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La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 6:40 pm
by suffolkpete
Some pics from my weekend with the Bugatti Owners' Club. A whole range from the exotic....
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If 1000 bhp is not enough then there's the Super Sports Version.
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This Darracq held the 1905 Land Speed record, it has a 25 litre V8.
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Then there's the unlikely
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Lots of Bugattis
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And some of my Matra friends were competing
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A great couple of days!

Re: La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:23 pm
by Aar0sc
I LOVE that A35 :D

Re: La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:26 pm
by JPB
Aar0sc wrote:I LOVE that A35 :D
Close, but no cigar! ;) (Gutter across the top of the screen, chromed, rather than painted grille and that tiny, kidney-shaped back window are the clues to that one's identity, it's an A30).

That Darracq must be one big handful but I'd love to have heard it running. :mrgreen:

Re: La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:31 pm
by Aar0sc
Ah; right you are ;)
Didn't spot the window; but our A35 had a chromed grille - but it was the bigger A35 one....

Re: La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:07 pm
by suffolkpete
JPB wrote: That Darracq must be one big handful but I'd love to have heard it running. :mrgreen:
Quite awesome, especially with those open exhausts. It also has a number plate, he drives it on the road!

Re: La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 10:13 pm
by Seth
The Darracq is an incredible car. I saw it running at Goodwood last year and there was a great two part feature on it in a couple of recent issues of The Automobile.

SuffolkPete, have you got/can you get contact details for the chap in the Bagheera #70? I have some photos I know he wanted from Crystal Palace.

Re: La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 10:33 pm
by JPB
suffolkpete wrote:....It also has a number plate, he drives it on the road!
I want him to move in next door to me. Far better that starting up than bamboo chimes through the night. :D

Re: La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:08 am
by suffolkpete
Seth wrote: SuffolkPete, have you got/can you get contact details for the chap in the Bagheera #70? I have some photos I know he wanted from Crystal Palace.
PM sent.

Re: La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 5:54 pm
by Martin Evans
suffolkpete wrote:
JPB wrote: That Darracq must be one big handful but I'd love to have heard it running. :mrgreen:
Quite awesome, especially with those open exhausts. It also has a number plate, he drives it on the road!
It's a regular at the VSCC (http://www.vscc.co.uk/vsccweb/) meetings. The Automobile did an article on it recently. There was a connection with the Guiness family. One of the real stars of the VSCC meetings is the Bentley Napier - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry2-kDCT ... re=related.

It's a long time since I competed at Prescott (Once held the cycling record there) but I have a mind to have a go again one day (Since I now have only classic cars, it will have to be in one of the classic classes). There used to be a "Classic" meeting at the end of May but the form seems to have changed a bit. I'd be interested to know what classes they were running at La Vie en Bleu. I'm assuming there was a handicap aspect to the classic classes.

They have an Autumn classic (Bit late in my opinion) at Prescott but that seems to have an American theme and Yank tanks are not my thing (I don't mind V8 engines in British chassis).

Of course if I ever win the Lottery, it'll be easy; I'll buy a pre war car and go VSCC........better not hold my breath :roll: :!:

Re: La Vie en Bleu 2011

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 11:48 am
by suffolkpete
Most people who didn't compete as part of a club were in the pre- and post-1972 saloon cars or the post-1972 sports cars above and below 2000cc, which weren't handicapped, or the Franco-Britannique Challenge, which was. Some of the British Classics.
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If you've got a suitable vehicle then go for it! The most bizarre entry was a Smart City Coupe with a two-litre engine. The front wheels lifted off the ground as it accelerated away from the start line.