The 50th anniversary of a black year in motorsport

Daniel Reinhard
09/30/2018

Luigi Scarfiotti, Sohn von Ludovico (© Daniel Reinhard)

On April 7, 1968, the then absolute superstar of the Grand Prix scene, Jim Clark, died in Hockenheim in a Formula 2 race that was insignificant for him.

Just two months later, on June 8, 1968, the nephew of the first Fiat president, the Italian Grand Prix and sports car driver Ludovico Scarfiotti, was killed in a Porsche Spider accident at the Rossfeld hill climb.
Another four weeks later, on July 7, 1968, Honda driver Jo Schlesser also burned to death at the French GP in Rouen.

This meant that three great racing drivers lost their lives in the space of just three months.

Ludovico Scarfiotti won his only Grand Prix in Monza in 1966, but was one of the absolute best in sports cars. In 1963, he won the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, among others. He was also European Hillclimb Champion in a Ferrari in 1962 and 1965.

Ludovico Scarfiotti im Dino 206S am Berg (© Archiv Daniel Reinhard)

In 1968, he switched from the Italians to the Stuttgarters and, for reasons that remain unexplained to this day, had an accident in the 910 Bergspyder during training for the Rossfeld hill climb.

The Italian was tempted to compete with Gerhard Mitter and identical material in 1968. The German had won the European Hillclimb Championship for Porsche in 1966 and 1967 and was regarded as the fastest man on the mountain. By switching to Porsche, Scarfiotti was able to compete with Mitter in the same vehicle, the Porsche 910 Bergspyder.

However, Gerhard Mitter clearly beat the Italian at the season opener in Montseny, Spain. At the second race of the season, the International Alpine Mountain Prize of Berchtesgaden, disaster struck on the Rossfeldhöhenring road. Ludovico Scarfiotti lost control of his Porsche during practice. The Bergspyder crashed down an embankment. Ludovico Scarfiotti succumbed to his serious injuries on the way to hospital after being rescued.

At the historic Rossfeld hill climb at the weekend, Scarfiotti's son Luigi returned to the place where he lost his father 50 years ago.

He was nine years old when he took part in this race in Berchtesgaden and had to witness his father not coming back from the training run. Although his father separated from his mother at a very early age, he only has fond memories of him. Only very rarely did he attend other motorsport events after this drastic experience. He remembers an invitation to the Targa Florio when a woman asked him if he was Sicilian. He said no, he was the young Scarfiotti, whereupon the woman almost fainted, as she turned out to be his father's last partner. They remained in contact until her death.

Buch über Rennfahrerlegende Scarfiotti (© Daniel Reinhard)

After 50 years, Paola Rivolta has now written a book entitled "Dalla Fiat a Rossfeld" (From Fiat to Rossfeld). It not only tells the racing story of Ludovico, but also sheds light on his life as the son of a wealthy family from the Fiat dynasty. The book is currently only available in Italian, but will soon also be available in German.

The historic Rossfeld mountain race is taking place this weekend, i.e. until September 30, 2018.

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The cultural added value of the saloon as a classic car

Bruno von Rotz
09/29/2018

Renault 4 CV von 1957

In general, with a few exceptions, coupés and cabriolets, especially sporty versions, are much more valued as classic cars than two or four-door saloons. This is partly to do with numbers and exclusivity, but also with shape and design. However, some saloons have probably survived today in smaller numbers than the less frequently built coupé with a similar pedigree, but let's leave that aside.

When it comes to mobile heritage, saloons are in many cases able to beat the supposedly more valuable coupé or cabriolet for two simple reasons.

Firstly, the more popular saloon versions were naturally much more closely linked to the life of the societies of the time than more sophisticated sports versions. Secondly, and this should be emphasized here, limousines allow a broader population to experience this cultural history themselves and intensively, namely from the passenger seat. A limousine can still carry four or more passengers in addition to the driver and allow them to travel back in time.

The joy with which this is taken up and enjoyed can be seen during the long nights of the museums, when old cars are used to transport museum visitors from one place to another, or when clubs organize trips with disabled or elderly people, but also when passenger rides are organized at classic car meetings.

