1956 Maserati A6G Zagato Berlinetta

1956 Maserati A6G Zagato (from the collection of the author)

I saw this car recently at a local event and had to get a picture. The Maserati brothers sold their namesake business to the Orsi family in 1937. As part of the deal the brothers would stay on for the next 10 years leading the engineering efforts. In 1947, when their contract was up, the remaining three brothers left to concentrate on racing and founded OSCA. The Maserati company, on the other hand, realized the need to sell cars and introduced the A6 at the Geneva Motor Show the same year. They would update the car (enlarging the engine to 2 liters) in 1951, and in 1954, would put the finishing touches on this platform - the A6G featured a re-engineered twin-cam engine with triple carbs developing 165 hp. The other important change was Maserati's move away from the earlier Pinin Farina bodies to Zagato (and Frua). 

Ugo Zagato established his open coach building shop in Turin in 1919. After WWII, the company was rebuilt (the factory had been bombed), and with the help of his son Ello, they would make a name for themselves boding the Cristalia. Some say, and I might have to agree, that Zagoto's finest work of the period was boding the Maserati A6G. The proportions on this lightweight aluminum body (with Perspex windows) are magnificent. 

Over a two year period, Zagato would body 17 A6G Berlinettas (and a couple spiders). These cars are similar but each was bespoke and have slight differences. The car shown here is one of the last 5 (with the dual hood scopes, spaced apart): chassis' 2148, 2160, 2179, 2186 and 2189 (actually chassis 2118 re-stamped by the factory after an accident). These are true GT cars and the sound they make is fantastic.

Sunbeam's run at the 1915 Indy 500

1914 Sunbeam racer at the 1915 Indy 500 (photo credit: LT)

As expressed in the companion post about the 1913 Sunbeam that ran at Indy, this fascinating image found it's way to me recently within the same group of photos. This car is an example of the cars developed by Coatalen, Sunbeam's chief engineer, for the 1914 Tourist Trophy race. Based on the design of the 1913 Peugeot GP cars (famed Swiss designer, Henry, had developed a landmark car - lighter with more horsepower per liter than previously seen), the Sunbeam team, lead by Kenelem Lee Guinness who won, dominated the race. Interestingly, Guinness' car is said to have been painted Purple - the color designated for the British entries in the 1914 TT.

After the team's success at the TT, the Sunbeam team decided to enter at least two cars in the 1915 International race in Indianapolis (The Indy 500). One of America's true international races at the time, the 500 attracted the best European teams and drivers including Peugeot (the 1913 winner), Delage (the 1914 winner), and Mercedes (the 1915 winner). Interestingly, the Peugeot that won in 1913 was an older and heavier 6-cylinder car. However, the new Henry designed 4-cylinder car left such an impression that all future winners at Indy for the next decade (including the Duesenberg and Miller cars) were influenced by it.  

1915 was the first year that cars started based on qualifying order and Sunbeam planned to have the well-regarded Dario Resta, and the factory driver Jean Chassagne, behind the wheel of its entries. However, it appears that Resta was enticed to drive a Peugeot and Chassagne was not able to make the trip. It was for this reason that the Italian Jean Porporato drove in place of Resta. British amateur Noel van Raalte "purchased" the drive for the second mount. As noted in the companion post, two additional Sunbeams (1913 spec cars) were also entered by the Fortuna Racing Team out of NY. Those cars were piloted by Harry Grant and Carl Limberg. 

Jean Porporato qualified in 6th position, but Barney Oldfield had to qualify the second car (14th position) - withdrawing so Noel van Raalte could resume the seat for the race. Porporato (driving the #6 car) would go out on lap 164 with a piston issue and Noel van Raalte (driving the #7 car) would actually finish 10th.

The picture above appears to show the #6 car in front of the garages at Indy with Porporato at the wheel (possibly Chassagne - the two look similar). 

Jean Porporato in the #6 Sunbeam in 1915 at Indy (photo credit: Ivan Wheaton)

UPDATE:
Blog reader Ariejan Bos as identified the drive in the top photo as Jean Porporato - thanks, Ariejan.

