They were time machines: spoked wheels, mechanisms unusual for the modern car industry, special tires, rare spare parts, tricky breakdowns and endlessly diverse, unique designs. On June 24, 103 vintage cars were in our city, and on July 7 they already finished in Paris. We decided not just to make a photo report, but to tell in detail about the rally, some cars, high-speed races and difficult situations that took away sleep from 5 people and conquered 5000. Under the cut there are a lot of photos and no less text. Pour your tea, sit back, this is the time for car magic and travel into the past. Don't forget to buckle up.
To Paris - that's over there
June 24, 13:00. The main square of the city - Minin and Pozharsky Square - is partially blocked, watering machines cool the hot asphalt. Closer to two, a solemn finish arch appears on the square, we and the volunteers nervously decide the last moments, divide people into points. There is one word in my head - "safety", to which another one grows very quickly - "repair". A little more and the participants of the retro rally will drive along the long Rodionov Street, go down to the very edge of the Volga and go up to the Kremlin and the monument to Chkalov. We wait.
Kamaz blocked the passage, on the right behind the greenery is the Dmitrievskaya Tower, the main tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
Arch and our great helpers from the traffic police, who at a difficult moment traveled around the square several times and helped our voices with their loudspeaker 🙂
About Rally
Why Beijing-Paris? In the winter of 1907, the French Le Matin published a challenge message: “It is necessary to prove that as long as a person has a car, he can do anything and get anywhere. Will anyone dare to drive from Beijing to Paris this summer?” On June 10, 1907, a race started from the French Embassy in Beijing, which took place in those places where they had not seen the wheels of cars and were not even aware of them. The 5-car race winner, Scipione Borghese, turned out to be a dashing fellow - he was so confident in his Itala 35/45 HP that he drove from Moscow to St. Petersburg, had dinner there and returned to Moscow to continue the rally and come out victorious. Luckily, we didn't have any.
Itala Borghese
1907 finish in Paris
Just about, just about, and we finally block part of the square. A 12-year-old boy bursts forward: “Let me go, I love retro cars! I'm crazy about these cars! I digress, boringly and habitually telling him about the contour of the barrier and about the viewing areas. Him: “I have to see this! I will not fall asleep!" I answer something in the spirit that he certainly does not know the names. The boy cheerfully lists the most exotic ones. At this time, Zello's pocket broadcasts the "first car". I turn in the direction of Georgievsky congress, first a mirage of wet asphalt, and then it is the first carriage on Minin and Pozharsky Square - a 6 Chrysler CM 1931.
Chrysler CM6
Thus began the main automobile event of the Nizhny Novgorod summer. On June 24 and 25, 2019, Nizhny Novgorod welcomed the participants of the Beijing-Paris international rally. 105 crews left Beijing and tried to come to our city on their own, but not all of them succeeded - in principle, several did not succeed, one arrived at night looking, solemnly lying on a tow truck (which does not negate its coolness), in total 103 retro- car.
By this moment, under the tricolor arch with banners carefully taped with adhesive tape, there was a referee's car. Here you and I should stop and remember (well, or find out - there are obviously not so many fans) what a rally is. First of all, a rally is not really a race, and the principle “who comes first wins” does not work.
Rally as a type of auto racing has several differences: most of the distance runs along public roads from city to city, and the result is recorded at control points. Additionally, cars make high-speed races on special sections of the track (for example, at the Nizhny Novgorod Ring ASC) - here they can accelerate to maximum speed and demonstrate all their abilities. However, our support-car (modern) managed to observe one of the crews, a 76 Leyland P1974, in the urban conditions of the daytime Gagarin Avenue - in some places it drowned much above 60 km / h and playfully bypassed the rest of the traffic participants photographing it from the windows. Somehow we did not dare to sit on his tail to the end - the crew would leave for Paris, then sail to Australia and it is unlikely that we would receive letters of happiness with a photo and an offer to pay, and we still have life to live in Nizhny Novgorod.
