Ferrari F355 Challenge 1995, Itália

 

Ferrari F355 Challenge 1995, Itália

Fotografia

This F355 Challenge, first registered on 2 March 1995, is one of 109 examples of the F129 AB version intended to compete in the championship set up by Ferrari in 1993 for the 348 Challenge. This French car was delivered new to the Ferrari dealer Daverat in Bayonne for Maxime Bochet, a driver from Pao, who used it to compete with good results in the Ferrari Challenge for three seasons. The car was then sold in 1997 to Frederico " Fritz " d'Orey, the former Brazilian driver who made a name for himself in Formula Junior and also raced a Maserati 250 F in Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was during his ownership that the rare 1998 Season Kit was installed by Pozzi, improving the car's performance. Unfortunately, health problems prevented " Fritz " from enjoying the Ferrari and two years later, having completed just a few laps on the circuit, he sold the F355 Challenge to the current owner, when the mileage was 9 200 km. The current owner, a gentleman driver, put the car to good use and took part notably in a round of the GT FIA Championship at Magny Cours in 2000. For the last few years, the car has only been driven on the track for club outings and training sessions. Superb in its " Rosso Corsa " livery, the current mileage is just 18 750 km and the car remains in its original Challenge F355 configuration. The cockpit is fitted with a sturdy roll-cage and two bucket seats with six-point OMP harnesses. Beneath the lightweight aluminium bonnet, the V8 remains capable of delivering nearly 400 bhp, at a screaming 8250 rpm. Lovingly looked after, our example has benefitted from regular maintenance carried out by the owner's mechanic. Very recently, the wheels have been repainted and the windscreen replaced. The extensive folder with the car includes copies of old registration documents, invoices, MOTs and technical manuals. Our example comes with a large supply of spares, details of which are available on request, and these can be collected from the owner's home. After a major service that includes the fitting of new timing belts and four new tyres, our " Challenge ", complete with transparent history, will be ready to take to the track once more. It offers a unique opportunity to drive a powerful " competition client " either on the road or the track. In short, the best of both worlds.

Vale do Anhangabaú, 1943, São Paulo, Brasil

 

Vale do Anhangabaú, 1943, São Paulo, Brasil
São Paulo - SP
Fotografia 

Panorama, São Paulo, Brasil

 

Panorama, São Paulo, Brasil
São Paulo - SP
Foto Postal N. 30
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Edifício José Abrão, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil

 

Edifício José Abrão, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
Campo Grande - MS
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

