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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Graham Gauld

Flajole was a Jag

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So that’s a Jaguar?

Story by Graham Gauld

I have often mentioned in the past the power of coincidence, and the other day I happened to be going through my Jaguar notes for a possible book, and was amazed to find that I seem to have bumped into all sorts of Jaguars fitted with special bodies in a variety of places.

What makes this slightly different from normal is that Jaguar were not well known as cars attractive to specialist coachbuilders, yet it is surprising just how many well-known companies have built special bodies on Jaguars in period. Amongst them are Pinin Farina, Ghia, Michelotti and Zagato.

Two Jaguars I wanted to talk about were one clothed in the style of Ghia in Turin and the other in the style of Bill Flajole of Detroit.

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The Fantastic Racecar of Francois Guidobaldi

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The Guidobaldi in 2015. Photo by Graham Gauld.

Story by Graham Gauld

Some years ago, in the Mougins Automobile Museum which, until its closure, was close to where I live in the South of France, I saw the chassis and engine of a racing car that I could not believe.

The owner of the museum and the car was Adrien Maeght*, a member of the Maeght family, who were prosperous frame makers catering to the art world in Paris. Adrien is also a keen car collector and he opened his museum right beside the main autoroute leading to Cannes and Nice.

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Archie Scott Brown, Remembered

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By Pete Vack
Photos by Graham Gauld

The story of Archie Scott Brown is incredible, unbelievable, astonishing, inspiring, heart rendering and finally, tragic; and in today’s world, such accomplishments would be totally impossible.

He was born on Friday the 13th of May, 1927 in Glasgow, Scotland, with no proper right forearm, “merely and elementary thumb and palm, which started below the elbow.” His tiny legs lacked a shinbone, and the legs were “radically twisted and bowed, and the club-feet were tiny, with no discernible toes.” The right foot was twisted outwards about 90 degrees, the left foot almost 180 degrees. Of the limbs, only the left arm and hand were normal. His mother had the German measles (rubella) during her pregnancy.*

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Albert Uderzo, Artist and Ferrari Enthusiast

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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?

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Allan McNish and the Ferrari 333 SP

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A Tom Schultz photo of Allan McNish at Daytona in 1999. Courtesy “Ferrari 333 SP” by Terry O’Neil. (Click to order book)

Story by Graham Gauld

I recently spent some time with Allan McNish, three time Le Mans winner (once for Porsche and twice with Audi) who also raced a Ferrari 333SP on two occasions, almost winning the 1999 Daytona 24 Hour race.

The What?

The Ferrari 333SP of the 1990s is a car that even Ferrari enthusiasts rarely talk about or even remember. Perhaps one reason is because of its exclusivity, namely a race car designed specifically and exclusively for the US market and the IMSA GT Championship of 1994. It was designed at Ferrari but the first cars were built by Dallara before Michelotto constructed a second series in 1997.

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Griffith Borgeson, Automotive Historian

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From the Archives, November 2015

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

[Lead photo: In 1995 the author persuaded Griff Borgeson to come to the Ferrari Club of France private test day at the Mas du Clos circuit.]

I think if you do not have someone to look up to and respect, there is no incentive to improve. When it came to motoring journalism there were a handful of people I respected, and one of the first to become a hero was American writer and historian Griffith Borgeson.

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Elegance and Automobile in Monte Carlo

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Story and photos by Graham Gauld

Those who have read any of my stories before will know that I have an interest in coachbuilding, and in particular the more flamboyant styles of the 1930s. As a result, when the Automobile Club of Monaco decided to bring back their traditional Concours d’Elegance (which first started in the 1920s), I just knew we would be faced with a coachbuilding extravaganza. [Read more…] about Elegance and Automobile in Monte Carlo

Niki Lauda Interview

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Story by Graham Gauld

Niki Lauda passed away just as we were going to press last week. Ironically, we were about to publish Graham Gauld’s 1993 interview with Lauda; his death made it even more relevant and we present it today as Graham wrote it a few years ago.

Niki’s Early Days

At a time when he is becoming one of the wise elder statesmen of Formula 1 in his role with Mercedes, it is perhaps appropriate to go back a while and think about how Lauda came from nothing to become one of the greatest racing drivers in the world.

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Minardi Day, Ecurie Ecosse Tour

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Story by Graham Gauld
Photos by Graham Gauld unless otherwise noted

April 28-May 11, 2019

May is always my busiest month, as it is usually when the Grand Prix Drivers Club hold their annual general meeting, the Monaco Grand Prix takes place, and the Ecurie Ecosse Tour, in which I am deeply involved, taking place one on top of the other and this year was a real toughie.

It included flying to Venice, then taking the train from there to Bologna, on to Imola for the GPDA affair. This event was linked in with the Historic Minardi Day at this Imola circuit (April 28) organized by Grand Prix Drivers Club honorary member Giancarlo Minardi. This year was special as it coincided with the 25th anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna. [Read more…] about Minardi Day, Ecurie Ecosse Tour

Italian Coachwork on Jaguar Chassis

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Story by Graham Gauld
Photos by Graham Gauld and Jonathan Sharp

As regular readers know, I have a great interest in coachbuilding. Though I believe the true high point in coachbuilding elegance was in the 1930s, I keep finding examples of post-war elegance that follow along the same lines. [Read more…] about Italian Coachwork on Jaguar Chassis

Avignon Motor Festival 2019

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Photos and text by Graham Gauld

I made my usual trip to Avignon last week (March 22-24) for the Avignon Motor Festival, which is similar to Retromobile in Paris, but even more eclectic with a group of buildings and open-air stands selling everything from rusty bits of unremarkable French cars to books, car models, and machinery.

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AISA Conferences and Monographs

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Story by Aldo Zana

Herein, Aldo Zana describes the functions of the AISA, (the Italian Association for the History of the Automobile), and discusses the recent conference on Jim Clark. Please consider joining the AISA, open to all serious automobile and motorcyle enthusiasts.

AISA General Description

The AISA (Associazione Italiana per la Storia dell’Automobile – Italian Association for the History of the Automobile) was established 1987 in Milan by a group of prominent Italian enthusiasts and experts of the motoring world, including executives, designers, engineers, university professors, historians and journalists. [Read more…] about AISA Conferences and Monographs

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