important graphic details of the design, black crepe tape (similar to black masking tape) is used.

This can be stuck to the clay and is easily moved as part of the design process. The tape is also used to develop the principal style lines; the defining edges between surfaces.

Applying perfect tape-lines is a most satisfying aspect of the early stages in developing a design theme.

The career opportunities offered by becoming a clay sculptor are often overlooked or misunderstood by secondary-school teachers. With the chance to be so closely involved in the design process, a good modeller

‘A computer is just a useful tool; the ideas are in the designer’s head and in the sculptor’s hands’

can play a large part in developing a successful automobile design, which can be very rewarding.

It’s a troubling fact that many design colleges now no longer consider clay work to be an essential part of a student’s development, believing that everything can be done using CAD. Meanwhile, some design studios briefly considered going straight from digital models to tooling without ever seeing what the completed car would look like – but thankfully designers have strongly opposed this idea.

There is a shortage of young design sculptors at present, so there needs to be a proper, affordable training course for young people who love the idea of being part of the creative process but perhaps can’t afford the very high student fees being asked by design colleges. Such a course would require a design element as part of the curriculum, to give the students the opportunity to understand the complete process.

If this doesn’t happen, those in the auto industry who are concerned only with shortening the ‘time to market’ may have their way, and the art may disappear from car design.

It’s vital to remember that the computer, while being a useful tool, is just a box filled with wires, plastic and sand; there are no ideas inside that enclosure. They are in the designer’s head and in the sculptor’s hands.

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S T A R T E R IT IS, IN Porsche circles, a name spoken with reverence. Yet many enthusiasts didn’t know much about Hans Mezger, who died on June 10, 2020, at the age of 90, until long after the things he created had themselves become famous.

Mezger was in charge of racingcar design and development in the 1970s, masterminding the engineering of the fearsome 917 and, later, the 911-derived 935s. Yet for years, an earlier achievement – one which has touched thousands of owners – went largely unsung.

That achievement was the Porsche 911’s original flat-six, launched in 1963 and designed mostly by Mezger with some input from Ferdinand Pïech, the engineer (and Ferry Porsche nephew) who later chaired the whole Volkswagen-Audi group.

And so it has come to pass that the original configuration of the 911 engine has become known as the Mezger unit – not least to differentiate it from the water-cooled powerplant that arrived with the Boxster and 996.

Apart from that obvious difference in cooling medium, though, what is it that sets a Mezger engine apart from a later 911 unit? What is it that gives the Mezger motor its mystique, that notches up a smidge of superiority in the mind of the Porsche purist? On a philosophical level, it’s a simplicity and purity of concept and evidence of a clear-minded

pursuit of purpose, and the fact that it was Porsche’s first production flatsix. On a practical level, the engine’s appeal is simple, tough and visceral.

That it sounds the way it does, in all of its many variants, is just the result of the way it was designed.

Later 911 powerplants have been acoustically engineered to emulate the Mezger sound within the constraints of noise regulations, but the Mezger just does it anyway.

The architectural differences between a Mezger engine and a later unit from the family dubbed M96 are quite major, despite the fundamentally similar layout in which three pairs of pistons are horizontally opposed. That makes the layout a true ‘boxer’, with each piston in an opposing piston pair given its own crankpin, and both pistons reaching bottom dead centre at the same time like two boxing gloves connecting with each other.

This boxer design, plus the Mezger engine’s use of separate aircooled barrels for each cylinder, was a link to the Porsche company’s Volkswagen-derived roots. Mezger didn’t look to the past for much else, though, apart from designing the crankcase as two halves, vertically split along the crankshaft’s centre line. In his dry-sumped flat-six, known as 901 in its original 2.0-litre form right up to 1969 (at which point the engine type number finally

All hail to the power meister Porsche’s late Hans Mezger will be remembered for many triumphs, but the original 911 flat-six engine is one of his greatest achievements 46

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‘On a practical level, the Mezger powerplant’s appeal is simple, tough and visceral’ caught up with the car as capacity rose to 2.2 litres), every cylinder had its own cylinder head. Each bank’s overhead camshaft and its carrier, however, spanned all three.

By contrast, the mid-1990s M96 engine had its water-cooled blocks in unit with the still-vertically split crankcase, and one three-cylinder head per bank. Note, though, that while the most powerful 911s of the 996 and early-997 era – Turbos, GT2s and GT3s – were all water cooled, they still used what were essentially Mezger engines. Their blocks and heads were bolted to the original type of separate, split crankcase.

Why? Partly it was Porsche’s motor sport department wanting to stick with what it knew, something strong and thoroughly tested over the years. And, unofficially at least, something that made the Mezger engine special was a thing it did not have; the original M96’s muchdemonised sealed bearings for the intermediate shaft, which we can only assume caused worries in that

part of Weissach specialising in the speediest 911s.

The Mezger engine has a similar intermediate shaft to drive the camshaft chains, of course. As in the M96, it’s under the crankshaft, but is driven by gears – one of the signature Mezger noise sources – rather than the later engine’s chain.

And, crucially, its bearings are lubricated by the engine’s regular oil system. That’s how the hottest 911 engines stayed right up to the end of the 997 era, by which time the M96 family had itself been redesigned to dispense with the intermediate shaft altogether and drive its camshafts directly from the crankshaft.

When the end came for the Mezger engine line, by then with four valves per cylinder but still without direct injection, it was with quite a bang. At 4.0 litres (yet without turbochargers) the final Mezger motor was the largest of all Porsche flat-sixes, and as fitted to the 997 GT3 RS 4.0 in 2011 it delivered 500bhp at 8250rpm on an extraordinary 12.4:1 compression ratio. In just under half a century the Mezger thread had doubled in capacity and nearly quadrupled in output. There was nowhere left for it to go.

So, what’s special about the Mezger engine? Listen to its mechanical sizzle and tingling, sharpedged howl, and remember what it has achieved. Then you’ll know.

The Racing Series is comprised of 4 ultra-premium, California red wine blends, all inspired by moments on the race track.

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S T A R T E R

What happened to Bristol Cars?

With the company in liquidation, there are questions about what happens to the archive and whether a comeback is still being planned

THIS YEAR MARKS Bristol Cars’ 75th anniversary, but any celebration will be marred by the company’s demise in March. With its assets close to being sold off, enthusiasts wait anxiously in the wings to rescue crucial archive records and drawings.

It was a long, difficult decade for Bristol, although the marque hadn’t had an easy time since the 1970s.

Started by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1945, the Bristol Car Division’s products were heavily subsidised by its parent, establishing a reputation for high quality and innovation. This era lasted until 1960, when the Bristol Aeroplane Company joined with other makers to create the British Aircraft Corporation, although funding had been reduced from 1956.

George White rescued the car division from closure, and then sold

‘Lots include cars, archive items, body bucks, showroom furniture plus tools and jigs’ a 40 per cent stake to Bristol sales agent Tony Crook. Following an accident in a Bristol 410, in 1973 Sir George (as he had become) sold his majority shareholding to Crook.

In 1997, Crook sold a 50 per cent stake in Bristol Cars to Overfinch founder Arthur Silverton’s son Toby.

Silverton and Crook then introduced the new Fighter supercar. In 2007, 87-year-old Crook sold the remaining half of the business, but in 2011 Bristol Cars Limited was placed into administration, for the

first time ever in its history.

A month later a new company was formed to sell all the assets, and this firm was bought by Kamkorp, owned by UK-based Kamal Siddiqi.

Kamkorp was formed 25 years ago, and incorporated several companies, including the electric-propulsion specialist Frazer-Nash Research, taxi maker Metrocab and composites manufacturer URT Group.

For Bristol, the future under Kamkorp looked promising. In 2017, the famous Bristol Cars showroom on Kensington High Street, London, was finally refurbished, and the company acquired a further nearby showroom. A service and restoration centre and parts department was created on an industrial estate in Brentford, West London. Best of all, a new model was revealed.

Project Pinnacle initially promised to utilise a range-extended electric powertrain that had been developed

by Frazer-Nash Research. Later announcements went on to claim an aluminium box-section chassis and 4.8-litre BMW V8, with rangeextended electric models to follow.

There was even talk of a new Bristol clothing and accessories line...

By then, the new car had been revealed as the Bristol Bullet, a modern speedster with 1950s styling influences – even fins. And although a prototype was shown, and journalists were allowed passenger rides, it was never officially revealed that under the new carbonfibre body was simply a Morgan Aero 8.

That’s no bad thing, given the development that has gone into the Aero 8, and the Bullet was said to handle like a modern-day Cobra. But RIGHT Bristol’s iconic London showroom has been lost; prototype Bullet speedster came to nothing.

soon after its launch, the money seemed to be cut off. Salaries began to be paid late, the second showroom fell through and the main showroom was closed, with the magnificent mid-century furniture and the irreplaceable archive of sales records plus innumerable engineering and styling drawings moved to Brentford.

In mid-2018, the Bristol Car Services facility was moved to a new HQ on Kamkorp Park in Windlesham, Surrey – but in July 2018 the court ordered for FrazerNash Research Ltd to be wound up, and a liquidator was appointed that November. In January 2020 Kamkorp Limited suffered the same fate. As for Bristol Cars, Frost Group was appointed as liquidator in February, and a High Court appeal

by Kamkorp was unsuccessful, meaning the firm was officially terminated in early March.

Under Kamkorp’s ownership, it’s thought only one car – the prototype Bullet – was built. Millions appear to have been poured into the firm, with Companies House records showing around £1m annual losses.

So what now happens to the assets?

The archive and thousands of spares are said to still be in the Windlesham building, and auctioneer Wyles Hardy has been appointed to sell them online from August 19 to September 2. Lots include several cars such as

the Fighter prototype, Kensington showroom furniture, archive items, original wooden body bucks and patterns, plus tools and jigs.

Bristol specialists, the Bristol Owners’ Club and the Bristol Owners Heritage Trust have been working hard to raise funds to secure the archive. The current Heritage Trust archives, which include over 3000 glass-plate negatives donated by the estate of Tony Crook (who passed away in 2014), have now enlisted the help of the Bristol City Archives.

All the material has been catalogued, conserved and securely stored. If the Trust is successful in securing the invaluable Bristol Cars archives from the liquidator, these will join the existing documents and photos in the Bristol City Archives.

And there’s one last twist… in March 2020, Metrocab Ltd was renamed Bristol Cars Heritage Services Ltd, with Kamal Siddiqi, 68, and Sheban Kamal Siddiqi, 32, as directors (the two are also directors of Bristol Superlight Limited, promising ‘the next generation of commercial transport’).

It’s thought the aim of Bristol Cars Heritage Services is to continue the service centre’s work. Meanwhile, six restoration projects have been moved from the service centre to Bristol specialist Spencer Lane-Jones Ltd, with the liquidator’s approval.

S T A R T E R

New tricks for an old dog Subtle improvements will help bring Aston Martin’s ferocious 200mph Bulldog growling into the 21st century.

Here’s the latest restoration update

WE COULDN’T RESIST updating you on the Aston Martin Bulldog; surely the most exciting restoration taking place at the moment.

In the previous issue of Magneto, we left you with a stripped-down chassis and a COVID-19 lockdown at restorer CMC in Bridgnorth, UK. In May, the workforce was able to return, and it hit the Bulldog with a renewed vigour. First of all it made good the complex prototype chassis – this had previously suffered significant damage at the rear, apparently caused by being forklifted at some point. There had also been various development modifications to the chassis tubes to increase clearance around mechanical parts.

“Remember this was never meant as a production vehicle,” says CMC managing director Nigel Woodward.

“There had been ‘adjustments’ made with the good old Birmingham screwdriver [a large hammer], and the welding in places was not to the standard you would want to produce in a 200mph car.”

There was also evidence of the changes made to convert the Bulldog for road use when it was bought for export to the Middle East, along with interior trim and exterior colour changes. Strangely, the original

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ABOVE & LEFT Bulldog’s complex prototype skeleton has now been repaired and improved in quality, while original engineering ‘fixes’ have been corrected. Trimmer studies the interior construction. fuel injection had been replaced with a work-in-progress pressurised quad-Weber DCOE carburettor system, which looks as though it had never actually run. The Bosch mechanical fuel injection fitted to the Bulldog had been used by Aston Martin since the 1969 DBS, and was well understood, so there shouldn’t have been any need to junk it.

To reinstate fuel injection to the Bulldog’s original design might have been a problem had it not been for the overwhelming response to CMC’s appeal for period photographs from the public. Now there are enough pictures to piece together how the car looked inside, outside and under the bonnet, although the new injection set-up will be invisibly managed with electronics to make the Bulldog more usable for the new owner.

Now a dry fit of mechanical components has been carried out on the chassis, and work has started on the alloy body, which Nigel says is in much better shape than expected.

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S T A R T E R

Going back to where it all began

All eyes on Lake Como as six Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Coupé Villa d’Estes gather at the exclusive model’s spiritual birthplace

WE ALL KNOW of Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, the historic concours that takes place on the banks of northern Italy’s beautiful Lake Como. But there’s another gathering that takes place every year, too, named Villa d’Este Style.

This year, due to COVID-19, the Concorso d’Eleganza has been postponed until May 28-30, 2021.

Villa d’Este Style, meanwhile, still took place, on June 27, but it was closed to public viewing. Since it began in 2012 it’s celebrated the car named after the iconic venue – the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Coupé Villa d’Este. This year was no different.

The model came about as manufacturers and coachbuilders began to change their production methods, and hence styling, after World War Two. Bodywork was simplified, and separate wings/ fenders and running boards were replaced by smoother, more spacious bodies. Along with Pinin Farina, Carrozzeria Touring was one of the companies to drive this forward, experimenting with new styles based on the chassis of the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 from 1947-on.

In September 1949, a Touringbodied two-seater coupé was shown at the Villa d’Este concours. Early attempts at integrated bodystyles had often been criticised for their plainness compared with the more ornate pre-war look, but the detailing on this coupé, such as the profiles underlining the wheelarches, set it aside – and it was voted the winner of the People’s Choice Award.

The accolade attracted plenty of

positive press coverage, to the point that Alfa Romeo and Touring decided to offer copies of the car, naming it the Villa d’Este. As it turned out, the 1949 edition was the last running of the original Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, and so the Alfa Romeo remained the last-ever winner of the historic event. (The concours was resurrected in 1995.)

Opinions vary on how many Villa d’Este Alfa Romeos were built, but the most likely number is 32, as documented by historian Angelo Tito Anselmi and backed up by former Touring head Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni, son of Touring founder Felice Bianchi Anderloni.

Villa d’Este Style also holds a register for all 6C 2500 SS models understood to have been sold as Villa d’Este editions. At least 20 are known – a high survival rate – with several currently in restoration.

Six examples of the model were shown at the 2020 Villa d’Este Style.

Three were burgundy, one blue and one black, in addition to the metallic grey car that has been owned by Hotel Villa d’Este since 2012. As event founder Marco Makaus points out: “Both the Alfa Romeo and the Touring plants have been redeveloped, and thus this is the only place which can be considered their ‘nest’.”

Alongside them this year were a selection of cars with an affinity to the Villa d’Este, all of them Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 models: two Touring Coupés, two Cabriolets and a special Pinin Farina car, one Freccia d’Oro and one GT SS. More at www.villadestestyle.com.

ABOVE Six stunning examples of the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Coupé Villa d’Este (closest to the lake in the picture) were joined by related models at Como.

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Cape to Cape with Mr Pape An epic journey in a family saloon proved to be the ultimate adventure for this 1950s daredevil

SIXTY-FIVE YEARS ago, an Austin A90 Westminster departed London on a journey of 17,000 miles from latitude 71º north, 600 miles inside the Arctic Circle, to the southern cape of Africa. The driver was a mercurial former airman called Richard Pape. Many thought the journey in a family saloon was impossible, but Pape would prove them wrong – leaving a trail of smashed cars, exhausted co-drivers and enraged officials in his wake.

Pape embarked on the expedition with the same uncompromising mentality evident in his best-selling wartime memoir Boldness Be My Friend. When Gunnar Melle, his first co-driver, rashly offered to have a cigarette stubbed out on his hand, Pape obliged – puffing on his cigarette “till it burned bright and red”. The partnership went up in smoke after reaching Oslo, when Melle announced that he intended to race against Pape in a rival car.

Rattled, Pape sought refuge in his hotel room while the Press waited for his next move. He eventually took to the bar, where Willy Kroesinger, a sponsor’s messenger, visited him and was promptly promoted to co-driver. Hustling for the North Cape and driving in shifts, the pair covered 620 miles in 24 hours. North of Narvik a tyre blew out, and Pape lost control, somersaulting the Austin into a ravine. He had the wreck towed to

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the nearest town where, shaken, he was given a bottle of brandy. Stirred into action, he ordered two more.

Pape flew back to Oslo. There, launching a fusillade of telegrams, he commandeered the personal A90 of the local Austin sales manager, as well as a selection of firearms to supplement his swordstick. With Kroesinger proving unfit to continue, a new co-driver was found in Johan Brun, a Norwegian photo- journalist.

Nursing bruised ribs Pape gingerly drove north, and the pair conquered the Nordkapp on July 28.

After fitting the new Austin with equipment scavenged from the wrecked car, they crossed Europe in four days of driving. In Germany Pape insulted a crowd of boastful locals, then in France he collided with a donkey. Having removed the unfortunate beast from his roof rack, he ploughed on through Spain.

Brun fell ill in Gibraltar, but Pape would not delay. Something else was waiting for him; a Bates trailer, packed with 25 jerry cans of fuel. It was Pape’s secret weapon for crossing the Sahara and present his best bowman fingers to the French authorities.

He needed a new co-driver, and fast. While drinking in the RAF mess at Gibraltar, his impassioned patriotic plea was answered by a young Sergeant Johnson, who went AWOL to join him. On the ferry to Tangiers, Pape supped brandy-infused eggnog and considered his predicament. He

lacked travel visas for North Africa, the Sahara was a no-entry zone, he was out of cash and his new codriver was now on a wanted list.

Pape played cat and mouse with the authorities, ducking and bullying his way through checkpoints. He forged Johan Brun’s signature on traveller’s cheques, bribed officials and artfully distracted a customs

agent from his arms cache by spraying the official with a fizzy drink.

Johnson and Pape reached subSaharan Africa, where Pape’s golden goose of a trailer turned out to be a turkey. They struggled and sweated with the encumbrance, while the Austin rebelled at trying to drag it out of the sand. With car and men struggling to adapt to the heat, Pape

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LEFT Against the odds, Pape, supported by a series of beleaguered co-drivers, adventured from the tip of Norway to the bottom of Africa. The man was as demanding as the journey.

made the mistake of drinking water without first purifying it. He paid the price with dysentery. At Bou Denib, 95 miles from Colomb-Béchar, the pair found petrol and beer just before the Gendarmerie found them.

Pape’s fourth co-driver was hauled off in cuffs back to the RAF. Pape faced the Sahara alone.

Ignoring French regulations and all expert advice, he attacked the shifting sands; the desert won. Having stranded the A90, he set off on foot, got lost and collapsed with heatstroke and hallucinations. The French rescued the mad Anglais, fixed his car and detained him until summer’s end. A chastened Pape crossed the void in convoy in September.

Central Africa in the wet season brought a plague of biting beetles, giant frogs, torrential rain and rivers of mud. The A90 took a pounding.

Reaching Gao, Pape found cognac and soda, and slept the clock round, then rebuilt the suspension with salvaged lorry springs and bodgery.

Amazingly, Brun returned for a

second bout, bringing fresh shock absorbers and cigarettes. The journey continued with washed-out roads forcing them off route, while termites ate their supplies and mosquitoes consumed them. Fatigue set in, and bitten, drenched and with the Austin wallowing in a mud-hole, tempers frayed. The pair resorted to fighting each other instead of the elements.

Eventually they shook hands and pushed on through the Congo. On the last leg, outside Albertville, a head-on collision with a Ford station wagon crippled the A90. Pape and Brun limped the twisted car back to Albertville, where news reached them that their rivals were closing in.

Scrounging scrap metal, Pape cobbled the Austin back together.

Out of money and luck, he left Brun as security for unpaid bills and – high on Paludrine and whisky – he thrashed out the last 3000 miles.

On October 22, victorious if lousy with malaria, he drove his valiant, battered Austin into Cape Town.

He returned to London for a stint

in the Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

Brun sent him flowers, with instructions not to eat them. Austin gave him a new A90, in beige with chestnut trim; Pape crashed it.

He moved on to other adventures, later finding an unlikely calling running a home for disabled children in Papua New Guinea. Contracted for two years, he stayed for ten, marrying the lawyer who bailed him out after a ‘squiffy’ driving incident.

Pape died in Canberra in 1995, but the A90 lives on, rubbing shoulders with rally machinery at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon. A modest plaque does the car and the man scant justice. Steven Harper

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What impact did lockdown have?

Visitors mean income, so we’ve taken a hit like everyone else. A skeleton staff cared for the collections while we were closed. It was the first time I’ve ever seen everything covered in dust sheets. Work on the National Motor Museum Trust’s long-term development plan continues, with new ideas coming from recently appointed trustees.

INTERVIEW

LORD MONTAGU In his role as custodian of the incomparable National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, Ralph Montagu recalls his petrolhead forebears and outlines plans for the venue’s exciting future

What are your favourite parts of the Beaulieu estate?

The Beaulieu River and the Solent foreshore. While away but thinking of home, that view out to sea is the one I always return to in my mind.

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What are your museum plans?

Many ambitions! Increasing our interaction with everyone whose lives have been touched by cars, roads and motoring. Presenting ideas for the future of personal transport.

Being a champion for the engineering profession. Digitising our archives.

Celebrating the creations of motoring pioneers and innovators. Showcasing the creativity of car design and motoring art. Helping people rekindle their motoring memories. I am also conscious that the Beaulieu collection is constantly growing despite our exhibition space being finite; it would be nice to establish a second base further north, but that’s blue-sky thinking at present.

What have been your highlights since taking over the estate?

Many, but there’s one I enjoyed on my late father’s behalf. It was during a trip to Canberra, Australia, when I was acquainted with the 1910 Silver Ghost (chassis no. 1404) originally purchased by my grandfather John Montagu. After 32 years’ work, she’s been splendidly restored by RollsRoyce historian Ian Irwin.

Pandemic aside, what challenges do museums generally face?

In truth, there are too many museums and heritage attractions to all be supported with public funds and visitor revenue. Sadly, some have closed and more probably will.

The survivors will be those who create reasons for people to visit more often and be ‘happening places’. That said, I worry that a few museums are suffering from ‘mission creep’ because of the social agenda imposed by some funding bodies. Broadening reach and appeal is absolutely right, but they should not be lured into providing social services to qualify for funding.

How has it felt to re-open the museum post-lockdown?

A great sense of relief. Never have I been so very pleased to welcome

How do you think museums and attractions will develop?

The leisure market will remain competitive and museums must

continue to innovate. In our case, there’s no point in being the National Motor Museum if we can’t make the story of motoring interesting to all. As a charity, we need to say to people, particularly car enthusiasts: “Look, we share the same passion, so what can we do for you, and what can you do for us?”

Is being in charge of the Beaulieu legacy a great responsibility?

The legacy my father passed down to me has its challenges. It was only when COVID-19 came along that I found myself alone in Palace House without staff for the first time ever. It gave me time to think, but also absorb the full meaning of being on duty at all times. An estate never sleeps.

What are the highs and lows of running the Beaulieu estate?

A high in recent years has been staging a Christmas pantomime in Palace House for our visitors.

Sometimes I take part myself. I’ll just mention one low; occasionally having to witness much-loved trees, often centuries old, fall down or having to be cut down because they are rotten.

Do you still get a chance to indulge your own interests, such as trains?

Most steam-train tours and car rallies have been cancelled this year, but I’m still hoping to do a train trip in Europe in the autumn. I was able to indulge another interest during lockdown, when I sorted out my personal Matchbox toy car collection and created a display of these in Palace House to accompany our Motoring In Miniature exhibition in the museum.

What exciting things will happen at Beaulieu in the coming months?

It’s pained me to cancel our larger events [the famed autojumbles included], but we’re able to continue our ‘Simply’ rallies; gatherings of cars under a common marque or nationality. These are Simply Land Rover (Aug 9), Simply VW (Aug 15), Simply American (Aug 16), Simply Mercedes (Aug 23), Simply Aston Martin (Aug 30), Simply Vauxhall (Sept 12), Simply Ford (Sept 13), Simply British Classics (Sept 20), Simply Porsche (Sept 27) and Simply BMW (Oct 4)... Enough already!

INTERVIEW BY DAVID LILLYWHITE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM

visitors. Social distancing requires that we have a one-way system around the museum; some people have admitted to discovering sections they had bypassed previously, and have rather enjoyed those extra bits.

It’s time to get back out on the road again

1964 Aston Martin DB5

1964 Aston Martin DB5

Subject to a total body off restoration by ourselves over three years, completed in 2018 with a no expense spared approach. Engine to 4.2 litre specification with steel conrods etc. Finished in its original Dubonnet metallic and fawn vaumol hides by Connolly. A full photographic record accompanies the car and is now ready for immediate delivery.

Finished in the original colour scheme of Caribbean Pearl and dark blue hides. Subject to a body off restoration by a team of highly experienced Aston restorers. It is 100% correct in the detail and finishes. Engine to 4.2 litre specification. Having covered a mere 2,000 miles since completion, it is ready for the coming season to be used in any capacity.

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BEST OF THE BOOKS The quality of automotive publications is on the rise. Here are some of the latest gems PORSCHE KREMER RACING

SHADOW: THE MAGNIFICENT MACHINES OF A MAN OF MYSTERY The man in question was Don Nichols, an American D-Day paratrooper, counter-intelligence officer and founder of Shadow – the only US-based team to win a CanAm championship.

This is the first book to cover the full Shadow story; CanAm, Formula 1 and Formula 5000.

It’s written by Pete Lyons, who covered Shadow’s debut CanAm and F1 races as a journalist. Now, for Shadow’s 50th anniversary, he’s documented the team’s history, based on interviews with the late Don Nichols, drivers George Follmer and Jackie Oliver, and designers Trevor Harris and Tony Southgate.

It’s fascinating, from Nichols’ early life to the military-vehicle projects he continued to plug right into the 2000s. With a hefty 464 pages and 600 pictures, the price of £75 feels spot on. www.evropublishing.com

FERRARI 857S: THE REMARKABLE HISTORY OF 0578M The ninth book in the Porter Press ‘Exceptional Cars’ series details the life of this 857S road racer. It was driven both as a factory entry and with privateers around the world, all covered here with archive images and an excellent studio shoot of the car as it is now. Great value at £30. www.porterpress.co.uk

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Kremer Racing, forever associated with endurance racing, Porsches and wild liveries – the privateer racing team that beat the works cars, over and over again.

The story starts in 1962 when brothers Erwin and Manfred Kremer opened a workshop in Cologne, specialising in the repair of Porsche 356s. Their success enabled them to try a little grassroots motor sport; minor rallies, hillclimbs and track events. The brothers’ expertise allowed them to make clever improvements to their race cars, and suddenly they were finding success in major championships.

