The Alfa Romeo V10 continuation: the stillborn SE048 Sport e Prototipo

If you have been following this Blog for a while, you may have noticed that the guy writing has quite a love affair Alfa Romeo. Despite I would not call myself an Alfista just because the Alfetta GTV6 2.5 of my dreams is sitting in someone else's garage right now, and I still had not the chance to rev its beautiful Busso V6 properly, I cannot resist the temptation to talk about them I love to write about the marvels that came out the factory in Arese every time I have the occasion, better if the car we are talking about is something unique and not known by many. Why talk about Alfa Romeo? Because it is a great story and deserves to be told.

If you take a look at the story of Alfa Romeo, you always come around great models that were stillborn and never got the chance to be enjoyed by enthusiast: take the Alfa-Abarth 1000GT or the 162 Grand Prix or the 750 Competizione and also the 147 WRC. Last time we talked about the awesome 164 V10 ProCar and we discussed the great features of its 10 cylinder F1 engine. This story is actually a continuation of the great Procar, and back in its time the car you see pictured here represented an evolution of the 1985 V1035 project and was meant to be raced in the Group C Championship.

As a matter of fact, the role of the ProCar after the demonstration laps at Monza in 1988 was that of a test bed for the new Group C racing car for endurance competition. It was a decision based on the strategy that FIAT Ceo Antonio Ghidella had planned to promote the Alfa Romeo as a brand. In fact, his attention was beginning to be drawn from the successful Lancia Rally team in favor of new projects with the Biscione. Racing is expensive, and there was the need to promote Alfa new Fiat-based products, like the 155: this idea led to an investment made for competing in Group C and further on, in the DTM and ITC championship, with great success (and anger from BMW and Audi as well). To favor this project, the Squadra Corse Lancia was killed in 1991, still at the peak of its competitiveness.

The interest showed by Alfa Romeo in such a car was determined by the fact that the rules of Group C of 1990 had changed and demanded the use of 3.5 liter engines. Hence the interest of Alfa Romeo in using 1988 V1035 units  for a new sports prototype car to build a good reputation for the newer models. This strategy was also used with the 155 GTA of the DTM: a good advocate for the change of the humble successor of the legendary 75, the 155, which was built on a the same chassis of the less sporty Fiat Tipo 2.

Developed on the 164, the d'Agostino 10 cylinder was retuned to deliver its power further down the rev range, in order to increase the durability of the engine and make it suitable for endurance.

The Abarth headquarters in Corso Marche in Turin proved to be the ideal ground for the development of the new car: essentially, the facility was destined for this project, as Lancia cars were slowly finishing their competition life, and Abarth engineers, like Sergio Limone were also employed alongside Alfa technicians  to build the car. 

 The ground effect chassis was designed by ex Osella man Giuseppe Perrotta and it was all carbon fiber, the gearbox was an Abarth design and the aerodynamic was perfected in Fiat's own wind tunnel.  Also, engineer Sergio Limone, the man who designed the Delta S4 also took part in the project. It was a state of the art, purebred Alfa Romeo hybrid, developed in Turin by a mixed team of Abarth and Alfa Corse. Despite the good development made by the engineering team, The whole project began in 1988 but died in 1990, due to the lack of funds and to the general progressive loss of interest in Group C racing. In fact, the teams that showed real interest in the series were Alfa Romeo and Peugeot, so by 1993, it was all over.

As we said above, the legendary V1035 engine developed  for the SE048 was the ideal choice to be the power unit of the car. But, here we come to the controversial part. It's true that the V10 of Pino d'Agostino was the initial choice for the propulsion of the SE048, but it was later dropped in favour an Abarth tuned Ferrari V12, mainly due to reliability issues with the timing belt. But it is unclear whether the V10 was developing problems or it was dropped to internal reasons, as Eng.d'Agostino pointed out. But this fact is just a small shadow of a project that could have launched Alfa Romeo into a new wave of success, as it did in the DTM and WTCC racing. 

Sadly, the lost interest in Group C racing (only Peugeot and Alfa Romeo were really committed to it) and the decision to invest more in more durable championships made the SE048 project end by September 1990, leaving it not fully developed.

It's another Alfa Romeo that joins the club of the models who never made into the Company live history. Despite this, they remain true to Alfa Romeo and are in Arese for us to enjoy. 

