Following on from the pre-war treasures seen in Part One, here are some of the amazing post-war cars I photographed recently on the outskirts of Geneva. These will not be sorted into any particular order, though I’ll try to group things by automaker at least.
Without further ado, let’s kick things off with Alvis: on the right, we have a 1955 TC/108 coupé and below that, the delicious interior of that ’55 Alvis, bodied by Graber. I was also quite taken with the Alvis on the left. A real special, this one.
These were part of a corner dedicated to Hermann Graber, a renowned coachbuilder based in Wichtrach, in the Canton of Bern. Carrosserie Graber opened in 1925 and soon became one of Switzerland’s finest. Graber also distributed several marques in Switzerland, including Talbot-Lago, Bentley, Rover and Alvis.
The TD-21’s “factory” body was designed by Graber, but made by Park Ward in England. In parallel, there was a limited but steady output of Graber specials on the ageing Alvis 3-litre chassis throughout the ‘60s. This early example is just wonderful, with a lower beltline and finer detailing than the Park Ward cars. And the interior is just as nice as the British version.
Next to the Alvises was a Rover I recognized, but had never seen in the flesh before: one of a handful of Rover P6 specials made by Graber in the late ‘60s. This 2000 TC was displayed at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show and a similar 3500 V8 coupé was seen in Turin in 1968.
These Rovers were one of the carrosserie’s final efforts: Hermann Graber died in 1970. This car was apparently used by Mrs Graber back in the day.
Let’s bring this Graber-fest to a close in style and simultaneously open the Bentley chapter with this distinctive Swiss-bodied R Type. It’s a pity that the last Graber Bentley even made, a peculiar and rarely-seen 1967 S3 Continental convertible, was not present. But there were a lot of other very interesting Crewe cars about.
Here’s a group photo of some of the post-war Bentleys present. In these conditions, standard saloons immediately left my radar and I zeroed in on the Continentals and custom-bodied cars exclusively. When the pickings are this rich, one gets a little choosey.
The S2 ushered in an all-new V8 to bring the Crewe works squarely into the post-war era. But the Continentals of the ‘60s had lost much of their uniqueness – they were Rolls-Royce clones plain and simple, down to the Mulliner-Park Ward special bodies. Very attractive, of course, but increasingly irrelevant.
Going back in time a bit, Bentley Continentals were something else. My esteemed colleague Don Andreina authored the definitive CC post on these mesmerizing automobiles, reputed to be the fastest production four-seater at the time.
And going back just a little further, English-made Bentleys were styled to look pre-war for a long while after 1945. This 1949 Mark VI drophead by Park Ward, complete with Rolls mascot, is a case in point. It would have looked right at home in yesterday’s pre-war post.
The R Type Continental (here it is again – as sleek as you could get with an upright radiator) was devised to address this, but some say it was also precipitated by a small batch of Franco-Italian Mark VI specials that made quite an impact in the late ‘40s.
The Continental’s inspiration came from the stunning Bentley Cresta, originally designed by Pinin Farina and built by Facel. Without question, this was the most exciting Bentley I had ever seen. The Mark VI chassis had to be modified slightly (by Bentley themselves) to achieve such a low-slung result. This particular car was the last one built, after a run of about a dozen fastback coupés made in 1948-50.
For this final Cresta, which was to be his personal car, Facel director Jean Daninos devised a new notchback shape and heavily restyled the whole concept. He called this particular model “Cresta II” and although is remained a one-off, it also clearly showed the way for Daninos’ ambitious luxury coupé project, launched in 1954 as Facel-Vega.
By the early ‘50s, there were few remnants of the big French sports cars of pre-war times. Among the last ones to cling on was Talbot-Lago with their legendary T26, represented here by a factory-made two-door saloon, the slightly abusively dubbed “streamlined coupé.” The first piece I wrote for CC was on an identical car, so if you want to know more, step right this way.
