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Marquis of Mystery Part 3

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Marquis Catalogue

By Roy Smith

Read Part 1

Read Part 2

Shattered Dreams
Unknown to all parties, Reed was being poorly advised by the men he had recruited to put the “Marquis”, the name they had given to the proposed fiber glass car, into production. A former Chief Design Engineer at Ford who had joined PlastiCar was not up to the mark, and he and his colleagues got off to a bad start. They found it difficult to full appreciate the concept of the rear-engine design which they would have on the Marquis, planned to be a direct copy of the Rédélé “Renault Special” which would be made after the Rogue.

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Marquis of Mystery: Dreams of Glass

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Announcing the Rogue.

In Part 1, Smith described the search for the elusive “Marquis” which resulted in the amazing barn find of the Rédélé Special Number 2 in Pennsylvania. Part 2 deals with an eager American businessman, Zark W. Reed, who had a plan for Jean Rédélé and his car. Above, the Rogue; was this design by French racing driver Louis Rosier really the “Marquis”? And what is the connection to Rédélé? Read on.

By Roy Smith

Dreams of Glass
1953 witnessed the first Chevrolet Corvette to roll off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan. The concept of an all-glass-fiber production sports car had just become a reality. Glass fiber had arrived on the scene many years before. In the 1880s a glass maker from Massachusetts by the name of Edward Drummond Libbey had first discovered that glass in fiber “staple” silk-like format could be woven as a fabric – he even had a dress made that was exhibited at the Chicago World Fair in 1893.

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Marquis of Mystery Part 1

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From the VeloceToday Archives, August 2012

A rare barn find in the States leads Roy Smith to Alpine’s Jean Rédélé, French Champion Louis Rosier, the post-war US sports car craze, Porsche champion Bob Holbert, and back to France for Retromobile, all in search of a car that never existed. An incredible story in three parts.

By Roy Smith

“The car belonged to my father, Raymond Buckwalter; he drove it for a while, and then parked it. I soon found out why he parked it when I wanted to drive the car for a few months in 1958. Every time I turned the motor off and left it for a while, the car wouldn’t start again without a push. This kind of thing you remember, believe me! I always parked in the same parking lot and the attendant always saved a spot for me. Five days a week they would push me to get it started. I guess my father figured I couldn’t go shopping unless I could find some kind person to push it a few feet, but as I was a young lady at the time, I always found some kind gentleman to give me a push. It was the battery; something was draining it. Rather than fix it my father liked to challenge me and he would often laugh at how I managed these small challenges. Now the memory of it makes me laugh – I can just imagine me in a parking lot at my age trying to get someone to give my car a push! When I went to get it painted in the late 90s we found traces of blue, so I assumed that was the original color.” —Mary Ann Wood

Photo of the strange French special taken by the Wood family in 2009.

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New Alpine Prototype Seen at Le Mans

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13a

By Gijsbert-Paul Berk

Shedding light on the Alpine rebirth

Just two hours before the start of this year’s 24 Hour of Le Mans, spectators got a surprise glimpse of a speeding blue sports coupé. It was the first public appearance of the new Alpine Celebration AS 1 (for Alpine Sport).

This appearance of the new Alpine was also a birthday party to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the company that made the name Alpine famous by producing small Renault-based and rally winning sports cars. [Read more…] about New Alpine Prototype Seen at Le Mans

Roy Smith at the NEC: An Old Friend Returns

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The A220 Apine 3 Liter Chassis 1731 at this year's NEC.

By Roy P. Smith
Color photos by Roy P. Smith
B&W photos courtesy Roy P. Smith and Veloce Publishing from Volume 1 of Alpine Renault- The Sports Prototypes.

November 14-16, 2014 was the scene of the now-enormous NEC Classic Motorshow in the UK. I was there of course and having been tipped off was not disappointed to see the Alpine A220 Chassis number 1731 on display, fully restored and in fully working order with Alpine specialist historian Tim Moores in attendance. Of course having written a book about these cars I knew well the vehicle in question and Tim had kept me informed of the recent happenings. As with all Alpine Sports Prototypes there is a story to tell, so here is a little bit about this one. [Read more…] about Roy Smith at the NEC: An Old Friend Returns

Retro Alpine Exhibition by Roy P. Smith

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One photo captures the excitement of the Alpine Display. Photo by Jonathan Sharp.

Roy Smith on Retro’s fabulous Alpine Renault exhibition
Photos by Roy P. Smith and Jonathan Sharp

One of the best qualified persons to write about this year’s Alpine Renault Exhibition at Retro is Roy P. Smith, author of four books on the complete history of the Alpine saga, from the 4CV to the F1 Turbo cars. We asked Roy to do a bit about this remarkable display while he was at the show and from Retro, Smith turned in this equally remarkable story.