Alfa Romeo Sleeper: the 164 v10 procar

If you like American Hot Rods, you are probably familiar with the name "sleeper". If you're not, well, just think about your grandfather's car, add some rust, fancy brown tartan interiors, wheels remain of course stock but imagine it capable of speeds that annihilate any other vehicle on the road in a straight line. If you have never seen one or find hard to picture your grandad humiliating every Ferrari he meets, just take a look at this 1972 Chevy Nova with 1,160 hp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Hv_jRQMv8

Or even at David Letterman own Ford 302 powered Volvo 960: http://jalopnik.com/5540957/the-ford-powered-volvo-wagon-paul-newman-built. Not that an Alfa Romeo would look slow or even pathetic, but imagine seeing a peaceful 164 that apparently has no modifications to the bodywork and almost no improved aerodynamics that is capable of 210 mph. To me are sounds like a totally cool "sleeper", the Italian way, of course.

But enough with the traditional sleepers from overseas. Time to talk about Alfa Romeo sleepers: the 164 Pro Car from 1988.

Looking exactly like a stock 164 sedan from 1988, the v10 Pro Car is a concealed high-tech racing car complete with all Alfa Romeo stillborn innovations like the very first 10 cylinder engine ever to be built for a Formula 1 car.

As a matter of fact, the first ever F1 V10, model name "V1035", nominally 10 Cyl., 3.5 liter displacement, was an Alfa Romeo project born in November 1985, by the great Italian engineer Pino d'Agostino, at the time one of the best motorists available in the World.

Starting from the idea that the best F1 engines have always been V8's for the 3 liter formula, he was convinced that balancing a 72 degree 3.5 liter v10 for the new F1 regulations would have made the best powerplant for a top class single seater.

Having Alfa Romeo an interest to return F1 racing, it made a deal with French Team Ligier to provide the new engines to equip their new cars. Working with a top team of engineers composed by Bodini, Bordoni, Flor, Giani, Mazzoleni, Rossetti, Teruzzi and Turina, head Eng. d'Agostino began designing the V1035 in November 1985. It was at the time, the most advanced project in F1, and a first ever: in fact, Honda and Renault introduced their own v10 a month and a year after respectively after the AR V1035. Thanks to the characteristics, it featured the new AR engine eventually became the reference point for other manufacturers in the years to come.

The V1035 was started up for the first time on 1st July 1986 and peaked 583hp, 9 months after the beginning of the project.

The Alfa Romeo V1035 was a 72° V10 with two banks of 5 cylinders, aluminium-silicon alloy block, titanium connecting rods, molded pistons with high-density silicon with two ring segments and oil jet cooling. There were 15 built in total and two versions of the engine exist: the first one, featuring 5 valves per cylinder and the second with 4 valves. All valves are made out of titanium, activated by spring in tappets, and they are commanded by four camshafts with phase variations. A titanium flywheel was connected to the crankshaft. Power output was recorded as 583 bhp at the time of the firsts bench tests while the definitive version of the engine peaked at 620bhp at 13.300 rpm with a max torque of 39kgm at 9500rpm.

Alfa Romeo would have definitely beaten the nail on its head with this unit in the F1 Championship. But, despite the general optimism, the V1035 never made it into the engine bay of an F1 car, nor was able to turn a wheel in anger on the track. In fact, the project was abandoned as Fiat took over Alfa in 1986, as Vittorio Ghidella the then Fiat CEO, closed the relationship with Ligier and the whole idea was abandoned.

Despite this sad fact, FIA was considering opening a new championship based entirely on cars looking exactly like production cars, but featuring F1 technology underneath the lightweight bodywork. Rules were set and the car that were admitted to the series had to be produced at least at 25.000 units per year. It was an interesting idea as let Manufacturers almost complete freedom to operate underside the pinnings of the "faked" vehicle. It was 1988.

Alfa Romeo showed great interest as it saw the Pro Car Championship (literally Production Car) a good way to promote the new flagship 164 sedan, a big, luxurious and sporty front wheel drive car that was representing the successor of the great Alfa 90. Looking completely stock, hence my definition "sleeper".

The idea was taken seriously and a new mid-engine chassis, was built by Brabham with a Nomex and aluminum honeycomb structure, featuring the V1035 as a stressing unit in the back. The car was then finished with composite body shells resembling the line of a standard 164. A tiny rear spoiler was added to increase the downforce at
the rear, the only exterior detail that set this car apart from the road-going counterpart.

