Oliver and GT40 to be reunited
Jackie Oliver, winner of the 1969 Le Mans 24-hour race with Jacky Ickx, will be reunited with a Ford GT40 during the Silverstone Historic Festival in August. Oliver will race…
Want to expand your stable of historic slot cars? Niche maker Shadowfax has pushed back to the pioneer era with a range of detailed racer kits from the 1900s to the 1930s. Its early ‘Titans’ range, with steering and working leaf springs, offers Fiat S74, Ballot L76 and Lorraine-Dietrich while later offerings include Alfa P2 and P3, Mercedes W25 and Maserati 4CM – even the 4WD Bugatti and streamlined AVUS Auto Union, complete with Rosemeyer. Run your own VSCC event – there’s also a pit crew in flat caps and brown overalls. Cars suit Scalextric systems.
Kits from €39.95, shadowfaxslotcars.com
Bentley’s most important car of the modern age, the Speed 8 brought the British brand back to Le Mans after 68 years. Now, in the firm’s centenary year, you can bring the spirit of the Speed 8 straight to your mantelpiece with this sculpture. Cast in solid bronze and mounted on a black granite plinth, the 9.5in x 3in piece of art is a homage to Bentley’s one-two finish at La Sarthe back in 2003. £2450, shop.bentleymotors.com
No longer are endurance racing fans resigned to difficult to obtain and often cheaply produced merchandise. Swedish designer Gant is continuing its range of racing-inspired clothing. Our pick would be this driver T-shirt. €59, boutique.lemans.org
Whoever in Citroën’s marketing department came up with the ‘SeeTroën’ title deserves a medal. There’s more to these specs than their bizarre appearance. They’re designed to thwart off motion sickness, caused by the brain not being able to match the sensations of movement with the visions of it. The blue liquid inside sloshes about, giving your eyes something to match to the movements. You only wear them for about 10 minutes – so you don’t have to look like an extra from a Lady Gaga video for long. €99, lifestyle.citroen.com
Ever play the game Frogger, where you had to guide your blocky amphibian sprite across the road dodging similarly blocky automotive obstacles? That game always had a charm, and the same is true of these Candylab models. All of the designs are inspired by the geometric shapes of classic and racing cars – and even lorries and trucks in some cases – and are fashioned from solid beech wood. We love the classic hotrod-inspired range and their accompanying retro flatbed truck display stand. From $9.50, candylabtoys.com
Antique motoring books that have become part of the history they document