A ride in a Renault 4CV or a pre-war Rolls-Royce is much more impressive than simply looking at stationary (or even moving) cars. This is how culture is conveyed, more efficiently with a limousine than with the mostly two-seater convertibles and coupés.

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The diesel debacle threatens the youngtimer petrol engine

Bruno von Rotz
09/28/2018

Mercedes-Benz 500 SL (© Daimler AG)

It was to be feared that the diesel driving bans could sooner or later also affect other engine concepts. Youngtimers are already no longer allowed to drive in French cities, depending on the situation, but Frankfurt also wants to ban petrol vehicles with Euro 1 and 2 standards from next year in accordance with a court order.

As a reminder, the Euro 1 and 2 standards mainly applied to catalytic converter cars from the early to late nineties, such as a BMW Z3 or a Mercedes-Benz 320 SL (R129), but also a VW Golf III VR6. Also affected are retrofitted cars that have been modified from Euro 1 to Euro 2, as the two standards were close to each other anyway. Also included are catalytic converter retrofits, which were quite popular a few years ago.

In total, this can quickly affect hundreds of thousands or even millions of cars (in Germany alone) and threaten their existence.

Even if these cars can be driven everywhere again ten years later as classic cars (thanks to special privileges), there is a risk that only a few cars will survive until then.

Now we need to be/remain vigilant and intervene politically at an early stage ...

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When cars were still called swingers

Bruno von Rotz
09/27/2018

Opel Sondermodelle Swinger 1975

Nowadays, no car company would label a car with the nickname " Swinger " . But 40 or more years ago, things were different. Back then, people didn't think of it as "frequently changing sexual partners", as wikipedia is the only explanation of the term today.

Dodge Dart Swinger am Eichhölzli Memorial 2018

In the past, "swinger" was more associated with the jazz style "swing" or general enjoyment of life and entertainment, so it obviously made sense for the Chrysler marketing people to use this term to describe the Dodge Dart for certain configurations from 1968 onwards.

A decade later, Opel also took up this expression and created special models of the Kadett, Manta and Ascona series.

Opel Kadett Swinger Sondermodell 1975

"Unusual in appearance and unusual in price", the advertising people wrote, and the designers gave the cars colorful decors. Additional equipment elements made the special model even more attractive and for less extraverted buyers, the special versions were also available without decoration, but still at a reasonable price, which for the Kadett 1975, for example, was DM 8425.

And why did we come up with this now? Well, firstly, we came across a Dodge Dart Swinger at the Steckborn-Eichhölzli hill climb race at the weekend, and secondly, we found the colorful advertising illustrations while researching the article published yesterday about the Opel Kadett 1.2 SR Coupé.

Now the only question that remains is whether any of the Opel special edition models with original decals have survived ...

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What was actually going on 20 years ago?

Bruno von Rotz
09/26/2018

Auto Motor und Sport Jahrgang 1998 im Zwischengas-Zeitschriftenarchiv

If you want to find out quickly what the automotive world was up to 20 years ago, the easiest way is to look at the covers of car magazines from back then. So let's take a look at the 1998 issue of Auto Motor und Sport , which was integrated into the Zwischengas magazine archive last week. What caused a stir back then?

The "New Beetle" was on the way, for example, and at the other end of the Volkswagen car spectrum was the Bugatti Veyron. BMW launched a new three-seater (E46), Mercedes-Benz the A-Class. The Opel Astra competed with the VW Golf for buyers' favour, while the BMW Z3 Coupé polarized with its unusual design. There was a new BMW M5 and the rounded Audi TT Coupé. The Ferrari F360 was waiting in the wings, people dreamed of the VW Roadster with a W12 engine and the Maserati Coupé still had boomerang tail lights. And yes, the Fiat Multipla was also new, as was the VW Lupo and the Rover 75.

And what do they all have in common? To date, these cars have all matured into youngtimers and in ten years they will be classic cars. A good reason to look back and read the reports from back then, which is now easily possible in the Zwischengas magazine archive.