The most popular questions about the rally
Will there be KAMAZ trucks? The top question, due to the huge popularity of the KAMAZ Master team. Kamaz were, but a little different - hard workers.
Will the tricycle arrive? Everyone was waiting for a unique three-wheeled car. And he drove: to Nizhny Novgorod, and to Paris.
Well, the judges record these intermediate results at each stage. When we saw the judges' car (like most of the support, it's a Toyota Hilux), we even said aloud what we thought in unison: "Yes, we should do this at this age." This is active old age, and not your Nordic walking on the way to work.
Hilux, a member of the refereeing team and a sign indicating the time control point, which was installed under the arch on the asphalt
The referee records the time at the 100 Austin Healey 4/1954
About Rally
The rally lasts 36 days, in total, participants travel through 13 countries, the initial list of participants is 105 crews, the length of the route is almost 15 km.
The Beijing-Paris retro rally takes place every 3 years. It was first held in 1907, but there was a break and the 2019 rally turned out to be the seventh in history and the fourth in the history of Nizhny Novgorod (1907, 2007, 2016, 2019). In general, any rally changes its route and rarely passes through the same city, especially in the middle of the road, but we were lucky 🙂
The entry fee is around $65 (£000 to be exact) and that doesn't include gas and travel expenses. Cars are delivered to the starting point by ship, and one, late, arrived by plane.
But both we and the Nizhny Novgorod residents who had already gathered were waiting for the crew going to number 1. Contal Mototri Tricycle is a car participating in the retro class, manufactured in 1907. Car era Brass Era, the very dawn of the automotive industry. These French cars were made in France from 1907 to 1908 by a company that made tricycles for delivery and mail. Compared to his other auto-contemporaries, he was very complex. The same exact tricycle took part in the first Beijing-Paris rally in 1907, but failed in the Gobi desert, and the crew barely survived. They were forced to drink water from a radiator in order to survive, and the car itself was never found in the desert sands. And now, after 112 years, the tricycle is participating in the same rally, wanting to continue and complete the journey of 13 km in the literal sense - through the centuries. Behind the wheel is the insanely beautiful and brave Anton Gonnissen, a true adventurer. It sounds romantic, but in fact, the car is dangerous and uncomfortable and the navigator allowed some concessions, including a Harley Davidson saddle.
Heroic crew of 1907
Contal Mototri Tricycle car on Minin Square in Nizhny Novgorod, 2019
They look creepy and outrageous and very stylish.
The reaction of the Nissan driver on the street. Rodionova is priceless - however, everyone had one. Photo (to whom thanks for the enthusiasm and quotes from the Golden Calf)
At the technological parking lot and overnight on Lenin Square, the tricycle rested under a canopy, but who bothered to consider the details!
For a tricycle, this is a real test of strength, but I am finishing the article and I know that he is already in Paris, the path has been passed.
July 7, 2019, Paris. Finish. photo from Facebook
By the way, there was a lot of controversy in the press and bloggers about whether it was a remake or not. As we already wrote, there are concessions in the design and details that exactly repeat the original ones, but did not live 112 years old - however, the design fully corresponds to 1907, and the dates and numbers marked 1907 were even stamped on the frames. But in fact, the tricycle is a replica, since the original cars have not been preserved.
Stop stop stop what classes? Where are the concessions in the design?
"Beijing - Paris" is a rally in which participants drive cars of two classes - retro until 1941 and vintage until 1977. Of the younger cars, only escort.
Cars may have some structural changes such as sports seats, replaced spare parts, modern tires (especially this fact was “rejoiced” by tire shops that had to service spoked wheels), but there can be no fundamental changes such as replacing the engine with a higher power engine, engine tuning and other changes that provide a clear technological advantage. In fact, these are exactly the cars that traveled on the roads of their time.
The second car that everyone was waiting for was car number 2 - a steam engine.
