Статьи на эту темуВлюбленный в аэродинамику
After a serene childhood and youth in one of the richest families of the Russian Empire in the share of Alexei, like many at the time, fell real life tests. After the revolution, not to fall under Bolshevik court, his father committed suicide. the young man himself has joined the ranks of the army of General Wrangel, and then followed by the immigration. Due to relative, he is educated designer and first begins to make sketches of women's dresses in Paris. But Alex remembers his childhood passion for automotive forms and finds a job in this field.
She has become quite prestigious by European standards bodywork Belgian company Van den Plas S.A. In nachaleXX century and up to the 40s in the automotive industry was extended individual bodywork specialist "Coach-Builder" on the chassis of a wide variety of manufacturers. It is here that the first really revealed the talent of the Russian emigrant, which has now become the French manner Aleksisisom de Sahnoffski. This incentive to work the count in this period were very peculiar.
Not shared toilet
The roots of the Van den Plas care companies in the XIX century, when in the 80th blacksmith shop diligence Guilliama Van den Plaza started to let the coach. At the beginning of the XX century, his successors in the face of three brothers Van den Plas developed in somewhat mutually dependent companies, including French and English, though having the same name. Contrary to the image errors, Alexis worked exclusively on the orders of the Belgian company, whose management has also been closely associated with the local producer Minerva car, almost simultaneously ruined in 1934...
Wherever possible, employees Van den Plas strongly recommended that customers these chassis, although the use of any, including not only the European grandees like Mercedes or a Rolls-Royce, but the US, in particular, Packard.
In view of the four language skills Alexis was, he had the most to communicate with customers, thereby having joined actively in the company's life. The role of the interpreter immediately expanded: taking orders, it appears on paper customer needs, more and more actively participating in the design of machines. It is noteworthy that the main stimulus for the graph-immigrant at that time is not a creative self-realization. He remembers well this time:
"My brain still remembered the past and flatly refused to accept life under a certain status. At that moment in the office with a nasty creaking floor, where I had to spend a lot of hours, I was surrounded by an awful smell of stale sweat-soaked wool clothes and sandwiches with my colleagues frankly hungry eyes, where the main ingredient is fat rubbed with garlic. But worst of all - a shared toilet, which due to the lack of windows in addition to the terrible smell, there was no privacy! "
In recognition of the graph, during the general assembly, he came up with a variety of "excuses" like headaches or "belly" to be used for its intended purpose private booth for guidance, which is locked, where they could enjoy the "comforts of sanitary cleanliness..."
By December 1924, while still a stranger to the company, Alexis was not quite sure what the outcome, when he "called on the carpet", and was ready for the dismissal: "How can my new girlfriend Madeleine, which I promised to the new outfits that she could join my walks on weekends ?! "Fortunately, de Sahnoffski not fired, but on the contrary - have increased. Now he started to perform not only as an interpreter but also officially became a designer, but rather an art director, responsible for the final form of the order.
With this appointment, Alexis received the treasured keys to the exclusive lavatory...
Though he rarely spoke of Madeleine, Alexis married that girl. According to almost its only evidence of the new Countess Madeleine Perlon not only distinguished natural beauty of the face and slender figure, but also in the time of World War I supposedly worked for the Belgian intelligence, for which he received many state awards... Although all this can be put under question, because different sources and did talk about the year 1910 the birth of Madeleine, then what is contrary to the Count said, and spoke about relations with a minor... but still come back to the main Alexis passion - cars.
On the first hand
Given that individual orders can currently allow people of a certain income, so there is a lot of interesting and even spicy.
"In reality, most luxury" coach-builders "could not boast of large orders. At best, Van den Plas produced in week one car, while the total for its production took about three months. The majority of customers were the wealthy Englishmen, titled Belgians, and of course the rich people from all over the world too. They sought out and "collected" throughout Europe by any means. In London, the lion's share of customers we supplied the dealer Cadillac-Buick, the Spanish representative of Rolls-Royce, but in most of Belgium did a Mr. Andre Monmarts.
