From wily privateer endurance racer and team founder to suave TV presenter, Alain de Cadenet was a one-off. Hugely knowledgeable on a range of subjects, 'de Cad' made the most of every phase of his colourful career. Be it losing his girlfriend to a racing driver on his first visit to a track, searching out historic competition cars in South America or parking his prized pre-war Alfa 8C inside the gates of Buckingham Palace on a visit to view the royal stamp collection, de Cad always pushed life to the limit - as his passengers will attest.
Born in 1945, de Cad claimed he never met his French father, Maxime de Cadenet, who was a lieutenant radio operator in the French Air Force. He later became personal photographer to Charles de Gaulle and was involved in the Resistance movie Tomorrow We Live. In 1942 Maxime met an English girl, Valerie Braham, in London and Alain followed in '45. The marriage didn't last, and Braham moved to California to become an actress under the name Karen Scott.
Left behind in England with his grandparents, de Cad was educated at Framlingham College and initially aspired to be a fashion photographer, but after a trip to Brands Hatch in '66 his focus switched to motorsport with a newly acquired AC Ace 2.6. After a series of Porsches, de Cad's first overseas success was sixth in the 1969 Vila Real Six Hours in a Ferrari Dino 206S with Mike Walton. Always wheeling and dealing to finance his racing, de Cad's team included the winning 908/02 driven by Chris Craft and David Piper.
Aged 26, de Cad made his debut at Le Mans with the Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari 512M in 1971. His race nearly ended before it started after he lost the sight in one eye in a fiery shunt with his Lola on the Targa Florio. Two months later his vision hadn't recovered, but somehow he tricked the medics and survived his one-eyed 190mph night blasts down the Mulsanne.
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Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring