British Leyland Archives - Richard M. Langworth

“The drone of the engine went on as a background of gigantic sound….The song of the car bayed over wide spaces of country, was bruised and battered between the walls of startled village streets, was flung back in echoes from the walls of hills.” —Leslie Charteris, from an AQ tribute to “The Saint’s” fabulous, fictional Hirondel. (Painting by Ted Lodigensky, author’s collection)

Automobile Quarterly: The Memories (AQ Vol. 10, No. 1, 1972)

21 June 2021 Comments 1 Comment

A friend and fellow fan of Leslie Charteris and “The Saint” sent me the image above. “Is this yours?” he asked. Yes, it hangs in my home. My friend has now acquired AQ —Automobile Quarterly— First Quarter, 1972. It contains a portfolio of The Saint’s 1930 sports car, the Hirondel, conjured up by five great artists. This painting was presented to me by its creator, Ted Lodigensky. “It has no value,” he declared. “It’s a car that never was.”

Maybe so, but not to devotees of “The Saint,” aka Simon Templar. “He was an Englishman, and a gentleman,” explained AQ editor Don Vorderman—”though one must admit a pretty rakish one.…

Just Published! “Triumph Cars”: Tribute to a famous British marque

16 October 2018 Comments 2 Comments

A True Triumph

We are bowled over by the sheer volume of color, beauty and depth of photographs in the latest and greatest edition of Triumph Cars: The Complete Story. Largely this was the effort of my co-author Graham Robson, but I never expected such a high quality treatment by the publishers. A big, square format, 10×10 inches, it’s chock-a-block with lavish illustrations from the first spindly Triumph 10/20 of 1923 to the last, badge-engineered Triumph Acclaim of 1984. There are even appendices on Triumph-derived cars like the Bond Equipe, Amphicar, Peerless and Swallow Doretti.…