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Spanish automaker celebrates 65 years of production

Larry Edsall
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Spanish automaker celebrates 65 years of production

Editor’s note: November is Import Month on the ClassicCars.com Journal. Get all the news you could ever need about German, English, French, Italian, Japanese and lots of other cars at our dedicated page.

Although the Spanish automaker SEAT — Sociedad Espanola de Automoviles de Turismo — was established in May 1950, it wasn’t until November 1953 that its first vehicle rolled off a production line. That vehicle, the SEAT 1400, thus celebrates its 65th birthday this month.

“The SEAT 1400, a luxurious and elegant saloon, marked the beginning of the brand’s story and formed the platform for its future success,” the company said in its celebratory anniversary news release.

SEAT assembly plant in 1956

“The first SEAT 1400 – with registration plate number B-87.223 – rolled off the production line at the brand’s Zona Franca factory in Barcelona on the 13th November 1953, just three years after the brand had been formed.”

The car was the first of nearly 100,000 such 1400 sedans built in the Barcelona assembly plant between 1953 and 1964.

“The technologically advanced SEAT 1400 used an all-enveloping ‘ponton’ body, instead of a separate chassis with the bodywork screwed on — one of the first in Europe,” the company noted.

Those first-year 1400s were priced at 117,000 pesetas, the equivalent of $800.

“Conceived as the vehicle to build the foundations of SEAT’s business, the 1400 was an impressively executed four-door, front engine, rear-wheel drive saloon, equally at home as an official state authority vehicle or providing transportation to the masses as a public taxi,” the news release continued.

Vintage advertisement

Power was supplied by a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 44 horsepower.

“The chassis incorporated helical springs that produced an elastic effect on the rear suspension, and longitudinal semi-cantilever springs – which acted as thrust arms – to give it anti-roll stabilization,” the news release said. “A Panhard rod ensured the lateral positioning of the axle. This setup was ultra-modern for the time.

“The 1400’s exterior took its design cue from American vehicles of the time, with a rounded rear shape extenuated by conical-shaped rear lights, but it also introduced curved, one-piece windscreens and a heating system to the market.”

SEAT was founded by the Spanish government to produce domestic vehicles, but was sold to Volkswagen in 1996. SEAT vehicles are produced in Spain, the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal and Slovakia and 80 percent of the company’s production is exported, to 70 nations, though not to the United States.

Jensen-Healey roadster powered by Lotus twin-cam engine

Bob Golfen
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Jensen-Healey roadster powered by Lotus twin-cam engine

Editor’s note: November is Import Month on the ClassicCars.com Journal. Get all the news you could ever need about Italian, German, English, French, Japanese and lots of other cars at our dedicated page.

The Jensen-Healey roadster, an ill-fated attempt to bring back the glory of the Austin Healey sports car, is most notable today as the first production car powered by the advanced Lotus 907 twin-cam aluminum inline-4 engine, even before it was installed in a showroom Lotus.

The new 2.0-liter engine was strong and high-revving, but also the source of trouble, with reliability and maintenance issues that doomed the Jensen-Healey to a short existence, 1972-76.  But there are those survivors that, with proper care and patience, have succeeded in living on as enjoyable and distinctive two-seat convertibles.

Jensen-Healey
The roadster wears a fitted hard top

The Pick of the Day is one of those, a 1974 Jensen-Healey roadster advertised on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Farmingdale, New York, who says there’s nothing wrong with the British car other than being too low-slung for the seller’s taste.

“Unfortunately for me, I found that I didn’t enjoy driving a small car,” the seller says in the ad.  “There is more than enough legroom, and the car is very comfortable, but I like being higher from the ground.  So, the car is stored indoors, with only an occasional drive to keep it fresh.”

Mileage in on the high side at 98,000, but that says something about the reliability of this particular car, which is equipped with the original 144-horsepower Lotus engine fed by dual Stromberg carbs and hooked up with a 5-speed Getrag manual transmission.