This large-format, 392-page hardback is priced at €95. It tells the full story, packed with great anecdotes from drivers and team members, as well as statistics and great period pictures. www.sportfahrer-zentrale.com

JOCHEN RINDT: UNCROWNED KING OF FORMULA 1 It’s 50 years since Jochen Rindt lost his life at Monza, just four races from the end of the 1970 season. He’d been widely acknowledged as the fastest man in Formula 1, although his first three seasons were a struggle with the then-waning Cooper team, and the following season with Brabham was plagued by unreliability. It was his move to Lotus, and the team’s new 72, that transformed his fortunes.

This 496-page paperback (a bargain at £12.99) by the brilliant David Tremayne was first published in 2010, but it has been re-released for this major anniversary of Rindt’s death. It tells of his early days terrorising Austrian locals on a moped, through his first races, beating big names in the 1964 Crystal Palace F2 race, and on to the posthumous award of the 1970 World Championship. www.evropublishing.com

BOOK REVIEW

It’s not just a car club, it’s a brotherhood Exclusive access to the cult R Gruppe Porsche club enabled photographer Frank Kayser to produce this illuminating insight

S T A R T E R

IT’S NOT EASY to become part of the R Gruppe. Sometimes this means it attracts scorn at its perceived elitism and pretensions.

Sometimes this adds to its mystique.

But basically, you’re not going to get an invitation to join America’s cult Porsche car club or its gatherings unless you have an air-cooled that’s modified in exactly the ‘right’ way and used in the right way – regardless of the weather.

The massive 580-page ‘RBook’, measuring 26x32cm (10x13in) and weighing 4.8kg (10.5lb), might then be your only glimpse of the R Gruppe’s members, along with their cars and private garages. German photographer Frank Kayser, a long-time Porsche enthusiast, spent 14 months with the R Gruppe, photographing the people and their

machines, travelling thousands of miles and talking for hours with all those involved.

He took more than 200,000 pictures, eventually choosing 824 of them. When asked what makes the book so special, he says that he “doesn’t know a second club on this planet consisting of such diverse individualists, living the spirit of the free while forming such a special brotherhood around their shared passion”, and that he’s “been welcomed like a brother from the get-go and felt like coming home”.

Thus, he concludes, the book has turned out to be one of the most important works of his career – not because of all the work or the risk he took, but because he himself became a part of all this.

R Gruppe was formed in 1999

by Cris Huergas and automotive designer Freeman Thomas, whose work includes the Audi TT, New Beetle and Panoz Roadster.

The group took its name from the 1967 911 R, and Steve McQueen was posthumously granted membership no. 001, with Cris as no. 002 and Freeman no. 003. Numbers were soon capped at 300 in order to retain the club’s intimacy – but if a member’s involvement in the scene lapses, then their membership is cancelled.

Its clubhouse is in the building that until recently housed famous Porsche dismantler European Auto Salvage Yard, located in Emeryville, California; although the company has since closed, the use of the building is still allowed by its owner, and is still the base for R Gruppe car gatherings every first

Saturday morning of the month.

And the book? It’s a hefty beauty, printed on three different paper stocks and costing €180 (plus P&P) as standard, or €300 for the handsigned Limited Edition (of 700 copies), complete with stickers plus an embossed and numbered slipcase. www.therbook.com

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Is this Saby’s 1981 Monte Carlo car?

No one is saying for definite, but this well known Renault 5 Turbo could turn out to be a works car

OUR WORLD CONSTANTLY reverberates with tales of lost cars, rediscovered cars and, of course, fakes. Yet there’s some fascinating evidence to say that this well known Renault 5 Turbo Group 4 rally car could indeed be the works machine that was driven by Bruno Saby on the 1981 Monte Carlo.

What is known is that the 5 was bought by Greek Renault importer Alexandros ‘Leonidas’ Maniatopoulos. It debuted in Greece in 1981 with Leonidas, featuring the not-yet-available Super Cevennes big turbo and dry-sump engine setup. Over the following two seasons, Leonidas achieved several wins and podiums with this car, taking eighth overall in the 1982 Acropolis World Rally Championship round, and finishing second in the 1982 Greek Rally Championship.

Leonidas updated it to Group B format and sold it to Kostas Damigos, who rallied it twice before selling it to Dimitris ‘Taki’ Manopoulos, who campaigned it for over 30 years, scoring a remarkable 200 rally victories in Greece. It’s now for sale with UK dealer William I’Anson, restored to Leonidas’ FINA livery from the 1982 Acropolis WRC rally.

What’s interesting, though, is that ABOVE & LEFT The Renault 5 back in the livery of Leonidas at the 1982 WRC Rothmans Acropolis Rally; and the remains of what could be works team paint.

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anecdotal evidence pointed towards it originally being the works rally car registered 127 TZ 91, finished in the iconic yellow and red Calberson livery. This was the new car assigned by the works team to Bruno Saby and Daniel Le Saux for the 1981 Monte Carlo. The pair went off the road on stage 23, inflicting minor damage but stranded off the track – only for another competitor to crash and land on top of the Renault, crushing its flimsy titanium roll cage.

Its sister car won the rally, but the whereabouts of 127 TZ 91 weren’t recorded. However, team members recall it being sold to Greece – and indeed Leonidas was well known to the works team. During the car’s repaint, evidence was found of roof repairs, welded-up boot-latch holes, reinforcements, the remnants of dry-sump system installations, and the works-only (in 1981) Super Cevennes engine set-up.

Having had several accidents, the Renault has previously had areas of paint removed across the car. In some places, the 1982 metallic blue of Leonidas was found as the base layer. On the top of a door body, less thoroughly prepared, there is black, followed by the yellow of 1981, then turquoise of early 1982, and metallic blue, also of 1982. On top of this is the yellow of 1983, then white as seen initially with Taki in 1986, yellow as run in 1999, and white as seen with Taki in 2000.

The three early works Group 4 cars, including 127 TZ 91, used overcentre latches positioned below the rear window in the centre of the bootlid, and are the only cars known to have done so. When Leonidas was rallying the car through 1982, these same boot catches can be seen in photographs, and the welded-up bolt holes are present on the car today.

The two works Monte Carlo cars of 1981, 440 VB 91 and 127 TZ 91, had short front bumpers, devoid of the bottom lip or splitter. From the first appearance in Greece in 1981, Leonidas has a short front bumper, which stayed on the car through to his final event with it in 1983.

William I’Anson isn’t making wild claims for the 5, merely presenting the evidence – but whatever the truth, it’s a fascinating car and story.

You can find more information at www.williamianson.com.

1964 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso Chassis # 5607 Impeccable restoration by Motion Products, Inc Multiple show awards, including 1st in Class Platinum, Cavallino Classic & Best in Class, Ferrari 70th Anniversary, Maranello Classiche Red Book

1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster Chassis Number # 002756 is 1 of only 5 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadsters which were originally supplied in Fantasiegelb color code DB 653, Fantasy Yellow.

Tastefully restored to show condition and now with a dark green leather interior, matching two-piece luggage, black hard top and upgraded with Rudge wheels.

FURTHER CARS AVAILABLE: 1957 Fiat Abarth 750GT Corsa Zagato ‘Double Bubble’ 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS 1974 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale 1976 Lamborghini Countach LP400 Periscopica ex Princess Dalal

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S T A R T E R

Selling the family silver One company’s glimpse into a future that never arrived, this stunning stainless steel trio of American Fords is set to go under the hammer

TOP AND LEFT Allegheny Ludlum’s stainless steel trio will be sold as a single lot – and quite right, too. Who would want to split such a beautiful classic trifecta?

STEEL, ALUMINIUM, PLASTIC, glassfibre, carbonfibre, wood and fabric – all have been used for car bodywork over the years. But rarely stainless steel, logical as its corrosion-resistant properties might seem for such an application. Even the DeLorean was actually just stainless steel cladding over a rather less glamorous glassfibre underbody.

Back in the mid-1930s, though, Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Ludlum Steel came to an agreement with the Ford Motor Company to build six 1936 model year cars in stainless steel to show off the material’s decorative appeal and durability.

The automobiles were then used by Allegheny Ludlum executives, each clocking up around 200,000 miles before they were taken out of service in 1946. By then, most mechanical parts had been replaced several times.

Four of the six cars still exist, one of which – the ’36 Deluxe Saloon you see here – was retained by Allegheny Ludlum. Another was donated to Pittsburgh’s Heinz History Center, where it’s still on display.

The Allegheny Ludlum company and Ford did it all again years later, first with two 1960 Thunderbirds and then with three 1967 Lincoln

Continental drop-tops. Once again, Allegheny Ludlum kept one of each – making up the rest of the trio above.

The cars look fantastic, and it makes you wonder why stainless steel wasn’t taken up more widely for automotive bodywork. However, it’s a difficult metal to form into intricate shapes and to weld.

Although over the years there’s been talk of using the material to clad, for example, spaceframe cars, ultimately it’s never found favour.

It’s telling that the two stainless steel Thunderbirds were the very last of the second-generation T-birds to be made, because pressing the panels was expected to damage the body dies. Still, it’s interesting to note that the two Allegheny Ludlum Thunderbirds came out at the same weight as the mild steel models on which they were based.

Allegheny Ludlum was later renamed Allegheny Technologies, and it’s now selling its three stainless steel Fords through Worldwide Auctioneers. They’ll be offered as a single consignment, no reserve, at Worldwide’s annual Auburn Auction, held over Labor Day Weekend in Indiana, US on September 5.

See www.worldwideauctioneers.com.

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INVINCIBLE?

WOR D S JOHN SIMISTER

PHOTOGRAPHY RICK GUEST

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LOTUS ELEVEN

Enclosed wheels, faired-in headlights and an unusually small radiator air intake made the Eleven a slippery machine.

Three models were available: the Sports, with a Ford 100E sidevalve engine or a 1098cc Coventry Climax; the Club, with the Climax but still a live rear axle; and the Le Mans, Climax-powered and featuring de Dion rear suspension. One such Eleven won its class at Le Mans on its 1956 debut, another set a new Monza speed record for an 1100cc machine; 143mph.

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LOTUS. LIGHTWEIGHT OWING To Universal Simplicity?

That’s an acronym truer to Colin Chapman’s vision for Lotus than the usual serious-trouble-based one, but it covers just a small part of the original thought that has always been the Lotus lodestone.

Chapman had a fatal heart attack at the end of 1982, well before the halfway point of Lotus’s 72-year history to date, but his philosophies still dictate the company’s 21st-century engineering approach. ‘Colin would approve’ remains the barometer of an idea’s appropriateness, be it to do with lightweight construction, aerodynamics, chassis dynamics or even radical new modes of propulsion. Pioneers always bear the greatest risks, of course, and Lotus has often been on a financial edge. Sometimes the stress has added a frisson to the creativity, sometimes it has broken the spell. But life at Lotus has never been less than exciting.

Simplify and add lightness – that was Chapman’s credo right from the start. Reducing weight puts in motion a virtuous circle; you need less power to make the car go as quickly, smaller brakes to stop it, smaller wheels to support it, thus further reducing the weight. In this way Chapman was achieving amazing results from tiny, spindly machinery even as Lotus became a proper company in 1952, four years after he had set up shop.

‘THERE IS NOTHING LIGHTER THAN A HOLE’ Every Lotus has had a flavour of Chapman’s innovative spirit, yet some of the innovations have stood out over the years. Some worked, some did not; some wrote history, some sank into obscurity. But all were the fascinating products of inventive minds – not only of Colin Chapman but also of those he worked with and inspired, whether in person or by reputation.

One such mind was that of Frank Costin. He was the brother of Mike Costin, who had joined up with Chapman in the earliest days of Lotus before becoming half of Cosworth with Keith Duckworth, another early Lotus alumnus. Mike was an engineer, Frank was the aerodynamicist who designed for Chapman’s 1954 Lotus MkVIII a properly streamlined body to clothe the spaceframe chassis with its de Dion rear suspension. Costin clothed the MkIX (smaller engine) and MkX (larger engine) in similar be-finned style, but his Type Eleven – no more ‘marks’ and Roman numerals – was yet slipperier to make the most of its compact Climax engine and minimal weight.

‘A THREE-EIGHTHS-INCH BOLT WILL LIFT A DOUBLE-DECKER BUS’ Next, the 1957 Lotus 12, a Formula 2 car and Chapman’s first single-seater. It featured the only Lotus innovation to bear the founder’s name; the Chapman strut. This independent rearsuspension system could not have been simpler for an arrangement able to give ideal geometry and minimal unsprung weight. The double-jointed driveshaft and a forward radius rod gave longitudinal and lateral location, and a long ‘coil-over’ strut, rigidly attached to the hub at its base and angled inwards to a high top mounting, handled vertical location. Maximum dynamic efficiency from minimal parts, and archetypal Chapman.

There was more. With the Lotus 12 came the ‘wobbly web’ magnesium wheel, the brainchild of Chapman and fellow creative engineer, Gilbert McIntosh, inspired by the aviation industry.

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LOTUS 25

A new era began in F1 with this car, the Lotus 25 with its aluminium monocoque set-up.

Lotus’s engineers were not entirely convinced it would work, so they created a second car for the 1962 season that looked similar but used a conventional spaceframe; the 24.

That car raced first, and private teams could buy it, but the 25 – its structure four times stiffer than the 24’s – soon proved unbeatable as Jim Clark took it to the 1963 World Championship.

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out towards the rim, offered maximum strength for minimum weight, but its lack of holes for brake cooling made it less useful for closed-wheel cars. And then there was the sequential transaxle designed by Harry Mundy (technical editor of The Autocar) and Richard Ansdale, with ratios easy to change during a race meeting. It was a great idea plagued by lubrication trouble and gear-selection difficulties, soon dubbed the ‘Queerbox’ by those struggling with it. Full marks for trying, though.

‘MCTR: MORE CAREFUL THOUGHT REQUIRED’ (OFTEN SEEN AT THE END OF CHAPMAN’S JOB LISTS) Move two numbers further along the Lotus line (but only one car, ‘13’, having been bypassed for reasons of superstition), and we come to Type 14, Lotus’s first closed-cockpit road model.

There was nearly another ‘first’ for the coupé named Elite – a name chosen to chime with Eleven, and which triggered the whole sequence of names beginning with E – which was that its structure was a glassfibre monocoque. Certainly the Elite was the first full-sized, ‘proper’ car so designed, but Lotus was just beaten to pioneering composite-monocoque status by the tiny Berkeley sports car, launched earlier in 1957.

The Elite, however, had beauty and aerodynamic efficiency on its side, the former thanks to Chapman’s accountant friend Peter Kirwan-Taylor who drew cars in his spare time, the latter thanks – again – to Frank Costin. Ex-Ford man John Frayling devised the mouldings that made Chapman’s monocoque idea a reality, and with its 1216cc Coventry Climax and those Chapman struts the Elite was a speedy and agile machine as well as a rather noisy one for its occupants.

The monocoque idea gained a new interpretation late in 1961, as Chapman sketched out an idea on a paper napkin over lunch with his engineering colleagues. Frustrated with the need to devise complex fuel tanks to fit either side of the driver in a tube-framed single-seater, he proposed to make the tank housings (containing aircraft-style rubber-bag tanks) the side members of an aluminium structure to be joined by the floor and closed off by bulkheads, to which suspension and engine supports would be attached. The result was the Lotus 25, in which Jim Clark became Formula 1 World Champion in 1963.

That feat was repeated in 1965 with the Lotus 33, an evolution of the 25. Both cars used the inboard front-suspension springs (tucked away out of the airstream) and the reclining driving position pioneered in the 1961 Type 21, the first works Lotus to win a Grand Prix (US GP, Innes Ireland).

‘INSTEAD OF REDUCING WEIGHT, IT’S BETTER TO DESIGN LIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE’ For the Lotus 26 – the original Elan – there was however a creative regression from the monocoque idea. Chapman wanted to sell many more Elans than he had been selling Elites, so the new sports car had to appeal to a wider audience and be both quicker and cheaper to build. Designer Ron Hickman, later of Black & Decker Workmate fame, came up with a deep-section backbone chassis forked at each end to take the mechanical components, initially as a test-bed for those mechanicals while the body’s fate – monocoque, or not? – was still undecided.

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‘A THREE-EIGHTHS-INCH BOLT WILL LIFT A DOUBLE-DECKER BUS’

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‘THERE IS NOTHING LIGHTER THAN A HOLE’

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Wings and aerofoils hit F1 in the late 1960s, but the 72 was the first car to be designed around their aerodynamic possibilities. Its multi-element rear spoiler and sidepodmounted rads aft of the driver to allow a low nose together set a template still evident today.

LOTUS 49

ILLUSTRATIONS PAUL RIDLEY

LOTUS ELAN

It looks like a big Airfix kit with its three mouldings, as devised by Frayling.

Maximar Mouldings made 250 glassfibre monocoques; the Bristol Aeroplane Company made the rest having benefitted from Lotus’s steep learning curve in composites.

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LOTUS ELITE

The 49’s big ‘first’ was the DFV V8, unavailable to other teams until the next year and set to become F1’s longestserving engine. The 49, with the DFV as its rear chassis, won its debut GP in Clark’s hands, and took Graham Hill to 1968’s World Championship.

The Elan’s deepsection backbone chassis of pressed steel was originally devised as a test-bed for mechanicals such as Lotus’s first marque-unique engine. Vacuum pop-up lights were the fruit of further original thought.

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stiff’ by the motoring press of the time, but in reality it was anything but. The Elan’s glassfibre body fitted over the frame like a saddle and contributed about a quarter of the completed car’s torsional stiffness, with even the wooden dashboard playing a part, yet still the Elan was barely a third as stiff as a typical modern convertible. It wasn’t admitted at the time, but here is the real reason why the Elan was so softly sprung. It was to stop the structure twisting too much. Incidentally, that plywood dashboard also formed the mounting for the top of the steering column. That was typical Chapman; getting one part to perform multiple functions.

Another Elan innovation was the vacuum-operated system for the pop-up headlamps, which used the chassis’ front crossmember as the vacuum tank. And then there was the engine, a neat twin-cam conversion of Ford’s mass-market pushrod four-cylinder with the inlet manifold included in the head casting, and first tried out in the Lotus 23 sports racer.

Harry Mundy, again, was the engineer.

By 1963 the monocoque-chassis, mid-engine configuration was standard fare in Formula 1. Over in the US, though, the premier single-seater race, the Indianapolis 500, was still mostly populated by front-engined ‘roadsters’ with four-cylinder Offenhauser engines, and technical innovation was scarce.

Chapman had good connections with Ford through the twincam engine and, encouraged by rapid and versatile American racer Dan Gurney, he sensed an opportunity at Indy.

An enlarged, beefed-up Lotus 25 with a four-cam Ford V8 in the tail would be a winning combination, he thought, given that in testing even the regular 1.5-litre 25 had taken Indy’s banked turns faster than any Offy roadster. The resulting Lotus 29 almost did the job, Jim Clark finishing second in the 1963 event and Gurney seventh, and Indianapolis was changed forever. Clark finally proved the point in 1965’s event, driving a faster, stronger Lotus 38.

‘IF YOU’RE NOT WINNING, YOU’RE NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH’ Formula 1 engines could be of up to 3.0 litres for 1966, but it wasn’t until 1967 and the Dutch Grand Prix that Lotus revealed its definitive machine for the new rules. Ford had bankrolled Cosworth’s first F1 engine, the DFV V8, and Chapman had exclusive use of the motor for its first year. He and designer Maurice Philippe used the DFV as a stressed part of the new Lotus 49’s structure, bolting it directly to the rear bulkhead and attaching the suspension to the gearbox and that bulkhead.

Clark won the 49’s debut race, and soon nearly every team was emulating the weight-saving, stressed-engine configuration.

But was that configuration a Lotus idea? Actually, no; the previous year, BRM used its fiendishly complex and catastrophically unreliable H16 engine in the same way, a unit also supplied to Lotus for its interim 43. Clark won the 1966 US GP in the 43, the H16’s sole victory – and therefore the first for a Formula 1 car using the engine as a stressed member.

Team Lotus revealed its next conceptual leap in 1968, with Indy in its sights again. The Lotus 56 was significant for three reasons. It was powered by gas turbine, following the near-win the previous year by Parnelli Jones in his STP-Paxton. Its body was shaped like a wedge, to minimise lift without recourse to wings or spoilers. And it had four-wheel drive, like the MAGNETO

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LOTUS 79

Signs of the groundeffect revolution were there in the preceding 78, the first ‘wing car’ in which airflow through long-skirted sidepods sucked the chassis to the track, but reliability was patchy and turbulence in the pods’ exiting air could lead to unexpected oversteer.

The 79 righted these wrongs, adding venturis inside the pods to speed the airflow and increase suction, and exhausting the pods’ air further back. It also looked fabulous as it sucked Mario Andretti to his 1978 World Championship.

‘DESIGN IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MATERIAL’

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Paxton car before it, whose STP sponsorship the 56 inherited.

One of the three 56s came close to winning, driver Joe Leonard retiring from the lead a few laps from the end (and note that Leonard and Hill had qualified first and second), but then the United States Auto Club changed the Indy rules and the gas turbine’s days were over. Four-wheel drive hung on, flowering briefly but unsuccessfully for the 1969 F1 season in the Lotus 63 and rivals from Matra, McLaren and Cosworth, but more significant was that wedge shape. Team Lotus used it for the popular 61 Formula Ford racer, for the 63 – and for the highly successful 72 F1 car, an aerodynamic milestone.

As well as that wedge profile, the 72 was the first F1 car to have radiators mounted not in the nose but in sidepods ahead of the rear wheels. Later versions of the 49 had featured an upswept engine cover and were the first Grand Prix cars to use reverse-aerofoil wings either side of the nose, yet the 72 integrated all these features with a multi-element rear wing.

In doing so, it changed the look of Formula 1 cars forever. It won three constructors’ championships, starting in 1970, and took Jochen Rindt and Emerson Fittipaldi to their drivers’ championships in 1970 and 1972.

‘IF YOU CAN START THE RACE WITH THREE GALLONS OF FUEL LESS, YOU’VE SAVED YOURSELF 21LB. IT’S SO SIMPLE’ Lotus was truly on a roll with new ideas as Chapman diced with the rulemakers to stay a step ahead. The Lotus 76 of 1974 introduced an automatic clutch to F1 (the drivers favoured a return to the 72), the ‘all-adjustable’ 77 didn’t work very well, and the 78 most certainly did. This was the first true ‘wing car’, the result of aerodynamicist Peter Wright’s continuing research into wing-shaped sidepods (for fuel) leading to venturi tunnels between the sidepods and the surface to suck the 78 to the track.

Movable rubber side skirts helped seal in the suction.

Nothing could outpace an on-form Lotus 78 in 1977, but Wright refined the idea to even greater effect in the 79, the first full ground-effect machine with venturis in the sidepods. Still Chapman pushed for the creative advantage right up to his life’s premature end, the team’s Type 88 of 1981 scoring two significant technological firsts despite never competing in a Grand Prix. One was a shared accolade, joining McLaren’s MP4 at the 1981 US GP West at Long Beach in introducing a carbonfibre monocoque.

McLaren had subcontracted its structure to a composites specialist, Lotus had built its own… which hid under the other first, a complete, separate body able to act as a giant, one-piece wing. Team Lotus described it as a twin-chassis construction; the FIA declared the body to be a ‘movable aerodynamic device’, banned under the rules. Chapman was livid, of course, but this time he had to admit defeat.

‘I’M NOT FIGHTING FOR THE CAR’S SAKE AS MUCH AS TO DEFEND TECHNICAL FREEDOM IN FORMULA 1’ Meanwhile, there was much research and development going on for road cars in Lotus’s research section, later to take on much consultancy work for other carmakers. One intriguing project was an active ride system able to control ride height, body roll, pitch and squat via computer-controlled hydraulics and myriad sensors. Initial testing was done with Esprits, but it soon moved 8 0

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on to what became the first active-suspension F1 car, the 92.

The system’s chief advantage in F1 was that it could cope with huge aerodynamic downforce without subjecting the driver to near-solid suspension, yet it promised much for road cars, too.

For Chapman, active ride was going to be sweet revenge for the 88 disaster – but he died just days before Peter Wright was able to demonstrate the first 92 test car to him.

As for Lotus’s road cars, the Esprit – launched in 1976 – was itself a hot-bed of new thinking even if its configuration was a carry-over from the Europa (Type 46) of 1966, Britain’s first mid-engined road car. The Esprit’s glassfibre body was not hand laid but moulded in upper and lower halves by Lotus’s patented VARI (Vacuum Assisted Resin Injection) process. Its engine – Lotus’s first fully in-house design – was a trendsetter, too; the four-cylinder 900-series family, used initially in the JensenHealey, was the first road-car unit to feature both all-aluminium construction and 16 valves, and as installed in 1980’s Esprit Turbo it became Britain’s first in-house turbocharged petrol engine.

(TVR beat Lotus to a turbocharged production car, but its forced-induction Ford Essex V6 used a Broadspeed conversion.)

‘DESIGN IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MATERIAL’ Post-Chapman, the pace of innovation slowed a little but the inspiration was always there. The Lotus research department developed an early anti-noise system in which loudspeakers in a car’s cabin reproduced the normal cabin sounds as they occurred, but out of phase to cancel them out. With suitable modulation of the waveform, the Citroën AX demonstrator vehicle could be made to sound to its occupants as if powered by a V8.

Then there was the front-wheel-drive M100 Elan of 1989, which used a unique ‘raft’ system on which to mount each side’s front-suspension components. These rafts were able to move on rubber mountings, which deflected under load to counteract the effects of torque-steer and increasing cornering forces. The M100, unusual in having two production runs (1989-’92, then 1994-’95), was however not a great commercial success because it was arguably not quite the rebirth of the affordable sports car that enthusiasts purportedly craved.

The Elise of 1996, by contrast, most definitely was – and its descendants are still in production. It brought a stream of forward-thinking ideas, such as a chassis of bonded and extruded aluminium, pedals and suspension uprights cut as crosssections of more aluminium extrusions, and brake discs made from an aluminium-ceramic matrix. The lightweight Elise could hardly have conformed more faithfully to Chapman’s ideals.

And since then? In 2009 Lotus revealed its experimental Omnivore engine, a single-cylinder, direct-injection twostroke with a variable compression ratio able to run on a variety of biofuels and get the best from any of them. Its engineering consultancy continues to work behind the scenes for major manufacturers. And last year it revealed Britain’s first fully electric ‘hypercar’, the 2000bhp, 200mph Evija, aka the Lotus Type 130.

Production of the 130 examples started this year, and despite the £2.04m price this year’s (COVID-reduced) output is said already to have been sold. Colin Chapman always wanted to take Lotus upmarket. As the automotive world enters territory never more uncertain than now, this is certainly one way to do it.

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LOTUS EVIJA

Electric propulsion looks set to be the future for all cars, including the fastest and most glamorous – and the Evija shows that Lotus, now owned by China’s Geely Corporation, is banking heavily on that future. The panels that clad the carbonfibre structure have downforcecreating channels along the flanks, fed air from the nose and expelling that air through rear vents bounded by outline tail-lights, and each wheel has its own motor.

