I said it before and I'll say it again...

...The new Alfa 8C is way too bloated and stubby to hold a candle to any classic Alfa.  I think this photo says it all, if I didn't already convince you.  I'll take the one on the left, grazie.

via Motoring Con Brio

Heuer Racing Chronographs under the gavel at Bonhams

Today in London, Bonhams will be auctioning off a remarkable array of vintage (Pre-TAG) Heuer watches collected over many years by Arno Haslinger, who literally "wrote the book" when it comes to collecting these fine Swiss timepieces.  Inextricably linked with motor racing, Heuers are, for me, the coolest vintage watches you could wish for.  Enjoy this video of Mr. Haslinger talking about his 4 favorite watches from his extensive collection.

For my money, I'll still take a vintage Monza!

via Hodinkee

RIP Tom and Chuck

The automotive world has lost two important figures this past week. Tom Walkinshaw and Chuck Jordan were both men of great achievement, but from very different backgrounds.

Tom Walkinshaw, who passed away at the age of 64, was one of the most successful team manager/owner/constructors in motorsport history, achieving victories in a wide array of formulae, but perhaps most notably with Jaguar's World Sports Car program in the 1980s and with Volvo's BTCC program in the 1990s.  He was also involved in F1 for many years at Benetton and other teams.  Also a driver of quality, here he is in a simply electrifying qualifying lap at the wheel of a Jag XJS, at Australia's Mount Panorama Circuit!

Chuck Jordan was hired at GM as a stylist under Harley Earl, and eventually worked his way up to that man's position over the course of more than 4 productive decades at General Motors. He was head of GM Styling from 1986-1992.

A true blue car designer of the "old way," Jordan fought GM management for creative control over design, and had famous disdain for focus groups and consumer testing that became  the norm at GM: "A good designer doesn’t need Mr. and Mrs. Zilch from Kansas telling him what to do," he once quipped in an interview.  Chuck Jordan passed away at the age of 83 last week.

Image credit: GM

Hat tip to Drew for the Walkinshaw video.

Intriguing eBay Alfa Mystery

I have been watching a Belgian eBay auction lately for what is described as an Alfa Romeo Barchetta Sport, from 1954.  I was quite taken with the car's lovely, voluptuous lines, but perturbed because I had never seen a car quite like this before, and was sort of shocked at the lack of detailed information in the eBay listing considering the rarity of this vehicle:

"Rare Alfa Romeo Barchetta Sport, Totally rebuild over the past 2 years, Aluminium body, Freshly rebuild 1900cc engine, 120hp, 4-speed gearbox, Renewed brown leather interior, Black wirewheels, Adjustable suspension,.. Outstanding condition!  FIA regularity passport available."

I emailed the seller for more info about the car's provenance but received no reply yet. Does anyone know what this car is, or if it is even real??  The only similar car I can find is the "flat sided" Disco Volante also known as the C52 1900.  I don't know how many were made, but one is in the Schlumpf museum (see below). If this is a sister car, wouldn't it be worth a hell of a lot?? Anyone share to shed any light on this puzzle? Replica or Real??

-UPDATE: I received this reply from the seller regarding the car's history:

This is a car that we bought it this current condition. No racing history found on this car.  We suppose this car was build somewhere in the 60’s by a private coachbuilder and never really raced in the past. We have imported this car from South America. During it’s restoration the car received some modifications regarding it’s suspension and chassis has received some modifications too to adopt this body. The complete technical aspect of this car has been rebuild or restored to new. It is really a great joy to drive. A FIA passport was also obtained for rallying the car in Europe if the  new owner would consider.

Holiday Book Review: Alpine & Renault: The Sports Prototypes Volume 1 1963-1969

Finally, the fascinating story of Alpine-Renault’s heroic, yet quixotic efforts to win Le Mans outright for France are properly told in richly illustrated detail.  In Veloce Publishing’s recent release Alpine & Renault: the Sports Prototypes, Vol. 1963-1969 by Roy Smith, we are taken through the history of the Alpine marque, from its humble beginnings as a preparer of Renault 4CV racers, through to the brink of its eventual incorporation into Renault in the 1970s (this is covered in Vol. 2).

Alpine is most closely associated with the immortal A110 Berlinette, which had a highly successful career in Rally, but the A110 is barely mentioned in this book.  Instead, the focus is entirely upon Alpine’s long term Sports Prototype program which is less well-known outside of France.  Though they rarely challenged for outright victory against the larger GT40s and Ferraris of their day, Alpine's Sports Prototypes were astonishingly effective and reliable in the smaller displacement classes, racking up many victories that have faded from the public memory.  On a good day, these tiny blue cars could compete on equal footing at the Nurburgring with Ferrari’s best cars, not to mention the Porsche 550s and Abarths which were their main rivals. 

If the A110 is the French Porsche 911, then the Alpine Prototypes were more like Lotuses, in that they were aerodynamic and feather-light to compensate for being underpowered, and bristling with chassis innovation on a shoestring budget.  Alpine’s sports car program also saw the very first racing slicks (!), co-developed with Michelin, and launched the racing careers of Patrick Depailler, Bob Wollek, and Emerson Fittipaldi.  In particular, unsung Alpine hero driver Mauro Bianchi (brother of F1 driver Lucien) is given his proper due as a central character in this narrative.Rather than describe the story in dry prose, Roy Smith makes you feel almost like you have sat down to a long French déjeuner, fueled by a nice Bordeaux, with all the protagonists who are still alive today.  There are many charming and hilarious anecdotes that really flesh out what life was like in the racing world of the 1960s. Unburdened by the passage of time, the drivers and engineers interviewed hold forth on the best and worst of what they experienced during those exciting years, and are honest about the frustrations they faced and the politics they dealt with. But the overall picture that one comes away with about the Alpine team is that it was like a big family, with Jean Rédélé, owner of Alpine, as the father, engine builder Amédée Gordini the stern grandpapa, and the drivers and engineers playing the dutiful yet mischievous sons, who had to work together to develop the cars and campaign them.

The book itself is extremely well executed, with pleasing graphic layout and a wealth of fascinating archival photos and drawings in B&W and Color.  You can get lost for hours in all the photographs, as you track the gradual changes to each car, from race to race.  The printing quality and paper are also very good.

Definitely a great gift for the true car geek who likes comprehensive and well-illustrated books!

Buy it at Amazon  or at Motorbooks