Cars

If the early 70s was a peak in terms of automotive design, then the following half-decade was certainly a trough. By this time, the effects of skyrocketing oil prices and over-sensitive safety laws had handicapped the creative pensmiths, hence the slump into an era of rubber bumpers, cheap plastics and uninspired aesthetics. But clearly, no one had informed Gandini: he was still in Bertone’s small Turin studio drawing up impossible, wedgy concepts. Brown ones.

From the 1950s onwards, Bouvot worked on Peugeot’s new small saloons and coupés but, after closing time, his wish was to drive home in something more sporty. He’d already owned many Ferraris and, by the end of the 1960s, he had his eye on a new Ferrari 275 GTB/4. Bouvot was well-connected, so asked his Italian friend Sergio Pininfarina – who had designed several cars for Peugeot – whether he could quickly source him such a car. However, before the Turinese designer had the chance to look, Bouvot snapped up a Lamborghini Miura – penned by Pininfarina’s rival Bertone, of course.

Alpine’s founder Jean Rédélé was a visionary. His competition success with a modified Renault 4CV in a variety of events (including the Mille Miglia and Coupe des Alpes) in the early 1950s spurred him on to create his own cars, ones that he hoped would prove themselves not on sales, but on motorsport merit. When the A110 was revealed at the 1962 Paris Motor Show, few could have guessed at the impact it would have on the world of rallying. Rédélé’s vision was to become a reality.

Ahead of its time

It was, after all, in no small part due to the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger that the DB5 became so famous and successful. Since then, it appeared in another four Bond films, and finally in the relatively recent Skyfall… when Bond’s cherished classic met a tragic end. It’s the Bond connection that has led some commentators to call the DB5 “the most famous car in the world”.

We have to wonder whether the folks at Kahn Design have ever heard the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, as its new Flying Huntsman certainly suggests otherwise. In adding 400mm of bodywork ahead of the windscreen, Maurice Wilks’ seemingly timeless silhouette has been radically altered and, in our eyes, just doesn’t sit right.

As expected, Bonhams and RM both achieved the largest single lot results of the Arizona sales with their ex-Scuderia Filipinetti Ferraris, achieving $9.4m and $9.6m for their 275 GTB/C and 250 LM, respectively. RM also achieved two world auction records for Ferraris, with a 275 GTS and a 288 GTO fetching a corresponding $2.37m and $2.75m, while Gooding sold its headline lot – a LWB Cal’ Spider – for $7.7m.

The class categories for the follow-up to last year’s successful event have been completely overhauled, promising visitors a whole new display – albeit with no loss of quality. Among them will be an assembly of ACF Grand Prix cars, a dedication to ‘iconoclastic interiors’ and a tribute to ‘The Famous Ladies' Cars’ – might we see the Bergman 375 MM make another concours appearance?