At 1680kg it’s heavy for a Lotus, if not an EV; around 1250lb ft of torque – from a standstill – should hide that weight quite effectively.

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“THERE’S A BIG picture of Colin Chapman at the bottom of the stairs here; everyone walks past it in the mornings,” says Matt Windle, Lotus’ director of sports car engineering. “I definitely look at it a lot. Let’s not forget he was a fantastic engineer. The products Lotus produced were fantastic for their time, and any inspiration we can take from that we should.”

Colin Chapman passed away on December 16, 1982. The Esprit would remain in production for a further 22 years, later to be joined by the clever, underrated but slightly un-Chapmanlike Elan M100. It wasn’t until 1996 that the Elise signalled a return to Chapman values.

So do the Lotus philosophies still hold true today, in the midst of the launch of the £2m Evija, or are they just marketing hype now?

Over to managing director Phil Popham: “We have the lightest electrified car, the most powerful EV production car that’s very radical in terms of design, its form and function, the aerodynamics. Clive Chapman [head of Classic Team Lotus] said to me it’s exactly the sort of programme his dad would have approved of.

Would Colin Chapman have done it the same way? There’s no way of knowing.”

“Dad had a very open mind and a very fertile mind,” says Clive. “He was continually coming up with ideas, sparks of expression that other people hadn’t thought of. Materials, structure, weight distribution, suspension... improving

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“I believe in getting light weight from elegance of design,” said Chapman. How does that translate to Lotus today?

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everything that was there and coming up with ideas that people just hadn’t thought of before.

“Loads of people have great ideas every day, but my father was able to have big ideas of his own or work with people who had a big idea and help them realise it – that’s the biggest thing, that ‘get it done’ ability that he had and instilled in other people. He worked unbelievably hard and achieved so much for a team with no resources.”

The lack of resources remained a common theme for decades at Lotus, through various ownerships, until 2016 when the high-flying Chinese car maker Geely took over.

There’s all the ambition of previous owners, and more, but this time it’s already backed up by real action – improvements to the Hethel factory, a new production facility for the Evija, a sub-assembly factory, a planned technology centre on the campus of Warwick University and a ‘squeak and rattle’ test track on site so cars no longer have to be test-driven on the nearby A11. There’s also been a massive recruitment drive across every department.

Head of design Russell Carr, who joined Lotus in 1990, has seen the design department often bearing the brunt of squeezed budgets.

Before Geely’s investment, it was down to 15 staff. It’s now at more than 60 – and still growing. But with so many staff, how can Russell ensure that new designs are true to the spirit of Lotus? Talking with two of his department heads, Anthony Bushell and Barney Hatt, Russell explains the philosophy.

“We’re long-standing Lotus people,” he says.

“I’ve worked 25 years with Barney, 20 years with Anthony. We’re here to make things that are ultimately beautiful and imaginative in a visual sense. It’s really important they still balance the form and function and fulfil Lotus values: efficiency and aerodynamics, driving dynamics, ergonomics and weight efficiency.

All those good things that Lotus is known for.”

“We always ask how appropriate is it for Lotus,” adds Anthony. “Whenever we design anything we’re constantly questioning: is that the ultimate solution in terms of weight? Does that one part do two things? It’s about creating something that’s beautiful and has a reason.”

Back to Matt Windle, who is responsible for 160 engineering staff. He started with Lotus in 1998, worked on the collaboration with Tesla to build the 2008 all-electric Roadster, and after a few years at other companies including Caterham, returned “home” to Lotus in 2015.

“The philosophies that Chapman had are just as true today. Handling dynamics and light weight and aerodynamics, they came from the Chapman era and they’ll stay with us 8 6

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‘WE ALWAYS ASK, IS THAT THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION IN TERMS OF WEIGHT?’ forever. There’s the philosophy of being fast everywhere, not just on the straight – we don’t add power, we take away weight.

“The guys will say we’ve pushed as far as we can in that area, and I’ll then get someone else to have a look at it because sometimes you get so ingrained in how a part looks... Someone comes along and says: ‘Shorten that flange and you’ll save a quarter of a kilogram.’ And if one thing can do two jobs, then it’s saving a lot of weight.”

This comes up again and again, particularly when the design team talks about the Evija.

“A lot of the sculpture and detailing on the exterior was intriguing for me – how do you keep that level of excitement going when you open the door?” asks Barney. “That really influenced the dashboard – the IP beam, which is one piece doing several jobs. Primarily it’s there supporting the steering column, but the internal volume of that beam also takes the ductwork for the face-level vents – and with that void between the IP beam and the windscreen you get a lot of light flooding into the footwell, so for a reasonably compact cabin it feels remarkably airy and spacious.”

“Lotus cars are functional but beautiful,” says Anthony. “When you first see the Evija you register something that is beautiful. When you delve into it you find these exotic aerodynamic details, but you still have something that’s recognisable as a beautiful sports car.”

“Aerodynamics has always been important to Lotus,” picks up Russell. “It give better performance, better economy, better range if you’re dealing with EVs, and allows you to go quicker on a track if you’re creating downforce.

“Weight efficiency is also important. An EV can’t be the ultimate lightweight vehicle, but you can make it as efficient as possible. We have our part to play in that, making the cars as compact and light as possible. For example, there’s a trend within design at the moment to do very complicated wheels, but when you spend a few years at Lotus you just look at them and go: ‘It’s got the weight in all the wrong places. It’s going to affect the handling.’

“When I started I was berated by John Miles

[legendary Formula 1 racer and Lotus test driver] because he thought my wheel design might affect the ride and handling. It was scary seeing this man stride across the room towards me.

“Good ergonomics is important, too; these are driver’s cars, so you should feel like you’re wearing the car. The gearshift should fall to hand, you should have good visibility forward so you can place the car in the corner, so we always work closely with the packaging group.

“Roger Becker [famed former engineering director] had this thing that it’s important to see the corners of the car – he used to go on and on about that, so we referred to them as the Becker Points. The Evija’s very prominent fenders are part of that.

“Now we’ve got Gavan Kershaw, who’s not only a very experienced engineer but also a very experienced development driver and an extremely successful racing driver. So his input into what feels Lotus, that’s really important.”

“A Lotus has always been typically fast on a circuit or a winding country road, and never intimidated by it,” says Gavan, who has been at Lotus since 1988. “Everything has always been a package... even today, a lot of sports cars and supercars you drive, you’re almost overly impressed with one aspect of it, while a Lotus is always perfectly balanced.

“I think that was something which made the Formula 1 cars championship winners as well; the cars were always focused, they were never just aero monsters, they had the right level of tyres, aero and weight for the performance.

“The Elise was a step back to show we still understood cars – we wanted to get back to an Eleven, Elite, Seven type of car that’s fun to drive. Every car since has been faithful to that.

“Now with torque vectoring, rear-wheel steer, tyre tech and active aero, you’ve got a lot more tools in your armoury to make the cars behave the way you want them to. We spend a lot of times with the guys writing the algorithms – the ones and zeros – making sure they understand what a Lotus is, how it feels, how important it is to have feedback and feel at the limit of behaviour, so it doesn’t become a computer program that gives you that feel.”

If this talk of hi-tech sounds un-Lotus to you, then you’re forgetting that sister company Lotus Engineering develops tech in secret for many major manufacturers – and Lotus Cars is already planning its all-electric future.

Colin Chapman was never about just the engine, so perhaps he’d approve – as long as the engineering continues to be inventive, efficient and as lightweight as possible.

Thanks to Classic Team Lotus for supplying the Eleven, 25 and Andretti’s 79-3 for photography.

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From the fertile mind of William B Stout came the 1930s Stout Scarab, introducing innovations that perhaps the automotive world wasn’t quite ready for

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LEFT & RIGHT The Scarab’s interior featured cast-magnesiumframed seats, some of which could swivel to allow meetings to take place around a foldaway table.

And although the styling is often referred to as ugly, it is packed full of Art Deco detailing. The V8 engine is rear mounted, hence the cooling vents in the sides of the swooping back bodywork.

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LEFT & RIGHT Visibility to the rear from the driver’s seat is almost nonexistent despite the back window – note how the cooling vents cleverly extend over that screen.

The basket-weave headlining is the original, which needed only careful cleaning as part of the full restoration.

However, the central and front passenger seats had gone missing and had to be recreated.

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‘THE WORLD’S FIRST production minivan’ is perhaps not an accolade you’d shout about now, but don’t let that do the Stout Scarab a disservice. Imagine this remarkable creation appearing in the 1930s, intended not simply as a means of transportation but as an office on wheels and a family-recreation vehicle.

Who dreamt up this concept, so far ahead of its time? That was William B Stout, the son of a clergyman, born in 1880 in Illinois, US. With the family regularly moving between parishes it was difficult for the young William to form long-term friendships, so he spent his time immersed in art and technology instead – particularly after visiting the Machinery Hall within the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

Later, having developed a skill and passion for writing and an aptitude for creating ingenious children’s toys, he would write for magazines under the sobriquet ‘Jack Knife’, touring Europe and North America for ideas.

Stout’s fascination for early cars, motorcycles and aeroplanes led him to patent his own designs, and to work with manufacturers in a variety of roles, from advertising copywriter to cyclecar designer. He was also appointed as technical editor of the Chicago Tribune.

In December 1916, Stout started as chief engineer at Packard’s aircraft division, only to be whisked away months later to serve as aviation technical advisor for the Government.

And, if you’re wondering where we’re headed, this is when Stout made a discovery that would influence much of his work, including the Scarab, over the following years.

He was experimenting with different airframe-engine combinations, and found that a Curtiss biplane flew only 5mph faster when fitted with a motor of twice the power of the original 200bhp unit.

These days we know why that is, but the science of aerodynamics was in its infancy 100 years ago. Stout tried new ways to reduce drag, creating an internally braced monoplane that didn’t require the external bracing which was causing so much drag on the biplanes of the era.

Although he retained an interest for cars, William Stout’s career as an aviation engineer blossomed, and it wasn’t long before he set up his own company, locating opposite Henry Ford’s Piquette Street factory in Detroit.

Soon Stout was pioneering the use of Duralumin rather than wood for the wings and fuselage (as was Hugo Junkers in Germany). A partnership with the Ford Motor Company developed, and Stout’s Ford-powered planes garnered much attention, as did the radical Stout Skycar aeroplane that followed.

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ABOVE This period picture of the Stout Scarab from around 1935 shows the modest exterior size, given the roominess of its avant-garde interior.

the ideal automobile. The first designs, through 1931 and ’32, showed an all-metal aerodynamic ‘fuselage’ with wheels at the extreme corners of the car. Inside, the plush seats could be swivelled to create a rolling office.

By then famous for his aircraft designs, Stout’s ideas attracted a lot of press, and he excelled at explaining his radical thoughts in publications of the day.

In the September 1932 issue of Popular Mechanics, Stout described the ‘Motor Car of the Future’: “When the ‘ideal motor car’, the fabled automobile of the future, becomes a reality – if ever – it will come literally from the sky.

“That does not mean, however, that tomorrow’s motor car will be merely an airplane minus wings, mounted on four wheels and equipped with steering gear. Rather, it will be a new interpretation of highway transportation, designed and built to aeronautical standards of structure and performance efficiency.

“Briefly, here is what you may expect for your motor money tomorrow – or, at least, some day: acceleration from standing start to 60mph in eight seconds or less; higher usable top speed than any present car; twice the usable inside space for the wheelbase and tread of present cars; twice as much mileage per gallon of gasoline; engine weighing not more than five pounds per horsepower – rear mounted so that sound, odors and vibration can be effectively insulated from the body; streamlined bodies with forced ventilation for summer driving, forced heating in winter; non-glare windshield and windows; total weight of less than 1000 pounds; simplified control; no gearshift, no clutch pedal, effortless steering at all speeds; cost – about half of the present-day car of comparable quality.

“Tomorrow’s car will be streamlined, of course, but not after the pattern of airplanes, birds or fish. To follow their example would be

highly disastrous... Designed like a fish or an airplane, an automobile might fare well enough in a direct headwind, but an unexpected air current on the quarter would probably blow the ‘fishy’ car right off the road.

“So, for a streamlined model, engineers must seek in nature some shape streamlined in all directions: for example, the turtle or the crab.”

Stout had become an expert at getting his ideas known, and would often produce papers on transportation subjects and chair major engineering discussions. His opinions were developing alongside those of fellow American inventor Buckminster Fuller, who went on to create the aerodynamic, aircraft fuselage-like Dymaxion. Fascinatingly, the two met at a New York motor show, and Stout wrote an analysis of the Dymaxion for the Society of Automotive Engineers.

By 1934 Stout had produced a working prototype of his car design, which he called the Scarab for its resemblance to an Egyptian beetle. It consisted of an aluminium tubular frame skinned in aluminium, with the rearmounted Ford V8 sitting over a three-speed transaxle. It weighed under 3000lb (1400kg).

The passenger compartment again featured reclining aircraft-type seats that could be rotated to face each other around a foldaway table. The doors, dashboard and seat frames were constructed from lightweight cast magnesium – this at a time of individual wings/ fenders, running boards, separate chassis and wood-framed bodywork.

Despite the interest that Stout’s designs were beginning to attract, in practice the Scarab was too radical and too expensive for car buyers of the day. And while we appreciate its Art Deco looks now, at the time the styling, by Dutch automobile engineer John Tjaarda, was thought to be simply ugly.

Just nine were built, although they found eclectic first owners (some of them Stout’s backers), including Willard Dow of Dow Chemical, Philip K Wrigley of chewing gum fame, tyre maker Harvey S Firestone,

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Champion Spark Plug Company founder Robert A Stranahan and Ray Russell (inventor of the 1944 Gadabout ‘car of tomorrow’).

The connection with Firestone led to Stout’s own Scarab II being installed with rubber air bellows in place of springs, making it the first car ever fitted with a practical air-suspension system. After World War Two, that car was dismantled to make way for Stout Project Y, or Scarab III, which featured a glassfibre body – a world first – in similar style to previous Scarabs.

Stout used the leftover aluminium body of Scarab II as a fishing hut on Green Lake in northern Michigan, only for it to later sink to the bottom of the lake.

The prototype Scarab I was simply left to rot behind the Stout company HQ, and scrapped during the 1940s, but five Scarab IIs are known to survive, two of which spent time as part of the famous Harrah Collection in Reno, Nevada.

As for the car you see here... well, perhaps it’s had the most interesting life of all. It was bought new by the editor of the Paris-based Le Temps newspaper (Le Monde after World War Two).

He claimed it was used as a meeting place by General Dwight Eisenhower and General Charles de Gaulle in Morocco during the war.

It was then sold to a travelling circus and used as a monkey house, before being bought by industrial designer Philippe Charbonneaux who put it on display in his museum, the Musée de l’Automobile Française in St Dizier, France.

In 1996, not long before Charbonneaux’s death in 1998, it was bought by Larry Smith, former chairman of the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance in Michigan and at the time the owner of a chain of accident-repair shops.

“I’d seen a Scarab at Meadow Brook in the late ’80s,” says Larry. “I thought: ‘How do you even describe that?’”

A few years on, Larry spotted a Scarab up for auction in Paris. He wasn’t in a position to travel to Europe, but he later found out that the car hadn’t sold, and managed to find the details of the seller – Philippe Charbonneaux.

“I promptly wrote a letter to Philippe. I didn’t hear anything; probably three or four months went by, I wrote him another letter and still nothing. My wife and I had a trip planned to Europe with another couple, just a vacation – this was 1996 – and I had mentioned to [friend and concours organiser] Christian Philippsen there was this car for sale. He said: ‘Oh my God, I know Philippe Charbonneaux really well. I will set up a meeting.’

“So, we go on this long weekend to Paris, Christian and I go off to St Dizier, and we went to lunch – there were around 15 of his relatives there; Christian speaks perfect English but I 100

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ABOVE Sketch shows the Scarab’s innovative and roomy interior layout.

don’t think any of the others did. By the time we had finished luncheon there must have been 20 bottles of wine on the table, and we had made a deal.”

Once the Scarab had been shipped back to Michigan, Larry and his bodyshop team got the car running, then stripped it right down for a full restoration. It had been painted an army green colour with French and American flags on the front bumper (linked to the unsubstantiated de Gaulle/Eisenhower story), two of the seats were missing and a few trim mouldings were in need of replacement... but Larry says the restoration was otherwise “quite straightforward”.

Philip K Wrigley had donated his Scarab to the Detroit Historical Society to be displayed in its museum on the city’s famous Woodward Avenue. The Society had loaned it to The Owls Head Transportation Museum in Maine, which was good enough to send photographs and measurements of the Wrigley Scarab’s frontpassenger and middle seats, to enable Larry’s team to recreate them.

The Scarab’s engine, being a common-orgarden Ford Flathead, was no problem. Stout had sited the transmission below the motor, joining engine to gearbox with a chain-driven transfer case. Larry found that one link of the chain was stamped with the maker’s name – and the manufacturer turned out to be still in business in Detroit. “I called them and they said: ‘Yes, we still make those,’” says Larry.

The team removed the remarkable basketweave headlining for cleaning, storing it on a purpose-made former to ensure that it retained its shape while the Scarab was being restored.

“I was amazed at how good the fit and finish is,” says Larry. “It’s interesting because there are reveal mouldings just below the window lines and around the windows of the castmagnesium doors; it looks like they’re separate mouldings, but they’re actually in the casting.

To make that kind of a mould and go through that process when you’re only building less

than a dozen cars is remarkable. If you knock the outside of the door, you won’t dent it; this thing is solid as a tree.

“There were a lot of ripples in the aluminium bodywork, though; all those big, flat areas – the guys who were working on it hated me, they were sanding for days.”

Once the restoration was finished, Larry was able to try out Stout’s creation. He found it drove well, except for one thing...

“It has very poor visibility from anything back from your peripheral vision. You can’t see a thing. And in traffic you have the additional hazard of everybody who’s next to you, behind you, in front of you, all have these things out [waves his mobile phone] taking pictures, 100 percent of the time. We have the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit, a million people lined up on 16 miles of Woodward Avenue, and no one knew what it was, they’d never seen one.”

And that’s the same wherever it goes. Just like Stout himself, the Scarab has made a few visits to Europe – to Paris when new, then to Monaco last year for the Elégance et Automobile à Monte-Carlo followed by the UK’s Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court.

And William Stout? He passed away at home of a sudden heart attack in March 1956, aged 76. He’d been referred to as “the genius of Dearborn, Michigan”, by Modern Mechanix magazine, and “responsible for more revolutionary innovations in the design and construction of automobiles and airplanes than has any other man, living or dead”.

His creations included numerous groundbreaking aircraft, the first gasoline-driven railroad car, the first diesel-electric streamlined train, a streamlined bus, a brick conveyor, an improved theatre seat, an air-conditioned bed, several versions of flying car and a wealth of mechanical toys. But in our world, he’ll always be best known for the Scarab.

Thanks to Larry Smith, Martin Button at Cosdel and the Concours of Elegance. For more about William B Stout, see www.coachbuilt.com.

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When a team of engineers set out to recreate the iconic Tyrrell P34, they welcomed an experienced eye. Who better to ask than someone who witnessed the build of the original?

“WHY CAN’T WE just build one?” Ah, motorracing’s six-wheeled question.

Well, when a noted design engineer was informed of the plan for a brace of Tyrrell P34 ‘continuations’ – why build one when you can build two – his original thought was: “Good luck with that.” It was a view underpinned by a half-century of knowledge and several months’ direct personal experience.

John Gentry had joined Tyrrell in mid-1977 and watched with interest – and a cup of coffee – as mechanics laboured to prepare these complex cars for their next Grand Prix. He was semi-detached from the process having been drafted to draught details of 008 – the P34’s replacement – by Maurice Phillippe, the man scheduled to replace Derek Gardner, the P34’s designer. The atmosphere was taut.

“We weren’t allowed into the drawing office – especially Maurice,” says Gentry. “We were working from no more than a double garage with a couple of drawing boards in it. But I knew [chief mechanic] Roger Hill, and would often speak with him about the P34 and its difficulties; he was forever taking apart its front wheel bearings – tiny little things – and grinding them to try to generate a bit more pre-load, to no avail. Those front brakes were always an issue.

“I’d been sceptical about the P34 – interested in its concept but glad that somebody else was doing it. When it did well immediately in 1976, we were all thinking: ‘Christ! We’ve got to build one now.’ By 1977, however, I think even Tyrrell was pleased to see it go. That front end brought a lot of complication and problems.”

That’s why Alistair Bennett, director of Warrington-based CGA Race Engineering, gulped when US client Jonathan Holtzman – who had been thwarted in all his bids to buy an original – posed that leading question.

“We were driving somewhere when he said it off-handedly,” says Bennett. “I replied that it 104

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ABOVE Initial fire-up; P34 continuation turns its (six) wheels in anger for the first time.

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TOP FAR LEFT Bare tub shows the complexity of the monocoque.

BOTTOM FAR LEFT Front wheels – all four of them! – are just 10in diameter.

TOP LEFT More than 230 original drawings from Tyrrell were used as reference.

BOTTOM LEFT Front end was based on scan of large-scale model.

TOP LEFT Jay Bennett (right) helps in Speedmaster’s James Hanson.

ABOVE LEFT The P34’s front end... twice the intricacy!

TOP RIGHT The P34 is officially sanctioned by the Tyrrell family.

ABOVE RIGHT CGA’s Colin Bennett and son Alistair with James Hanson.

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was possible given the resources we have today, but that the difficulty always is to get such cars accepted. I didn’t realise how deeply the seed had been planted. A month later, he came back to me: ‘How well do you know the Tyrrell family?’ Oh Jeez, here we go!”

Hello, is that Mr Tyrrell?

“We had never considered such a thing,” admits Bob Tyrrell, son of late team founder Ken. “We thought long and hard – insisted that they be known as continuations and have their own chassis numbers – but ultimately decided that it would be a shame if a six-wheeler never raced again. It’s arguably the most famous Formula 1 car. That’s why we agreed to licence two more.

“Dad was a straight-talker who kept a very good secret. He was a bit of a showman, too, and he had the mechanics build wooden half-hoops so that the car’s outline looked normal. He then removed its cover from the back to the front. Slowly. The room fell silent. I think the press thought we were having a laugh. To be honest, we didn’t know if it was going to work, either.”

That cheeky reveal was in September 1975, when only Gardner, a deep thinker inclined to fret, was sure that the concept would work. He had conceived it as long ago as 1968, while working as a transmissions engineer for Harry Ferguson Research on the Lotus 56 Turbine project. Its four-wheel-drive system failing to provide the anticipated stability at Indianapolis, he schemed in his own time a 4-2-0 arrangement, the rearward front axle of which would be driven as well as steer.

He fought shy of showing it to Colin Chapman, the high priest of racing-car design, and instead sent the proposal to team sponsor/ lead Andy Granatelli. The silence from the usually OTT boss of STP was deafening. And discouraging. Not until seven years later would Gardner, desperate to break free from F1’s jostling ‘kit car’ pack, revive the idea, albeit in rear-wheel-drive form.

He was well established by then, having been given his big opportunity when big-business politics had forced Tyrrell to become a constructor in 1970. Ken considered the unheralded Gardner to be a safe pair of hands – they had worked together on Matra’s 4WD F1 project of 1969 – and his safety-minded number one Jackie Stewart approved his choice for that same reason. Which is why the Scot almost choked on a drink when Gardner outlined his radical vision of the team’s future during the return flight from the 1975 South African Grand Prix, as won by local hero Jody Scheckter in Gardner’s conventional 007.

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ABOVE First time out, at Pembrey, Wales. The collective breaths of the team were firmly held.

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reduction of aerodynamic lift by placing four small front wheels in the lee of a bluff nose. Its being balanced by a smaller rear wing creating less drag was reckoned to be of benefit to (gathering) straight-line speed even though fat ‘dragster’ rear slicks delineated overall frontal area still; Gardner calculated its worth to be at least 40bhp. Other mooted gains were a contact patch greater by 60 percent and an increased swept area; that’s turn-in and braking sorted. In theory.

When Scheckter brought his ‘five-wheeler’ to a smooth if “slightly spongy” halt in the pits at Anderstorp, the eager Gardner perched on a sidepod as mechanics circled protectively if inattentively. There came not a flicker until the driver – “It’s got some understeer” – cracked and pointed to the (apparently not so immediately) obvious gap where the frontfront-left wheel ought to have been.

The deadpan South African grabbed pole for the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix the next day.

And the day after that, he and team-mate Patrick Depailler scored a 12-wheeled 1-2.

The only person laughing in the F1 paddock now was Ken Tyrrell.

Jonathan Holtzman, a successful realestate developer from Michigan and a former Formula Junior team-mate of 1996 IndyCar champion Jimmy Vasser, wanted to capture that moment by building P34s precisely to the specification used at Anderstorp. And so the search for information began.

“We cast the net widely; photos, sketches, documents,” says Bennett. The primary source was approximately 230 period design drawings – a trove sadly denied several Tyrrells in the aftermath of the team’s 1997-’98 takeover by British American Racing. “Some were handdrawn by Derek himself; very cool. And probably about 75 percent were useful. Some had been superseded. For example, there were two versions of a front upright, one of which had a line through it: ‘No!’” Bennett, son of long-time team owner/good guy Colin, has petrol in his veins: “I was travelling with our Formula 3000 team at weekends when in the late 1980s these things called laptops came along to irritate the life out of Dad,” he says. “I was doing computing at school and so could help connect the dots of early data-logging. I wanted to go racing immediately after leaving school, but the Gulf War recession hit us hard; Dad [and Alistair’s younger brother Jonathan] went to the States to work for a collector of classic Porsches, while I went to the University of Central Lancashire.”

Graduating in computer-aided engineering, Bennett “did a bit of automotive, a bit of 1 1 2

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aerospace” before the expansion of historic racing – its chronology and technology – allowed son and father to work together once more. “And here we are ten years later,” he says.

“We are not a racing team that tries to do a bit of engineering; we are an engineering company that goes racing. I pinched that quote from Frank Williams. If you pay attention to the engineering input, you can generally get the competitive output you want.

“Even so, this was to be our first ground-up chassis drawing, and we are not arrogant enough to think that we were going to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. To make it blunder proof we hired John Gentry to go through the structural elements, doublechecking everything we’d drawn.”

Gentry had spells at March, from 1970, Shadow and Fittipaldi in F1 before aligning with Tyrrell; he would go on to work for ATS, Alfa Romeo, Toleman Group Motorsport (alongside Rory Byrne) and March/Leyton House. He also has experience of GP bikes via Suzuki and Yamaha, plus BTCC with TWR Volvo, A1GP, GP2, WEC, Scandinavian TCR and Formula E. Between times he has been the FIA’s technical delegate for its Historic F1 Championship. His role in this project was as overseer to CGA’s CAD wizard Simon Harris and project leader/problem solver Bennett.

“They turned out an excellent solution,” he says. “But I think they were happy if someone experienced said: ‘Hang on, what about if we did it this way?’ The second monocoque in period tended to be different from the first; small changes that we liked to think would improve its structure and/or its ease of manufacture.”

