1.
Rothschild family
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During the 19th century, the Rothschild family possessed the largest private fortune in the world, as well as the largest private fortune in modern world history. The Rothschild family has frequently been the subject of conspiracy theories, the first member of the family who was known to use the name Rothschild was Izaak Elchanan Rothschild, born in 1577. The name is derived from the German zum rothen Schild, meaning with the red sign, the familys ascent to international prominence began in 1744, with the birth of Mayer Amschel Rothschild in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was the son of Amschel Moses Rothschild, a money changer who had traded with the Prince of Hesse, the family motto appears below the shield, Concordia, Integritas, Industria. Paul Johnson writes he Rothschilds are elusive, there is no book about them that is both revealing and accurate. Libraries of nonsense have been written about them, a woman who planned to write a book entitled Lies about the Rothschilds abandoned it, saying, ‘It was relatively easy to spot the lies, but it proved impossible to find out the truth. Their assets were held in financial instruments, circulating through the world as stocks, bonds, changes made by the Rothschilds allowed them to insulate their property from local violence, Henceforth their real wealth was beyond the reach of the mob, almost beyond the reach of greedy monarchs. Another essential part of Mayer Rothschilds strategy for success was to control of their banks in family hands. By this means, Jewish financiers obtained a share of international finance during the middle. The head of the group was the Rothschild family. It also states, Of more recent years, non-Jewish financiers have learned the same method, and, on the whole. Mayer Rothschild successfully kept the fortune in the family with carefully arranged marriages, by the late 19th century, however, almost all Rothschilds had started to marry outside the family, usually into the aristocracy or other financial dynasties. The surname Rothschild is rare in Germany, the German surname Rothschild is not related to the Protestant surname Rothchilds from the United Kingdom. Another line, of the British branch of the family, was elevated by Queen Victoria, research conducted by GreatGameIndia Magazine has revealed that the Rothschild family was one of the controller families of the East India Company. The Rothschilds already possessed a significant fortune before the start of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1815 alone, the Rothschilds provided £9.8 million in subsidy loans to Britains continental allies. The brothers helped coordinate Rothschild activities across the continent, and the family developed a network of agents, in one instance, the family network enabled Nathan to receive in London the news of Wellingtons victory at the Battle of Waterloo a full day ahead of the governments official messengers. It was then repeated in popular accounts, such as that of Morton. The basis for the Rothschilds most famously profitable move was made after the news of British victory had made public
2.
Grand Prix motor racing
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Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car. Grand Prix motor racing eventually evolved into formula racing, and Formula One can be seen as its direct descendant, each event of the Formula One World Championships is still called a Grand Prix, Formula One is referred to as Grand Prix racing. Motor racing was started in France, as a result of the enthusiasm with which the French public embraced the motor car. Manufacturers were enthusiastic due to the possibility of using motor racing as a window for their cars. The first motoring contest took place on July 22,1894 and was organised by a Paris newspaper, the Paris–Rouen rally was 126 km, from Porte Maillot in Paris, through the Bois de Boulogne, to Rouen. Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first into Rouen after 6 hours 48 minutes at an speed of 19 km/h. He finished 3 minutes 30 seconds ahead of Albert Lemaître, followed by Doriot, René Panhard, in 1900, James Gordon Bennett, Jr. the owner of the New York Herald and the International Herald Tribune, established the Gordon Bennett Cup. He hoped the creation of an event would drive automobile manufacturers to improve their cars. Each country was allowed to enter up to three cars, which had to be built in the country that they represented and entered by that countrys automotive governing body. International racing colours were established in this event, in the United States, William Kissam Vanderbilt II launched the Vanderbilt Cup at Long Island, New York in 1904. Some anglophone sources wrongly list a race called the Pau Grand Prix in 1901 and this may stem from a mistranslation of the contemporary French sources such as the magazine La France Auto of March 1901. The name of the 1901 event was the Circuit du Sud-Ouest, the Grand Prix du Palais d’Hiver was the name of the prizes awarded for the lesser classes. The Grand Prix de Pau was the name of the awarded for the Heavy class. Thus Maurice Farman was awarded the Grand Prix de Pau for his victory in the Circuit du Sud-Ouest driving a Panhard 24 hp. In L’Histoire de l’Automobile/Paris 1907 Pierre Souvestre described the 1901 event as, dans le Circuit du Sud-Ouest, à l’occasion du meeting de Pau. ” The only race at the time to carry the name Grand Prix was organised by the Automobile Club de France. The circuit used, which was based in Le Mans, was triangular in shape
3.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
4.
