VOL. 3 | NO: 10 | SPRING 2023 €12.90 —_———— THEME: ELEGANCE See s Stylish Shows _ Great # Occasions Sige Goachbullt = seo : : Italian Job A Dress ForCrecente — AVC— Oe ae LS OES Obs 1923 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8 Open Tourer by Paul Osiruk SE tae ee eaten eee eet eee eee en eee Perera eee! cary Pa eee a eee eee eae Tor + Great condition and ready to be criven eee eg aT Pest ere aCe See A Mc UP AN eared 1901 De Dion Bouton Type G ‘Barrel Sided’ Tourer by Barker Nietorel Par ee) ecm eri ay ue Pea eager loans Sit use + The most sought after Twenty coachwork Sel eee ae ees Ce acd foe eres pers oie ae one Pe eee oe peer Cates) = ee ee ee end Ste eet ae ete en erry cad AUTO VETERAN COMPANY SURE SESIOCE IES A Clee tener neisslein rises) ete romeo ey +44 7810 674542 / +420 720 576 230 CWCMaKe) Editor's Letter. Dear Readers, THIS IS OUR 10TH ISSUE - publishing a paper magazine continues to be a challenge, but your support and great feedback are really helping us. ‘As you know, we have chosen to follow a subscriber model, rather than depending on advertising to support the magazine. This allows us to give you the maximum content in each issue, rather than searching for the stories hidden between pages of ads. Our goal is to increase our subscriber base by 20 new subscribers each issue. Please see our new Subscription Page in this issue and feel free to share digital examples of ‘our stories with your friends and other collectors. Thank you. ELEGANCE ‘Our central theme in this issue is “Elegance,” and we have many excep- tional articles. | would like to draw your attention in particular to Peter Moss, who considers the development of elegance in car design culmi- nating in the cars of the late 1930s; Dennis Adler's story about silent film star Rudolph Valentino's Voisin; and our cover story on the rare British marque Gordon-Keeble, | spent a very enjoyable day with Roy Dowding and his Gordon-Keeble #94, COLLECTOR'S PLAZA Our Collectors’ Plaza column buzzes with great examples from the col- lections of Lane Motor Museum, Metropole Druten, Sammiung K, and Central Garage. We also have a very interesting - and rare ~ Zust courtesy of Classic Motorcars Holland and a Horch 853 which is part of Auto Veteran Company's portfolio, Dr. Pal Négyesi IN MEMORY OF MATHIAS TORSA It is with heavy heart that we announce the early and untimely death of my friend Mathias Torsa at the age of 46, Mathias was the co-founder with me of Rare & Unique Vehicles magazine, A Hungarian-born graphic designer and art director, he created the first layout of the magazine and helped establish the special look of our magazine.AN OPENING + Continental Mark IT Convertible Editor's letter 3 Table of Contents 4 Book Reviews 8 Preview 146 SPECIAL THEME: EYoy Vo Table of Content The Story of Bohmerland * Proud To Be Czech ELEGANCE THE ROAD TO ELEGANCE How The Concept of Elegance Evolved Peter Moss ROYAL CLOTHES, The Story of Utermuhle Eric Eckermann ‘THE GREAT LOVER'S TRUE LOVE Rudolph Valentino's 1923 Avions Voisin Sporting Victoria Dennis Adler STYLISH SHOWS, ‘The Story of Concours d'Elegance Gautam Sen ADRESS FOR GREAT OCCASSIONS Lancia Artena Coupe de Villa by Cesare Sala, 1933 Federico Signorelli 12 22 32 38 48 SUCCESSFUL POSTWAR DESIGNS Delahaye 135 Dubos “Gascogne” Martin Waltz —Corentin Lallet AN OPENING Continental Mark II Convertible by Hess & Eisenhardt Rich Truesdell SPEEDY TORTOISE Gordon-Keeble IT Dr Pal Négyesi ‘COACHBUILT ITALIAN 308, Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Frua Cabriolet Stefan Dierkes (ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THI GROSSGLOCKNER Fillafer GTP-13. Alexander W Trimmel 56 64 72 82 92Te Vol. 3. No. 10 (Spring 2023) SPEEDY TORTOISE + Gordon-Keeble IT oboe ae etael Associate Editor: David Cooper Contributing Editor Tory Pasian Art Director Nicole Krohn Website Design: Mathias Tors t Contributors: Dennis ale Stefan Dierkes Erie Eckermann.Corentin Lal, Derek E Moore, Peter Moss, COACHBULLT Frederik E Scherer, Gautam Sen, ITALIAN JOB Federico Signorelli, Alexander W. * Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Frua ‘ Timea, Rich Tresdel Matin Waltz fons: Mate Boer Bonhams {Gabor Mayer [Hyman Ltd, Roy D Query andarchive recite: Wotgang Buchta, anil SrCCRSGETT Cabart, Jonathan Day (ational Motor Muzeum, Ray Dowding, Dieter Dresea POSTWAR, Nxander Far, Janice Feskett pees, [stitirme Colecton) Ken Gross, Libor + Delahaye 135 iss, Laurens & Morris Klin (Prewarcar, Dubos Jan Kral Jf Lane Lane Motor ‘Gascogne” Museum vo Srutry (AVC). 2aresay Vrabec (ave) Rare & Unique Vehicles published quarterly COLLECTORS PLAZA 15SN'2709-6503 _printversion oP OF THE LINE 1SSN2709-8811 one version Mercedes-Benz 710 SS Cabriolet Publched by Central Garage 102 ceouto GmbH, Comisongesse 72 RACING To SUCCESS Vienna, Austra, 1090 Tel 145664 885 60677 1906 Zust 28/45 Spider Corsa “Targa Florio" Cputnewcenceseamat com Classic Motorcars Holland 108 Website: ceautoat TINY BIT OF HOPE Editorial enquiries and lota 350 Sports peers Lane Mator Museum a4 Pal Negas atthe acess above OPPOSED CYLINDERS Ema preavesiaceautoat Benz Mylord, 1897 Advertisement enquities to: Sammlung K 120 Boglrka Nemeth TIME CAPSULE FROM THE NORTH Emat nemathbe7aG9ma com Horch 853 Sport Cabriolet, 1937 Auto Veteran Co. 126 Tonner Teeandunigusmads BORN To RACE SSE Tate Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina Spider, 1953, eee jon omtctetond by Scaglietti Ieoroducton set frbeien Metropole Druten Museum 132 Tvs enesacy contre SPIN THE GLOBE ete eas eee! ‘THE STORY OF BOHMERLAND. Taretat cherwas ef contra. Jan Némec: Proud To Be Czech 138AROUND THE WORLD MUSTANG SCULPTURE GOES ON DISPLAY IN HUNGARIAN CAR MUSEUM. To celebrate the life of Hungarian- bom sculptor and illustrator Charles, Keresztes who designed the legen. dary running pony logo of the Ford Mustang, Prof. Géza Kaali comissioned a mustang sculpture to be shown in his private museum in Dérg Hungary. It tookJénos Barta, a Hunga- rian sculptor, over 400 hours to build the 15-meter-long artwork, which features many Mustang parts inclu- ding a piston as the heart. Even its rotatable pedestal was created from Mustang parts by restorer Péter Nagy. LAMBORGHINI MUSEUM IS REDESIGNED FOR COMPANY'S 60TH ANNIVERSARY In late January a revamped Lamborghini Museum has opened its doors to show off over a half- century of supercar evolution. Anew exhibit called The Future Began In 1963 specifically high: lights the birth and evolution of the company, highlighting mile- stones and significant vehicles through the years, THE VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART HOUSES CAR EXHIBITION (Opulence and innovation are on display at the Vero Beach Museum of Art in Florida. Titled Rolling Sculpture: Streamlined Art Deco Automobiles and Motorcycles, it features 22 rare automobiles and two motorcycles, most from the 1930s, on loan from private collectors ‘The exhibition was curated by our t the first time cars are shown and museums. friend Ken Gross. tis AUTOMOTIVE HALL OF FAME TO INDUCT HONDA CO-FOUNDER TAK! (On July 20, 2023, officials will induct Honda Motor Co co-founder Takeo Fujisawa into the Automotive Hall of Fame at Michigan's The Fillmore Detroit, In 1989, Fujisawa’s long-time bust EO FUJISAWA, Soichiro Honda became the first Japanese automotive executive to earn a spot at the Dearborn, Michigan-based hall of fame. Fujisawa’s induction will honor everything the pair accomplished ness partner and Honda founder ROLLI AEUte In an art museum: back in 1951, curator Arthur Drexler first referred to the cars as “hollow rolling sculpture" at a showat the Museum of Modern Art, 6 together. NG SCULPTURE ry 28 - April 30, 2023STEP INTO THE HISTORY OF DUTCH DESIGN wy ie oan bi 3 aide eee cee Ae eae ey op rea TR) eae ase cele a eh ea ele aa ea LOUWM: MU Seen Meee RN PRM are elie al eon ieee te el ae ea Naren nee at ecole Neca are tac}PERFECTIONISM AT SPEED. It hasn't always been obvious how much influence the organization of a team would have on the suc cess oF failure in racing. Alfred Moss (Stirling's father), Ken Gregory {Stirling's manager), and mechanic Tony Robinson were among those whe revolutionized the habits on and off the track. Their "British Racing Partnership" (BRP), founded in 1958, set standards: "We believed not only that a car should be me- chanically perfect but that it should appear on the circuit immaculate, recalled Gregory in 1960." Author lan Wagstaff points out: “Within eight short years [BRP] would build a race-winning Formula 1 car, would send two cars to compete in the Indianapolis 500, and would be involved in one of the most reported accidents in motor racing history.” Sponsoring was another first for BRP, whose light “Meadow Green" hue would be seen in sportscar racing as well. This is the first in depth account, including great photos (many in large format), reproductions of archives, a sub: stantial appendix, bibliography, and index. Highly recommended. Fs n Wagstaff: Formula 1's Unsung Pioneers EVRO, 304 pages, 325images, InEnglish,ca.70 CEP 'SBN 978-1910505-72-4 5 Books A selection of book offerings ae re Ses Frederik E. Sch rena rT Ford GT40 UNTOLD STORIES Nobody would have needed an- other Ford GT40 book, acknow: ledge authors John Allen and Graham Endeacott. Instead, they have chosen to compile an antho. logy with stories of provenance, of legends, of mythbusting, and of myths being perpetuated. Have you ever heard of a certain Ken Miles living in an abandoned schoolbus somewhere in Wisconsin because his deadly accident was in fact not so deadly? Probably not. But you may have wondered what the much-quoted “FIA Appendix J” really contained to justify the cre- ation of the "J-Car” and the Mk IV. These 32 chapters of GT40 memo rabilia don't get boring, and you are free to read them selectively. There is, apart from the lack of referenc- ing, a downside: More attention should have been given to typo: graphy and readability - especially when considering the price. Fs John s. Allen, Graham Endeacott: Ford G140 Anthology \Veloce,320 pages, $00 images, in English, 60GB, ISBN 978.1-78715-76-7 GLAS V8 THE ITALO- BAVARIAN The small factory of Hans Glas in Dingotfing (Bavaria) produced the Goggomobil microcar before creating GLAS as a passenger car brand. The 2600/3000 V8 became the third model to wear a body designed and produced by Pietro Frua, while the engine was com- pletely homemade. Elegant, yet reasonably priced, the V8 caused astir at the Frankfurt IAA in 1965, Unfortunately, GLAS was absorbed by BMW the following year, so only NB V8 were produced between July 1966 and May 1968. GLAS club president Uwe Gusen and Frua specialist Stefan Dierkes have writ- ten a comprehensive history, shed. ding light on aspects that have never been treated before. The information contained in the “buyer's guide” seems common- place to some extent ~ but that's ‘only one of the minor shortcomings that a professional editing would have prevented. Overall, this book Is of exceptionally good quality for a club’s publication, including the printing and binding quality. Itelevates the GLAS V8 from a mere foatnote to the higher level it deserves! Fs Uwe Gusen, Stefan Dierkes: Glas V8 und BMW Glas V8 GLAS Automobilelub International eV, 288 pages, ca. 380 images, in German, 3990 Euros, wwwalasctubdeMaserati BRICKS OF TRIDENT FAME No, this is not just another Maserati book. “Through this study we would like to debunk imaginary interpretations and reconstructions about the place where the legend- ary car factory was born,” writes Francisco Giordano. Being an architect, he tracks down the places of Maserati’s early history in Bo- logna beginning in 1914 at Via de’ Pepoli 1A, where, on the occasion of the marque's centenary, a com- memorative marble plaque was fixed - to the wrong facade. Giordano, though, is able to prove which building really corresponds to the (historic) address. He has dug deep in the archives and presents documents, building plans, and other material. Of course he doesn't forget to explain the origins of the trident symbol and to recount some anecdotes. A general map would have been helpful, and a better layout would have eased the reading; having said that, the English version is full of linguistic oddities, and especially some trans- lations of official documents are almost incomprehensible. interest ing, yet laborious. FS Francisco Giordano: Maserati of Bologna Persian Ecitore,144 pages, ca. 165 images, in English 18.41 Euros, ISBN 979-8426144059 NZ Ny Breadvan METAMORPHOSES, Count Volpi di Misurata, owner of the Scuderia Serenissima racing team, had been a faithful Ferrari customer. However, Enzo suddenly considered him a “traitor,” refus- ing to sell him one of