Chapron at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance… During a car week obsessed with auctions and economics, Pebble Beach shared the grace and elegance of Carrossier Henri Chapron.
Located in Levallois-Paris, Chapron was part of the French Art Deco movement along with Figoni et Falaschi, Pourtout, Guilloré, Saoutchik and Franay. Eventually his firm was bought by Delahaye and reached a height of 350… Continue reading
Miura has to wait another day, because today the results of the Pebble Beach Concours are revealed! So, sit back and enjoy!
The weather was fine, the people were great and of course the cars, or better say automobiles, were grandiose… as always! The judges have chosen their Best of Show, Best of Show Nominees, Most Elegant Awards Winners, Special Awards Winners and Class Winners.
Best of Show this year was again one of those great European marques from the past, Isotta Fraschini, with the grand 1924 Tipo 8A with coachwork by F. Ramseier & Cie of Worblaufen, Switzerland.
When this automobile was sold at the Artcurial auction at Retromobile in February 2014 and bought by parties which included Rob Myers, chairman and founder of RM, it was obvious that… Continue reading
This extraordinary ‘Swan Car’ – a 1910 Brooke 25/30 HP – is just all about madness! A bizarre peace of art with its very special and FUN gadgets! Possibly the first concept car in the world! The car was built by JW Brooke and company in Lowestoft, England. It was a combination of both car and boat, which was what the Brooke’s manufactured. By the way it must have cost more than three times a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost…! By now it’s just priceless!
The special one-off vehicle was commissioned by the wealthy ‘mad hatter’ (Alice in Wonderland term) Robert Nicholl Matthewson from Scotland. The genius wasn’t bored when he placed the order for the swan car, but wanted to… Continue reading
It is unlikely that you will ever see a 2CV win ‘Best of Show’ at Pebble Beach, but the ugly duckling is for sure a French motoring icon! My parents love this car, especially the 2CV-van is something that brings a lot of good memories to them. Sadly I don’t know any of that because I wasn’t on this planet at that time. The ugly duckling, as it is typically called in Holland, doesn’t have the image of a very appealing car as emphasized by the word… ‘ugly’, but that might just be its power!
People, like my parents for instance, that know this car and have driven it know that this is a very special car and something that no other car can match. My dad can easily enumerate some advantages that the 2CV has… So, go ahead dad, tell us!
Well, here goes… Continue reading
Talking about one-off concept cars, this one-off Lamborghini Concept S – based on the Gallardo – is going to be auctioned! The Concept S is to be offered by RM Sotheby’s at its ‘Art Automobiles’ sale in Manhattan on the evening of 18 November. The unique Lambo is expected to fetch between 2.4 and 3 million US dollars. So, if you still have some millions in your old socks, take your chance because cars like this are rarely for sale! The private collector who has owned it must have been in a tidying-up mood, I suppose… Perhaps you now wonder, what about the CHB concept? Well this isn’t a classic yet, but obviously this one-off is going to be a very important part of the Lamborghini history if it isn’t already! So a promising classic for the future and CHB likes that!
However, like the Ghia Gilda, this concept was again more of a styling exercise than a vehicle for series production, so only 2 models were ever made. You will now think, do I read two… Continue reading
That opened the door to what came next. In the late 1940s, Ghia, one of Turin’s
oldest coachbuilders, had established a close working relationship with Chrysler in the US. That effort was led by Ghia design chief Mario Boano and commercial director Luigi Segre, but, not too long after the Conrero project entered the Ghia works, Boano had a serious row with Segre. Boano and his son, Gian Paolo, left Ghia to form their own carrozzeria, so Segre contacted Savonuzzi, and overnight G
hia had a new design and technical director. They organized a small production run using the shape created for Conrero, calling it the Supersonic. First used with spectacular effect on nine Fiat 8Vs, a one-off Aston and Jaguar followed.
Ghia’s next project was the… Continue reading
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