French wine
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French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, French wine traces its history to the 6th century BC, with many of Frances regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times. The wines produced range from expensive high-end wines sold internationally to more modest wines usually only seen within France such as the Margnat wines were during the post war period. France is the source of grape varieties that are now planted throughout the world. French wine originated in the 6th century BC, with the colonization of Southern Gaul by Greek settlers, viticulture soon flourished with the founding of the Greek colony of Marseille. Not only did the Gauls know how to cultivate the vine, pruning creates an important distinction in the difference between wild vines and wine producing grapes. Before long, the wines produced in Gaul were exceptionally famous all around the world, the Roman Empire licensed regions in the south to produce wines. St. Martin of Tours was actively engaged in both spreading Christianity and planting vineyards, during the Middle Ages, monks maintained vineyards and, more importantly, conserved wine-making knowledge and skills during that often turbulent period. Monasteries had the resources, security, and motivation to produce a supply of wine both for celebrating mass and generating income. During this time, the best vineyards were owned by the monasteries, over time the nobility developed extensive vineyards. However, the French Revolution led to the confiscation of many of the owned by the Church. The advance of the French wine industry stopped abruptly as first Mildew and then Phylloxera spread throughout the country, indeed all of Europe. Then came an economic downturn in Europe followed by two wars, and the French wine industry didnt fully recover for decades. Meanwhile, competition had arrived and threatened the treasured French brands such as Champagne and this resulted in the establishment in 1935 of the Appellation dorigine contrôlée to protect French interests. Large investments, the economic upturn following World War II and a new generation of Vignerons yielded results in the 1970s, in 1935, numerous laws were passed to control the quality of French wine. They established the Appellation dorigine contrôlée system, which is governed by an oversight board. Consequently, France has one of the oldest systems for protected designation of origin for wine in the world, many other European systems are modelled after it. The word appellation has been put to use by countries, sometimes in a much looser meaning
5.
French Air Force
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The French Air Force is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, an arm of the French Army. The number of aircraft in service with the French Air Force varies depending on source, the French Air Force has 233 combat aircraft in service, with the majority being 125 Dassault Mirage 2000 and 108 Dassault Rafale. As of early 2016, the French Air Force employs a total of 42,607 regular personnel, the reserve element of the air force consisted of 5,187 personnel of the Operational Reserve. The Minister of Defence is responsible for execution of military policy and he is advised by the Chief of Staff of the Armies in regard to the use of forces and the control of military operations. The Chief of Staff of the French Air Force determines the air force doctrines and advises the CEMA how to deploy French air assets and he is responsible for the preparation and logistic support of the air force. The French took active interest in developing the air force from 1909 and had the first World War I fighter pilots, in the post–World War II era, the French made a successful effort to develop a domestic aircraft industry. Dassault Aviation led the way mainly with delta-wing designs, which formed the basis for the Mirage series of jet fighters. The Mirage demonstrated its abilities in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, the Falklands War, the French Air Force participated in several protracted colonial wars in Africa and French Indochina after the Second World War, and continues to employ its air power in Africa. The Military Air Transport Command had previously formed in February 1962 from the Groupement dUnités Aériennes Spécialisées. The Dassault Mirage IV, the principal French strategic bomber, was designed to strike Soviet positions as part of the French nuclear triad, also created in 1964 was the Escadron des Fusiliers Commandos de lAir, seemingly grouping all FCA units. CFAS had two squadrons of S-3 IRBMs at the Plateau dAlbion, six squadrons of Mirage IVAs, coTAM counted 28 squadrons, of which ten were fixed-wing transport squadrons, and the remainder helicopter and liaison squadrons, at least five of which were overseas. CAFDA numbered 14 squadrons mostly flying the Mirage F. 1C, two other commands had flying units, the Air Force Schools Command, and the Air Force Transmissions Command, with four squadrons and three trials units. In 1994 the Commandement des Fusiliers Commandos de lAir was established, the French Air Force is expanding and replacing aircraft inventory. After an absence lasting several decades, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed that France will rejoin the NATO integrated command, from 2008-2010 the Air Force underwent an organisational streamlining process. This project was called Air 2010, which was the year of the deadline for all transitions, the main targets of this project were to simplify the command structure, to regroup all military and civil air force functions and to rationalise and optimise all air force units. Five major commands, were formed, instead of the former 13, CDAOA CFA CSFA DRHAA SAGF The last remaining squadron of Dassault Mirage F1s were retired in July 2014 and replaced by the Rafale. The Chief of Staff of the French Air Force determines air force doctrine and he is responsible for the preparation and logistic support of the air force
6.
