WHERE EAGLES DARE

A chain-drive eccentricity of the Italian vintage era, this Bianchi 40hp is as fine and sporting today as it was in period

- MICK WALSH

To most, the name Bianchi evokes images of pistachio-painted bicycles or the motorbikes raced by such greats as Nuvolari, Varzi, Brambilla and Tonti. The diverse output of the Milanese company also included commercial vehicles and badge-engineered Fiats, but before the First World War founder Edoardo switched from pedal power to producing one of the finest early Italian cars.

Surviving examples of the exclusive 40hp model are almost extinct, but in England one family enthusiastically promotes the golden eagle badge with a mighty 4-litre Edwardian 'big four? Be it motoring across Europe over the city-to-city race routes, chasing other chain-drive titans around Goodwood or charging up a muddy Welsh track, father Peter and son Luke Roberts enjoy this super-rare Bianchi to the full. Edoardo would be proud of their exploits, which now include building a new engine to conserve the original.

Surprisingly for such a distinctive machine, the early history of this 1907 40hp is little known. The first record of chassis 389 dates from the early '60s when it was acquired by Lord Montagu for his newly opened museum on the Beaulieu estate. The young aristocrat kept the car until 1968, when it was purchased by renowned Irish collector Jim Boland. The deal included a SCAT for £550 and the Bianchi for £450, with then-curator Michael Ware signing off the sale. Typically, Boland decided to drive the Bianchi back to Dublin, but he found its performance disappointing as it struggled along at 30mph for the 250-mile trip from Hampshire through Wales to the ferry port.