Jensen-Healey
The Jensen’s body looks to be in decent shape

The Jensen is described as having been “partially restored” with a new alternator, brake system (master cylinder, brake lines, etc.), battery, tires (that are now old and should be replaced), K&N air filters, timing belt replaced, and the clutch was rebuilt.”

“The interior had been redone very nicely by the previous owner, and is in excellent condition,” the seller notes.  “The original dash and wood panels were not replaced, and show cracks, and crazing on the wood, from age.  All the gauges work.  The clock and radio no longer work.

“The hardtop was put on before it left California, and it removes with a lever and two bolts.  The convertible frame is folded down, beneath it.  The original convertible top is still attached to the frame, but I believe it is dried-out.”

Jensen-Healey
The interior has been refurbished but the wood needs to be replaced

The bargain-basement price of $7,999 leaves some room for repairs and upgrades, hopefully by someone who better appreciates the qualities of a classic British sports car.

“This car runs and drives with excellent power, and handles tight,” the seller says. “It just needs a new owner who enjoys a hot, little sports car.”

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

The merry men and women of London to Brighton

Howard Koby
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The merry men and women of London to Brighton

“Nothing happens unless first a dream” – Carl Sanburg

When British engineers developed the steam carriage in 1861, a law restricted such vehicles to travel at a maximum speed of 4 mph on country roads, and two 2 mph within towns. It also required them to be preceded by a man walking and waving a red flag of warning to others on the road.

The Red Flag Act remained in effect until 1896 when the act was repealed. In celebration, an “Emancipation Run” from London to Brighton (about 60 miles) was coordinated by the Motor Car Club on November 14, 1896. 

The new British law, the Locomotives on Highway Act, increased the speed limit on highways to 14 mph and abolished the requirement for the a man on foot with a red flag.

The first car to reach the Sussex seafront during that first “emancipation run” was was a 3-horsepower Leon Bollee tricycle, driven by its creator. The car needed 3 hours, 44 minutes, 35 seconds to make the trip from London — which means it averaged 13.91 mph.

Flag waves to launch cars at least 113 years old on their way from London to the British Channel

To celebrate that day, the Royal Automobile Club organized the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run nearly nine decades ago, taking a break only during the years of World War II.

Whether rain, sleet, wind or sun (which we luckily had this year), the Run always starts on the first Sunday in November at the traditional 6:59 a.m.  sunrise time in London’s Hyde Park near The Queen Elizabeth Gate and the Natural History Museum,

This year, for the first time, the route featured a split to ease traffic. The entry list of more than 430 cars built before January 1, 1905 — including those powered by steam, electricity and petroleum — pulled out of Hyde Park and on through Wellington Arch, down Constitution Hill past Buckingham Palace and Admiralty Arch and into Parliament Square.

At this point, the route send half the field on separate routes between Westminster and Croydon. 

Half the stout-hearted group motored over Westminster Bridge and followed the regular A23 route via Kennington, Brixton and Streatham Common while the other half “clanked” their way via Millbank, over Lambeth Bridge continuing via Vauxhall, Clapham Common and Tooting. 

The two routes merge on A236 near Croydon as the entire cavalcade headed to a pit stop in Crawley, where thousands spectators had a wonderful opportunity to get up close and personal with cars and drivers while also giving drivers and navigators the chance to have a hot drink. 

The Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox Insurance accommodated 117 different marques coming from Argentina, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Great Britain, as well as 21 from the United States.

The final leg of this challenging Run reveals that nearly 90 per cent of the starters made it to Brighton on Madeira Drive before the 4:30 p.m. and thus earned the much-desired finisher’s medal.

A circa 1901 Georges Richard arrives at the finish line on Madeira Drive in Brighton

Awards included The Harrods Heritage Award for restoration to the 1903 Vabis from Sweden, Best Period Dress to Christopher Atkinson driving a 1903 De Dion Bouton, Regularity Time Trial (achieving an average speed as close as possible to the nominated target) honored Paul Kelling driving a 1904 Oldsmobile and Best International Entry (judge’s favorite car of the day) went to Robert McMeown, who shipped his 1902 and 1903 Packards from the U.S. to England by Air Cargo.

