The mysterious disappearance of two Hispano-Suiza in the Alps

Hans Veenenbos
10/31/2014

Hispano-Suiza J12 Langenthal 1933

In 1932, Walter Schöller, a wealthy textile industrialist from Zurich, ordered a chassis of the new Hispano-Suiza J12 type. This chassis, number 13015, was delivered in January 1933. Schöller, who was a sponsor of the Zurich football club Grasshoppers, decided to commission Carosserie Langenthal AG to build a four-door convertible body based on the patents of Alexis Kellner (Berlin). He was obviously very impressed with the result, as he kept the J12 until the 1940s and through the Second World War.

The car was finally sold in the fifties. However, no one knows where the car went, at least it never turned up again. Perhaps it is still in a kind of hibernation in the Alps and is waiting to be rediscovered, or perhaps it was scrapped, which would of course be outrageous from today's perspective ...

However, this Hispano-Suiza J12 is not the only one of this type to have been "lost" in Switzerland. In May 1933, the manufacturer delivered chassis 14009 to Hermann Graber on behalf of J. Buess from Sissach.

Hispano-Suiza J12 Graber 1933

Graber built a total of two J12 chassis. One, number 14003, was given a two-door saloon body and still exists; the second, 14009, was produced as a two-door convertible and delivered to Mr. Buess in July 1933. He died in 1950 and his family sold the Hispano around 1955. Rumor has it that the car was later sold to the States, but this could never be verified.

To this day, both Hispano-Suiza J12s have remained missing and the hunting horn has often been blown to resume the search, but so far without success ...

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Forgotten cars from TV series - Gambit's Jaguar XJS

Bruno von Rotz
10/30/2014

Jaguar XJS in Fernsehserie "The New Avengers"

"With Umbrella, Charm and Bowler Hat" or "The Avengers" was one of the most successful adventure/crime TV series of the sixties. No wonder they wanted to revive John Steed in the seventies, giving him a new partner called Purdey, who of course could not completely replace Emma Peel, and another extra called Mike Gambit. The English-French-Canadian co-production was somewhat unimaginatively called "The New Avengers" and was produced between 1976 and 1977.

Jaguar XJS in Fernsehserie "The New Avengers"

While the immortal Lotus Elan and the pre-war Bentley made their appearance in the episodes with Steed/Peel in the 1960s, Leyland products were predominantly used in the 1970s, including a red Jaguar XJS, which was apparently even on the set in several variants so that one was always ready to run in the event of a breakdown.

Lange Beine und der Jaguar XJS in Fernsehserie "The New Avengers"

A Range Rover, a Rover SD1 and an Aston Martin DBS were also used time and again.

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Classic pearls of the future - Subaru Impreza WRX STI

Bruno von Rotz
10/29/2014

Subaru Impreza WRX STI von 2004 (© Subaru / Werk)

A trademark shaking boxer sound, turbo-induced top performance, four-wheel drive and a brute appearance not only brought Subaru success in rally racing, but also on the road.

Subaru Impreza WRC von 2000 (© Subaru / Werk)

With the second-generation Subaru Impreza WRX STI, customers willing to buy could put rally-proven technology in their own garage for comparatively manageable sums of money. Although the victories in the World Rally Championship were still achieved with the predecessor (see picture above), the second edition of the Impreza WRX STI, built between 2000 and 2007, also had a lot going for it. The English in particular could not get enough of the hot Japanese car in Europe, but other markets were also Impreza fans.

Heckansicht mit Spoiler - Subaru Impreza WRX STI von 2004 (© Subaru / Werk)

The engine output of the initially two, later 2.5-liter four-cylinder boxer tended towards 300 hp, the four-wheel drive and the handling of the compact notchback sedan were continuously improved. Finally, the appearance was refined several times - particularly in the area of lamp design - and adapted to contemporary tastes. The choice of paint finishes was modest; true rally fans naturally opted for blue, complemented by gold aluminum wheels.

