Albert Uderzo with his Ferrari 512M at Mas du Clos in the 1990s.
Story by Graham Gauld
Sixty years ago last December, the French became fascinated by a comic strip feature whose hero was Asterix the Gaul.
The comic strip was the work of René Goscinny, who came up with the story line, and Albert Uderzo, who was the artist who sketched out the great characters. This cartoon series was about a group of ancient French from the area of Gaul who were constantly fighting against the Romans. who had occupied France. But it was not just for kids.
Goscinny added contemporary political incidents of the 1960s into the narrative, so that adults were also attracted to the political satire. Two years later the first of their hard cover books hit the market and have been an annual best seller. The stories and books kept coming along, earning both a great deal of money.
So what has this got to do with cars?