We recall a historics star who developed his own strain of competition Ferrari Fabrizio Violati is perhaps best remembered for his famous – some might say notorious - Maranello Rosso collection of historically-important sports and racing cars. His name features...
By Richard Heseltine Giorgetto Giugiaro is nothing if not an overachiever: a man with a gilded resume that includes umpteen landmark post-war design icons. Nonetheless, ask him to comment on his past efforts and he will invariably dismiss them out...
By Richard Heseltine It is a car that appeared out of nowhere and vanished from sight almost as quickly. Who, precisely, commissioned the construction of this one-off Shelby Cobra remains open to conjecture, as does the identity of the man...
The 1960s witnessed a seismic shift in how IndyCars were designed. The front-engined Roadsters were on borrowed time the moment Jack Brabham and the Cooper Car Company rocked up for the 1961 running of the Indianapolis 500. ‘Black Jack’ prompted...
By Richard Heseltine Coachbuilding is an artform, and one I find fascinating. I was recently asked to write a feature on the most creative metal-wielding firms of yesteryear and, remarkably enough, the makers of the ‘car’ pictured here didn’t feature...
Books by Richard Heseltine Mallalieu was a name that, for a brief period in the 1970s, was rarely out of the specialist motoring press. Marque founder, Derry Mallalieu, built his Bentley MkVI-based creation in the mid-1960s while living in Connecticut. The...
Steady on! Richard Heseltine recalls legendary journalist Ronald ‘Steady’ Barker, an amusing and learned man to the last. A recent conversation with a 70-something enthusiast wasn’t anything of the sort. It was more of a haranguing. Apparently, motoring writers these...
It is perhaps a sad reflection on me, but I am drawn to obscure films for reasons I have never been able to explain. Moths show greater resistance to flame. I would rather sit through a ‘Euro-Spy’ espionage flick from...
He stretched self-deprecation beyond its elastic limits. Either that, or he was simply disinterested in what had happened decades ago. With Alan Mann, it was hard to tell. This sometime racer, team principal, and tycoon wasn’t the easiest of men...
Over the past 25 years or so, I have been fortunate enough to interview umpteen car designers, racing drivers, motor moguls, and more besides. Of these, almost all have been men and women I have liked and admired. There are...
By Richard Heseltine What’s in a name? Rather a lot as it happens. Automobile manufacturers blow millions on think tanks brimmed with chin-stroking thesaurus-wielders but to what end? All they do is raid the cliché cupboard or invent some spellcheck-bothering,...
By Richard Heseltine The lesson drawn from the exchange was simple – don’t ask. The question was: “Whose Lada is this?” It is May 2006 and all is not well. On reflection, agreeing to a road trip in Russia wasn’t...
