Gentlemen Drivers

Gentlemen Drivers To celebrate drivers, cars, designers, racing competitions and style of the past, present and future!
Venezia, Italy

Tale definizione viene principalmente usata, dalla fine del XIX secolo, per indicare gli appassionati di automobilismo, appartenenti alle famiglie altolocate, che contrariamente alla consuetudine preferivano guidare personalmente l'automobile, attività considerata all'epoca scarsamente dignitosa per un aristocratico e generalmente affidata ad uno chauffeur. L'espressione, però, ha radici più antic

he e, precedentemente all'avvento dell'automobile, veniva utilizzata per indicare i giovani di buona famiglia che scorrazzavano nelle vie cittadine, con leggeri calesse trainati da veloci cavalli, sottintendendo una loro vita spensierata da gaudenti e donnaioli, parimenti al detto italiano "correre la cavallina". A partire dagli anni pionieristici dell'automobilismo, e per molti decenni, i gentleman-driver furono i principali protagonisti dell'industria e dello sport automobilistici, spesso dilapidando immensi patrimoni nel tentativo di realizzare un'automobile più veloce delle precedenti o di applicarvi una nuova soluzione tecnica. Il più noto e importante gentleman-driver è certamente il conte francese Jules-Albert De Dion che si rivelò appassionato pilota, ma anche geniale inventore e valente imprenditore. Tra i gentleman-driver italiani si ricordano gli amici torinesi Emanuele di Bricherasio e Cesare Goria Gatti che insieme fondarono l'Accomandita Ceirano e la FIAT, o i compagni d'università padovani Giacomo Miari e Francesco Giusti che fondarono la prima casa automobilistica italiana, nel 1894. In ambito sportivo, tra i moltissimi gentleman-driver, si ricordano il francese André Dubonnet che negli anni venti si faceva confezionare, per le competizioni, vere e proprie dream car come la "Tulipwood" o, in tempi più recenti, il conte Giannino Marzotto, munifico cliente di Enzo Ferrari e valido pilota in gare prestigiose come la Mille Miglia, che vinse nel 1950 e nel 1953, precedendo sul traguardo temibili concorrenti del calibro di Fangio e Bonetto. Il gentleman-driver è oggi semplicemente sinonimo di pilota non professionista, visto che lo sport automobilistico, per gli elevati costi che comporta, viene prevalentemente praticato da persone di famiglie altolocate che possano sostenerne l'onere economico.

• MONTE CARLO. 3,337 km where legend never ends. 🇲🇨🏁 There is a place in the world where time stands still once a year, ...
05/06/2026

• MONTE CARLO. 3,337 km where legend never ends. 🇲🇨🏁 There is a place in the world where time stands still once a year, where the roar of engines echoes between historic palaces and yachts moored under the sun, where champagne and adrenaline blend in the air as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

It is not the fastest car that wins here. It is the one whose driver can tame their machine to the millimeter, forging a silent pact with every corner, every barrier, every centimeter of uneven asphalt. There are no run-offs: only walls, history and the highest pressure in world motorsport.

In the tunnel, the light vanishes without warning and darkness swallows you at 270 km/h. At the Nouvelle Chicane you brake from over 280 and if the balance is not perfect, the wall lets you know immediately. At the Fairmont Hairpin, the slowest corner in Formula 1, full lock and trust that traction does its job. Every meter is a decision. Every lap is a masterpiece of engineering and courage.

Senna understood this better than anyone. He drove in the rain as if the track were whispering directions in his ear. Prost and Lauda fought against perfection itself, Schumacher seemed to defy the laws of physics. Monaco has witnessed everything and forgets nothing.

But there is something unique about this place that goes beyond competition. It is the atmosphere. It is waking up to free practice echoing through the narrow streets of the Principality, having lunch steps from the paddock, the night at the Casino giving way to the first light of shakedown morning. The only place on earth where luxury and danger coexist so naturally, where glamour becomes extreme sport.

Because here, glory is not won on the straight. It is won centimeter by centimeter, breathing inches from the wall, with the focus of a surgeon and the heart of a gladiator.

Centimeters from the wall. Centimeters from legend.

Drop a “Part 2” in the comments if you want more

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05/06/2026

• During the Monaco Grand Prix of 1988, Ayrton Senna was so far in the lead of the race that he was told to “slow down” on a radio message from his team. 🚀❤️

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• There’s just something magical about Michael Schumacher, late 90s early 00s, Monaco GP, the red Ferrari livery, the de...
04/06/2026

• There’s just something magical about Michael Schumacher, late 90s early 00s, Monaco GP, the red Ferrari livery, the deep blue Mediterranean & that V10 note 🇲🇨 Rate this!

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• 28 years later, Érik returns to where it all began… by the road for the GT 🚀✨ March 1998, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza...
04/06/2026

• 28 years later, Érik returns to where it all began… by the road for the GT 🚀✨ March 1998, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. For the very first time, a Nissan R390 GT1 Long Tail fires up its engine on track and Érik Comas is behind the wheel.

The extended tail, the redesigned aerodynamics, the gearbox cooling finally sorted after the troubles at Le Mans ’97: everything starts here, on this very asphalt. Nobody, in that moment, could have imagined what was about to follow.

May 2026, same circuit. Érik drives here by road for the GT World Challenge Europe with something the crowd in the grandstands can barely believe they are seeing: chassis 009 from Le Mans 1998, restored to 95% of its original race specification and now road-registered, laps the circuit once more in a demonstration run.

Same car. Same driver. Twenty-eight years on.