1913 Sunbeam Indianapolis 500 Car

1913 Sunbeam Racer (photo credit: LT)

A friend passed along a couple very interesting pictures of two Sunbeam race cars. The first image we see here is a 1913 Sunbeam factory car. The English firm, Sunbeam Motorcar Company Ltd. was established in 1905 for the purpose of manufacturing automobiles (a separate entity under the same parent made bicycles and motorcycles). The firm's outlook for motor racing grew with the addition of chief engineer Louis Coatalen who soon had the company fielding competitive cars. I've written about the firm's experimentation with a 12-cylinder, aero-engine car raced at Brooklands, and later here in the United States (owned for a time by the Adams Brothers). 

This car, however, is an example of a modified 1913 car (to race at the Indianapolis 500). Fresh off a 1, 2, 3 finish in the 1912 French GP, Coatalen built 5 of these 6-cylinder cars for the 1913 French GP. A repeat performance was not in the cards, as they were handily beaten by the ground-breaking Peugeot cars. Coatalen would modify a few of these cars (shortening the wheelbase, and changing the rear body work to accommodate a larger fuel tank) and run the 1913 international race in Indianapolis (the Indy 500). Sunbeam would return in 1914 with a new design - loosing to a Delage, now in the Indianapolis Museum. After the loss at the French GP, Coatalen purchased one the 1913 Peugeot racers and disassemble it at the factory - reverse engineering the car and creating a very similar car for Sunbeam to campaign in 1914 (see the companion post on the 1914 Sunbeam racer). It was this new design that Coatalen would bring to Indy in 1915 - but I'm getting ahead of myself. 

It seems the 1913 Indianapolis cars were sold after the race, as was the case with "used race cars" at the time (after the factory was through with them). This car (and I believe one other) seem to end up in the hands of William Ziegler Jr. - a wealthy racing patron of the day. The Motor Age of May 13, 1915 reports that Ziegler sold the cars to the Fortuna Racing Team of New York.  I've not been able to find out much about this group, but Fortuna hired Harry Grant (Harold Fletcher Grant, 1877 - 1915) to campaign this car in 1915 (was Grant part owner of this team?).  Grant was a well known and successful American Driver. In fact, He had been hired by Sunbeam to drive in the 1914 Indianapolis 500 after his win at the Vanderbilt Cup race. 

The 1915 Indy 500 saw the Sunbeam factory enter their Tourist Trophy winning cars, as well as Fortuna entering two 1913 Sunbeam cars. I believe Grant ran the car seen here with Carl Limberg piloting the other. An interesting side note is that Limberg couldn't find the speed to qualify the car and Barney Oldfield had to actually qualify the car (Oldfield then withdrew so Limberg could re-take his seat). 

Harry Grant driving the 1913 Sunbeam racer at the 1915 Indy 500 (photo credit: Ivan Wheaton)

Grant (in the number 14) would end up going out on lap 184 (oil pan). After Indy Fortuna brought the Sunbeams east and Grant raced the same car at the new Narragansett Park Speedway just outside of Providence, RI. Grant ran the 25 mile race and went out with spark plug issues. A month later Harry Grant would crash a Maxwell racer trying to qualify for the Astor Cup - he died of his injuries a week later.  

This picture was taken in 1915 at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI. Grant had strong connections to Providence having first racing for ALCO (who's factory was in Providence). Is it possible the car was owned by Grant at the time or sold to someone in Providence after the Narragansett Speedway race? If you know more about this car, please leave me a comment.

The 1935 Le Mans winning Lagonda M45 Rapide

The Louwman Collection's 1935 Le Mans winning Lagonda (from the collection of the author)

Yet another fantastic Lagonda from the Louwman Collection, this is the 1935 Le Mans winner. Driven by John "Johnny" Hindmarsh and Luis Fontes, the car battled the Alfa Romeo's for the entire race. 

