The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
By Pete Vack
As we have reported earlier, Daniel Cabart and Gautam Sen have created the Ballot Bible, documenting the founder, the engineers, the heritage, the races and the cars. It is a huge work, with much new information, and in our three reports, we have barely scratched the surface. In this report we will describe the Ballot 2LS from Volume 1, and describe the scope of Volume 2. [Read more…] about Ballot Discussion Part 3
By Pete Vack
A significant portion of the new book, Ballot, is comprised of chapters by Karl Ludvigsen. In “The Technology of the Ballot Grand Prix Engines,” and probably for the first time in text, he provides a history of the early development of the racing straight eight engines (while acknowledging the importance of William M. Gardner’s Encyclopedia of Eights). [Read more…] about Ballot Discussion Part 2
Review by Pete Vack
Photos from the book with permissions, and by Jonathan Sharp
Ballot: A Review, a Discussion, an Enigma
With the publication of Ballot by Daniel Cabart and Gautam Sen, this obscure French marque is now honored with a classic, beautifully luxurious, extraordinarily illustrated, well-documented two-volume set that casts a great deal of light on Ernest Ballot, his company, and his cars. [Read more…] about Ballot Book Review
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.
By Graham Gauld
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.
When I bought my first motor racing book in 1951, it was one of the soft cover booklets produced by Fawcett in the U.S.A. It was about Hot Rods and written by Griffith Borgeson and Eugene Jaderquist. Perhaps it was his depth of knowledge or his command of English that turned my head, but I was a fan for many years and eventually met him here in the South of France.