Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
At the end of January 2024, should you have been in the lucky position to be wanting to buy an old Ferrari, then Retromobile Hall One, where the dealers can be found, was the place to be.
The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
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Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
At Retromobile, it is often the Italian stars such as Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia or Lamborghini that generally occupy the most spectacular stands, which are those of major British dealers such as Fiskens, Girardo or Kidston. French cars are often less in the spotlight even if Bugattis or certain Delahayes can also reach unreasonable prices. But it is sometimes on small stands of brand clubs that less emblematic but perhaps more authentic cars are found. Let’s see here what Rétromobile offered us, on the French side.
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Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
The Linas-Montlhéry Autodrome, near Paris, celebrates its centenary at Rétromobile, 2024.
At the end of the First World War, the question arose as to where and when France would have its first permanent automobile circuit. The answer came in 1924 when an industrialist named Alexandre Lamblin began building a speedway in Montlhéry, south of Paris, which had one astonishing characteristic: in places, its banking was too steep to stand upright on. A 12 kilometer road circuit was quickly added to the speed ring, which would become a favorite with French manufacturers and drivers.
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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
With train strikes (again!) at home in the U.K., I was beginning to think that I would not make it to Paris this year. Then the French farmers decided to blockade the roads around Paris it was looking likely that if I did get Retromobile, I would find the exhibition halls empty, with all the delectable cars I had come to see stuck behind the farmer’s straw bale barriers.
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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Yes, we’ll get to covering all the Italians etc, at the Birmingham show below, but I really have to relate this tale first. I think I first saw a photograph of ‘The Beast” as it is called back in the 1970s in my weekly comic/magazine Speed and Power but I had not seen it in the flesh until I visited this year’s Classic Car show at Birmingham’s NEC, (10-12 November)now called the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show. If you are reading this in the UK then you may remember the court case concerning the car back in the 1980s but first a bit of history. The info below was mostly taken from an article from
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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
I only popped into the RM/Sotheby’s London auction just to have a quick look around and perhaps grab a coffee. It was never in my remit to take any photographs of the auction; my visit to London was just to cover the St James’s concours adjacent to the auction but you know what us photographers are like!
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Chowder Society Breaks Bread with Tesla: Tradition and Revolution Had a Great First Date
© Philippe H. Defechereux 2018
All photos by P. H. Defechereux except where otherwise noted
From the Archives, February 2018
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 13, 2018, there took place a ‘”first date” in Manhattan, NY. between two seemingly improbable parties: the venerable but still vigorous and lively Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society (M.A.S.C.D.C.S.), turning 61 in March; and Tesla Motors Inc., still wet-behind-the-ears at only 15. Intriguingly, nothing was inappropriate about that pre-Valentine first meet luncheon. [Read more…] about Musk, Madison Avenue and the Moon
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Story and photos by Vince Johnson
Perfect South Australian spring weather greeted teams, officials and spectators for the 2023 Shannons Adelaide Rally. As last year, the capital was already in motorsport mode with preparations for the following weekend’s V8 Supercars races on the city’s street circuit. The rally cars had more room to move, heading out each day to closed road stages in the surrounding hills.
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Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Organized for the 44th time, the Epoqu’Auto show in Lyon has experienced uninterrupted growth in recent years to reach a surface area of 80,000 m2 and 850 exhibitors. As every year, different themes are offered to the 95,000 visitors: Peugeot, Talbot, Cadillac but also the rally exhibition and the auction. What also gives this provincial show its charm are the numerous brand clubs presenting vehicles rarely seen elsewhere, in contrast to Retromobile in Paris where there are many more car dealers, which makes Paris a more commercial show.
Now let’s see what was shown in terms of Talbot and Peugeot.
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Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
We continue with more French and Italian makes at the Epoqu’Auto, Lyon.
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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
To people of a certain age the London to Brighton Veteran Car run is still known as ‘the old croc’s race’ (that will be me then!) but for the one thing, it is definitely not a race but a run to celebrate the passing of the “Locomotives on the Highway Act” which came into force at midnight on the 14th November 1896, which raised the speed limit for light Locomotives (horseless carriages) from 4 mph to 14 mph (but lowered to 12 mph before the act came into force), and abolished the requirement for the Locomotive to be proceeded by a man on foot.
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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny and living in Brighton means I can cover the finish and do not need to get up before the birds to make the 7am start. This year I decided to photograph some of the entrants on the outskirts of Brighton so positioned myself initially by the major junction of the A23 London road and A27 Worthing road. I thought my timing was perfect as I had just parked the car when two entrants came passed but then nothing for the next half an hour! By about midday the stream of entrants was pretty steady so before moving onto the sea front I took some more shots between the roundabout and the Black Lion Pub (if you know the area then you will know where I mean).