Volvo P1800

Volvo P1800, Traversée de Paris 2017.

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Volvo Cars, Gothenburg, Sweden.  The P1800 that was produced between 1961 to 1973 was made famous by being driven by Simon Templar (played by Roger Moore) in the TV series, The Saint.  It was a 2 door front engined rear wheel drive steel bodied ports coupé. Styling was by Frua. Mechanicals were based on those of the Amazon and the engine was a 1.8 litre straight 4. The production was initially sub-contracted to Jensen in the UK but in 1963 after the first 6,000 had been produced moved to Volvo's plant's in Sweden.  After production moved to Sweden the P1800 became the P1800 S, the S standing for Sweden.  In 1969 electronic fuel injection was introduced and the car became the P1800E.   The fastest P1800s had a top speed of a little under 120mph.  0-60mph could be done in just under 10 seconds.  They were reliable Grand Touring cars and one holds the record for travelling over 3 million miles from 1966 to 2013.   They were also raced on occasion, the most famous driver of one being Jochen Neerpasch who won a minor race in Germany as well as competing in the Nurburgring 1000kms of 1962. There was also some success in USA production sports car races and they took part in the Daytona 24 hours and Sebring 12 hours.

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1976 Inaltera-DFV LM76 001 GTP

Henri Pescarolo, Inaltera-DFV, Le Mans Classic 2016

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Rondeau, Le Mans, France.   Jean Rondeau was a racing driver and constructor who eventually won the Le Mans 24 hours in a car he constructed, the first to do this.  His first Le Mans car was this one sponsored by the French wallpaper manufacturer, Inaltera.  It was powered by the Cosworth DFV 3 litre engine that had powered the winner in the 1975 24 hour race.  Running in the GTP class and starting 12th on the grid, it finished eighth and won its class driven by Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo.  The other Inaltera was third in class and 21st overall.  The car pictured, chassis 001, also entered the Daytona 24 hours in 1977, qualified third but did not finish. The cars was a fully enclosed mid-engined sports car designed specifically for the Le Mans 24 hours and thus had aerodynamics that made it very quick on the Mulsanne straight.  In 1977 the team returned to Le Mans and again won the GTP class and finished fourth overall driven by Jean Rondeau himself and Jean Ragnotti. After 1977, Inaltera withdrew their support following changes in their management, but Rondeau continued to enter Le Mans but under his own name.  The Inaltera team was managed by famous racing driver Vic Elford.

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1968 Chevron B8-BMW

1968 Chevron-BMW B8, Le Mans Classic 2016

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Chevron, Bolton, England. Chevron was the name given to the cars produced by Derek Bennett, an amateur racing driver.   The B8 followed on from the B6 and was a 2 litre Group 4 sports/GT car. Although 50 examples were required to homologate it into Group 4, there were probably only 44 built between 1968 and 1970. Since 2006 more have been produced by Chevron as New Factory Continuation Cars and are eligible for historic racing.  Most B8s had a mid-mounted 4 cylinder 2 litre 195 bhp BMW engine powering the rear wheels.  Some cars were powered by Ford Cosworth engines such as the FVA. One car was delivered  with a 2.7 litre Climax engine.  Chassis was an aluminium semi-monocoque steel space frame and the body was glass fibre.  John Bridges debuted the car at Cadwell Park in March 1968 and John Lepp scored the first win at Mallory park the same month.  Other drivers to win with the car included Chris Skeaping, Barrie Smith, John Blades, John Burton, Nigel Morrison and David Purley.  Best International result was a class win and sixth overall in the 1969 Daytona 24 hours.  The B8 also finished first in class and seventh overall in the 1969 BOAC 500.  They were good looking, fast and reliable cars and it is good to see them still compete in historic racing today.

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DeLorean DMC-12

Two DeLorean DMC-12s, Thoiry 2017

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The gull wing doors

DeLorean Motor Company, Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.  Founded by ex-General Motor's executive John DeLorean, DMC made just one car but it became famous through the film "Back to the Future" in which it starred. The factory was in Northern Ireland due to government funding.  Renault was employed to build the factory and supply the PRV engine, whilst Lotus designed the chassis and body which had styling by the Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro. The car was a 2 seater quirky steel bodied sports coupé. Engine was a 2.85 litre 130hp V6 that was mounted at the far rear of the car.  It

Rear qtr view

didn't receive good reviews but still sold over 8,500 examples, perhaps helped by its signature gull-wing doors.. Performance wasn't outstanding as it had a 0-60mph time of around 10 seconds and a top speed of about 110mph.  The cars were made between 1981and 1982 and were sold with unpainted stainless steel bodies. The company went bankrupt when it did not meet its sales targets and John DeLorean was arrested on drugs charges of which he was eventually cleared. Financial scandals also followed involving the government funding and Lotus chief Colin Chapman became embroiled but died of a heart attack.  A messy end to the dream.  Nowadays, a company in Texas has the rights and continues to build late model editions of the DMC-12.

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Secma F16

Secma F16, O'Thoiry Club rassemblement, January 2017

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Secma, Aniche, France.  Secma have been building niche vehicles since 1995.  The F16 is a 2 seater rear wheel drive road going M1 buggy type vehicle.  It is powered by a rear mounted 4 cylinder Renault 1.6 litre engine that powers the car to a top speed of 110 mph and a 0-60mph time of around 6 seconds through a 5 speed gearbox.  Secma stands for Société d'Etude et de Construction de Mechanique Automobile.  Cheaper than its obvious competitors it offers a car with good handling and acceleration at a low price for fun driving on the road or on track days.