Bugatti Type 35
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The Type 35 was the most successful of the Bugatti racing models. The Type 35 was phenomenally successful, winning over 1,000 races in its time and it took the Grand Prix World Championship in 1926 after winning 351 races and setting 47 records in the two prior years. At its height, Type 35s averaged 14 race wins per week, Bugatti won the Targa Florio for five consecutive years, from 1925 through 1929, with the Type 35. The original model, introduced at the Grand Prix of Lyon on August 3,1924, bore was 60 mm and stroke was 88 mm as on many previous Bugatti models. This new powerplant featured five main bearings with a ball bearing system. This allowed the engine to rev to 6,000 rpm, solid axles with leaf springs were used front and rear, and drum brakes at the back, operated by cables, were specified. Alloy wheels were a novelty, as was the front axle for reduced unsprung weight. A second feature of the Type 35 that was to become a Bugatti trademark was passing the springs through the front axle rather than simply U-bolting them together as was done on their earlier cars, a rare version was de-bored for a total displacement of 1.5 L. There are two of these cars in New Zealand, dimensions, Length,3680 mm Width,1320 mm Wheelbase,2400 mm Track,1200 mm Weight,750 kg A less expensive version of the Type 35 appeared in May,1925. The factorys Type 35A name was ignored by the public, who nicknamed it Tecla after a famous maker of imitation jewelry, the Teclas engine used three plain bearings, smaller valves, and coil ignition like the Type 30. While this decreased maintenance requirements, it also reduced output, one-hundred thirty nine of the Type 35As were sold. The Type 35C featured a Roots supercharger, despite Ettore Bugattis disdain for forced induction, output was nearly 128 hp with a single Zenith carburettor. Type 35Cs won the French Grand Prix at Saint-Gaudens in 1928, for 1926, Bugatti introduced a special model for the Targa Florio race. Called the Type 35T officially, it became known as the Targa Florio. Engine displacement was up to 2.3 L with a longer 100 mm stroke, Grand Prix rule changes limiting capacity to 2.0 L limited the appeal of this model at the time with just thirteen produced. The final version of the Type 35 series was the Type 35B of 1927, originally named Type 35TC, it shared the 2.3 L engine of the Type 35T but added a large supercharger like the Type 35C. Output was 138 hp, and 45 examples were made, a British racing green Type 35B driven by William Grover-Williams won the 1929 French Grand Prix at Le Mans. The Type 35 chassis and body were reused on the Type 37 sports car, fitted with a new 1.5 L straight-4 engine,290 Type 37s were built
7.