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Duets and trios - and their connections

Bruno von Rotz
09/25/2018

2 x Opel Kadett am Bergrennen Steckborn Memorial 2018

Even at events, you rarely see two similar or identical classic cars together. Sometimes, however, it happens that two close relatives come along one behind the other. These encounters are photogenic. However, it is very rare to have the opportunity to photograph such duos ten or more times in one day, as was the case last weekend at the Steckborn-Eichhölzli Memorial hill climbon Untersee in north-eastern Switzerland (we reported on this in detail).

Two Opel Kadett C Coupés, both late facelift versions (picture above), drove one behind the other.

2 x Porsche 356 am Bergrennen Steckborn Memorial 2018

The Porsche 356s (of which there were other groups) also came from the same era and were only slightly apart in terms of year of manufacture.

2 x VW Golf Mk1 am Bergrennen Steckborn Memorial 2018

It was the same with the two VW Golfs, both of which were from the first edition, even if they were no longer quite in factory delivery condition.

2 x Ford Capri am Bergrennen Steckborn Memorial 2018

The two Ford Capri represented the full breadth of the first generation, one narrow and true to the original, the other wide and with a racing look.

TVR Griffith und AC/Shelby Cobra am Bergrennen Stteckborn Memorial 2018

Even a longer look at the next duet is not enough, the relationship can only be found under the plastic dress of the TVR Griffith, which used the same Ford V8 289 engine as the Cobra behind it.

Sunbeam Tiger und TVR Griffith am Bergrennen Stteckborn Memorial 2018

The same was true of the Sunbeam Tiger, which, like the TVR Griffith, was also powered by a Ford V8 289 engine, but otherwise had little in common with the Blackpool sports car.

2 x Jaguar E-Type Coupé am Bergrennen Steckborn Memorial 2018

The relationship is closer again with the Jaguar E-Type, with a later example driving in front of an early Series 1 Coupé.

2 x Morgan am Bergrennen Steckborn Memorial 2018

And at Morgan, the family resemblance has of course been part of the program for almost a hundred years, even if the engines under the hoods of different lengths have changed time and again.

3 x Cobra am Bergrennen Steckborn Memorial 2018

Cobras always look like Cobras, regardless of whether they come from Shelby, AC or replicas. However, there can be differences under the hood, as some replica manufacturers also used the Rover V8 once developed by Buick as a power unit.

3 x "Bertone" am Bergrennen Steckborn Memorial 2018

The "Bertone" comes here as a trio. From the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint, it morphed into the GTV 2000 between the 1960s and 1970s.

2 x Fiat Abarthi am Bergrennen Steckborn Memorial 2018

And from the staid Fiat 600, Maestro Abarth once conjured up hot racing cars that still inspire to this day.

Incidentally, this was just a selection of the many duets and trios at the Steckborn Memorial 2018 hill climb.

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The intricacies of cars from the past

Stefan Fritschi
09/24/2018

Radkappe Skoda Octavia von damals (rechts)

Skoda occasionally fitted different hubcaps on the left and right.

Radkappe Skoda Octavia von damals (links)

While the "arrow" normally pointed forwards/rightwards (into the future) and thus also the symbol on the hubcap on the right, hubcaps were fitted on the left side with the arrow pointing to the left. This meant that different hubcaps were manufactured, each of which could only be fitted on the side intended for it.

Presumably this hobby became too expensive for Skoda at some point and the different hubcaps were abandoned.

Incidentally, these subtleties could be seen at the Skoda meeting in Ticino , about which a report was recently published.

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This was also in demand in the past - manure cloths

Bruno von Rotz
09/23/2018

Kotschutzlappen Toyota Corona

You can still buy them today, but hardly anyone would still fit "mud flaps" to their modern 3-series BMW or Golf. SUVs and off-road vehicles are an exception.

In the past, this was also a popular accessory for cars, as this protection, usually made of rubber, prevented the rear or side of the vehicle from getting dirty. You could also use it to label your vehicle, as can be seen in the example of the Toyota Corona .

Interestingly, there is not even an article on the subject of "mud flaps" on Wikipedia, possibly because this term is only used in Switzerland?

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Better to find than search - now even more magazines in the Zwischengas archive

Bruno von Rotz
09/22/2018

Suchen/Finden im Zeitschriften-Archiv - damals und heute

Enthusiasts used to keep elaborate records (see picture on the left) to keep track of which car had been tested or presented in which magazine.

Today it's much easier. For example, in the Zwischengas magazine archive. You can simply enter the desired vehicle type in the search mask (see picture on the right) and you will receive the pages and magazines in which the car is listed. It's quick as a flash and there's no need to go to the cellar where the old magazines might be stored. Because you can read the pages directly on the screen.

Auto Motor und Sport im Zeitschriftenarchiv auf zwischengas.com - komplett bis 2000

As of yesterday, our "Auto Motor und Sport" magazine archive for the years 1952 to 2000 is complete . Together with the 1946 to 1951 volumes of the predecessor magazine "Das Auto", over 220,000 pages have been digitized and put online. And all of them can be searched.

In total, the Zwischengas magazine archive now comprises around 500,000 pages. Research has never been so easy and efficient!

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Skoda rarities in Ticino

Georg W.Pollak (Text/Fotos) und Stefan Fritschi (Fotos)
09/21/2018

Skoda Popular und Felicia Cabriolets

The classic car scene for the Škoda brand is traditionally based mainly in Germany and, for geopolitical reasons, many Škoda fans can be found in the former GDR in particular. This makes the development of the last ten years all the more pleasing, as more and more members from neighboring countries - the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic - have found their way to the Škoda Club.

Skoda Felicia Cabriolet

Geography, long journeys and, not least, finances meant that the annual meetings were held alternately in the north or south of Germany. At a later date, one meeting each was held in Vienna and Weil/Basel. This year, at the express wish of the board, we organized a Škoda meeting in Ticino at the beginning of September.

Skoda-Treffen im Tessin

After just 20 cars had registered, the initial skepticism disappeared and a year-long preparation phase began. We wanted to offer something special - that's why the program was extended from Lugano to Milan.

Skoda-Treffen im Tessin

We knew that a successful meeting within a reasonable financial framework would not have been possible without the support of sponsors. We found the main sponsor in the Swiss Škoda importer AMAG Schinznach-Bad, who generously supported our meeting in cooperation with AMAG Lugano and Skoda Auto Germany. Our heartfelt thanks go to all of them.

Skoda-Treffen im Tessin

Among the participating cars were real Škoda rarities. In addition to classics such as the Tudor 1101 Cabrio, Tudor Limousine, Octavia and Skoda Coupé R 110, the owner of a unique Skoda Buggy also made the long journey from the Czech Republic to Ticino.

Skoda Buggy beim Treffen im Tessin

Another feast for the eyes were the numerous Felicia convertibles in cheerful colors.

Skoda Felicia Cabriolet

Our hotel in Vezia, which we moved into on Friday, August 31, offered a pleasant setting in the retro style of the sixties. Although the weather was atypically damp at the start of the meeting, it became sunnier from day to day. On Friday, we drove from the Hotel Vezia to the open-air installation "Swissminiatur", which shows Switzerland in miniature and is well worth seeing.

Skoda-Treffen in Lugano

On Saturday, we were allowed to exhibit our cars in the center of Lugano in Piazza Rezzonico. We took the tractor train and funicular up Monte Brè, from where we enjoyed a wonderful view.

Skoda-Treffen in Bellinzona

On Sunday, we were included in the program of the wine festival in Bellinzona with our vintage cars. First we were allowed to park in the city center and later we drove through the crowded streets of the city center to great applause and many joyful cheers.

Skoda-Treffen in Bellinzona

On Monday, we first visited the magnificent Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese. Then we visited the luxury car manufacturer Carrozzeria Superleggera Touring Milano in Rho. Finally, there was Milan Cathedral to marvel at.

Skoda-Treffen im Tessin

In Milan, we were granted permission to exhibit our vehicles in the city center twice, but our permit was revoked three times. The administrative procedure is beyond any Central European's imagination. We had to fill out 24 pages of forms and then take them to several offices - in person, of course! We ended up parking in a guarded underground garage ...

Skoda-Treffen im Tessin

It was nice to hear that the long journey of some participants - between 800 and 1100 km - was definitely worth it. The goal of showing Switzerland from its most beautiful side was certainly achieved!

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