Skipping from the omega to the Alfa, we come upon a puzzling beauty in this grey 6C. It’s a rather famous car, ordered by racing driver Count Felice Trossi. It seems it was bodied by Touring only in 1946, but the chassis was one of the few made during the war. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why the badge says “Turinga” instead of Touring, but this is certainly no fugazzi. Apparently, there was due to an unofficial order by Mussolini to quit using foreign names. Touring became “Turinga” from 1941 to the end of the war, or thereabouts.
Though pretty similar to the ’42, this 1946 Superleggera was even more attractive, thanks in part to its sexy dark red hue. This typical post-war 6C features the latest Americanism in its column-mounted shifter, but the styling both inside and out remains thoroughly Italian.
It was very hard for me to take my eyes off this Alfa. A tremendous variety of bodies from a host of (mostly Italian) coachbuilders were fitted to the 6C chassis from 1938 to 1952 and not every one was pretty. But this Touring design was just breathtaking.
From breathtaking to wind-cheating, here’s a little number from Zagato that really puts the egg in eggstraordinary. This kind of advanced streamlining was pretty uncommon by 1960, when style dictated cars to have pointy rears and aggressive snouts. But if you only have 1300cc to work with, aluminium and aerodynamics are the only way to boost performance. Eggsquisite.
Lurking behind the blue egg was a beauty unknown (or perhaps forgotten) to me. It was surrounded by puddles of drool from the many cognoscenti who were just standing there, dry-eyed and mouth agape. Aston Martin? The plot thickens. DBS? Isn’t that what Roger Moore drove in The Persuaders? Doesn’t look anything like this chiseled two-seater coupé. Touring made sense because they had designed the DB4, but 1966 was their final year. What were they doing making a one-off Aston?
Of course, the Internet had all the answers. This car was a Touring proposal for the DBS as a lighter and sportier version of the DB6 Vantage, using the same wheelbase and 325 hp 4-litre straight-6, but positioned further back in the chassis and mated to a ZF 5-speed manual. Two were made (one in RHD and this one) and shown at the London, Paris and Turin Motor Shows in 1966. But David Brown hesitated to green-light this one and Touring collapsed soon thereafter, leaving this prototype as one of the legendary carrozzeria’s final masterpieces.
While we’re out in the far left field of automotive curios, I would like to introduce this very strange contraption – another new one for me. I remember looking at this for quite some time while muttering “Why… Why… Why?” incessantly.
Fortunately, this car was featured on Hemmings, so I now understand “How.” The “Why” still eludes me. But hey, it’s a one-off Daimler V12 shooting brake, so let’s be charitable. Long story short, this car was one of three prototypes this Chris Cumberstone fellow started to make circa 1980, but his Rapport Forté company went belly up. The company’s assets, including the prototypes, were bought off and one was completed in 1983.
While we’re on the subject of green monsters, here’s a big chunk of Detroit iron that gave me a bit of a start. There were few American cars present, but the sheer size of this thing partially made up for that. I have no idea what V8 lies within, but I’m banking on the rarer 440. Or it might be one of the 42 Super Bees that were ordered with the 426 Hemi. Given the neighbourhood, anything is possible.
Another significant US-made entrant was this sparkling Hudson coupé. These are much more my kind of American car, from an era when Detroit’s dominance was unchallenged. Hudson really had the most attractive package for their new post-war car. It was built like the proverbial yank tank, but also gracefully styled and adequately powered by a huge 5-litre 6-cyl. that proved its worth on the racetrack.
The only downside to monocoque designs is that they’re difficult to restyle. This blubbery booty looked just fine in 1948, but by 1953 it seemed pretty old-hat, as cars started to pucker up to the Great Tailfin Age of the mid-to-late ‘50s. Still, if one wanted to buy from an independent in 1953, a Hornet was the way to go. (Well, if your Studebaker dealer had no Loewy coupé left in stock…)
Let’s wander off towards the Italian section again. There were a lot of classic Ferraris. With so many to choose from, I tried to be ruthless. I stared at each one for a while and if I hadn’t taken a picture in 30 seconds, I moved to the next one over. This was the only way to proceed if I wanted to be done in a reasonable amount of time – and before the rain, as it looked stormy. The next day, this 250 Europa won Best of Show at the concours. Quite a singular design for sure, but I wouldn’t say this was the best car here, far from it. Heck, It wasn’t even the best Ferrari, in my opinion.