Fellow historic racing specialist Hall & Hall helpfully arranged access to a disassembled original P34 – Richard Mille’s chassis 6 from 1977 – which CGA uploaded using a handheld laser and 3D-measuring machine. H&H would also help with carry-over from a Tyrrell 006 of 1972-’73; major rear suspension components, how the gearbox is specced, and more.

“In the embryonic phase it was critical to see how the car had been constructed and to note the physical differences between the 1976 and 1977 versions,” says Bennett. “We rapidly had the car more or less buttoned down digitally.”

Harris, another Central Lancashire alumnus, converted 2D drawings into surface CAD for about 85 percent of the car. But the manufacture was a different matter.

“The tricky bit has been the engineering and construction of the chassis. The rear end is relatively easy. But much of the P34 ahead of its rear bulkhead is bespoke. The front uprights are a case in point; half-upright/

Q&A JACKIE STEWART Why were you persuaded by the idea?

We’d tested four-wheel drive in 1969 with little success. It seemed to me, though, that there was still the possibility of gaining an advantage, particularly in the wet, albeit in a different way than we’d tried with Matra.

Derek, more than Ken, felt the aerodynamic benefit of having smaller front tyres would boost straight-line speed; aerodynamics were considerably less developed then. Derek was a ‘Merlin the Magician’ who was not always easy to understand. Most of these decisions were his, with Ken’s backing, of course.

You tested the prototype. Was the P34’s uniqueness key to your return to F1?

No, it was more Ken. He had confidence in my experience of dynamics; tyres, ride, set-up. That’s why Goodyear had used me extensively for development. Plus Jody was still developing, whereas I had been around a long time and so had more authority to separate the good from the bad and the ugly. At no time was there a suggestion that I would return to F1 just because it was a six-wheeler. Although it was a serious test.

What were your impressions?

That it didn’t give the same quality of feel.

Instead of two wheels trying to grip the track, there were four, all doing it in a slightly different way. The lead wheels were affecting the aero, yet the grip wasn’t twice as good.

Another element was that you were meeting the same apex twice; it was no longer the consumption of a single piece of information.

Were you convinced by it?

No. I wasn’t sure it was the right direction of travel. I didn’t feel the same command over the subtleties of turn-in and apex. The grip was quite abstract. I was seeing and feeling two pieces of information, and trying to decide which was doing most work. So it was not easy to decode the car’s performance – particularly in terms of steering. I was always big on not overdriving, on coaxing a car.

To be so highly tuned to the dynamics, the subtleties of movement – the smallest amount of turn-in to create the least disturbance to a car – and then to be listening to ‘two people speaking at not quite the same millisecond…’

I might have got used to it, overcome its idiosyncrasies. But ultimately I didn’t think it sufficiently advantageous to compensate for the complication, engineering-wise; more moving parts, more potential interruptions.

What were your hopes for it?

I felt that it was going to be hard work for its drivers. That it was going to be more difficult to get as much out of as they would’ve liked.

I didn’t think it’d fail, but nor did I think it was good enough to take full advantage of such a vehicle’s potential. But if you don’t try, you don’t get. It was a worthwhile attempt.

Outstanding International race history where it was raced in both two-seater and center seater configurations. Nürburgring and Buenos Aires 1,000km, Avus, SPA, and Monthlery. Original body and chassis. Matching numbers, engine, and transmission. Fresh engine rebuild

by Bill Doyle. 1 of 34 RSKs, of which 5 were center seat. Has parts to convert to 2 seat configuration. Only 4 owners from new. One of the most original and sought after of the RSKs.

Built by Bob Webb’s Durlite company in Indianapolis from Bob Staples’ crashed Porsche 550A Spyder. Raced at the Road America 500, Nassau Speed Weeks, and other races from 1959-1963. Part of American racing history, featured in numerous publications. Eligible at most major historic events. Completely restored including 547/1 4 Cam engine rebuild by Porsche specialists.

T Y R R E L L

P 3 4

half-caliper, a strange arrangement, squeezed into a small space. Thankfully we had a drawing that married up with the CAD; it was still a load of machining, though.

“We had the tub’s outside dimensions, but that was only the beginning. We had to sift through the drawings and assemble them in CAD, and then look at what was drawn versus what actually works. Because these are continuations, we reserved the right to assess each component on its own merit. The rollover structure, for example, is well defined in FIA Appendix K these days. But that’s not what was drawn.

Ours has the same geometry, sizes, height and position as the original, but the materials have been altered to reflect current practices.

“In terms of materials, however, Tyrrell was one of the better teams of that period. (We got the aluminium for the chassis from Boeing – only it has sheets big enough – and it checked that it would still have enough in stock before it’d sell to us.) After converting the old specs, there were a few anomalies but nothing ridiculous.

“The 1976 Autocourse annual said that one of the hiccups with the P34 was how difficult it was to build each chassis; dad took great pleasure in reading that out, as our first tub went six months behind schedule.

“The tub’s floor is bent around at its extreme edges, where the sidepods are, and turned into a triangular structure that goes back up into the driver’s cell. It’s one piece. You then have to construct the rest of the chassis through a ‘letter box’. Bending hard aluminium on-grain so that it doesn’t crack; baffles, side panels and other floor pieces are fitted at arm’s length without being able to see what you are doing.

It’s a ship in a bottle. Blindfolded. I am so impressed that they were able to make it on a tight deadline, while running other cars, back in the day. We were teed up to have six people full time until the cars were finished. That’s probably similar to what they had at Tyrrell.

“We have excellent partners and a very good supply network years in the making; the fuel cell is the only complete part we’ve had to source from abroad. Basically we find it’s more beneficial to have a design-engineering function that can subcontract – for about 75 percent of this car – from a drawing. Had I known how much we were going to do, I might have set up a machine shop. We have, however, invested in 3D printing. But there remains an element of the fabricator’s eye. Design decisions still to be made. Not many, but enough; fiddly brackets that will never be seen and for which no drawings exist.”

So Gentry attended Stable Fabrications in Towcester to run a trained eye over the build: 1 14

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“Even if you have CAD drawings, when you see something in the flesh you always spot something that could be improved,” he says.

Every effort has been taken to use period materials where possible, particularly for the bodywork. The nose is pre-preg glassfibre instead of modern, lighter, stronger carbon for what is a non-structural item. Methods, however, have changed; the electronic surface model of the nose, including the cut-outs behind, was sent to a CNC router so that the finished product could be made from a single tooling block.

“The nose caused us a semi-panic attack,” says Bennett. “We had overall plan drawings, but nothing that pulled it all together. So we bought the biggest scale model we could find on the internet and did a 3D scan of it, in its kit form, that Simon then blew up to actual size.

The scanner will go down to a micron or two, and so it looked like a ploughed field in some areas as raw data – but it was a big help. We found a generic brake-duct drawing that we could now link to a scan. The missing bit was a section of curve – an ‘eyebrow’ – that keeps the flow of air inside the ducts and dictates how it is split between the hoses. A beautiful detail.”

It’s fair to say these guys have gone to town; heart and soul, as well as nuts and bolts (plus a box of painstakingly collated ‘finishing bits’; some original gauges, a steering wheel – “We think” – and part of a gear linkage). Both cars, their builds – including a pre-paint/pre-anodised dummy run – overseen by Jonathan Bennett, will race using correct-spec Cosworth V8s, correct fuel pump in the right place, prepared

by Geoff Richardson Engineering; DFV 1260 for chassis 9 and DFV 1261 for chassis 10.

“I’d challenge anybody to prove that any P34, apart perhaps from the one owned by Tamiya in Japan, has the actual engine it used in period,” says Bennett. “On the high-pressure crankshaft, DFVs were fairly fragile, and were in and out of different chassis like you wouldn’t believe.

“But what’s ‘original’. We’ve scanned an original car that’s been subject to maintenance, and you can see what bits are reworked/original/ new; it’s strange how things creep over the years.”

Gentry is sanguine: “Outwardly these cars will be identical to the original. But under their skins it’s always wise to try to produce a safer version, and if you can erase certain problems, fair enough. There’s no point repeating errors. That’d drive you crazy. However, this shouldn’t be out-and-out modern racing with historic cars.”

It’s a view underpinned by a half-century of knowledge and several (more) months’ direct personal experience.

Thanks to CGA Race Engineering and to James Hanson, www.speedmastercars.com.

Q&A JODY SCHECKTER What do you remember about the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix?

Apart from winning? Not much. Oh, there were some nice girls there on the Wednesday.

Why did Anderstorp suit the P34?

Its corners double-backed and had a bit of camber. The car just seemed to sit down at the back. I thought the suspension had something to do with it. But that’s me just guessing. I wasn’t that quick when I raced there with Wolf [he qualified fourth and sixth in 1977 and ’78 respectively] but Patrick and I had finished 1-2 in 1974, too, so I think the Tyrrells just worked well there. But did the team know what it was? Probably not.

What had been your initial reaction?

They didn’t tell us anything until pretty close to the launch; Jackie was in on the secret more than we were. The P34 was a new concept that people were interested to see if it worked. They remember it even now. It’s famous because it was different.

Did Depailler like it more than you did?

Maybe, yeah! We went testing at one place and were quickest, and he said: “This car is fantastic. Unbelievable!” But when everybody went quicker the next day, he said: “This car is shit!” He was a lovely guy, liked the car, and so the team listened to him more than me. I don’t know if crazy is the right word; he was, let’s say, disorganised.

Did good early results change your mind?

Did I finish second with it in Monaco? Even so, I disagreed with the design because I felt its theory to be flawed. They said it’d brake better. Well, maybe on a flat, straight road.

But as soon as you turned into a corner, one of those little wheels would lift and lock, and you had to let the brakes off. It was fun to drive, though. You could do anything with it.

But it broke a lot. That was the worst part.

Have you warmed to it since?

The results are better than I remember; I must have been brilliant. But to be honest I’m glad I wasn’t killed. In Austria the front suspension broke, and I hit the guardrail yet only cut my shin. Lucky. The car broke so often, I didn’t like to drive it. That played on my mind, more so than with any other F1 car.

Tyrrell was behind in tech next to McLaren [for whom Scheckter had driven on and off from 1972-’73]. When McLaren pulled its rear wing further back, this made a huge difference; cleaner air, better leverage. But Tyrrell didn’t do it. I told the guys they had to, and eventually they tried something.

Did you leave because of the P34?

I just needed a change. Some reckoned my joining Wolf [for ’77] was the worst decision I could have made. I won the first race.

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W O R D S DAV I D L I L LY W H I T E

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FAVOURITE

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While not the most dynamic of its ilk, in performance or design, Ferruccio Lamborghini’s favourite model has been disgracefully overlooked. So, for its 50th birthday, we decided to rectify that...

PHOTOGRAPHY MAX SERRA

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IT’S EASY TO be sniffy about the Jarama.

Along with the Islero, the model’s predecessor, it’s weirdly understated for a Lamborghini.

Park it next to a Miura, Countach or Espada, and it’s not so much understated as invisible.

Even the famed Paolo Stanzani, Lamborghini technical director at the time, once admitted that the styling was more to his own discreet tastes than appropriate to Lamborghini’s raging-bull image.

But… it’s a great car. That long, slim front end is packed full of Lamborghini’s bulletproof V12, sat on a shortened Espada chassis. It was styled by Marcello Gandini – and thanks to the thin pillars and masses of glass he endowed it with, as well as the roomy interior, it’s easier to live with than almost any other classic Lambo.

Yes, you can even reverse it without fear…

Now, it’s the Lamborghini that no one speaks of. In fact, it’s the Lamborghini that no one even thinks of. While the four-seater Espada was overlooked and heart-breakingly cheap even 15 years ago, it’s now appreciated, loved and frustratingly expensive to buy. The twoplus-two Jarama is cheaper, rarer and faster.

Last year at the annual Lamborghini & Design Concorso d’Eleganza, I was lucky enough to sample several Lamborghinis, new and old.

Most I’d driven before, in various iterations, so I knew what to expect – and I was not disappointed. But what about the metallic blue (Blu Tahiti as it turns out) one with the big window? Ah, the Jarama – I’d kind of forgotten about those, and I can’t say I rushed to try it.

But in the interests of research, eventually I was persuaded to hand over the Countach 25th Anniversary keys (yes, first-world problems) and take the Jarama for a spin.

Turns out the Jarama was Ferruccio’s favourite model, according to an interview he gave to Thoroughbred & Classic Cars in 1991: “I preferred the Jarama to all the others, because it is the perfect compromise between the Miura and the Espada. The Miura is a sports car for the young at heart who want to go like hell and love to be seen. Myself, I considered the Miura too extroverted after a while. In turn, the Espada was my Rolls-Royce; still quite fast, but also large and comfortable. The Jarama is the perfect car if you just want to have one car.”

So I gave this 1973 Jarama S, which I’d been avoiding, a proper go. I got left behind at times by the big boys in their Miuras, Countachs and noisy new models, but I still had one of my favourite-ever drives, emerging rather fresher than those who’d earlier roared past me.

When we reported on the Concorso in Magneto issue 4, I hadn’t got the space to write much more than a few lines on the Jarama, but 1 18

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I promised a return to its strange appeal. So, yes, I get now what Ferruccio was saying about the Jarama. Sure, his company is best known for mid-engined supercars, but he started with the front-engined 350GTV grand tourer prototype and stuck with them until the last of the Jaramas had been made, 15 years later.

Remember, the basis for starting the company in the first place was that Ferruccio found Ferraris rather uncivilised.

The first production Lamborghinis, the 350GT and 400GT, were two-plus-ones; the two-plus-two seating was introduced with the 400GT 2+2. It continued through the Islero – a re-skin of the 400GT – and into the Jarama.

With Ferruccio stepping back from the dayto-day running of Lamborghini, and technical director Giampaolo Dallara leaving to head up the De Tomaso Formula 1 programme, Paolo Stanzani was overseeing vehicle development, and responsible for the Jarama. He had joined the company in 1963 as assistant to Dallara; in that role, he’d been a major part of the development of the Miura, along with Dallara and Gandini, so he knew what he was doing.

He had also long been responsible for liaison with the coachbuilders working with Lamborghini, so it was no surprise that Bertone was chosen to clothe the replacement for the Islero. Marcello Gandini, stylist at Bertone, had a design ready, the basics of which first emerged as the awkward-looking Fiat 128 Shopping prototype, introduced at the 1969 Turin Motor Show. The story goes that Gandini was hoping Lamborghini would come knocking but that Iso Rivolta got there first, and took the design for its 1969 Lele.

When Lamborghini did commission Bertone for its new two-plus-two front-engined GT, the same shape was dusted off but to much better effect than for the Lele; the Jarama was more angular and aggressive, looking longer and lower, with neat headlight covers á la Alfa Montreal (another Gandini design). It’s a clean design, with little to break up the crisp lines other than the NACA ducts in the bonnet and (on later cars) the vents on the sides of the wings.

To underpin this newly revamped bodywork, Lamborghini adapted the stress-bearing semimonocoque chassis of the Espada, which was built from sheet steel and square-section steel tubing. By shortening this chassis by 270mm but leaving the front and rear track the same, it was relatively simple to bring the Jarama into production, again sticking with the Espada’s fully independent suspension design of unequal-length double wishbones, coil springs and telescopic dampers all round.

As with the Espada, the Jarama’s bodywork

BELOW As wide as an Espada but thankfully not as long. The side vents and that wide bonnet intake show it’s an S – and help to reduce engine temperatures.

‘The Jarama is easier to live with than almost any other classic Lamborghini’

ABOVE, LEFT & BELOW Jarama is comfy and airy.

Note the radio, moved from the passenger-side facia for the S. Headlamp covers retract when lights are switched on.

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is mostly steel. And so, like the Espada, this model was heavy for its time – not helped by that vast V12, designed by Giotto Bizzarrini for the 350GTV and 350GT, and enlarged to 3.9 litres for the 400GT 2+2. In the Jarama, with the usual triple downdraught Weber carbs, it was said to give 350bhp at 7000rpm.

So, assuming that customers appreciated the styling, was Lamborghini onto an winner?

Hmmm, well… the Jarama was met with disappointment when it was launched in 1970; disappointment not just at the relatively plainJane looks, but mostly at the weight – 1650kg, or 3638lb – the heavy, low-geared, unassisted steering, the usual random placement of the switchgear, the cabin heat and noise, and the generally poor build quality. Times were changing, higher standards were expected, but financially struggling Lamborghini was going backwards in terms of quality.

It’s hardly surprising. The chassis was made

by Marchesi of Modena, which also made the Espada and Miura chassis. The body was pressed at Bertone’s factory in Grugliasco and passed on for assembly to Carrozzeria Marazzi, a relatively new company that had been formed by former Touring employee Mario Marazzi when his previous employer went bust. Until then, Touring had put together Lamborghini bodies; Marazzi had taken over assembly of the 400GT, then Islero, followed by the Jarama.

At Lamborghini’s Sant’Agata factory, the mechanical components were built into the chassis, the bodyshell attached and the interior, trimming and final assembly completed. It wasn’t unusual for low-volume manufacturers to have such convoluted production processes, but it did little for quality control.

Anyway… the Jarama 400GT flopped.

Lamborghini’s answer was to introduce the Jarama 400GTS, usually known simply as the S (like this car), a year later. Power output is claimed to have been upped by 15bhp, but more importantly the interior was comprehensively revamped. It featured improved heat and noise insulation, and revised seats front and rear for increased legroom.

The radio was relocated from far away in front of the passenger; initially to the transmission tunnel and then to a roof console above the windscreen. It also had a more logically laid-out dashboard – most with black or silver panels, although some still used wood, as in the GT. There was also an improved mechanism for the wipers, 15in magnesium Campagnolo wheels, new bumpers and changes to increase airflow around the engine. The most obvious of these is the wide bonnet air scoop and vents on either front wing, although additional 1 2 0

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ABOVE Surely one of Gandini’s cleanest designs, the basis of which was also used on the Iso Lele.

hot-air outlets under the front wheelarches were also added at this point.

ZF power-assisted steering was thankfully added to the options list, and it’s thought that almost every GTS was fitted with it. Less appealingly, despite the ‘grand tourer’ tag, was the same Chrysler three-speed automatic transmission option offered on the Espada. It looks as though just four were ordered as autos.

But then, not many Jaramas were ordered, full stop. While the GTS was a significant improvement over the GT, not only had the die been cast, but the fuel crisis was building and Lamborghini was in trouble. Ferruccio sold his shares in the company while the Jarama limped on, officially killed off in 1976 although the last was not built until 1978 due to parts-supply issues (or, rather, Lamborghini was unable to pay outside suppliers for parts). Only 327 Jaramas were built, 150 of which were the GTS. For comparison, 1226 Espadas were made.

As was the way at Lamborghini, it seems that five Jaramas were built at the end of the production run with more highly tuned engines. Also, the company’s test driver and engineer Bob Wallace built the hot ‘Jarama Bob’ in his spare time during 1972, which really proved what the model was capable of.

And now? What do we make of the Jarama today? Well, here we present chassis 10428, the car pictured, delivered in April 1973 to Achilli Motors SAS in Milan, and sold four months later. It belongs to the Lamborghini museum, where it had sat for ten years before being rudely awakened and refreshed in time for last year’s Concorso. On first acquaintance,

‘Perhaps you’d buy one if you’d already owned a Countach, and felt it was time to... well, if not grow up, at least relax a little’

‘fresh’ from an exciting but by no means relaxing drive in the Countach, I initially found it slow to respond to any input – as would most cars of that era seem after a Countach. But even then it quickly grew on me, and the sheer novelty and relief of having all-round vision and actual headroom left me wanting more.

So when I returned to our unexpected blue hero, it was for a much longer drive, along A-roads, through towns and villages, up steep, winding roads – and back down via sweeping corners and fast straights past olive groves and vineyards, farmers’ fields and hillside pastures.

Honestly, it couldn’t have been better.

With senses more normalised than they were post-Countach, the Jarama felt powerful and strong from the start. The first lesson to learn is that the accelerator is very long travel, and needs a lengthy leg movement to give the full effect of six Weber barrels fully open. That’s when it sings; the gentleman driver showing its demonic side. But the long travel allows for perfect throttle control, smooth progress through town, a more relaxed gait on the motorway.

The steering wheel is large and the rack undergeared, so despite the power assistance far too much arm twirling is needed at times.

But then, again, this is forgetting how to treat a GT. Sit back a little, relax, remember the slow in, fast (and smooth) out of the corner, and suddenly it comes together.

It’s not true grand-tourer quiet in the cabin; there’s too much wind noise around the side glass, and why would you want to silence a V12 anyway? But this isn’t a tiring model to drive, even on twisty back roads (or, I’d like to imagine, Alpine passes). One thing about this particular car, though, was that the brakes felt wooden and lacking bite, despite twin servos (one for front, one for rear). I think that’s more about the length of time it had sat, because every Espada I’ve driven on the same system has stopped more assertively. The seatbelts are also infuriating, mounted low – because the pillar is too flimsy to take them – and hence alternating between falling off the shoulder or slicing into the neck.

I don’t think you’d buy a Jarama if really you were lusting after a Miura or Countach.

Perhaps you’d buy one if you’d already owned a Miura or Countach, and felt it was time to... well, if not grow up, at least relax a little. But if you wanted a 400GT or an Espada, and can get your head around the less characterful looks, then a Jarama will give you the better driving experience for a smaller price tag. And you’ll be unlikely to see another one.

Thanks to Lamborghini’s heritage division Polo Storico, which is celebrating the Jarama’s 50th anniversary this year.

David Lillywhite

Words

The 24 Hours was never more dangerous than in the days of the Porsche 917, which took its first win there 50 years ago, driven

by Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann in atrocious conditions

Le Mans

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“I saw the start

of the 1970 race because Hans did the first stint. I couldn’t believe the driving tactics of everyone. They were trying to win it on the first lap; it was like a Grand Prix!”

Richard Attwood, recently turned 80 years old, is describing an event 50 years ago – over the phone thanks to the lockdown – and yet his disbelief is still clear. Deprived of the chance to mark the true 50th anniversary of his win, and Porsche’s first overall victory, at Le Mans, he’s keen to explain his feelings about the 24 Hours, the 917 and the race he’s best known for. And really, that starts nearly two years earlier when, knowing his sports car prowess and previous Le Mans experience, Porsche called him up.

“The reason the Porsche drive came was because they were looking for drivers for 1969. In ’68 they took me and one or two other guys in their latest cars to the Watkins Glen Six-Hour race. I was in a 908, and there was a Japanese guy called Tetsu Ikuzawa. Porsche were after drivers from different countries to spread the word of the brand.

“Huschke von Hanstein [Porsche PR director and racing manager] was doing the driver research, and obviously I did what they wanted me to do, and that’s why I was offered the drives for the following year. But I also had a chance to go with the John Wyer team in the GT40s, which were by then quite aged.

I realised that when you drive for Porsche you have a really good chance of finishing, which is why I signed with them. And that’s how the Porsche story started for me.

“They were out for the championship, they weren’t just out for Le Mans. The first race was Daytona [1969], and they started there with five brand-new 908 long-tails – the 917 hadn’t been invented yet. I was told before I started that for every race there would be brand-new cars; in fact they didn’t do that in the end, but these cars were new, they’d never run, and in qualifying they were full of glassfibre bits flying around. You had to wear goggles!

“In fact, Porsche did fall flat on that, because they had a gear, one of the camshaft gears I think, that they’d tried to make out of a lighter-weight material when it wanted steel, and these eventually all failed. At Daytona, I drove three different cars because of it. I was very keen to learn about Porsches because I’d hardly done any testing, but all the other drivers, who were factory drivers from the year before or the year before that, weren’t interested because they knew they weren’t going to win, so they just went back to the

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hotel. But I was keen to carry on driving.

“When I saw the 917 at the Geneva show in March, I thought ‘blimey’! It looked a beast. I didn’t do any testing on the 917 – that was done mostly by German drivers, because they were right on the doorstep. I think that’s why Porsche went to the 1969 Le Mans really quite confident that the car was fully sorted.

“The first time I drove the 917 was in qualifying there, and I realised that the car was a right bloody handful, just horrendous. Before the race we all had a meeting about it, and the factory realised that in fact there was a bit more of a problem than they’d anticipated.

“Years later I learnt from one of the factory drivers about the testing they did then; they did it on an airfield, and any landing strip I know of goes about two-and-a-half miles before you have to turn around and go the other way. So you have to start and stop, and I’m positive they weren’t getting to the top speeds that we were getting on the Mulsanne Straight. If they’d gone testing at Monza, they’d have found out more about the aerodynamics and high-speed stability – but they didn’t…”

Between that testing and the Le Mans 24 Hours in June 1969, the 917 had competed in two races – at Spa in the pouring rain, and at the Nürburgring, for which the factory drivers insisted on driving the proven 908 Spyder, leaving privateers David Piper and Frank Gardner to try out a short-tail version of the 917. Sure enough a 908 won, with Richard and Hans Tanner second – also in a 908.

But back to Le Mans 1969…

“In the race it was the same as it was in qualifying. There’s a kink down the end of the Mulsanne Straight as you get towards Mulsanne Corner. With any car I’ve ever driven before or after, taking that flat has been no problem at all. With this car it was a massive problem. We had to reduce speed; we had to try to lean the car to the left-hand side to get it to go around the corner at all.

“Just to explain what I’m talking about, John Woolfe had a co-driver called Digby Martland, who was a good peddler in British racing and whom John had chosen to drive with him in the 917 at the ’69 Le Mans. To qualify, we had to do three or four laps in the dry. Digby did his regulatory number of laps, and on the last lap he tried it a little bit faster through that kink and completely lost control because the car wouldn’t go round. He didn’t hit anything, and he spun for probably 500 metres. Nothing came off the car, so he drove back to the pits and he got out of the car and he went home.

That’s how terrifying the 917 was to drive.

“Herbert Linge was chosen to drive with 1 26

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John Woolfe instead – and the factory tried to tell John to let Herbert start the race because he knew more about the car. Yet John didn’t want to; he’d got his family there, who’d gone over especially to see him start, and that’s what he did. But [on the first lap] he went to turn into White House and the car didn’t want to turn, and that was it. [John Woolfe crashed heavily and died in the helicopter on the way to the hospital]. With the power he had, he’d have been overtaking cars and probably got carried away in the moment. That tells you how the 917 was in 1969.”

Of course the race continued, despite the fatal accident. Yet it didn’t get any easier for Richard in the number 12 Porsche 917, despite pulling ahead of his rivals and team-mates.

“In the beginning of the race Vic Elford started, and he did two stints and then I did a double stint. After that, I was as deaf as a post.

I had a blinding headache and, because of the power, I was already resting my helmet on the rear bulkhead. In other words, I was already in a lot of pain. If it had rained I would have come in – well either that or I’d be dead. I don’t know how sensible I’d have been.

“So it was three hours to go in the race, and we were in the lead by six laps or something crazy – and the car breaks. I was so happy to get out of it; you’ll never know the relief that I was still alive. It was a horrendous experience.”