With just 40 horsepower and 109 years of history, this is the White MM Pullman. Outwardly, it looks more like a royal carriage, but internally it is far from a pampered aristocrat, but a full-fledged steam (!) Car, which, in addition, had a powerful spring suspension, was equipped with a differential and drive shafts, in contrast to the direct drive on similar Stanley steam vehicles.
Alas, Minin and Pozharsky Square never saw this hero. But I saw Lenin Square - at the beginning of the tenth evening, a steam car solemnly entered the place of lodging for the night in a royal way.
White MM Pullman, 1910
Details. The photo is not mine, but the best of the numerous albums that were thrown to me in a personal. If anything - the author, respond 🙂
And this is somewhere in the Belgian region about a day ago - photo from Facebook
In general, the history of participation of this car is not very specific to the rally. The fact is that the car was traveling with a technical vehicle, which was assigned the number 2+. It was a Ford F350 with water for a steam plant and everything else: the car itself, although it presses 60 km / h, but its autonomy is so-so - up to 5 km, then refueling. And there are even fewer water filling stations than electric ones - about zero.
By the way, what about gasoline?
The rally to Europe crossed several countries, sometimes in the most wild and remote places: China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia. The quality of gasoline at some gas stations left much to be desired and could easily render any retro engine unusable. But the participants had a supply of additives with them, which saved the engines from strange fuel, which sometimes gave out its octane number for something else.
Each car deserves special attention, but besides 1 and 2, there were a few that deserve special mention.
One of these is Crew 96, a 911 Porsche 1977S. Eka is unseen, - you say, - such people ride around Europe only on the road. In fact, this is not such an old example, and several of these cars participated in the rally, but this particular one is amazing.
Meet the Porsche 911S rally participant
And this is him on June 24 on Lenin Square in Nizhny Novgorod
The car was restored to the conveyor state and went to the rally. You can see how it happened in.
But the 50th crew was difficult from a technical point of view and required repair. And what, in fact, is so in the 124 Fiat 1 Spider BS1971 - Fiat is like Fiat, an ordinary car of the 70s, with a 1,6 liter engine and a 5-speed manual transmission. But design! Does the name Pininfarina tell you something? So, the body design was developed by the Pininfarina studio, which largely determined the long road of this style in the automotive industry (including the USSR). Fiat 124 Sport Spider is a small-scale, sports version of the Fiat 124, from which, among other things, our own “penny” VAZ-2101 was copied. And the crew of this car is authentic Italian Enrico Paggi(I) / Federica Mascetti(I).
Early morning on June 25 - a sports car from the 70s is preparing for the launch
Salon on the evening of June 24
The crew and spectators are puzzled by the repair
Rally fun
The participant talks about the second day of the rally in China: “After a sumptuous breakfast in the panoramic restaurant on the 26th floor, we got a road <…> with rocky sections, short grass and sticky sand - it was the Mongolian steppe in miniature, and we even met a family of frightened marmots, fearing for their little lives as the cars raced straight towards them." The steam car received the most problems - it was necessary to replace the burner assemblies and the help of a person with a fire extinguisher. The tricycle also has problems - first it had an axle bent, which was repaired in a welding workshop, and then the Chinese bureaucracy dealt a blow: the officials decided that the three-wheeled vehicle was not allowed to use toll roads, and the super-car went on a long detour and lost a lot of time from rest.
And then the Chinese see such cars on their roads every day!
Another story of a breakdown that caused us (the organizers of the Nizhny Novgorod stage) a lot of worries and guaranteed our Ilya a sleepless night in a car service on the Rowing Canal (this is such a place on the very bank of the Volga). When the last part of the support team moved from Minin to Lenin and stood in a taxi in a traffic jam on the bridge, our volunteer noticed that a tow truck was loading a Volvo nearby. We quickly found out that this was not our service and forced a slightly crazy taxi driver to turn around right in traffic and go with us on an adventure. There was a Swiss driver behind the wheel of the Volvo 121, and ... it would be better if he tried to speak French, but I was confused and did not offer him this language. I could not understand anything in his speech except clutch (clutch) and individual words, but as the daughter of the owner of the second UAZ Hunter in a row, I understood that the word “clutch” and a tow truck promise a long, long repair. Where is there to Paris. With us in the car was an interpreter Yulia, who was able to communicate with the Swiss in English, and nearby were three men from Nizhny Novgorod. During a survey of everyone, it turned out that the guys were in a hurry and called a tow truck to send a foreign guest to a local car service (I was scared to think what would happen to his employees when they saw the unit). Support leader Ilyukha stayed in the service with the orange 60th crew until two in the morning, and after long and fun experiments with the press, a new bearing was assembled from two old ones and a third extra and attached to the clutch. The car continued on its way.
