This is a blog about a road trip from the south coast of the UK, to the Vintage Revival in Montlhéry, due south of Paris.
Words: Rich Orriss
The Vintage Revival Montlhéry is one of the top events in the vintage and classic calendar, where hundreds of old vehicles of all sorts descend on the famous banked Autodrome of Linas-Montlhéry. The venue has played an important part in the history of motorsport, having held countless races, thrilling championships, and unforgettable encounters between drivers and riders over the years. 2024 marks a special occasion, as it is 100 years since the Autodrome first sparked into life… let’s get the wheels rolling on a road trip to the concrete jungle of Montlhéry.
It all started with the bark of a 06:00am alarm call. A gulp of extra strong Nescafé finest, and I was out the door, on route to Newhaven to pick up the 0930 ferry to Dieppe. I have to admit from the start… I was a lightweight and took the car; the old Sunbeam in my shed has the range of a hedgehog, and so yes, I took the easy option!
I arrived at Newhaven in good time, only to sit in a queue full of boxed motorhomes and bland old estates, packed to the brim with holiday wears and tired faces. I looked out of the window to my left… an overworked, stern-faced customs officer. I turned to my right… a white-washed wall, adorned with artwork of the spray-paint form, depicting an underwater scene. I guessed a veiled attempt by the port to recruit a local amateur artist, and add a splash of colour to the dull environment to ignite that holiday mood! I really needed a pick-me-up, and it didn’t take long, as my ear drums started to vibrate with the churn of a straight-8 cylinder Bugatti Type 35, that came to a grinding halt next to me. It was a wonder to behold, and the classics continued to roll in, from little MG Midgets, to big boy Bentleys. There were no motorcycles yet, but it had me thinking about the many enthusiasts that were embarking on their Montlhéry pilgrimage at that very time, filling up ports around the continent with pieces of vintage engineering that were to imminently descend on the Autodrome. It is amazing what old vehicles can do to the senses; I was now in the spirit of things!
A trip across the big blue, followed by a spin down the toll roads, and I had arrived outside the Autodrome as volunteers and exhibiters were setting up. There was certainly a humdrum of activity around the periphery – a convoy of Edwardian aero-engined cars heading out into the sunset, beers and BBQ’s on the go, oh and a motorcycle! This chap had travelled all the way from Scotland, and was living the dream as he tested his 1928 Indian 101 Scout around the car park.
I checked into a typical old stone French apartment down the road in Linas, under the close watch of the Madame of the building who swung her head out of her door as soon as I made the slightest creak. A quick Bonjour, and her watchful eyes followed me into my apartment… best keep that shower curtain closed!
The next day, having stocked up with pastries at the local boulangerie (and somehow ordering three coffees for myself – need to work on my French!), I wound my way up the hill, and arrived at the Autodrome. If you are a vintage petrol head, this was the landscape of dreams – motorcycles, cycle cars, Penny Farthings, a mass of old tricycles, Bugatti’s galore, a Renault plane… anything you could possibly imagine was there.
A couple of pals from the UK soon arrived – Nigel, on his well used and superb Brough Superior SS80, and Paul from Shed Hot Customs on his unique, customised Triumph Speed Twin. Aside from an ignition lead that had melted on the head of the Brough while waiting to board the ferry (cured by a quick roadside fix), they had made it from Hampshire without any serious calamity, so I’m told!
The first area you are met with upon entering the event is the vintage auto-jumble, which featured an eclectic mix of bits of bobs for pretty much anything old and vintage that combusts. There were some pretty cool bikes for sale too, some of which looked like they had been rolled out of a dusty old barn the previous day – to be fair they probably had.
The paddocks were littered with an unbelievable mix of old motorcycles, from the earliest of the earliest, to later, methanol eating racers. I have put together a few photos of what is only a handful of the machines at the event, but ones that stood out to me as being that little bit special.
I know very little about the Austrian Puch marque, and was unable to track down the owner; however this bold, belt driven racer was a motorcycle that attracted a lot of attention (if you can shed any light on the detail on this machine, please get in touch so that I can update the article).
An unusual bike, and a first for me in person, was this rather eccentric 1930 Majestic 350. These iconic French motorcycles of the interwar period were a quirky symbol of Art Deco brilliance in motorcycle design (well some would say!). It was quite innovative as well, sporting features such as centre hub steering, an automobile-like pressed steel chassis, and telescopic front suspension. These days must have been an exciting time to be around as pretty much anything and everything was tried and tested.
There were some impressive race bikes from the period, that were not only sat in the paddocks to gawp and drool at, but also thumped around the banked circuit, reawakening the vibrant halcyon days of motorsport. This is a grid walk video of the Plateau Motos GP class (the boy racers!) – note the 250cc 3 cylinder DKW at 01:10 with megaphones that nearly cause my microphone to self destruct!