That was 1969, and Porsche’s dreams of Le Mans domination were crushed, beaten by the aged GT40. As has been well documented over the years, the race was then on to find out what was wrong with the 917, with both Porsche and John Wyer experimenting with the aerodynamics.

“The engineers at Porsche were amazing, because nobody really knew anything about aerodynamics,” explains Richard. “I mean, Formula 1 had those ridiculous wings on stalks at the time, so that just shows you how basic it was in those early days. Porsche couldn’t be blamed, but they still couldn’t comprehend it; they did believe the drivers, but they didn’t believe the drivers...

“Once the problem had been proven to be totally down to aerodynamics, the 917 became a really good car. People ask me what was the best and the worst car, and really it was the same car – the 917.

“I was asked in February 1970 what configuration of 917 I wanted [for the 1970 Le Mans] and, because the gearbox had broken the year before, I wanted the smaller 4.5-litre engine so as not to stress the transmission as much. But in fact they’d changed the gearbox [from a five-speed to a

RIGHT Richard Attwood refreshes after a driver change during the 1970 Le Mans; it was only later on that he found out why he was feeling so exhausted.

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stronger four-speed] so actually the 5-litre might have been the right choice.

“As well as choosing the configuration of the car, I’d chosen Hans Herrmann as co-driver because I wanted to have a good chance of finishing. Hans was the oldest guy by a long way, and I’d driven with him before. He wasn’t ultra fast and he wasn’t out to try to make a name for himself on the team – he was already established, and that’s why I chose him.”

In fact, even then, Hans Herrmann was something of a legend – the German equivalent of Stirling Moss. He’d been part of the Mercedes-Benz works team in the 1950s, driving in Formula 1 as well as the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and Carrera Panamericana. From 1953 he drove at Le Mans 14 times, always in Porsches, including the 1970 event. Unknown to Richard, Hans had promised his wife that he would retire from racing if he won at Le Mans in 1970 – a promise he honoured.

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Porsche entry, with the short-tail 917K, to Wyer’s surprise there was a second workssupported team. Porsche Salzburg had three cars – two long-tail 917Ls, and Richard and Hans in the red and white, number 23 917K. Martini Racing also famously fielded the ‘hippie’ 917L with factory support, and David Piper entered a 917K as a privateer.

“Our 1970 car was chalk and cheese,” continues Richard. “It was a doddle in comparison to the ’69 car. I could have driven that car for 48 hours. It was fantastic – instability didn’t come into it. It was still powerful and it had no real downforce, especially compared with today’s cars, which have huge downforce. That’s why the top speeds of today’s cars down the straight are no faster than they were when we were doing it.

But that 917 was lovely to drive.

“All the same, after qualifying [in 15th place] I told my wife we’d have no chance in this race because we were too slow. With the four-speed

’box we were forbidden from using first gear other than to start, so Mulsanne and Arnage Corners were taken in second gear. The lack of torque over the 5-litre engine meant we were slow everywhere.”

The race started at 4.00pm in dry conditions.

As Richard said at the beginning of this piece, the competitors got off to a flying start, with Hans Herrmann starting in the number 23 car.

“I think everyone thought that if you were in a Ferrari or Porsche, then you had a chance to win it because there wasn’t that much speed difference between the 512s and the 917s.

There would be a lot of intra-team competition; drivers have got egos, they want to be the fastest, and they will prove they’re the fastest.

It became what in those days Le Mans really wasn’t – it became a race rather than an endurance type of thing.

“Some people might have imagined that we were just holding back waiting for others to drop out, but we weren’t at all. We were

ABOVE LEFT The Attwood/ Herrmann 917K was less powerful and aerodynamic than the 917L, but beat the nearest by five laps.

ABOVE RIGHT Oh, the glamour; celebrations took place in the back of a truck.

Attwood was freezing cold!

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doing our bit as best we could.”

At around 5.30pm the rain started, and by 8.00pm it was torrential – and it didn’t stop until the morning. It became a race of attrition, in probably the worst conditions of any Le Mans before or since, and suddenly that suited the smaller-engined 917 and the experienced duo of Richard and Hans.

“After only ten hours we were in the lead.

When I came in and was given that information, I couldn’t believe it. I had seen a lot of cars drop out, but to be in the lead was just insane, and so the difficulty or pressure then is to not make any stupid mistake as other people had done.

It would have been so easy to do, because it rained so much in the second half of that race.

“Today they wouldn’t have run the race like that, they’d have stopped it. But, of course, in those days whether you’ve got death or fire or whatever on the track, you just carry on.

“You’re not really that conscious of these things. If the rain starts then it rarely starts as a whoosh, you know? It starts in a gentle way, so you get acclimatised as it’s happening and you adjust your driving as you go.

“I did have one slide unexpectedly coming out of the Esses. That could have put us out of the race, but that was just one of those things; it might have rained just a little bit more, there’s a puddle there that wasn’t there before... The correction was made in a split second and the problem was overcome. If you’re saying, ‘ooh was that a slip?’ then you’ve gone [laughs].

“The biggest fright we had was that water was getting into the electrics. The car was misfiring everywhere, and the more rain that got in there, the more it was misfiring [initially losing the car two places, soon recovered]. The concern was that the rain would eventually drown us and that would be the end of that, so I was trying to keep the engine warmer by using the revs a little bit more to heat the engine to get rid of the moisture.

“So for the last 14 hours we had to protect the lead, but also we had to finish the race.

Maybe what I did prevented the engine from stopping, but maybe it didn’t make any difference, it still wouldn’t have stopped – but at the time, you just don’t know that.

“Another thing was that during the race I couldn’t eat anything with any taste. I survived mostly on milk, which was bland, and as soon as I had any taste in the food it went straight to my glands; my glands were really painful.”

Despite this, Richard and Hans hung onto the lead, as more cars dropped out, even in the last few hours. They crossed the finishing line after 343 laps, five laps ahead of the Gérard Larrousse and Willi Kauhsen hippie 1 30

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ABOVE Lauded for his role in one of the Le Mans 24 Hours’ greatest-ever wins, Richard is now a much-loved face at Historic events the world over.

917L, with the 908/02 of Rudi Lins and Helmut Marko finishing third.

“When we won, yes, there was the euphoria of winning; it was a big race, and it was part of the World Championship,” says Richard. “But I felt terrible, completely out of it. They had a celebration that year for the winners on the back of a lorry, which they’ve never done before or since, and I was getting bloody cold on the back of that wagon. I was thinking more about that than having won the race.

“I went to a celebration dinner after the race with my wife, and I couldn’t stay awake. I thought I was a wimp, I couldn’t understand it. I literally could not stay awake, so after about 20 minutes we went back to the hotel. I didn’t know what was wrong with me until I got back home on the Tuesday and I went to the doctor – and he told me I’d had mumps. By then I was getting over it, but I’d had no idea.

That’s why I was so worn out.”

After the disappointment in 1969, the team at Porsche were ecstatic. Of the 16 cars running at the end, 12 were Porsches, and the brand had won all four classes that had finishers.

The third-placed 908 claimed the Index of Performance and the Martini 917 won the Index of Thermal Efficiency.

Richard stuck with Porsche. He took part in the filming of Steve McQueen’s Le Mans movie (which he says was mostly “boring”, with all the hanging around), and narrowly missed a second win at Le Mans in 1971, again in a 917.

But the 5-litre sports car formula that Richard loved was finishing at the end of the 1971 season. He’d promised his father he’d help with the family garage business, which he’d opted out of when his racing career had started to take off, and in 1969 he’d married and he wanted a family. And then there was the safety issue...

“We’d had a fairly good innings during a really dangerous era. It was always there, and the cars were still dangerous as hell compared

with the cars of today.” I suggest that 1971 was a particularly bad year, with the death of the much-loved Jo Siffert, but Richard disagrees: “It was always a bad year. It was never any different – and afterwards it wasn’t any different, because the cars didn’t become any safer for a long time and the tracks didn’t, either. If Jackie Stewart hadn’t started doing what he did back in 1966-’67 it would’ve taken even longer. He wasn’t supported by anyone on the safety thing, but he was right and we were all wrong.

“Of course, the circuits are much safer now, too. You don’t go into trees as much, which is not the most comfortable way to crash.

“If I was going to have a big off, I would have preferred to have done it in a GT40 because it had a steel monocoque chassis, which was really strong. A 917 by comparison was not, and if you went off in a 917 you’d make sure you went off backwards, let the engine take it – although it’s still going to be you. In fact, no – a big accident in a 917 should not have been considered really, because the cars were made in a way that was for lightness, performance and speed, not for safety. Current professional drivers say, ‘we can’t believe you drove that’, and they can’t, they really can’t imagine it.”

Richard retired to run the family business that had financed his early years in racing, from the very first event in a Standard Ten at Goodwood in 1958, through the seasons in a Triumph TR3A and Formula Junior, until he made the big time after a convincing victory at Monaco in the 1963 Grand Prix support race.

From there he had been through Formula 1, the Tasman Series, the Ford GT development programme and Le Mans driving for Lola, Ford, Maranello Concessionaires and David Piper, before joining the Porsche team.

And it was Le Mans he returned to when the racing itch needed one last scratch. He joined the Aston Martin Nimrod team for the 1984 24 Hours, learning how to deal with levels of downforce and grip that he’d never experienced before, only for the race to end for them when the leading Nimrod crashed heavily, with Richard’s car (while John Sheldon was at the wheel) hitting the debris and also crashing.

Since then Richard has appeared with the famous red and white Salzburg Porsche 917 at Historics events, reluctantly taking the plaudits for one of the greatest-ever Le Mans wins, “Looking back, winning Le Mans in 1970 was a real highlight of my career,” he admits.

“Le Mans was a race that either comes to you or doesn’t. It’s a fickle thing, really – but it’s the greatest sports car race in the world.”

For an online celebration of Richard’s win, visit www.lemans70.com.

930 911 rs

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1989 PORSCHE 930 TURBO G50 - £95,000

1972 PORSCHE 911 ST £225,000

1973 PORSCHE 2.7 CARRERA RS - POA

1999 PORSCHE GT3 CUP CAR - £85,000

The Porsche 930 Turbo is one of the ultimate ‘poster cars’ for sports car enthusiasts and is one of the most usable, collectable and iconic classics. This particular example is one of those last year production 930 Turbos with the G50 gearbox.

This car is as close to an original ST as you can get, built in period on a correct 1972 “oelklappe” 2.4 911S chassis with many original NOS parts. When we restored the car we took the shell back to bare metal and then proceeded with an over 1000 hour body and paint restoration and finished in its factory delivered colour of Hellgelb or Light Yellow. The engine is a correct 2.5 twin plug engine and recently the car has had engine and gearbox rebuilds and also an MFI pump rebuild.

This two owner from new Carrera RS has exceptional history. This car is from the first 150 cars produced and has never been in an accident or damaged other than a few minor scratches to the right rear wheel arch. The car has always been garaged and is believed to be one of the most original surviving examples of the marque. We carried out a very sympathetic restoration maintaining the integrity and originality of this iconic car.

1999 was a golden period of Porsche Super Cup Racing. The Porsche Super Cup races ran as a support race to the 1999 F1 World Championship. This car was effectively the Porsche GB entry and was driven by Johnny Mowlem throughout the season. The car had many top 10 finishes, most notably a 3rd place in Melbourne and ended up finishing 11th overall in the championship.

The car is still painted in its original colour of Guards Red but has been professionally wrapped by Totally Dynamic in the striking colour of Suzuka Grey. In addition the car has had a number of performance modifications professionally installed. This 930 has been well maintained and comes with a full service history, original spare wheel, compressor, tool kit and books including the leather bound owners manual and service book with stamps and 2 keys.

Easily go back to standard or “make do” with 400 BHP in a classic lightweight 930 chassis to surprise a few “moderns”.

Porsche GB car with full F1 race event history. Could be road registered, if a 996 RS is a little too pedestrian and mainstream!

The car did not require any major rust repairs, all the floors, kidney bowls, wings, doors, ducktail etc. are all the original items and the car has its original service books, tool kit and spare wheel gas compressor.

A well known car and about 15% of the cost of a good factory ST, with more or less 100% of the driving and aural experience.

A no-stories RS with full provenance including telefaxes from Baron Von Hanstein and a fully documented maintenance & service record file from Porsche.

+44(0)7717212911 | HISTORIKA.COM | +44(0)7836384999

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BELOW The 1995 Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 GTR as it looked when it crossed the line, having endured 16 hours of rain.

Five of these Weathered F1s will be made.

RIGHT In 1970, the John Wyer team 917K won the Daytona 24 Hours first time out. This is how it looked when it finished, in 1:8 scale.

WOR D S DAV I D L I L LY W H I T E

Playing Amalgam’s remarkable 1:8 scale models are now available in a new ‘Weathered’ range. Here’s how they’re made to look so authentically mucky

Dirty

RIGHT Nathan Stockill paints in the weathering to represent James Hunt’s 1976 McLaren M23D at the moment it left the pits following a front left tyre blow-out at the Japanese GP. Just three of these 1:8 models have been made.

IT’S A THING now; manufacturers and race teams preserving their winning cars exactly as they crossed the finishing line. And although the cars tend to pick up extra fingerprints and smudges over the years, and will never be raced again, everyone loves them.

So the logical next step is ‘dirty’ models, isn’t it? You’ve probably seen the stunning models that Amalgam has been making for 25 years, from the 1.2m-long (48in) 1:4 scale monsters to the more regularly sized 1:18 models. Well, now the company has added a ‘Weathered’ range...

The specialist’s most intricate, exclusive models are built in its ‘artisan’ department in Bristol, UK. This is where the Weathered models are created, based on the condition of a specific car at a particular moment in time – usually as it wins an important race.

Every detail of the weathering is hand produced in minute detail: tyre wear, body damage, hasty repairs, stone chips, insect splatters, oil stains and brake dust.

As with all Amalgam models, the Weathered

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creation process starts with detailed digital scans of the real thing, with more than 1000 images taken. From these, the team creates CAD designs of every component, all of which need to fit together perfectly.

Those components are then produced by 3D printing, machining or handcrafting, if possible out of the original material used in the full-size car. They’re finished with automotive paint and decals to represent carbonfibre, polished aluminium, leather or patinated surfaces.

And then the weathering begins, bringing new life to the models. The techniques are explained on these pages, where we have focused on the 1:8 scale 1995 Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 GTR, the 1970 Daytona-winning Porsche 917K and James Hunt’s 1976 championship-winning McLaren M23D. The detail is mind boggling, and each model takes around 20 hours just to weather.

The 1:8 scale Weathered range also includes a Ferrari 250LM, McLaren MP4/4, Ferrari 250TR, Audi R8 Le Mans car and, now in development, Nigel Mansell’s 1990 Ferrari F1-90, with prices starting from £9000 each.

There are also 1:18 scale models (25cm/10in long) available in the Weathered range, which start at around £1000 each. They’re smaller but still deeply impressive – and dirty!

Thanks to www.amalgamcollection.com.

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THIS SPREAD ‘Race dirt’ is applied in several layers of thin watercolour with an airbrush, each layer in a slightly different shade.

Details are built up with brush strokes, and the edges softened with further layers of colour, dragging the paint and gently wiping it off.

On the McLaren, even the tattered windscreen decal has been recreated.

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ABOVE & RIGHT Archive race footage and hundreds of images are used as reference.

Hasty race-tape repairs, damaged panels, stoneblasted paint and oil stains are all faithfully recreated. The Daytona 917K’s rear bodywork lifts to reveal a filthy flat-12 engine under a removable cover.

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LUDVIGSEN ON: THE FERRARI BARCHETTA

The little boat that made giant waves When Enzo Ferrari was searching for the very first ‘Ferrari look’, he entrusted Milan coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring with the task. Its radical design nicknamed the Barchetta (little boat) changed sports car styling history

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EVEN IF FOR Enzo Ferrari the engine was 100 per cent of the car – he would later lower this to 50 per cent – he had at least to make the effort of mounting it in a chassis and providing a modicum of bodywork. In 1947, Ferrari was starting from scratch with his Maranello factory full of machine tools but no car design to build on them. Alfa Romeo engineer Gioachino Colombo created a brilliant chassis and V12 engine for him, yet a convincing shape was needed as well.

Drawing on the innate skills of his talented countrymen in the forming of lightweight aluminium bodies, Ferrari fashioned some of the bodywork for his first cars in his own factory. An early ally was the coachworks founded in Turin in 1935 by Serafino Allemano.

From his carrozzeria on the Via Rosmini emerged both open and coupé bodies for Ferrari 2.0-litre Type 166 chassis. One of the coupés took Clemente Biondetti to his second victory in the Mille Miglia in 1948.

If these early Ferraris were “anonymous looking and without personality”, in the opinion of one expert, this was of less import to Enzo, whose main goal was to make his reputation by building winning racing machinery, both sports cars and singleseaters. Sophistication in body design and style was secondary. This soon changed, however, when his early motor sport successes began to generate commercial demand for the exciting new marque.

Enzo Ferrari had some experience with ‘proper’ coachbuilders. In his years running the pre-war Alfa Romeo team he worked with Milan’s Zagato, well known for its light and tough bodywork. But for the two Type 815 sports-racers that he built for the 1940 Mille Miglia, largely exploiting Fiat parts, Ferrari chose to work with another Milanese outfit, Carrozzeria Touring.

Established in 1925 by Felice Bianchi Anderloni, Touring produced stunning and elegant sporting bodywork on such chassis as Alfa Romeo, Lancia and BMW. Its first work after World War Two was on Fiat, Alfa and Isotta Fraschini platforms. All showed the good taste and flair of Anderloni, who was 65 in 1947. He was assisted financially by Gaetano Ponzoni and in design by Anderloni’s son Carlo, then 31.

“The confidence in the men at Touring goes a long way back,” said Carlo, “to when Ferrari himself was a racing driver and my

LEFT Iconic design put Ferrari on the road to sporting success – and sales swiftly followed.

B A RC H E T TA

father Felice was an amateur driver for Isotta Fraschini and Peugeot. This relationship strengthened further during the years of the Scuderia Ferrari, when the great majority of Alfa Romeo’s racing car bodywork was made by Touring.”

In 1937, Touring developed a method of body construction it called Superleggera or ‘super-light’. Artfully placed small-diameter steel tubes erected a skeleton under the skin, around which the aluminium body panels were wrapped during manufacture. Light yet rigid, this suited the more modern, independently sprung chassis that were being developed in the late 1930s. Soon the phrase ‘Superleggera Touring’ became the hallmark of the company’s work, characterised by this motto: “Weight is the enemy and air resistance is the obstacle.”

After the war, Enzo Ferrari well recalled Touring for its ‘spider’ bodies on his Type 815s. From Gioachino Colombo’s pre-war work at Alfa Romeo, the engineer was also familiar with Touring’s capabilities, so it was to that carrozzeria that he turned at the beginning of 1948 with the aim of developing a distinctive and coherent range of Ferrari sports cars based on both short and long 2.0-litre Type 166 chassis.

“What we needed,” he wrote, “was to find a suitable ‘clothing’ for this car to give it a characteristic Ferrari appearance – since up to this point there had been no distinctive ‘Ferrari look’.”

Continued Colombo: “We spent many hours in the late spring and early summer of 1948 trying to get exactly the right lines for the bodywork of the new Ferrari 166 MM.” This was confirmed by Carlo Bianchi Anderloni: “Gioachino Colombo was the technician who was most closely involved in this collaboration.

Being an artist himself, Gioachino could well appreciate the aesthetic problems involved, and was therefore very co-operative in seeing to it that the final design was as clean and beautiful as possible.”

A good example of this was the problem of the bonnet line. An early drawing by Touring artist Federico Formenti showed an unsightly bulge to suit an air cleaner above the 166 Inter’s single carburettor. Covering the triple units of the 166 MM would have been even more difficult. Only with Colombo’s help could the manifolding be revised to lower the carburettors and air cleaners to give the bonnet a smooth surface broken only by a small air scoop.

“Working with Enzo Ferrari was always extremely interesting,” said Anderloni. “There MMA A G GN NE ET TO O / / 1 4 59 3

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ABOVE Next to taller Lord Selsdon in centre, Chinetti was victor in this 166 MM in 1949’s first post-war Le Mans. Suddenly Ferrari and its Barchetta were on the racing map.

ABOVE First appearance of a Barchetta was on press day of the 1948 Turin Salon, not yet with egg-crate grille.

Many observers found its completely novel shape to be ‘disconcerting’.

was nothing boring or secret about it. Work alternated with discussions which covered a very wide range of subjects, such as politics and engineering, his son Dino’s health – Dino was frequently present – social and union problems, good food, the characters of racing drivers and journalists. And endless visits to the factory, where we had the impression that there were no secrets between us.

“The longest discussions,” continued Anderloni, “or rather intense exchanges of opinions, were obviously to do with the body of the car. Many times when we had to decide the wheelbase or the track which would improve the appearance of the body, Ferrari would cut short the discussion by telling me: ‘My dear Bianchi, when you have returned to Milan and have chosen the most suitable specification with your collaborators, give me a ring.’ This was Ferrari’s way of working when he totally trusted his supplier friends.

“The stylistic study which led to the 14 4

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LEFT Carrozzeria Touring’s Carlo Bianchi Anderloni points out a styling feature; his father would live just long enough to see success of Barchetta design.

definition of the new Ferraris was fascinating and courageous,” Carlo added. “Fascinating because we were attempting to individualise the Ferrari and not to copy one of the many spider two-seater sports cars in circulation.

Courageous because the results were obtained by overturning one of the strictest canons of sports car design, which was: wide at the bottom, narrow at the top and close to the ground. The new body for the Ferrari had its maximum width just over halfway up the side, and was visibly high off the ground.”

Over to Colombo: “The definitive version was decided on July 6, 1948. Because this was a design for cars to be entered in the Mille Miglia of the following year, it was styled ‘Mille Miglia Project 1949’.” For the senior Bianchi Anderloni, its realisation was the capstone of a coruscating career in auto design. His role in its gestation ended on June 3, 1948, when he died suddenly after completing a demanding drive from Rome to Milan. Press and public

first saw the 166 MM at the opening of Turin’s 31st motor show on September 15, 1948.

Together with a four-seat Berlinetta closed version on the 166 Inter chassis displayed on the Touring stand, this was the first appearance of a Ferrari at an auto show. The 166 MM filled a tiny space next to a Turin-built Moretti.

So unusual was the new 166 MM when compared with existing sports car shapes, that it caused a considerable stir at the Turin expo. It was designed, said the younger Bianchi Anderloni: “To resemble in no way any other existing sports car. A quick glance was all that was necessary to recognise it instantly as a brand-new design.”

Hitherto sports cars featured low ground clearance and body sides that sloped outward toward their sills. Instead, the 166 MM’s flanks rolled under to soft, rounded forms that seemed to embrace the wheels. The body’s widest point was high, at the character line that joined the wheelhouses, while “its lower

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F E R R A R I

B A RC H E T TA

BELOW Bold character line between wheelhouses that marked out Barchetta design worked well on Type 166 SC Berlinetta.

Rounding under of its front wheelhouses shows prominently.

MARTYN GODDARD

LEFT Berlinetta under construction for Ferrari Type 166 Inter shows distinctive steel-tube structure integral to Superleggera Touring bodies.

ABOVE Anderloni in 2002, admiring one of the designs for which his company became most famous.

portion tapered to resemble the hull of a row boat”, explained Anderloni.

For these reasons the distinguished journalist Giovanni Canestrini wrote that he found the new Ferrari “disconcerting” because it was so radical, lacking any relationship with roadsters that had gone before. In the Gazzetta dello Sport, Canestrini explained his reaction to his readers. This was not an open sports car of the usual type, a spider, torpedo or skiff.

Instead, he said, it looked like a small boat, a barchetta. Capturing the spirit of the new creation, this became its nickname.

Both in the drawings and in the metal, this first Barchetta by Touring had a grille with horizontal bars, not yet the egg-crate grille that had in fact already been seen on some Ferraris.

This arrived in good time for the racing successes of 1949 and a prize-winning appearance in the Concours d’Elegance at Villa d’Este. The grille gave just the touch of aggressiveness that was needed to offset the 146

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subtlety of line and form with which Touring had clothed this first iconic Ferrari.

Touring’s work didn’t stop there, added Carlo Bianchi Anderloni: “The colour was expressly studied by Touring as well, and it remained to characterise all the official Ferrariteam Barchettas. Starting with a fiery red, the very lightest addition of metallic endowed it with the very deep crimson that distinguished all the Barchettas built for competition.” This distinctive colour as well as shape was born in only the second year of Ferrari.

Having commissioned the new Barchettas, said Anderloni, Enzo knew how to deploy them: “At this stage, Ferrari was concentrating his efforts on the sales figures by boosting the image of his product and presenting it with a distinctive identity of type and appearance. It was therefore a clever marketing manoeuvre to enter the 1949 Mille Miglia with a large number of similar cars, either in the official team or belonging to private customers. Even

the coachbuilder Nuccio Bertone took part in a Touring-bodied example.”

Of the nine Type 166s entered in the ’49 Mille Miglia, four were the new Barchettas with handsome egg-crate grilles. Two placed first and second; Clemente Biondetti winning his third Mille Miglia victory, at the age of 51, after battles with Felice Bonetto, who was second, and Piero Taruffi, who retired – all in the latest works Ferraris. The icing on the cake was Luigi Chinetti’s victory at Le Mans in 1949, relieved only briefly by Lord Selsdon.

Of the 29 Type 166 MM Touring Barchettas built in 1949 and 1950, not all were out-andout racing cars. Five buyers opted for the ‘Lusso’ or Deluxe version equipped for normal motoring. This was in its day the ultimate road sports car. With its contrasting stitchedleather cockpit covering, the Barchetta Lusso indeed evoked the look of the open speedboats after which it was so aptly nicknamed – a nickname that endured.

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THE TOP 50 MOMENTS T H AT D E F I N E D

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Winners and losers, smashes and crashes, euphoric successes and unbearable tragedies... the drama that is F1 racing offers them all.

Here are Magneto’s top epic moments from the past 70 years

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

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ALESI SHINES FOR TYRRELL

HIS audacity had race fans gasping. In only his ninth start in Formula 1, Jean Alesi led the 1990 US Grand Prix for 34 laps aboard his Tyrrell 019, only for Ayrton Senna to jump him and claim his customary place at the front in his McLaren. Alesi responded by taking back the position next time around.

A bravura performance indeed – even though this most Sicilian of Frenchmen later ceded to the inevitable and trailed the Brazilian home. A few months later, Alesi finished second to Senna in Monaco. Sadly, he never quite realised his potential thereafter.

BAGHETTI SCORES ON HIS DEBUT

IT was the mother of upset wins. Giancarlo Baghetti had already made headlines by winning the non-points 1961 Syracuse and Napoli Grands Prix in a Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA)-funded Ferrari 156. Nevertheless, few expected him to feature in his next outing, the French Grand Prix at Reims. This was a round of the World Championship, after all.

Yet amid high attrition, the Milanese fended off Porsche’s Dan Gurney to win. He was the first driver to triumph on his World Championship debut since 1950, when ‘Nino’ Farina won the first-ever race at Silverstone, and Johnnie Parsons claimed the Indy 500, which was then a round.