121 Volvo 1969
How was the renovation going? Lots of breakdowns?
Cars are old and it is difficult for them to avoid breakdowns. In addition, road and weather conditions contribute to them. The off-road of Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia thoroughly loosened the components of cars and "helped" the wear of nuts and other connections. In some areas of the participants (a significant part of whom rode in open convertibles) showers and even June snow caught on, this added problems - from crew fatigue to water ingress into the units.
Some of the cars left the race, some went for complex repairs and part of the way passed on tow trucks. For example, one of the crews went to Moscow, where they delivered a semi-axle by plane (!) The rest were repaired in the parking lots: sometimes a day in the city, like in Ufa, sometimes a night — like in Nizhny Novgorod, sometimes for several days, like in a tent camp in Mongolia. As you understood from the last location, where there are hardly any car services, most of the repair lies on the shoulders of the crews themselves and technical assistance.
In cities, the organizers provided all the conditions for repairs. For example, we had an agreement with several services, auto tow trucks, the garage of NSTU (Polytech), dealerships and tire shops - they were ready to accept all auto exotics and provide repairs. Of course, for money: the participants paid for all the repairs themselves, and it was not very expensive by the standards of the participants. For example, the repair of the Volvo mentioned above cost $200 + $26 for a tow truck. During the repair, the organizers or volunteers from the Polytechnic University were with the crews (one of them was right up to 3 in the morning).
Pretty boys and a little bit of whining
Particular attention of the public was attracted by several cars - from those that we did not write about, we chose four more legends, although in the parking lots it was not overcrowded for any. By the way, about the audience. If you organize a rally stage in your city, you do not belong to yourself, because, firstly, you must obey the requirements and wishes of the organizers and participants, and secondly, all the time while the cars are in the city, there are exactly 2 tasks: safety and repair. Moreover, both the safety of visitors from cars and car parts from visitors 🙂
The task of organizing a mass meeting for the participants is not worth it - the desire to organize also a city holiday was exclusively our initiative, a group of 4 people. Frankly speaking, we overdid it: announcements in VKontakte groups, press releases and cool advertising on Facebook (budget less than 3000 rubles for 615 responses to the event, “that Schaub everyone lived like that”) collected about 0,5 million views in total. “Conversion 1% for an event,” say the marketing and PR talmuds. "1% of 0,5 million = 5000 people" - yokal inside. In general, we had 15 + 10 volunteers of different levels of training (from yesterday's children to harsh students of NSTU), the main square of the city, 2 organizers at the point, and yes, something about 5000 people who were not particularly hindered by the barrier and persuasion not walk around the playground, and let the cars park. However, the participants clearly enjoyed the attention.
Morgan Plus 8, 1967 and a very happy crew - these guys allowed them to get into the car, and hug, and pull the handles, and put the children in. Very positive French people!
By the way, the car itself, despite its appearance, is far from vintage: these racing supercars were produced from 1968 to 2004 and found their niche in amateur motorsport
For a number of reasons, the organizers demanded that the site be closed an hour earlier, and we ... thought that we would get a megaton of negativity on social networks. Yes, the night between the first and second days was sleepless - I had to answer, apologize and explain that the technological parking is, first of all, the time and place for repairs, and then a living museum on wheels. However, hundreds of grateful messages and appeals made me decide that everything was not in vain. And yes, we kept safety at 5+, no one has a scratch, no bruise, no dent - love, hugs and joint photos.