The official charity partner is the Movember Foundation that is dedicated to tackle men’s health issues around the world. 

Ice races will feature Ferry Porsche’s 550 Spyder

Larry Edsall
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Ice races will feature Ferry Porsche’s 550 Spyder

From 1937 until 1974, Zell am See in Austria was the site for auto racing on ice events. One of the village’s current residents, Ferdinand Porsche, grandson of Ferry Porsche, father of the Porsche 356, is helping to bring back the ice-racing activities and has promised the entry of the 550 Spyder formerly owned by his grandfather.

Ferry Porsche’s car in competition

This will not be the car’s debut on the ice. It raced at Zell am See with famed racer Kurt Ahrens driving. Only 82 such vehicles were produced, among them the one owned by American actor James Dean.

Ferdinand Porsche is organizing the return of the winter racing program with Vinzenz Gregor, his partner in Greger Porsche Classic Cars.

The 550 Spyder

“The event was last held in 1974, more than 40 years ago,” Porsche said. “We are impressed by the big response we got when we announced our plans.”

GP Ice Race has registered with the Austrian Motorsport Foundation and will feature a track 600 meters in length. Famed racer Hans-Joachim Stuck will serve as a member of the race control team and as event ambassador.

There will be classes for open-wheel buggies, touring cars (with separate 2- and 4-wheel divisions), for vintage vehicles and for modern rally cars. 

“We are currently talking with top teams and top drivers in this category,” Greger said of the R5 rally-car category. “We are looking forward to a high-class competition on ice.” 

In Skijoring, the racer on skis is pulled by a car, snowmobile or horse

In addition, there will be classes for motorcycles with sidecars and a competition in skijoring in which people on skis are pulled by motorized vehicles or horses.

The inaugural GP Ice Race weekend is scheduled for January 19-20, 2019 on snow-and-ice covered runways at the old Alpen Airport. 

Bob Bondurant school of driving closes amid bankruptcy filing

Carter Nacke
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Bob Bondurant school of driving closes amid bankruptcy filing

The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving closed its doors Monday, slightly more than a month after the school filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The news was confirmed by a spokesman for the school. A call to the school’s president and CEO, Patricia Bondurant, was not immediately returned.

There was no immediate word on why the decision was made to close the school. The spokesman said more details would likely be released in the coming days.

This sign was taped to the doors at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving on Monday. I blocked out the phone number on the sign, which was Bondurant's personal cell phone. | Carter Nacke photo
This sign was taped to the doors at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving on Monday. I blocked out the phone number on the sign, which was Bondurant’s personal cellphone. | Carter Nacke photo

Bondurant said in a statement at the time of the bankruptcy filing, “In a difficult yet important step towards becoming a stronger company, Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, Inc. filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona on October 2, 2018.”

Court documents showed that the school owed between $1 million and $10 million to more than 50 but fewer than 100 creditors. Bondurant reportedly had between $1 million and $10 million in assets.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to restructure and reorganize its debts. Companies typically remain in operation under Chapter 11 and Bondurant said it planned to follow suit when it filed.

“We will continue operating and serving our students and corporate groups as usual while we develop new business relationships to ensure the vitality of the company in the future,” the October statement read.

Bob Bondurant, a renowned sports car and grand prix driver until crash injuries sidelined his career, founded the school in California 50 years ago. It moved to the outskirts of Arizona in the late 1980s.

The Bondurant School has a three-mile main track, a cart track and several other tracks or driving-instruction areas, where it trained everyone from professional and aspiring racing drivers to student drivers and police personnel. The school is the largest purpose-built driving instruction facility in the world.

It was also the official training school for Dodge SRT vehicles, including the Hellcat. The one-day course was included in the purchase or lease price of the cars and taught those behind the wheel how to avoid accidents, steer out of a skid and other technical driving skills.

The school had a deal with Fiat-Chrysler and used Viper sports cars and Hellcat muscle cars as training vehicle. In the past, the school was linked with Ford, running Roush-prepared Mustangs and Formula Ford open-wheel racers, and General Motors, when it used Corvettes and other performance models.