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B R M – A T L A S T…

BRITISH Racing Motors had promised much, but the first World Championship had been a long time coming.

Jo Bonnier created history by claiming the Bourne marque’s maiden win at Zandvoort in 1959. It was his 16th start at this level.

This cultured Swede enjoyed success in all manner of disciplines, not least in ice racing, but he was rarely a front-runner in Formula 1.

Nevertheless, he continued to plug away until 1971, in later years as a privateer entrant/driver. Bonnier is perhaps remembered more for his outings in sports cars – a discipline in which he often excelled.

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BRABHAM SUCKS IN SWEDEN

ABOVE Fanassisted Brabham BT46B put wind up rivals, but was withdrawn after just one race.

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GORDON Murray is justifiably lionised as one of motor sport’s great free-thinkers. Nevertheless, controversy surrounded his Brabham BT46B design from the moment the team arrived at the Scandinavian Raceway for the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix. A fan was employed at the rear to reduce pressure beneath the car – to ‘suck’ it to the surface, and thus increase cornering speeds.

Niki Lauda led team-mate John Watson home for a Brabham 1-2 finish amid a flurry of protests from other outfits. Brabham principal Bernie Ecclestone, eyeing the big prize – running F1 itself – promptly withdrew the car after only one outing.

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SCHUMACHER MAKES AN IMPRESSION

EDDIE Jordan’s eponymous squad made quite a splash when it entered F1 in 1991.

Andrea de Cesaris appeared set for a fairy-tale podium finish at Spa, only for his car’s engine to let go a mere three laps from the end.

That same race in Belgium also saw a new incumbent in the seat vacated by the recently incarcerated Bertrand Gachot – Michael Schumacher. The German, whose drive was paid for by Mercedes-Benz, slackened jaws in qualifying; he lined up seventh on the grid. He retired on the first lap of the race, but had impressed sufficiently for Benetton to poach him for the next round.

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THE JOY OF SIX: TYRRELL ON TOP AT A N D E R S T O R P

THE Tyrrell P34 remains among the most instantly recognisable F1 cars ever to turn a wheel – not least because it had six of them.

Designer Derek Gardner employed this configuration in a bid to improve aerodynamic efficiency – to assist cleaner airflow to the rear wing, while also improving straight-line performance. The doubters were proven wrong at Anderstorp during the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix meeting.

Pole-sitter Jody Scheckter – himself an early sceptic – led team-mate Patrick Depailler home to claim the first (and last) Grand Prix win for a six-wheeler. Intriguingly, Williams and March also built ‘hexapods’, but they opted for tandem-rear-wheel set-ups.

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H O N D A’ S M E X I C A N R A V E

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SUPER MARIO BAGS THE CROWN

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ASCARI ENDS UP IN THE DRINK

MAURICE Trintignant won the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari. He did so after the engine in Stirling Moss’s Mercedes let go on the 80th lap; ‘The Boy’ had appeared a shoe-in for victory. However, the race is remembered more for what happened subsequently. The new leader, Alberto Ascari, misjudged the chicane coming out of the tunnel. His Lancia D50 then ploughed through hay-bales before heading into the drink. The 1952-’53 World Champion swam home as Trintignant inherited the lead. Ascari’s injuries were limited to a broken nose, but he crashed fatally during a test session at Monza four days later.

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I R E L A N D TA K E S T E A M LOTUS’S FIRST WIN

INNES Ireland shone in the non-series 1961 Solitude Grand Prix at the Solitudering circuit near Stuttgart, in his works Lotus 21, claiming a convincing victory over Porsche’s Jo Bonnier. He followed through by winning the Flugplatzrennen at the Zeltweg airfield venue in Austria, beating secondplace man Jack Brabham by a lap. As was his want, he celebrated by drinking heavily before climbing a nearby clock tower… Ireland rounded out the year with a superb, if fortuitous, win in the World Championship season finale.

His reward? He was dropped

by Team Lotus principal, Colin Chapman. His career never quite recovered.

MARIO Andretti started his first-ever Formula 1 race, the 1968 Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, from pole position.

It was essentially a guest drive aboard a works Lotus 49B. Ten years later, while dovetailing Formula 1 with IndyCar and heaven knows what else, he claimed the drivers’ title at Monza.

It was an appropriate venue for the charismatic, Montona-born star who, alongside team-mate Ronnie Peterson, had dominated the season for Team Lotus.

Sadly, as with fellow American Phil Hill, Andretti’s title was freighted with grief. Peterson, with whom he enjoyed a close relationship, succumbed to injuries incurred during a firstlap shunt.

THE 1965 season finale, the Mexican Grand Prix, witnessed several milestones.

Goodyear accrued the first of more than 300 wins in F1, while Richie Ginther claimed his first – and last – pointspaying victory. He did so at the wheel of a Honda RA273. It marked the maiden win for the marque and, by extension, a non-European constructor. Honda would go on to conquer the 1967 Italian GP, only to withdraw in 1968.

It would, however, become an F1 powerhouse as an engine supplier following a low-key return in 1983 with Spirit. Honda-powered cars won the constructors’ title every year from 1986 to 1991.

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COLLINS PERISHES AT T H E ’ R I N G

HANDSOME, charming, and shot through with the right stuff, Peter Collins was famously the ‘mon ami mate’ of Mike Hawthorn. Collins had given up any chance of winning the 1956 drivers’ title after he selflessly handed his Lancia-Ferrari D50 over to team-mate Juan Manuel Fangio during the Italian Grand Prix. However, he was in with a shout of winning the 1958 crown. It wasn’t to be. Collins had bagged that year’s British Grand Prix | at Silverstone – his third points-paying career F1 win – only to die a fortnight later after crashing out of the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

BELOW Vettel became youngestever... well, pretty much everything when it came to F1.

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A S TA R I S B O R N – V E T T E L TA K E S FIRST WIN SEBASTIAN Vettel is nothing if not consistent. In 2007, he substituted for the injured Robert Kubica during the Canadian Grand Prix. He placed eighth in his BMW Sauber, the 20-year-old becoming the youngestever points finisher. At the following year’s Italian Grand Prix, he became the youngest-ever F1 winner, aged 21 years and 74 days, to usurp previous record holder Fernando Alonso (by 317 days…). That same race also saw him become the youngest-ever driver to finish on the podium in any position. Oh, and the youngest-ever pole-sitter...

It also marked the first – and, to date, last – win for Toro Rosso (né Minardi).

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T Y R R E L L’ S S L I C K WIN IN SPAIN

JACKIE Stewart had already accrued two world titles with Ken Tyrrell-fielded Matras before struggling through the 1970 season aboard a customer March chassis.

Tyrrell emerged as a constructor towards the end of the year before dominating the 1971 season. And how.

In the second round, the Spanish Grand Prix at Montjuic Park, Stewart claimed honours in his darkblue 003. It marked the first of six victories that year, with the future knight claiming his third and final drivers’ title with relative ease. Victory in Barcelona also marked the first win for a slick tyre, with Goodyear besting the Firestone-shod teams.

BELOW Celebrations were many for Bruce McLaren and his crew in 1968.

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EMMO BAGS THE BIG ONE

BARELY three years after he arrived in the UK to race in Formula Ford, Emerson Fittipaldi wrapped up his first Formula 1 world title.

He did so in 1972 aboard a JPS-liveried Lotus 72 at Monza. He was just 25.

‘Emmo’ was the youngestever driver to claim the crown, and remained so until 2005 when Fernando Alonso assumed the mantle.

He placed second a year later, and bagged another title in 1974 driving for McLaren. More than anything, Fittipaldi’s achievements mattered for what they led to; they inspired a legion of Brazilian drivers to head to Europe to further their careers.

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MCLAREN BREAKS ITS DUCK

THE 1968 season saw Bruce McLaren’s eponymous squad come of age. The breakthrough win at the old 8.76-mile Spa-Francorchamps circuit in June followed nonchampionship victories for the M7A in the non-series Race of Champions at Brands Hatch (with McLaren driving) and the International Trophy at Silverstone (for team-mate Denny Hulme). McLaren’s Belgium win was only secured late in the day. He assumed the lead on the final lap after Jackie Stewart’s Tyrrell-Matra ran out of fuel. The floodgates were open for McLaren the marque – which was to tragically lose its talismanic founder several years later.

SURTEES SECURES L A S T- G A S P 1 9 6 4 DRIVERS’ TITLE

JOHN Surtees went into the 1964 finale in Mexico City vying with Jim Clark and Graham Hill for the drivers’ title. Clark was on course to take his second crown, only for his Lotus to develop a terminal oil leak with one lap to go. Hill, meanwhile, had lost time earlier on after Surtees’s Scuderia Ferrari team-mate, Lorenzo Bandini, made a clumsy move and damaged his BRM’s exhaust.

Nevertheless, Surtees was lying in third place with only seconds to spare, which was insufficient to overhaul Hill’s points tally. Then Bandini moved over from second place to let him through so he could take vital extra points.

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RINDT BECOMES CHAMPION P O S T H U M O U S LY

JOCHEN Rindt owned Formula 2 in the late 1960s, and triumphed at Le Mans in 1965. Nevertheless, it took an age for the Austrian

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HILL BECOMES THE FIRST AMERICAN TITLE HOLDER

IT was a triumph stripped of euphoria. Phil Hill went into the penultimate round of the 1961 World Championship, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with a shot at the drivers’ title. However, his nearest challenger, Scuderia Ferrari team-mate Wolfgang ‘Taffy’ von Trips, was ahead in the standings by four points. Hill was hoping for a repeat win at the historic venue, and he got his wish.

Tragically, von Trips’s Ferrari tangled with Jim Clark’s Lotus at the Parabolica on the second lap. The German Count was killed in the ensuing accident, which also claimed 15 spectators’ lives.

to win a GP. Motor Sport journalist Denis Jenkinson said he would eat his beard if ever Rindt won in F1… Then the Austrian bagged the 1969 US GP for Team Lotus, and followed through with five wins in 1970, only to perish after crashing out of qualifying at Monza. Jacky Ickx had been a challenger for the title, but Rindt’s tally was such that he was awarded the prize posthumously.

Jackie Stewart presented the trophy to widow Nina (above).

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B R AW N AG A I N

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WILLIAMS JOINS T H E T O P TA B L E

FRANK Williams has been involved in F1 since the late 1960s. Nevertheless, he spent much of the ’70s as an alsoran, famously earning the sobriquet ‘Wanker Williams’ along the way. In 1977, he joined forces with designer Patrick Head to form Williams Grand Prix Engineering, and his fortunes rallied. Two years later, Clay Regazzoni claimed an emotional victory in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone aboard an FW07.

Williams as a force in F1 had arrived. For the rest of the season his was the team to beat, with Aussie tough nut Alan Jones winning the proceeding three rounds.

IT was perhaps the greatest Cinderella story in F1 history.

Honda Racing F1 Team abruptly withdrew from the sport in late 2008. A management buyout led by Ross Brawn appeared shaky but somehow all the many strands were pulled together, not least an agreement with Mercedes-Benz for the supply of engines. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were retained, and Brawn GP finished first and second at the Australian Grand Prix, which kicked off the 2009 season. Button claimed six of the first seven races, while Barrichello won twice.

The former was crowned champion, and Brawn GP took the constructors’ title.

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VETTEL VS WEBBER

SEBASTIAN Vettel and Mark Webber were team-mates at Red Bull for five years, with the former winning four drivers’ titles from 2010-2013.

Theirs wasn’t the warmest of relationships, though. They had sparred verbally as far back as 2007, when the German youngster clouted the Australian under safety-car conditions during the Japanese GP. Things really started to spiral out of control in Turkey in 2010, when they were squabbling over the lead and collided.

The media largely sided with Webber when apportioning blame; the team went with Vettel. Webber clearly knew where he stood, hence his infamous “…not bad for a number-two driver” quip over the radio after winning the British Grand Prix that year (the race where Vettel alone had received the newest design of front wing).

Scroll forward to the 2013 Malaysian GP, and matters soured irretrievably after Vettel jumped long-time leader Webber in the closing stages. Positions were swapped despite coded ‘Multi 21’ team orders to hold station. Webber was incensed, and he departed F1 for sports car racing at the end of the year.

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BELOW Ferrari team theatrics put Schuey at top – and Barrichello’s nose out of joint.

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IL LEONE WINS A DOG FIGHT

AYRTON Senna and Alain Prost may have been the benchmark drivers of the mid- to late 1980s, but Nigel Mansell wasn’t intimidated by them – at least not on track. That said, once qualifying for the 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix was over, there was every reason to believe he wouldn’t be a threat for victory. Mansell lined up 11th on the grid aboard his ill-handling Ferrari 640, the Hungaroring being notorious for the lack of overtaking opportunities.

Somebody clearly forgot to tell Il Leone, as the Tifosi had taken to calling Mansell (it sounded so much better than ‘Brummie Whinger’, a term coined by the British media).

He was on explosive form come the race, at one point lapping two seconds faster than anyone else. With 19 laps left to go, he was running second to McLaren’s Ayrton Senna as they came upon Stefan Johansson’s Onyx. Senna momentarily lost momentum as he attempted to lap the Swede.

Mansell seized the moment and pounced – and ‘Our Nige’ rubbed in his dominance by leading Senna home by 25sec.

VILLENEUVE SHINES FOR… MCLAREN

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F E R R A R I A N G E R S FA N S THE WORLD OVER

THE 2002 season saw Michael Schumacher dominate in a manner that was soul destroying for his rivals.

Among their number was his Ferrari team-mate, Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian was clearly the number-two driver, and this was rammed home during round six – the Austrian GP. He put on a polished drive, only for team

principal Jean Todt to insist that he give up the win to Schumacher; the German needed the points for his title bid, apparently. Barrichello backed off just before the finish line to let him past.

This crass handling infuriated many in the grandstands and watching from home, not least because there were still 11 rounds to go. What’s more, Schuey had won four of the previous races and had almost twice as many points as his nearest challenger. Schumacher was crowned long before season’s end, and Barrichello’s reward?

He ‘won’ the US GP by 0.011sec after his team-mate switched positions only a few metres from home.

This blatant piece of theatre enraged fans globally. Again.

GILLES Villeneuve was a relative unknown going into the 1977 British Grand Prix.

The Canadian’s praises had been highly sung by the reigning World Champion, James Hunt, the Brit having raced against him in a TroisRivières Formula Atlantic invitational event at the end of 1976. At Silverstone, Villeneuve was armed with an aged works McLaren M23, and he spun repeatedly – but tellingly without leaving the track. It was his way of exploring the limits. The former Ski-Doo champion was fastest in pre-qualifying, and lined up ninth on the grid. The rookie was 0.8sec off pole-man Hunt who was armed with an M26, but quicker than his other team-mate, Jochen Mass.

In the race, he was obliged to pit early after noticing his water-temperature gauge was climbing. It turned out to be merely a faulty reading. He returned trackside, almost two laps in arrears, and came home 11th. His lowly finish wasn’t representative of his pace, and he’d done enough to impress Enzo Ferrari, who had been watching the race on TV. Cue the offer of a drive for ‘The Reds’.

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S E N N A’ S F I R S T O F M A N Y

SUCH was the breadth of Ayrton Senna’s achievements, it’s difficult to know where to start. The man himself claimed his first-ever Grand Prix victory was the most satisfying. That’s understandable given he appeared to be in a different race to everyone else. His drive at a sodden Estoril for the 1985 Portuguese GP was of the inspired variety, that’s for sure. In his sophomore season as an F1 driver, his second outing for Team Lotus also witnessed him claim his first pole position (of 60!) following a troubled practice session.

Come the race, he disappeared into the distance aboard his black and gold JPS-liveried Lotus 97T. The conditions were atrocious to the point that Alain Prost had an uncharacteristic pirouette before clouting the barriers in his McLaren.

Save for one grassy moment early on, Senna never put a wheel wrong. By the end of the race, he had lapped everyone bar second-place man, Ferrari’s Michele Alboreto. Senna rated his performance in Portugal as his best ever because he had no recourse to traction control or driver aids.

RIGHT A literal final push paid dividends for an exhausted yet heroic Brabham at Sebring.

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25 US GRAND PRIX SHAMBLES

THE 2005 US Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway remains one of the most controversial races in F1 history. Following repeat tyre failures during the build-up, all Michelin runners – 14 cars from 20 starts – completed the parade lap and retired to the pits before the start of the race. The remaining sextet comprised entries from

Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi.

Prior to the race, Michelin had tendered a compromise proposal whereby a chicane would be installed, thus lessening tyre loads. The Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile refused, stating that it would be unfair to the Bridgestone teams as well as dangerous to make a last-minute circuit layout change. The upshot was a farcical ‘race’ that was won

by Ferrari; Schumacher led Rubens Barrichello home.

Come the podium ceremony, no scheduled dignitaries appeared, and most drivers and team members got the hell out of Dodge as quickly as possible. Only Jordan’s Tiago Monteiro seemed pleased, his third place representing the first-ever podium finish for a Portuguese driver.

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BRABHAM’S FINAL PUSH

THE first round of the World Championship ever staged in the US rounded out the 1959 season in dramatic fashion.

There was everything to play for on the bumpy Sebring airfield circuit, with three drivers having a shot at the title: points leader Jack Brabham in his works Cooper T51, Stirling Moss in a similar, Rob Walker-fielded example, and Tony Brooks in his Ferrari 246 Dino. And it was Moss who qualified on pole. At the start, he soon muscled past Brabham and drove into the distance.

Brooks, meanwhile, was rammed from behind at the first corner by his team-mate, Wolfgang von Trips. Moss’s hard work building up his lead was for naught, too; his car’s gearbox failed on the fifth tour. Brabham assumed the lead, and he had his youthful protégé, Bruce McLaren, to act as rear gunner. However, virtually within sight of the flag, Brabham’s car ran out of fuel.

He pushed it the final 300 metres or so, unsure whether he had done enough to secure the title. Brooks’s eventual third place was insufficient; Brabham emerged a befuddled, dehydrated yet heroic champion.

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SENNA WINS IN BRAZIL

AYRTON Senna headed to Interlagos in 1991 desperate to win his home race. Victory in Brazil had eluded him thus far, but there was every reason to believe that this was going to be his year.

After all, he had qualified on pole. Come the race, he led comfortably until the first round of pitstops. His nearest challenger, Williamsmounted Nigel Mansell, hadn’t had the smoothest of races thus far, but he was now closing in, only to develop a puncture. It appeared as though all Senna had to do was cruise home to win.

And then his car’s gearbox began to play up.

A recovering Mansell put in another of his never-say-die charges in the second half of the race and was a serious threat, only to retire his car with a broken transmission.

His team-mate, Riccardo Patrese, took up the challenge – yet his gearbox also developed gremlins.

With access only to sixth gear, an exhausted Senna emerged victorious; he had to be lifted out of his McLaren and driven to the podium in the medical car.

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M A N S E L L TA K E S SENNA FOR A RIDE

AT T R I T I O N S T R I K E S IN MONACO

THE Monaco Grand Prix has thrown up several improbable results, yet never more so than in 1996. Michael Schumacher qualified on pole, but courted controversy for impeding Gerhard Berger, whose Ferrari entered the chicane backwards. Come race day there was excitement even before the start, because conditions took a turn for the sodden. Several cars connected with the barriers during warm-up, and only 21 took the start.

Williams driver Damon Hill got the jump on his rivals, but carnage ensued behind him. Only 16 cars completed the first lap, Schumacher’s being among the casualties, and just 12 were running ten laps in. And so it continued. Hill retired his car from the lead after its engine let go. Jean Alesi had a turn at the front only for his Benetton’s suspension to fail.

Olivier Panis then ran up front in his Ligier-Mugen.

He came home the victor, too, with only McLaren’s David Coulthard and Sauber’s Johnny Herbert also being classified (although Herbert’s team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen was still on track).

It marked a record for the fewest finishers in F1 history.

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MAX MOSLEY VS THE NEWS OF THE WORLD

THE year 2008 witnessed a ludicrous amount of hullabaloo that cast a long shadow over F1. The most improbable revelation had to be the News of the World’s outing of Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) chief Max Mosley as an S&M dungeon dweller. This lurid exposé was made all the more unpalatable by alleged Nazi connotations. This being the son of 1930s fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, the scandal rag was quick to heap innuendo upon innuendo; that he was somehow following in his father’s goosesteps.

Mosley insisted that yes, he had enlisted the services of five hookers, but denied that he had engaged in deathcamp-inspired role play. And no, he wouldn’t stand down as FIA principal. And he didn’t. Instead, he defied expectations and won a vote of confidence. That, and libel damages. The presiding judge, Mr Justice Eady, said: “[There was] no evidence that the gathering on March 28, 2008 was intended to be an enactment of Nazi behaviour or adoption of any of its attitudes.” The rumour mill continues to churn, however, not least concerning the identity of the ‘whistle-blower’.

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SENNA IS CROWNED

THE 1988 season saw McLaren dominate in such a manner that it won 15 out of 16 races. Only Williams stand-in driver Jean-Louis Schlesser ensured it wasn’t a clean sweep; he tripped up Ayrton Senna as the Brazilian tried to lap him during that year’s Italian GP. The Frenchman became a hero in Italy, because his misstep

allowed for a Ferrari 1-2…

In terms of actual racing, it was brutal at the sharp end because McLaren had hitherto been Alain Prost’s domain.

The tousle-haired ‘Professor’ had not only a competitive team-mate in Senna, but someone who wanted to annihilate him. There was no room for bonhomie here.

With their best 11 finishes counting towards the championship, Senna would be crowned if he won, regardless of where his nemesis finished. He qualified on pole, too, only to stall on the grid. By the time he got away, he was down in 14th place. In variable conditions, he came through to win the race and the title. Job done!

WE could just have tossed a coin as to which of Nigel Mansell’s British Grand Prix victories to include here.

Certainly, his 1992 outing was memorable because he qualified on pole by 1.9sec.

The race famously ended with a track invasion, let’s not forget, this being the height of ‘Mansell Mania’.

However, the previous year saw him dominate in a manner that few drivers have ever managed. What’s more, he admitted to harnessing energy from the wildly partisan crowd as he plonked his Williams FW14 on pole. He was half a second faster than McLaren man Ayrton Senna, and a full second quicker than his team-mate, Riccardo Patrese, in third place.

He was the picture of serenity in the race, too.

He led from start to finish to win by 42sec from McLarenmounted Gerhard Berger and Ferrari’s Alain Prost. The race was made unforgettable for what happened on the cooling-down lap. Title rival Senna had run out of fuel on the penultimate tour.

Mansell pulled over and gave the Brazilian a lift back to the paddock.

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SCHUMACHER VS HILL

THINK back to 1994 and you’ll recall it was a season mired in controversy. The Renault V10-engined Williams should have had a significant performance advantage over the CosworthFord-powered Benetton.

Nevertheless, to some onlookers, not even Michael Schumacher’s godlike skills could account for why his car was invariably at the sharp end. The FIA later found a launch-control system in the team’s software but couldn’t prove it’d ever been activated.

Then Benetton was found to have cheated via mods to its refuelling rig, and so on.

There were race bans, disqualifications and more besides, but Schumacher and Williams man Damon Hill went into the Australian GP vying for the drivers’ title.

What followed has entered into F1 folklore; on lap 35, Schumacher went wide at the East Terrace corner and hit the wall. Hill pounced, only for Schumacher to turn his damaged car into him. It was game over for Hill. The title was decided in Schumacher’s favour by one point.

Admirably, Hill chose not to publicly criticise Schuey,but the Briton took out his rival more than once in 1995.

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VILLENEUVE ‘WA S R O B B E D’ AS team-mates at Scuderia Ferrari, Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi were the best of rivals. The bitterness that soured their relationship is the stuff of legend, popular belief being that Pironi defied team orders to win the 1982 San Marino GP. It was an odd race, anyway, not least because many teams boycotted the meeting, this being the period when the FOCA (Formula One Constructors’ Association) and the FIA were at war with each other.

Villeneuve was heading his oft-aloof team-mate in the closing stages when the team instructed the drivers to slow down. They did so to minimise the risk of incurring a mechanical failure and to eke out their fuel. Villeneuve believed this meant they were to hold station to the end, but Pironi reckoned he was still free to race, albeit at a slower pace.

Positions were traded and Pironi got the upper hand with seconds to spare.

He emerged the victor. A fortnight later, a still-riled Villeneuve crashed fatally during qualifying for the following round at Zolder.

RIGHT Monza performance put Moss on map; he got a works Mercedes-Benz drive for 1955.

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NELSON PIQUET JR D E L I B E R A T E LY C R A S H E S

‘CRASH-gate’ was perhaps the most notorious of the many scandals that rocked Formula 1 during the 2000s.

Scroll back to 2008, and the Enstone-based Renault F1 squad desperately needed a win if it were to avoid being shuttered by the board. At that year’s Singapore GP, Nelson Piquet Jr crashed his car at one of the few places where there was no means

of winching it away, hence the safety car was deployed.

His team-mate, Fernando Alonso, had been running outside the top ten when he made a curiously early pitstop shortly before Piquet’s timely ‘off’ (above).

The leading drivers all stopped when the pitlane opened. Alonso then leapfrogged his rivals and won the race. An odour of fish pervaded the outcome, but it was widely passed off as a fluke until Piquet was fired by Renault partway through 2009. The piqued Brazilian then admitted to the FIA that he had crashed his car deliberately a year earlier in order to affect Alonso’s win. Cue bans for senior personnel. Piquet, meanwhile, switched to racing NASCAR pick-ups.

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M O S S S TA R S AT M O N Z A

IN the cold light of statistical analysis, Stirling Moss’s showing in the 1954 Italian Grand Prix at Monza doesn’t make for impressive reading; he was classified in tenth place, nine laps down on the victor, Juan Manuel Fangio.

Except that doesn’t begin to illuminate his achievement.

Now armed with a car worthy of his talents, a Maserati 250F acquired by his father Alfred Moss and manager Ken Gregory (but with his cash…), the 24-year-old was a major threat wherever he appeared.

By the Italian round in September of that year, he was fastest of all the Maserati runners in practice, and he qualified in third place.

Scroll forward to the latter half of the race and, amid retirements and other dramas, Moss led by 20sec with 15 laps to go. After pitting for oil, he returned trackside and hunted down new leader Fangio. Unfortunately, his Maserati’s oil tank split, which resulted in Moss pushing the car across the line. He had done enough to show what he was capable of, though.

He landed a works MercedesBenz drive for 1955.

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RETURN OF THE S I LV E R A R R O W S

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H A M I LT O N ’ S L A T E PASS FOR THE TITLE

LEWIS Hamilton’s sophomore season saw him crowned champion, but only after the most dramatic of finales. Stevenage’s greatest export went into the final race of the season, the Brazilian GP at Interlagos, leading Scuderia Ferrari’s Felipe Massa by seven points.

Ten were available for a win, which meant the Brazilian could scoop the crown if his McLaren-driving competitor finished in sixth place or worse. And Massa didn’t put a wheel wrong; he planted his car on pole and led from start to finish.

