The Helstons Bombardier Thunder Sheepskin Jacket is a modern take on the iconic sheepskin bomber jacket – a vitally important piece of clothing (and safety gear) for pilots from the dawn of flight, right through WWI and WWII. Natural sheepskin offers excellent warmth in unheated, unpressurised cockpits, and it’s also an effective natural fire retardant….
The Renault Alpine GTA V6 was the successor to the Alpine A310, both cars share similar retro-futuristic 1980s styling, with lightweight fiberglass bodies mounted on a tubular steel backbone chassis. A Brief History of the Renault Alpine GTA V6 Alpine was established in 1955 by Jean Rédélé who ran a Dieppe garage, and had proven…
The Facel Vega FV4 Typhoon was introduced in 1958, it was fitted with the most powerful engine ever offered by the French automaker up until that time – a 325 hp “Dual Quad” 354 cubic inch Hemi V8 supplied by Chrysler. Facel The Automaker The name Facel is an abbreviation of Forges et Ateliers de Constructions…
The idea of taking an aircraft engine capable of over 1000 hp and bolting it into the front of a hydroplane is clearly insane. But in the interwar years in Europe, the battles taking place on the water to set new records and win races had very few restrictions – particularly in the aptly named…
The Alpine-Renault A110 was the most successful rally car in the world in 1973, it was the year of the inaugural World Rally Championship, and the lightweight French car was an unstoppable force. 1973 would see the works Alpine-Renault rally team traveling to Monte Carlo (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Sweden (3rd), Portugal (1st and 2nd), East…
Rêve de Gosse is a sculpture by Raoul.W, a French artist with a far better understanding of automobile mechanics and design than most, as he spent decades restoring vintage cars before creating a name for himself as an artist. This piece is titled Rêve de Gosse (Dream Kid), he created it in 2015 by painstakingly…
Hervé Nys is a French artist known for his unusual and often mechanical sculptures. This sculpture is called “Jerry” (for obvious reasons), it’s made of 18 jerry cans with hidden internal steel reinforcement, and it measures in at over 8 feet high. Total measurements are 43″ x 20″ x 98.5″, and the weight isn’t listed,…
Fred, Hugo, and Blitz Motorcycles Blitz Motorcycles is a bespoke motorcycle garage that needs no introduction. They’ve been building some of the most immediately recognizable custom bikes anywhere in the world for years, and they’ve inspired everyone from home garage bike builders to professionals, whilst having some of their creations showcased in art galleries, museums, and…
The French have their own unique approach to building cars. If you don’t know what I mean just take a look at the Citroën 2CV, the Renault Twizy, anything built by Voisin, the Helicon, or the Citroen DS. Whereas the Brits, Germans, and Italians all generally chose similar paths for their four-wheeled horseless carriages the…
Raymond Loewy is know as the father of industrial design, and for good reason, he designed everything from Air Force One, to the Shell logo, to Skylab – and a thousand other things besides. This film offers a candid glimpse into Loewy’s personal home, including a visit to a local hardware store where he offers…
BAAK Motorcycles started out in founder Rémi Réguin’s basement workshop back in 2012 and has since grown into a 5 person company with a dedicated 3200 square foot workshop in Lyon, France. BAAK build custom motorcycles, but they also make a range of parts for Triumphs, Moto Guzzis, and Royal Enfields, and interestingly they also…
The Talbot-Lago T150-C SS is widely recognised as one of the most beautiful and elegant automobile designs of the 20th century. The styling is characteristic of the work of Italian Giuseppe Figoni, the creative half of the French coachbuilder Figoni et Falaschi. The Talbot-Lago Story Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based just over 5 miles from Paris in…