This was the best Ferrari. The royal blue colour was eye-catching in itself, but the grace of the shape and quality of the detailing kept said eye riveted to this immaculate machine. And it’s rare, too: only six 342 America chassis were ever produced. Five wore a PininFarina body; only this one went to Vignale, whose main in-house designer in those years was Giovanni Michelotti.
The Ferrari America was the top-of-the-line from Modena, sporting a 4.1 litre V12 producing 200 hp. The big Lampredi twelve grew to 4.5 litres by late 1953 on the last 342 chassis and the subsequent 375, before reaching the 5-litre mark (and 335 hp) on the 1955 Ferrari 410.
I also fell for this one. I have no idea why, but this muscly 250 GT had a lot more curb appeal than its PininFarina-bodied siblings nearby. The modernized SM behind it reminds me that we have a few Citroën to get to soon. But let’s finish our little Italian tour first.
I think this was the only Lancia present, which is a shame. But at least it wasn’t a very common one. Just under 500 of these Dino V6-powered UFOs were made from 1973 to 1978. Designed by Gandini for Bertone, the Stratos managed to marry the ‘70s wedge with a few judicious curves. I’m not always a fan of Gandini’s work, but this one stood the test of time.
One last Modenese bella for the road. Launched in 1957, the 3500 GT was the first Maserati to be (sort of) mass-produced for road use: over 2200 chassis were made until 1964. Convertibles were by Vignale, while coupés wore a lightweight Touring body. In late 1960, the 6-cyl. received Lucas fuel injection and became the 3500 GTI. Front disc brakes, a 5-speed gearbox and a limited-slip differential were now standard, making the Maserati one of the most modern Italian sports cars of the early ‘60s.
But is there anything more avant-garde than the Citroën DS? There were four or five at the concours, joined by three Tractions and a couple of 2CVs, to salute the automaker’s centenary. I’ll just bother you with two of these DSs – the orange saloon and the blue cabriolet.
This is a rare first-model-year ID 19 – the DS’s less complex companion, with normal brakes and manual gearbox. The Luxe was one step up from the ultra-stripper Normale, but still pretty basic. These early IDs have an interesting translucent fiberglass roof and one of the wackiest interior in the galaxy. Too bad this ‘50s spaceship only had the Traction’s wheezy 1.9 litre pushrod four to propel it.
Over one million DS/ID saloons were made from 1955 to 1975, but only 1365 “factory” cabriolets were made from 1961 to 1971. The term “factory” really needs quotation marks here, as the cabriolets were not made at the Citroën factory but by coachbuilder Henri Chapron, who managed to survive through to the ‘80s thanks to this kind of work.
Chapron also made his own Baroque creations on the DS – everything from two-seater coupés to stretched limos, but only the cabriolet was part of the official DS/ID range. Leather trim was almost de rigueur – and was one of Chapron’s specialties.
Well, that’s all I got out of the 2019 Concours d’Élégance Suisse, pretty much. There was also a “Tribute to Alec Issigonis” section with some BMC cars, but they looked a bit out of place. I’m still kicking myself for not having taken good photos of some of the other participants (can you believe I just spaced out on the Alfa Romeo Montreal or the Fiat 8V?).
The Cresta II was awarded a prize as the best of the Bentleys. This would also have been my pick. And we’re not quite done yet with my little jaunt in the Canton of Vaud, as there is still one remarkable car I saw in the car park there that I haven’t written up yet. I need to thank again T97 (my younger brother) for arranging this exceptional day out – it was really the gift that keeps on giving!