Two cars were made both sharing the same characteristics and were completed by September 1988. Prior to the public debut at the 1988 Italian Gran Prix at Monza, the car was tested both on closed public roads and Alfa Romeo Balocco test track. The engine performance was tested by team manager and test driver Giorgio Pianta on a closed section of the Turin-Savona Autostrada during Sunday. This was carried out to test how the engine behaved at high rpms. After covering twice the closed section, the Polizia told Pianta to stop testing the car, as the authorities were not able to contain the huge crowd gathered to see the car passing at high speeds. Good times back then uh?

One of the two cars was given to Giorgio Francia to do a testing session on the Balocco track. During those tests  the 164 Pro Car achieved  a top speed of 211 mph and recorded 9.7 seconds in the quarter mile straight runs. The car also registered 17.5 seconds to cover 1 km standing start.

The car was officially presented to the public at the Italian Gran Prix in 1988, and it was driven by Riccardo Patrese. It was timed at 329 km/h (205 mph) a much higher value than those registered by the F1 cars of the era. Such speed was obtained thanks also to the lesser CX value than those from a typical single seater.

What was thought to be the Birth of a legendary vehicle, it was, sadly the end as well. After the only appeareance at Monza, the FIA cancelled the Pro Car Program due to a lack of partecipants.

The 164 remained within the ownership of Alfa Romeo and the two cars were used as a test bed for the following years, like another great car: le Group C Alfa Romeo Sport e Prototipo featuring the same V1035. We'll feature this one in the future for sure.

The two wonderful Alfa Romeo 164 Pro Cars can now be admired in the Museo Alfa Romeo in Arese, despite it being...closed to the public.  

The Isotta Fraschini #1: an unique gem from the Lopresto Collection.

Photo courtesy of Lopresto Collection

In an interview I did in November 2013 to Horacio Pagani about his Automotive philosophy, he pointed out that "we can say that a brand has to maintain its own character, and it has to be this way (...) they all have their characteristics, their philosophy which were imposed at the beginning by the manufacturer". Meaning, the beginning of a car manufacturer is always a personal statement. When a car is born, a new idea goes right with it and contributes to making it the object of desire, admiration, need and lust for years to come.

True to this fact, finding the #1 model of a Car Company, best if a legendary one like Isotta Fraschini, is an event deserving a respectful attention by the enthusiast Community.

As a matter of fact, not many companies have still their original #001 car still around: most of the times it was lost somewhere, crushed, rusted beyond restoration or simply waiting in a barn somewhere just to be found. It is like this for Rolls Royce, where the first prototypes of the 10HP were lost, for Porsche, where the 356 Gmund 001 is said to have been crushed. Remeber the first car ever, a Mercedes Benz? A replica sits in their Museum and the original is nowhere to be found. It is a sad destiny for many #1 vehicles of most Manufacturers, let alone pre-war Legends like Isotta Fraschini.

Much to my surprise and joy in a hot day of July, I had the pleasure to discover on the Facebook page of  Italian Collector Corrado Lopresto a short video of this old, tiny motorcar starting up in a remote street of Milan.
As much as I love Isotta Fraschini, this was an event that defined my 2014 of motoring enthusiasm. Despite, not having seen this little car yet, I think it's about time to write a couple of lines to make this beautiful array of steel and wood, justice.

Photo Courtesy of Lopresto Collection

Not known by many Italians, the Isotta Fraschini name is a very important one. If you ever boarded a boat, chances are that you came to your destination thanks to a big diesel engine bearing this name. Or if you ever saw an old Italian truck which was not an Iveco or an OM, well, that may have been an Isotta Fraschini as well.

Back in its time, the IF factory of Milan was building among the finest, most powerful, expensive and beautiful cars to ever come out from Italy. Rich leather, wood, tasteful color combination and an unmistakable elegance and traveling comfort, they were the right competitors for Roll Royce, Hispano-Suiza, and Bugatti. If you know the 2006 Villa d'Este winner, the IF 8ASS Castagna, (also from the Lopresto Collection) which was also exhibited at the Mulhouse Museum taking the place of a Bugatti Royale, you know what I am talking about

The first one made by IF of Milan is the car pictured above. It never had a bodywork fitted to it, and this makes the car look like a steel rectangle with some wheels at the sides and engine placed on top. But it was just more than this. It was the beginning.