Nizhny Novgorod residents were especially fond of this bright cheeky — Chevrolet Fangio Coupe of 1938, which held the unconditional leadership for the first 4 days of the rally
Our favorite review is this one:
"Today on the square. Minin had an absolutely amazing atmosphere. Almost the same as a year ago at the World Cup, only in miniature. Participants of the Beijing-Paris rally made a stop in Nizhny. All pilots and navigators, despite being tired, were very positive and answered all questions with pleasure. Of course, if they were asked in English. Well, our city became a part of an international event for several hours.<…>” (read it in a local independent publication , and "Goat" subtracted in Dmitry Znamensky's blog).
We know what the 2018 FIFA World Cup was for our city and such a comparison is worth a lot.
And, of course, two symbols of luxury did not leave anyone indifferent - they seem to be not as pretentious and interesting as vintage Bentley, but breathing the history of a real dolce vita.
Bristol 403 - pure silver luxury, luxury car+, club car, British golden age. Just do not confuse it with BMW, the grilles were confusing for many (by the way, BMW was presented very modestly at the rally).
Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 1975. This is a revolutionary model for Rolls-Royce, with disc brakes on all wheels, independent suspension, 6,23 liter engine. This car is Rolls-Royce's response to accusations that its models are old-fashioned. The hydraulic systems of the car bypassed the best Citroen at that time. The maximum speed is 185 km/h.
And the famous Nika on the hood
70 Chrysler 1927 Roadster
And his salon, which you want to look at. Battery!
On the second day, at 6 am, the participants went to the Nizhny Novgorod Ring racing track — it was there that high-speed races took place and the cars showed everything they were capable of. Five, four, three, two, one, GO! - and imposing retro showed class. In some places - extra class, the camera barely had time to grab the frame.
Good luck!
Winners
105 cars made it to the finish line. On July 7, the rally finished in Paris. Let's see who became the winner in the Vintage class and in the Classic class.
Bentley Super Sports (12) - 1st Vintage
A rare car, one of the first sports models of the time, this Bentley is capable of reaching speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. In addition, the car is distinguished by high stability on any road and exceptional cross-country ability. Even visually, the car looked very reliable. Separately, I was pleased with the authenticity and safety of this particular instance.
Chrysler CM 6 (8) - 2nd place Vintage
The Chrysler CM 6 model combined a lightweight body, a powerful six-cylinder engine and a reliable chassis, so it immediately fell in love with motorists of its time. In addition to interesting driving characteristics, this car differed from its predecessors in a very comfortable interior. In 1931 alone, 65000 cars were sold, thanks to which the manufacturer was able to survive the height of the Great Depression that hit the United States in 1929. There is a version that in order to get drawings for the future GAZ M11 and GAZ-51, they had to connect the intelligence forces and the NKVD, which they coped with with dignity.
Bentley 4 1/2 Le Mans (17) - 3rd Vintage
The Bentley 4 1/2 was originally a sleek and massive British car with a 4,4 liter engine, but 720 Bentley 4 1/2 Le Mans were also produced. As the name implies, the model was created for the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which was the best advertisement you could think of. The goal was reached in 1928. The steepness of the car does not end there: in 1932, just such a model, but with a supercharger, set a speed record of 222 km / h.
2 weeks before the victory - 1st (right) and 2nd (left) place in the Vintage class near the walls of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
Leyland P76 (112) - 1st Classic
It's a big, impressive sedan with Anglo-Australian origins that won a rally in 2013 and is now winning again. The pilot of the car, by the way, is 87 years old. By the way, this participant got into a small accident in Nizhny Novgorod - he broke the turn signal and crushed the fender, which was immediately repaired with the help of an elegant and versatile electrical tape. In general, shuffling under the Metro bridge means winning the rally. But we urge you to keep your distance and traffic rules.