Related posts:
Automotive History: British Deadly Sins (‘60s Edition, Part 1): Alvis TD/TE/TF 21, by T87
Storage Field Classic: The Very Advanced (But Mostly Forgotten) Rover 2000TC, by David Saunders
Automotive History: Who Actually Styled the 1952 Bentley Continental?, by Don Andreina
Cohort Outtake: 1955 Bentley Continental Mulliner – A Fantasy Garage Winner, Guaranteed, by Roger Carr
Automotive History: French Deadly Sins (M.C. Escher Edition, Part 2) – Talbot, Almost Invincible, by T87
Car Show Classic: 1980 Daimler Double Six – This Was The Best Car In The World, by Roger Carr
Curbside Classic: 1952 Hudson Hornet – A Victorious Dead End, by Laurence Jones
Car Show Classic: 1957-1960 Maserati 3500GT – The Italian Thunderbird, by Matt Spencer
CC Global Outtakes: Citroen DS Cabrio and Sedan Lorraine Spotted Together – A Chapron Convention, by PN
What an amazing assortment of cars! It’s hard to focus on just one although for whatever reason I’m really liking the Rover of all things.
The ’70 Super Bee has a small “HEMI” emblem on the side of the hood scoop. Given the company it was among, I’m inclined to say that’s likely accurate.
Curious, when I magnify that Super Bee image, I see “383”. Your eyes are younger, but I’m wearing my 275 reading glasses.
Looks like 383 with my glasses on 😎
A stunning selection of automobiles
I concur. Being an O.D. I better be able to see clearly and then some.
I opened the Super Bee photo to check out the Mustang, when I noticed the three lads looking at the black car, (the Aston?) or is it someone else?
Great selection of automotive metal upon which to feast the eyes.
I am taking my Roadmaster Estate Wagon to a local cars ‘n coffee in a few minutes. The photos of the amazing cars at this event have totally taken the buzz off my enthusiasm in hopefully seeing an interesting car today.
The hardtop, “C” pillar, backlite, deck, tail lights and rear bumper of the Bentley Cresta have a remarkable resemblance to the ’52/’54 Ford Victoria.
Ohhh, Hermann Graber and Facel, two of my favorite custom coachbuilders in the early postwar period! I had the pleasure to see that Graber ’52 Bentley at Hershey back in the 1990’s one year, never forgot it. Any show where one gets to stand and drink in the beauty of an R-Type Bentley Continental Mulliner fastback is a place I’d love to be.
I’ve yet to have the pleasure of seeing an Alfa-Romeo 6C ‘hardtop’ coupe by Touring, it is truly gorgeous. Interesting the Europeans were enjoying hardtops long before they became the rage in America.
What an embarrassment of riches, you must have been on cloud nine by the end of the day. Thanks for giving us a chance too to enjoy what you saw.
This is the prettiest collection of cars I have seen on this site…or any site.
The roof and rear end of the Cresta II were obvious inspirations for the 1953 Corvette.
The “big” Ferrari America is gorgeous, but they are a bit chunky and heavy, especially at the rear. I can see why the smaller 250 series became the more desirable over the years. And yes, that Scaglietti 250 coupe is a great foil for the usual PF version.
The Touring DBS is not working for me. The front is nice, and very early 60s, but the whole back end is too fussy and from a slightly later era, or predicting it. A curious mish-mash.
The ’46 Alfa Touring is sublime, and seems every bit as significant as PF’s seminal Cisitalia from the same year.
The Graber Rover P6 coupe is delightful and a pleasant surprise, having not seen it before (or remembered it). In profile, it really enhances the intrinsic fine lines of the P6, which were a bit spoiled by the roof. The Graber coupe roof takes it to the next level.
Always loved the Graber Alvis coupes. A perfect neo-classic in its time. Sophisticated chic.
All drop-dead gorgeous cars, but that red 300SL in the background of the green Rover pic caught my eye.
Very very nice. Thank you
Wow — lots of standouts here. Like Paul, I was immediately drawn to the similar rear architecture of the Facel-bodied Bentley and early Corvette. I’m not quite as smitten with the car overall, however; perhaps it’s the heavy-set Facel front-end treatment that I’ve never loved, and maybe it’s the fact that its low-slung nature runs contrary to my prototypical Bentley visualization. To me, the Continental R is the pinnacle of Bentley design: visually stunning, yes, but also with an aura of regality and a gravity and presence that the Cresta can’t quite replicate, in my eyes.
