Archive for the 'Classic cars' Category

Famous for his simple yet elegant haute couture, Ralph Lauren is perhaps less well known as an aficionado of vintage vehicles, but this is soon to change as his wonderful collection of classic cars goes on display in Paris.

Forever connected to this most romantic of cities by his phenomenally successful store in St. Germain, Lauren has selected the Musée des Arts Décoratifs as the setting for this formidable display of automotive excellence. Curated by Rodolphe Rapetti, the exhibition guarantees to make the most jaded fan of classic motors turn green with envy.

Continue reading…Ralph Lauren presents his vintage car collection…

Its origins might lie in Italy, but there is no shortage of enthusiasm in Spain for the Vespa: this classic scooter has succeeded as a style icon where so many have failed.

Naturally the scooter has a broad fan base in Spain, with many urban dwellers choosing it as their preferred mode of transport, but even in Britain where scooters are generally deemed unfashionable, the Vespa retains a residual cool. The country’s love affair with the Vespa reached its zenith in the 1960s when it was adopted by the Mods, a stylish youth sub-culture who customised their bikes with additional mirrors, lights and pennants.

Continue reading…Valencia to celebrate the Vespa…

Connoisseurs of 1960s cartoons will probably react enthusiastically when Wacky Races is mentioned. This supremely silly story (and its equally popular offshoots, Dick Dastardly and Mutley in Their Flying Machines and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop) revolved around a race in which the contestants in an ongoing race pit their wits against each other – and cheat frequently!

Continue reading…Wacky racers head for Valencia in the Ramshackle Rally…

In an exciting new collaboration Armor Tech and Maybach recently announced the ArmorTech Maybach 57S Coupe.

Officially launched this year, the new car is the product of the coming together of Armor Tech, a Russian company specialising in the armouring and bullet proofing of luxury and performance cars, and Maybach, the luxury limousine division of Mercedes Benz.

Continue reading…ArmorTech Maybach 57S Coupe…

In many ways Antonio Hernández Herrero is a pioneer of the Spanish tourist industry. Through innovation and adaptation to changing times the fledgling car rental company he set up in 1974 has since become the country’s largest independent service provider of its kind in Spain.

You might say it’s a classic success story. Founded by a husband and wife team back in the early days of Spanish mass tourism, Solmar is a firm that has grown from very humble beginnings into a leading concern with almost 14,000 cars and a presence at airports and tourist centres throughout the country. “We began with a potpourri of second-hand cars,” smiles Don Antonio, “most of them borrowed from friends.”

Continue reading…An empire built on wheels…

A highly desirable 1938 Delahaye 135 MS Competition Cabriolet is one of the lots to be auctioned at RM Auction’s inaugural Sporting Classics of Monaco event, held at the beginning of May. Featuring stunning, one-off cabriolet coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi and an exquisite Hermes interior, this unique Delahaye offers an attractive blend of the best in late 1930s French custom body design with some of the highest specification mechanicals ever offered by the company – a powerful combination that saw the car participate in both concours d’elegance and motor racing events. Beautifully restored to concours-quality condition, it boasts an impeccable provenance and ownership history including French racing driver Marcel Contet and, later, a former President of the Delahaye Owners’ Club, who carefully maintained the car for over 42 years.

Continue reading…Gorgeous Delahaye 135 MS joins Monaco line-up…

Think of the world of Formula 1 and the name that will spring to your mind first of all is very likely to be Italy’s most glamorous marque, Ferrari. Male ambition can usually be measured only by the size of the toys involved. From happy days spent with a Hot Wheels model of a blood red Ferrari 512 S to saving up for that ever-elusive Ferrari Spider as an adult, the spell of Ferrari, once cast, is seldom broken.

Now fans will have the opportunity to enter Ferrari World in a very immediate sense when the world’s first Ferrari themed amusement park opens in Abu Dhabi.

Continue reading…Valencia to enter Ferrari World?…