Barlow Simca breaks cover

Paddock Patter from Laguna Seca

On display in the paddock at the Rolex Monterey Motorport Reunion at Laguna Seca, August 17-19 2023, was the bright blue Barlow Simca 8 Special (http://dmtrg.com/2022/12/18/barlow-simca-8-special-1951/), the Pebble Beach 1951 Class 6 (that’s the 1500cc class) winner. Since buying it in 2022 Rob Manson has fully restored this rare motor vehicle; its race debut will be at the Velocity Invitational in November 2023 with Slim Pepperdene driving.

Now, about that colour. Of course you remember that the early Simca production cars, like the Simca 1000 from 1961-1978, were offered in “Bleu Pervenche “ (Egg-shell Blue), quite a light blue. Not so the racing Simcas… “Bleu de France” (Blue of France) is the colour traditionally used to represent France. Blue has been used in the heraldry of the French monarchy since at least the 12th century, with the golden fleurs-de-lis of the kings always set on a blue (heraldic “azure”) background.

A brighter version, based on the blue of the French Tricolour flag, is used in modern times, particularly in a sporting context. French national teams in all sports will normally use blue as their main colour. Blue is certainly France’s national motor racing colour; therefore, several French motorsport teams have used it, including Alpine, Amilcar, Ballot, Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Gordini, Ligier, Mathis, Matra, Panhard, Pescarolo Sport, Peugeot, Prost Grand Prix, Rondeau, Salmson, Talbot-Lago, and Voisin. Exceptions? Renault’s F1 yellow springs to mind.

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Marcus Bicknell Sep 12, 2023