Kirkham Cobra 427

Kirkham Cobra, Bué near Sancerre 2017.

Kirkham Motorsports, North Provo, Utah, USA.  With their beautiful aluminium bodies these Cobra replicas are amongst the most desirable in the World.  The aluminium bodies are actually made in Poland in an old MiG fighter jet factory whilst the rest of the car is built in Utah.  Founded by David Kirkham the company stared in 1994.  Since then they have built over 800 replica 427s and 289s. The most popular are the big block Shelby American Ford V8 powered cars which make a magnificent sound.  Very desirable replicas of the sixties Shelby Cobra. They supply the cars either with original or uprated suspension and brakes.  Saw this one in France and I think the owner said it had a 550hp engine but they go up to 650hp.

1901 Gladiator Type 4 Voiture Légère

1901 Gladiator at Gallardon for the Ateliers des Pionniers 2016.

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Clément-Gladiator, Levallois-Perret, France.  The car pictured above has been in the same family's hands since the current owner's bought it new around 1901!   Gladiator was a company founded by Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq that made cycles and motorbikes.  It was eventually bought by Adolphe Clément and others to form Clément, Gladiator & Humber Ltd which in France was called Clément-Gladiator.  In 1898 they started producing cars.  Production in the early 1900s reached over 1,000 cars a year.  The car above has a 669cc 6.5hp Astor motor built in Saint-Denis and is capable of powering the car  up to 40kph.  Tonneau is the name of the coachwork type on this car which means it has open rear seats and a rounded rear end resembling a barrel.  The Gladiator name as a car manufacturer disappeared in 1920.

1919 Blériot 2 Cyl 500cc Motor Cycle

1919 Blériot 2 Cyl 500cc, Retromobile 2017.

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Blériot Aeronautique, Suresnes, Paris, France.  Louis Blériot was the first man to fly across the Channel in an aeroplane rather than a balloon in 1909.  He had a successful company producing aircraft but after WW1 the demand dropped off and he was looking for other products to manufacture.  This motorbike was produced from 1919 to 1923.  It had a 500cc twin cylinder 4 stroke engine producing 5hp powering the bike through a 3 speed gearbox.  An attractive feature were the unusual disc wheels.  There was a kick starter and the top speed was around 65 to 75 kph.  It was advertised with the slogan "She doesn't ride, she flies!" A motorcycle for touring and very good looking for the time, it was also used as one of the first police motorbikes. Only about a dozen survive.

1969 Lotus-Coswoth 63 4WD F1

Lotus-Cosworth 63, RetroMobile 2017

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Lotus, Hethel, England.  Lotus was one of four manufacturers who along with Mclaren, Tyrrell and Cosworth built four wheel drive cars for the 1969 Formula One season.  They were trying to solve the problem of how to get 400 to 450bhp of power onto the road.  A 4WD BRM had had a little success in hillclimbing in the mid-sixties and the 4WD Ferguson F1 had won at the wet Oulton Park in 1961.  The Lotus 63 was perhaps the most serious effort of the others in 1969, being designed by the team who had success with the Lotus 49.  However, the Lotus 63 saw little success and was hated by the drivers just like the other 4WD cars.  The problem of the power transfer had in effect been largely solved by the new wing aerodynamics and better wider tyres.  In addition the 4WD cars suffered from being over-weight and with poor balance of that weight and were also fairly unreliable.  Thus although at times driven by great drivers such as Mario Andretti, Jochen Rindt and Graham Hill as well as John Miles and Jo Bonnier, no World Championship points were scored by the 63.  The best result was a distant second place in the non-championship Oulton Park Gold Cup ahead of some F5000 cars. After 1969 the two cars built were not raced again in contemporary F1.  An interesting experiment that added variety to the field and perhaps the best looking on the 4WD cars in its Gold Leaf livery..  

1981 Kremer-Porsche 917K/81

Kremer built Porsche 917/81, Retromobile 2017.