his 250 GTOs. Consequently, Volpi asked Giot- to Bizzarrini to redesign his 250 GT ‘SWB #2819GT, and so the famous “Breadvan’ was born. It'sa story “mired in conjecture or mistruths;” according to Richard Heseltine, whe adds later on that "the precise chronology of who did what is far from linear. tall depends on whose version of history you believe” The author tries to disentangle it all, from the car's origins to what even- tually became of it. A chapter on Gunter Sachs and the other “Glitterati” (by Nicola von Dénhoff) is a real highlight, but apart from that, the book is designed and written in a rather conventional manner. While itis mentioned that “Rebel Rebel Breadvan" by Marc Sonnery (2009) has served as a starting point, there is no further referencing or an appendix, but it is a good read at a reasonable price. Fs Richard Heseltine: Breadvan. A Ferrari to Beat the GTO Porter Press, 224 pages, ca.220imeges, in English, ca. 40 GBP, ISBN 978-1-907085-56-9 RTA eee Mahy Collection HOARDING CARS Atone point, Ghislain Mahy had amassed about 1000 cars. The Belgian car dealer became a collec- tor early in the 1950s together with his son Yvan. Today, one part of his collection forms the bulk of, "Auto World” in Brussels, and an- other is displayed at the family's "Mahymobiles” museum. The romanticizing photos in this book give an insight to the eclectic reserve collection, where "the ‘only sound is provided by the slow drip-drip of a leak in the roof.” Aselection of cars are presented through studio photos, from unique Delahayes to rather trivial mass-produced gems, each com- plemented with a short text. Some cars could serve asa reference, but it is sad to see thata lot of them must have been in rather good shape when they arrived and are now "beyond preservation." As the reader also finds out, Yvan Mahy ‘ended up on bad terms with his son Michel, now caretaker of the collection, whose "life's goal is to preserve this collection in the best possible condition for future generations.” Maybe he should start by fixing that leaky roof. Fs Michel Mahy, Wouter Rawoens: Mahy. A Family of Cars Lannoo, 272 peges,ca.210images, ingnglish,3999 Euros, ISBN 975-9401495257(er inom Auto Union CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE In 1937, a delegation of the German ‘Auto Company traveled to the USA: They wanted to study American production methods, which they considered to be the international standard. The first half of this book contains the internal report issued after the trip, which “expressed above all the effort to see beyond one’s own hat-brim horizon’ as Peter Kkirchberg puts it in his fore- word. For “quality reasons,” only a few pictures could be reproduced, and since the report was written by technicians, itis not entertaining, but amusing at times. Also, some conclusions are interesting, e.g. that they considered Packard to be “a decidedly backward and out dated company” —which it was. ‘The second half of the book is dedi- cated to another internal report from 1941, when Werner Jansen, head of the export department, analyzed the "state of the art” in automobile production based on American sales brochures. This time, the pictures could be repro- duced entirely, German-speaking automotive historians with a pen- chant for the interwar years will enjoy the read Fs Peter kirchberg, Detlef Neumann: Die Amerikaner und wir -Tiefgang ‘Ausgabe 1, August Horch Museum, 160 pages, ca, 195 images, in German, 1S Euros, ‘wwwihorch-museum de 0 EI ane} Books Being Human WHAT DRIVING CAN TELL US Though Rare & Unique Vehicles magazine readers are car fans, ‘most of us shun philosophical questions about driving. Author Matthew B. Crawford, a serious en- thusiast in our sense of the word, argues that our “ornery passion for driving" gives us a perspective that may be necessary to counter the removal of the human element from every human activity by falsely claiming goals of safety, comfort, efficiency, and environmentalism, ‘especially when these terms mask revenue enhancement. The very act of driving well, he proposes, i luminates broader questions about the uneasy relationship between human agency and voluntary co- operation between people on the ‘one hand, and the growing tech- nocratic governance of mobility in our society on the other. As case studies, Crawford considers vari ‘ous subcultures: hot rods, motor sports, and even World War | pilots, contrasted with a discussion of self- driving and autonomous vehicles and traffic regulation. This isa val- uable argument that builds upon Crawford's earlier book "Shap Class, as Souleraft.” be Matthew 8. Crawford: ‘Why We Drive: ‘Towards a Philosophy of the Open Road william Morrow, 360 pages, in English, $15.99 (hardcover) ISBN 978-0062741967 Jézef Botek STEAM CAR PIONEER Engineer Jozef Bozek (1782-1835) is largely forgotten, especially in his native Poland, Piotr Pluskowski tells about his life and achieve ments, the most important of which was certainly the construction of a steam vehicle in 1815, today considered to be the first recrea- tional passenger car. Two years later he built a boat with the same drive, About 20% of the book is devoted to these early automotive ‘endeavors; but Bozek was a prolific inventor, spending a signi- ficant part of his life on the con struction of clocks and their mech- anisms. Also, he built prosthetic arms and lags for war invalids, ob- tained a high-ranking position at the polytechnic institute in Warsaw, and even dealt with poetry. There are not many photos in the book; most of them refer to Bozek him- self or the places where he lived, while others show some of his machines and tools, both then and now. So far, there have been several publications about Bozek. This book describes all of his achieve- ments in a bit more detail and ina broader context. Lk Plott Pluskowski: ‘Jézef Bodek Fakty i supozycje Drukarnia Poligraficana *Drukfactory.” 178 pages, ca. 280 pictures, in Polish, ca.17 Euros, pluskowski-cieszyn@Qwppl, ISBN 978-85-946532-9-5Are you eccentric enough? From plaii n Jane to Butterflies and Roses, no matter what you're looking for, you will find it at Online magazines and marketplaces for classic car enthusiasts worldwide Eorevocorsenscae Dorrenrea(G ores otccopenarcrcon orcnoparnarasicc +31 621276908THE LINE OF GRACETHE LINE OF GRACE a fol}THE LINE OF GRACE Elegance DEFINING ELEGANCE Elegance is a difficult concept to explain — but two words spring tothe fore: simplicity and proportion. In architecture, clegance often derives from the proportions ofthe Golden Mean (@ medium between extremes, expressed mathema- tically asa width-to-height ratio of 1.6180 to 1), when itis, applied simply without unnecessary embellishment. Ina motorcar, the shapes may be different, but elegance is also achieved from attention to proportion and simplicity ~ and from another element that creates beauty in the curves of coachwork: the line of grace. This later property was defined by William Hogarth as early as 1753, but its first true application to motorear design was in the 1930s. >A nine- teenth-century Brougham — perhaps one of the most elegant siples of the period. A sixteenth-century Hungarian ‘kocsi szekér’ (coach). IN THE BEGINNING ... As soon as humanity moved from mere survival to some form of civilization, the desire arose for objects of beauty: graceful clothing; stylish works of art; finely decorated artifacts, from jewelry to weapons. And as humankind found ‘ways to move on wheels —at first drawn by animals ~ they soon craved beauty in all forms of transport. The Egyptian chariot and the medieval carriage showed the first signs of embellishment in color, fittings, and form. Elegance had. spread from the person to the vehicle. Coachbuilding as a profession can be traced to around 1450 in Hungary, when wheelwrights from the village of Koes began building coaches with a unique feature ~ steel-spring suspension. This vehicle beeame known as the “eart of Koes” (koesi szeker). The name was perpetuated in many languages, from coach in English to Kutsche in German. The first authentic picture of a Hungarian coach from 1568 shows a remarkable feature: a stylish (although pethaps not yet elegant) sweeping curvature to the top of the body. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the most refined carriages continued this use of sweeping curves ~a classic example being the Brougham, popular from the early 19th century. The best designs combined those essential elements of simplicity and beautifully judged proportions, RARE UNIQUE VEHICLES | VOL | ISSUE10THE LINE OF GRACE Elegance LOSING THE HORSE The delightful combination ofan elegant carriage and one ‘or more purebred horses was truly a sight to see in the 19th, century. But the advent of motorized transport not only lost also gained some very awkward solutions er that be equine style — for achieving the replacement motive power, whethy gasoline, steam, or electricity. The had few positive eonnotations, Perhaps the most elegant early motorcars were those light ‘machines that replaced the one- or two-person horse-drawn carriage. They preserved the agility of their predecessors, so long as they were able to tuck the new motive power discreetly below the coachwork. But these light cars were in the main no more than experi- ‘mental playthings for the rich, mostly for making short journeys. There were few pretensions of their being able to achieve long distances: that was the role of the railway, which had over 50 years’ start on the motorear and was by the “horseless carriage” 1890s a highly developed and comfortable means of transport. By the middle of the first decade of the 20th century, the ‘motorear body had largely found a standard form, with passenger and driver accommodation in relatively dignified ccoachwork reminiscent of the last days of horse-drawn vehicles —at least for open tourers, Designers still had diffi- culty in joining that coachwork to the hood and radiator at, the front. Some, such as Renault and CGV in France, made A An early Oldsmobile. Provided the ‘mechanism could be ignored, this was quite astylish small machine. ccurves of the body through to the front to achieve a relatively harmonious whole. The join between the two, however, remained a problem. Renault placed their radiator between the firewall and hood and gave ita stylish curving flourish, but many other makers had to make do with an abrupt break in the form of a simple vertical firewall panel and an unattractive box of a radiator low down at the front As the radiator became a major feature of the front of a ‘motorcar, it blended well with the long hood over the engine and took on some considerable style ofits own — with Rolls- Royce being perhaps the most successful. Nevertheless, when a closed motorcar did attempt to combine weather protection and capacity to carry several passengers, it suffered from ‘many disadvantages: the clothing in particular headgear of the late 19th and early 20th century demanded tall ‘coachwork. The result was often a clumsy mismatch between the tall body and the long, low hood, not helped by the vertical wall between them, comprising windshield above and firewall below. A final note on this early period: about fenders. As pneu- matic tires superseded the natrow solid wheels of the horse-drawn and early horseless era, muddy roads demanded even better protection for passengers. The result — extra ‘vagantly curved fenders formed from Flat sheetmetal ~ did givea clear, things would get worse before they got better. ertain grace to the motorcar. But, as will become 41905 Rolls-Royce 30 HP limousine. An uneasy combination of tall passenger ‘compartment and Tong hood.