The main occupation of this always dressed immaculately dandy was spinning at the races, in bars and nightclubs, fishing rumors about those who are ripe for buying a new exclusive car. In particular, much of the information was obtained from the ladies of easy virtue with whom Andre has not established a hefty contacts. One of them was the famous "Mouche" or "Fly", constantly shuttling between London and Brussels. Thanks to her, we have a lot of cars were built...
Upon arrival, the client found himself in a rather unsightly wooden office Monsieur Antoine. If the buyer was from England or the States, I was immediately involved as a translator. But, one way or another, regardless of the origin of the customer, I contacted him and proceeded to outline sketches.
Many great men did not differ imagination and often would get exactly the same cars, as they use, but built on a new, more modern chassis. Their family color also remained unchanged, down to the last strip. Of course it was all rather boring. Sometimes their offspring yet departed from tradition, wanting to ride on something closer to a modern sports Bugatti and Mercedes SSK.
The problem was that most of the aristocrats at that time did not differ prosperity or simply were fisted. But many of them ordered the special cars and for their "friends." Not only that, while often they wished to remain in the shadows, so more often and frankly saved. Believe them was keep an eye financially. And watch out for those who are and who pays, on whose credit recorded machine was a delicate matter, and doing what Antoine and his accountant.
In the back room is always "dangled" about three dozen of my sketches-ready options and when I issued the moment, I threw a new, replacing their old ones.
Typically, the client can choose from a drawn. After choosing the basic model and its general form, calculation performed, after which we again sat down at the table and that's where the fun begins for me. We take into account any and all wishes of the client. But they are different. For example, the soft top is made of leather, painted in a shade that matches the color of the skin itself owner of the car! "
And this is no joke - this order was carried out for a well-known at the time the singer-mulatto...
"My task was to reflect the final design. The client provided us with all the information about his family coat of arms and colors that would be applied to the back door, and engraved on a shaker for cocktails, wine glasses, etc. After negotiations with the client is the total collection of the workshop. It was attended by "tinsmith" main "derevyanschik" responsible for metal, paint department head and skin. At this meeting it worked out the final technical problem. It is noteworthy that all were dressed in white tuxedos and general manager, nearly 150 pound Frenchman also sported a black top hat... "
"In reality, most luxury" coach-builders "could not boast of large orders. At best, Van den Plas produced in week one car, while the total for its production took about three months. The majority of customers were the wealthy Englishmen, titled Belgians, and of course the rich people from all over the world too. They sought out and "collected" throughout Europe by any means. In London, the lion's share of customers we supplied the dealer Cadillac-Buick, the Spanish representative of Rolls-Royce, but in most of Belgium did a Mr. Andre Monmarts.
The main occupation of this always dressed immaculately dandy was spinning at the races, in bars and nightclubs, fishing rumors about those who are ripe for buying a new exclusive car. In particular, much of the information was obtained from the ladies of easy virtue with whom Andre has not established a hefty contacts. One of them was the famous "Mouche" or "Fly", constantly shuttling between London and Brussels. Thanks to her, we have a lot of cars were built...
Upon arrival, the client found himself in a rather unsightly wooden office Monsieur Antoine. If the buyer was from England or the States, I was immediately involved as a translator. But, one way or another, regardless of the origin of the customer, I contacted him and proceeded to outline sketches.
Many great men did not differ imagination and often would get exactly the same cars, as they use, but built on a new, more modern chassis. Their family color also remained unchanged, down to the last strip. Of course it was all rather boring. Sometimes their offspring yet departed from tradition, wanting to ride on something closer to a modern sports Bugatti and Mercedes SSK.
The problem was that most of the aristocrats at that time did not differ prosperity or simply were fisted. But many of them ordered the special cars and for their "friends." Not only that, while often they wished to remain in the shadows, so more often and frankly saved. Believe them was keep an eye financially. And watch out for those who are and who pays, on whose credit recorded machine was a delicate matter, and doing what Antoine and his accountant.
In the back room is always "dangled" about three dozen of my sketches-ready options and when I issued the moment, I threw a new, replacing their old ones.