Peugeot 402

Peugeot 402, Traversée de Paris Hivernale 2017

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Peugeot, Sochaux, France.   The 402 was a large family car produced from 1935 to 1942 and was a competitor of the more famous Citroen Traction Avant.  It had a typical thirties Peugeot look with the headlights behind the slanted back radiator grill.  Power was from a 2 litre straight 4 that was later enlarged to 2.14 litres.  A diesel version was also available. There were many different body styles. Options included an automatic gearbox instead of the standard 3 speed manual.   About 75,000 were produced.

Triumph Vitesse

Triumph Vitesse, Traversée de Paris Hivernale 2017

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Standard-Triumph, Coventry, England. Produced after Standard-Triumph became part of Leyland, the Triumph Vitesse was a higher performance and sportier version of the Triumph Herald.   It initially had a 1.6 litre engine that was later upgraded to a 2 litre engine.  Both were straight 6 cylinder standard engines.  Introduced in 1962 the model ran until 1971 and was styled by the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti.   The most distinctive feature was the slanted front four headlights. Many body parts were shared with the Herald but the chassis was different.  Both 2 door saloon and 2 door convertible versions of this 4 seater were made.  Although it had sporting looks it was not a particularly fast car.  The 1600cc version had a top speed of under 85 mph and 0-60 mph time of just under18 seconds. The 2 litre version was faster with a top speed of 100mph.  Over 50,000 were built.  They weren't raced often but did compete in Trans Am racing in the early seventies and entered in rallies such as the Monte Carlo Rally in 1963.  Vic Elford rallied a Vitesse early in his career.

Citroën SM

Citroên SM, Traversée de Paris, Montmartre, 2016

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Citroën, Paris, France.  Produced from 1970 to 1975 this was Citroën's flagship car of the early seventies.  It was also a high performance four seater with a top speed of around 140 mph and a 0-60mph time of around 8.5 seconds.  Unusual for such a fast car, the SM was front wheel drive. As Citroën owned Maserati at the time, power was from a Maserati V6 of either 2.7 or 3.0 litres and giving 170bhp or 180bhp.  The gearbox was either 5 speed manual or 3 speed automatic.  It was a fast genuine Grand Tourer with a long range from its big tank and 19mpg and good ride from the Citroën self levelling suspension. The car was quite big for a coupé and had quirky looks and a cut-off Kamm tail.  Nevertheless a true classic.   Famous drivers included Mike Hailwood of bike and car racing fame and he used to drive to the European races in it.

1965 Ford Falcon Sprint

Frits Campagne, Ford Falcon Sprint, Dijon Motors Cup 2016, NKHGT race.

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Ford, Edison, USA.   This was the second version of the Ford Falcon and predates the Mustang by a few months. The Mustang was a sexier package for not much more and thus the Sprint version of the Falcon was not the success it might have been.   Compared to the base model of the Falcon, the Sprint had a 4.3 litre and then in 1965 a 4.7 litre V8, stiffer suspension and a louder exhaust.   Slightly larger and roomier than a Mustang, it is still a compact 2 door four seater with some power.   They were raced in era both in the US and Europe but without any conspicuous success.  They are still raced today in series such as the Dutch Historic GT and Touring car championship.

1960 Scarab-Offenhauser F1

Julian Bronson, 1960 Scarab Offenhauser F1, Dijon Motors Cup 2016

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Reventlow Automobiles, Venice, California, USA.  Lance Reventlow was the heir to the Woolworth fortune being the only son of Barbara Hutton. He started racing in the mid-fifties and in 1957 started building Chevrolet V8 engined sports racing cars that he and Chuck Daigh raced in 1958 with quite some success winning the SCCA championship. Following the Sports Car program Reventlow decided to build an American F1 car.  The car was late and didn't enter any GP in 1959 when it might have been more competitive.  The Scarab was a traditional front engined F1 car but by 1960 all of the top cars had rear engines except for Ferrari who had a great engine.  Powering the Scarab was a specially commissioned 4 cylinder 2.5 litre aluminium Offenhauser engine with desmodronic valves that never ran properly in period races.  The cars made their debut at the 1960 Monaco GP but did not qualify.  Both cars ran but retired with engine problems in the Belgian GP.  The only finish was Chuck Daigh's tenth place in the US GP at Riverside at the end of the season.   In 1961 Scarabs raced briefly in the Intercontinental formula with enlarged engines but best finish was just seventh in the International Trophy at Silverstone. The car pictured above is chassis 003 that never raced in period, was exhibited as part of the Donington collection for a number of years, but is now a very fast historic front engined F1 car.  Today the engine has about 240bhp and more torque than in period.  

1928 Hudson Super Six Coupé

1928 Hudson Super Six, Meeting de la Course de Cote de Chanteloup-les-Vignes 2014

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Hudson Motor Car Company, Detroit, USA.  Hudson, founded by a department store owner Joseph Hudson,  made vehicles from 1909 to 1954 before merging with Nash to become AMC.  At one time the company was the World's largest producer of six cylinder cars. The company was an innovator and its balanced crankshaft allowed it Super Six engine to be smooth and powerful.  The Super Six was produced over a number of years in the twenties and early thirties with a variety of body styles including Phaeton, Coach, Sedan, and Brougham by a variety of coach builders such as Briggs and Biddle & Smart.  The model pictured is an excellent condition 2 door Coupe with a rumble seat at the back.  The car is of course front engine and rear wheel drive. Engines were normally of about 4.3 litres with a top performance around 80mph. Hudson also produced the cheaper Essex brand with similar looking cars.