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Kremer Racing, Cologne, Germany.  The years 1970 and 1971 were the heyday of the Porsche 917 before these Group 4 sports cars were banned.  Ten years after the 917 had won its second Le Mans 24 hours, it returned as a Group 6 sports car built by the Kremer brothers using a loophole in the transitional regulations between Group 6 and Group C.  The Kremer brothers had become the top specialists in racing, modifying and tuning Porsches during the 935 era and obtained Porsche’s help in this project.  Using the original blueprints, a car was built from scratch in the Kremer workshops and incorporated a number of modifications to the suspension and a strengthened chassis to cope with the newer tyre technology.  However, the strengthening added weight.  The body was also altered to improve downforce with a large rear wing and lower and straightened sides to the car.  Unchanged was the 4.9 litre flat 12 engine that Porsche provided.  Sponsorship was obtained from Malardeau and BP and the drivers included Bob Wollek.  First event was the 1981 Le Mans 24 hours.  Practice did not go well and the car proved much slower than the original 917s down the straight.  However, in the race it ran in the top ten before retiring after seven hours following an off course excursion.   The second and final race was the 1,000kms at Brands Hatch later that year.  For this the original sponsors were gone and the car had big Kremer wording along the sides and on the rear wing with some support from Shell and Dunlop.  This time the car qualified third and early on in the race ran second to the new Ford C100.  Later in the race it took the lead and proved fast around the curves of Brands Hatch with Bob Wollek driving.  Unfortunately the suspension eventually collapsed and led to another retirement.  This was the last major race for a 917.  This unique car is now owned by a private collector and is back in its beautiful Malardeau colours.

1920 Ballot 3/8 LC Grand Prix & Indianapolis car

1920 Ballot 3/8 LC Indianapolis and Grand Prix Car, Retromobile 2017

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Ballot engine in a sister car.

Ballot, Paris, France.  Having built car engines pre WW1 and aero engines during WW1, Edouard Ballot decided to produce cars after the war and to publicise them through racing.  He employed the great Peugeot engineer Ernest Henri to design the Ballot cars and engines.  The first cars competed in the 1919 Indy 500 and proved to be fast but hit troubles during the race.   For the 1920 Indianapolis 500, Ernest Henri designed a car for the new 3 litre regulations.  This car was the Ballot 3/8 LC.  It has a classic Henri engine, a straight eight with four valves per cylinder and a twin overhead camshaft.   The car was a two seater as this was the era of riding mechanics and had a streamlined body with spare wheel in the tail.  Another modern feature was the servo assisted brakes, both front and rear.  It was the fastest racing car of its era and could reach over 110mph.  The car was also reliable.   In the 1920 Indianapolis 500, all three cars finished with the best one in second place and another having led most of the race.   In the 1921 French GP the best they could do was again a second place behind the winning Duesenberg.  Victory did, however, come in the 1921 Italian GP against the Fiats.  Drivers included Ralph De Palma, Jules Goux and René Thomas.  When they were sold by the works team, Malcolm Campbell drove one at Brooklands.   The car pictured above is the ex-Malcolm Campbell car.  It also was the car that won the Italian GP in the hands of Jules Goux and had finished third in the 1922 Indy 500.  A superb car!

1929 Packard 645 Deluxe Eight

1929 Packard 645 Deluxe Eight at Retromobile 2017

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Packard, Detroit, USA.   The car above has the rare Dual Cowl Phaeton bodywork by the coacbuilder Dietrich.  However, another twenty different body styles were available.  Power is provided by Packard's legendary big 385 cubic inch (6.3 litre) Super Eight of 105+ HP.  It was one of the most refined and best engineered cars of its day.  Packard exported many of their cars and was one of the top luxury brands in the late twenties, outselling its rivals.  The 645 Deluxe Eight was a huge car with a long wheelbase and this car is an attractive convertible.  Engine was at the front and powered the rear wheels through a manual gearbox.  A beautiful large vintage car seating at least four people.