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Memories of Vintage Motoring

 Edited extracts by MartinStubbs from the unpublished autobiography of Dacre Stubbs.                                                                                                                                                                        My old friend Granville Grenfell loved and rode motorcycles right up to an advanced age, although at the time I knew him best his principal mode of transport was an ancient 2nd Series Lancia Lambda. It had a very long and angular saloon bodywork which resembled a greenhouse on wheels rather than an automobile. The upper section of the body was, in fact, a detachable hard-top called a “ballon”.

Edited extracts by MartinStubbs from the unpublished autobiography of Dacre Stubbs ® Photos: Dacre Stubbs Collection                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I had only recently faced up to the sad need to part with the Aston Martin, which my friend Ronny Robinson had taken over, thus allaying what worries I had about its future. I also still had two Bentleys, the next cars to go (my future father in law had advised that if I wanted to marry his daughter I needed to change my playboy lifestyle).

The Citroën Traction Avant was the world’s first unibody front-wheel-drive car. They were made 1934 to 1957. Approximately 760,000 units were produced. Traction Avant, which translates as "front wheel drive", is not the official name. The car was named according to the French fiscal horsepower rating, or CV, used to determine annual car tax levels. However, manufacturers did not change the model name every time a change of engine size caused a change in fiscal horsepower. In 1934, Citroën introduced the type 7, unofficially the 7A. They continued calling the car 7 when the 7B model's larger engine pushed it into the 9 CV tax band.  

I retraced my steps and contacted the Central Garage where the car was being kept. Immediately I set eyes upon it I knew this was what I wanted and after a examination with an engineer as to its condition, I purchased the beauty. The Aston seemed perfect in all respects, but required more ‘running in’. I wasted no time in a visit to Brooklands where I obtained a room, or rather Bertram did this at the Queens Head. On the way down I visited the Aston Martin factory which was on my route from London to Byfleet to have the car checked over. In the course of this visit I met Gordon Sutherland the joint director of the company as well as the other direc­tor, Cesare Bertelli, the actual designer of the 1 1/2-litre Aston. All this was very reassuring and gave me confidence that I could not have chosen a better vehicle for my particular purpose.

Story and photos from Jean-Pierre Bush (Beaumont-en-Veron)