‘CREDITS: BONHAMS [2 TREASURED CARS, CABOR MAYER / HYMAN LTO THE LINE OF GRACE Elegance THE MOTORCAR MATURES, As the 1900s passed into the 1910s, the motorcar gained in confidence. It was still overwhelmingly @ means of transport for the well-heeled; this allowed owners to request from ccoachbuilders bodies of increasing sophistication and style. Fashions of dress had changed; while formal attire still demanded limousines with lofty passenger compartments, the smart men and women about town (and country) were to be seen in more attractive, perhaps even elegant, motorcars. Coachwork designs developed rapidly in the final decade before World War I. This is admirably demonstrated by the 1914 Rover 12hp Tourer, which exemplifies the more traditional design approach: the scuttle between cockpit and hhood was vertical, if at Ieast rounded at the corners. A 1913 Sunbeam 12/16 Tourer shows a more modern approach, with the body joined to the hood in a single smooth transition, Fenders, too, made their first tentative steps towards a more stylish form. In the 1913 Sunbeam came early evidence of the move to sloping front fenders, better integrated into the running boards, Y A 1914 Rover I2hp Tourer still incorporates «an abrupt, if somewhat rounded, scuttle connect- ing body and hood. A A 1913 Sunbeam 12/16 displays a smooth Slow of coachwork between body and hood ~ and sloping front fenders. A A 1920 Cadillac Model 59 Phaeton. The hoodline was now horizontal and a slight curve t0 the section of the fenders had arrived, but the coachwork was conservative and pushed no limits. A A 1929 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Phantom II. Stylishly curved fenders gave a modern look, but the Weymann body forced sharp corners and a matte finish perhaps handsome but far from beautiful. POSTWAR PROGRESS? Coachwork design in the years immediately following World ‘War I was not inspiring, Every manufacturer and eoach- builder, from the plebeian to the patrician, continued the prewar look, with only two significant nods to modernity: hhoodlines rose to the level ofthe scuttle, for a single straight line from windshield base to radiator; and fenders gained a curve in their section, From America to Europe, the phrase “all modera cars look alike” was a highly appropriate response to the car seen on the street. Wheels were a mix of wooden artiller mentioned brought a touch of style to cars so equipped As the 1920s progressed, subtle but important changes took place. The tops of closed ears became more rounded Fenders, too, curved more in section and stylish valances joined them to the front dumb-irons. The late 1920s saw , wire, and disk; at least the two last- growing popularity for the Weymann body, a patent-jointed ‘wood frame covered in fabric that reduced squeaks and rattles by the use of flexible joints between body timbers. However, the matte fabric surface and the limited ability to create curves in bodywork imposed li work designers, This was not yet the age of elegance, itations on coach-THE LINE OF GRACE A A 1936 Bentley 3!4-liter Gurney Nutting Pillarless Saloon Coupé. Beautifully reso curves, a chrome beltline gently descending to the rear under a finely shaped rear quarterlight, and hood louvers angled low the line of the front door. It could be argued that this is the epitome of mid-1930s elegance. red fenders with tightening A SWEEPING CHANGE sweeping. Thi already — but the 1934 but by 1933 the fend evolved from a handsome sha el of both front and rear fendei tight is a word that has come uy aw its apotheosis, It line of th ¢ the complementary curv These not only their eur iegestion « Remarkably, this new style was by no eR eed fully formed at the beginning of the 193 ag ee eee Red ee ered Coe ees eR eee William Hogarth published his ideas of ON ee a i eee eee ea ga es ee ene oe eae ST eR ee ee ee precise serpentine line, or line of grace, is represented by ree ae eee ae ee And th hood through body to det kK ‘examples, harmony in all parts of the Among the most elegant designs of the 1930s 3%4- and 4Yliter chassis, with Gurn ng some of the fine ‘was not all. The plain horizontal shoulder line from the as, in the p several time while, I started to curve down towa and the roofline followed, The result soachwork. thos Nuttin {op and base on flowed, but of movement nples. ee Re ae ornamental, when properly applied; yet, strictly speaking, there is but one pre- cise line, properly to be called the line of beauty, which in the scale of them is num- ber 4: the lines 5, 6, 7, by their bulging too ea ee a ee eee an and clumsy; and, on the contrary, 3 Ee ee Itis clear that Hogarth’s “line 4” is very PR ea me eee elegant fenders of the 1930s automobile. Not only does it provide the sweeping curve, bus the wrapping of the a ae ee Per eee was lacking in the simple curves of earlier coachworkTHE LINE OF GRACE Elegance TWO TO ONE Rolls-Royce provided another principle espoused by coach- builders in their finest designs: the rule of a 2:1 ratio of body height to wheel diameter. As with most other manufacturers, Rolls-Royce had no final control of the coachwork applicd by coachbuilders to their chassis ~ but they did try to insist upon vital ingredient. A speedy measurement of the ‘most successful designs shown in this article will confirm, the rightness of that principle. Not every coachbuilder had a deft touch in applying these new principles of elegant design. And, as with so much in life size mattered. The newly Flowing style of the mid-1930s this si car needed a substantial wheelbase to achieve a sucessful outcome. The most elegant solutions, therefore, were to be found on luxury automobiles clothed by the Finest coach- builders; they also needed a happy combination of gifted designer and a demanding client with good taste. Even > 4 1933 Rolls- Royce Phantom II Continental, with touring saloon coachwork created by Barker for Sir Mal- colm Campbell. The elegant lines of the car respect the Rolls- Royce 2:1 rule, the greatest coachbuilders could perpetrate the most hideous creations, pethaps forced upon them by a sketch from a customer who considered themselves to be God's gift to car design, accompanied by a blank cl Perhaps one of the most dramatic and successful Americ coachwork designs in fact came just before the beginning of the 1930s. It was seen on the 1929 Cord L-29 and is attributed to the gifted designer Alan H. Leamy Jr. The front-wheel-drive Cord enabled a lower body height and thus ker and more sporting look ~ if anything coming in just below the proportions of the 2:1 rule. But the most innova {ive elements were the front fenders, flowing in an unbroken sweeping curve that ended just in front of the rear wheels, This far more modern shape would from then on become popular, even on taller re of the Atlantic yheel-drive ears, on both sides 4 1929 Cord L-29—one of the first to show the sweeping front fender line that contributed to sgance of many cars of the 1930s. The many Pe ee eae ‘much to American tastes.THE LINE OF GRACE Elegance > 4 1935 Talbot 105 Airline sedan. The straight base of the front fender ruined an otherwise successful attempt ata streamlined look. A The 1934 Singer Airstream. A brave but ungainly attempt at streamlining. OH DEAR, OH DEAR... Mistakes were made. Some compa 1930s style but placed a straight line in the wrong place, usually the base of the front fender. Some Roesch Talbots were guilty followed the of this, and it did no favors to the look. One or two builders got away with this faux pas by excellence elsewhere in the design, but it was always an awkward feature, Others, in the search for the undeniable advantages of streamlining, failed to respect what customers accepted as beautiful or at least handsome. The Chrysler Airflow in America and the Singer Airstream in Britain were the chief culprits. Neither was a success: the Airflow was rede: and died after 1936; the Airstream Singer staggered on unchanged, again umtil 1936, These designs incorporated many laudable improvements in safety and passenger comfort, but they were too far ahead of customer taste. The Chrysler Airflow did, however, influence A\ A The 1934 Chrysler Airflow. Advanced, innovative ~ but too far ‘ahead of customer acceptance. Y A 1937 Buick Sedan, typical of late 1930s American styling. The simple elegance of the early decade had become rather overblown. as the 1930s continued. By 1936 the flat base to the +t found favor with many American compa 8 al Motors groups — and Hudson, Nash, Reo, Packard, and nost all members of the Ford and Gens Studebaker, Toward the end of the decade fenders became more bulbous and side windows sunk into rounded pressed: ‘metal shapes. The purity of des steadily corrupted. ign of the early 1930s wasTHE LINE OF GRACE Elegance “CREDIS LES AMIS DE DELAGE, POURTOUT, PETER HARHOLDT, MARTIN WALTZ ae me Flat nee. N A A 1937 Delage D8-120 Coupé by Letourneur & Marchand. Teardrop shapes in front and rear ‘fenders, and a highly successful fastback two-door four-seater shape. The dramatic sweep of the rear quarter light was a “trademark” of this coachbuilder. ELEGANCE EVOLVES The later 1930s saw the development of a subtly changed but equally beautiful style: the “pontoon” fender. Instead of curving the base of the fender to complement its upper curve, of the best stylists now created a teardrop form in which the base opposed the top. Both curves were still “tightening” ~ that vital visual prop- erty that imparts a feeling of moving when standing still The more conservative designs merely added a small upward curve to the rear of the fender but also, important! a“tumblehome” at the base, curving it inward to do away with the slab sides of the early 1930s. Thy stylists twas, however, mainly the Parisian carrossiers who did this. cated real teardrop shapes. A A 1938 Delahaye 135 MS Cabriolet by Pourtout. The perfect example of the teardrop pontoon style, here with a remarkably sful move from upright to sloping radiator grille, For Delage, Suoutchik respected this new fashion for teardrop fenders and swooping tails and created works of pure genius. Pourtout’s designer Georges Paulin showed equal mastery of his att, for example in bodies for Delahaye. Even on English chassis, it was once again the Parisians that created the most modern and truly beautiful bodies, often on the 4Ycliter Bentley — with Vanvooren being one of the most accomplished But perhaps the finest evocation of this late 1930s style was the Aérosport Coupé created by Letourncur & Marchand on the 1937 Del hi room for four seats in a two-door car, D8-120— almost certainly the first large speed touring car that combined streamlining with <4 1938 Weliter Bentley bodied by Vanvooren. More conservative, but with “Conti- nental flair.” <4 1939 Delage D8-120S Saoutchik Cabri olet, Beautifully proportioned teardrop fenders.THE LINE OF GRACE Elegance THE END OF AN ERA In the late 1930s, Continental coachbuilders fully embraced | Wraith from Rolls-Royce, from 1936 and 1938 respec- the modern and elegant fashion for teardrop fenders, often | tively, the radiator was moved forward to clear the accompanied by streamlined radiator grilles that brought additional mechanism of the wishbones and coil springs. the entire body to the front bumper to create a satisfyingly | ‘The change was small but significant and made it more cohesive whole. In the main, the British designers stayed difficult to achieve a truly elegant result. with more conservative forms ~ and resisted any major ‘Yet not all British designs were conservative. The designer change to the upright radiators that had served them well for | Frank Feeley, working with Lagonda in the 1930s 10 many years. The advent of independent suspension in the late | create their own coachwork, produced one of the most 1930s did not help matters: in both the Phantom IIT and beautiful bodies of the period for their V12 Rapide. This 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with saloon body by James Young demonstrates just how conservative British styling remained at the end of the 1930s, at least when clothing “The Best Car in the World.” Just perceptible here is the more forward positioning of the radiator, made necessary by the independent front suspension. A The 1938 Lagonda VI2 Rapide with in-house coach- work designed by the gifted Frank Feeley. An entirely harmonious British take on ‘the fashion for teardrop fend- cers, and a fine resolution of the challenges of independent ‘front suspension. RARE AND UNIQUE? The 1930s almost certainly produced the finest motorear designs. As to the possibility, however, of a unique design ccoachwork of any era. There were elegant designs after of absolute genius, that is impossible: such judgments are World War II, but the growth of unibody construction acce- | too personal, Buti is perhaps fair to end with one candidate. lerated the decline of bespoke coachbuilding, and the Justa thought ... + increasing constraints of safety legislation marked the end of true freedom for designers to er bodies. Stil, in the spirit ofthe title of this august publication, the question must be asked as to whether the height of elegance in 1930s coachbuilding was either rare or unique. The evidence suggests that, as in any field of design, from jewelry te the most beautiful to haute couture or from architecture to decorative objects, only rarely did motorcar coachwork achieve true greatness, ‘even in this golden era A The 1938 “Embiricos” #%liter Bentley with stream- ‘Once Letourneur & Marchand had presented the first truly lined coachwork by Georges Paulin for the coachbuilder elegant streamlined (wo-door four-seater touring ear at the Pourtout, A truly elegant response to Letourneur Paris Salon in 1937, other coachbuilders responded with theit & Marchand’s pioneering concept. 