A noteworthy motorcycle was a rare 1935 Husqvarna 496cc OHV works bike that was raced in period by an Austrian private racer called Michael Gayer. Note the contrast in the exhaust pipes, which are in fact the same length to avoid any power loss. Nigel tried to explain the physics behind it all, but lost me after about two seconds.
I thought my knowledge on old motorcycles was getting to a half-decent level, but Montlhéry brought home the stark realisation that I have only reached the tip of the iceberg. This was a new favourite, and a stunning machine that I have not seen before. It’s a 1933 MGC JAP 250cc racer. The fuel tank, cast in light-alloy, forms the upper frame member, and results in a cracking looking motorcycle. As you could probably imagine, the MGC caused quite a sensation when first presented at the 1929 Lyon show with its sleek, stylish lines.
I had seen one of these on the web, but it was pretty cool seeing it in action. It’s a rather complicated, and rather complex 1922 640cc Megola, that features a five-cylinder engine mounted in the front wheel. In order to fire the bike up, the rider had to either hand-spin the front wheel while up the stand, or push-start it by running down the road. The lack of a clutch meant the engine had to be stopped when the motorcycle was stationary – not easy when traffic light systems were later brought into the mix. It was an impressive example of post-war engineering, where aviation technology took a sideway step into the automotive world.
As I walked around the venue in a bewildered state of wonder, I bumped into a few motorcycling celebrities, including Paul D’Orleans (the Vintagent), and Sam Lovegrove who was wondering around the paddocks, armed with a spanner – here he is tinkering on a Norton CS1 that belongs to Angus MacCurrach.
There were many other fellow Brits, including the Brooklands Motorcycle Team who shipped over an excellent selection of machines from the museum, and Tony and Kate were present to represent the ABC club with their lovely old 1920 400. There were also some nice old British bikes to compliment the nice (not old) British people.
There seemed to be a lot of chatter around the camp about how fast the Motosacoche racers were on the circuit, and yep they were rapid (albeit not as fast as François Tocanne on his Velocette KTT!). There were at least half a dozen of the beige bulldozers in the club stand, and this flat tank, overhead valve number got me interested. The handlebars on this motorcycle were of a leaf spring design, the idea being that they would take some vibration out of the bars and add some flexibility when hitting bumps or potholes.
Another motorcycle I have never seen in the flesh is a Blériot. These bikes are pretty wild and stand out with their funky dinner plate wheels and parallel side-valve twin engine. In the 1920s, the French police formed their first motorcycle squad mounted on these beauties – maybe it was to prevent little tearaways shoving sticks through the spokes!
Pavel Malaník was in attendance with his masterpiece that attracted a captive audience. It is a period V-8 beast that is synonymous of the experimental bikes of the early years. At the heart of the machine is a replica of a J.A.P. aero V-8. The majority of parts have been home-made by Pavel, who is a toolmaker by trade. The bike takes inspiration from Glenn Curtiss, who built a similar bike in 1907, and recorded an incredible speed of 136 mph on Ormond Beach, earning him the well deserved title “the fastest man on Earth.”
There were of course plenty of motors of the four wheel variety, from delicate cycle cars, to fire breathing Edwardian aero monsters which threw out a clatter of exposed valves that bounced around the concrete bowl. I watched as Duncan Pittway arrived in the Beast of Turin, which quite literally spits flames in a horizontal fashion. I continued to watch, as an approaching motorist in his Renault Megane attempted to squeeze past the Beast on a stretch of tarmac only wide enough for one car, all while placing a finger in the nearest ear, and making a half ditched attempt with his other hand to frantically wind up the window to shield the flames. How he was still able to drive is beyond me, but it did make me chuckle.
As this is all about the motorcycles, however, I have selected one standout motorcar to feature in the article – the 1933 Napier Railton. The Napier-Railton was designed to break endurance records and race at Brooklands, and won several high-profile races, broke numerous world endurance records, and set the ultimate Brooklands lap record. It weighs two tonnes and is powered by a 24-litre Napier Lion engine more usually found in aircraft. It also has a personal connection to Montlhéry, when it was shipped over to the Autodrome for attempts on the World 24-hour in 1933 and in 1934, and did extremely well.
As we are in France, I thought it would be fitting to finish the article with some glorious French motorcycles. In my personal opinion, the French built some of the best looking bikes in the 1920s, and here are some of my favourites from the event.
Well that’s it for a whistle stop tour of centenary of the Vintage Revival in Montlhéry. The experience was quite simply out of this world, and something that would be really hard to beat. I left in a state of sun-burnt bemusement, and can only hope that the tradition continues to live on until I am six feet under.
While I am at it, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank the Vintage Revival Team, and all of the volunteers for putting on a fantastic event that I would recommend to any vintage aficionado.
an article by The Girder Club
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