Bugatti
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Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a French car manufacturer of high-performance automobiles, founded in 1909 in the then German city of Molsheim, Alsace by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti. Bugatti cars were known for their beauty and for their many race victories. Famous Bugattis include the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Type 41 Royale, the Type 57 Atlantic and the Type 55 sports car. The death of Ettore Bugatti in 1947 proved to be the end for the marque, no more than about 8,000 cars were made. The company struggled financially, and released one last model in the 1950s, in the 1990s, an Italian entrepreneur revived it as a builder of limited production exclusive sports cars. Today, the name is owned by German automobile manufacturing group Volkswagen, the company was known both for the level of detail of its engineering in its automobiles, and for the artistic manner in which the designs were executed, given the artistic nature of Ettores family. During the war Ettore Bugatti was sent away, initially to Milan and later to Paris and he exhibited three light cars, all of them closely based on their pre-war equivalents, and each fitted with the same overhead camshaft 4-cylinder 1, 368cc engine with four valves per cylinder. Smallest of the three was a Type 13 with a body and using a chassis with a 2,000 mm wheelbase. The others were a Type 22 and a Type 23 with wheelbases of 2,250 and 2,400 mm respectively, the company also enjoyed great success in early Grand Prix motor racing, in 1929 a privately entered Bugatti won the first ever Monaco Grand Prix. Racing success culminated with driver Jean-Pierre Wimille winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice, Bugatti cars were extremely successful in racing. The little Bugatti Type 10 swept the top four positions at its first race, the 1924 Bugatti Type 35 is probably the most successful racing car of all time, with over 2,000 wins. The Type 35 was developed by Bugatti with master engineer and racing driver Jean Chassagne who also drove it in the car’s first ever Grand Prix in 1924 Lyon, Bugattis swept to victory in the Targa Florio for five years straight from 1925 through 1929. Louis Chiron held the most podiums in Bugatti cars, and the modern marque revival Bugatti Automobiles S. A. S. named the 1999 Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car in his honour. But it was the racing success at Le Mans that is most remembered—Jean-Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron won the 1939 race with just one car. In the 1930s, Ettore Bugatti got involved in the creation of a racer airplane and this would be the Bugatti 100P, which never flew. It was designed by Belgian engineer Louis de Monge who had already applied Bugatti Brescia engines in his Type 7.5 lifting body, Ettore Bugatti also designed a successful motorised railcar, the Autorail Bugatti. The death of Ettore Bugattis son, Jean Bugatti, on 11 August 1939 marked a point in the companys fortunes. Jean died while testing a Type 57 tank-bodied race car near the Molsheim factory, World War II left the Molsheim factory in ruins and the company lost control of the property
8.
Hispano-Suiza
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Hispano-Suiza was a Spanish automotive/engineering company and, after World War II, a French aviation engine and components manufacturer. It is best known for its cars and aviation engines pre-World War II. In 1923, its French subsidiary became a partnership with the Spanish parent company. In 1946, the Spanish parent company sold all its Spanish automotive assets to Enasa, in 1968, the French arm was taken over by the aerospace company Snecma, now a part of the French SAFRAN Group. Hispano-Suiza designed the first 4-cylinder 16-valve engine and the car considered to have been the first sports car, in 1898 a Spanish artillery captain, Emilio de la Cuadra, started electric automobile production in Barcelona under the name of La Cuadra. In Paris, De la Cuadra met the Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt, La Cuadra built their first gasoline-powered engines from a Birkigt design. At some point in 1902, the ownership changed hands to J. Castro and became Fábrica Hispano-Suiza de Automóviles, yet another restructuring took place in 1904, creating La Hispano-Suiza Fábrica de Automóviles, under Castros direction, also based in Barcelona. Four new engines were introduced in the year and a half, a 3. 8-litre and 7. 4-litre four-cylinder. This company managed to avoid bankruptcy and its largest operations remained in Barcelona until 1946, other factories in Spain were at Ripoll, Seville, and Guadalajara. France was soon proving to be a market for Hispanos luxury cars than Spain. In 1911, a factory called Hispano France began operating in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret. Production was moved to larger factories at Bois-Colombes, under the name Hispano-Suiza in 1914, with the start of World War I, Hispano-Suiza turned to the design and production of aircraft engines under the direction of Marc Birkigt. His chief engineer during this period was another Swiss, Louis Massuger, traditionally, aircraft engines were manufactured by machining separate steel cylinders and then bolting these assemblies directly to the crankcase. Birkigts novel solution called for the block to be formed from a single piece of cast aluminum. Manufacturing an engine in this way simplified construction and resulted in a lighter, thus, Birkigts new construction method created the first practical, and what are commonly known today as, cast block engines. Another major design feature, for the later HS. 8B line was the use of a propeller shaft for both the 8B and 8C gear-reduction versions, which when used for the HS. After World War I, Hispano-Suiza returned to manufacturing and in 1919 they introduced the Hispano-Suiza H6. Licences for Hispano-Suiza patents were much in demand from prestige car manufacturers world-wide, Rolls-Royce used a number of Hispano-Suiza patents
9.
