News & events
Félix Machin’s rakish 1937 Mercedes-benz 320 Cabriolet A Special emerged victorious at the Estoril Classics concours d’elegance from 11-13 October.
The Benz wowed the judges in Portugal to collect the Best of Show prize, edging out stiff competition that included Preservation Award winner Jaap Braam Rueben’s 1929 Bugatti Type 43A. On the coastal road run around Cascais, Rueben piloted a 1925 Hispano-suiza H6C Torpedo – a remarkable machine that weighs ‘just’ 2000kg despite its elephantine proportions and was originally owned by notorious master criminal Alves dos Reis.
Another car with significant Portuguese history was Dr Will Leimer’s 1956 Mercedes-benz 300SL Gullwing. Raced in period by António Barros, the car recently emerged from an impeccable restoration by M&W Classic and garnered honours in the Post-war Sports category. It was a close-run thing, however, because the judges were also smitten by Jorge Faria’s sublime Facel Vega FV2 B V8, which was making its public debut following a four-year rebuild.
Citroën’s centenary year was marked with a standalone class that attracted a wealth of rare Traction Avant variants. Fernando Paulino’s startlingly original 1937 11CV Cabriolet narrowly beat José Augusto’s 11CV Faux Cabriolet of similar vintage for the victory. In third place was a C6 Pompiers fire engine that also bagged the Public Choice gong.
The hardest-fought category was possibly the 1960s and ’70s Sports and GT class, with Matthias Hinz’s Lancia Flaminia Zagato Super Sport beating Maria Margarida Patrício Correia’s Glas 1700GT. The Frua-styled coupé had the consolation of being bestowed with the National Restoration prize.
The Rolls-royce Pre-war Collection proved popular with judges and public alike; Ricardo Velosa’s sinister-looking 1928 20/25hp with coachwork by Crosbie & Dunn, fully deserving of its unofficial ‘Dracula Coupé’ moniker, took home the class prize.
The Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA) has warned that converting any classic car to electric power should not be permanent, insisting that while electric it is no longer a classic.
FIVA’S comments come after a number of specialists and manufacturers have entered the lucrative market, and against a backdrop of newly announced conversions.
Silverstone-based Lunaz has confirmed it is fielding bespoke commissions, and that a 1961 eight-seat Rolls-royce Phantom V, a 1956 Rolls-royce Cloud and a 1953 Jaguar XK120 are in build.
The growing sector can already boast cars such as Swind’s E Classic Mini, which was launched earlier this year, and the Charge electric Mustang, while 2CV Shop imports the eden electric Méhari conversion. RBW’S electric MGB has supposedly proved popular in Monaco, and companies such as London Electric Cars will take on bespoke conversions.
The Fédération concedes that the choice is the owner’s, but counters that it can in no way promote classic conversions and instead reiterates that a classic car is at least 30 years old, is in historically correct condition, is not used as daily transport, and is part of our technical and cultural heritage.
“It is not the shape or body style of a vehicle that makes it ‘historic’,” says Tiddo Bresters, FIVA’S vice president – legislation, “but the way in which the entire vehicle has been constructed and manufactured in its original form. Hence if any owner, motor engineer or manufacturer chooses to make such conversions to a historic vehicle,
FIVA would strongly recommend that any changes are reversible, with all the original components marked and safely stored. In this way, the vehicle may be returned to its original state and may once again become a historic vehicle.”
Jaguar’s E-type Zero project and Aston Martin’s electric DB6 would both conform to FIVA’S recommendation, because owners are able to rebuild and revert to petrol power should they choose.