This car is equipped with a radiator grill built by Emile Tonneline, a small coachbuilder from Courbevoie. After WWII, it was fashionable to give an American look to your car and Tonneline sold many of these radiator grills. But what kind of car has been given this treatment?
Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
If the French city of Reims is known worldwide for hosting many of the largest champagne-producing houses, the City of Kings is also famous among the motorsport enthusiasts for being the setting for fourteen French Grand Prix.
The 12 hours of Reims was also an important event of the endurance calendar and being held usually one month after the Le Mans 24 hours, it was often considered as an antidote to the Le Mans classic.
Although the old pits buildings have been recently restored, this is a bygone era as the fast Reims circuit ceased its activities in 1969.
The old pits building and the grandstands along the finish straight which is a national road between the villages of Thillois and Gueux.
Nevertheless, Reims is still attracting automotive enthusiasts from France and the neighboring countries. Every March the “Salon Champenois du Véhicule de Collection” is held. It is a big gathering of brand clubs and sellers of everything relevant of the vintage car passion. With hundreds of stands and stalls, you can be sure to find the parts you need to start your restoration project, to complete your miniature car collection or to find the old book you have been searching for.
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