Extremely rare
"Bougie MARCHAL" Original Advertising Sign from ca 1960. Size 202 x
102 x 4 cm. Painted metal on wooden frame in nice condition for its age.Marchal Spark Plugs were the preferred ones of Ferrari in the 1950ies and 1960ies. The 6th Championship dates this rare item to 1960 > see list of Championships
Marchal
spark plugs, well known for their quality and innovation, have a rich history
in the automotive industry. Founded in 1923 by Pierre Marchal, the company was
originally called "La Société pour la Fabrication de Projectors et
Lanternes Électriques" and manufactured headlights. In 1927, Marchal began
producing spark plugs, which became a major part of its business. The company
was acquired by Valeo in 1989, and although spark plug production has ceased,
Marchal's history remains linked to quality and innovation in automotive
equipment.
Here are
the key points in Marchal's early history:
1923:
Pierre Marchal founded "La Société pour la Fabrication de Projectors et
Lanternes Électriques" (The Company for the Manufacture of Projectors and
Electric Lanterns).
1927:
Marchal began producing spark plugs, alongside its headlight manufacturing
activities. 1929: Low beam lighting becomes mandatory, leading Marchal to
invest in a darkroom for headlight adjustments.
1963:
Marchal partners with the Société d'équipements pour véhicules automobiles.
Price on Request
This
Original MONTECARLO GTB CENTENAIRE Bronze Sculpture is #47 of 100 produced.
Given to the Guests during the car launch in Monte Carlo 1990. 2,8 kgs of
bronze. Size ca 315 x 145 x 45 mm. Very rare
The
Montecarlo GTB Centenaire is a luxury sports car from the Monegasque automobile
manufacturer Monte Carlo Automobile (MCA). To date, it is the only car produced
by the eponymous company, excluding the Ala 50 prototype, and it is also the
only car produced by a Monegasque company.
The idea of
the GTB was born in 1983, the year the company was founded, when the owner
and father of the company, Fulvio Maria Ballabio, decided to create a new
manufacturer of luxury cars to celebrate the centenary of the Automobile Club
of Monaco, founded in 1890.
The
prototype was completed in 1989 and tested several times on the race track by
Ballabio himself; In 1990, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the
Automobile Club de Monaco, it was given to Prince Rainier III. presented by
Monaco.
The
original plan was to build one hundred examples, but in the end only five were
built: one of these models belonged to Prince Rainier, one was painted black,
one red, one white and two blue.
One of
these copies (one of the two blue ones) was a Targa version, i.e. with a
removable Targa roof and, unlike the normal GTB, not equipped with a rear wing.
There is only one example of this version, whose name is not GTB Centenaire,
but Beau Rivage, like the famous curve on the Monte Carlo race track.
The second
factor that particularly influenced the price, in addition to being
manufactured in such a small number, was the fact that in its manufacture
futuristic materials were used to a large extent, having a very limited weight
in relation to the metal alloys used until then, but at the same time they had
similar resistance properties. However, these new technologies were
significantly more expensive, precisely because they were not widespread, but
were limited to certain areas of application such as aerospace, aviation and
Formula 1 competitions.
Chiti had
considerable experience, so much so that he designed some Formula 1 Ferraris
that won the world championship and for several years he was technical director
of the racing department of Alfa Romeo, for which he guaranteed several world
championships in the field of sports prototypes.
Chiti was
joined by another designer, Guglielmo Bellasi, who already had some experience
in the industry, having also been active in Formula 1.
Ballabio
managed to reach an agreement with Lamborghini to be able to install the
Sant'Agata Bolognese company's engines in his cars, as it was not possible to
design a completely new engine. Lamborghini gave him the license to use the
Countach's 5000 cc twelve-cylinder engine. However, MCA's owner decided that
his car needed to offer even more power than the original engine in order to
rise to the top of the category and be the most powerful car on the market.
Chiti
decided to rethink the Countach engine by converting the V12 from naturally
aspirated to supercharged and equipping it with two turbochargers, one per
inline; This increased the output from the initial 455 hp to 720 hp.
Thanks to
these interventions, the GTB Centenaire could count on the most powerful engine
available in a road car, and it was not until 1993 that someone did better, the
Dauer 962 Le Mans with 730 hp. The engine transmitted power to the rear wheels
via a 5-speed manual transmission.
In total, 5
years of design and development work were required to obtain a chassis that
ensured adequate torsional and bending rigidity values for the engine. The
latter was mounted in a central rear position, allowing optimal distribution of
the masses concentrated in the center of the chassis.
For the
frame, it was decided to use Kevlar and carbon fiber with a honeycomb
structure, as a monocoque.
To complete
the work, the three technicians decided to also use a configuration typical of
F1 cars for the suspensions, i.e. a low push rod type wishbone with anti-roll
bar.
The aerodynamic
profile, which was pointed, was also very interesting; The car appeared very
round and curved, but the lines were very harmonious, which is why the fluid
dynamic performance was quite high. Seen in profile, it had a wedge-shaped
shape, typical of the cars from which it descended, the Lamborghinis. The very
thin nose faced the asphalt and gave it an excellent aerodynamic penetration
coefficient.
In 1993,
Georgian Aleksander Mirianachvizi bought the rights that MCA held to Centenaire
and renamed it MIG (Migrelia & Georgia). However, the goal was not to
continue building it as a road car, but to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
with the Automotive Mig Tako team. The engine was replaced with a V12 turbo
engine from Motori Moderni, but with disappointing results. The machine,
renamed MiG M100, was entrusted to the pilots Giampiero “Peo” Consonni (who,
among other things, took care of its preparation), Pierre Honegger, Alfonso
Orleans de Bourbon and Aleksandre Mirianachvizi. They achieved the thirtieth fastest
time in qualifying, about a minute and a half behind the fastest car, the
Peugeot 905, and the car did not take part in the race. The only race she took
part in was the Vallelunga 6 Hours, where she finished 23rd.
This ultra-rare
original single-sided Lamborghini sign measures around 128 x 60 x 17 cm.
The white-finished
metal frame retains a plastic sign panel displaying the Lamborghini bull and
script along with “Ricambi e Assistenza” text.Price on Request
The box dedicated to the Mistral comes in an elegant and practical case, and reproduces historic Parts Catalogues, Owner’s Manual, Homologation documents and the true copy of the original brochure precisely kept in the Maserati Historical Archive of this model no longer in production. A 1:43 scale model and the vehicle sketch completes the offer. Contents of the kit in detail:
- Mistral CD ROM
- Mistral parts catalogue
- Owner’s manual (ITA/GB)
- Mistral homologation document
- Mistral scale model 1/43
- Mistral sketch
- Mistral commercial brochure