José Abrão, nascido em 1892, em Mardin, na Turquia, veio com a esposa, Dona Mansoura, para Campo Grande em 24 de dezembro de 1924. Fixando-se na cidade, ele logo estabeleceu um pequeno armazém de secos e molhados na Rua 14 de Julho, entre a Rua Antônio Maria Coelho e a Av. Mato Grosso. José Abrão prosperou com grande rapidez e tornou-se um dos mais fortes comerciantes de seu tempo. Adquiriu outros imóveis e, em 1939, demoliu a primitiva residência em que morava para construir um dos mais modernos prédios da época, o Edifício José Abrão.
Construído em 1939, o Edifício José Abrão representou o primeiro degrau vencido rumo ao processo de verticalização de Campo Grande, sendo ele o primeiro prédio a ultrapassar o gabarito de dois andares encontrado até então na cidade. Com seus três andares, e a nitidez de seu elegante estilo “Art déco”, o prédio foi projetado pelo arquiteto alemão Frederico João Urlass e edificado pelo construtor português Manoel Rosa, contando com a parceria do mestre de obras Arquimedes Lodi.
A edificação foi originalmente concebida para abrigar um conjunto de escritórios e lojas, porém, sua conformação apresentava uma grande adaptabilidade para se prestar às instalações de um hotel, por esta razão o Hotel Rio demonstrou interesse de nele instalar uma filial, no entanto, o primeiro locatário foi Américo Namour, que inaugurou o Hotel Americano, que nele funcionou até a década de 2000.
A imponente monumentalidade de sua fachada cintilante, revestida pelo avermelhado pó de mica, é conferida pelas esbeltas e longilíneas faixas verticais em combinação com o canto curvo que a edificação adquire na esquina. Estes detalhes ainda hoje chamam a atenção no Edifício José Abrão e denotam uma elegância singular por meio de sua linguagem arquitetônica.
As letras em relevo na argamassa, solidariamente com a curvatura de suas sacadas e marquises, são utilizadas para acentuar o ponto da esquina. Urlass utilizava com frequência a curvatura de esquinas, e tal artifício permitia articular de um modo suave os dois panos de fachada, promovendo a continuidade entre eles e ampliando o caráter volumétrico do edifício.
Este mecanismo potencializa a perspectiva e intensifica sua monumentalidade, papel compositivo análogo à longa marquise do hotel que separa o térreo dos pavimentos superiores, onde as aberturas são menores e mais estreitas.
Originalmente, o prédio ocupava praticamente todo o terreno de 22mx22m e apresentava em seu pavimento térreo três lojas e duas moradias, que com o tempo foram abarcadas pelas lojas. Os pavimentos acima contavam com 35 salas, todas elas com lavatórios, o que tornava o espaço apto para receber as instalações de um hotel. O prédio tem ainda duas escadarias, uma principal e a outra secundária, e apresenta uma sequência de sacadas ao longo de todo o primeiro pavimento e uma única e pequena sacada no segundo pavimento, que valorizam a implantação e enriquecem os elementos arquitetônicos das fachadas do edifício, tudo isso situado numa área privilegiada da cidade.
Após o encerramento das atividades do Hotel Americano no imóvel, foi iniciada uma reforma no ano de 2009 com a finalidade de estabelecer ali um grupo de consultórios odontológicos. A reforma foi efetuada sem o devido licenciamento do poder público municipal, e sem as diretrizes urbanísticas específicas obrigatórias por lei que deveriam ter sido solicitadas ao Instituto Municipal de Planejamento Urbano –PLANURB. A empresa chegou a retirar algumas das janelas originais do prédio, mas teve a obra embargada pela prefeitura, e há pelo menos cinco anos, as salas dos dois andares superiores encontram-se fechadas e sem a menor condição de uso.
Em 2012 aconteceu outra reforma numa das lojas do pavimento térreo, o que gerou um Termo de Embargo, visto que a reforma foi iniciada sem a devida autorização.
Síntese Histórica:
Data de Construção – 1939.
Nome do construtor – Arquiteto Frederico Joao Urlass.
Nomes dos proprietários – Georges Youssef El Ossais, José Alfredo dos Santos Abrão, Fernanda Abrão Ferzik e Talita Abrão Ferraz.
Localização – Rua 14 de Julho, nº 2301, 2307, 2311, 2319 e Rua Marechal Cândido Rondon, nº 1406 – Centro.

Colégio Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil

 

Colégio Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
Campo Grande - MS
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Praça Costa Pereira, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil

 

Praça Costa Pereira, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil
Vitória - ES
Foto Postal Colombo N. 33
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Praça Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

 

Praça Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Rio de Janeiro - RJ
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Palácio Prelazia e Grupo Escolar, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brasil

 

Palácio Prelazia e Grupo Escolar, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brasil

Foz do Iguaçu - PR

N. 930

Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Avenida Rio Branco, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

 

Avenida Rio Branco, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Rio de Janeiro - RJ
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Capela do Palácio da Alvorada, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brasil

 

Capela do Palácio da Alvorada, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brasil
Brasília - DF
Foto Postal Colombo N. 36
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Farol da Barra, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil

 

Farol da Barra, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil
Salvador - BA
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Trecho da Avenida Sete de Setembro, Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil

 

Trecho da Avenida Sete de Setembro, Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil

Manaus - AM

Foto Postal Colombo N. 16

Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Vista de Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brasil

 

Vista de Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brasil
Joinville - SC
Édition de la Mission de Propagande
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Uma Rua de Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brasil

 

Uma Rua de Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brasil
Joinville - SC
Édition de la Mission de Propagande
Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Praça Marechal Floriano Peixoto, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

 

Praça Marechal Floriano Peixoto, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Fotografia - Cartão Postal

Lamborghini Countach LP400 1977, Itália

 

