Tag Archives: Classic Cars

Classic Cars: Restoring The ‘Finest Jaguars’ At CKL Developments In Engand

“It’s a privilege to work with these fantastic cars,” enthuses James “and we benefit from incredible craftsmen and Chris’ vast experience. These are important cars, looked after sympathetically. When we restore cars, we’re careful and fastidious in retaining the soul, but we also understand that cars evolve”.

In keeping with the colour British Racing Green, CKL Developments prides itself on being understated, not flashy. Inside a pristine brace of high-roofed, modern industrial units near Hastings, in Britain’s East Sussex countryside, you’ll find cars that are maintained to be enjoyed, driven and raced.

CKL is not, the team is at pains to point out, a museum. It’s the absolute authority on Jaguar-engined sports cars of the ’50s and ’60s and looks after some of the most historic and important British cars of that era, sympathetically restored, preserved of soul and performing at their zenith. The team can service, restore, repair, prepare, race, build, sell, store and transport your pride and joy as required.

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Collections: The Amazing Classic Cars Of Germany’s Michael Fröhlich (Video)

From 0 to 100 km/h in 2.4 seconds – that’s how fast the Elektrus can accelerate, making it one of the fastest electric cars in the world. It’s just one of the many exceptional cars in Michael Fröhlich’s collection. The German multi-millionaire collects and designs cars of all types; from vintage vehicles to curious custom-builds that more resemble works of art. He even owns one of the Queen’s old Rolls Royces, but he’s deliberately letting that fall apart…

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Classic Cars: The ‘1955 Chevrolet Bel Air’ (Video)

The 1955 Chevrolet (sometimes referred to as ‘55 Chevy) is an automobile which was introduced by Chevrolet in Autumn 1954 for the 1955 model year. It is considered a huge turning point for the manufacturer and a major success. It was available in three models: the 150, 210, and Bel Air.

The ’55’s top trim offering was the Bel-Air, which had more chrome than the 150 or 210. The Bel-Air, 210 and 150 model could be bought as a four-door, or could be bought as a two door with a post between the front and rear passenger windows, known as the two-door sedan.

The Bel-Air or 210 model could also be had as a two door with no post between the side windows. This was known as the sport coupe, or better known by collectors as “the two door hardtop”. Since this model had no post between the two side windows, it had a shorter roof and longer rear deck than the two door sedan had. Chevy also offered a convertible, with the same shorter roof and longer rear deck as the sport coupe, and it was offered in Bel-Air trim only.

1955 also saw the introduction of the Bel Air Nomad, a sporty two-door station wagon which featured frameless door glass and elongated side windows. The unique roof design of the Nomad came directly from the 1954 Corvette Nomad, a “dream car” designed to be shown at auto shows as a concept sport wagon. Although regarded as one of the most beautiful station wagon designs of Fifties, the Nomad sold poorly, partly due to its price tag (one of the most expensive models in the Bel Air lineup) as well as its lack of four doors. Also the Nomad’s two-piece tailgate design was prone to let excess rainwater leak through to the interior.

The ’55 offered a wide array of colors. One solid color, which was standard for the 150, could be had for the 210 or Bel Air…or nineteen different two-tone color combinations were also available.

Top Short Film: ‘Gullwing’ – Story Of ‘Most Iconic Car Of All-Time’ (Video)

Animated and Directed by:  João Elias

Have you ever seen a car spreading its wings? Now you do.

This is a full cgi shortfilm featuring the most iconic car of all time, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, at least in my opinion…
I always loved this car, and when I first started this project, I didn’t just wanna make a car rolling by in the desert, I knew there was a bigger story to make, it had to fly. Following its name legacy, I dived deep in this crazy rollercoaster of assembling car parts, raging though the desert of Bonneville salt flats, in order to build a full chassis so the flying body kit could land. After this, the rest is music. A symphony of a few animated shots of this beauty gloriously riding through the desert, creating clouds of smoke through the landscape while hearing that amazing engine roaring.

This is “Gullwing”.

Music: Evan Macdonald.
Sound design: João Elias

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (chassis code W 198) is a two-seat sports car that was produced by Mercedes-Benz as a gullwinged coupe (1954–1957) and roadster (1957–1963). It was based on the company’s 1952 racer, the W194, with mechanical direct fuel-injection which boosted power almost 50% on its 3-litre overhead camshaft straight-6 engine. Capable of reaching a top speed of up to 263 km/h (163 mph), it was both a sports car racing champion[4] and the fastest production car of its time.

Max Hoffman, Mercedes-Benz’s authorized United States importer at the time, inspired the 300 SL and correctly perceived an American market for such a car. The company introduced the 300 SL in February 1954 at the International Motor Sports Show in New York City instead of in Europe to get it into U.S. buyers’ hands sooner.