Hamilton, meanwhile, had qualified in fourth place and appeared set to lose his title bid as he headed into the final lap. He was running in sixth place behind Toro Rosso man, Sebastian Vettel.

However, a late rain shower caught out fourth-place driver, Toyota’s Timo Glock.

The German had been 13sec ahead of his pursuers at the start of the lap, yet his dry-weather tyres were no match for their intermediates. Massa was already celebrating as he crossed the line, but Vettel and Hamilton jumped Glock seconds later. Hamilton took the title by one point.

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‘ T H E P A M P A S B U L L’ CHARGES TO FERRARI’S FIRST WIN EVEN by standards of the day, José Froilán González (above) cut an unlikely figure as a racer.

Broad of beam, and with a pronounced gut and thinning hair, the Argentine may not have been a model physical specimen, but he had stamina, tenacity and more than a little driving talent. Dubbed ‘The Pampas Bull’ by a

smitten British media, and El Cabezón (Fat Head) by his friends, he won the first-ever World Championship Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari at Silverstone in 1951.

His victory in the British round witnessed the end of nine successive GP triumphs for Alfa Romeo that stretched back to the inaugural race at the same Northamptonshire venue a year earlier. It also marked the maiden pole position at this level for both the driver and constructor, González having qualified a second faster than his great amigo, Juan Manuel Fangio.

González would go on to claim another points-paying victory at the former airfield venue in 1954, the same year that he partnered Maurice Trintignant to win the Le Mans 24 Hours.

ON looks alone, they had the opposition licked. MercedesBenz returned to the Grand Prix arena at Reims in July 1954. The W196s appeared to have arrived from the future thanks to the dramaticlooking, fully enveloped bodies and fuel-injected straight-eight engines. This was more than just a race outing; it was a means of showcasing German engineering superiority – and this barely nine years since the country dug itself out of rubble after World War Two. Juan Manuel Fangio, fresh from winning two prior points-paying rounds aboard a Maserati, was on hand to drive this brave new world.

His team-mates were Karl Kling and Hans Hermann.

Predictably, the Argentine placed his car on pole, ‘El Maestro’ duking it out with Kling to win by 0.1sec. They were more than a minute ahead of third-place finisher, Ferrari’s Robert Manzon.

Hermann, meanwhile, was among the many retirees, although he did record the fastest lap of the race. Fangio would go on to record three more victories for the German squad that year en route to taking his second World Championship title.

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FISA VS FOCA

IT was a war that played out in F1 for much of the early 1980s; one that month in, month out, saw cars disqualified, Grands Prix stripped of points status and nationalistic posturing.

Battle raged between the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile and the Formula One Constructors’ Association over the belief that big manufacturers were getting preferential treatment over the small – read British – garagistes.

The 1982 season, for example, kicked off with the South African Grand Prix – but the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association went on strike.

They did so in protest of new Superlicence rules from FISA that would have tied drivers to teams for up to three years. A compromise was reached, the race went ahead, the drivers all received fines and suspended race bans, and the race was later deemed a non-championship event. And so it went on.

Fortunately, an entente cordiale was brokered later that year, but there were repercussions. In a roundabout way, this ‘war’ also led to Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley increasing their powerbases. And how.

RIGHT Silver Arrows’ return showcased Germany’s engineering superiority.

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LEFT Fog, rain and a broken wrist; none of these was an impediment to Stewart’s win.

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C R A S H, B A N G, WA L LO P

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ST E WA RT OW N S THE ’RING

JACKIE Stewart’s drive in the 1968 German Grand Prix was otherworldly. Still suffering the effects of a broken scaphoid in his right wrist that caused him to miss the Spanish and Monaco rounds, he had placed fourth on his comeback at Spa. He followed through with a brilliant wet-weather victory in the Dutch GP. However, he arrived at the Nürburgring with his wrist still causing discomfort. During Friday practice, the sodden track was engulfed in a blanket of fog.

On race day, it was much the same, the start being repeatedly delayed. Ferrari’s Jacky Ickx made a poor start from pole, with Graham Hill’s Lotus 49 sneaking through from the second row to lead.

By Schwalbenschwanz Stewart was in front, plumes of spray fountaining from the back of his Matra. It was the last most of his rivals saw of him. The irony of this safety advocate prevailing by more than four minutes in the worst possible conditions on such a demanding circuit – and nursing an injury – wasn’t lost on the great man, either.

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‘ S P Y G AT E ’ THE use of the ‘gate’ suffix became almost run of the mill in F1 during the 2000s.

‘Spygate’ began innocuously enough, though. In 2007, McLaren protégé Lewis Hamilton graduated from GP2 to drive alongside Fernando Alonso. The rookie’s pace rattled the double World Champ, too. Toys departed prams during the Hungarian GP, and matters snowballed thereafter. A spat between the two in qualifying ended with fastest man Alonso receiving a grid penalty for deliberately impeding his hardly blameless team-mate.

Alonso and team boss Ron Dennis (above) fell out, the upshot being that the Spaniard dobbed in his employer to the FIA; McLaren’s chief designer Mike Coughlan had received 780 pages of confidential tech info from disgruntled Ferrari chief mechanic Nigel Stepney.

Cue a huge scandal. McLaren’s constructors’ points were stripped, a $100m fine was levied and Alonso switched teams for ’08. As an aside, Renault was also mired in an espionage saga in 2007, but it wasn’t so widely publicised.

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THE LOSS OF JIM CLARK

FROM 1960 to early ’68, Team Lotus claimed 26 World Championship wins, and all bar one of these were racked up by Jim Clark. He accrued 25 victories from just 72 starts, making for a 34.7 percent strike rate (and that’s before you factor in non-series Formula 1 races). Not only that, he started 33 World Championship rounds from pole position and claimed 28 fastest laps. During his 1965 campaign, he won the F1 title with three rounds to spare.

He did so despite the small matter of him missing the Monaco GP to contest the Indy 500, a race he won having been robbed of victory two years earlier. If that wasn’t enough, his score that year also included the Tasman Cup plus British and French Formula 2 gongs.

His passing in an F2 race at Hockenheim in April 1968 rocked the sport to its core.

As Chris Amon put it: “If it could happen to him, what chance do the rest of us have? I think we all felt that. It seemed like we’d lost our leader.”

RIGHT How to ram home a point; there was no love lost between Prost and Senna.

THE 1989 title race was famously decided at Suzuka.

Relations between McLaren team-mates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were bitter, to put it mildly, and matters spilled over during the Japanese GP. On lap 46, they collided at the final chicane.

Both departed the track, with Prost exiting his car while his rival returned trackside. The Brazilian made it to the pits where he received a new wing.

He then reeled in Benetton’s Alessandro Nannini, winning the race and championship.

However, he was subsequently disqualified for having received a push start. As such, the crown was given to Prost. Senna vowed revenge. Prost, who had jumped ship to Ferrari for the 1990 season, and Senna went into the penultimate round – again at Suzuka – with the championship at stake. Senna was on pole but complained bitterly that he couldn’t choose which side of the track to start from. Prost was alongside him on the grid.

Neither man made it past the first corner as Senna used his McLaren as a battering ram.

The title was his.

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MOSS OWNS MONACO

YOU could fill these pages with examples of Stirling Moss’s brilliance. The great man rated his drive in the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix as his finest-ever performance.

The race, which counted towards the World Championship of Drivers and the International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers, was also the first pointspaying round contested under the new 1.5-litre engine regs. Armed with Rob Walker’s Lotus 18-Climax, Moss claimed pole position.

Nevertheless, there was a significant horsepower disadvantage relative to the Ferrari 156s of Phil Hill and Richie Ginther. The latter also starred that day. At the start, Ginther got the drop on Team Lotus’s Jim Clark and Moss, but Clark’s race soon ended in retirement. Fourteen laps in, Ginther had dropped to third behind Moss and Porsche driver Jo Bonnier.

By quarter-distance of the 100-lap race, Moss led by ten seconds, as Hill and Ginther jumped Bonnier. Moss’s lead was whittled away, with Ginther taking second place on lap 75 before applying enormous pressure on the Lotus driver. It was for naught. At the end of the race, Ginther was 3.7sec adrift, with Hill a further 37.7sec in arrears.

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D A R K D AY S AT I M O L A

A L FA R O M E O W I N S B E F O R E R O Y A LT Y

IT was the jumping-off point for 70 years of Formula 1. The first-ever round of the World Championship was staged at Silverstone on May 13, 1950.

The British Grand Prix – aka the Grand Prix d’Europe – was played out before royalty (King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret watched from a rudimentary royal box), and a capacity crowd of around 150,000 race fans.

The field comprised works teams and pre-war fare, with

ABOVE First British GP, at Silverstone in 1950, saw an Alfa Romeo 1-2-3 victory.

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most drivers being middle aged and battle hardened.

The race was won by Giuseppe Farina – who was one of the most ruthless men ever to sit in a racing car – the champion elect leading home Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell for an Alfa Romeo 1-2-3 finish. Nobody doubted the identity of the winning marque, but the driver was a different story. Juan Manuel Fangio led at one point, only to retire his Alfa. Such was the Italian cars’ dominance, the top trio were the sole runners on the lead lap.

Fourth-place man, Talbot-Lago racer Yves Giraud-Cabantous, was two laps down.

ABOVE Fangio staged the drive of his life in the Maserati 250F during 1957 German GP.

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THE DEBUT OF THE DFV

GRAHAM Hill claimed pole position for the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort aboard a Cosworth DFVengined Lotus 49. He retired from the race, but his teammate Jim Clark emerged victorious, making it a debut win for this new-fangled V8.

Fast-forward to the 1983 Detroit Grand Prix, and Tyrrell driver Michele Alboreto claimed honours.

It represented the final victory for the Double Four Valve engine. All told, this Ford-sponsored unit powered 155 Grands Prix winners. And that is before you factor in success in IndyCar, Le Mans, Formula 3000, hillclimbing and beyond for assorted variants.

Initially, the agreement between Team Lotus, Ford and Cosworth was mutually exclusive. However, the Blue Oval’s Walter Hayes astutely realised that it wasn’t good for the sport – or for Ford – to have all of its eggs in one basket, so engines were soon made available to other teams. It was a godsend for existing squads, and also helped usher in a legion of ‘kit car’ start-ups during the 1970s. Remarkably, DFVs still appeared in F1 as late as 1985.

The sport’s history would have been drastically different without it.

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FA N G I O’S F I N E S T

JUAN Manuel Fangio was for so long the yardstick by which others were judged. The Argentine was nearly 40 when he got to Europe, yet he went on to claim 24 points-paying wins from 52 starts –and five World Championships. You could also argue that he saved his best ’til last...

The 1957 German GP saw him repeatedly break the Nürburgring lap record in his works Maserati 250F prior to his first pitstop after 12 laps.

At one point, he held a 28sec lead over the Ferraris of Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn.

Then his fortunes tumbled.

A problematic pitstop saw him emerge trackside almost 50sec down on the Ferraris.

What followed was one of the greatest-ever comebacks, as he unplugged a series of epic laps. The leading Britons had naively slackened their pace, and with the 250F in a higher gear on the faster turns, Fangio took 12sec out of the deficit inside one lap. By lap 20, he was on the tail of the lead duo.

Approaching the North Turn, he sliced inside Collins.

Despite running wide with two wheels on the grass, he reclaimed the position and tore after Hawthorn, who did not surrender the lead easily.

However, Fangio wasn’t to be denied; he won by 3.6sec.

THE 1994 San Marino Grand Prix lives on in infamy, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit at Imola being forever associated with the death of Ayrton Senna. The Brazilian’s life was snuffed out in front of a global TV audience, after all. The threetime World Champion was on the back foot when he arrived in Italy. He had departed McLaren at the end of 1993, and was now armed with Renault V10 weaponry. His Williams FW16 was the class of the field to the point that a fourth drivers’ title seemed preordained. However, he had yet to finish a race, and was ruffled by the pace of Michael Schumacher’s V8-engined Benetton.

Events began to snowball on the Friday. Rubens Barrichello’s Jordan departed the circuit and almost cleared the tyre barriers before rolling repeatedly. Somehow, he escaped with just a broken nose. A day later, Roland Ratzenberger failed to negotiate the Villeneuve corner during qualifying. His Simtek-Ford connected with a concrete barrier and he was declared dead at Maggiore Hospital hours later. It was the first driver death during a GP meeting in 12 years.

Come race day, debris injured spectators when Pedro Lamy’s Lotus slammed into the back of JJ Lehto’s stationary Benetton within seconds of the start. Then, on lap seven, Senna’s Williams left the circuit at the Tamburello curve. His fatal accident didn’t mark the culmination of this blackest of weekends, either. On lap 48 a tyre flew off Michele Alboreto’s Minardi, wounding four pitlane mechanics. Schumacher won – not that many of those in attendance cared. They just wanted to be elsewhere.

SPEEDMASTER

SPEEDMASTER SPECIALIST IN HISTORIC AUTOMOBILES Tel: +44 (0)1937 220 360 or +44 (0)7768 800 773 info@speedmastercars.com www.speedmastercars.com

1976 TYRRELL P34 FORMULA 1 CAR We have been heavily involved in the commissioning of this iconic 6 wheeled F1 car.

Made famous by Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler during the 1976 season including finishing 1-2 at the Swedish GP and 2nd at Monaco. Officially licensed by Tyrrell Promotions Ltd and painstakingly constructed to original drawings, this car is the only running example of the early and more successful narrow track P34. For further information on this project or to discuss similar projects please contact James Hanson.

1973 FERRARI DAYTONA Originally delivered to the UK in Rosso Chiaro with Black leather seats and still in the same colour combination. A fantastically well documented 17000miles from new.

Excellent history - 22 years servicing at the same Ferrari Dealer including fresh engine rebuild, and Classiche Certified.

Please call for more information.

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A SEASON LIKE NO OTHER

THE 1976 F1 season reads like a film treatise: two men from privileged backgrounds, who have overcome family objections and forged their own paths, vie for title honours. One is the reigning World Champion, the other has a single points-paying win to his credit and doesn’t even have a drive at the beginning of the year. One is a straight-talking Austrian, the other a party-hearty Briton. Add in a rancorous relationship between their respective teams, political shenanigans, protests and counter-protests, plus a thrilling title decider, and it has blockbuster written all over it. Oh, and one of the drivers received the last rites partway through the season.

Of course, the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt has been given the silver-screen treatment.

However, contrary to what the makers of Rush might have you believe, they didn’t hate each other. Hunt only became a contender in 1976 because Emerson Fittipaldi decided to leave McLaren shortly before the start of the season, catching the team on the hop.

Lauda won two of the first three rounds, and was second in another. Hunt crashed out at Kyalami and Long Beach, and was second in the South African Grand Prix. He then won in Spain, only to be disqualified because his car was found to be too wide.

Lauda inherited victory, although Hunt’s exclusion was overturned on appeal months down the line.

Jumping forward in the narrative, Hunt won the French and British Grands Prix, to again be disqualified from the latter race for having used an access road to get back to the pits following a first-lap pile-up. This was

deemed to have contravened the rules, and Lauda was handed the win.

Then Lauda had a ghastly accident at the Nürburgring but somehow survived, albeit with disfigurements thanks to his extensive burns. Hunt went on to win the German, Canadian and US Grands Prix, Lauda having miraculously returned to racing in the Italian round at Monza, where he placed fourth. At the final round in Japan, Lauda led the drivers’ championship by three points. In appalling conditions, he withdrew on the first lap and Hunt placed third at the last gasp, which was sufficient for him to secure the crown.

This is but a thumbnail sketch of the drama that unfolded that year. We chose this season and the HuntLauda rivalry for our top 50 top spot because of what it – and they – represented. Hunt entered into legend as much for his extracurricular activities as for his skill behind the wheel. He remains a poster child for what we envisage a racing driver should be; a good-looking, hedonistic superstar whom men aspire to be and women want to know. Nevertheless, he was far too complex a human being for such an offhand reading.

Lauda, by contrast, was placed on a pedestal because he was the bravest of the brave. He won three drivers’ titles, two of them after incurring injuries that would have crushed the spirit of mere mortals. The man himself had no room for mawkishness, though.

He remained defiantly self-directed to the last. Their tales are intertwined, and the fascination that surrounds both men isn’t likely to slacken any time soon.

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G O O DWO O D R E V I VA L Sussex, UK

OPPOSITE AND RIGHT Party-hearty Hunt vs cool, calm Lauda; two strikingly different men, but two singular talents on track.

Legends, both.

M A R K E T

WA T C H

Lamborghini Diablo Exotica doesn’t come much more flamboyant than this Italian supercar, yet the poster child for 1990s excess can still give more modern machinery a serious run for its money W O R D S J O H N TA L L O D I P H O T O G R A P H Y M AG I C C A R P I C S

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M A R K E T WAT C H

THIRTY YEARS. IT’S hard to believe how much time has passed since the Lamborghini Diablo arrived. Even on its landmark anniversary this supercar still has serious presence, not to mention pace that puts it up there with some of the very best modern machinery.

The replacement for the iconic Countach began its journey just five years earlier, in 1985. The Chrysler style centre further refined Marcello Gandini’s initial design when that auto giant became Lamborghini’s major shareholder in 1987.

At launch, the Diablo was the fastest production car in the world, capable of 203.1mph from a fully reworked 485bhp 5.7-litre Bizzarrinidesigned V12. Rally champ Sandro Munari was employed to help with handling development, and while the model was undoubtedly capable in the right hands, it still very much demanded a driver’s respect, in true Lamborghini supercar tradition.

This was especially true of the earlier versions, which had rearwheel drive and no power steering or electronic driver aids, not even ABS. Changes in Lamborghini’s ownership and the need to cater to a broader audience meant future variants became less analogue as refinements such as electronically adjustable dampers, all-wheel drive and traction-control systems arrived.

The Diablo was also produced during a tumultuous period in the raging bull’s history. As Lamborghini consultant Massimo Delbò points out, the model survived four changes of corporate ownership over the course of its life, from design study to end of production.

This also makes it unique when thinking about ownership, because there’s a marked difference between the very first and last cars manufactured, in both looks and, to an extent, the driving experience, too.

After 11 years in production the total tally stood at 2903 examples – well beyond the Countach’s final figures and a testament to the popularity of this rather special supercar.

T H E VA L U E P R O P O S I T I O N Having spent the past few decades in the shadow of the Countach, the Diablo has seen a rise in values across the board in recent

ABOVE All cars boasted air-con, plus electric windows and seats, but Series 2s got updated cabin styling. years. Francesco Stevanin, coordinator at Lamborghini’s classic department, Polo Storico, feels that this is due to increased interest from both traditional and younger collectors. ‘Traditional’ refers to long-time classic aficionados who see the Diablo as a valuable part of the marque’s history and look for pristine examples to join their fleets.

The younger group are now in a financial position to make their childhood bedroom posters come alive, and they tend to more readily take advantage of these visceral models’ dynamic abilities. This trend should see a move upwards for both ‘standard’ and limited-edition cars – but, as with any modern classic, condition, mileage and originality all play a strong role in the final values.

Francesco points out that Polo Storico also plays a big part in influencing classic Lamborghini values. Aside from providing original spare parts and restoration services, the centre offers a certification service, too. “This entails a full car inspection with a specific focus on authenticity and originality,” he

‘Marked difference between very first and last cars, in both looks and driving experience’

explains. To determine authenticity, several mechanical tests are carried out, including a short drive. If the model has never been driven, it cannot be certified. The originality assessment also checks to see if the car conforms to the original tech spec; some updates are deemed acceptable if original period parts were fitted. If not, owners are given the opportunity to return the model to original status, or else receive a certification with these specific nonconformities listed.

Owners are then given a complete photographic book, with a technical description of the car’s features and copies of the original documents from the Lamborghini archives. The certification process can add up to 15 percent to the value. While only Polo Storico can carry out the process, external dealers will soon offer precertification authorisation that can alert owners to any changes required before they send the car to Sant’Agata.

T H E D E S I R A B I L I T Y FA C T O R As a rule of thumb, special-edition and low-volume classics tend to get the most attention. Yet once enough time passes, the earliest models get their time in the sun as well. This is definitely true of the Countach, whose early LP400 and LP400S guises are possibly the most desirable.

“For the Diablo, it’s the very first batch of 1990s cars that fit this bill,” says Francesco. “They are the purest example of what the Diablo was initially meant to be.” While that’s certainly true of the smooth bodywork – the lack of wings and additional air intakes really

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highlights the original design – the mechanicals, too, are untethered by electronic nannies of any kind.

Compared with later variants they offer a lot of value, with good ones starting at £160,000, while the combination of traditional RWD and no driver aids adds to the immersive experience. If you’re looking for an appreciating modern classic, a lowmileage Series 1 is a good bet.

The VT (Viscous Traction) arrived in 1993, as the first Lamborghini sports car with all-wheel drive. A number of its updates were also implemented on the standard cars.

To celebrate 30 years of the marque, the highly desirable limited-edition 523bhp SE30 was introduced. The RWD SV with an adjustable rear wing and 510bhp came in 1995, and you can find these for £180,000£250,000. The AWD VT Roadster was also introduced; these as well as subsequent open-roof variants tend to trade at a slight premium compared with the hardtops.

Audi AG’s purchase of the brand in 1998 marked the end of the Series 1 cars and the dawn of a new era, because the company gained access to a wealth of additional resources and technologies. The first fruits of this change were seen when the SV, VT and VT Roadster all received comprehensive updates by Luc Donckerwolke, Lamborghini’s firstever in-house designer. The interior was thoroughly reworked, and beneath the restyled bodywork the engine now had variable valve timing. ABS (another first for Lamborghini) was also incorporated.

Visually, the biggest difference was the replacement of the pop-up headlamps with fixed units. Of these Series 2 cars, the run-out 6.0-litre GT and VT are highly prized; with just 83 units being made, the particularly rare GT can sell for £300,000-plus.

T H E N U T S A N D B O LT S Having built up its parts catalogue and supplier network, Polo Storico now offers more than 65 percent of components across the model range.

Owners can order directly through any authorised dealer, or they can send their cars to Polo Storico for a comprehensive restoration.

“The process is managed by current and retired employees who worked on these classics when they

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ABOVE Lamborghini produced 2903 examples of the Diablo over an 11-year manufacturing run. were still in production,” says Francesco. “Our philosophy is to keep improving our internal workshop. Aside from the paint, everything is done in-house.”

In terms of maintenance, the Diablo is far less temperamental than most exotica. A service is needed every year or 6750 miles, and engine mounts should be periodically checked, too.

While the manual transmission is robust, clutch actuation on early cars can be very heavy and slave cylinders are known to fail. Later clutches have easier modulation, but don’t expect to get much more than 18,000 miles out of one due to the prodigious torque.

Check suspension bushes and dampers for the usual wear and tear.

With the VT came active suspension, and a nose-lifting system was offered soon after. Upgraded brakes (1995-on) boosted fade resistance.

The cabin got some big changes, too. All cars had air-conditioning, plus electric windows and seats, from the start, while the early models had a more traditional dash with a separate instrument cluster.

Series 2s received a new cluster, wheel and centre console, plus some trim changes. A handful had the optional c.£10,000 Breguet clock; bespoke luggage was slightly more common. Climate control and overall material quality was much improved.

THE FINAL DECISION Whether you’re looking for a pristine garage queen or plan to regularly use your Diablo, the relatively large number built and their inherent reliability mean either is possible.

Early cars offer an unadulterated drive that makes them that bit more special, and a well kept pre-1993 Diablo can be a great long-term investment. The updated AWD models with active suspension are no less visceral but do offer more grip.

Series 2, Audi-era cars have a bit more polish. To some that’s a shame, but the Diablo’s unruly nature still dominates the drive. The aggressive RWD 575bhp 6.0-litre GT remains one of the most intense variants.

When it comes to the final decision, as long as the car has a verifiable service history – preferably Polo Storico certification – and puts a big smile on your face after a drive, then you’re unlikely to go wrong.

1990-2001 LAMBORGHINI DIABLO 5.7-LITRE V12 485-529BHP 203MPH 4.5 SECONDS 18MPG EST.

6.0-LITRE V12 POWER TOP SPEED 0-60MPH ECONOMY

550-575BHP 210MPH 3.9 SECONDS 18MPG EST.

PRICING PROJECT GOOD CONCOURS

1985

Progetto 132 signalled commencement of a design to replace the Lamborghini Countach.

1990

Lamborghini Diablo was launched.

1993

Diablo VT with viscous traction four-wheel-drive set-up was introduced (529 produced).

1994

Diablo SE30 and SE30 Jota made in limited numbers (157 produced). Chrysler sold Lamborghini to an Indonesian conglomerate.

1995

Diablo SV (346 produced) and Diablo VT Roadster (468 produced) introduced.

1996

Diablo SVR introduced (34 produced).

T H E D E TA I L S

POWER TOP SPEED 0-60MPH ECONOMY

TIMELINE

M A R K E T WAT C H

£70,000-90,000 £100,000-140,000 £190,000-300,000

1998

Facelift for all models as Audi took over ownership. SV, VT and VT Roadster received power upgrades and ABS – a first for Lamborghini.

1999

GT introduced (83 produced).

2001

Last Diablo rolled off factory line, with final production totalling 2903 units.

20 years ago, this very car won its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans piloted by Olivier Beretta, Karl Wendlinger and Dominique Dupuy. In dominating fashion, it achieved the highest finishing position ever for an American GT class car finishing 7th overall. Le Mans was just one of eight victories on the road to a 3 year sweep in which Viper Team ORECA won the ALMS Championship. Now, GTSR C31 is offered exclusively by LBI Limited in search of a new caretaker to carry on its winning legacy.

C H A S S I S

C 3 1

PHOTO BY JOHN BROOKS ©

WWW.LBILIMITED.COM

LOCATED IN THE USA (+1) 215-459-1606

FOLLOW US

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M A R K E T A NA LYS I S

MEAN AND MEAN WINNING BIDS UK CLASSIC CAR AUCTIONS, MAY 2020 £70,000

MEAN BID

£60,000

MEAN WINNING BID

£50,000 £40,000 £30,000 £20,000 £10,000 0

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The Market

H&H

Charterhouse

Brightwells

H&H

Charterhouse

Brightwells

£5,000,000

£4,000,000

£3,000,000

COVID-19 lockdown has had an unexpectedly positive affect on auction results. Is this the ‘new normal’? We don’t know – but it’s a good place to start

WHAT A DIFFERENCE a period of a few weeks makes. When I last wrote this column back in April, we were in the darkest days of the COVID-19 lockdown. Buying and selling cars was a long way from the top of most people’s priority lists, viewing and moving vehicles was almost impossible, and as a result, the market stalled.

I said then that the only people selling cars were those who really had to – but that the resultant low prices were not indicative of the longerterm trajectory of the market. It turns out that trajectory was anything but flat, and the change was to happen sooner than anyone expected.

In May, always a good month for the collector car market, a heatwave arrived at just about the same time as restrictions were starting to be relaxed. It was a heady combination; in the six major UK collector car auctions tracked by Hagerty that month, £8.3m of cars were sold with a mean sell-through rate of 72.5 percent. Two – Silverstone Auctions and The Market – achieved close to 90 percent. In the US, RM Sotheby’s Driving Into Summer achieved

Bonhams

TOTAL SALES UK CLASSIC CAR AUCTIONS, MAY 2020

Things are on the up...