Circuit de la Sarthe
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The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe located in Le Mans, Maine, France, is a semi-permanent race course most famous as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. The track also includes roads that remain open to the public most of the year. The circuit, in its present configuration, is 13.629 kilometres long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world, capacity of the race stadium, where the short Bugatti Circuit is situated, is 100,000. Le Mans is a race where up to 85% of the time is spent on full throttle, meaning immense stress on engine. Even with the modifications put in place over the years, the Sarthe circuit is known for being very fast. This classic configuration was 8.369 miles long and remained almost unaltered even after the 1955 tragedy and its frighteningly narrow pit straight was narrowed off to make room for the pits and was part of the road itself, without the road becoming wider just for the pits. The pit straight was about 12 feet wide and the race track, the pit area was modified at a cost of 300 million francs, the signalling area was even moved to the exit of the slow Mulsanne corner, and the track was resurfaced. With cars getting ever faster in the 1960s, criticism rose, especially when drivers were killed. Since 1965, a smaller but permanent Bugatti Circuit was added which shares the pit lane facilities, for the 1968 race, the Ford chicane was added before the pits to slow down the cars. The circuit was fitted with Armco for the 1969 race, one of the Porsche Curves was affectionately named Maison Blanche and a short straight with a slight kink and two chicanes before the pits named the Ford chicanes were all added. In 1979, due to the construction of a new public road and this redesign led to a faster double-apex corner as well as requiring the removal of the second Dunlop Bridge. In 1986, because of construction of a new roundabout at the Mulsanne corner and this created a right hand kink prior to Mulsanne corner. In 1987, a chicane was added to the very fast Dunlop curve where cars would go under the Dunlop bridge at 180 mph, the Le Mans circuit was changed between the Dunlop Bridge and Esses, with the straight now becoming a set of fast sweeping turns. This layout allowed for a transition from the Le Mans circuit to the Bugatti circuit. This layout change would require the tracks infamous carnival to be relocated because the area it had once occupied became runoff. As part of the development, a new extended pit lane exit was created for the Bugatti Circuit and this second pit exit re-enters the track just beyond the Dunlop Chicane and before the Dunlop Bridge. Following the fatal crash of Danish driver Allan Simonsen at the 2013 race at the exit of Tertre Rouge into D338, the radius will be moved in approximately 200m for safety reasons with new tyre barriers at the exit. Le Mans was most famous for its 6 km long straight, called Ligne Droite des Hunaudières, a part of the route départementale D338
10.
