T R A N S M I S S I O N S — E V E R Y T H I N G YO U E V E R N E E D E D T O K N O W NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR NOVEMBER 2016 ISSUE 311
FIERY FUEGO
BMWS ON ICE
FRENCH PANACHE
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NOVEMBER 2016
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1936 CORD 810 WESTCHESTER • 1956 JAGUAR D-TYPE REPLICA • 2016 CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE
AN ALPINE EXPERIENCE
STRIKING A CORD T HE MOS T BE AU T IFUL A MERICA N CA R
LE MANS–WINNING
JAGUAR D-TYPE REPLICA
CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE
HISTORIC AUTOMOTIVE TREASURES
CONTENTS
311 NOVEMBER 2016
4 STRIKING A CORD
1936 CORD 810 WESTCHESTER
16 LE MANS–WINNING JAGUAR
1956 JAGUAR D-TYPE REPLICA
26 CLASSIC TREASURES
CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE
SPECIAL FEATURES 34 60 68 70
ICE, ICE, BEEMER — BMW ALPINE X-DRIVE EXPERIENCE TRANSMISSIONS — WE TALK TO THE EXPERTS BATTERY TECH — EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BATTERIES EVENT PREVIEW — THE HAMPTON DOWNS 101
COLUMNS 44 MOTORMAN 50 MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK 56 GLOBAL MARKET REPORT 58 LOCAL MARKET REPORT 88 PRICE ON
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50 56 LIKE US ON FACEBOOK — SEARCH ‘NZ CLASSIC CAR ’
EVENTS 78 80 82
SOUTHERN AUTO SPECTACULAR CANTERBURY SWAP MEET HISTORIC RACING CLUB ICEBREAKER
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REGULARS 38 READERS’ WRITES 40 ONLINE THIS MONTH 42 SUBSCRIBE AND WIN 70 NATIONWIDE NEWS 86 EVENTS DIARY 90 BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR 92 CLUB CORNER 94 CLASSIC AUTOMOBILIA 96 QUICK QUIZ / CROSSWORD 100 SELL YOUR CLASSIC 102 CLASSIC CARS FOR SALE 108 CLASSIFIEDS 110 LOCAL SPECIALISTS 112 NEXT MONTH
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FEATURE
1936 Cord 810 Westchester
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STRIKING
A CORD 1936 CORD 810 WESTCHESTER
O N E O F T H E G R E AT T R I U M P H S O F AMERICAN AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN, S I M P LY N O T H I N G E L S E C O U L D MEASURE UP TO THE CORD 810 Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Bob Reed
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he Cord is considered by many enthusiasts to be one of the most aesthetically successful American-built cars of the mid 1930s. Its timeless proportions boasted sleek, distinctive, and unique design innovations, such as retractable headlights — individually raised and lowered by small crank handles located on the dash in front of the driver and passenger — the total elimination of running boards, a front-latched bonnet opening, ‘coffinnose’ front-end styling, and teardrop-shaped front guards, all of which influenced other manufacturers’ designs in subsequent years. In addition to masterful design, the Cord incorporated radical engineering, including the use of front-wheel drive and an optional supercharged engine.
complexity, proving the true genius of Errett Cord and the engineering prowess of Harry Miller. It was the first vehicle from Mr Cord’s namesake brand. Radically different to any other car on the market, the Lycoming straight-eight–powered Cord, modified to drive a front-mounted transaxle assembly, offered extremely low-slung styling that allowed designer Alan H Leamy to create a beautifully stylish car. Initial sales were fairly buoyant, but, in the end, timing played a cruel hand when the stock market crashed in late October 1929. About 5000 L-29s were sold before production ended on December 31, 1931 — that number wasn’t considered meagre by any means, especially for an expensive car launched on the eve of the Great Depression, but sales volume was insufficient to justify keeping the L-29 in production.
Unique opportunity
Next chapter
Cord’s story is brief but comprehensive nonetheless. Astute young businessman Errett Lobban Cord recognized an opportunity to build a truly unique car and bought the struggling Auburn Automobile Company (AAC) in 1925. Earlier that year, Harry Miller had wowed the automotive world by taking second place in the Indianapolis 500 behind the wheel of his Junior 8 Special — the first front-wheel-drive car to compete in the famous race. Within a year, and after taking over another great American racing name of the day — Duesenberg — things were looking good for Errett Cord and his burgeoning empire. The portfolio of his Cord Corporation included glitzy Auburn cars, Lycoming engines, Stinson aircraft, and Checker taxicabs among its offerings, but Cord was without a namesake marque. Undoubtedly keen to rectify the situation, Cord employed the services of Miller to assist in the development of America’s first front-wheel-drive production car. In June 1929, the stylish Cord L-29 was the first front-wheel-drive car sold in America. It offered dramatically different styling and mechanical
While AAC was grappling with issues surrounding the L-29, the next chapter in Cord’s history book was in the planning at General Motors (GM). Gordon Buehrig had been the chief body designer for Duesenberg since 1929. By 1933, declining sales of the prestigious marque had caused him to move on to GM. The company launched an internal design competition, and Buehrig submitted an outlandish streamlined sedan featuring a blunt nose, externally mounted radiators, and concealed headlights, which ultimately got the thumbs down from styling head Harley Earl, GM’s design king. However, all was not lost, as Buehrig’s fellow competing designers put it in first place ahead of all the other designs.
