http://paveltl.rajce.idnes.cz/XXXV._Setkani_vozu_Tatra%2C_zastavka_na_hrade_Krivoklate_2012/

A special award winner was Slovakian Karol Pavlu, who received the Trofeo Automobile Club di Como for driving his Tatra 87 from farthest away. Making the most of its wind-tunnel developed design, the Tatra was capable of top speeds of 150 km/h (93 mph) despite the modest 75 horsepower from its air-cooled V8.

Celebrating its 140th year as a luxury hotel, the vast Villa d’Este previously served among other things as the summer residence of the Cardinal of Como and the private home of various wealthy Milanese families.

To us automotive enthusiasts, it is best known for the Concorso d’Eleganza first held in 1929. After a hiatus of decades, the event was brought back to life in 1995 and has since 1999 thrived under the patronage of the BMW Group. The Villa d’Este along with its lovely gardens and Lake Como shoreline provide the same perfect backdrop as it did back in the original Concorso’s heyday.

An exclusive crowd mills around the 51 valuable automobiles at Concorso Villa D’Este. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)

These days, the event predominantly focuses on classic cars, which this year ranged in age from a 1922 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost to a 1975 vintage Lamborghini Countach. In an effort to fine-tune the popular event, subtle changes were carried through, mostly aimed at making the public day at nearby Villa Erba even more interesting and visitor friendly.

As always, our photographers had the enviable task of spending three days in one of the most beautiful places in the world, capturing equally evocative machines. The result is a 200-shot gallery from Villa d’Este and a 50-shot galleryfrom Villa Erba.

Class A: Graceful Open Air-Style
Of the six cars in the first class, three were built by Rolls-Royce. Among them was a Phantom I bodied by little-known coachbuilder Manessius. Even more unusual was a later Phantom III, clothed by Voll & Ruhrbeck from Berlin.

This Rolls-Royce Phantom III Voll & Ruhrbeck Cabriolet was hidden away in Germany during the Nazi years. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)

It was ordered and used by Baron Joachim von Ribbentrop, the Foreign Minister of the German Reich, who was forced to store the car during the World War II as per government directive, Germans could only drive German-built cars.

Immediately after the War, it was briefly owned by the Dutch crown prince, who had a fine taste in cars and would become one of Enzo Ferrari’s best clients. Among the very finest of those German-built cars was the Mercedes-Benz 540K with Spezial Roadster bodywork.

Brought to Villa d’Este by Berthold Albrecht, this one was even more special; it was built to custom order for industrialist Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach on a short wheelbase chassis with a five-speed gearbox. In this guise, the range-topping 540K looks even more purposeful than the standard Spezial Roadster.

Class B: Interpretations of Elegance
Class B celebrated the metamorphosis of automotive design during the 1930s when cars gradually become lower and more curvaceous. Certainly the most historically significant car in this grouping was the Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Pescara, originally ordered by Il Duce Benito Mussolini as his personal car. He entered the car in the 1936 Mille Miglia where it was driven to third in class and 13th overall by his chauffeur.

The Delahaye 145 Chapron Coupe was brought to Villa d’Este from the Mullin collection in Los Angeles. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)

A rare sight on this side of the Atlantic was Peter Heydon’s Chrysler Town & Country. One of the finest examples of a woody, the car features side and rear paneling crafted from ash and Honduras mahogany. The name Town & Country was Chrysler’s marketing department’s way of explaining just how versatile the car was. Heydon acquired this particular Town & Country in 1981 but still remembers vividly being driven to school in a similar example.

Marking the completion of the metamorphosis was Peter & Merle Mullin’s Delahaye 145 Chapron Coupe. Based on a pre-War competition chassis, the body was created by Chapron immediately after the War and is significantly lower than was the norm and also sports integrated pontoon-fenders.

Class C: The Art of Streamlining
One of the more extreme design themes of the 1930s was streamlining. Often inspired by the shape of a water droplet, stylists strived to cheat the wind with curvaceous designs.

An extreme example of 1930s streamlining was presented by the Voisin C25 Aerodyne. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)

Extreme is certainly the right word to describe the Voisin C25 Aerodyne of Rene Rey. One of just a handful built, this fabulous example of avant-garde design has survived in remarkably original condition. Accordingly it was awarded the Trofeo FIVA for the best preserved pre-War car.