Photo Courtesy of Lopresto Collection

Completed in 1901 and labeled Tipo 1902, the first Isotta Fraschini was inspired by the Renault D-Type, a Brand of which Cesare Isotta and Vincenzo Fraschini were official importers. In fact, it is similar in the technic: a single cylinder De Dion-Bouton engine #1246 and identical front bonnet and chassis. As I pointed out before, it is the only model never to receive a bodywork, in opposite to the next models produced, which were "dressed" by the Carrozzeria Belloni of Milan.

In 1931, 30 years after the foundation of Isotta Fraschini, the car was donated to the Ford Museum in Dearborn, where it remained for the next 50 years. As awkward this my seem, it is possible that behind this donation was the Italian Fascist Government seeking a symbolic act to increase the good relations with the United States. As a matter of fact, the Isotta Fraschini of the time was a symbol of great Italian engineering, let alone a well accepted foreign representative of Italy as a Country by donating the very first car made by the Factory to an important Nation like the U.S.A. was an act of great generosity.

After remaining in the Dearborn Museum until the mid eighties, it was put on sale and it has been in private hands ever since.

The car has never been restored and it has its original patina. It was recently put on sale and acquired by Corrado Lopresto this Summer. It has appeared at the Chantilly Concours of Elegance and it is now a cherished and much-loved piece of motoring history 

Photo courtesy of Lopresto Collection

The Kawasaki H2R at EICMA 2014: a chat with Sergio Vicarelli.

When you think the 205 HP of the new 1299 Panigale are more than enough to cover long sections of tarmac as quickly as possible, you were wrong.  The new Kawasaki H2R will destroy all you know about power limits in a motorcycle engine.

At EICMA 2014 I was able to confirm that Superbike horsepower wars are far from over. Is it right to think that Motorcycle Companies are diminishing their interest in building lighter and more powerful bikes in favor of smaller products? Sure. But for someone, there is still room to add more numbers to the "HP" name. Fighting my way through the crowd, I was able to see the black beast and even have a friendly chat with the Commercial and Marketing Director of Kawasaki Italia, Sergio Vicarelli.

Sergio is a friendly, passion driven individual, who does not mind talking about Kawasaki's new track only monster with a completely random guy like me.

I met him while he was explaining to Group of younger riders the wonders of the new centrifugal supercharger used to squeeze every drop of power from the 1000cc 4 cylinder engine: "It's better than a conventional Roots one" he was saying, "as the new turbine compresses air without generating too much heat. The turbine is also designed also to run at 9000 rpm when the engine is revving at only 1000. This gives a consistent increase in power.". As a matter of fact, the engine cutaway shows a Turbo-style compressor, driven by a long carbon fiber intake running from the nose of the bike, right down to the engine compartment.

As he finishes with those guys, I immediately approach him and start firing questions at him like a maniac. The first question I pose is "Why the need for a supercharger on a superbike? Why 300 hp?", he smiles and answers my question without esitation:"the centrifugal supercharger allows to have extra power without needing an increase of displacement therefore letting us use the same engine size of a 1000cc but having a completely new dynamicity of the power delivery. The bike could not have obtained the same results with a conventional normally aspirated unit as the engine would have been impossible to manage. It also would have been necessary to change the frame size, compromising the feeling the rider gets from the motorcycle itself". It's definitely a different concept that the one Ducati has done by increasing the displacement of the 1199 Panigale to 1299. This sort of "tricks", supercharging, gives a more fluid and constant power delivery.  What is also interesting, is that all bike dynamics depend on the aerodynamics, designed with Kawasaki Aerospace department:"As you probably know" he said "Kawasaki is a Company present in many sectors of engineering. Motorcycles are just a part of what this Reality is all about, as we build everything from sports bikes to heavy machinery and Aerospace, so the Intellectual force behind our Company is really immense. When our engineers designed the bike, they needed the knowledge to make it stable and neutral at very high speeds. As you can see the nose is not pointing down as all sports bikes on the market right now: it's higher because it provides better results at high speeds and also because it contains the airbox that feeds the supercharger".

