1955 Pichon-Parat Dolomites

 

A 1955 Pichon Parat Dolomites on the 2020 Tour Auto.  

For more photos of the 2020 Tour Auto - click here.

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.  

1954 Dick Jacobs MG YB Special Coupé

1954 Jacobs MG Special, Stuart Dean, Etretat Hill Climb 2017.

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For more photos of the post war historic cars at the Etretat Hillclimb in 2017, click here.

Dick Jacobs, South Woodford, Essex, England.  Dick Jacobs was a well known driver post-WW2 who drove for the works MG team and built a number of MG specials.  He took over the Mill Garage from his father in December 1945 and the next year it became an MG dealership. He then took up racing MGs with his first race being at Goodwood in 1948 in a supercharged MG TC where he finished fourth.  in 1949 he took his first win, had his first drive for the MG works team and built the fist of his MG specials on a TA chassis using a supercharged TC engine.  In the early fifties he raced an MG YB in production races with some success.  In 1954 he built two specials based on the MG YB, one of them being built on the last ever YB chassis 1551. The one built on chassis 1551 is the one owned by Stuart Dean and seen above at Etretat.   They had special glass fibre bodies built by RGS Automobile Components Ltd and 1.5 litre MG engines.  They were raced throughout 1954 but were however no match for the Lotus-MG of Colin Chapman.   Dick Jacobs drove a prototype MGA for the works team at the ill-fated 1955 Le Mans 24 hours but had a very bad crash that ended his racing career.  He did however recover to continue his MG business.  Stuart Dean regularly races and hill climbs this car including at the famous Goodwood Revival meeting.

1954 Jaguar XK140 Roadster

Fredrik Rudebeck and Hervé Ganidel, Jaguar XK140 Roadster, Tour Auto 2016.

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Jaguar, Coventry, England.  A successor to the XK120, the XK140 was produced from 1954 to 1957. It had, of course, the famous 3.4 litre straight six Jaguar XK engine and was capable of over 120mph and a 0-60mph time of around 9 seconds.  They were raced successfully on the circuits in America.  A Jaguar XK140 finished 16th in the 1956 Tour de France Automobile.  Most of the rally successes of the XK140 were achieved with Fixed Head Coupé. However, an XK140 Roadster did win its class in the 1956 Mille Miglia.

1954 Studebaker Champion

Studebaker Champion, 2016 Tour Auto 

Studebaker Corporation, South Bend, Indiana, USA.  The car above is a 4th generation Champion that was produced from 1953 to 1956.  It was powered by a 2,7 litre or 3 litre straight 6.  One came 52nd on the 1954 Tour de France Automobile. Since the Carrera Panamericana was revived in the late eighties, Studebaker Champions have had multiple wins.

1954 Mercedes-Benz W196

Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles, 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 Grand prix car.

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For more photos of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, follow the link above.

Mercedes-Benz, Stuttgart, Germany.  This streamliner F1 car won the 1954 Italian Grand Prix in the hands of Juan-Manuel Fangio.  It had a top speed of about 186 mph.   15 W196 were built to contest the F1 World Championship in 1954 and 1955.  Fangio was champion in both years.

1954 Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 PR

Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 PR, Crystal Palace Sprint May 2010

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Mon astuce pur faire des belles photos.
Utilisez un logiciel d'édition de brouiller le fond et garder le focus sur la voiture.

Top photo tip.
Use editing software to blur the background and keep the focus on the car.