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Featured Judging Classes
Porsche
Porsche SE or Porsche is a German manufacturer of luxury automobiles, which is majority-owned by the Porsche and Piëch families.
Porsche SE holds two chief assets, the first of which is Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, often shortened to Porsche AG,
manufacturer of the Porsche automobile line. The second asset is a majority stake in
Volkswagen AG. The company is headquartered in Stuttgart.
It was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, an Austro-Hungarian engineer born in Maffersdorf,
Austria-Hungary (today Vratislavice, Czech Republic). Porsche is also known for designing the first Volkswagen,
but Béla Barényi is credited with having conceived the basic design five years earlier.
The company currently produces 911 (997), Boxster and Cayman sports cars and Cayenne sport utility vehicles.
Porsche also makes a brand of hybrid bikes called carrera.
In post-war Germany parts were generally in short supply, so the 356 automobile used components
from the Volkswagen Beetle including its engine, gearbox, and suspension. The 356, however,
had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and C, while in production and many VW parts were replaced by
Porsche-made parts. The last 356s were powered by entirely Porsche-designed engines. The sleek bodywork
was designed by Erwin Komenda who also had designed the body of the Beetle. Porsche's signature designs have,
from the beginning, featured air-cooled rear-engine configurations (like the Beetle),
rare for other car manufacturers, but producing automobiles that are very well balanced.
Bugatti (Celebrating 100 years)
Founder Ettore Bugatti was born in Milan, Italy, and the automobile company that bears his name was founded in 1909 in the town of Molsheim located in the Alsace. The company was known both for the level of detail of its engineering in its automobiles, and for the artistic way in which the designs were executed, given the artistic nature of Ettore's family (his father, Carlo Bugatti (1856–1940), was an important Art Nouveau furniture and jewelry designer). The company also enjoyed great success in early Grand Prix motor racing, winning the first ever Monaco Grand Prix. The company's success culminated with driver Jean-Pierre
Wimille winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice (in 1937 with Robert Benoist and 1939 with Pierre Veyron).
Bugatti's cars were as much works of art as they were mechanical creations. Engine blocks were
hand scraped to ensure that the surfaces were so flat that gaskets were not required for sealing,
many of the exposed surfaces of the engine compartment featured Guilloché (engine turned) finishes on
them, and safety wires threaded through almost every fastener in intricately laced patterns. Rather than
bolt the springs to the axles as most manufacturers did, Bugatti's axles were forged such that the spring
passed though a carefully sized opening in the axle, a much more elegant solution requiring fewer parts. He
famously described his arch competitor Bentley's cars as "the world's fastest lorries" for focusing on durability.
According to Bugatti, "weight was the enemy".
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire.
Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year
to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. Martin
raced specials at Aston Hill near Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. The first car to be named Aston Martin
was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini.
They acquired premises at Henniker Place in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Production
could not start because of the outbreak of World War I, and Martin joined the Admiralty and Bamford the Royal Army Service Corps. All
machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company.
From 1994 until 2007 Aston Martin was part of the Ford Motor Company, becoming part of the company's Premier Automotive Group in 2000. On
12 March 2007, it was purchased for £479 million by a joint venture company, headed by David Richards and co-owned by Investment
Dar and Adeem Investment of Kuwait and English businessman John Sinders. Ford retained a US$77 million stake in Aston Martin, valuing
the company at US$925 million.
Aston Martins in film and culture
- Tippi Hedren's character in the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film "The Birds" drove a silver Aston Martin DB2/4 drophead
coupe (convertible).
- Author Ian Fleming gave his James Bond hero a DB III in the seventh novel, Goldfinger. A long association between 007 and the marque began on screen with the silver DB5 that appears in
Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965). This was James Bond's company car, and in
GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) appeared to have become his private car. In
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) a metallic-green DBS appears at the beginning and end of the movie. After an interlude with Lotus, Aston Martins were again used: a charcoal-grey V8 Volante and Vantage in
The Living Daylights (1987). After switching to BMW for several films, the Vanquish appeared in
Die Another Day (2002). In Casino Royale (2006), James Bond drives both the classic DB5 which becomes his personal vehicle after winning a poker game, and the new DBS which is revealed to be his new company car in
Quantum of Solace (released in cinemas on October 31, 2008).
- A silver/grey convertible DB4 was driven by Michael Caine's character in the original 1969 version of
The Italian Job.
- A Bahama Yellow Aston Martin DBS is driven by Sir Roger Moore in the 1971 TV series
The Persuaders!. A DBS V8 was to be used in the series, however no V8 car was ready, so a six-cylinder DBS was modified to look like a V8 for use in the show.
Preservation Vehicles -
The “Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens” (FIVA) was founded in
1966 in response to an idea formulated by a handful of organisations
representing the interests of historic vehicle
enthusiasts within a number of different countries. The founders felt that the
time had come for an international body to promote and guide the interests of
the historic vehicle movement throughout the world. At present FIVA can boast
over 75 member organisations in more than 50 countries throughout the world,
which in turn represent more than 1,000,000 historic vehicle enthusiasts.
FIVA’s primary objective is to encourage the safe use of self-propelled,
mechanical vehicles, greater than twenty five years old, on the roads for the
benefit of both their owners, dedicated enthusiasts and the general public. To
that end FIVA, through its Events’ Commission, has devised its own code for the
safe promotion of rallies or mildly competitive events, and in concert with the
European Commission, has recently published a Drivers’ Code for more general
guidance of historic vehicle users. To qualify for consideration as a
FIVA vehicle, the vehicel must be at least 25 years old.
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