Cockpit des Subaru Impreza WRX STI von 2005 (© Subaru / Werk)

From the driver's point of view, the STI required a great deal of (self-)control. When the turbo kicked in, it moved forward brutally, almost regardless of the surface conditions. The cockpit with thick bucket seats completed the sporty driving pleasure. And thanks to the four doors, you could even buy the Subaru as family transportation back then.

The WRX STI models were not particularly rare, but the stock of original cars is likely to be manageable, and prices will rise at the latest when the Playstation generation wants to buy real classics.

All the articles in the " Classic Pearls" series are clearly summarized in a separate topic channel .

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The touring helper - or how people tried to help themselves 50 years ago

Bruno von Rotz
10/28/2014

In the early sixties, the Touring Club had exactly two breakdown service vehicles. In the event of a breakdown, a lot of time could pass before help finally arrived. To improve this situation, the Touring Club Zurich introduced the "Touring Helper".

Ausbildung zum Touringhelfer im Jahr 1961

These were members of the club who were specially trained to carry out camaraderie services in the event of accidents and breakdowns. In addition, the volunteers, who had to have a good automotive reputation, received emergency assistance equipment worth 900 francs. This included overalls, a first-aid kit, camera, fire extinguisher, tool bag and chalk.

Bordausrüstung für den Touringhelfer im Jahr 1961

AR 9/1961 reported that the helpers were trained in a one-day course, as they had a considerable responsibility if they were the first to arrive at an accident or breakdown. 200 such touring helpers were to be trained at the time, but whether this happened and what became of the idea is beyond the author's knowledge.

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You screw it yourself

Bruno von Rotz
10/27/2014

Frage der Woche - Selber schrauben?

Somehow we are surprised! People are constantly talking about the trend that classic car owners are doing less and less work on their cars. And then this.

The evaluation of our last " question of the week" on the subject of "do it yourself?" showed that 58% do not let anyone else work on their classic car, but mainly do it themselves.

A further 28% carry out minor work themselves and only leave the major work to a specialist. And just 13% regularly entrust their classic car to a specialist and do not carry out any work themselves.

A clear vote and rather surprising, especially for an online survey, but somehow also pleasing. Isn't it?

Auswertung Frage der Woche - Selber schrauben?

And if you would like to take part in our next "Question of the Week" on the subject of "Improving the performance of classic cars" , you can get started right now.

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Strange one-offs in Italy

Bruno von Rotz
10/26/2014

The nice thing about a big classic car show is that you always discover cars that you were hardly familiar with before. This year's Auto e Moto d'Epoca in Padua, which closes its doors tonight, is no exception.

Alfa Romeo 6C

For example, there is an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 from around 1950 as a pickup! Who would think of turning this magnificent car into a truck?

Ferrari 412 Pavesi "Ventorosso" 1989

Or how about the Ferrari 412 from 1989, which was converted by Pavesi Ventorosso into a convertible with lines that take some getting used to? Incidentally, the car is said to have been built three times.

Fiat Coupé Spider 1995

And a few meters further on is a Fiat Coupé/Cabriolet from the 1990s, which even Chris Bangle would probably have liked, because the convertible conversion looks successful.

Fiat 2100 Vignale 1960

The Fiat 2100 Vignale Coupé from 1960 is perhaps less appealing, but whether the necessary restoration will turn the duckling back into a swan cannot yet be predicted.

Fiat 508 Berinetta Speciale 1934-1946

The Fiat 508 Berlinetta Speciale looks more coherent here. It was built around 1946 on the basis of a pre-war chassis, but here too some work is needed before the car can be driven again.

Peugeot 205 T16 Quasar 1984

By contrast, the Quasar, which Peugeot presented at the 1984 Paris Motor Show and which was based on the Peugeot 205 T16, is clearly a show star.

And this list in no way does justice to the show in Padua, as our report with over 150 picturesshows .

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If one motor is not enough, then you just fit two ...

Bruno von Rotz
10/25/2014

Monaci Bimotore von 1952

How do you build a fast racing car if you don't have too much money but want to compete against the big and powerful cars of the competition? You couple two inexpensive four-cylinder engines together and double the power and torque. This is probably what Ciro Monacithought at the end of the 1940s and created a front-engined racing car with two Fiat engines mounted one behind the other. The power coupling was even patented and used in shipbuilding.