Four-door Mustang? Real or rumor?

Larry Edsall
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Four-door Mustang? Real or rumor?

You may recall that Ford Motor Co. announced this spring that it would quit producing regular passenger cars — with two exceptions: the new Focus Active, a crossover wagon it would import, and, of course, the ever-popular and ever-collectible Mustang.  

This summer, Ford said the new U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles forced it to change its mind on bringing in the Active, and now rumors are circulating that the company is considering a four-door version of the Mustang for those who still want or need a standard passenger sedan.

A Mustang forum, Mustang6G.com, reported that Ford hinted at such a vehicle at a recent meeting with its dealers. Apparently, the sedan would be built on a long-wheelbase Mustang platform and would have a fastback architecture. The car would be aimed at competing with the likes of the Porsche Panamera and vehicles of that ilk. 

When Car and Driver magazine followed up on the report, a Ford spokesman would neither confirm nor deny any such rumor, instead responding that “we are always on our game to keep Mustang exciting every year.”

Which brings us to this question: As a car collector/enthusiast, would you accept a four-door version of the Mustang or does such a car violate the spirit of the Mustang badge? And would a four-door version enhance or hurt Mustang values as collectible cars?

Firefighters seen pushing classic Mustang Shelby GT350 from burning California home

Carter Nacke
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Firefighters seen pushing classic Mustang Shelby GT350 from burning California home

A photo taken by an Associated Press photographer on Friday showed firefighters pushing what looks to be a 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 fastback from the garage of a burning home in Malibu, California.

Taken by photographer Ringo H.W. Chu near Malibu Lake, the photo went viral over the weekend. It was posted in numerous car forums and on social media as people praised the actions of the firefighters, which may have spared the fastback from the raging Woolsey Fire.

It’s possible the car is one of 1,400 Shelby GT350 fastbacks made in 1966. Should it be an actual production model, it would likely be worth six figures.

Why the car was pushed away from the home remains in question. Some publications guessed the car was moved to prevent the fuel tank from exploding and worsening the fire, while others theorized the firefighters were simply trying to protect property.

Still others wondered if the firefighters are car people who wanted to save a piece of American automotive history.

It was unknown if the car made it through the blaze as of publication. A photo posted to Twitter appeared to show the fastback was pushed a good distance away from the home.

Two enormous wildfires began engulfing California last week. At least 31 people had been killed as of Monday morning and hundreds more were missing. Thousands have been evacuated and some of them have returned to their homes, including our own Larry Crane.

The Camp Fire burning near Chico, about 90 miles north of Sacramento, has been the most destructive. At least 29 people have been killed, making it one of the deadliest in state history, and thousands of homes and other structures have been destroyed.

The Woolsey Fire — along with the smaller Hill Fire — has claimed at least two lives in southern California. It has destroyed 179 structures, some of which belonged to Hollywood celebrities. Officials said another 57,000 structures in the area are threatened.

The Woolsey Fire has burned hot enough to melt metal, another Associated Press photograph showed.

Unfavorable wind conditions were expected to continue Monday. The 113,000-acre Camp Fire was 25 percent contained and the 83,000-acre Woolsey Fire was 10 percent contained as of Sunday.

Last year, a wildfire in Santa Rosa, California, killed 22 people. It destroyed 36,087 acres and 5,643 structures along with some classic cars.

Jazz hands: 1951 Alvis TA21

Larry Edsall
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Jazz hands: 1951 Alvis TA21

Editor’s note: November is Import Month on the ClassicCars.com Journal. Get all the news you could ever need about German, English, French, Japanese and lots of other cars at our dedicated page.

As World War I ended, T.G. John, former manager for British motorcar manufacturer Siddeley-Deasy, bought the rights to Hillman’s Electra engine line. He also bought a foundry and a factory, and soon had 200 employees producing 1- and 2-cylinder engines. 

Almost immediately, piston producer Geoffrey P.H. de Freville showed John his designs for a 4-cylinder powerplant, and they decided not only to build the engine but a car around it. Their first Alvis prototype was ready by March 1920. 

