Lancias at Tatton Hall Classic Car Show 2012

An Aprilia or Augusta I believe.

 

Mid-twenties Lambda I think with a weird boat-tail.

Delta Integrales, over 20 years old now and still looking fast as ever.

Fulvia S3 was absolutely stunning and in a concourse condition for its occupants - the Queen and Prince Philip [cardboard heads stuck to the seats].

I was over the moon to see a Fulvia, but a HF rally version would have been nice.

Rally Stratos looked very authentic and there was no reason to doubt it, but the paint and panel-fit wads just a little too good leading me to believe it was in fact a replica.

Period reg. plate is in keeping with the correct era and the car was advertised as a Lancia Stratos not Hawk or replica. Still though I'm not convinced the owner would leave such a rare machine sat in the paddock.






















For the full story on Tatton Hall Classic Car show 2012 and over 120 pics go here: Tatton Hall Park Classic Car Show 2012 [on my other blog: http://retrorunabouts.blogspot.co.uk/]

Ferrari Replicas at Tatton Hall Classic Car Show 2012

Went to Tatton Hall Classic Car Show on Monday. Thought there'd be a few Ferraris, maybe a 308 or two, and got excited when I saw flowing red bodies in the distance. I knew something didn't look right, they all turned out to be replicas - nearly 20 of them - making up the Italian Replica Car Club stand. Some we're obvious forgeries, but a few looked to have had so much craftsmanship and man-hours poured into them that you wonder if they could have just afforded an original...

250 GTO reps were cool, but definately out of proportion to the real thing. Who knows what they're based on, it didn't say, though the No.19 car had a Le Mans winning story pinned to it - I wonder how many people went home thinking they'd seen a 10 million quid car?

A replica it may be, but this 330 P/4 Le Mans car was pretty much spot on and easily the best car on the stand.

The only real Ferrari I could find in the whole show was this 360, parked behind a Fiat 124 Abarth, which steals its thunder frankly.













For the full story on Tatton Hall Classic Car show 2012 and over 120 pics go here: Tatton Hall Park Classic Car Show 2012 [on my other blog: http://retrorunabouts.blogspot.co.uk/]

Ferrari from the sand...

Thought I'd just show these sand sculptures from Egypt, I think, of the Ferrari 250GTO. I believe it's from an art exhibition and this piece is titled "Ferrari and the Gorgon", I guess because it has something a bit like one on the bonnet. Be nicer with a Le Mans number placard, wouldn't it.

Ferrari 250 GT Interim - 1959

Later examples of Ferrari's 250 GT Tour de France were given updated front-ends that would be continued in the model's successor the 250 GT SWB, though the 1950s tail-fins of the TDF were dropped in favour of a 'fastback' coupe rear. At the end of 1959, while ushering in the new model, the final seven long wheelbase TDFs were given a new rear-end with no fins, testing out the design of the 250SWB and showcasing the transition into the new design principle, while using the traditional chassis. As such, they were given the 250 GT Interim moniker.

The Interim bridged the gap between the 250TDF with the tail-fin rear, below left, and the fastback 250SWB, below right. Interims are slightly longer than the latter and distinguishable by the rear quarter-light behind the side windows.

For the 250TDF, on which the Interim is based go here: Ferrari 250 GT TDF (Tour de France)

For the Interim's successor, the 250SWB go here:

Ferrari 250 GT TDF (Tour de France)

The Tour de France was a newly styled version of Ferrari's staple V12 250 chassis, introduced to commemorate the marques win in a historic French motor race of the same name and intended primarily for GT racing. 84 were produced between 1956 and 1959.

1st. Gen - 1956 - 1958 - The 250TDF was constantly under development so no two cars were quite alike, with things like body-trim and roof-height varying throughout the model's lifespan. The overall body shape remained the same however, as the original 1956 version, pictured below, with covered headlights and tail-fin rear.

2nd. Gen - 1959 - The final year of production saw a redesign of the front-end, to accommodate uncovered headlights and improve visibility, which had become required by Italian law, though the finned rear-end stayed.

The facelift to the later model appears to have defined Ferrari's new design principle, employed in the TDF's successor, the 250 GT SWB, although the tail-fins were dropped. In the final days of the 250TDF's production the factory built 7 updated versions with no fins to test and usher in the new 250SWB body on the older, long wheelbase platform. These very special crossover models were known as the 250GT Interim, below left. A handful of TDF's were also given an aerodynamic makeover by styling-house Zagato, known as the 250GTZ, below right.

For an overview of the 250 series go here:

For the GT Interim crossover version of the 250TDF go here: Ferrari 250 GT Interim - 1959

For the Zagato restyled 250GTZ, based on the TDF go here: Ferrari 250GTZ (Zagato)

Ferrari 250GTZ (Zagato)

This was a low-drag aero-bodied version of the 250TDF (Tour de France) racing coupe, developed by Zagato in 1956, marking the start of their design partnership with Ferrari. 5 were produced.

For the 250TDF GT racer on which the 250GTZ is based go here: Ferrari 250 GT TDF (Tour de France)

For the 2006 575GTZ that evokes the 250GTZ's design go here: Ferrari 575GTZ (Zagato)

Ferrari 575M Superamerica

High-volume convertible 'spider' version of Ferrari's then flagship 575M Maranello grand tourer, introduced in the final year of the model's production from 2005 to 2006.

The Supamerica featured an electrochromic roof, where the transparency can be varied electrically. The roof also peels back to rotate over into the boot recess. Both these features were production car firsts. Ferrari claimed it was the fastest available open-top car available at the time, with a 199mph top speed.

Video of the roof:

For the standard coupe 575M Maranello grand tourer go here: Ferrari 550 Maranello / 575M Maranello