2025 SPRING | SPECIAL THEME:ELEGANCE a[71h to) >] 3} Elegance At the dawn of the motoring age, traditional coachbuilders were tasked with providing the necessary bodies for the new horseless carriages. One of the early examples was Utermohle, which rose to prominence by supplying the German Emperor's family. During its time, as Erik Eckermann explains, —_— it was one of the most respected coachbuilders 4 i This nine-seater (}) tourer in Germany. was built for the Sultan of Langkat on a Protos chassis in 1911 featuring alloy rk. Langkat lies on the is part of Indonesia day Wena ad hrs \vioneoa-)-10}EARLY BODIES bald UTERMOHLE[71h to) >] 3} Elegance 1907 NAG UTERMOHLE here is no known example of a car bodied by Utermohle which has survived, and the company closed in 1913, After Utermahle folded, their plant and workforce gained ‘a second life that lasted until 1971 as the Karl Deutsch GmbH To untangle the story we have to go back to the mid-19th century UTERMOHLE BECOMES A SUPPLIER TO THE COURT In 1840 Johana Philipp Wilhelm Utermohle, Sr. (1805-n.0), ‘a saddler, founded a business in Hildesheim that soon flour- ished thanks to the construction of stagecoaches and pare carriages for the postal administration. Soon, he succeeded 24 LOGNE Beside Mercedes Withelm I, the German Emperor also had NAG cars in his early fleet. This 45 HP from 1907 was bodied by Ulermahle and had its handles and fitings made ‘from tortoise shells. in supplying the royal stables in Hanover, which previously had worked exclusively with English coachbuilders. In 1863, Utermoble relo ated and expanded his business due to the increasing volume of orders, Shortly afterward he was permitted to call himself'a Supplier to the Court. After Prussia had annexed the Kingdom of Hanover in 1866 and King George V (1819-1878) had fled to Austria, Utermihle supplied the Hohenzolle in 1871. Their stables, however, remained royal (and not 3s, who attained the imperial ttle imperial) because they were financed by the Prussian state budget and not by the German state, Utermohle supplied gala carriages and berlines to the royal stables and also , Hoflieferant (Court Supplier) ‘again, For the upper middie classes he built mylords, coupés, received the coveted ttl victorias, and landaulets as well as hunting anes, phaetons, and coaches.EARLY BODIES Elegance August Horch worked with Utermohle on his first car, which he later confirmed in his autobiography. Despite industrialization, which b an in Germany around 1850 and was a prerequisite for the emergence of middle class, only the wealthy could afford horses and carriages. Their upkeep was expensive because, in addition to (replace- ment) carriages and horses, ownership costs included ind fodder 7 years old, entrusted personnel, liveries, premises, harnessin In 1882, Wilhelm Utermoble, Sr., now Ludwig Buchkremer (see sidebar) with the mana his Hildesheim factory, where wheelwrights/wainwrights (for the carriage body, frame and trestle), carpenters (for windows and trunks), blacksmiths (for iron work on the underframe) body), saddlers (for the hood, garnish, seat upholstery and straps), and varnishers all worked under one root fitters (or ison work on the carn (for paintin BRANCH OFFICES IN COLOGNE AND BERLIN In 1885, a branch office was established, surprisingly not in Berlin where Utermable had elients but in Cologne. As a later report recalled, Buchkremer * view of the business situation.” Together with J. Wilhelm Utermohle, J 1865-1919), as owners of the Cok had a far-sighted and clear which was located at Friesenplatz 25, the new subsidiary set out to produce hor rawn coupés, Landauers, breaks, and s. Gradually, bodies for motorears ‘other types of carri followed, e.g. those built for August Horch, who constructed his first automobiles in Cologne-Ehrenfeld in 1900 and 1901 In 1900, Utermohle/Cologne legally separated from Utermbhle/Hildesheim, This meant that there were now two independent companies with the same company name, Urermohle became 4 Peugeot dealer for the Rhineland region in 1903 and imported chassis from France which were bodied locally. This 1904 ad shows a rear- ‘entrance tonneau. 1904 PEUGEOT UTERMOHLE COLOGNE[71h to) >] 3} Elegance Two Itala cars were bodied by Utermahle in 1907 and shown at the Berlin Motor Show a tourer for the Italian King with three rows of seats . This became a source of confusion and disputes, especially as Wilhelm Utermhle, Jr, initially remained in Cologne. 1 was not until 1903 that the junior returned to Hildesheim and took over his father’s company. In that same year, Utermoble!Cologne received the representation of Peugeot, which probably only lasted until 1905. In 1904, Buchkremer converted Utermohle/Koln into a limited liability company, with him and Gustav Langen (1821-1912), a member of the board of directors of Gasmotoren-Fabrik Deutz, as shareholders, In 1907, Deutz began building large four-eylinder cars ba on a design by Ettore Bugatti. Utermohle/Cologne became ed the exclusive body supplier and had the sole rights for sales as well. The KHD company archive states that *... approx. 50 ears were built, but there was no regular production. In 1912, automobile production was discontinued.” Utermoble Cologne also took up regional sales of Ita, which had become known due to winning the 17,000 km Peking-Paris race in 1907, sand a Roi-des-Belges phaeton with armehair-like seats for Duke Ernst Gitnther in Schleswig-Holstein. Frigyes Born, a Hungarian aristocrat and vice-president of the Hungarian Automobile Club, had a “phenomenal” body modeled after French patterns for his NAG in 1906, 1906 NAG racivieyg as COLOGNEEARLY BODIES Elegance LUDWIG BUCHKREMER Tepe el eR E LET ared ‘an apprenticeship as a saddler at the Hofwagenf brik Joseph Mengelbier in Aachen (1873-1875) and then eee In 1882, at the age of 24, he took over the management ee eee PT ee ee carriage manufacturing company, which operated PRA ace ce J. Withelm Utermihle, Jr. They legally separated the ‘company from Utermalhle/Hildesheim in 1900. When fie ee ae are eee take over the management of the parent company, Ree eae rr ae eer De ree ee eee gee in Cologne, which he converted into a limited liability company a year later. Privately, he participated in Pe a ee ‘and more to the sales side of the auto industry. On November 17, 1909, he and others founded the Automo- In the meantime, Utermbhle/Cologne had surpassed the parent company in Hildesheim in terms of car body production. The order backl threnfeld and in neighboring Malheim eoessitated adit ional plants in Colog: am Rhein, In 1906, Buchkremer opened the long-overdue branch in Berlin, Grofe Frankfurter Strasse 137, with showrooms rented for a short time at Fruchtstrasse 57-58. Utermihle of Cologne and Berlin supplied not only the royal stables in Berlin, but also the King Karl Hohenzollera in Tsar Nicholas IT in Russia, King Alfonso XII in Spain, the Sultan of Lan Romani at in Sumatra, and other heads of state, In 1907, for example, the German emperor was given a NAG HLM. can sit comfortably even with his helmet on” (Deutsche sxternal steerin ” Jimousine “so proportioned that Fahrzeug-Technik, 10/1907, p. 62), Even more unusual was the Phenomenal Body, a six-seater on NAG running gear, in which the ntry satin a cabin directly above the buckin ren eras eee mere bile Dealers Association for the Rhineland and West- Pe eR ee eee Te ae a ee Auto-Material-Verband, also based in Cologne, which had been founded a few months earlier and intended to purchase complete cars, chassis, bodywork, and operat- ing equipment for its own repair shops directly from the ‘manufacturers, bypassing the trade. With promised price De er te ee Pe eae ee ee Ie ere ee ae ‘merged with the dealer association in Berlin in 1910, ae ea Pe ae ee eed Krafifahrceughandels und -gewerbes (RDK, until 1945), the forerunner of today’s Zentralverband Deutsches De ae ea Buchkremer had resigned a year earlier, in 1927, and Praree rear axle and the driver amidships and thus in the best sprung part of the car, More impressive, however, was the triple Phaeton with an aluminum body on a Protos chassis, destined for delivery to Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Here, Buehkremer and his coachbuilders succeeded in making a heavy car, with a long wheelbase and re dual tires, appear lighter and grac ul. This is tr ccoachbui meine Autombil-Zeitung (issue 1/1907, p-74),“The company’s produets are in such demand that Utermohle bodies ean even be seen on for the forthcoming London Motor Show. ign chassis at And further: “In the battle against the dominant position in international body iruction, the Utermahle company has succeeded in gaining a position at the top, Its produets are known far beyond the bor lers of Germany, and even foreign rulers bodies” (AZ Heft12/1907 p. 84) receive th[71h to) >] 3} A nice interior from the Berlin DE ae ee ee ee Pere ene ca eae lant in Hildesheim also faced new challenges. The changeover from carriage to body construction required a completely new approach to planning and ea ee ee Fe a a ee Pe ee eee ee carriage body (a self-supporting design), a body con- structor had to take the chassis of a motor carriage from a car company as a basis (body on frame design) Often, the tubular frames of the fist motor carriages ee ea Pe eee ee ‘ween the splashboard and the rear end of the frame) were predefined: to fabricate a body with reasonable dimen- er ene a ee oriented companies transferred the familiar manufac- a Sa er Le eee SOT a ag variety of body styles: Art Nouveau up to 1914, Art Deco after World War I, and American Style from around 1925. For Germany, there were also the influences of Ee re ed een (Weimar 1919), and the reflections of the political Ce ea a a Oe ere ee eee eos The art movement of Art Nouveau, called Art Nouveau in France and Modern Style in England, eoincides with the period called Belle Epoque, between 1890 and 1914. Until about 1908, Art Nouveau as named in France vas the standard of good taste. It meant a particularly playful take on the side panels with strips, striped paint, ‘and basketvveave imitations. But with the “architecture 0 ea ee eee the Werkbund, German coachbuilders developed from this time om its “own and quite independent German taste .. which is even good and, for the fist time in ‘matters of taste, has become authoritative” (AZ Heft ee en Le eee Mitheim, and Berlin also had their share in this. Under the management of Withelm Utermihle, Jr, and his managing director, Georg Herschel, Utermihle/ Hildesheim transformed itself from a custom coach- builder 10 a manufacturer of car bodies and a service provider for motorists. Around 1910, a repair shop, service station, tire, oil, and gasoline storage facilities, and a large garage for 15 cars were built, along with Pere ee ne ere ee ed On ee ee en a Le ree ee oe in Hamburg by the later Opel great Ernst Dello. The Oe a eee ee eed not only bodies for passenger cars, but also bodies for commercial vehicles and, during World War I, military vehicles such as wagons for transporting ammunition, Fa en Lee eer ee ae ee ee Sn ee wood. It was initially nailed together with flat panels of ‘poplar, willow, spruce, or pine and, from about 1910, Beene re Re ee a ee Re eg also originated from the carriage era. After the death of Wilhelm Utermdhle, Jr, in 1919, Georg Sete eRe er een ee eee red liability company a short time later. Both managing directors left the company, in 1927 and 1928, respec tively, and the management was taken over by Herbert Utermohle. During the Great Depression, the economic simation of the company deteriorated, leading to a bankruptcy filing in July 1931. The company was liqui- dated in 1933 but revived a short time later. The revived company, which again operated as J. W. re Le ee ee repairs and car dealerships as its business areas, eae eg eee arr ‘for bankruptcy a second time in 193: the company was finally dissolved, four years before its erasEARLY BODIES 1913 PROTOS & BENZ UTERMOHLE BERLIN Amore body on a Protos chassis in 1914. Another example of the prewar rounded styling on a Bens chassis for the Duke mana ue AE HEE CSS of Mecklenburg- neuen nr * — 1913 HANSA UTERMOHLE BERLIN =e On this 1914 Hansa Sport Phaeton Utermohle finally moved away from the ancient wooden wheels. As part of its portfolio Utermahle offered this landaulet ith a partial shard-top in 1912. UTERMOHLE/COLOGNE AND /BERLIN ARE LIQUIDATED Despite his coachbuilding suecesses, Buchkremer’s interests shifled more and more to ear dealerships and associations. In addition, the abandonment of ear production at Deutz in 1912 and Gustav Langen’s death in the same year may