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hugues vanhoolandt

Techno Classica Essen Part 1

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Mille Miglia participant in 1955 and 1956, this Fiat 1100/103 TV was the sports variant of the popular Fiat 1100.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

For the 35th time, the Techno Classica show was held in Essen, in the Ruhr Valley, in western Germany. Created in 1989, this show has become over the years the German equivalent of the Retromobile show in Paris or Auto Moto d’Epoca in Italy. Even larger than the Paris show, the Essen show contains fewer exceptional vehicles, with foreign dealers, particularly British ones, being less present. However, there are always interesting discoveries to be made there, and that’s what we’ll see below.

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Retro on the French Side

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Presented at the 1962 Paris Motor Show, this DS19 with its fully faired underbody presented the new front of the DS with its faired headlights. The DS Totem symbolized the avant-gardism of the Citroën brand and delighted photographers, thus helping to establish the model’s reputation.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Retro thoughts

Every year, at the same time, the world of classic and collector cars comes out of its lethargy for the event that opens the season. I am talking about the unmissable Rétromobile show in Paris.

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Italians and Others: Vanhoolandt

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Mercedes-Benz presented this 300 SL currently being restored by its Heritage department. It was delivered to New York in May 1955 and remained in the USA until 2011 when it joined a German collection. Now for sale again, it has been undergoing a complete restoration since April 2024 while reusing as many original parts as possible. The work is scheduled to be completed in autumn 2025.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Retro thoughts, continued

Another development is the rise in quality of the show, with several dealers, particularly British ones, presenting some of the most expensive cars on the market as well as major manufacturers who communicate about their past to better sell their current range. Moreover, Rétromobile has attracted at the same time auction houses that organize their auctions in prestigious places such as Bonhams at the Grand Palais or RM Sotheby’s at the Louvre Museum.

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Montlhéry Centennial Festival Part 2

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A Citroën DS 23 prepared for the rally in a chicane at Montlhéry where its hydropneumatic suspension works wonders!

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

We continue with post war racing at Montlhéry.

After the war, competitions gradually resumed with the main races being the 1000 Kilometers of Paris and the Coupes du Salon, organized in parallel with the Paris Motor Show and the entrants in the Centennial Festival reflected those events. In addition, there were concours shows which attracted more entrants and spectators.

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Goodwood Revival 2024, Vanhoolandt Part 1

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At the start of Saturday’s race reserved for professional drivers, Frank Stippler took the lead straight away in his 1965 Sprint GTA.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Having attended the Goodwood Revival many times over the years, one wonders each time how Lord March and his team will be able to surprise us again. But the quality of the demonstrations (Meyers Manx buggies, Jaguar XKs, D-Day parade, John Surtees Tribute) and the races mean that we come back for more each year, even if this one was greatly disrupted on Friday and Sunday morning by terrible weather. We will limit ourselves here to the tribute to John Surtees and the most emblematic races.

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Goodwood Revival 2024, Vanhoolandt Part 2

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For Friday practice, the track conditions were atrocious, as seen with John Spiers’ Maserati 250F, which would finish third in the Richmond & Gordon Trophies race.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

We continue with the race by race on track coverage of the Goodwood Revival.

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Hypercars at Le Mans, 2024

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Ferrari wins again!

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

If the 2023 centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was a great success due to the quality of the field and the victory of Ferrari for its return fifty years after its last official appearance in Sarthe, the 2024 edition promised to be just as grandiose. Indeed, eight major manufacturers were entered in the premier category, the Hypercars, Alpine, BMW and Lamborghini adding to the makes already present in 2023, namely Cadillac, Porsche, Ferrari, Toyota and Peugeot.

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2024 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Hypercar

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The third Ferrari 499P entered finished 8th overall and 3rd among the private teams.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Traditionally, the 6 Hours of Spa constitutes the last WEC event before the most important race of the year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which takes place a month later. This year is no exception, the Belgian race being already the third round of the 2024 World Endurance Championship.

Run in almost summer weather, it had a rather improbable outcome. Indeed, the race had to be interrupted after around 4 hours following a major accident involving a Hypercar, the Cadillac of Earl Bamber, and an LMGT3, the BMW of Sean Gelael.

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2024 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, LMGT3

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Victory in the LMGT3 category ultimately went to the Manthey Porsche, the #91. This is its first good result of the year, as the first two races went poorly.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

We continue with the Spa 6 Hour enduro, focusing on the LMGT3 class.

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Larry Perkins, August 4, 1932-April 26, 2024

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We have just learned that the irrepressible and multi-talented Larry Perkins passed away on April 26. Our sincere condolences to his wife Petra. We thought it fitting to republish this 2021 review/interview with Larry on the occasion of publishing his book Full Circle.

Review by Pete Vack
Full Circle: A Hands-on Affair with the First Ferrari GTO
Hardbound, 228 pages, Foreword by Denise McCluggage
ISBN 978-0578-97104-9
US $45
Order here: www.FullCircleFerrariGTO.com

Larry and Petra Perkins are no ordinary couple. They met while both were working at an aerospace company and began to share a life of travel, sailing, cycling; they married in 1991. Then one day Petra overheard Larry talking about a Ferrari GTO he raced at Sebring in the 1960s. She had attended one race there, and hoped it would be her last. It was the year of the scary fire in the pits; earlier in the day she remembered watching a red number 82 car go round and round and so asked Larry if he was at that race. Larry was taken aback.

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