By June 1921, John was convinced his cars would succeed in the marketplace and quit making Electra engines. De Frenville departed to run a Rolls-Royce dealership and John reorganized the company as Alvis Car & Engineering of Coventry, England. The company had its ups and downs, built a front-drive Grand Prix racing car, and by 1935 was producing aircraft engines for the British military to the point that Johns again re-named the company, as Alvis Limited.

After the war, Alvis built engines for civilian aircraft as well as cars, which became popular with a variety of coachbuilders. A new short-stroke, 3.0-liter 6-cylinder engine was developed and powered the TA21, which launched in 1950 with independent front suspension. 

Three-position top

The Pick of the Day is a 1951 Alvis TA21 drophead coupe, the Tickford-bodied convertible, an addition to the model range and designed to appeal to American drivers.

According to the car’s advertisement, placed on ClassicCars.com by a specialist dealership in Santa Barbara, California, “Perhaps the best thing about it is that many of the handling characteristics of the (Alvis) sportscar have been built into the chassis which, combined with a low center of gravity and a reasonable amount of space, make this fine car something of a compromise suited to those who want both family car and sportscar features all in one.”

Auto Age magazine reported that while conservatively designed, the TA21 was in a class by itself when it came to dynamic dexterity since “many of the handling characteristics of the sports car have been built into the (TA21) chassis.”

The selling dealership notes that of 302 such convertibles, only 80 featured left-hand drive.

The one on offer was completed on February 4, 1952, and was delivered to De Nederlandsche Motors of Rotterdam.

“It is reputed that the first owner was Pia Beck, a famous Dutch jazz pianist and singer,” the dealership reports. “Besides being considered the ‘best Jazz pianist in the world’ and performing for such dignitaries as General Eisenhower, Walter Cronkite, the British Royal Family, and Freddy Heineken, Pia Beck owned over 47 different cars in her lifetime, with open sports cars her favorite.”

The dealer says that following the pianist’s ownership, the car went into a Dutch museum. In 1987, it was sold and exported to Canada, where it was restored for the owner’s wife, who had the car until 2014.

The car is done in Willow Green with fawn-leather interior and top. Its 6-cylinder engine is linked to a manual transmission. The dealership reports that the interior wood was recently refinished, new Wilton carpeting installed, chrome redone as needed, the trunk re-upholstered, and a new top and boot were installed.

For pricing information, you’ll have to contact the dealer.

A note on Alvis: In 1965, Alvis was absorbed by Rover.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

British get their kicks on Regent Street

Howard Koby
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British get their kicks on Regent Street

One of London’s most famous thoroughfares, Regent Street, is renowned for its shops and neo-classical architecture. But it recently was closed to normal traffic from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circuit for the Illinois Route 66 Regent Street Motor Show. 

The show is a wonderful concours d’elegance held the day before the running — this year the 122nd — of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run that motors from Hyde Park to the shores of the British Channel at Brighton. 

The Regent Street show featured years of pioneering motoring with about 100 pre-1905 veteran cars displayed on a wide and sweeping boulevard originally instigated by The Prince Regent (known as the “playboy prince”) who became King Georg IV (1762-1830). His creation was a way to travel from Pall Mall to a new park, called Regent Park, where Queen Mary’s Garden is located.

Since the show’s inception in 2011, the event is the largest free-to-view motor show in the UK. For the second year in a row, over 500,000 visitors were exposed at the same time at least a portion of America’s Route 66 through a sponsorship arrangement with the Illinois Office of Tourism.

Vintage Dodge Charger was part of Route 66 display

The Route 66 exhibit featured a classic Ford Thunderbird, a Dodge Charger, a 1957 Chevrolet pickup truck and a couple of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. 

Also featured among the London to Brighton-eligible vehicles as a celebration of 80 years of the Volkswagen Beetle, with eight classic Beetles and Herbie, the Love Bug, on display. The Jaguar Drivers Club celebrated the 70th anniversary of the XK120 and the Mk V Saloon and the 50 anniversary of the Jaguar XJ as well.