How great to see part of the private collection of rare Alpine Renaults of Jean-Charles Rédélé, son of Alpine’s founder Jean Rédélé, on display at this year’s Retro! Rarely seen in public all together, this was a show coup, ably organized by Hervé Charbonneaux under his Rally Story banner.
[Read more…] about Retro Alpine Exhibition by Roy P. Smith

The Ultimate Alpine Recreation

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ultimate alpine

For passion and fun…Entent Cordiale

By Roy Smith
Photos © Roy Smith /John Wheeler/SAMCMOORE

At first glance you might think, “That’s a nicely restored A110 berlinette – Group 5 perhaps– certainly looks interesting.” Then you hear the figures from its owner; max power DIN HP 359.8, max torque DIN 325(441 Nms), weight 698Kg, and you’re forgiven for thinking, “WOW!” Then “Impossible! No berlinette A110 ever saw those figures!”

You would be right. It’s not an A110 berlinette, but unless you are a died-in-the-wool purist, unsettled by those who dare to look into the future of what might have been had Renault extended the life of the A110 model, you will find this fabulous recreation not only a true work of art and engineering perfection but, like its ancestors, one of the most beautiful shapes ever created for a motor car, and a worthy contender to extend the name of Alpine in the current world of the super-car aficionados.

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Marquis of Mystery Part 2: Dreams of Glass

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Rogue-Catalogue

In Part 1, Barn Find, Smith described the search for the elusive “Marquis” which resulted in the amazing barn find of the Rédélé Special Number 2 in Pennsylvania. Part 2 deals with an eager American businessman, Zark W. Reed, who had a plan for Jean Rédélé and his car. Above, the Rogue; was this design by French racing driver Louis Rosier really the “Marquis”? And what is the connection to Rédélé? Read on.

By Roy Smith

Dreams of Glass
1953 witnessed the first Chevrolet Corvette to roll off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan. The concept of an all-glass-fiber production sports car had just become a reality. Glass fiber had arrived on the scene many years before. In the 1880s a glass maker from Massachusetts by the name of Edward Drummond Libbey had first discovered that glass in fiber “staple” silk-like format could be woven as a fabric – he even had a dress made that was exhibited at the Chicago World Fair in 1893.
[Read more…] about Marquis of Mystery Part 2: Dreams of Glass

Marquis of Mystery: Barn Find

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A rare barn find in the States leads Roy Smith to Alpine’s Jean Rédélé, French Champion Louis Rosier, the post-war US sports car craze, Porsche champion Bob Hobert, and back to France for Retromobile, all in search of a car that never existed. An incredible story in three parts.

By Roy Smith

Barn Find

“The car belonged to my father, Raymond Buckwalter; he drove it for a while, and then parked it. I soon found out why he parked it when I wanted to drive the car for a few months in 1958. Every time I turned the motor off and left it for a while, the car wouldn’t start again without a push. This kind of thing you remember, believe me! I always parked in the same parking lot and the attendant always saved a spot for me. Five days a week they would push me to get it started. I guess my father figured I couldn’t go shopping unless I could find some kind person to push it a few feet, but as I was a young lady at the time, I always found some kind gentleman to give me a push. It was the battery; something was draining it. Rather than fix it my father liked to challenge me and he would often laugh at how I managed these small challenges. Now the memory of it makes me laugh – I can just imagine me in a parking lot at my age trying to get someone to give my car a push! When I went to get it painted in the late 90s we found traces of blue, so I assumed that was the original color.” —Mary Ann Wood

Redele Found-in-a-barn

Photo of the strange French special taken by the Wood family in 2009.

[Read more…] about Marquis of Mystery: Barn Find

Gauld on the Valescure Concours, French Riviera

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Alpine-A110

Christine Dacremont with the pink Alpine 110 she used to race and rally.

By Graham Gauld

Every August I am asked to judge a Concours held at the Valescure Golf Club just behind St. Raphael in the South of France. There is no entry fee and the cars are lined up on the 18th fairway for all to see.

Being a French event, there was a class for Renault Alpines and there was a raft of the factory racing cars including one of the long-tail 1967 Le Mans cars that had been raced at Le Mans. [Read more…] about Gauld on the Valescure Concours, French Riviera

Roy Smith: A Good Go

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Alpine Renault author Roy Smith has had a go at all the fine and fun things in life

The Alpine that launched a series of books. Roy Smith gets drive in a ex-works Tour de Corse car in 1983.

By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy Roy Smith

Roy Smith has given the motoring world three very special, often brilliant, and thoroughly delightful books about Alpine and Renault in the space of the same number of years. That’s an amazing feat, his works are well researched, with hundreds of photos, first person interviews, diagrams, and fresh new information about a rare subject. There is no doubt they are landmark books on the subject of Alpine Renault. And if that’s not enough, his latest work on Gordini is due out in 2011. [Read more…] about Roy Smith: A Good Go

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