have ‘prompted him to withdraw from car body construction altogether. Nevertheless, a press release on December 30, 1913, ‘came asa surprise, announcing that bankruptey proceedings \were opened against Buchkremer’s businesses in Cologne, Mulheim, and Berlin. Thus, as of 1914, only Utermohle Hildesheim still existed Karl Deutsch (1881-197), who had worked for many years as a master eoachbuilder at Uterm@hle/Cologne, acquired ‘Utermoble/Malheim, He continued to run the business with the old workforce as Westdeutsches Karosseriewerk GmbH, Cologne-Mulheim, from January 1, 1914. On July 1, 1916, Deutsch resigned as sole managing director. He then Founded the company Karl Deutseh GmbH, Cologne-Braunsteld, on November 8, 1916. Due to the war, it initially produced trailers and bodies for ambulances and kitchen wagons, and, following the armistice, mainly convertible for Ford, Citeoén, Borgward, Opel, and Crayford. The business survived until December 31, 1971, when the plant had to close due to lack ‘of business. The change to unibody construction made con- versions mote complicated and expensive, causing demand to dry up: the fate of most coachbuilders worldwide. # »PAA Sele Deo) L CammelLo ENCYCLOPEDIA “The finest and most detailed books eae eee a CRE Tetons with a special focus on styling and coachbuilders” Gq lament 5 Aaa oe lhe NTIRARE & UNIQUE VEHICLES Rare & Unique Vehicles follows a subscriber model. We are proud that over 60% of our budget comes from YOU: our SUBSCRIBERS! You make it possible for us to offer very well researched stories in every issue with limited advertising from our sponsors. To be able to continue on this path, our goal is to increase our subscriber base by 60 new subscribers each issue. Please SHARE OUR MAGAZINE with others and pass this page with the weblink and QR code to interested people. We have prepared digital examples of our stories on the website to join - and an easy to use subscription form. Ors aan Fae With your support we will continue seeking no. 10s dedicated Rare & Unique Vehicles around the world and to ELEGANCE. providing you with fascinating historical fe ee les by our great team of writers. ‘Special Themes” THANK YOU. on our website. TOORDER rareandunique.media/store\VISH ART DECO Elegance Valentino was a legendary movie star in the 1920s. visited his old house with his former car. The Valentino Voisin CS was pai apale and upholste ed leather. RUDOLPH VALENTINO’S 1923 AVIONS VOISIN SPORTING VICTORIALAVISH ART DECO Elegance LO a ee ea ana Sa nee eee Victoria, Valentino preferred to drive the Voisin in its most informal configuration, as an open tourer. A Rudolph and Natacha in front of the Voisin CS prototype in Paris, 1923. While honeymooning in France in 1923, the Valentinos were offered Ce ea ee the marque they finally settled on.Oe hen he arrived, women swooned, men bristled, and flash bulbs went off like fireworks. The man ‘was a legend, and all that he touched, all that he possessed became legend as well He was born Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina Antonguolla on July 6, 1895, in Castellaneta, Taly, but he was known the world over as Rudolph Valentino, Even nearly a century since his last film, people still recognize the name: Valentino. His rise to success in silent movies was meteoric, beginning in 1918 with his first starring role in the film “The Married ‘Virgin (which was not released until after he had already become a major star). A year later he was east opposite Mae Murry in “Big Little Person” and “Delicious Little Devil” and co-starred in the films “A Society Sensation,” “All ‘Night,” and “Once to Every Woman.” He made his seventh film in 1920, “Stolen Moments,” but it was his role as Julio in the 1921 classic “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” that truly solidified Valentino’s career. “The Four Horsemen,” the first film to make over SI million at the box office, was followed by a string of hits in 1921, “Uncharted Seas,” “Camille,” “The Conquering Power,” and then by his most memorable role as “The Sheik,” after which Valentino was hailed as Hollywood's most irresistible romantic lead. In constant demand, he was east in such, silent-sereen romantic dramas as “Beyond the Rocks” playing opposite Gloria Swanson (1922), “Moran of the Lady Letty” (1922), “Blood and Sand” (1922), "A Sainted Devil” (1924), “Cobra” (1925), “The Eagle” (1925), and “The Son of the Sheik” (1926). Despite his fame, Valentino understood the allure of motion pictures both to himself and his admirers, admitting that ‘Women are not in love with me but the pieture of me on the screen.” And it was that image that kept Valentino surrounded by beautiful women who seemed to come into and out of his life with almost every film, leaving a trail of failed relationships in their wake. But there was one constant in his life, aside from acting: his love of automobiles, not just as possessions but for their intricacies, their design and ‘engineering. This is what few of his silver-sereen admirers Falcon Lair was demolished in 2006. Today it is still a vacant land overlooking Hollywood. ‘knew about Rudolph Valentino. He loved working on auto- mobiles as much as making movies, and, as it turned out, he ‘was also a darned good mechanic! In 1923, he took a break from acting to write a book of poetry, Day Dreams, which became a bestseller by year’s ‘end. That same year he married his second wife, Hollywood, ‘costume and set designer Natacha Rambova, who was pethaps the first true love of his life, That July they were honeymooning in Paris, where they drove virtually every ‘exotic make of ear then available, These were made readily aecessible to the actor and his new bride as French sales agents were eager to claim that they had sold a car tothe great Valentino. Among the various ears they drove was @ 1923 Voisin C5. After much deliberation, Rudolph and Natacha decided on the rather obscure but flamboyant Avions Voisin ‘marque. The C5 Voisin was an uncommon car, even in France. It was the product of Gabriel Voisin, who had built innovative airplanes from the turn of the century through World War [and had been the first early aviator to suecess- fully take off and land in the same place ‘When the aircraft business dried up in the post-World War I recession, Voisin decided to build automobiles. With a huge factory and 2,000 employees at his disposal, he not only designed and built his own chassis but produced the engines in-house as well, an almost unbreakable four-litersleeve- valve four with aluminum pistons produced by Voisin under license to American designer Charles J. Knight. This engine ‘was used by Voisin throughout the 1920s, delivering a robust ‘90 horsepower and a top speed of 80 mph By 1920, more than 1,000 cars had been delivered. Even though Voisin never became as well known as the great French marques Bugatti, Talbot-Lago, Delage, and Delahaye, Voisin still beeame one of the more fashionable automobiles in which to be scen. Much of the credit for that went to Gabriel Voisin. He often had a hand in body designs, which quite often were just short of bizarre, but always interesting The last Voisin automobiles were built in 1939, Rudolph and Natacha ordered their C5 Voisin fitted with a Vietoria Touring body from Parisian earrossier J. Rothschild 1 Fils It took Rothschild several months to complete the custom bodywork, by which time Valentino had returned to America to begin filming “Monsieur Beaucaire.” This time the produetion was supervised by his wife, Natachs and directed by Sidney Olcott, who had helmed the originalcinematic epic “Ben Hur” in 1907. It appeared to those in the film industry thatthe Valentinos, Rudolph and Natacha, were trying to become Hollywood's next power couple. Like their custom-bodied Voisin C5, which was rumored to have cost Valentino a staggering $14,000, the 1924 drama "Monsieur Beaucaire” proved a work of outstanding beauty, but also came in well over budaet. Worse, the film was not the arcat box office suecess everyone had anticipated, and the studio heads ‘were not happy with Natacha steering Valentino's film career. Meanwhile, the Voisin awaited their return to Europe in 1924, at which time they took delivery and drove it through- cout Spain in search of artifacts to use in their next film project. They spent $100,000 buying historie props, but the movie they had planned would never be made. The eat, on the other hand, was a great suecess, Once it was shipped back to the United States, Valentino proudly drove the handsome Sporting Victoria throughout the streets of Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills for the next two years. Alas, they would be tumultuous and tragic years for Rudolph Valentino and Natacha Rambova THE VOISIN’S J. ROTHSCHILD ET FILS COACHWORK ‘The Valentino Voisin was unique in several respects, the body having been designed to be reconfigured depending upon his mood or the intended purpose of the drive, It was a Vietoria design with a three-position top, allowing either fully concealed front and rear compariments, an open driver's compartment, or open touring with the top completely Towered. There was also a folding rear windscreen for more formal occasions, giving the Voisin the appearance of a dual-windshield phaeton. Most often, though, it was driven with the top down, and by Valentino himself Although the Voisin had a rather stylish aluminum bird sculpture hood omament designed by the factory, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford presented Valentino with a special silver-plated coiled hood to place atop the Voisin’s radiator. The mascot was a gift following the release of Valentino's film “Cobra.” Some say it was a gesture of friendship, others a publicity stunt to promote the movie. Either way, it became one of the most famous hood. ornaments of the era, Cobra mascots were also mounted ‘on the two Isotta Frasehini cars Valentino purchased. One was a Town car, and the other had a custom roadster body by Fleetwood that was being constructed for Valentino at the time of his death, THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS Although his primary residence was in Beverly Hills, ‘Valentino kept the Voisin at the couple’s new Hollywood Hills retreat, an eight-acre estate known as Falcon Lair, which he purchased with Natacha in 1925, That same year ‘Valentino joined Hollywood's true power couple, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, at United Artists, which 36 they had co-founded with Charlie Chaplin and film director DW. Griffith in 1919, United Artists paid Valentino an astounding salary of $10,000 per week with a guarantee of three films a year, and all seemed well until UA refused to allow Natacha to work on any of Valentino's films, virtually barring her from the lot. Forced to make a choice, the actor stood behind the studio’s decision, and his marriage quickly began to unravel. An angered Natacha left Valentino and returned to New York and then went to Paris. Saddened, ‘Valentino decided to redecorate Faleon Lair with antiques collected from his films, and behind the wheel of the sporty Voisin returned to his playboy lifestyle, striking up romance with Velma Banky, who starred opposite him in the 1925 adventure romance “The Eagle.” By the end of the year Valentino and Banky were a hit in the new film, and his marriage to Natacha had ended in a Paris court. In the settlement, Valentino kept both Falcon Lair and the Voisin, which would remain at the Hollywood Hills estate until his sudden death in 1926, AN UNEXPECTED END Inhhis brief eight years of stardom asthe silver-screen icon ofthe silent film era (a title Douglas Fairbanks strongly dis- puted), Rudolph Valentino had lived a fast life, bt it ended abruptly with the star’s death in a New York City hospital in 1926. On August 15, while promoting “Son of the Sheik” ata gala in Manhattan's Hotel Ambassador, he experienced severe stomach distress and was rushed to New York Polyelinie hospital. Doctors there performed emergency surgery and found that he was suffering from both a ruptured appendix and perforated ulcers, Post-surgery, he developed peritonitis, which led to multiple organ failure, and eight days later, on August 23, Valentino slipped into a coma and died at the age of 31 ‘The world was stunned, At his funeral, more than 100,000 ‘mourners crowded Manhattan streets with lines stretching for 11 blocks around the Campbells Funeral Parlor, requiring New York’s finest to be called in to control the erowds and Untangle blocked traffic. In the 1920s rarely did presidents and heads of state receive such public adulation; Rudolph Valentino had touched the hearts of Americans as had no other aetor ofthe silent-sereen era THE VOISIN'S POSTSCRIPT Aneestate auction was held at Falcon Lair, and Valentino's Voisin was purchased by Robert M. Lawson of Los Angeles. “Tkept the ear for many years,” wrote Lawson in a letter to later owner. “While it was seldom driven, it was an interesting possession.” In 1973 the Voisin was purchased from car collector Richard Alexander, and it has been @ “star” in the Nethercutt Collection's Grand Salon ever since. ‘The photographs in this article were taken at Falcon Lair in the exact same place Valentino parked the Avions Voisin, in 19261 ¢RUDOLPH VALENTINO PURO AUCRGL@ NATE ASTANA aa .AVISH ART DECO Elegance VALENTINO’S VOISINS How many Voisins did Rudolph Valentino own? Automotive historians are divided on this question. Emily W. Leider, in “Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino’ (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2003), quotes Valentino’s own words from his 1924 autobiog- raphy “My Own Story”: “I looked at seventeen different ‘makes of cars and finally went to see the Voisin people and ordered two cars from them ... Tordered an open car for my own use and a closed ear for Natacha. The Voisin people put ‘a car at my disposal to go through aly in, and another one to use while I remained in Paris.” 