Monaco Grand Prix
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The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. The circuit has been called an exceptional location of glamour and prestige. The race is held on a course laid out in the streets of Monaco, with many elevation changes and tight corners as well as a tunnel. In spite of the low average speeds, it is a dangerous place to race. It is the only Grand Prix that does not adhere to the FIAs mandated 305-kilometre minimum race distance, the event was part of the pre-Second World War European Championship and was included in the first World Championship of Drivers in 1950. It was designated the European Grand Prix two times,1955 and 1963, when title was an honorary designation given each year to one Grand Prix race in Europe. Graham Hill was known as Mr. Monaco due to his five Monaco wins in the 1960s, brazils Ayrton Senna won the race more times than any other driver, with six victories, winning five races consecutively between 1989 and 1993. Fernando Alonso is the driver to have won the race in consecutive years for different constructors, winning for Renault in 2006. Like many European races, the Monaco Grand Prix predates the current World Championship, the principalitys first Grand Prix was organised in 1929 by Antony Noghès, under the auspices of Prince Louis II, through the Automobile Club de Monaco. Alexandre Noghès, Antonys father, was founding president of the ACM, the ACM made their first foray into motorsport by holding the Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo in 1911. Their application was refused due to the lack of a major event held wholly within Monacos boundaries. The rally could not be considered as it used the roads of other European countries. To attain full national status, Noghès proposed the creation of an automobile Grand Prix in the streets of Monte Carlo, Noghès obtained the official support of Prince Louis II. Noghès also gained support for his plans from Monegasque Louis Chiron, Chiron thought that the topography of the location would be well suited to setting up a race track. The first race, held on 14 April 1929, was won by William Grover-Williams driving a Bugatti, the first Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco was an invitation-only event, but not all of those invited decided to attend. The leading Maserati and Alfa Romeo drivers decided not to compete, Mercedes sent their leading driver Rudolf Caracciola to drive a Mercedes SSK. Caracciola drove a race, bringing his SSK up to second position at the end of the race. The race was won by Williams driving a Bugatti Type 35B painted dark green, another driver who competed using a pseudonym was Georges Philippe, the Baron Philippe de Rothschild
11.
Stutz Motor Company
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The Stutz Motor Company was an American producer of luxury cars based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Production began in 1911 and continued until 1935, the brand reappeared in 1968 under the aegis of Stutz Motor Car of America, Inc. and with a newly defined modern retro-look. Although the company is active today, actual sales of factory produced vehicles ceased in 1995. Throughout its history, Stutz was known as a producer of fast cars and luxury cars for the rich, the company was founded as the Ideal Motor Car Company in Indianapolis in 1911. Ideal entered a car in the Indianapolis 500 that year and placed 11th, earning it the slogan, the next year, the founder, Harry C. Stutz, renamed the company Stutz Motor Company and began selling high-performance roadsters like the famous Stutz Bearcat, the Bearcat featured a brawny four-cylinder T-head engine with four valves per cylinder, one of the earliest multi-valve engines. Stutz has also credited with the development of the underslung chassis. Stutz White Squadron race team won the 1913 and 1915 championships, in 1922, three Stutz investors, one of whom was Charles M. Schwab, gained control of the company. The new owners brought in Frederick Ewan Moskowics, formerly of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, Marmon, Moskowics quickly refocused the company as a developer of safety cars, a recurring theme in the auto industry. In the case of Stutz, the car featured safety glass, a low center of gravity for better handling, one notable advance was the 1931 DOHC 32-valve in-line 8 called the DV32. This was during the so-called cylinders race of the early 1930s, in 1927, a Stutz set a world record for speed, averaging 68 mph for 24 hours. Also in 1927, Stutz won the AAA Championship winning every race, in 1929, three Stutzes, with bodies designed by Gordon Buehrig, built by Weymanns U. S. Production ended in 1935 after 35,000 cars had been manufactured, the former Indianapolis factory is today known as the Stutz Business Center and is home to more than eighty artists, sculptors, photographers, designers, architects, and craftsmen. Virgil Exner had more luck with the Stutz name, in August 1968, New York banker James ODonnell raised funds and incorporated Stutz Motor Car of America. A prototype of Exners Stutz Blackhawk was produced by Ghia, all these cars used General Motors running gear, featuring perimeter-type chassis frames, automatic transmission, power steering and power brakes with discs at the front. They were lavishly furnished, with all possible luxury features such as windows, air conditioning, central locking, electric seats. On the sedans there was typically a console for beverages in the rear seat and this incarnation of Stutz had some reasonable success selling newly designed Blackhawks, Bearcats, Royale Limousines, IV Portes, and Victorias. Elvis Presley bought the first Blackhawk in 1971, and later purchased a further three, frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Evel Knievel, Barry White and Sammy Davis, Jr. all owned Stutz cars
