Going West. Who hasn't dreamed, at least once in their life, of crossing the USA from ocean to ocean? For me, this desire stemmed from a mix of beautiful and inspiring on the road' books, Hollywood films, and stories of the legendary pioneers who made the journey in their Buckboard wagons. I didn't even once envisage the journey being from West to East. No, to my mind a proper Trans-Am odyssey has to follow the sun.
As for the car, forget a practical rental. It has to be a classic, even better if it's pre-war, to add some atmosphere to the adventure. As for my companion, I met Filippo Sole (coincidentally, his family name means 'sun' in Italian) a few years ago; he is ten years younger than me and crazier in his approach to life but we share many ideals, including a love of pre-war classics. He restores his mostly with his own hands.
We first talked seriously about a coast-to-coast trip in late 2019, proposing to use Filippo's 1938 Lancia Astura Cabriolet Pinin Farina. Then Covid hit and the project was put on hold; the car won its class at Pebble Beach in 2021 and, as we left the stage, we promised ourselves that Spring 2022 would be our time.
The choice of car changed: here you see Filippo's freshly restored 1930 Lancia Type 227 Dilambda Cabriolet by Carlton, chassis number 27-611. It is a one-off car, sold new in England to Sir Douglas Montgomery Bernard Hall, 2nd Baronet (1891-1962). It was he who commissioned the London-based Carlton Carriage Company to complete the rolling chassis with a sporty-looking body. The resulting Dilambda was nicknamed 'Blue Shadow' 'BS' was noted on the original registration document - likely because of the two-tone grey-blue exterior with blue interior.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2022 من Octane.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2022 من Octane.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.
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