But it is the livery that tells the whole story. Not the Le Mans colours. The Pennzoil yellow and black, a capsule of his Japanese racing career at its peak: the colours of his two consecutive JGTC titles with the Skyline R33 in 1998 and the R34 in 1999, wrapped across the bodywork of the endurance prototype that lived through those same years on another continent entirely. An idea born from a sketch between Comas and designer Benoit Fraylon that captures, in a single glance, the full arc of a driver and an era.

A capsule of his Japanese racing career peak

⚙️ 3.5L twin-turbo V8 · up to 1,000 hp · carbon fibre chassis · Xtrac sequential gearbox · Long Tail bodywork

🏆 Le Mans 1998: 3rd, 5th and 6th overall | JGTC Champion ’98 and ’99 | F1: 63 Grand Prix starts

Some stories do not end with the chequered flag.
They continue on public roads, twenty-eight years later, with that same roar in your chest!

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04/06/2026

• During the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix, Max Verstappen shared a funny and surprisingly low-key moment when he visited a local barber before the race weekend. 😂 Not recognising who he was, the barber casually asked if he’d be coming for the Grand Prix, only for Verstappen to calmly reply, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, l’ll be here,” creating a moment that quickly became amusing once it was clear he was one of the drivers everyone had come to see.

The clip captured a rare glimpse of Verstappen before he became one of Formula One’s biggest global stars, still able to move around Monaco without constantly being recognised.

It’s a small but memorable moment that highlights both how much his profile has grown and how even elite drivers can still enjoy ordinary interactions away from the track.

Do you remember it?

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• Success looks like... Alain Delon riding on Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris - looking at the Arc de Triomphe throug...
03/06/2026

• Success looks like... Alain Delon riding on Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris - looking at the Arc de Triomphe through the rearview mirror and escorted by cameramotors and police! 💙✨ On Sept 15, 1991, which was Ettore Bugatti’s 110th birthday, the Bugatti EB110 was unveiled at La Défense, Paris.

Hosted by actor Alain Delon, the launch drew around 10,000 people, including invited guests and members of the public.

The event also featured early prototypes and a dramatic EB110 GT reveal, followed by a motorcade through Paris.

This marked Bugatti’s grand return after decades of dormancy, reestablishing the legendary brand as a pioneer of cutting-edge supercar technology!

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• Luxury with a roar 🦁 Porsche 911 GT3 RS by 🚸 Follow
03/06/2026

• Luxury with a roar 🦁 Porsche 911 GT3 RS by

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02/06/2026

• In 1991, the Best Motoring team tested the newly released 964 generation Porsche 911 Turbo at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, setting a fastest lap time of 8:08.73. 🚀✨
This test was conducted by Motoharu Kurozawa, known as
“Gan-san,” who drove the car on the challenging 20-kilometer track, which features 154 turns and significant elevation changes.

The lap time was achieved with the 964 Turbo 3.3, which was powered by a 3.3-liter flat-six turbo engine producing
320 PS (315 bhp).

The record is still untouched to this day.

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🎥 Best Motoring

• Ayrton Senna had never driven an offshore powerboat. A few hours later, he was pushing one past 212 km/h (132 mph) acr...
01/06/2026

• Ayrton Senna had never driven an offshore powerboat. A few hours later, he was pushing one past 212 km/h (132 mph) across the water. 🚤 🇧🇷 But the most incredible part of this story isn’t the speed.

It’s how he got there.

It all began in Cattolica, at La Lampara restaurant, the evening after the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix. Norberto Ferretti and Luca Ferrari were celebrating their win in the Italian Offshore Championship when Senna admitted he had never been on an offshore boat before.

The next day, he was already at sea.

A nearly 14 meter carbon-fiber racing catamaran powered by twin Lamborghini V12 engines producing over 1,800 horsepower combined.

For the first few minutes, he simply observed and studied. Then he did what he always did: he learned instantly and adapted immediately.

Slaloms, direction changes, increasingly aggressive lines.

When he moved to the throttles, the pace stepped up without hesitation. 120 mph, then even more.

But what struck everyone on board wasn’t the speed.

It was his sensitivity.

Within minutes, he had already figured out how to adjust the setup to make the boat more effective. He could feel it, anticipate it.

In calm seas, the Giesse-Ferretti reached around 130 mph.

Over 212 km/h on water.

A number that still feels unreal today.

Ferretti was especially impressed by his throttle control: precise, instinctive, perfectly timed the moment the hull began to lift onto the plane.

It wasn’t experience.

It was talent.

At the end of the run, Senna smiled:

“In F1 you work to keep the car glued to the ground. Here, you have to make the boat fly.”

Then he added:

“It’s a shame the sea was so calm. I would have loved to race through the waves.”

And perhaps that’s the whole story.

Not that he drove an 1,800-horsepower boat at 212 km/h.

But that it only took him a few minutes to understand it!

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• Racing Miura ❤️‍🔥 1968/1975 Miura SVR, chassis *3781, is a one-off built by the factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese in 197...
31/05/2026

• Racing Miura ❤️‍🔥 1968/1975 Miura SVR, chassis *3781, is a one-off built by the factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese in 1975.

This car began life as a Miura S and was first shown at the 1968 Turin Motor Show before being sold in Italy.

In 1974, it was bought, as used, in Germany by Heinz Steber, who returned it to the factory asking them to build him a very special “racing” Miura.

By 1975, after 18 months of work, Steber drove the car for a while, before selling it to a Japanese collector.

Remained in Japanese ownership ever since, in 2016 has been purchased by the current owner, Who entrusted Lamborghini Polo Storico of a complete restoration to return the car exactly as delivered in 1975.

Do you like it?

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📷 .dargegen


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