SL is the short form for “super-light” in German, Mercedes’ first use of the designation, referring to the car’s racing-bred light tubular frame construction.

The 300 SL was voted the “sports car of the century” in 1999.

Classic Car Racing: ‘Inside The 2020 Mille Miglia’, Italy

Gentleman’s Journal

This year, the race had its own challenges, as the pandemic ripped across the world. The Mille Miglia usually takes place in May, but was postponed until October this time round — and many had feared it might be cancelled altogether. But the show must go on — and the sight of more than 400 stunning classic cars glinting in the autumn sun is one I will remember for a very long time.

The first Miglia Mille took place in 1927, founded by a group of car enthusiasts in the town of Brescia, Northern Italy — the race was their response to the region’s loss of the Italian Grand Prix to Monza, seven years earlier. A 1,000 mile loop around Northern Italy (hence the name), the race took place every year for three decades, save for a break during the Second World War. But the perilous, do-or-die nature of the contest led to many crashes and more than ten fatalities, and the final chequered flag fell in 1957. In the 1970s, the Mille Miglia was reborn as we know it today — more of a grand tour than a hotly-contested, breakneck race (although some drivers, even now, forget this from
time to time.)

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Classic Cars: The ‘1929 Bentley Blower’ (Video)

One of the most iconic cars from Bentley’s history – Sir Tim Birkin’s 1929 supercharged 4½-litre “Blower” – is to be reborn with a new build of 12 matching cars, each individually handcrafted by a team of specialists from Bentley’s bespoking and coachwork division, Mulliner. Together, the new cars will form the world’s first pre-war race car continuation series.

Only four original ‘Team Blowers’ were built for racing by Birkin, in the late 1920s. All were campaigned on the racetracks of Europe, with the most famous car – Birkin’s own Team Car No. 2, registration UU 5872 – racing at Le Mans and playing a pivotal role in the factory Bentley Speed Six victory in 1930.

Now, using a combination of generations of handcraftsmanship skills and the very latest digital technology, the 1929 Team Blower will be the master example for 12 continuations – one for each race that the original fleet of four Team Blowers competed in.

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Automobile Tech: ‘Zero Labs’ Offers New Electric Platform For Classic Cars

After more than 5 years of engineering and testing and use in all 2020/2021 full vehicle rebuilds, we are now proud to offer electric platforms which are designed to transform four gasoline and diesel vehicle formats each with numerous makes, models and size configurations. Final specifications and full list of available model sizes will be available prior to manufacturing.

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British Cars: ‘1959 Austin Healey 3000’ (Video)

Perfectly patinated, period competition success, a legendary rally-driver owner and a super fan who kept the car for 51 years. This is probably the best-preserved example of a ‘works’ Big Healey.

The original 100 was named as a nod to its top speed, while the 3000 – released in 1959 – was named for its larger engine capacity. Straight away, the more powerful car was successful, with Pat Moss (Stirling’s sister) winning the challenging Liege-Rome-Liege rally in 1960.

This ‘Works’ Big Healey, now available with Henderson Fellowes, was prepared by the BMC Competition Department for the 1961 season and made its debut on the legendary and gruelling Acropolis Rally in Greece, where Peter Riley and Tony Ambrose steered the car to first in class and third overall.

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Classic Car Restoration: ‘Eagle – Masters Of The Jaguar E-Type’ (Video)

Since its founding in 1984, the team behind Eagle has steadily worked their dedication into an obsession, with the outcome being the last word in the world of the Jaguar E-Type. Unlike many restoration specialists, Eagle keeps all the work in-house, and none of it is rushed.

Indeed Eagle CEO Henry Pearman says it takes the team nearly 4,000 hours to complete one of the company’s ground-up, full-on Eagle E-Types, and while they aren’t for those on a tight budget, there is clear evidence of the claim that the business is foremost driven by passion, not profits. A purely commercial endeavor would find ways to cut costs and hurry the process, but the completed cars—whether they be restorations or bespoke commissions—that leave Eagle’s countryside compound in Sussex are not just faultless E-Type specimens, they are examples of what can be achieved after decades of refinement and accumulated knowledge. Nobody knows these cars better, and in that same vein, nobody is building them better.

Classic Cars: 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner Convertible (Video)

On “My Car Story” we’re in the West Suburbs of Chicago IL on 11-5-20. We’re looking at a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner Convertible in Flame Red & Raven Black Paint. The car comes with the factory 292 CI V8 “Y Block” engine. The car’s Owner is Don Walters. Don’s had this car since 2000. He shares he had one like this when he met his wife. The car features the “Retractable Top” and Don shares back in the 1950’s known as the “Hideaway Hard Top”. He found this one in a junk yard and did all the restoration work himself in four years. Don uses this car as his daily driver.