The Regent Street show is a Royal Automobile Club and about 100 of Victorian-era cars were there, their owners in period costume. 

Among them were a 1901 Waverly electric driven by James Healy, a one-cylinder 1893 Benz driven by Ben Collings, a very rare 1903 Vabis from Sweden, and the oldest veteran, a two-cylinder 1893 Peugeot Vis-Ă -vis driven by Rossi di Scebio from Italy. The best of show trophy went to a two-cylinder 1903 De Dion Bouton Detachable-top Brougham owned by Harold Pritchard.

London to Brighton participants preview their cars at the Regent Street event

From among the half-a-million people who attended the show, one was awarded a round-trip for two from London to Chicago so they could get their kicks on Route 66.

Stanford’s CARS lab looks Back to the Future

Andy Reid
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Stanford’s CARS lab looks Back to the Future

If you look in a far corner of the Stanford University campus, you will find The Center for Automotive Research, a place where students, professors, manufacturers, and even the federal government, are working together to bring about our automotive future. 

While attending my wife, Ann’s, Stanford class reunion, I was able to take a tour of the lab. I was simply amazed.

More commonly known as CARS, the institute was founded in 2008 by Chris Gerdes, a professor of mechanical engineering; Sebastian Thrun, a professor of research in computer science; and Cliff Nass, a professor of communication. 

The researchers and students involved with CARS make their camp at a building funded by VW — the Automotive Innovation Facility houses the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab, or VAIL. Within this humble building is a state-of-the-art research facility where interdisciplinary teams of students, industry engineers and faculty work on various projects that, to quote Chris Gerdes, “move vehicle human-centered mobility forward.”

VAIL is home to CARS, the Stanford University lab looking into our autonomous automotive future | Andy Reid photos

This is an amazing place — part garage, part computer center, and part simulation laboratory. The ability to take a spin in the 360-degree simulator is alone worth the visit.  The detail on the screens is amazing and even the mirrors of the car are part of the simulation, with screen in each.

VAIL also houses Stanford’s Solar Car Project that designs, builds and races the latest vehicle competing in the World Solar Challenge in Australia

But the best part of the facility though are the test cars themselves.  Each is used to test a different type of automotive problem, centered around the idea of self-driving cars. 

X1 is a Mazda Miata modified to find its own way around a race track
Some of X1’s electronic controls

Each of these cars has a name. First there is X1, an entirely student-built test vehicle that can lap a race track faster than a SCCA Spec Miata national champion. This car is without bodywork and looks most like an Ariel Atom. 

When the car was tested against a champion driver, it was able to beat that driver. After a few sessions, the human driver changed his driving line and finally beat X1.  Realizing that having the cars software based on a set racing line was a bad way to program it, the engineering student assigned to the project rewrote the code to have the car ignore the preset racing line and instead to simply go as fast as the car was capable and to choose it’s own preferred racing line. 

The rematch against the SCCA champion human driver is likely to see X1 beating the driver.

An interesting tidbit is that CARS engaged the help of championship racing driver John Morton to “teach” the computers how a car on the race track is supposed to move. They have not yet had Morton back to test his skills against the X1, but plan is to do so, to ee how good a teacher he was for the computers.

Another car, and the first car that CARS developed, is named Shelley. She is an automated Audi TT-S that can lap a race track as quickly as an expert driver and, in fact, was able to complete the Pikes Peak Hill Climb without a driver at the helm. This was not a remote-controlled car, but a completely autonomous one. 

Finally there is Marty. He is the most outrageous car in the garage, an electrified DeLorean. What Marty is used for is even more crazy. This automated electric-powered DeLorean is capable of executing controlled drifts. The fact that any fully automated car can complete a drift is astounding in itself, but when you add that the car is a DeLorean, you begin to understand the geniuses who people this amazing place.

The results of these different cars accomplishments are available on YouTube for your viewing pleasure and I urge you to check out some of these videos. What you will come away with is that the CARS lab is at the forefront of autonomous car development and visiting the lab is a look Back To The Future. 

You can find out more about CARS on the laboratory’s website.

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