The ’46 Alfa is certainly a stunner, especially from the side profile view, although the inboard front lights on both Alfas throw me off a bit due to their arachnid-esque appearance. But the ’46’s glorious, flowing haunches more than make up for that eccentricity. And I agree that the lovely deep red completes the car visually.
The 250GT and the Stratos are both fantastic in their own respective ways, and the grey paint on the former is a welcome break from the usual red; though I’m not usually a fan of muted non-colors, it really works for me in this application.
I can’t say the same about the Ferrari 342 America. To my eyes, there’s far too much weight in the rear, enough that it visually throws off the whole car. I’m actually reminded a bit of the Avanti in the Ferrari’s rear-end styling; but whereas the upright, squared shape works on the Avanti due to its cohesiveness with the front of the car, it simply can’t do the same in the Ferrari. Maybe it’s just the picture, but the large, protruding bumper and the upright lines of the convertible top conspire with the squared-off rear to lend the car a weirdly truckish quality.
For me, I’d have the ’46 Alfa Superleggera. Or maybe the 250GT. Wouldn’t complain either way, really.
I can understand you not getting to everything, what an eye watering assembly! However I would have loved to see the Fiat 8V, a car I’ve long admired. I really like the Talbot-Lago T26. I’m seeing number plates from all over, clearly this show has big pull..
Great post – lots to return to and linger over. The front shot of the R Type Continental is fascinating. The British reluctance to abandon pre-war styling here looks like something almost positive. It was clearly a dead end, but it’s a masterful piece of work.
What an amazing event.
I just love the interior of the interior of the 55 Alvis. Gorgeous unlike the choices today. Large analog rpm gauge and speedometer with no screen stuck in the middle of the dash.
Great choices! The Cresta or the Alfa get my vote as the best of the best…amazing, given my deep love of the Bentley Continental fastback coupe…
The roof and greenhouse of the Facel-built Bentley Cresta 11 looks the same as that oif the Facel-built Ford Comete, which appeared at the same time.
I never really cared for the looks of the Rover P6 until they gave it an OTT mid-life facelift. Making a coupe out of it really does it no favours. Why did Graber not replace those awful wheel trims !.
Some wonderful cars there indeed – too much to see in one day perhaps.
What a selection!
The Graber Alvises are wonderful, even if they arguably look out of their depth against eh Bentley Continental. The Bentleys could be my pick
The Afla 6C in dark red………probably my pick of the show, alongside that delightful little Giulietta.
The Rover Coupe is an interesting piece of work, possibly Graber trying to replace the Alvis work with Rover as Rover bought Alvis and closed car production. A very neat saloon to coupe/personal car conversion, and a useful update of the Rover style.
That Aston DBSC is not working for me – it looks like its had 2 facelifts already and some strange headlights grafted in. The rear window/roof interface just does work, and the rear quarter panel looks almost American muscle car to me.
I can offer no “why” on the Daimler V12 shooting break, and suggest TVR and Lotus copied it extensively over the subsequent few. I’m also not going to sleep tonight, trying to work out where the glass and rear lights came from…….
And yes, the MG1300 does look a little out of place!
Ive admired those Alvis coupes for a very long time, a local garage proprietor had one though I suspect it was a British built version, The memory isnt as sharp as it once was and I was 18 the last time I saw it, I do like that Rover coupe Graber had a good eye his cars are gorgeous.
Tremendous photography, perhaps the subjects inspired the results! Low production, high dollar cars, do have quite the advantage in the art/ sculpture world. Compared to the lame showings of the American iron pictured, these automobiles seem to be 4-wheel dreams. I can only imagine driving some of them, and I hope they are driven. Oh, the envy..
What a great website, thank you Paul.
First rate show. The P6 Coupe for me, a perfect expression of the four door and luscious in that deep green.
He’s taken a car of indifferent appeal (bit weighty and pointy on the ends for me) and dressed it correctly. What an eye, and result.
Agree on the color too, though I suddenly feel thirsty for a Creme de Menthe….
I have often wondered just how far away one would have to travel to *not* see a Mopar B body painted in one of the high impact colors. The answer appears to be farther away than this.