"Also, the new aerodynamics are visible through the two wings placed where usually we find the rearview mirrors and are complemented by two additional winglets placed on the lower carbon fiber bodywork. Again, another solution to have the bike neutral at speeds", "and this also justifies the shorter hulls?" i ask "yes, the fact that the bike features less bodywork is not just to improve the aero but also to help it dissipate the heat coming from the engine and keep it at the optimal operating temperature during the ride. As the bike was designed by the Aerospace guys it is not just "another" wind tunnel only design. Here we are talking about something groundbreaking and completely new in the design of a motorcycle.  This idea is also expressed by the chassis of the H2R".  Knowing all the work Kawasaki has done to improve the Handling of its bikes to stay competitive in the Superbike World Championship, I ask him more about the structure where all that technological goodness is housed "Is it a completely new design or it benefits from Kawasaki proven racing experience?","No, it does not share any resemblance to our ZX-10R Motorcycle. As the H2R will never compete in International events, we wanted to design something completely new, just for this bike. It is a frame made to accommodate the new powerplant and to help it merge with the bodywork and help the cooling". "We designed the bike as a new performance benchmark in the segment" goes on Sergio "but we had to make it easy enough to let the customer use it to its full potential even if he/she is not Valentino Rossi". Well done, Kawasaki!



Knowing EICMA quite well, and still having lots to see, I decide to quit my thirst of knowledge of the brilliant H2R and greet Sergio and finish off my tour of the event and of the beautiful array of vintage Kawasaki superbikes on display.

My first encounter with this engineering Tour de Force, the Green Deamon as I will call this bike from now on, as left me completely amazed and eager to learn more. 300 bhp on a track bike sounds like a no-brainer: no one will ever need a bike with such a power for a couple of track days per year. But what it emerges is something completely different, a bike that is made to accommodate a new concept of competitive riding. It does not seem to be the new all-horsepower machine with no real dynamics added to it. It may be the dawn of a new concept of superbike, the Hyperbike. Usually I see supercharging and state of the art aerodynamics on supercars rather than motorcycles, but during my brief chat with Sergio, it almost sounded like we were talking about some supercar.

A new idea which finds itself also in the new road-going variant of this amazing bike, the 200 hp H2, also on display at EICMA. This is just the beginning of what it seems to be a not so distant future.

Check the lastest video from my friends at Petrolicious featuring the beautiful Lamborghini Urraco

The Great Racing Alfa Romeos: The Conrero 2000 Supersonica by Ghia

The Pic was taken at the 1953 Mille Miglia: from the right Robert Fehlmann and Virgilio Conrero 

The Conrero 2000 is one of those cars that not many enthusiasts know to exist: it is a special car, a very interesting one and it belongs to an era of motorsport racing that went down into history as the “Golden Age” of motorsport. The car shown here is an example of the Italian Automotive finest artistry: Alfa Romeo 1900 engine, tuned by Virgilio Conrero to race perfection on one of his custom chassis, Lancia gave the transmission, Fiat the suspension and Giovanni Savonuzzi of Ghia provided the adequate bodywork. The 2000 Conrero is a car to be remembered: it is regarded as the very first car featuring an Alfa Romeo 1900 engine tuned by Virgilio Conrero, later to be remembered for his efforts in modifying the engines for the Giulietta Sprint Veloce, SS and the Giulia GTAs of the famous the Jolly Club Team, as well as Opel rally cars of the 1970ies and 80ies.

The car we are showing in the pictures below, with the Swiss license plate GE 30030, was commissioned by Robert Fehlmann to Ghia of Turin with the purpose of competing in the 1953 Mille Miglia. She was dressed by the futuristic pen of Giovanni Savonuzzi, the author of the famed Cisitalia 202. The fin design feature popular of the era was brought to the extreme: the styling of the Alfa Romeo 1900 "Supersonica" by Ghia was directly inspired by the beginning of the supersonic jet era, hence the name. We believe that this unique vehicle was the first of the “Supersonica” design of Giovanni Savonuzzi, which became an elegant aluminum dress of a number of chassis based on Fiat 8v's, Jaguar xk120 and Aston Martin DB II's, for a total of 20 Supersonica cars worldwide. But what really sets the “Fehlmann Supersonica" apart from the other cars is that it was moved by the very first Conrero-tuned Alfa Romeo engine. Starting from the standard power plant found in the Alfa Romeo 1900 Super, it received a special treatmentment by Virgilio Conrero “the Magician” as he was known among racers and the Alfisti of the period.