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Silverstone

£2,000,000

£1,000,000

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Silverstone

$16.4m in sales and forged a new record; a 2003 Ferrari Enzo sold for $2.64m, making it the most valuable car sold in a dedicated online-only collector car auction to date.

So, it’s obvious that people are once again buying cars. Talking to the trade, the consensus is that there are two main reasons. On the one hand, people have been spending lockdown looking at cars on the internet and, maybe more aware of their own mortality, have decided that now’s the time to go ahead and make that purchase they’ve always wanted. We call this the ‘resolution effect’ because we always see a spike in car buying after New Year.

On the other hand, people are watching stocks fluctuate wildly and worrying about what will happen to cash investments. Consequently, they are now investing in tangible assets that are easy to buy, such as cars.

If we see two views like this, Hagerty always digs deeper to see whether the figures can shed any light on the truth. When we did so, a pattern seemed to emerge; of the more expensive cars to recently sell at UK auction, a surprising number

Bonhams

The Market

ABOVE Positive – and somewhat surprising – results from recent auctions are encouraging news. were replicas or modified models.

Silverstone Auctions sold a 1962 Jaguar D-type replica for £390,000 – well over top estimate – a TDR Ford GT40 for £302,500 and a BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile Group 2 Evocation for £97,900. Bonhams sold a MG WA with recent Reinbold & Christe-style body for £73,125 and a ‘fast-road’ Jaguar XK120 for £69,650.

All of these are in the typical zone for investment buys, but they’re also passion cars. People have bought these because they love them, not because they think their purchase

‘That trajectory was anything but flat, and the change was to happen sooner than anyone expected’

will shoot up in value. Modified and replica cars are always built to one person’s taste, and such choices may not be appreciated as much as the designer’s original. Typically, they always struggle a little to sell well.

There’s another sign, too. The average (mean) bid of the 380 auction cars we monitored was £24,865; that’s dead in the centre of enthusiast ground. Then, in June, Anglia Car Auctions – always a marker for the enthusiast market – reinforced how vibrant that scene is, achieving the distinction of having every one of its 11 most expensive cars exceed their top estimates.

Just three of these models topped £50,000, and the vast majority – 99 of the lots sold – fell within the £5000 to £15,000 bracket.

So, are investors buying cars?

Almost certainly, but the goalposts have changed. Over the past year or so, when people have asked me what car they should buy that will rise in value, I’ve told them it’s a complicated market, and that they should buy what they love. Maybe, within these strange times, that’s exactly what’s happening.

R.S.WILLIAMS LIMITED

The pursuit of perfection

ASTON MARTIN RICHARD STEWART WILLIAMS LTD EST 1968

DB4 1960 R.S.WILLIAMS Limited are Aston Martin specialists, offering in-house machining; manufacture; engine building (including our famous upgrades); worldwide parts distribution and workshops for service, repair, upgrade and preparation of your car to unparalleled standards. Offering award winning restorations and full race preparation and support - Making ownership a pleasure since 1968.

A very special LHD 2 owner car with history from 1964 onwards. Over-drive and oil cooler from new, undergoing full body off restoration to original colour specification. An exciting project for any potential purchaser to come on board at the start and enjoy the journey.

DB5 1965 - Completion Summer 2020

DB5 1965

DB6 Volante 1967

DB6 1969

DB5 in the process of a complete body off restoration to the ultimate RS Williams specification, 4.7ltr SU engine and painted in the stunning 2 VEV DB4GT Zagato colour Aqua Verdi Caliente. Trim and carpet colour still optional as this stage.

The car can be viewed at our premises during final build at which time the finer specifications such as wheels, stereo and Bluetooth requirements can be discussed.

Silver Birch with red interior (as per build-sheet, 1 of only approx 124 or so DB5’s to be ‘true’ Silver Birch cars). Full bare metal re-spray and re-trim carried out in 2003. 4.2ltr RS Williams engine upgrade completed in 2008. RS Williams maintained last 15yrs. Invoices showing expenditure in excess of £155,000. Limited mileage over the last 4 years. Used by Aston Martin in promotional video.

Silver with blue hide. Blue mohair hood.

Manual gearbox. Full mechanical rebuild completed including engine upgrade to 4.2 litres. Body stripped and repainted.

Interior and boot retrimmed. 1 of only 140 examples.

Complete ownership history from new - 5 in total. Manual. MOT certificates from past 32 years. Major chassis work in 2005. Bare-metal respray to original Aquamarine just completed. RS Williams prepared including front suspension rebuild and major service. £295,000

V8 Vantage 1979

V8 Volante 1979

V8 Zagato Vantage Volante 1990

DB7 Zagato 2004

Charcoal Grey with fawn interior. 1 of only 44 V8 Vantage (Oscar India) cars built between October 1978 and March 1980. 6.3l conversion by Aston Martin Works in 1990. 7.0 litre conversion by RS Williams in 1998. Maintenance, service and history from new. Verified genuine mileage of 63,223.

Midnight Blue with magnolia hide piped blue. Blue mohair hood with grey ‘West of England’ headlining. Full mechanical rebuild by RS Williams to 7.0ltr automatic specification to include conversion to 4 speed automatic. Work completed in August 2016 and only 1152 miles covered since. Total rebuild in excess of £210,000.

Part of the famous ‘Hunter Green’ collection, this was a collection of nine V8 cars all built to the same specification Hunter Green with tan hide. This unique collection was eventually sold at the 2005 Bonhams Aston Martin auction held at Newport Pagnell. Displaying only 12,598 miles from new this is a fantastic opportunity to purchase one of the rarest Aston Martins ever produced.

Mercury Grey with Charcoal interior – 1 of only 4 RHD cars produced with this combination. One of only 99 cars produced in total. 14,300 miles from new. Full Aston Martin Heritage approved service history from new.

5.9 litre V12 delivering 435bhp capable of around 190 mph and 0-60 mph in comfortably under 5 seconds. £295,000

View all our cars: www.rswilliams.co.uk | 01932 868377 Protech House, Copse Road, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 2TW

T H E

K NOW L E D G E

Can classics cope with E10 fuel?

SHUTTERSTOCK

Across the world, fuel with a higher ethanol content has either arrived or is on the way. Here’s how to ensure your car makes the grade W O R D S DAV I D L I L LY W H I T E

IN THE UK, E10 fuel is a hot topic, because it’s due to replace the current E5 in 2021. Why the big deal? Because E5 and E10 refer to the percentage of ethanol content mixed into the fuel blend – and ethanol can have adverse effects on older cars and motorcycles.

In much of Europe, E10 fuel is already in place, while in the Americas ethanol-blended fuel has been around for years; in Brazil, for example, it’s been mandatory since the late 1970s. Around the world, it is possible to buy much heavier blends of bioethanol, usually up to 85 percent, although efficiency drops significantly for such fuels.

The ethanol itself is a renewable biofuel produced from crops such as sugar beet. Its use will significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions, so you can see the appeal in terms of the environment.

For new vehicles, there’s no issue; they are required by law to be able to run on E10. But for classics, there can be problems. The UK Government advises against E10 use in cars registered up to 2002, and it’s thought that models built right up to 2011 can also be adversely affected.

Plenty of motoring organisations worldwide have already highlighted this, and although few have fully considered any possible solutions,

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classic car insurance specialist Hagerty International and the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs have both produced comprehensive reports into the potential effects of E10.

Ethanol can attack rubber, glassfibre and plastic, and can also cause corrosion in brass, copper, tin and lead because the ethanol absorbs water from the atmosphere.

The result can be degradation to fuel hoses and seals, blocked filters, damaged pumps, corroded carburettors, blocked injectors and corrosion in tanks. Ethanol can also cause leaner running, because it’s not as energy dense, as well as fuel evaporation and vapour locks.

It’s likely that the current E5 fuel is already affecting your car to a lesser extent, and there have been plenty of cases of rubber fuel lines in particular being found to have degraded unexpectedly quickly, creating a serious risk of fire. For several years, classics already susceptible to hot running have benefited from extra heat shields under the carburettor and around fuel lines to prevent vapour locks – most often manifested with that frustrating refusal to start just a few minutes after a long, glitch-free drive.

Before we get into long-term fixes, it’s important to bear in mind that

ABOVE Fuel choice will be limited once E10 arrives; pre-empting the move will help avoid serious issues. super-unleaded fuel in the UK is remaining at E5 for at least another five years (in practice, the percentage of ethanol in super-unleaded is usually lower than 5 percent). There are also currently lower-ethanol alternatives available in most countries.

Also, there are additives available to guard against the effects of the ethanol. For pre-1996 cars that don’t have a catalytic converter, a lead-replacement additive such as Castrol’s Classic Valvemaster can be used, because it also contains an ethanol stabiliser. This product has received endorsement by the aforementioned Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs.

For more modern classics, with catalysts, additives such as Millers Ethanol Protection Additive or Lucas Oil Ethanol Fuel Conditioner

‘E10 can degrade fuel hoses and seals, block filters, damage pumps, corrode carbs...’

are more appropriate, and should prevent or reduce problems caused by increased ethanol content.

As for long-term fixes, the first area to receive attention should be fuel lines; do replace them with new, ethanol-compatible materials.

Speaking to Hagerty, Guy Lachlan of Classic Oils said: “You’ve either got to use fuel with no ethanol or change the materials that don’t like it. If you are in any doubt about your rubber fuel lines, change them. Get rid of your glassfibre petrol tank and install an aluminium one. The other thing ethanol really doesn’t like is solder. If you are running a soldered float in your carburettor, then think about carrying a spare – they’re generally quite easy to change.”

There have also been questions about if a car is filled up with E10 by mistake, or as a get-home measure.

In this case, the worst that might happen is minor pinking or preignition, and possibly some fuel evaporation. The important thing is to top up the tank with E5 once at least a third of the fuel has been used, and not to leave the car in storage while the tank is full of E10.

The lesson to be learned is not to panic, but also not to ignore the issue of ethanol in fuel, even if you’re sticking to E5. Most important of all – check your fuel lines!

SPECIALIZING IN THE CONCOURS RESTORATION AND CARE OF FINE COLLECTIBLE AUTOMOBILES

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Tel: 01285 861288 Workshop/Enquiries Mobile: 07811 398562 Keith Bowley Mobile: 07841 017518 Andrew Ames Email: kbowley@akvr.com andrewames@akvr.com

LEFT Why not pamper your classic now you have a bit of spare time?

Lockdown logistics

While the circumstances may be less than ideal, COVID-19 stay-at-home policy has given us the chance to catch up on the important things in life WOR D S ROB E RT DE A N

IT’S A STRANGE and terrible old world at the moment, isn’t it? Yet COVID-19 isn’t the worst thing the planet has ever had to deal with.

Although the loss of life is a sad and brutal reminder of nature’s power to knock us about, it’s not the biggest loss the world has had to bear.

This isn’t meant to lessen the awfulness of the pandemic, but it should allow us to see that there is much good to be had from what’s going on in the world today, if you look for it. The lockdown – of which the UK is still in the depths as I write this – has brought families closer, with more of us eating together and going out for walks and bike rides than ever before. We have more time for each other, and our headlong rush to live our lives as fast as possible has been brought to an abrupt stop.

Nature has started to heal the environment, with substantially less pollution from aeroplanes and vehicular activity, and we’ve begun to understand how much stress we were putting ourselves under just to keep moving at an ever-increasing pace – and for what? So that huge companies can take even more money from us

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for their own ends, despite telling us it’s all for our benefit.

As I have to visit the shops to buy provisions, I now go in a slower, less stressful and more fun classic, and I have been revelling in the 1950s traffic levels to which our old cars and bikes are so suited. By the way, have you noticed the roadside litter reduction now NIMBY modern-car drivers aren’t flinging rubbish out of the window with gay abandon?

I must admit, I haven’t seen as many people in old cars as I expected.

I’d have thought this would be the perfect time to be out and about, especially as fuel prices have dropped dramatically ever since the US, Russia and the Arabic countries started willy waving at each other.

My old R-type Bentley certainly uses a bit of the old ‘go juice’ – in fact, none of my classics does more than about 30mpg – so happy days.

The weather has been brilliant, and this has enabled me to get everything out and clean it. I even managed to borrow an electric mop to compound the finish on my MGB, which I rashly painted in cellulose in my pursuance of

originality, 17 years ago when I restored the car for my uncle Arthur.

Due to the mess this job creates it can only be done outside, in clothes you can throw away afterwards.

Anyway, the B looks okay now, but ultimately it’ll have to be repainted in 2-pack or whatever type HSE regulations have left for us to use.

Being forced to stay at home for the past eight weeks has meant I’ve been able to do all those jobs I was previously too busy to get round to.

I’ve even shown my 11-year-old son how to strip his bicycle, paint it, flat it back and polish the frame and associated bits and bobs, which isn’t something I might have been able to do before. He’s delighted with it so far.

For those who haven’t been able to run anything, there are things you can do to keep yourself and your classic in good condition during lockdown or any other enforced break. Obviously no one put their vehicle away dirty did they? Hmmm!

Well, if you did, get it out and wash it – but not in direct sunlight, as the panels will dry at an amazing rate and leave your paint with water marks.

Wash it once the heat of the day has gone, chamois it off – especially the glass and chrome – put it away and let it dry overnight. Then give it a good polish. A train of thought said you could leave it unbuffed if the car wasn’t going to be used for a while, and I’ve done this. Actually, though, it’s nice to see the car shiny, shiny, shiny before putting the cover on.

Also, when you want to use it again or show someone, revealing it looking lovely is much better.

A proper service before storage is a good idea, and even essential for engine oil, brake fluid and coolant if these haven’t been changed for a while. Obviously if it’s silicone brake fluid and waterless coolant then it

‘I’ve been revelling in the 1950s traffic levels to which our old cars and bikes are so suited’

doesn’t need changing, as its halflife is almost eternal.

Over-inflate your tyres by about 10-15psi, and put a breathable cover over the car to stop dust, spider poo and other debris from sitting on the paint. But for goodness sake don’t drape it with old bed sheets, because they’ll get damp and hold moisture against the paintwork, which will micro-blister and can turn a milky white. Ask me how I know this…

Take it from me, you only do it once.

If you’re proficient enough, you should be doing all those jobs you kept putting off because there was a show you wanted to go to. I’ve been very good and got most things done, except that I’ve had to stagger any large purchases such as tyres due to the obvious money situation some of us find ourselves in. Also, my wife tells me it’s more important to eat and pay the utility bills than it is to buy classic parts. I’m not sure I follow that line of thinking, but she has a higher rank in the guardhouse.

Talking of shows, I’d often hear people say: “There are too many.”

Well, be careful what you wish for, because there’ll be many casualties.

Insurers are adding COVID-19 clauses to their policies, and I wonder whether organisers will be willing to put on an event if there’s a chance of being sued by someone for catching the lurgy at their show.

This ‘changed world’ has lost and gained. We’ll see fewer events, but it wasn’t that long ago when we had fewer shows anyway, and we all did okay. Prices of classics are bound to drop, and those who have to sell (myself included) will lose a bit, but for those whose sleek-nosed, callipygian dream was always out of reach may now find it affordable.

Keep the faith, and drive your vehicle instead of the modern when you have to do an essential trip. It’ll be more fun. If you can’t use it for whatever reason, sit in it, remember trips past and plan trips to come. If you have small children, make the appropriate noises and pretend you’re all on an adventure. Their imagination will fill in the gaps. Keep safe, being part of the machinery.

Robert Dean managed the Ecclestone Collection for 24 years, and now runs Curated Vehicle Management, which looks after private collections. See c-v-m.co.uk or call +44 (0)7712 767392.

SHUTTERSTOCK

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Always question what you read The inescapable truth sometimes takes some digging out; with judicious research and appropriate evidence, history can often be rewritten W O R D S C L I V E R O B E R T S O N , H E A LY S L L P

STANGUELLINI: SO GLORIOUSLY named; it couldn’t be anything other than an Italian race car. Founder Vittorio established a reputation for tuning and modifying Alfa Romeos, Maseratis and Fiats. There were no Ferraris to tune at this point, although Enzo and Vittorio were at school together. Motors ran though the family bloodline, grandfather Stanguellini – an engineer – having owned the first Modena-registered car in 1910, with the very appropriate numberplate MO 1.

Much-modified Fiat engines were used in Formula Junior cars from 1959-’63 with considerable success, winning the championship in the first season. The Formula was a springboard into more vaunted racing categories, with aces such as Bandini and von Trips winning their first events with the marque.

More importantly, Walt Hansgen won the Formula Junior race in a Stanguellini at the first US Grand Prix, at Sebring in December 1959.

In 2017, confessed car fanatic Sarah Porter acquired Stanguellini chassis no. 00139, with a July 10, 1959 build date, from Peter Fenichel.

She intended for it to be campaigned by her good friend, the name behind Robert Barrie Ltd Historic Sports and Racing Cars.

Following the purchase, Robert turned his attention to researching the car’s history – beginning with long-term previous owner Gordon Wright, whom from his own knowledge felt that there was a legitimate prospect that chassis

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00139 might be the Sebring winner.

Henry Ford famously said that “history is bunk”. However, in the world of classic and race cars, Ford’s dictum is plain wrong, because history or provenance can make or break the value proposition. Time out of mind, race and competition cars have been proven to have had chassis numbers re-allocated, changed or altered in period. In addition, inaccurate or confused record keeping can sometimes lead to race results being attributed to the wrong car.

Armed with Gordon’s tantalising suggestion that 00139 might have had a more illustrious career than had previously been thought, Robert began his research by commencing with the then-recorded history.

E S TA B L I S H E D W O R K S With the knowledge that the Cunningham team had imported three Stanguellinis to the US, the obvious starting points were the established works published by Michael Argetsinger and Richard Harman in 2006 and ’14 respectively.

The former’s Walt Hansgen: His Life and the History of Post-War American Road Racing stated: “The car that appeared for Walt to drive in the late summer and autumn of 1959 was blue, chassis 00176.” Meanwhile, Harman’s Cunningham: The Passion, the Cars, the Legacy observed that “CS 00176 was the first Stanguellini to be imported into the US by the Momo Corporation and Briggs Cunningham” and “it was a supporting race in the

the Cunningham car collection and related records, including race ledgers believed to have been compiled by race team boss Alfredo Momo. The material uncovered proved to be both surprising and revealing.

TOP Hansgen’s Stanguellini won 1959 Sebring Formula Junior race.

ABOVE With careful research, 00139’s provenance was proven.

US GP at Sebring on December 11, 1959. Hansgen drove CS 00176 to victory”. Larry Berman’s Cunningham team race database concurred.

Undaunted by these statements presented as fact, and buoyed by the prospect that Sarah’s car might be more than the sum of its parts, Robert decided to look elsewhere to see if he could learn more. The Revs Institute of Naples, Florida rightly describes itself as the premier destination for automotive research and historical study, so it seemed as good a place as any to review the 1950s and 1960s history of Stanguellinis in the US. It transpired that Revs founder Miles Collier had acquired much of

‘Ford said “history is bunk”. In the world of classic and race cars, his dictum is plain wrong’

I N E S C A PA B L E C O N C L U S I O N ?

Chassis 00139 was built and left the factory in July 1959. Chassis 00162 was also built and left the factory that year, while chassis 00176 wasn’t built and delivered until 1960. Momo ordered all three. Each engine number followed the same order and timing as the chassis numbers.

One inescapable conclusion could be drawn; 00176 couldn’t possibly be the Sebring winner.

Chassis nos. 00139 and 00162 were run at Sebring. The set-up sheets show no. 1 as driven by Hansgen, but without the chassis number being given – unsurprising, as this was the established car. The sheet for Cunningham’s no. 2 showed 00162. Thus, there is a further inescapable conclusion to be reached; 00139 is the Sebring winner.

Robert is now committed to the task of ensuring that Stanguellini records are brought up to date.

Richard Harman and Larry Berman have confirmed that the necessary changes will be made, and other sources are following suit.

Sarah now owns a unique, racewinning piece of 1950s ItalianAmerican competition history – but, more particularly, Robert has the privilege of racing Stanguellini chassis 00139.

Roach Manufacturing Ltd Off Whitemoor Lane, Ower, Nr. Romsey, SO51 6AJ Tel: +44 (0) 23 80 814287 Email: enquiries@roachmanufacturing.co.uk

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speedsport gallery speedsport gallery Available to buy unique original motor sport paintings, posters, photographs and rare autographed items.

Open 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday and also at weekends by appointment Unit 43, Silverstone Circuit, Nr Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN

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DEXTER BROWN - SUPERB, SMALL ORIGINAL PAINTING, Lotus Elite at Goodwood. Gouache on board, Signed lower right, SIZE: 8” x 6”

H I STOR IC

R AC I NG

Virtual driving can’t rival the real deal Online simulator racing can be a worthwhile training aid – but when it comes to Historics, seat-of-the-pants experience is unbeatable WOR D S SA M H A NCO C K

THE INEXORABLE RISE of online simulator racing during the recent lockdown didn’t come as much of a surprise. After all, we petrolheads all drink the same Kool-Aid, and we’ll take our fix in whatever form is available at the time. What did get my attention, however, was the number of Historic racers getting in on the act, with some pretty serious kit being ordered by various clients under the auspices of staying ‘match fit’.

I’ve used sims for driver coaching with Historic racers a few times over the years, but only ever to help them gain familiarity with a circuit when real testing time is limited. Other than that I tend to shy away, because traditionally sims have been so

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orientated toward contemporary racing that their value is limited.

But perhaps things are changing.

As software and graphic fidelity develop, so too does the modelling of the cars. The accuracy – for contemporary machinery, at least – is staggering. Driven well, most ‘virtual’ cars lap within a few tenths of their real-life counterparts, and reflect subtleties such as set-up and weather changes, track temperature, tyre degradation, fluctuation of fuel loads and even wind direction, with admirable precision.

In the recent Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans, a fabulous roster of the greatest real-world and professional sim drivers not only had to maintain

concentration for life-like stint lengths, but also had to employ realworld techniques such as fuel saving and tyre management. So detailed was the programming that they even had to carefully select the right tyre compounds for different times of the day and use a compromised set-up amenable to all of their co-drivers.

This was serious stuff!

How useful is all of this for training Historic racers, though? Even if you have a three-pedal set-up, with an H-pattern manual gearbox, can a simulator really replicate the feel of a Historic car to an adequate degree?

In my opinion, no, it cannot.

While there are some excellent Historic cars available on the most established software platforms, there is no escaping the fact that simulators are not subject to the real forces of physics acting on both machine and driver. With modern cars the impact of this on driver development is minimised because real and virtual cockpits share controls that feel and operate in largely the same way.

For example, in both you change gear with electronically controlled ‘flappy paddles’, the ECU blips the throttle for you on the down-shift, you cannot over-rev the engine, the steering is power assisted, the throttle is fly-by-wire, there is no foot clutch, and so on. As with a

flight simulator, a good proportion of the real-world inputs can be quite accurately experienced.

But I would argue that Historic machinery is different. It requires more feel... less brain, more bum. To drive it well requires an excellent feel for weight transfer and a high degree of mechanical sympathy; two key elements that are all but impossible to recreate in a virtual environment.

My fear is that too much emphasis on sim training can embed a numbness of feel that becomes hard to bypass when driving a real car.

It’s something I experienced myself when first adjusting from modern prototypes and single-seaters to Historic cars. Older componentry is so delicate by comparison, and developing the necessary sensitivity takes a while. I think transitioning from an intense sim programme to a Historic race car could be even harder, because there is no real consequence for smashing through the gears or over-revving an engine.

For learning lines or shift points on an unfamiliar circuit, or to practice the co-ordination required for heel-and-toe shifting without risk of destroying engines and gearboxes, using a simulator is an excellent idea. But for serious Historic driver development beyond that? I’m not convinced.

SHUTTERSTOCK

‘There is no real consequence for smashing through the gears or overrevving an engine’

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LEFT John briefly interviewed after the Indy 500 before running for the helicopter. He died aged 56 in 2020.

John Andretti ‘doing the double’ From new book Racer, in which the late John Andretti describes racing in the 1994 Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same weekend TAKEN FROM RACER: JOHN ANDRETTI BY JADE GURSS, FROM OCTANE PRESS

ON RACE DAY at Indy, it was just like any race morning. Once my helmet went on, it was just another race. The three Penskes had their special Mercedes engines that year, so they dominated. It was a bad deal for the rest of us; we were fighting for scraps unless they broke down.

Two of the Penskes had problems, but Al Unser Jr won the race.

AJ [team owner AJ Foyt] was upset at me during the race. I kept telling him on the radio: “This thing is really loose, AJ!” He made a few air-pressure adjustments, which, in the end, was probably the right call.

At the time I thought he could have done more. We hung in there all day and finished tenth – just where we had started.

When the 500 was over, the real race began. If everything went according to plan, I would land at Charlotte Motor Speedway 20 minutes before the green flag. Any delay would have meant the entire effort was ruined.

I was frustrated that the Speedway would not let me fly on a helicopter out of the infield. Among the crowd of 300,000 fans trying to get to their cars, I took a golf cart to a van, which took me to Tenth Street to the helicopter. I was not happy about that. It cost me an extra 20 minutes.

The Charlotte race started two hours earlier than it had in more recent years. If the 500 would have run long, I would have never made it to the 600 to start the race. It was a really tough timeline.

The helicopter landed at the airport in Mount Comfort, Indiana.

The moment it landed, [wife] Nancy and I were shoved onto the plane, which had been parked at the end of the runway. The door had barely closed and we were on the way.

I can’t say I did anything special

to prepare physically for the two races. But I made absolutely sure I had an IV on the plane to keep me hydrated. I also made sure I put some food and liquids in my stomach. I went back into the little bathroom and changed into my other uniform, then I sat down and they plugged the IV into me.

The pilot that afternoon was an ex-Air Force One pilot for Ford, Carter and Nixon. That was a trip in itself. I’m always amped up after a race, so I rode up front with the pilots.

Every air traffic controller knew what was going on, so we had a direct shot. They made sure we made good time. We landed in Statesville, North Carolina, where a helicopter was on the runway to pick us up. That’s how little time I had.

They helicoptered Nancy and me over Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Humpy had them bring the helicopter right down the back straightaway, around Turns 1 and 2, and then land on the front straightaway. I saw all these people cheering, and I thought: “Oh my God, they think it’s someone important in here! They’ll be throwing bubblegum at me when I climb out of this thing.” But the announcers had been hyping it all afternoon and were heralding our arrival.

I felt good when I got there. But because they had given me an IV and all the fluids, oh my God! I had to go to the restroom! Nobody would let me go because the national anthem was coming, then I had to do an interview. I was dying!

Mercifully, the car only made it to just past the halfway point. On lap 220 (of 400), the crankshaft broke, and that broke the steering. I could barely steer it, so it was big! I got out of the car and told everyone they’d have to wait. I ran to the bathroom!

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. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Magneto c/o RRD, 1250 Valley Brook Ave, Lyndhurst NJ 07071.

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