This car (the number 4) was prepared and entered by Fox and Nicholl. Experienced at tuning Lagonda's "Meadows" designed engine, Arthur Fox and Charles Nicholl were essentially the factory team for Lagonda at the time (in much the same way as Scuderia Ferrari was for Alfa Romeo). 

The 1935 Le Mans (June 15th) was wet and the Alfa's, who had won the preceding 4 years, were highly favored. The British fielded 37 out of the 58 starters with Lagonda entering 2 cars. As the race neared completion the Alfa of Stoffel and Helde made an unscheduled stop. Once back on the track, they passed Fontes in the Lagonda. However, the Alfa team had made a critical tracking error and thought they were in the lead, when in fact they had simply made up their lost lap and were now on the same lap - behind the leading Lagonda. By the time they figured out their error it was too late and Lagonda had broken Alfa Romeo's win streak at Le Mans. 

Sadly, Hindmarsh was killed in 1938 test piloting a Hawker Hurricane and Fontes died soon after flying for the RAF in WWII.

The number 4 Lagonda of Hindmarsh and Fontes at Le Mans

Lagonda Team Car from the 1939 Le Mans

1939 Lagonda 4.5 Liter V-12 factory team car (photo from the collection of the author)

Here's another Lagonda with racing pedigree from the wonderful Louwman Museum. One of two Lagonda factory team cars campaigned at the 1939 Le Mans, the #5 (chassis 14089) was driven by Arthur Dobson and Charles Blackenbury to a third place finish. 

One of the first thing's Alan Good did after purchasing Lagonda in 1935, was to create a car that could complete with the likes of Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza. He hired W.O. Bentley and his team from Rolls-Royce and they set about designing new 12-cylinder car. The 4.5 liter V-12 was a great success for Lagonda with roughly 200 road-cars made - today these cars are highly regarded by collectors. 

A result of this endeavor was Lagonda's return to racing in 1939. The 1939 race, held June 17th that year, saw the British field 12 cars: 2 Lagondas, 3 Singers, 2 MGs, 2 Aston Martins, an HRG, a Riley and a Morgan. The two V-12 Lagondas gave a strong showing, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively with the Bugatti "Tank" of Wimille and Veyron finishing first. Great anticipation for a return to Le Mans in 1940 were dashed by the outbreak of WWII.

The Number 5 Lagonda of Dobson & Blackenburg (photo credit: Percy Kemish)

1903 Napier Racer

The Louwman Museum's 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup Racer (from the collection of the author)

I've written about this amazing car previously and thought I'd revisit it as Dad photographed the car - seeing it for the first time in over 50 years upon his visit to the marvelous Louwman Museum. Back when Dad was a kid, and a member of the VMCCA as a teen, this car was owned by George Waterman - one of the preeminent collectors of the day. Dad saw the car after is restoration in the 1950s. 

D. Napier & Son Limited gained notoriety for their automobile manufacturing through racing - specifically their 1902 win in the Gordon Bennett Cup Race. It was this win that brought the race back to England which prohibited motor racing at the time. The race organizers quickly made plans to hold the 1903 race in neighboring Ireland. Napier painted their car green in honor of the host country and "British Racing Green" was born.

This car was built in 1903 and raced at the Elimination Trials held on the Isle of Man to select the British team for the 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup race. The car was crashed (breaking the front axle) and Napier (nor this car) made the team. As was the custom at the time, Napier decommissioned its race cars after the factory was through with them, selling them to the public. It is thought that this car was imported into the United States sometime prior to 1912 by H. M. Bater, a mechanic who was in the employ of The Napier Motor Company of America of Jamaica Plain, MA (a suburb of Boston). Bater was responsible for importing a number of cars into the country and one of his customers (one of Napier's best American customers) was Mr. A.W. Erickson (Arioch Wentworth Erickson) of Swamscott, MA. George Waterman would find both a 1906 touring car and this 1903 racer in the Erickson family carriage house around 1940 - purchasing both.

The 1903 Napier when owned by George Waterman (from the collection of the author)