Typically, the "Conrero magic" was best found in the fine tuning of Alfa Romeo engines, with a change in firing orders, engines mappings and increase in reliability and power. Conrero was no ordinary tuner and this car was literally re-engineered to race-perfection, receiving an increase in the compression ratio by lowering the cyl. heads, a new set of forged cylinders, open carburetors trumpets and even new engine mappings and firing orders and 4 individual exhaust steel tubes  

The Fehlmann Supersonica was a first class contender: power output was  increased to 183 hp over the standard 90 bhp of production models, and it was fitted to a custom Conrero chassis design: original drawings are not known to exist, but it was a big square section tube framing, completely unique to the car, differing from the self supporting unit of the 1900 chassis. Pictures show a cross section tubolar frame by additional transversal “X” tube. This car was also true hybrid of Italian goodness: the transmission came from a Lancia Aurelia the rear section was of Alfa Romeo design, renewed by its stability and effectiveness in cornering and straight conditions. Front suspension came from a Fiat 1400. The choice of Ghia to sculpt the body came by the close friendship that Virgilio Conrero had with Savonuzzi: this car was briefly described to be the very first car to bear the Conrero name on an Alfa Romeo engine, as stated in the excellent book "Giulietta da Corsa" by Donald Hughes and Vito Whitting da Prato. This was the nemesis of Conrero and Alfa Romeo, later to be strengthened by the great competitiveness of the Giulietta SV.

This car is genesis of one of the most successful relationships in the history of motor racing as Alfa Romeo was not funding its own Squadra Corse, it usually provided official support in customers during hillclimbs and international events. In fact, the popularity of the Conrero modifications to the already state-of-the-art 1.3 liter straight 4 of the Giulietta SV gave the opportunity to be a great medium of gaining popularity among the market and also to keep the racing tradition of the Biscione alive.



This great looking car was presented as a private Mille Miglia prototype to the public at the Turin Motor Show in 1953 by Ghia, where it attracted the attention of the specialized press. The car took part in the Mille Miglia, featuring the #453 racing number as part of the 2 liter sport class: the Supersonica departed from Corso Venezia, Brescia at 4:53 pm of 26th April 1953, with Robert Fehlmann at the wheel, the owner and commissioner of the project and  his navigator, G.Duville. The car ended up in a crash along the route and it was retired due to heavy damage. After beign retired, it was converted into a barchetta body style and continued to be raced as a privateer car in the following years.





Further documentation on the competitive history of the car after the barchetta coversion, is not known to exist. Besides this, the car reappeared in 1985 to receive a conservative restoration and the retuning of the engine, operated by the hands of Mario Cavagnero, the now owner of Italtecnica Tuning of Cambiano and former mechanic of Virgilio Conrero.

In a phone interview done in February of 2014, Mr.Cavagnero said that the car was sold that year to famed Italian actor and comedian Renato Pozzetto, an Alfa Romeo enthusiast, who kept the car till 1992.

Despite further research, the present location of the car is not known yet.

  

1970 Aston Martin DBS Sports Saloon from "The Persuaders"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paying nearly 900.000$ for an Aston Martin DBS may be perceived as a successful attempt to bribe an ingenuous enthusiast, or probably as a feared sign that the classic car market has gone nuts over the past few months. Why would one spend all that money for a car that is valued by Hagerty at 160.000$ in top condition? Could it not just be another regular DBS? And why pay nearly five times more its market value for a car that even has incorrect "V8" markings on the bodywork? Not if the car in question is the very Aston Martin DBS that once starred in the 1970 "The Persuaders!" TV series.

As we may be accustomed to see in these occasions, movie-related cars always seem to be hitting the auction table with prices that appear far out and unreasonable compared to their actual model value in the market: Steve McQueen famous green 1970 Porsche 911S was hammered by RM for 1,375,000$ in 2011, were a standard mortal-driven one was rated at "just" 72.000USD!

But, as far as the story goes, the real interest in such wallet emptying objects may not rest within the actual car factor itself. It is, in fact that the importance these automobiles have over their regular model and make nameplates: they are icons, symbols, personifications of reference points of a generation of an era in film and car making.