Zwei hintereinander liegende Motoren im Monaci Bimotore von 1952

Only a second oil pressure gauge in the cockpit is a reminder of the special motorization.

Zwei Öldruckmesser im Cockpit des Monaci Bimotore von 1952

The car reached over 200 km/h in this way, presumably also thanks to the streamlined bodywork that Zagato designed.

Although the really big successes against the Ferrari 500 and its ilk failed to materialize from 1952 onwards, the engineering achievement was still impressive.

Komplett bestückte Fiat-Motoren im Monaci Bimotore von 1952

Incidentally, the 1952 Monaci was by no means the only car with two engines. Citroën used a similar trick to give the Deux-Chevaux (2 CV) four driven wheels. They simply installed another engine in the rear of the "Sahara" to drive the rear axle. However, unlike the Monaci, the engines remained completely independent except for the gearshift, which had to shift both gearboxes.

Citroën Sahara von 1965 an der Retro Classics in Stuttgart 2014

You can still marvel at the Monaci until Sunday evening at the "Auto e Motor d'Epoca" trade fair in Padua, a detailed report will follow soon.

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Young classic car on the winter tour

Bruno von Rotz
10/24/2014

Just in time for the impending onset of winter, we came across this photo. It shows an Austro Daimler Bergmeister built in 1931, today a stately pre-war classic car. However, the picture was taken in 1961, when the car had just barely reached the age of a classic car (at that time it was referred to as a veteran).

The industrialist "Frédéric" drove this car in the Austrian Winter Tour in February 1961, making it an exotic car, of course, as the competition drove contemporary cars such as the Volkswagen Beetle, the Opel Kapitän, the Auto Union 1000 or the Porsche 356. Another exotic car (albeit a much younger model) was also spotted on the 400 km long winter tour, namely a Citroën Sahara with two engines, which won the sports car category (!).

Only 50 of the 85 cars made it to the finish line, and the Austro Daimler was not one of them, as Automobil Revuereported in issue 9/1961

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Do design experiments pay off?

Bruno von Rotz
10/23/2014

Citroen DS 1971

Throughout the history of the automobile, there have always been attempts to reinvent the car or at least to break new ground in terms of design.

AMC Pacer 1975

Special vehicles such as the Citroën DS, the Porsche 928, the Edsel, the AMC Pacer, the Fiat Multipla or the Renault Avantime were created.

Fiat Multipla 1999

Typically, of course, it was precisely these cars that led to great controversy. Some liked them, others hated them, but hardly anyone remained indifferent.

And with that, most of these "unusual" cars also secured their place in classic car heaven, although some may still have to be discovered. At least in the long term, design experiments seem to pay off ...

Renault Avantime 2001

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Classic pearls of the future - Porsche 968

Bruno von Rotz
10/22/2014

The Porsche 968 succeeded the 944 S2 in 1991, when demand for its predecessor was showing serious dents. Harm Lagaay was responsible for the redesign, which brought the four-cylinder Porsche visually closer to the 964 and 928 models. Some design elements even anticipated ideas from the later 993.

Technically, the transaxle 968 was largely the same as its predecessor, but the engine was boosted to 240 hp and coupled to a six-speed gearbox. The interior was almost completely taken over from the 944 S2.

In 1993, the 968 CS club sport version (pictured above) was added to offer sporty customers yet another treat. By dispensing with comfort features, it was possible to save 50 kg. The chassis was lowered and fitted with 17-inch instead of 16-inch wheels. And, of course, you could order even more goodies from the Porsche dealer.

With 1538 units built, the 968 CS is close to the production figure of the 911 Carrera RS 2.7. A good omen? In any case, the car is sure to have a large fan base.

Just over 11,000 Porsche 968s of all variants, including a Cabriolet, were produced over the five-year production period. This means that each of the 968 models is likely to be comparatively rare and mature into a classic; the Clubsport variant already has this status today.

All the articles in the "Classic Pearls" series areclearly summarized in a separate topic channel .

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