Another special award winner was Slovakian Karol Pavlu, who received the Trofeo Automobile Club di Como for driving his Tatra 87 from farthest away. Making the most of its wind-tunnel developed design, the Tatra was capable of top speeds of 150 km/h (93 mph) despite the modest 75 horsepower from its air-cooled V8.

Also boasting an air-cooled engine is the Volkswagen-based Volkhart V2 Sagita that was entered in the Concorso d’Eleganza by Walter Traxler from Austria. This highly unusual machine could also achieve speeds of up to 150 km/h with only 24.5 horsepower on tap.

As in the previous group, Class C was finished by a post-War design, the Maserati A6 1500 with a Pinin Farina styled and built body. Recently restored, it is part of the collection of the Museo Nicolisand will be displayed in the new Ferrari museum in Modena.

http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/vintage-true-elegance-at-villa-deste/P1

http://www.autobild.de/klassik/bilder/bilder-concorso-d-eleganza-villa-d-este-2012-3461303.html#bild20

http://plzen.idnes.cz/historicke-tatrovky-se-prohaneji-v-okoli-zbiroha-a-krivoklatu-p7k-/plzen-zpravy.aspx?c=A120518_145556_plzen-zpravy_sou

http://www.auto-mania.cz/?p=10379

Sent by: http://www.tatraclub.at/

Tatra Register UK’s Annual Rally took place in and around Weymouth, Dorset, this year. Held earlier than usual, the meeting was plagued by torrential rains which came down incessantly. We visited Weymouth, West Bay, saw the Cerne Abbas Giant, rode a classic train from Corfe Castle to Swanage. Needless to say there was a lot of car talk going on – in spite of the weather, we had a great time! Enjoy the pictures, and if you ever want to see a Tatra in real life, keep an eye on TRUK’s excellent website. We’ll be back next year!

Sent by Peter Visser

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davydutchy/sets/72157629800931892/

http://www.viewfrompublishing.co.uk/news_view/19715/11/1/weymouth-tatra-treat-for-motor-enthusiasts

April 30th is Queens Day in NL.  We celebrate the anniversary of Queen Beatrix, but above all it is everybody’s party with events and festivals everywhere.  The very active http://www.pionierautomobielenclub.nl/cms/, organizing not less than 10 events a year and a pre-war car only membership, organized a meeting at Nieuwland on the occasion of Queens Day.  Two pre-war Tatras attended. And, yes, it is the president of the club at the wheel of his T 57.

Stimulated by better than expected wheather, the Dutch organized their spring meeting last weekend. The rally led along several interesting sites like the
Natuurdiorama Holterberg,the  Canadian memorial site, several viewpoints and a spot where a German V2 rocket crashed.

Photos at: https://skydrive.live.com/?sc=photos&cid=52a884b5a1274d8c#cid=52A884B5A1274D8C&id=52A884B5A1274D8C%2118626&sc=photos

sent by Bert Barents

Der 1. April 2012 überraschte die Oldtimer Begeisterten und Besucher zur Saisoneröffnung des Freilichtmuseums Automobilgeschichte in Bad Nauheim mit einem Bilderbuch Wetter. Morgens herrschte leichter Frost in Bad Nauheim und die Tagestemperaturen stiegen auf 11 Grad bei wolkenlosem und tiefblauem Himmel im Laufe des Tages an.

http://oldtimer-veranstaltung.de/2012/04/saisoneroeffnung-freilichtmuseum-automobilgeschichte/

Due to reorganisations, the Tatra stand at Techno Classica was smaller than before, commercial standholders claiming halls an increasing trend.  TFI made the best out of it with a German T 603 and welcomed international Tatra fans for a well deserved coffee after visiting numerous halls with magnificent displays and high prized dreams.  No further Tatras though but onlokers  spotted a Ledwinka designed Spatz Viktoria

Becoming a tradition, the Dutch event moved to another part of the Netherlands, to Dalfsen, a village 100 km east of Amsterdam. Watch Scaldias, Volgas, Trabants, Ladas, Wartburgs, Skodas, Barkases, Tatras and motorcycles.  With two T 603s and a T 613 attending, Tatra did their share.

Bert Barents sent a photo report.

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=52A884B5A1274D8C&id=52A884B5A1274D8C%2117290&sc=photos

21. 3. – 25. 3. 2012: As usual TFI are present at Essen’s show.
However this time in Hall 8.1 instead of the usual Hall 7.1.

http://www.siha.de/tce_uk.php?m=1&ms=1

http://www.tatraclub.at/