Gijsbert-Paul Berk recently turned 85 years young. He has been our kind and generous mentor since his book, André Lefebvre and the cars he created for Voisin and Citroën was reviewed by us in 2010. His first article for VeloceToday was The 1923 French Grand Prix, in 2012, Part 1 of a massive 9 part series dealing with this epic race in depth.
What fascinates us most about Gijsbert-Paul, is that like all really great journalists, he is interested in the present and ponders the future, even while researching the past in depth. From 3D additive manufacturing to self-drive cars, he refuses to let history get in the way of absorbing the latest, constantly reminding us that we must stay abreast of industrial and automotive news although immersing ourselves in the distant past.
Below, he reports on the upcoming Rétromobile display of the 1905 Darracq V8 Record Car, and follows that up with the all-electric Neo concept car created by the Italian-Chinese collaboration of Icona and shown at the recent Festival Automobile International in Paris.
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Reports by Gijsbert-Paul Berk
The Past: 111 year-old record Car at Rétromobile
No body, no mudguards, no front brakes and with its bullet shaped petrol tank sitting on top of its flames spitting V8 engine.
This 1905 Darracq Land Speed Record Car was the first ever automobile to attain a speed of nearly 200 km/h.
Would you have dared to drive it that fast?
It was also the first car with a V8 engine. [Go ahead, check out Rolls-Royce. Ed.]
Pierre-Alexandre Darracq belonged to the select group of French pioneer car manufacturers. To stay ahead of their competitors in 1905 he asked his chief engineer Paul Ribeyrolles to design a car that would be faster than anything that existed at the time. Ribeyrolles knew how to do it.
He merged two four-cylinder blocks to form a OHV V8 engine with a cubic capacity of 1551 ci (25.42 liters) and capable of developing some 200 bhp. He mounted this big brute in a very light and relatively short chassis, based on that of the 1904 Darracq Record machine with which their driver Paul Baras, with a speed of 104.52mph (168.2 km/h) over the flying kilometer, had beaten the Gobron-Brillié of Louis Rigolly at Ostend (Belgium).
The new car (that never had a body or mudguards) made its debut in December 1905 on the Arles-Salon road in the south of France, where the well-known driver Victor Hémery set a new Land Speed Record with it at 108.59 mph. (174.76 km/h).
Shortly thereafter, the Darracq was hoisted on a boat headed for Florida, where it participated in the Daytona-Ormond Speed Trials of January 1906. There – after a short warming up – the young driver Victor Demogeot, who had been Hémery’s driving mechanic in many events, pushed the throttles wide open and with a the notice of a thunderstorm and spitting flames from its short exhaust pipes the big V8 rocketed the Darracq to the fasted time of the day, and a speed of 122.45 mph (197 km/h).
About ten years ago their began an extensive restoration on the car. Mark Walker, well known in vintage and veteran car circles, supervised this work. The 1905 Darracq Land Speed Record Car, that now looks exactly as it did 111 years ago, will be exhibited at the 2016 Rétromobile show (from 3 to 7 February) in Paris.
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And the Future…The Neo is really New
The international team at Icona’s styling studio in Chinghai was obviously inspired by the by the surrounding sky line. (Credits: Icona)
Icona, a promising Italian-Chinese design studio unveils an innovative
but realistic concept for small electric city car
After the take-over or disappearance of most of the once famous Italian design houses such as Bertone, Ghia, Italdesign and Pininfarina in recent times, many of us assumed that the great days of Italian design belonged to the past.
So it came as a pleasant surprise to discover at the Festival Automobile International 2016, which recently took place in Paris, the striking, all-electric Neo concept car developed by the Turin based design studio Icona. In fact the Neo is the third in a series of auto design concepts Icona has realized. The previous ones were the 2011 Fuselage and the 2013 Vulcan Titanium. These designs had a sporting image and both have been on display at the Pebble Beach Concourse.
One of the previous concept cars developed by Icona, the Vulcan Hybrid participated in the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Credits: Icona)
To be truthful the Neo concept has already been exhibited at Auto Shanghai in April 2015 and it is in fact not a 100 % Italian design. Its styling originated in Icona’s studio in the Lujiazui area of Shanghai and is, according to its French born design director Samuel Chuffart, inspired by the asymmetrical architecture with its spectacular high rise buildings that defines the modern Shanghai skyline. Including studio engineers, CAD and clay modeler, the Icona studio in Shanghai employs a team of 13 nationalities. In collaboration with its Italian-based partners Tecnocad Progetti and Cecomp, Icona can offer integrated designs.
The Icona design team responsible for the Neo concept consists of 13 nationalities. (Credits: Icona)
The Neo is a concept for a battery-electric urban vehicle that can seat four. The rear seat is an ottoman-style bench that curves around the left side, which has only a front door. At the right hand side there are two doors.
The Italian specialist firms Actua and Italtechnica developed Neo’s drivetrain. It consists of in-wheel electric motors, with in total 21 kW (28 hp). Doing away with a traditional engine layout gave the designers the freedom to develop a body with an optimal interior space in relation to its overall size. Despite a wheelbase of 2.20 m (7.2 ft.), a total length of 3.40 m (11 ft.), a height of 1.50 m (4.9 ft.) and width of 1.63 m (5.3 ft.), the Neo can comfortably seat four adults.
The Icona Neo has one door at the left hand side but two at the other side, one of them a ‘suicide door’ just like the previous Mini Clubman. (Credits: Icona)
With a total weight of 720 kg (1,587 lb), including the 130 kg (287 lb) electric drivetrain of which 90 kg (198 lb) for the battery pack, Icona claims that the Neo would have a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) and a city-based driving range of 150 km (93 miles).
Since they started six years ago with their studio in Shanghai, manufacturers – even well-established OEMs – are turning to Icona for help to develop products for the Chinese market.
“It often starts by being the third eye, an extra point of view”, says Chuffart. “Our clients are using our experience and knowledge to help them as an additional design resource and to build long-term focused strategies.”
He concludes: “Car manufacturing has become a global business and therefore you can’t ignore China if you’re going to design something appropriate for the world markets.”
Icona will not or cannot at this stage say which manufacturer is interested in producing a car like this Neo concept. So far its clients list in China, includes automakers such as FAW, the SAIC Group and Geely.