1955 Pichon-Parat Dolomites

 

A 1955 Pichon Parat Dolomites on the 2020 Tour Auto.  

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Pichon et Parat Carrossier, Sens, L'Yonne, France.  Pichon-Parat were coachbuilders who started in 1952.  The company was named after the founders, Bernard Pichon and André Parat. The Dolomites was first presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1953.  It was built on the base of a Panhard Dyna X, a small capacity, lightweight, front engine, front wheel drive saloon car.  By adding a lightweight streamlined metal body Pichon-Parat turned it into a desirable sports car for rallying.  With a weight of about 500kg and a 750cc 2 cylinder motor it could reach about 150 kph.  Versions were also offered up to 850cc.

One of the first cars was bought by Laurent Sagnier who entered it into the 1954 Tour de France Automobile and hence its eligibility for the modern Tour Auto.  About three different styles of the Dolomites were built, all for competition.  Nowadays, these cars are rather rare as only about twenty or so were ever made.  Pichon-Parat also made cars based on the Renault 4CV, Citroens, Lancias, Talbots, BMW and even American chassis; all in relatively small volumes.  Pichon-Parat continued into the early seventies as a coachbuilder although André Parat died in the mid-Sixties.

1952 Cunningham C4R

A Cunningham C4R at the Le Mans Classic in 2018.

For more photos from the 2018 Le Mans Classic Plateau 2 - click here.

B.S.Cunningham Company, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA.   Briggs Cunningham first entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans Race in 1950 and was determined to win it.   He never actually did but came relatively close on at least one occasion, especially with the C4R which was powered by a 5.4 litre (later 5.5 litre) Chrysler V8 engine.  The first Cunningham C4Rs were built in 1952 with George Briggs Weaver in charge of the body and chassis design.  The car was a typical front engined rear wheel drive roadster with a big engined American V8 under the bonnet.  The roadholding was reputed to be very good but brakes and steering were a weak pont compared to the Jaguars of the era.   Top speed was around 155mph.

In 1952 two of these cars came to Le Mans and came away with fourth place in the hands of Briggs Cunningham himself and Bill Spear.  Later in the year John Fitch took the car to its first win in a 200 mile race at Elkhart Lake,  1953 saw the first ever World Sportscar Championship and a Cunningham C4R won the first ever round of the Championship in March at the 12 Hours of Sebring with John Fitch and Phil Walters at the wheel.   However, at Le Mans the sole C4R could only finish seventh.  Some consolation was gained a few weeks later with a 3rd place in the Reims 12 Hours.  It also appeared in a support race at the British GP.  In 1954 two C4Rs appeared at Le Mans and one of them came third driven by Bill Spear and Sherwood Johnston.   It was a brave effort but it was becoming very difficult to take on Jaguar, Ferrari and Mercedes at Le Mans.  The car did take a few more small victories in US races.   Only two cars (plus a C4RK coupé) were built in period, but 4 authorised continuation cars were built in the 1990s and another replica was built on a C3 chassis.  

1953 Cooper Bristol T23 Mk2

Stephanie Wilton, Cooper Bristol T23 Mk2, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Bénouville 2016

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Cooper, Surbiton, England.  This was the car that Cooper produced for the 2 litre Formula Two of the early fifties that became the Grand Prix Formula in 1952 and 1953. The Mk2 had a tubular space frame and front engine rear wheel drive like most cars of the time but unlike the F3 Cooper that preceded it.  The T23 was an upgrade of the T20  which had a box frame chassis.  Mike Hawthorn used the F2 Cooper Bristol car to great effect in 1952 and earned his 1953 works Ferrari drive as a result.   The Bristol 6 cylinder engine produced about 135bhp and was developed from the pre-war BMW 328 engine.  Top speed of the car was about 140mph which was not enough to beat the contemporary Ferraris and Maseratis very often.  Best GP result for the Mk1 was third place in the 1952 British GP of 1952 driven by Mike Hawthorn.  He also won the Lavant Cup at Goodwood and International Trophy at Silverstone.  in 1953 Ken Wharton won at Charterhall and Bob Gerard won at Castle Combe and Snetterton but these were minor races.

1953 Porsche 550 Coupé

1953 Porsche 550 Coupé, Laguna Seca 2015, Porsche Rennsport Reunion V.

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Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The car picture above was the very first Porsche 550 and was a pure racing prototype rather than a modified road car.  It had a 1.5 litre flat 4 engine and was capable of over 120 mph at circuits like Le Mans.  The car was initially an open roadster and won its class at the 1953 Nurburgring 1000kms.  After this it was converted to a coupé and finished second in class at Le Mans to its sister car.  In the colours it is pictured here it competed in the Carrera Pamericana but did not finish.  it finished the season by winning its class in the Buenos Aires 1000kms.  Beautiful, stunning car!   Drivers of this particular car included Hans Herrmann, Helm Glockler and Jaroslav Juhan.

1953 Sunbeam Alpine

Jonathan and Christine Miles, 1953 Sunbeam Alpine, Tour Auto 2016

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Sunbeam, Rootes Group, Ryton on Dunsmore, England. Over 1,500 Sunbeam Alpine were built between 1953 and 1955. A 2 seat roadster, it was a development of the Sunbeam-Talbot 90 saloon car, initially conceived by a Bournemouth Sunbeam-Talbot dealer.  The engine was a 2.3 litre straight four engine from the saloon and the steel body was handmade by Thrupp and Maberley coachbuilders.   Sales were focussed on North America. Top speed of the production car was around 90mph and 0-60mph close to 19 seconds.  In a tuned works car Stirling Moss achieved nearly 120mph.  There was a MkI and later a MkIII but no MkII curiously. The six works cars entered just two events, the 1953 and 1954 Alpine Rallies.  In the 1953 event four of the Sunbeam-Alpines were awarded Coupes des Alpes for unpenalised runs.  Stirling Moss won  Coupe des Alpes in the works car in both years.

1950 Aston Martin DB2

Laurent & Marion Desplaces, Aston Matin DB2, Tour Auto 2016

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Aston Martin, Feltham, England.  The DB2 was produced from 1950 to 1953.  It had a straight 6 2.6 litre engine.   The first 49 had a chrome framed front grille split into three and side vents as in the photo above. After this it was a one piece non-framed grille and had no side vents as in the photo below. They had 2 seats and space for luggage behind.  According to contemporary road test reports hey were capable of 110mph and they had a 0-60mph time of around 12.5 seconds.  The works team entered them in the 1950 Le Mans 24 hours and they finished fifth and sixth and won the 3 litre class.  Contemporary drivers included Reg Parnell, George Abercassis, Eric Thompson, Raymond Sommer and Lance Macklin.  In the 1951 Tour de France a DB2 finished and was placed 15th.

1953 Aston Martin DB2, Tour Auto 2016

1953 Pegaso Z 102 Touring Super Leggera Spider Le Mans

1953 Pegaso Z 102 Touring Super Leggera Spider Le Mans à Retromobile 2015

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Pegaso, Barcelona, Spain. Top Speed, Vitesse maximale - 249 kph.

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