Menu
Sep
05
Soon after finding a moment of piece with an adorable MG TF, the tarmac turned into a gravel road, which ended at the Roald Amundsen Vei. Instead of turning left, we decided to follow the signs to Roald Amundsens Hjem. Halfway there we found something we never expected to see in rural Norway, but rather somewhere south of the Alps.
Jul
13
After showing you a selection of the cool Volvos found at Gatebil 2014 and featuring Christians’ 960 wagon, a question kept popping up: what exactly makes a Volvo cool? And if you managed to make it cool… do you have to call it a Voolvo? Let’s try to figure out the recipe for Volvo coolness!
Jul
12
… and others are more easy to spot and take pictures of. OK, I admit that the stunning BMW E30 M3 I posted yesterday set the bar very high. Nonetheless, here is a selection of Munichs’ finest for you to enjoy. Let’s start with a pair of unmolested classics we found in Tomter, en route to the Gatebil event location.
Jul
11
Trundling along the beautiful Norwegian back country roads at a leisurely pace of 80 km/h is relaxing. Cruising around a corner and finding a classic Bentley Corniche Coupé next to the road instantly turned the attention from sightseeing mode to Drive-by Snapshots excitement.
Jul
11
A winding back country road in rural Norway on a beautiful summer day. The sun is shining, the bees are flying and the birds are singing. Well, they might be singing but… what actually reaches your eardrums is an entirely different symphony. One featuring sounds emitted from fresh air rushing through the carbon fiber intake system, feeding the engine via individual throttle bodies, exploding ferociously and being emitted through an exhaust system, finely tuned to trigger daydreams of an era long gone.
Jul
11
The pace on Norwegian roads is slow. You have plenty of time to look around while driving – which slows you down even more. But as long as the reason for traveling at such a snails’ pace is such a clean Ford Cortina Mk1 GT… we don’t mind at all. Having a smile on our faces was well worth the taking a little break. So, as you would expect, we stopped and took a couple of pictures. Enjoy!
Jun
20
As promised in the previous post featuring the Snatch Panda, there are going to be a couple of posts containing more sport-orientated vehicles. First one up is the Porsche 935 Kremer K3 in the famous Vaillant livery. The car was parked in the fenced-off area where members of the Porsche Club Great Britain camped, a mere hundred meters away from the famous Porsche curve of the Circuit de la Sarthe. Unfortunately the security guard wasn’t the most sympathetic person and was neither understanding nor especially helpful. Therefore, I could only snap a few pictures through the fence 🙁
Jun
15
There are many reasons why I love France. One of them is the fact, that the French do not immediately dismount the pumps after a petrol station goes out of business. Instead they just display the lowest possible price on the signpost, call it a day and wander off to play a game of Pétanque with their friends, enjoying a glass of red wine.
Feb
18
It just happens sometimes, that you are in the right spot at the right time. Imagine walking past a vintage Shell petrol pump that is blocked by a boring new car, thinking you mustn’t forget to take a picture of it on the way back. And as you walk back an hour later after a cup of baie lekker hot chocolate and a biscuit, there is a matching vehicle parked right next to it. In this case a yellow Datsun 1200 GX with beautiful patina. A couple of minutes later it was gone again. This really happened in Pilgrims Rest, back in 2007 – imagine the smile it put on my face! 🙂
Jan
02
In December 2007, we decided to spend a weekend in Swaziland. For a more adventurous feeling, we decided to take the scenic route and enter the country via the Bulembu border post. We refueled the car at a Caltex station in Barberton, where I found this bright blue Ford Cortina Bakkie. The tow truck conversion was neatly executed and the vehicle looked to be in good shape, despite it’s obvious age. The owner was wondering why on earth I would like to take pictures of his old bakkie, but granted his approval. Thank you, sir.
Jan
01
Early October 2013, on our way from Glasgow to Kilchrenan. We stopped briefly at Loch Lomond to take a quick look around.
The day was cold and grey, but the Volkswagen T3 Camper we found in the parking lot was beautifully painted with bright colors.
