Classic & Sports Car

When he wrote our scoop story in 1994 on Ferdinand Porsche’s idea to build an Auto Union supercar, historian Chris Nixon could never have imagined that, 40 years later, this fascinating 1935 idea would become reality (p45). To illustrate Nixon’s discovery of sketches for a supercharged V16 coupé with tre-posti seating, C&SC commissioned cutaway artist Brian Hatton to bring the concept to life. Working with just profile plans and photographs of an original Auto Union Typ B, he produced this superb watercolour in the style of his previous Prophet without Honour series, published in Motor. Rumour has it that Audi Tradition is already planning another closed streamliner inspired by the 1935 Avus racer.…

The term ʻGTʼ gets bandied about by the modern car industry, be it for a new type of coupé-SUV, all manner of ultra-high-end two-seaters or simply a trim level on a run-of-the-mill hatchback. But itʼs no wonder we find it hard to define, when it stands for gran turismo or ʻgrand tourerʼ – which could refer to just about any car for tackling a long distance. A car such as the Horch 780, perhaps. In Sport-Cabriolet form, as featured this month (see p92), itʼs hardly likely to be so labelled by many, but it certainly fits the brief. Effortless power from its big straight-eight engine, generous accommodation for two (plus two) and, importantly, a dose of genuine driver appeal. At the opposite end of the spectrum thereʼs the modern interpretation,…

Germany is a tour de force when it comes to car manufacturing and engineering excellence, yet there is only a small handful of local concours events where collectors can show their rarefied machines. The first Concours of Elegance Germany, which took place from 26-27 July, aimed to bring something new to the roster. In total, some 150 cars gathered at Gut Kaltenbrunn, a 15th-century manor house on the shores of Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria, for the two-day spectacular, and the surrounding scenic Alpine roads provided a perfect playground for those who participated in the fourday driving tour that preceded it. The main concours line-up was a melting pot of classics from Germany, Britain, Switzerland, Italy, America and elsewhere. Traditional heavyweights – such as various Bugatti Type 35s, a ʼ37 Talbot-Lago…

1953 FERRARI 166MM This Ferrari’s slightly muddled history is what makes it particularly interesting. Chassis 0272M sports unique bodywork, but who created it remains an unsolved mystery – although most historians agree that the body was designed by engineer Aurelio Lampredi and possibly constructed at Maranello. It competed in the ’53 Mille Miglia, driven by Dr Alberico Cacciari alongside co-driver RH Bill Mason (father of Pink Floyd drummer Nick), who was also on filming duties. The footage was used in a ’50s Shell documentary about the famous race. 1928 ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM I Yohan Poonawalla’s 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I scooped the Best of Show at this year’s Valletta Concours in Malta – and no surprise, given the prototype’s fascinating history. Standing next to this behemoth, it doesn’t give the impression of…

Much of the talk in advance of the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours dʼElegance was about whether the worldʼs premier concours competition would follow the likes of Italyʼs Concorso dʼEleganza Villa dʼEste by picking a patinated car for its coveted Best of Show award, but few believed that it would ever happen. And yet the Bugatti that rolled across the stage on the 18th green of the legendary golf club to collect the top trophy on 18 August was no boiled-sweet restoration, but taken from the Preservation class: Fritz Burkardʼs sensational, ex-King Leopold III of Belgium Type 59 (C&SC, November 2008). Affectionately known by the team at the Molsheim factory as ʻGrand-Mèreʼ, the 1934 roadgoing Grand Prix machine was the first Type 59 built and today is the star of The…

The 70th anniversary of the Gold Cup took over Oulton Park in Cheshire from 26-28 July for one of the highlights of the Historic Sports Car Clubʼs season. Michael Lyons was back racing his Lola T400 for the first time in two years and proved the class of the Derek Bell Trophy Series field, dominating both the Saturday and Sunday encounters. There was another two-time winner in The Historic Gold Cup for Formula Three cars in Andrew Hibberd (Brabham BT18). A light shower spiced up the first race and Michael OʼBrien (Tecno F3) held the advantage until he was hit with clutch issues, leaving Hibberd to take the chequer by 12.859 secs. OʼBrien retired from the second and Enrico Spaggiari (Lotus 41X) beat Peter de la Roche (Alexis Mk17) to…