1923] The historical photo in the article showing Rudolph and Natacha in front of a C5 Voisin in Paris is probably the CS torpedo prototype loaned t0 Valentino for his use while he was in Paris. Another photo shows Valentino in front of the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris in 4 C5 Sport. Another historical photo shows the couple in front of a chauffeur-driven closed C7 model touring car. Two books focusing specifi- cally on Voisin, “Automobiles Voisin” by Pascal Courteault (White Mouse Editions, 1991) and Serge Bellu’s “Gabriel Voisin: Journal d'un Teonoclaste’ (ETAL, 2013), both state that Valentino owned between three and five Voisin automobiles and kept all but one in Europe. We have not been able to verify if thisis accurate or not and wel~ come any historical assistance on this question. > The cobra mascot, which refers to the 1925 movie “Cobra,” was also mounted on Valentino's Fleewood-bolied & 1924 tronta oe" Fraschini Tipo 84 a Town Car. ea ZPT cee eae eee De gt ae ee ree ee ee ci, Sanaa 4s 5, Pie oe re a ee 4 F THE STORY © 7 CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE ~~r PARADING * . A Delage D6-70 roadster bodied by Letourneur ‘ Te cee il ore ee ed eee ith Madame Wamey. ay Some of the important dates in the classic car events alendar relate to Concours d’Elegance-type events. Gautam Sen akes us on a journey going back to the 17th century in his historical overview of the automotive version of the beauty contest.PARADING Elegance As ea re ee aera area cena Comer ad he term “concours d’éléganee” dates to 17th century France, when the \ded through blue-blooded pa Parisian parks in their cart , showing off the luxury and exclusivity of their horse-drawn transport. As horse-drawn 3s lost their horses, concours npetitions among owners of extremely expensive automobiles, the most famous of them in recent times being that of Pebble Beach, USA. Automobile parades are almost as old as the car itself. While in the 19th century horse-d ‘flaunted between the bandstands and the city halls were used A Celebration of Flowers event in Nice in 1912. Pree ee a the Casino before the Dinard for flower parades, the 20th century saw these replaced, with cars. Each car, covered with natural or artificial flowers in a variety of colors, was driven by a driver or by the owner, with an attractive young woman alongside. Gradually the Flowers came off and were reduced to a simple bouquet in the arms of the passenger. Next, the passenger took the wheel, dressed in, for example, a fashionable black and white Chanel dress, topped with a widk brimmed hat and a lace veil partially covering her face, the start of | ignaling the automotive version of the concours d’élégance The concept of the concours d'éléganee emerged in F where awards such as the “Most Beautiful at the Salon” or83. DINARD - L'Bsplanade et Ia plage un “Automobile Elegance” had been instituted before the advent of the First World War. However, the scoring system ad- dressed issues of either technical interest or the reliability of an automobile. For example, during an exhibition in Tours, France, in May 1914, the cars were noted according to their equipment in accessories, headlamps, running boards, and other features. French resort towns sueh as La Baule, Deauville, Biarritz, Nice, and Cabourg were among the first to adopt the ‘concours concept, but the one that seems to have hosted the very first “French style” concours d'élégance was Dinard, A popular destination for E dri lish and American tourists the Belle Epoque and until the Roaring Twenties, Dinard was one of several towns where wealthy Anglo- Saxons constructed luxury villas for their summer geta pvays 3 The esplanade at Dinard during the first concours elegance of 1921. 4A poster suggesting what should be worn during the after noon in Dinard. from the other side of the Channel. Famous for its cultural activities, Dinard was a holiday resort as prestigious as Biarritz or Deauville and owed its popularity to Napoléon IIT and the construction in 1859 of the Hétel de Dinard (today the Grand Hotel). A casino and a bathhouse soon followed, as well as the first homes of English families attracted by the beauty of the bay and the beach Denis Cohignae, who is from Dinard il is a one-time Porsche racer (and now a Delahaye collector), carried out extensive research in the period press and archives, With the help of several automobile historians such as Delage specialist Daniel Cabart, he came to the conclusion that the very first written record of a concours d’élégance in France (and therefore in the world) corresponds to the one that took plage on the Dinard seafront on September 4, 19211 Madame Vaton was a Deluge D6-70 Sports Saloon in 1933 at Dinard. More than 60 vehicles took part inthis first edition, which was won by a Voisin with bodywork by Gillotte and belonging to Pierre Durand-Ruel, a deseendant of Paul Durand-Ruel, a pioneer among art dealers and a leading promoter of the Impressionist movement, Inf this competition brought together all the local elite with personalities such as Sylla Laraque, a well-to-do Haitian from Saint-Lunaire who eame with a Delage, and Philippe &’Mlbert-Lake, a regular competitor in the Bois-Thomelin races, aboard a Pet nugeot But the most famous of them all was Georgina Citron, who had chosen to present her husbands latest model in the roadster category. A month later, the 5 HP Type C (which was nicknamed the “little Citron” beeause ofits yellow shade) was officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. With 4 production run of over 80,000, it remains one of the most popular of the early Citroens. During the previous day, a att Jrand Rallye Automobile” had cted more than 100 ears that had started from seven different towns, within a radius of 80 km around Dinard, and then converged on Dinan, 20 km away. The Automobile Club de France (ACF) had delegated official timeke 8 for the Following the huge success of this event, several other residential towns seem (o have been tempted by this idea, Thus, La Baule, Deauville, Biarritz, Cabourg, Nice, and Monte Ca lo were quick to launch competitions of the samePARADING Elegance 2 Madame Foussier in a Lancia Belna kind, attracting superb cars with unique bodywork and clegant ladies in haute couture clothes, as well as purebred dogs, works ofa , Sculptures, and good spirits during beautiful summer weekends, The 1920s was also when the taste for sophisticated coach- work blossomed and was the period when the leading French marques, such as Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Hispano-Suiza, and Voisin (and in some eases the more plebeian Citroen, Peugeot, and Renault) offered their bare chassis with the mechanicals, and the buyer turned to the coachbuilder of his her choice to have the eat “dressed” as per his or her tastes In no time several of the French coachbuilders established ‘enviable reputations for their aesthetie and technical creativity, and earrosseries such as Chapron, Figoni et Falaschi, Gangloff, Guilloré, Kellner, Kelsch, Labourdette, Eclipse for the 1935 event. 3A Renault Viva Sport followed by a Bugatti. 4 Madame Richer Delavau, who won the concours in Dinard in 1937, perched atop the Delage that she presented there. so mr Proux, Pourtout, Letourneur et Marchand, and Saoutehik built their rep Although the id tion, participating in these concours. spread to other cities, it seems that it was Jin Dinard that defined the French approach to this type of competition. “It is likely that it was André Beeq de Fouquiéres, an important figure on the Parisian scene and seaside resorts, who defined the main rules of the French ‘concours d'ékéganee,” suggests Cohignae, “Man of letters, columnist, and playwrig ‘compstition. Often invited by the European aristocracy, de Fouquigres directed the Dinard because he perfectly embodied the French ‘savoir-faire” of the time, he was friends with Mrs. Emily Hughes-Hallett, the ‘qu preceding the war De Fouquitres brought his enthusiasm and his exuberance to en’ of the social directory at Dinard for the 30 years 8PARADING Elegance 1 Abdel Hamid Bey, an Egyptian aristocrat emcee ee Sea aed eee ee bee 2A Talbot with Jacqueline Vaudecrane, a French Eee Eee en ear Pare des Princes Concours d'Elegance. ncours a Be mea the dinners organized at the Villa Monplaisir, now the town hall of Dinar -d. In his autobiography, Fifty Years of Panache, ed the radiator mascot to the rank ofa jewel. He also succeeded he asserts that it was the eoneours d'élégance that eleva in constituting very prestigious juries in which personalities such as the Grand Duke Cyril of Russi de la Rochefoucauld, Philippe d’Albert-Lake, and Madame Alice Blériot (the wife of pioneer aviator Louis Blériot) Count Emmanuel took part, Refined and courteous, de Fouquiéres perfectly ‘mastered the art of presenting — with a subtle touch of humor the competitors and drivers whose role, atthe time, was purely secondary. also seems that de Fouquieres defined the point system. ed the design of the car, the comfort, and The jury evalua the equipment, as well as the harmony of the style and the accessories, and how they complimented the clothes and bearing of the young lady presenting the car. Interestingly even if de Fouquiéres is today recognized as the “inventor” of the French concept of concours d'élégance, he “didn’t know much about automobiles,” points out Cohignac. In the style of the concours d’élégance a la frangaise, the one behind the wheel ~ more often than not a man — was there only to drive the ear. The responsibility of presenting the new automotive ereation fell to the elegant passenger, often accompanied by a dog on a leash and dressed by the greatest designers, to complete and even enhance the look of the ‘erew.” The formula worked well and attracted thousands of spectators. For the 1924 edition of Dinard’s now annual concours elegance, as many as 20,000 turned up at the waterfront4 The Lopresto Collection brought this one-off Lancia Florida Coach by Pinin Farina 10 the 2021 Dinard Concours. And among the 60-odd entrants there were several important names such as the architect Ret Jules Bouti ina Delag the aviator and sailor who was the first to cross the Atlantic aboard a yacht. The Grand Prix d'Honneur was awarded to a Voisin, é Aillerie with a De Bazelaire at the wheel ofa Voisin, and Frangois Lesénéchal as well as Robert Gerbault, brother of Alain, Although Voisin was among the earliest to take advant of the ever popular concours del nee in promoting theit latest models, the other leading French marque cottoned on to the idea, and was soon promoting its ears in eonjunetion with fashion houses and stars as well. As Cohigaae points out, a concours d'ékégance got together what he calls the three Cs a Constructor, a Cat and a Couturier” Not unlike the carmaker and the coachbuilders, the world of fashion found itself in thes« herings of beautiful automobiles and racing cars. Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Jet ne Lanvin made their names designing clothes to match the cars, and others such as Otto Lueas, a Londoner who was born in Berlin but raised in France, traveled to Dinard with his SS. One of the most fashionable milliners ‘on Bond Sire royal family as well as to stars such as Greta Garbo, His he later became the official supplier to the SS, incidentally, won the Grande Mention at the Dinard ‘competition, Concours d'élégance also attracted the stars, and carmakers made the most of the media coverage that came with the association of a popular actress or a Folies Bergeére pinup such as Mistinguett or Joséphine Baker. Louis Delage knew how to take advantage of this and managed to get FrenchPARADING Elegance Lake Como provides a eae rer ec eran -e vp actress Belty Spell to present a spectacular Letourneur et Marchand-bodied D8 in several concours d'élégance, winning the Grand Prix d’Excellence at the 1933 edition at Dinard, among others. Betty Spell showed up the next year in another Delage. But the beginnings of World War II spelled the death knell for concours d’élégance, One of the last ones, before war broke out was the one at Dinard, which took place ‘an event that again on a beautiful day, on August 11, 1939, \ged to bring together sublime automobiles such as a Renault Viva Grand Sport, a Laneia, a Delage, and an elegant Wolseley from England. The Grand Prix d’Honneur was awarded to a Ms, Meldener, whose blue dress matched the color of her Rosengart Supertraction, Exactly 13 days later, on August 24, France decreed partial mobilization, anticipating the invasion of Poland by Na Germany. Once the war was over, it took a few years for the concours, eélega e to reappear, and it then continued, somewhat sporadically, until the 1960s. And as the on of bodies gave way to production models from more recent prestige marques such as Face! Vega, Aston Martin, Porsche, and Lamborghini, as well as Maseratis and Lancias bodied by Zagato or Citroen DS ears modified by Chapron, the charm and flamboyanee of the 19208 and 1930s never quite returned, I's only in the past two decades that concours élsgance have very much come back in fashion, what with the suecess of Pebble Beach, Amelia Island, Villa d’Este Chantilly, Hampton Court, and scores of others springing up, from Adelaide to Zoute. The difference is that they are no longer about new cars but about historic vehicles, including ones which had won concours some eight or nine decades back.ite BEACH CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE eee Lee ee truth the Concours was a last-minute Cae ee ae Ra cipated main event. The two events would continue together through 1956, when the death of Ernie McAfee ar ee gee Elegance initially picked up where European events left off. Early show winners were new cars, like a 1951 a ae Ree 1953 Austin Healey 100 in 1953. est a eae EB ee began shifting its foeus to older cars. The following year, judges awarded re ne era -Arrow won, that the event As attendance grew during the 1960s, Pa Se eee ee gance evolved into one of the premier events for elassie-car owners and PR a ee eed Sterling Edwards’ R-26 Special Sport Roadster took the top price atthe first Pebble Beach Concours in 1950. States (and, increasingly, Europe) ee Re ec ea bile. One of the most significant Cr Renee Pee ne eae which was first held in 1998. Ittakes participants on a roughly 70-mile round trip from Portola Road in Pebble Beach to Big Sur on some of the most scenic and picturesque roads in California, including Highway 1. It’sa test of reliability for the cars, PR ee eed enthusiasts to see and hear the stars of the Concours in motion. David Sydorick’s 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta won Best of Show at Pebble Beach in 2018, followed by multiple awards at the 2019 Villa d’Este concours. A CENTENARY To recognize and commemorate the first recorded Concours the city of Dinard, once again, hosted a most im- pressive concours d'slégance a la frangaise, an exaet hundred years later, on September 4, 2021, when the president of the FFVE boulevard fronting the casino of the resort town Jean-Louis Blane, un ‘on the seafront that cited a plaque confirms this status, Organized by a small team of enthusiasts, with erstwhile FIVA President Patrick Rollet acting as an informative and insightful master of ce emonies, the Dinard Elegance aber 4 two years later Was distinetive in its choice of Sept of absolutely remarkable cars (Bi atti Type 57 Atalante, Delages, Delahayes, Hispano-Suizas, Jaguars, Lancia Astura and the one-off Florida concept, a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, Studebakers, Talbot 23, and others), as well as the ones — that transformed motoring for the masses, such as a Fiat $00 and a few Renault 4CVs, including one with a tiny si wheeled trailer Por the record, the Grand Prix d’Exeellence went to a French ‘couple ~ Xavier Jenvrin and Marie-Line Delaunay American car, a 1936 Cord 810. The turnout was extraordinary, and the inhabitants of Dinard and the nei hbori jowns seem to have enjoyed the ‘event as much as the participants did, capturing the excite- ment and the joie de vivre that concours d'éléganee did a century ago. The Dinard Blegance was just one of hundreds of eoncours ance held in recent times, a concept that is back in vogue in the historie vehicle milieu for a few decades now Yet the purpose it serves today and the way itis pereeived are very different from a century ago. #Ne tem) This unique car shows how horseless carriage traditions were used in auto- mobiles. A Dress for Great, Occasions Elegant coachbuilt cars of the 1920s and early 1930s still carried a hint of their horseless-carriage origin. Anice example is the Lancia Artena II Series bodied by Cesare Sala in 1933. Today the car is shown in Museo Nicolis in Verona, reports an enthusiastic 4 RARE & UNIQUE VEHICLES | VOL | ISSUE10LN ol Elegance 2Side lamps are referencing 1 The exclusive carriages as Coupé de Ville these were notin bodywork oozes general use by luxury. the 1930s. 3 Theinsignia 4 Thereisa ‘features royal little cabinet for ‘signs, referring toiletries. 10 the company’s position as offi- cial supplier of the Royal House of Savoy. Federico Mailland in his office in 1924. 50 RARE & UNIQUE VEHICLES | VOL | SSUE10uuseo Nicolis is a private collection in Villafranca di Verona displaying around 200 classic cars, 500 cam- eras, 105 motoreyeles, 10 bicycles, 120 musical instruments and jukeboxes, 100 typewriters, seale ‘models, and engines. Additionally there are three aireraft and military area with memorabilia from the First and Second ‘World Wars. The museum was opened in 2000 by Luciano ‘Nicolis (1933-2012), who was born 90 years ago this year. Collecting is in the Nicolises’ genes. Back in 1934 Francesco Nicolis, Luciano’s father, started collecting things that others had thrown away. Both his reeyeting business and his habit of collecting were inherited by his son. Luciano began to collect the objects he found interesting (especially ifrelated to the Verona area), but he was especially fond of old cars, which he sought out, cared for, and restored in the best possible way, immediately availing himself of passionate specialists. In this regard he was one of the forerunners of historic collecting ‘Today the museum is directed by his daughter, Silvia, and other family members also assist One of the most elegant cars of the collection is this Lancia Artena II Series Coupe De Ville, which was bodied by Cesare Sala shortly before the firm closed its doors, CESARE SALA Officially, the story of Cesare Sala’s noble coachbuilding ‘company began before the automobile and involved an intricate series of complex and not always clear corporate and histor- ical transitions. Sala’s business began in 1887 in Milan at 34 Corso di Porta Nuova, where he inaugurated his carriage production; so we might say that rather than a “eoachbuilder.” wwe should speak ofa “carriage builder” at this early stage. It is worth mentioning, however, that in 1871 he was already present at the Esposizione Industriale Italiana held in Milan With two carriages, one of which was fitted out for the Prinee ‘of Naples. Between 1873 and 1877 Cesare Sala also fitted a large gala carriage for Vittorio Emanuele Il, the King of Italy ‘As can be guessed, the carriages that left his workshops reached such high levels of technical design, finish, and formal legance that the Royal House of Savoy, which ruled Italy, lected him as their trusted supplier ~ hence the inclusion of the royal crown in the insignia of Cesare Sala. Unfortunately the founder would not see the fruits of his labors fully mature, as he died in 1890. ‘After his death, the business was carried on by Teogene Taramella, his right-hand man, through a new company, ‘Taramella & Co. The new company's shareholders included sté Giulia Perego Sala, wife of the late Cesare, with a 35 percent share, and some of the most prestigious names in Milanese finance and nobility of the time: Cavalieri Ettore Ponti, Felice Scheibler, Marchesi Luigi Isimbardi, and Luigi Alberico Trivulzio. This important group underlines the prestige and. importance of Cesare Sala’s business, We do not know whether the new management brought results that matched its past, but the fact remains that in 1903 a new company, Fabbrica di Carrozze Cesare Sala, was established in the same Milanese premises. It was set up for the production of carriages, Teogene Taramella and Giulia Perego Sala were replaced by Federico Mailland and Vittorio Bianchi. Mailland wwas hired as an apprentice in 1886 and would remain with the company until its demise some 30 years later. Soon it became evident that the era of the earriage was coming 10 tan end, and in order to survive it was necessary to look at the ‘upeoming new device, the automobit. FROM CARROZZAIO TO CARROZZIERE In 1905, Fabbrica di Carrozze Cesare Sala merged with Carrozzeria Italiana, another new company set up by a group of aristocrats. Itwas led by Duke Uberto Viseonti di Modrone Its shareholders included Marquis Camillo Meli-Lupi di Soragna-Taraseoni and Weill Schott, a big shareholder of Fiat. ‘The result was an even bigger company, with large financial capabilities: Carrozzeria Italiana e Cesare Sala. It soon became the supplier of automobile coachworks for the Italian Royal House, just as Sala did previously with horse-drawn coaches. At the top, Federico Mailland reorganized the pro- duction eyele according to industrial eriteria Tong-term profitable industrial cooperation was established, with Isotta Fraschini, a prestigious Milanese brand that also turned to Sala not only for logistical reasons, but also because they shared the same elite clientele and the same construction ethos oriented toward pursuing the highest quality and efficiency. Eventually two managers from Isotta Fraschini joined the board of directors: Oreste Fraschini himself and Paolo Meda, After World War I, the reputation of Sala’s coachwork grew further, thanks in part to the creative skills of Oliviero Bergomi who, beyond his role as technical manager, also worked as an excellent stylist. In those years Carrozzeria Sala was a suecess story at an international level. It was a regular exhibitor atthe Paris, London, and Brussels motor shows and was chosen as a supplier of many royal houses across Europe. Its clientele also included Pope Pius X1 and Empress Zauditiy of Ethiopia, At the inaugural Concorso Eleganza Villa d’Este 1 Sala-bodied ear got the Golden Trophy. Naturally this enabled Carrozzeria Sala to expand: in the 1920s the company had an area of around 11,000 square meters: divided into management offices and various workshops, with a total of 300 highly specialized employees including blacksmiths, forgers, sheetmetal workers, upholsterers, painters, and finishers, assisted by state-of-the-art equipment. In this way, the company was able to independently build every- thing it needed without delays and misunderstandings with external suppliers But on the threshold of the 1930s, the erisis triggered by Wall Street’s Black Friday began to undermine a system that had seemed perfect. A PEARL BEFORE CLOSURE An initial alarm came from the erisis that engulfed Isotta Fraschini in 1932, Carrozzeria Sala was also forced to close down. But shortly before the end, which makes it even more special, the refined coachbuilder produced what is today a truly unique gem, a Coupé de Ville on the chassis of a Lancia Artena II Serie The Lancia Artena was presented at the 1931 Paris Motor Show as a four-light 4/5-seater and six-light 6/7-seater saloon. Twas the first Lancia that did not use a letter from the Greek alphabet as a model designation, switching instead to ancient national history: Artena is in fact the eity of the Volsci, an, ancient Italie tribe from the sixth century BC. This followed the nationalist sentiment so dear to fascism atthe time, which it was impossible to escape. ‘The car positioned itselfas the little sister of the Astura and also as a replacement for the Lambda, though it did not not repeat its innovative scope and success, featuring an austere but elegant style. With the Artena, Lancia returned to the traditional method of offering a separate chassis that couldee Elegance oll LA! E SA 1 The typical ‘Lancia blue’ color of the bodywork enhances the aristo- cratic feeling. 