Choosing to own one of these cars is a very passion driven choice: you really cannot rule your heart with your mind sometimes, especially if it is a very special Bahama Yellow Aston Martin DBS that you may have admired as a teenager, growing up in the '70ies.

The now past owner of the car, Ed Stratton, was keen enthusiast of "The Persuaders!" TV series during his youth and his car bug reasonably brought him to acquire the famed DBS from its past owner, Mike Sanders, in late 2010.

But let's start from the beginning. "The Persuaders!" TV series had it all: exotic cars, beautiful women and two elegant crime solving playboys, Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde, (played respectively by Roger Moore and Tony Curtis) all set in some of the most beautiful locations in Europe. Besides this amusing set up, the show was a traditional crime solving format, which boasted some interesting cars, and gorgeous hitchhikers as well. As far as a true gentleman is concerned, his ride should fall right within the range of the very best available: the choice of the Ferrari and the Aston Martin was set to define the characters, by making a strong statement on their attitude and lifestyle. For this reason, the show was credited as the most expensive TV series ever produced up to that time, and the expenses took care of ordering both the DBS and the Dino 246GT new by the respective manufacturer.

While Tony Curtis' 246GT (still retaining its original Italian "MO221400" black license plates to this day) had probably two owners from new and it is jealousy kept in a private collection in Italy, Roger Moore's Aston was sold to its first private customer (the second owner in the car's history), with an approximate mileage of 5,000, all covered during the shooting of the episodes, beginning a longer journey to where it is now.

Ever since starring on the big screen, the DBS chassis #DBS/5636/R with engine no.400/4665/S was driven just as any other regular GT car for a total of 70,000 miles over the next two ownerships.

 

The fourth owner, Mike Sanders, is credited with the honorable mention to have saved the car from a much darker future, having it restored with no expense spared by Aston Martin itself in the mid nineties.

Mr. Sanders cherished and enjoyed the car over the next decade, even getting her trunk lid signed by Moore and Curtis themselves, thus enhancing the value of the car. At the end of his ownership, Mr. Sanders kept a low profile and decided to contact privately fellow Persuaders fan Ed Stratton, inviting him to become the car's fifth custodian, which happened in late 2010.

Since acquiring the car, Mr. Stratton took great care of his purchase by completing a series of minor repairs including chips markings underneath the car. As a statement of the passion and consideration of the car special attitude of Mr. Stratton, the car was kept in superb condition, with the only regret, according to the owner, to never have been able to track down the original bumper bracket fitted with the "GB" decal, which part of the car's original configuration. The car made a number of public appearances, including the famous partecipation at the prestigious 2013 Concorso d'Eleganza di Villa d'Este, where it was presented at the Aston Martin Centennial exhibition section, right next to the famous DB4 GT Zagato "2VEV", and other prestigious cars from the Marque.

As we all know, this beloved and special DBS was sold for the record price of 898.580 € on May 17th 2014 at the annual Aston Martin Auction, ready to be enjoyed by her new owner.

Aside from being Roger Moore's car, this Aston Martin has some other very peculiar features, which make her instantly recognizable to the watchful eye of any enthusiast: first, despite being fitted with a regular 3995cc straight six engine, it bears the nameplates and wheels of the newer V8 model which was launched in 1969. This may be regarded as the most distinguished and unique detail of the car: in fact it is a statement to the interest Aston martin had in providing good advertisement for its new high performance model, given the glamorous environment in which had to be fit in.

Second, it is regarded as the only right hand drive Bahama Yellow DBS in existence, as no other were made to her exact specifications: the contrast of the beautiful color combination between the bright exterior and the dark interior, only adorned by the wood of the steering wheel in rhd configuration, may only be found in this very car.

Other details include the famous license plates: the "fake" BS-1, i.e. Brett Sinclair-1 the personal plate of Roger Moore's character from the series, and the original PPP6H. Those who were there during the shooting reported that the BS-1 plates were held in place by Velcro stripes, in order to be removed when the car was used on public roads.

Other from these details, it is still a regular six cylinder DBS, as other were produced by the factory in Gaydon, between 1969 and 1972 with stock 282 hp and no other modification.

This DBS is and will remain a special car. It is a piece of history and will always be considered as one of the most iconic Aston Martins ever: the details featured on the bodywork are statements to the enjoyable and fascinating history of a car that stands as a testimony of a lifestyle long forgotten.