Austin A40 Sports
After the Second World War production of cars in Great Britain for the public only slowly got back up to speed. It was Austin who resumed production of their consumer cars after years of producing vehicles for the war effort. The first new post-war model appeared in 1947, the Austin A40. It was available as a Dorset, a two-door version, and the Devon, a 4 door model. Add a comment
Mille Miglia 2015
As some of you may know the Mille Miglia is possibly the world's most wonderful time trial; not just from a driver's perspective, but also from a spectator's point of view. Whilst the original Mille Miglia, which was last held at the end of the 1950s, was a true road race for sports cars, the current Mille Miglia revives the spirit of the original race. with the only cars being eligible to take part are those that took part in one of the races held from 1927 to 1957. This year's 'Mille Miglia Storica' happened from 14-17 May, like every year those fortunate enough to be able to drive an eligible sports car donned their overalls, reset their tripmeters and headed to Brescia to start their journey to Rome, and ultimately returned to Brescia. Here a selection of photos posted on social media over the last few days that caught our eyes.
Add a commentBooks: Sex, Drink and Fast Cars - Stephen Bayley
I am so fortunate to have several charity shops near where I live, with an excellent Oxfam providing me almost every Saturday with excellent consumption opportunities to the benefit of the less fortunate. Heaps of £1 books and vinyl records as well as nicely priced suits and analog camera bits and bops have made their way onto the already limited space I have available on my shelves. Thankfully, on some occasions Oxfam is also able to satisfy my motoring needs. This Saturday I came across a curiously titled book called 'Sex, Drink and Fast Cars'.
The Week That Was In A Couple Of Clicks #31
Readers! As I cannot, for the life of me, bring myself to post regular articles of some length and depth on here I have decided to take a little different approach to keep the blog going. In the 7 months since the last post I haven't given up on following the classic car world closely, on the contrary, perhaps I have followed it even more so. Point is, I now do it for a paid gig, and as such have little inspiration left for the blog at the weekends or evenings (hey, you know, there's other things in life than cars, or is there?). Solution? A weekly post listing all that I've come across and more, I know, it's the easy way out, ehm, or in. At least it will force me to stick to a deadline and produce something!
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Video: Porsche 911 onboard - East African Safari Classic
Winter is a good time to drive a rally, especially when the rally is held in November and called the 'East African Safari Classic'. At the end of November this year hordes of classic cars and owners/drivers flocked to Mombasa, Kenya to start the 9 day rally going through Kenya and Tanzania. Interestingly the rally saw the participation of a couple of rally legends from an earlier era; Stig Blomqvist and Björn Waldegård. Blomqvist failed to win, coming second in a Porsche 911, while Waldegård crashed out of the competition on day 3. Another high-profile competitor was seen in the shape of Pink Floyd drummer and car collector Nick Mason. Mason took part in a Nissan 240Z, but failed to make much of an impression and finished at the end of the pack after a couple of action-filled days. Surprising was perhaps the large number of Porsche 911s taking part. One such 911 was driven by Bernard Munster and co-driven by Johan Gitsels. Fortunately the car was kitted out with an onboard camera, of which you can see the result in the video above. A 36 minute video of a 911 tearing right through a beautiful piece of african Savanna, what's not to like?
Add a commentPhotography: Air Drive - Renaud Marion
We stumbled upon a selection of rather intriguing photos of French photographer Renaud Marion. 'Air Drive' is the appropriate name for the set of photos that includes a range of classic cars floating in the air. Clearly, it took a long time to photoshop the cars to absolute perfection; all cars have lost their wheels and had their wheel arches filled up. The original designers of the cars would probably have liked their cars to look like this, sleek and to the point. Disposing of wheels, those practical but, ultimately, aesthetically (not to mention aerodynamically) cumbersome and obstructive elements that automotive design has to accomodate for. On some cars the novel shapes, smooth as they are, create an inimitable sense of litheness. What has been created are, in a sense, the automotive equivalents of Aladdin's flying carpet. Simply put, the photographer has added a sense of fantasy to a practical good. Though, it is hardly a novel fantasy, flying cars have fascinated designers and artists alike for many years.
