Description
Gordini was born in Italy. He was a young boy when he became fascinated with automobiles and racing. In his early teens, he worked as a mechanic for Alfieri Maserati. After serving in the Italian army during World War I, in 1926 he settled in Paris, France and raced cars for Fiat in Grand Prix motor racing events and at the 24 hours of Le Mans.
In the 1930s he joined with SIMCA to improve their engines and eventually founded the Gordini company to build a line of sports cars for racing. In the 1940s, his son Aldo joined his racing team as a mechanic and occasional driver.
Called the “sorcerer”, he breathed Grand Prix performance into regular engines, a feat no one believed possible.
After World War II, obtaining financial support for racing became increasingly difficult and Gordini’s long relationship with SIMCA ended in 1956.
During the 1950’s Gordini racing cars accomplished unbelievable performances, often equalling or bettering that of much better funded racing companies such as Ferrari and Maserati, let alone anything made in the UK at the time. Jean Behra along others drove this inline 4-cylinder racing car to amazing successes. Gene Wallingford may have had the color wrong (it was painted in a much lighter tone of blue) but he captured perfectly the compact aspect of the car, unfortunately now missing its original driver. It is powered by a Pittmann motor with a custom axle bracket. The chassis is vary basic, consisting of a front-axle bracket/guide pin affixed to the back of the motor. The dashboard is fully detailed and the car retains a charm that modern models simply do not have.