Wow, some really stunning stuff. Those Bentley Continentals are amazing. And isn’t it true that your surroundings dictate what you are willing to stop and actually look at. Any other day in any other place the most yawn-worthy car here would have any of us walking 100 yards just for a look. But not here.
Thanks for all your great comments and opinions, everybody!
Seeing cars like these out in the open was such a treat, I just had to share with the CCommunity.
One last Swiss fantasy post (should run tomorrow) and we’ll slip back to the real world. Fun while it lasted, eh?
It’s quite possible to become a glutton at a feast, isn’t it, but I feel like a fois gras duck being fed. More, I say, more!
You’re right to disdain the standard steel post-war Bentleys. They have never been good enough. The grille is still set high enough that one couldn’t see a village urchin should they choose to impede one’s progress, which is all well and good, except that this was an ill-thought hangover from history, because the body then has to slope down a bit ashamed from the 1910-height grille to the 1940’s rear. And that rear looks for all creation like Mother Superior herself in scapula and veil, (two-tone and two tonne too), potty little wheelarches beneath and an all-over sense of clumsy disharmony to the combination. The concurrent Jag of the time is a much more expensive looking machine. And why did they all – as here – have the central bulgy headlight, which the Germans call the schnozpimpler? (Well, alright, they don’t, but if they did, they would, surely).
The contrast to the S1 Conti is hard to grasp. That car is so good looking, it becomes embarrassing. It should have the kindness (or modesty) to get about partly clad in a sheet to forestall all the gaping.
The Daninos car comes close to being as bright. (Beautiful pictures, sir). I had no idea it was so stunning, none. It DOES have a wee suggestion of Mr Snuffelufagus from front dead-on (not to mention two schnozpimplers in the overriders), an effect which would be relieved by removal of the two kidney grilles from a BMW which it appears to have run over. Otherwise, an excitingly voluptuous thing. Phew, fan me someone, it’s awful warm out here, ain’t it?
Luckily, I could take or leave the temptations of the post-war 6C’s, all being a bit beaky-faced and odd-proportioned, such as your fav here seeming to have either the back axle installed wrongly or the body ill-considered as to where it fitted on but in any case one of the two is in the wrong spot.
In picky mode now, I can reveal that the hood-up Chapron convertibles look exactly as if a drunken camper installed a little tent mid-way along a hard-tonneau DS ute, though I will concede it looks altogether better when camping season is done. The orange ID shows how it should be, despite familiarity. Here, in poor man’s package, with plain wheelbarrow wheels on front (and a narrower wheelbarrow’s ones hidden aft), it puts a number of favoured items at the show to shame.
The Hudson competes on good terms in this company of snobs, and though a long way from home, is far from disgrace.
As a final digestive, I’ll have the purity of the Alfa SZ, which is even in a cool, salving colour for me. Aero and lightweight, I will hardly notice it as my final gorging.
It’s been a long and difficult day and, distracted and disarmed by this post, it is now most late. So I will stagger to bed and try to sleep, no doubt dreaming of being somewhere else amongst chrome and glamour. And realizing the Sensible Swiss aren’t nearly so boring as is often made out.
Thankyou, Dr T.
I commented, could someone please get it back? It’s in spam, so it told me, before the algorithim actually logged me out mid-ramble – that’s a new one!!
I restored it from the Spam folder, but I’m leaving your comment up here so other editors can see what your issue was. Thanks for letting us know.
Thank you, Eric.
It’s not the algorithm; it’s just the timer. I get logged out every 24 hours. In the morning at breakfast, I never write a long comment without either saving it first or logging out and then back in.
I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to do the same thing: save your long comments or log out and then back in.
Now look here, I had only been logged in for 5 or 6 minutes writing the comment when Algor and the Rithms decided I was not the type it wanted logged in! Might be a problem of being at the bottom end of the earth, where I suspect the Internet Vapour Trails fall from upside down into deep space.
As for saving comments or other such advanced technologies, remember I am a monkey with a keyboard, however, there will be children here this week who may bring my evolution closer to human and teach me these things.
I could also try commenting with less windbaginess, I s’pose….