Next week sees the publication of the tenth issue of Autódromo, the superior classic car magazine from Spain, and on its front cover we see El Professor Ignacio Barraquer standing proudly beside the magnificent Mercedes Benz 540K Autobahn-Kurier which he bought new in 1938. The lady seen sitting in the Alfa Romeo RL ‘Targa Florio’ is his wife Josefa and we suspect her expression and her polka dot frock do not accurately display her character. You can read about Professor Barraquer’s career as an Ophthalmologist and his important contrubutions to cataract surgery and we sense his wife is an example of the saying, “Behind every great man stands a great woman.”
Imagine being asked to pack for a road trip in the new Mercedes which took in Spain, North Africa, across Libya to Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt. She took it all in her stride and when the enormous 8 cylinder engine’s head gasket blew in the Libyan desert, she calmly fed her husband shade and water whilst he fitted a new one.
Another picture shows Barraquer in a C. 1906 Peugeot Lion. A chain drive monster with no front wheel brakes indicates this man had a passion for motoring which lasted all his life. His son Joaquin remembers…”My father like to drive fast, and I sat comfortably and without a care in the world beside him, hitting 170 km per hour. It was a car he really enjoyed which he used as much as possible…”
The other contents of this issue of Autódromo include;
- Agustín de Vizcaya, related to Bugatti in Spain, and also maker of his own cars.
- History of Inauto, a spanish coachbuilder which built DKW vans under license from Auto Union.
- History of JJ Cobas (1st part), the famous Spanish racing motorbikes company.
- Racing history in Spain of Porsche 911R chassis 11899009R.
(Text Robin Batchelor, pictures courtesy Autódromo)