2 With the Landaulet body style the rear part of the roof could be opened. 3 Driver's seat is upholstered with leather. 2028 SPRING | SPECIAL THEME: ELEGANCE 58Ne tem) Elegance embedded in the rear pillar, ‘St Christopher's medal for protection on Jong journeys. A pypical design for Isotta Fraschini. 3 Jump seats 48 were available doors provide forextra easier ace passengers. 10 the cabin,be dressed by coachbuilders. There was an interesting system patented by Lancia to dampen engine vibrations for superior ride comfort: four silent-blocks were connected to two small auxiliary leaf springs located at the sides, and resting on two longitudinal tubular members forming part of the chassis, In 1933 an updated second series appeared on the market ‘This Coupé de Ville was builtin 1933, Today itis in an extra- ordinary state of preservation, including its original number plate and registration book, We do not know who ordered itin the first place, but itis documented that the car was only registered in 1935 by Marion M. Kemp, who lived in Rome, and was probably linked to George Kemp, an American industrialist The bodywork consisted of a wooden frame elad in st. panels, while the mechanicals were those of the production car with a 1924 ce narrow-V four-cylinder engine with over- head valves, delivering 55 hp at 4000 rpm and a top speed of LIS km/h, AL first glance, the choice of the Artena chassis is certainly curious: given the noble Coupé de Ville bodywork, which ‘meant that the driver was sitting outside the main cockpit ‘as was the ease for eoachmen at the time, it is elear that its ‘owner had no intention of driving it personally, preferring to be comfortably transported and well catered for by the warm, soft “Lancia cloth” upholstery. A peculiar bodywork, it was ‘reat for getting noticed by emphasizing one’s position. That said, one would expect the use of a nobler Astura chassis, but no, ours preferred that of the average Artena but taken to the highest level by Cesare Sala, ‘The exterior is painted in Lancia blue, and we note that the square, simple, and refined lines of the Astena have been carefully altered by Sala, resulting in an individual and unique shape. The front door cutout is very elegant and leads to the front pillars of the passenger compartment, connecting the design of the front area with the rear; also noteworthy is the curved upper profile of the front doors. Peculiar on the other hand are the lanterns on the sides of the passenger ‘compartment, together with the ring handles typical of | carriages as well as cars of earlier production. Probably these were specified by the original custom: But it was in the interior that Sala expressed himself at his, best, fitting it out for ladies and gentlemen: in fact, to the left of the passenger compartment we find, inside a compartment ‘made of precious wood, a perfect gentleman's kit with scissors and a toothbrush (for trimming mustaches), and various bottles of unguents and perfumes. There is also an ashtray for the customary cigar. On the right, there is another ‘compartment with brushes, combs, and many small bottles accompanied by a small vase for a fresh bouquet of flowers. In front of the rear seats there isa footrest and two seats| that ean be folded into the floor, useful for example for any. servants in tow. Curious, but dutiful, isthe Saint Christopher ‘rim on the dashboard to protect the driver on long journeys; the driver enjoys hard-wearing leather upholstery instead, since at the time the real luxury was fabric and not leather as we think of it today, Every detail speaks ofits owners, of atime when the ear was literally made to measure, of craftsmanship and refinement, in detail, and of a time when the modern ear still had the character ofa regal carriage. # 55LATE BLOOMone pr gs r gels i, i In postwar France, the remaining coachbuilders in the Paris area all tried to create modern, elegant bodies on the still-available chassis of the Delahaye Type 135 using traditional construction methods. A remarkable design was achieved by the Dubos company. Martin Waltz and Corentin Lallet tell the story. pee eee oFLATE BLOOM Eleg Te pacer a World War H the pays tribute 10 De a ee Known as Dubos Louis Dubos was ra oaATE BLOOM he war chi od everything. After more than five years of destruetion, the economy was in a bad state and activity had to be revived without delay to begin recovery. The automo- tive manufacturers resumed production of their 1939 models while quickly be » work on new projects The glorious French luxury car industry, which had been a leading force in the 1930s with brands such as Bugatti Hispano-Suiza, Delage, Delahaye, Talbot, Voisin, and coachbuilders such as Saoutchik, Figoni, Vanvooren, & Marchan knees. Only Delahay. Letourne |, Kellner, and Chapron, was on its which was also building Delage cars asa separate brand, and Talbot were still producing powerful, ‘engines and chassis of ladder-frame construction on which luxurious bod - could be built. The period from 1946 to 1954 was marked by attempts to combine traditional cor struction methods with more modern styling — it was the swan song of the prewar French carrossiers, who demonstra- ted their skills one last time. DESIGN AND PERCEPTION When we use the term “timeless elegance,” we refer to designs that are generally considered elegant well beyond the moment of their initial presentation, This attribute certainly applies to the Delahaye Type 135 Coach Gascogne from the French coachbuilder Dubos Freres ~ Dubos for short ~ of which around 30 were built between 1949 and 1951 The Dubos company was a family venture that began in 1922 when the patriarch, Louis Dubos, opened his own business in Neuilly-sur-Seine, just on the outskirts of Paris, The company quickly became successful thanks to its wel thought patents, applied to convertible bodies, including the famous “plein azur” sunroof, which made it internationally famous, Louis Dubos produced his first coachwork on a Delahaye ux eabriolet with a very baroque style that was exhibited at the Paris Salon. After the war, his sons, Type 135 in 1937, a Léo, Pierre, and Jean took over the company and moved it into new premises in Puteaux (Seine). As early as 1946, they had a stand at the Paris Salon to display a one-off Type 135 M Coupe de Ville, still a father. After 4 few intermediate steps based on sober serial coaches for Delal at the 1949 Salon alongside a more traditionally styled ceation of the aye, they presented their latest design, the Gascogne, ‘coach. The two cars differed in only one aspect: the lines of the front wings. How ess tial this step was for the overall ‘appearance is shown by the direct comparison of the two designs. The past and the future met here at the Dubos stand,rN ial Role) Elegance THE GASCOGNE - LOGICAL AND COHESIVE As Dubos did not have its own design office, it made use of the skills of independent designers, w practice at the time. In this ease, one of the most famous French stylists played a central role: Philippe Charbonneaux. He had joined Delahaye in 1946 and had designed the ba: lines for the postwar Types 135 and 175, which provided the coachbuilders with a certain guideline for their individual bodies. The key element of this work was the grille inspired by the fencer's mask In 1947, Jean Dubos met Charbonneaux and commissioned 1 project based on the future Type 175 chassis, However, Delahaye struggled to produce the first few 175 chassis. It ilders between was planned to be delivered to the coach March and April 1948, but delays lengthened and the artists, hhad doubts as to whether they would be able to present their work for the October show. Dubos, who felt the difficulty of making a ear in a hur put aside the project for the Type 175 and decided to adapt the design to the available Type 135 chassis, which had the same wheelbase. This decision explains the unusual length of the front end, which was designed for the longer 4.5L engine. Charbonneaux was the one who had given the elegant lin for the car. Designers Charles Ricordeau and then Carlo Delaisse managed! to improve on it for the final advertisements, Delaisse probably made the design that eame elosest to the impression Dubos wanted for his car: a sleek, elegant, and balanced line, Delaisse, who had already provided wonderful studies for earrossiers like Chapron, Vanvooren, and Letourncur & Marchand, took over everything that seemed good to him and changed the proportions only slightly but significantly. Following the American trend, the designers integrated the previously free-standing wings more into the body of the vehi thus ereating a calmer, cleaner overall appearance. The advantages of this pontoon design also lay in an in and simplified construction se moved the passeng. in interior spac As can be seen, Dela ‘compartment farther bac so that the position of the steering wheel in the direction of travel was behind the center of the vehi This gave the bonnet a tremendously stretched appearance He reduced the height of the rear wings, lower than the front ‘wings. This allowed him to create a sloping line across the entire side of the car, enhanced by the lower edges of the windows, which also sloped backward toward a low-set, rear. The B-pillars, as already intended by Charbonneau, slope forward ~another visual trick that suggests a liftin lerating front, Delaisse’s design appears both logical and cohesive; it did not even require any ornamentation, Considering the fact that this is nota tightly dimensioned ‘owo-Seater sports coupe but a spacious, four-seater coach, this is an outstanding achievement. Finally, this model was called “Gascogne” as a tribute to the region of origin of Louis Dubos. WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE? Like Dubos, several other French coachbuilders tried to build ses after the war. Saoutehik. ‘on their previous su and Franay limited themselves mainly to eabriolets, which they built on the largest and most expensive chassis, the Delahaye Type 175 and Talbot 126. The classic coaches, sporty two- door saloons intended for higher production numbers, were the domain of Guilloré, Letourneur & Marchand, Chapron, Antem, Faget Varnet, Vanvooren, and Dubos, There is no doubt that their creations are, without exception, masterpieces. But the various carrossiers’ paths to modernity followed very different lines of thought While Chapron remained true to the prewar style until the 1950s, the others began to experiment with the new de: ideas from Am At first, they were hesitant 10 completely -standing wings that had shaped the prewar designs. But their models of 1949 then showed the abandon the fr closed forms that were already standard abroad, especially in rt fastback Italy. Antem and Vanvooren dared to ereate the coaches, bold designs that also showed the limits of what was feasible on the old Type 135 chassis. With their large rear overhangs, the cars appeared somewhat tail-heavyNisa] Role) Elegance BUREAU D'ETUDES Carlo DELAISSE Pe eed design works from rem Sen re ona add eae ssLATE BLOOM Elegance Ee aR A lsATE BLOOM Elegance COACHBUILDERS, 1949 VINTAGE Guillore’s second design for 1949 was the most consistent in integrating the wings into the pontoon body. However, this made the es look too flat and unstructured, and the whole ‘car made a comparatively statie and thus heavy impression — a step too big for the In the followi ustomers. years, Chapron and Faget Varnet came up with more advanced designs, and again Carlo Delaisse had played a leading role, as the Chapron design clearly shows, But by then the end of the great French coachbuilding tradition had already been heralded, and only a handful of these last witnesses of a bygone era could he sold, KEY TO SUCCESS The clearest idea of what a luxurious, modern ear of the period should look like was pursued by Dubos with the Charbonneaux design. The key to su to the essentials a few defining lines, little ornamentation, ces. The result was so convineing that it was used in advertisements by both Dubos and Delahaye, PATH THROUGH THE AGES Of the 30 or so Gascognes produced, after more than 70 years 14 have remained. All of them are very similar and differ ss was the reduction mainly by the color of their interior or their bodywork While the majority of their mor exalted siblings built by Saoutchik and Figoni crossed the Atlantic and now reside in large collections in the United States, all but one of the Gascognes remained in Europe, where they are held in the highest esteem.