Typically, the client can choose from a drawn. After choosing the basic model and its general form, calculation performed, after which we again sat down at the table and that's where the fun begins for me. We take into account any and all wishes of the client. But they are different. For example, the soft top is made of leather, painted in a shade that matches the color of the skin itself owner of the car! "
And this is no joke - this order was carried out for a well-known at the time the singer-mulatto...
"My task was to reflect the final design. The client provided us with all the information about his family coat of arms and colors that would be applied to the back door, and engraved on a shaker for cocktails, wine glasses, etc. After negotiations with the client is the total collection of the workshop. It was attended by "tinsmith" main "derevyanschik" responsible for metal, paint department head and skin. At this meeting it worked out the final technical problem. It is noteworthy that all were dressed in white tuxedos and general manager, nearly 150 pound Frenchman also sported a black top hat... "
And scandalously...
Van den Plas S.A. built machine on any chassis, including the most well-known at that time (in alphabetical order) Bentley, Benz, Buick, Cadillac, Excelsior, FIAT, Hispano-Suiza, Imperia, Isotta-Fraschini, Mercedes, Packard, Panhard, Rolls-Royce, Puch, Stutz and Voisin, and many others, however, as has been said, the lion's share of cars is still based on the chassis of "related» Minerva Belgian brand. Count himself identified five of the most memorable cars for him.
First it became convertible in 1927, built for the well-known at the time of the British polo team captain.
For this machine is different from the later became a hallmark de Sahnoffski "false-hood" - a trend that will develop only in the early 30's.
Alexis describes the evolution of his ideas:
"Already in the early 20's, I began to think about the design, where the hood would be disproportionately longer than necessary. The distance between the grille and the door to the reality has not changed, however, with the extension line of the bonnet to the windscreen of the car was transformed. While the majority of producers of luxury and all tried to make the hood on their own bodies shorter. Most often it is fairly narrow and place of transition in the wide body was frankly ugly. (On top of this place the hood junction with the body resembled a Latin letter S, and often "cover" spare wheels on the sides).
Fulfilling hood proportionally long and wide, we gave the whole body much more elegant look.
In the case of the Minerva, we also raised the grille, front fascia giving more solid massiveness. The car was painted in a pale blue color, while the pigskin, which was trimmed interior, tinted remained, but in natural color. The interior included a built-in bar made from a "satin" silver, while the front seats are folded to form a completely flat surface. "
It is this feature and was fatal to the machine.
"Just two months after its transfer to his great surprise, going to London, I saw her in the parking lot in a row for the sale of used cars on Bond Street. Here it is, my Minerva sky-blue color, is among the used cars! Everything was quite intriguing, if not tragic. Machine indirectly was the cause of the loud divorce, which is itself "culprit" for several months did not descend from the pages of "tabloid". Marriage polo player has cracked at the seams, and before he could get a new car, his wife hired detectives "caught" him in no uncertain situation in the woods with a gorgeous blonde singer. Our seats were folding, and as an additional proof, and as a separate subject for gossip. "Tabloids" relished the details, and the captain, of course, had no choice but to get rid of so bright and "light up" the car "...
First it became convertible in 1927, built for the well-known at the time of the British polo team captain.
For this machine is different from the later became a hallmark de Sahnoffski "false-hood" - a trend that will develop only in the early 30's.
Alexis describes the evolution of his ideas:
"Already in the early 20's, I began to think about the design, where the hood would be disproportionately longer than necessary. The distance between the grille and the door to the reality has not changed, however, with the extension line of the bonnet to the windscreen of the car was transformed. While the majority of producers of luxury and all tried to make the hood on their own bodies shorter. Most often it is fairly narrow and place of transition in the wide body was frankly ugly. (On top of this place the hood junction with the body resembled a Latin letter S, and often "cover" spare wheels on the sides).
Fulfilling hood proportionally long and wide, we gave the whole body much more elegant look.
In the case of the Minerva, we also raised the grille, front fascia giving more solid massiveness. The car was painted in a pale blue color, while the pigskin, which was trimmed interior, tinted remained, but in natural color. The interior included a built-in bar made from a "satin" silver, while the front seats are folded to form a completely flat surface. "
It is this feature and was fatal to the machine.