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The coffin-nose Cord 810 design was radical in its time, with frontwheel drive, retractable headlights, and no identifiable radiator grille
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ne of Larry Price’s fondest memories is of him as a child, sitting in the lounge with his father, who would spin the dial on an old valve radio. Eventually, in best RP English, a BBC presenter would be heard describing the race at Le Mans. As a young boy, Larry did not know the effect these races would have on him in later life. He still clearly remembers the excitement he felt as he heard the news, live, of the D-Type Jaguar that crossed the finishing line in second place during 1954. It was the last time for many years that Jaguar would finish second. In 1955, the Jaguar works team crossed the line in first place, a performance it tried to repeat the following year, but, due to a crash and mechanical failures, none of its entries finished. However, despite the works team’s poor run of luck, the car that crossed the line first in 1956 was still a D-Type Jaguar, entered by a privateer team called ‘Ecurie Ecosse’. Team drivers Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson made history that year by winning the famous endurance race and, in doing so, shook the world of motor racing as they overcame giants such as Ferrari, Lotus, and Maserati to claim glory. The crew was based in modest surroundings at Merchiston Mews, a cobbled lane of garages in suburban Edinburgh, and its car differed from that of the works team by being painted metallic blue rather than British racing green. To prove that that result was not a fluke,
Ecurie Ecosse did the same thing the following year, this time securing an impressive one-two finish. Naturally, Jaguar was not slow in trumpeting its three-in-a-row wins at Le Mans, but it would be another 30 years before Jaguar scored another win there. It retired from racing the following year due to a change in the rules, but the legend of the D-Type continued to grow. Naturally, winning sells cars whether or not victory is achieved by a works team, and the Jaguar D-Type was a model that could be bought off the shelf on Friday then raced on Saturday. The production D-Types were known as ‘short-nosed’ cars, but, in 1955 and 1956, a total of 11 works (‘long-nose’) cars were built, which were 190mm longer and had a large fin that was constructed and faired as a part of the headrest and the rear body section. The longer bonnet improved the aerodynamics just enough to ensure that Ferrari stayed in the rearvision mirror. As only 11 of these Jaguars were produced, it makes them a pretty rare and now expensive vehicle — an example of the original Ecurie Ecosse car sold at auction for $29.7M in August 2016.
Childhood dream On leaving school, Larry joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), although his love of Jaguar remained through into adulthood, and, as a result, one of his first
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EVENT REPORT Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este
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H I S TO R I C
AU TO M OT I V E
TREASURES DESIRABLE AND RAREST O F T H E R A R E AT CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE Words and photos: James Nicholls
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ake Como, Italy — which seemingly has its own micro climate in the foothills of the Rhaetian Alps — is one of the most magical and romantic settings in the world. If it is not bathed in beautiful sunshine, it can be a dark and mysterious place, with clouds hanging over the brooding mountains. But it’s the days of sunshine, with splendid views of those snow-capped mountains, when the lake truly sparkles. One of the jewels in Lake Como’s crown is the grand hotel Villa d’Este. With nearly five centuries of history (the former palace was converted into a hotel in 1873), it has always been a place for the wealthy and famous to congregate. Over the years, the hotel guest list has included aristocrats; royalty; musicians; movie stars; celebrities; and, of course, nowadays, even the odd footballer with taste and style. From the Shah of Persia to Mick Jagger, John F Kennedy, Igor Stravinsky, Giacomo Puccini, Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; from Josephine Baker to Madonna, Barbara Streisand, Steven Spielberg, Elton John, Robert de Niro, and King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson — even George Clooney before he made a home for himself on the lake — all have made themselves comfortable at the Villa d’Este.
From JFK and Clooney to rally bred Escorts and multi million dollar restorations
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NEXT MONTH 312th issue and past issues
TRUCKIN’ GOOD — As 4x4s and utes continue to dominate new-car sales in New Zealand, we look back at where it all started for some heavy-hitters in the industry, from the 1940s through to the ’80s. MOTORMAN — Donn Anderson attended every New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore, and remembers, above all, the wet 1962 race that ended an era. VULCAN — We take a close look at one of the most extreme notquite-road-going limited-edition Aston Martins yet.
20 YEARS AGO
10 YEARS AGO
FIVE YEARS AGO
Going for it in the Dunlop Targa
Fast Ford fight
Supercharged Datsun 240Z
November 1996
November 2006
November 2011
TO PURCHASE BACK ISSUES ONLINE, GO TO: Photo ID: Timeless elegance — 1. 1936 Hispano J12 Cabriolet 2. 1931 Duesenberg Model J 3. 1932 Daimler Double-Six 4. 1935 Auburn Speedster 5. 1935 Mercedes Benz 540K Roadster 6. 1937 Talbot Lago T150 SS Teardrop Coupe 7. 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B 8. 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC 9. 1938 Phantom Corsair 10. 1939 Delahaye Type 165 Cabriolet Quik quiz: Jaguar D-Type — 1. 1957 2. 3.4 litre 3. Malcolm Sayer 4. William Haynes 5. Jaguar XK120 6. 18 7. 53 8. true 9. monocoque 10. 1954