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Streetscene – 1947 Chevrolet AK Series Pick Up
Posted By: Simon Sage | Posted On: 5th August 2020
As the song goes 'If you go down to the DIY Centre today, you're in for a big surprise' and we certainly were ! Parked amongst the hatchbacks, estate cars and plumbers vans was this gorgeous 1947 Chevy pick up. The patina on it was just spot on and we hope that the owners keeps it this way. Or 'Oily Rag' state, as is the latest way of describing it. The AK series was introduced in 1941 by GMC under it's Chevrolet brand and was an all purpose light truck. Probably seen on many small farms and small holdings across the USA and possibly featuring in many films of the 1940's & 1950's, you could just image Ma and Pa in the front with the kids and the hound in the back driving down long dusty highways to the local town for supplies. It came fitted with a 6 cylinder 90bhp engine with 216 cu inch, but you could upgrade to the 'Load Master' model which has an extra 235 cu inch engine which gave it 93bhp. Plus they featured a 3 speed manual gearbox which was common in the 1940's. The markings on the side say 'Bully's Farm &…
RRR Collection – A Rare Friendship on Wheels !
Posted By: Simon Sage | Posted On: 7th July 2020
The “ RRR Collection” comprises the story of two childhood friends and their lifelong fascination with the fanciful and highly affordable vehicles that revolutionised transportation in post-war Europe. The three R's stand for “Roller”, “Rollermobile”, “ Raritäten” – Motorscooters, micro cars, rarities. The collection, which comprises 150 models with exotic names such as Peel, Scootacar, Megu and Colibri, will be sold at auction at Dorotheum’s July 2020, Classic Car sale. BY WOLFGANG HUMER The post-war years were marked, above all, by deprivation. The automobile - on the brink of its big breakthrough in the 1930s - remained an unattainable dream for most Europeans in the depressed years that followed WWII. Some could afford motorcycles, most people however, not even that. But something was brewing south of the Alps. A new distinct buzzing sound was conquering the streets of Italy and from there it spread like wildfire in all directions. Vespa, “The Wasp”, had been born. With the emergence of the World’s first successful commercial motor scooter, a whole generation had its first real taste of the freedom of mobility. Around the same time, as this new and affordable means of transportation was catching on across the continent, professional motor racing…
RRR Collection: Dorotheum puts 130 classic scooters and bubble cars up for auction on July 10, 2020 – without price limits!
Posted By: Simon Sage | Posted On: 7th July 2020
The RRR Collection comprises a multitude of strange creatures from the post-WWII era of automotive history. A total of 130 rare scooters and bubble cars that carry exotic names such as Peel, Frisky, Isetta, Tessy, Megu or Colibri. On July 10, 2020, the vehicles will be offered at Dorotheum's Automotive branch in Vösendorf, Vienna - in an auction with no price limits! The RRR collection is the result of a decades-long project of passion shared by two Austrian childhood friends. Midway through life by then, the two friends reunited in the 1970s to pursue their common interest in the whimsical vehicles that had once lent wheels to their youth exploits. From 2003 to 2019, the resulting RRR Collection was on public display in Eggenburg in Lower Austria. The compact bubble cars were all manufactured in the 1950s and 1960s and provided the optimal combination of the minimalism of the motorcycle with the comforts of the car at a time where financial means were tight. Bubble cars are the very antithesis of today's popular SUVs: Modest, efficient, charming, small - and wonderfully quirky to boot. Necessity is certainly the mother of all invention, and especially the British manufacturers outdid each other…
The BMW Garmisch. BMW pays homage to design visionary Marcello Gandini.
Posted By: Simon Sage | Posted On: 19th June 2020
The BMW Group took the occasion of the 2019 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este to unveil the recreation of the BMW Garmisch, a classic concept car that was designed by Marcello Gandini for Bertone and vanished after its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 1970. With the newly created car, BMW pays respect to one of Italy’s most influential car designers and adds an exciting chapter to the company’s history. “Marcello Gandini to me is one of the grandmasters of car design and his cars always have been an important source of inspiration for my work”, says Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President of BMW Group Design, who has been intrigued by the BMW Garmisch since he first discovered a faded period picture of the car some years ago. “Building the BMW Garmisch for a second time gave us the opportunity to pay tribute to Mr. Gandini, recall one of his lesser-known cars and highlight Bertone’s stylistic influence on the evolution of BMW design. For me, that alone was reason enough to do this project – filling in the gaps and completing BMW’s history.” Since the early days of the brand, BMW has been inspired and influenced by Italian design…