"Just two months after its transfer to his great surprise, going to London, I saw her in the parking lot in a row for the sale of used cars on Bond Street. Here it is, my Minerva sky-blue color, is among the used cars! Everything was quite intriguing, if not tragic. Machine indirectly was the cause of the loud divorce, which is itself "culprit" for several months did not descend from the pages of "tabloid". Marriage polo player has cracked at the seams, and before he could get a new car, his wife hired detectives "caught" him in no uncertain situation in the woods with a gorgeous blonde singer. Our seats were folding, and as an additional proof, and as a separate subject for gossip. "Tabloids" relished the details, and the captain, of course, had no choice but to get rid of so bright and "light up" the car "...
... And just unusual
Fortunately, the rest of the car remember the count of their most eminent customers and their unusual requests than scandals. Second Minerva also become convertible, but the 1929 release, made for the Indian Maharaja bottom. Its interior was decorated with painted in deep black color monitor lizards, together with a very rare and expensive "black" tree. It contrasted with the gilding of natural precious metal. Goddess brand logo on the radiator grille has been replaced with brand emblem Maharaja.
Third commemorative car was a coupe by 20 horsepower Rolls-Royce chassis. It does so not isolated, except for the actual customer who was Adrian Conan Doyle - the son of the creator of "Sherlock Holmes."
But the other two machines were much more original:
"One of our regular customers was Prince de Lin, a member of one of the oldest Belgian families. He was an avid hunter and after detailed consultation I have developed an unusual car for him. The base was the biggest Minerva chassis type phaeton. The windscreen, as well as machine sides were grossly underestimated, and the wings are made by individual "cycling" type. The standard at the time steps in the database, we have removed, while the massive frame at the edges of the flange covered, and on the sides of the body to do two "hidden" steps through which the passenger compartment can be exposed without the use of doors. Outside it was also made under the special shelf rifle.
The most "juicy" that the whole body was made in the form of polished aluminum and the interior is sheathed in red leather. Frankly, the use of the long wheelbase luxury chassis on dirt roads of the Belgian Congo, it is doubtful in terms of practicality and comfort, but I was crazy, imagining how should sparkle and shine this car under the scorching African sun... "
In another car it was more of an aesthetic whim of the customer:
"One day I was discussing the order with a rather spectacular bohemian brunette. Her manners and clothes were talking about prosperity, but I was particularly "perplexed" her strong Slavic accent. She ordered the car on behalf of her husband, a famous artist. Bases served large sedan Rolls-Royce and a short gig Isotta-Fraschini. Both cars were to be "finished" in color "ivory" with huge family coat of arms on the doors, made from self-colored "silver."
But the main feature was to be the interior of the skin "under the pressure of a strawberry," in which "belt line" division, as well as the armrests had to be finished in one piece elephant tusks! When I doubted that even the biggest tusks enough for the width of the planned finish, she said, it will provide enough tusks, brought them with her husband to their final African safari... Further more.
In the rear of the center of the roof of the sedan cabin made of all the same elephant tusk rosette should marry tidy up the folds painted in pale pink skin, thereby producing the effect of sunlight. As if sometimes I did not like the unusual, or even kitsch idea some customers - all this was a good experience in design...
According to her, her husband said that he lacks the "vertical" review in a sedan. Having a desire to see the mountains and the sky, he wanted to part of the roof was made clear, and not from behind, and just right for the windshield! We have produced machines for clear-approved specifications and, as it turned out, I did not communicate with anyone else but with Nina Mediavi!" (We are talking about the famous" black widow ", a Georgian princess).
However, all this was only the beginning of the glorious path of Count Alexis de Sahnoffski as a car designer. Ahead is a story about how a Russian immigrant came to America, and partly because of design tricks, with which he "cheated" of the chapter Packard Board of Directors, as well as one of the most famous cars in the history of automotive design, "bygone" recently with auction for nearly $ 2.5 million...
Photo: coachbuilt.com and open source
