Tabla de contenidos para No. 27 en Gentlemen Drive

El autódromo de Linas-Montlhéry se inauguró en 1924 y albergó su primera carrera en 1925 cuando se disputó el fatídico Gran Premio de Francia donde se impuso el Delage de Robert Benoist y donde perdió la vida el piloto italiano Antonio Ascari a los mando de un Alfa Romeo P2 cuando lideraba la carrera. Dejó un hijo de 7 años que en la década de los 50 se convertiría en dos veces en campeón del mundo de Fórmula 1 antes de perecer en accidente a la misma edad que lo hizo su padre. Actualmente el circuito mantiene intacta gran parte de la estructura original, incluyendo las curvas peraltadas que entonces se construían para que los bólidos consiguieran mejores velocidades y esta peculiaridad hace que el autódromo rebose de encanto sobretodo…

When many people think of glamour they think of the Cannes Film Festival. However, car lovers understand that the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is its true home. Year after year, a heavily curated selection of a mere few dozen cars take part in this exclusive event. I have been lucky enough to compete on several occasions, with cars from the family collection, and for many years I was the only Spanish competitor. This year I handed that baton over to Madrid-based collector Alain Lecocq, who took first prize in his category with his beautiful Alfa Romeo 6C 1750. I always make sure to keep that weekend free so I can enjoy the event, even if only behind the camera or enjoying a drink on the terrace of the Grand Hotel…

BMW 520 d Engine 2 liters 4 cylinders Motor 2 litros 4 cilindros Power 190 bhp @ 3500-4000 rpm Potencia 190 CV @ 3500-4000 rpm Torque 400 Nm @ 1750 rpm Par 400 Nm @ 1750 rpm Weight: 1615 kg Peso: 1615 kg 0-100 km/h 7,7 s Top Speed 238 km/h Aunque la versión que probamos es la más modesta de toda la nueva Serie 5 de BMW no deja de impresionar. Tanto dinámica como tecnológicamente hablando, el 520d superó con creces nuestras expectativas. El vehículo presenta tres modos de conducción, el Eco Pro, en Normal y el Sport que optimizan el comportamiento del nuevo Serie 5 tanto si queremos una conducción deportiva como ecológica/económica. La respuesta del motor, el cambio y la suspensión (la unidad probada llevaba instalada la…

El Espíritu de Montjuic volvía al Circuit de Barcelona- Catalunya después de la pausa del año pasado con todos los ingredientes que han hecho de este evento uno de los más interesantes de la escena del automóvil clásico en nuestro país. La F1 histórica era la vedette de un cartel lleno de actividades donde había otras interesantes categorías de vehículos Sport y turismos que dieron emoción en el asfalto catalán durante todo el fin de semana. Un años más, el espectáculo de los monoplazas que compiten en la F1 fue muy entretenido, pues se pudieron ver infinidad de adelantamientos así como a los pilotos empleándose a fondo para controlar unas máquinas de gran potencia y sin ninguna ayuda de conducción. Con un Brabham BT49C, el piloto local Joaquín Folch consiguió…

La Vie en Bleu & La Vita Rossa, Prescott Speed Hill Climb, 27 – 28 May 2017. The Prescott Speed Hill Climb, a fraction over a kilometre in length, near the village of Gotherington in Gloucestershire, home of the Bugatti Owners’ Club, hosted the annual La Vie en Bleu meeting incorporating La Vita Rossa, which they introduced in 2016. This was very apt in 2017, Ferrari’s 70th anniversary year, and also the 50th anniversary of the Ferrari Owners’ Club in the UK. Thus the event featured a round of the Ferrari Owners’ Club’s Pirelli Ferrari Hill Climb Championship, with a healthy twelve competitors taking part, in models ranging from a 250 GT Lusso to a F430 Berlinetta. There were a wide variety of competition classes, covering a broad spectrum of…

Napoleon III set up a system to classify the best Bordeaux wines to represent France at the 1855 Universal Exposition in Paris. Under the new scheme, wines were classified into five categories, the highest being the Premier Cru, which included classics such as Chateau Margaux and Rothschild, vineyards that have been producing the most exquisite wines for generations. But antiquity is not everything; there is also a time for modernity, even when it is based on eternal values. The Audi R8 is an excellent example. Cars are also classified into many different categories, but, without a doubt, supercars are always at the top of the leader board. Many of you will agree that 540 CV, 0 to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and top speeds of 318 km/h are Grand…

Fiat is an expert in drawing on DNA and history to create new models. And that’s just what it did when it recovered the Cinquecento to create a top-selling modern car that has proven a huge success for the Turin-based brand, not just in sales but also in terms of brand positioning. However, there was a roadster-sized gap in the Fiat portfolio since they stopped making the Barchetta in 2005, a small convertible that rivalled with the mega-popular Mazda MX5, the reference in its class. With its newest convertible, Fiat has played its cards very cleverly. The design is inspired on the original 124 Spider, launched at the Turin Auto Show in 1966 and produced at Pininfarina, where a young American called Tom Tjaarda was employed at the time. Tom,…

May 28, 1992 The Sporting Club in Monaco - McLaren F1 (text & photos: Mclaren) 1992-2017 // 25 years of the Mclaren F1 Gordon Murray, Mclaren Technical director at that time and the man behind the F1 wrote this foreword during the presentation of the model back in 1992: “Our main objective has been to create the purest driver’s car, a new beginning, a design which simply re-writes all existing standards” “For many of us at McLaren, this opportunity to design and construct the ‘ultimate sports car’ has been a dream come true… ? We set out to develop the world’s finest driver’s car by applying Formula 1 technologies to offer Grand Prix-style capability, control and quality throughout; a car individually built and tailored to the most discerning of owners.…

La primera edición de las Targa Iberia Classic series fueron un éxito rotundo. La oportunidad de rodar en el Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya dentro del prestigioso certamen del Espíritu de Montjuic a un precio super- competitivo eran unos ingredeintes demasiado apetecibles para no aprovechar la oportunidad; y en pocos días se superó el límite de 30 vehículos que la organización estimó para que la prueba fuera realmente especial para los participantes y evitar excesivo tráfico en la pista tal y como pasa en otras competiciones del mismo formato. Como es habitual, Porsche fue la marca con más representación gracias a las inscripciones de los equipos Nou Onze y Julià 911. El evento constaba de 2 tandas de entrenos por la mañana; los primeros libres y los segundo cronometrados. Mientras que por…

The Tour Auto is the reference event for classic sports cars built between 1951 and 1973. A week-long event crossing France from north to south and bringing the best of the automobile world together year after year. This year, 242 teams set off from the Grand Palais of Paris, covering more than 2,500 km before crossing the finish line in Biarritz. The event combines road and track stages and has both a competition and a regularity class. This year’s competition was taken by the English team of Andrew Smith and James Cottingham, at the wheel of a Ford GT40, while the regularity award went to the Argentinian team of Hinrichsen and Mayo in a Maserati 200 SI. However, the episode that absolutely defines this year’s event features Spanish driver Carlos…