Classic & Sports Car May 2022

The influence on Volkswagen designer Dr Ferdinand Porsche of Henry Ford’s pioneering production lines is clear to see in this 1956 shot of the Wolfsburg plant in full swing (see p122). A little shy of 12m Beetles were built at the VW headquarters before production moved to South America to make way for the Golf, and to date more than 46m cars have emerged from the iconic plant founded in 1938. Today the factory covers an area of six square kilometres and employs more than 60,000 people to produce around 800,000 cars a year.…

After so many false dawns, I am reluctant to proclaim that the recent pandemic-induced troubles are behind us, but it has been exciting to see our news pages filling up as some of our favourite events return to the classic calendar. So congested has the past month been that we struggled to fit it all in with Rétromobile, Techno-Classica Essen, The Amelia, The ICE, plus some major British shows – and more on the cutting-room floor. Rétromobile is unmissable for me, and as I walked the halls it dawned that seeing so many old friends, in most cases for the first time in years, was even better than the show itself. A theme that will be repeated at events across 2022 is anniversaries, with so many high-profile cars marking important birthdays…

The largest-ever gathering of Gordini vehicles was appropriately staged at Rétromobile as the traditional season-opener finally returned to the French capital from 16-20 March. Appropriate because the equipe’s original workshops were once based across the road from the Parc des Expositions on Boulevard Victor. The site is now a hotel, but the reception area remains decked out in Gordini blue with several historic photographs. With many cars on loan from the famous Schlumpf collection – or Musée Nationale de l’Automobile – in Mulhouse, the group ranged from a cute 1937 Fiat Balilla 508S Special to Le Sorcier Amédée Gordini’s last Grand Prix sortie with the 1956 chassis 42. There was also a recreation of the Lancia 3RO team transporter, based on a Laffly chassis. Coincidentally, one of the stars of the…

1928 OMEGA SIX The sole surviving Omega Six was the star car with auctioneer Aguttes, displayed complete with its spare engine. This gorgeous-looking, short-chassis 1928 example with competition straight-six power has links to Hispano-Suiza and is believed to have been owned by Hellé Nice, the legendary exotic dancer who raced Bugattis and an Alfa Romeo 8C Monza. Coming out of long-term ownership, the Omega will be auctioned at the Aguttes sale to be held during Christophe Pund’s marvellous festival and hillclimb in Cassel, France, on 1 May. MW 1981 ALPINE A310 V6 A display from the Musée de la Gendarmerie Nationale featured everything from snowmobiles to a 1958 Alouette II helicopter. Representing the autoroute rapid-response team, the Brigades Rapides d’Intervention, were a 1966 Matra Djet and this glorious A310. One of 14 issued…

The ICE (International Concours of Elegance) St Moritz was created for drivers and spectators alike to enjoy the unlikely combination of beautiful classic cars and the hostile environment of a frozen lake. With bright sunshine, sub-zero temperatures and a snow-covered course, it all sounds like the perfect setting for a skijoring event, but not necessarily for a concours d’élégance featuring some of the world’s most valuable vehicles. Yet the COVIDdelayed second running of this unique event on 26 February once again proved to be completely magical, as machinery spanning 100 years of motoring gathered in the Swiss Alpine town. “After the ‘number zero’ edition in 2019, we had to wait three years to realise this dream again,” said The ICE founder Marco Makaus. “The idea was born 37 years ago, and the…

A new management team helped bring a breath of fresh air to the venerable VolksWorld show from 18-20 March. Sandown Park racecourse hosted the cream of modified Volkswagens from the UK, with a smattering of European visitors helping to kick off the VW season in sun-baked style. The main show space over two floors was crammed full of every member of the air-cooled family, from early Beetles to late buses and most variants in between… including Variants. For those venturing outside, there were Type 2 buses galore circling the Sandown winners’ enclosure in their colourful dozens. Club displays, cars for sale and trade stands all joined the party, too. There was great excitement when the thousands of visitors over the three days were treated to a glimpse of the original Greg Aronson…