Sep
21
RD 6089 near Terrasson-Lavilledieu, on a grey morning. Cruising along with the local traffic… I spotted something based on the Renault Trafic on the side of the road: the Winnebago LeSharo. I have always liked how the French design of the base vehicle integrates well with the American style camper body. If you look at other Winnebago motorhomes of the same period, you can even see a familiar resemblance. Being flanked by a US-spec Peugeot 504 Break was a nice coincidence. The dealer had many other interesting vehicles for sale, some of which you will sooner or later find here at Drive-by Snapshots.
Read More»
Apr
24
Cars parked under trees in South Africa
BMW / Drive-by Snapshots / Ford / Mercedes-Benz / Mini / Porsche / Renault / South Africa / Toyota Posted by Sebastian
/
0 comments
Sometimes, coincidences are funny. While finishing this blog post for publication, a friend sent me a link to an article over at speedhunters.com. Keith Charvonia wrote a great piece about finding project cars in the local neighborhoods of Tuscon, Arizona. I really love the article, because it described exactly what I’ve been doing for the last decade and a half: taking pictures of cars found along the roadside, without actually getting out of the car. Here is what I found during a one-week trip in South Africa. Albeit shot in various locations, all the pictures have one thing in common: the cars are parked under a tree.
Jun
06
In June 2010 we took the scenic route through the Gorges du Tarn. Climbing out of the canyon and heading towards Le Puy, we drove past a service station somewhere in the rural Département Lozère. As always, I immediately slowed down to take a closer look and was once more rewarded by finding something rather unusual: a leftover WWII Willys MB Jeep that has been cross-bred with a Renault R4. The bodywork of the conversion looked very professional and is actually very clever, because the region sees a lot of snow in winter. Judging by the faded red paint and the rotating light on the roof, it might have once belonged to the local fire department. The markings on the left door indicate that it may have been used by the local garage as well, probably as a service or recovery vehicle?
May
18
Discovering the Bretagne region in France is always a stunning experience: the wild coast, the important landmarks, unique rock formations and then some more. Driving from one interesting spot to the other never gets boring. Around every corner you turn, there is something of historical significance waiting to be looked at. Being a car aficionado that loves to take Drive-by Snapshots, I always make sure to look out for interesting vehicles. However, sometimes the interesting stuff is not around a corner at all, but rather right within your focal vision.
Sep
12
There are a number of songs with that or very similar titles that instantly came to my mind while sorting pictures from a 2009 trip to the French Atlantic coast. We spotted this Ford Transit Mk1 camper van in Hossegor. Looking forward is aided by a classic roof mounted spotlight and a set of (not really period-correct) Hella Micro FF fog lights… while looking backwards isn’t really that easy with a missing rear-view mirror. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to speak to the owner if this beautiful camper was in original condition or if it has been restored.
Sep
12
The perfect travel companion? Should be able to go anywhere while carrying all the things you might need there. Oh… and providing ample sleeping space and a fridge to keep the drinks cool wouldn’t hurt either. This immaculate Volkswagen T3 Syncro Westfalia camper ticks all the right boxes and comes quite close to being the perfect travel companion, doesn’t it?
Oct
20
Diving in Sodwana Bay always means getting up very early, before sunrise. The boats, divers and their equipment are shuttled from the diving base near the dune to the waterfront. A tough job in sun, sand and salt. Most diving companies use late model bakkies or 4x4s. Ocean Divers Pretoria still uses a Series III Land Rover, which has been rebuilt a couple of years ago. The vehicle is in good overall shape with lovely patina, but rust caused by the saltwater is already visible again on the drivetrain and suspension components. Thank you for keeping the old Landy alive!
Jun
09
Imagine a sizzling hot day early in June, with temperatures well over 30°C and no wind whatsoever. We are cruising through the pine forests between Biarritz and Bordeaux at a leisurely pace with the windows and sunroof wide open. The loudspeakers of the trusty old Mercedes play a tune most Germans immediately associate with childhood memories of family summer vacations.