Lamborghini Countach LP400 1977, Itália

Fotografia

It is generally accepted that the Lamborghini Countach altered the definition of a supercar when it burst onto the scene in 1974. Outrageous in its appearance, it flagrantly shunned user friendliness in favour for sheer shock and awe, stopping people in the street with its impossibly wide wedge-shaped bodywork, angular lines and scissor doors. It wasn’t just form over function either; under the engine cover the 375 bhp V-12 engine was arranged low in the chassis and longitudinally, driving the gearbox via a front output shaft. This enabled the transmission to be centralised and located almost between the driver and passenger, improving weight distribution whilst allowing the gear linkage to be extremely short and direct. Power was then routed to the rear axle via a propshaft that ran underneath and through the engine’s oil sump to the rear differential. In comparison to its predecessor, the Miura, which had been compromised by its transverse engine layout, the Countach packaging not only improved the overall weight distribution and centre of gravity, but also comprehensively solved the former’s well document cooling issues.
This example left Sant’Agata Bolognese in May of 1977 built to RHD specifications and finished in Rosso paintwork over a Tobacco interior as one of 157 original Countach LP400 ‘Perosicopios’ and it was imported to Australia on behalf of the country’s Lamborghini concessionaire, Tony De Fina. Shortly thereafter it was bought by its first owner, none other than British singer and songwriter Rod Stewart, who was touring Australia at the time. Stewart’s long-term affiliation with Lamborghini was well into its stride, having previously owned three Miuras. Chassis number 1120262 proved to be the first of a several Countach he would buy. Amazingly, the car was kept for two weeks in his studio in Sydney where he recorded the album Blondes Have More Fun, and a photo of this can be found in Stewart’s autobiography.
It was subsequently flown out to Stewart’s family home in Los Angeles and re-registered as ‘RIVA 1’ and slowly modified over time, gaining many of the same aesthetic elements that Lamborghini was releasing with their later Countach models. This began with the fitment of wide Gotti wheels and a mini spoiler mounted behind the airboxes and culminated in a full wide body conversion to mimic the Countach LP400 ‘S’, along with the appropriate Campagnolo ‘Teledial’ wheels. This later work was carried out by Albert Mardikian Engineering who, in 1984, went one step further and performed a conversion to their own ‘SS’ specification. This involved the conversion of the car into an open-top targa and the fitment of a Walter Wolf inspired full width rear wing, which Mardikian promoted as being ultimate specification for the Countach.
In 1987, the car returned to the U.K., still in the ownership of Stewart and was registered as ‘RMK 651R’, ‘R’ to reflect its 1977 build year. It remained in the U.K. until 2002, at which point it was acquired by its second owner who kept the car in the same Maridikian aesthetic specification whilst choosing to completely overhaul the engine. It was presented in this specification at the Retromobile in 2010, by which time it had been converted to left hand drive. Its current owner acquired the car in 2013 from a Paris-based dealer who had given the car a cosmetic refresh at Carrosserie Lecoq in Paris that included refinishing the wheels in gold, retrimming the cabin in magnolia and breathing life into the Rosso paintwork. At this point it had covered 11,800 miles.
Recognising that the true significance of this vehicle was not because of its Hollywood history or indeed its unique configuration but actually its provenance, its current owner decided to embark upon restoring it to the specification in which it first arrived in Australia all those years before (albeit retaining its left hand drive configuration), and in which the engineers at Lamborghini had intended. Only the finest specialists were used and the work they carried out is forensically documented with hundreds of photographs in the cars history file that attest to the ‘no-expense spared’ approach that was taken. Pleasingly, the combination of Battaglia e Bolognesi of Ferrara for the coachwork, Top Motors of Nonatola for the drivetrain and mechanical work, and Bruno Paratelli for the upholstery has resulted in a truly stunning LP400 Periscopio, entirely faithful to the Stanzani and Gandini design that caused such a stir at the Geneva Salon in 1973 and free of any trace of the aforementioned 1980s Hollywood modifications.
A beautifully restored Periscopio with a truly unique history that could only be that of a Countach. This is undoubtedly one of the most well-known LP400s due to its characterful history, and would be an interesting addition to any Lamborghini collection.