Leyland P76 on Lenin Square. Photo by Vladislav Khramtsov
The winners are the crew and their Leyland P76. Photo from Facebook
In 1973, the V76-powered P8 was named "Car of the Year" by the Australian magazine Wheels. However, due to a number of economic reasons, only 18 Leyland P007s were produced, and the coupe version did not take off at all. But the very history of the Leyland brand goes back to 76, when the very young James Sumner converted his tricycle to steam traction. So . At the moment, the brand exists only in Australia and produces Maxus buses. Prior to that, the company belonged to the GAZ group for some time. Leyland clearly has a special relationship with Nizhny Novgorod 🙂
Porsche 911 (92) — 2nd place Classic
Of the 105 cars in the rally, 9 were Porsches and 5 were 911s. This legendary car at one time gained a huge demand, and for cars of such power with a rear-engine layout, the demand is generally unique. The Porsche 911 has been produced since 1963 and has always been a sports coupe (or convertible) with a recognizable design. In general, 911 was supposed to start and end like any number sequence, but something went wrong with 911, or rather, on the contrary, it was very cool, and the number essentially turned into a proper name. Rally enthusiasts of various classes appreciate this model and have won victories with it more than once.
The 2nd place Porsche 911 at the St. George's Congress, Nizhny Novgorod
2nd place Porsche 911 parked overnight
Datsun 240Z (85) — 3rd place Classic
Datsun 240Z, aka Nissan S30, aka Fairlady Z. Nissan's sports car, a very successful domestic and international model. This is a three-door hatchback with 151 hp. on a very small board, capable of reaching a maximum speed of 204 km / h. During the exposition on Lenin Square, I managed to hear how one of the townspeople sighed, telling another that his brand new Datsun was no match for this one and he would have exchanged it without looking. I don’t think that the participants would appreciate the prospect of an exchange 🙂
Datsun 240Z
Our guys, the only Russian crew among the rally participants on the VAZ-2103, 23rd out of 72 in their class! And we congratulate them on this! (If you suddenly don’t know what a “three-ruble note” is. In 1972, the VAZ plant launched the production of a “three-ruble note” Zhiguli - VAZ-2103. A car built on the basis of the Fiat-124 was much more comfortable than a “penny”, equipped with a 75-horsepower engine and accelerated from zero to hundreds in 19 seconds The "three-ruble note" had several export variations, and inside the USSR it became a symbol of "auto luxury", and, in addition, is still considered one of the most stylish VAZ models.)
How is it 87 years old?
The Beijing-Paris Rally is often called the race of millionaires, not only because of the contributions and the cost of cars, but also because of the status of the participants. Many of them are very successful, famous people whose names are searched on Wikipedia. For example, at number 63, Mario Illien himself drove a Citroen 11B () from Switzerland, the head of Ilmor, which over the years has developed engines for Formula 1 cars Mercedes, Renault and Honda.
Citroen 11B
Acknowledgements
And of course, everything would be much more complicated and sadder if it were not for these people!
Department of Road Transport, ,
- Korchazhkin Mikhail Georgievich, Deputy Head. department for academic work
- Arkhipov Alexander Nikolaevich, head of laboratory
- Guys from NSTU
Department of Culture of Nizhny Novgorod
- Beagon Roman Yakovlevich, Department Director
- Dorodnova Margarita Alexandrovna, Head of the Department for the organization of city events and socio-cultural activities
Ministry of Sports of the Nizhny Novgorod Region
- Panov Sergey Yurievich. Minister of Sports of the Nizhny Novgorod Region
- Gorshunova Alina Gennadievna, Deputy Minister of Sports of the Nizhny Novgorod Region
- Kulikov Petr Vladimirovich, Head of the Department of High Performance Sports
- Morozov Sergey Nikolaevich, Chief Specialist of the Department of Sports of Higher Achievements
* Verst - 1066 m, route length 14 km
PS: Ilya, Sergey, Alexey, it was very cool to work with you! dream team!
PS: thanks for !
Source: habr.com