Innholdsfortegnelse for Volume 20 i RETROMOTIVE

LIV Swiss watches is a brand which started out as a Kickstarter crowdfunding project in 2014 and has evolved into a highly successful premium brand. Husband and wife team Chaz and Esti Chazanow were motivated to create a brand which had a point of difference from the luxury David Marvierwatches that are highly desirable but not attainable to most in high-end shops. Cutting out the middleman yet not skimping on craftsmanship and quality, LIV has developed an enviable reputation in the watch world. It uses premium materials which are handcrafted in Switzerland built to heavy duty standards but undercutting mainstream luxury brands by huge margins. The range of LIV watches caters for all tastes under the categories of Chronograph, Diver’s, Automatics and LIV Art pieces including the Genesis GX1 collection…

Lovely Landy. Georgia Peck was born with the automotive gene. But it wasn’t until early 2022 that she decided to take a rather large leap of faith and begin a unique bespoke business of putting her stamp on classic machines. Aubrey Automobiles, a woman-owned restoration company based in London, England, was off and running. The fledgling company unveiled a 1973 Series III Land Rover to the world earlier this year at Switzerland’s kitsch International Concours of Elegance (ICE) on that frozen St Moritz lake. Revived in meticulous detail, the Land Rover represents the first (Aubrey 001) commissioned project by Peck’s company. The finished product is a remarkable achievement since it was saved from becoming a rusted part of the landscape in country England. Designed and constructed for a family in…

HOUSEWIVES OR HOWITZERS? There are two Lamborghini SUVs in existence: which one are you? The latest is named after an extinct breed of domestic cattle, that also sounds like an innocuous body part, or perhaps not so far from urine: the Urus. Or Urethra. Then, is it ‘your-russ’, ‘ooooo-riss’? Add a few letters, and you’ll get Uranus. Replace only one … and we’ve hit rock bottom. It’s fitting that it means fat cow, too – as the Urus uses the underpinnings of the Volkswagen Touareg and multiple VW Group SUV siblings, too. IRONICALLY, IT’S LAMBORGHINI’S VERY OWN KING OF SUVS WHICH HAS A TEUTONIC NAME: THE LM002, THE ULTIMATE RAGING BULL. Despite the clinical name, the ‘Rambo Lambo’, as it was dubbed after Sylvester Stallone bought one, appeared at the…

GROCERY-GETTER, PAVEMENT-HITTER - THE ULTIMATE SLEEPER The Swedes have a history of building rather indestructible machinery, most of which isn’t what you would consider snabb—though it is affectionately delivered, enthusiasts do call them bricks for a reason. While their sizable production of trucks, buses, and construction equipment doesn’t exactly warrant a double-take, their end-all, be-all solution to nine-to-five boredom certainly will. There seems to be a stigma surrounding a car enthusiast family — welcoming children into the world doesn’t necessarily mean your meaningful machinery has to say goodbye. While preferences vary, there’s something to be said for family-friendly functionality imbued with on-the-go fun. Volvo says you don’t have to suppress that kid at heart—in fact, why not get the whole family involved. Wagon, Avant, Touring, or Estate. Whichever word you…

A rnaud Biancini was at a Paris motorcycle show when I met him about 10 years ago. I was exhibiting a series of photographs from a motorbike trip to Argentina, and he and his wife Alexandra were exhibiting their work as jewelers. We've remained close friends ever since, thanks to our shared passions. They created their brand, ABMAD, a few years ago, inspired by their lifestyle of surfing, vintage cars, tattoos and music. Arnaud is a real jack-of-all-trades. In summer and winter, he packs his longboard onto the back of a splendid 1962 Chevrolet Corvair 95 and sets off to ride the waves on the French Atlantic coast. But he’s also interested in fashion, always very attentive to his style, design, music, vintage cars and motorbikes. Together with his friend…

The Mercedes-Benz pick-up truck that is nicknamed “Blue Wonder” may be one of the most spectacular transporters of all. For sure, it had the distinction of being the fastest truck in the world for a long stretch of time. The Mercedes-Benz Renntransporter was specially built in 1954 for the transport of racing cars. Painted in its striking blue livery, it leaves a lasting impression. The build of the blue transporter was initiated by the legendary Alfred Neubauer, racing manager of the Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix team from 1926 to 1955 (except for WWII) - from the beginning to the end. Initially, Neubauer had worked as a chief car tester for Austro-Daimler, under Ferdinand Porsche. Porsche changed over to Daimler in Stuttgart in 1922, taking Neubauer with him. After the merger of…

Alfa Romeo had threatened to produce a road going 155 GTA Stradale but only got as far as a single prototype. So, to hell with still - born projects of which the automotive world has amassed sheds full over the years. Enter Claudio del Gallo who decided to build his own 155 GTA and add some Italian racing flare to his obsessive plan. “I was completely obsessed with the racing 155 GTA and that only became more intense when the 155 TI V6 DTM won the DTM in 1993,” Claudio begins. “And then Fiat faltered at the opportunity to create the 155 GTA Stradale road car, so I decided to make my own,” he declares. Across these pages you will notice the unmistakable presence of a Lancia Stratos, one of…

Passione. Emozione. Energia. Bellezza. The machines of the eighties and nineties had it all. While the flashy grandeur of Italy’s le macchine influenced more than a few enthusiast greenhorns to plaster the likes of the De Tomaso Pantera GT5, Lamborghini Athon, Maserati Kyalami, and Ferrari 512 TR all over their bedroom walls, few examples of Italian engineering captivated the adolescent mind quite like Lancia’s rowdy little rally cars. In the shadow of more ostentatious siblings, Lancia’s influence on Italian car culture was not always recognized — abroad, the tiny Turin-based automotive manufacturer relied heavily on its Word Rally Championship (WRC) imprint, its cultural impact arguably paling in comparison to more exotic brands that had already set out to define Italy’s motoring identity to the world. As the decades rolled on…

When a family heirloom is passed down it can be a difficult decision on how best to honour and preserve that memory. For Greg Weeder, that heirloom came in the form of his grandfather’s 1975 International Harvester Scout II. The International Harvester Scout was the precursor to the modern SUV, taking inspiration from the rugged and minimalist Willys Jeeps, which were created for use in World War II, and adding a few more features and comforts for daily use. The early Scout 80 and 800 models were still fairly spartan machines by today’s standards. By the 3rd generation, the Scout II had implemented a level of refinement and modern technology into their new chassis. The result was a relatively comfortable and, more importantly, capable vehicle. Greg’s grandfather, Grandpa Doc, used…