Classic Threads – Suixtil and postwar racing

With the end of the Second World War in 1945, both the victors and vanquished worked to regain a sense of normalcy that had been lost with the start of the tragic conflict in 1939. Like most sporting endeavors, it took some time for motor racing to regain its antebellum popularity although there was – without doubt – a desire for countries to do battle on the track rather than on the countrysides of Europe.

In that context, motor racing blossomed as it merged factors that were never before brought together in such an alchemistic manner to exceed the sum of their parts:

• The races themselves: all over the world, in both glamorous (Cuba, Monaco, Caracas) and non-descript (Rouen, Solitude – in Germany) locations either because of historic or political reasons. Races took any format whether “street races” or (re)purpose-build (often badly) tracks of badly maintained roads if that. They had two made definitions, as either “grand prix”, pre-set distances or laps ran with open-wheels purpose-build cars, or “endurance”, pre-defined (long) durations or distances such as the 24 hours of Le Mans, the 12 hours of Sebring, the 1000 Miglia or the TC races in Argentina (that could stretch over 5,000 kilometers) to be raced with “production” cars.
• The machines: while Taylorism brought with it the advent of mass-production – and the correlated surrendering of some measure of individualism, car manufacturing retained then, at its fringe, some measure of artistry. The constructors that dreamt these machines were kept afloat by sheer passion, wealthy patrons or some measure of financial successes brought by their results in competition and the attendant attention that resulted, some manufacturers strove to create race cars that would win. In so doing, and pursuing in the line that had been opened (and would be recaptured) by Mercedes-Benz with streamlining in the late ‘30s, they developed some achingly beautiful machines that were designed with the exclusive goal (barring any others) of harnessing some new levels of power-to-weight, giving people at the wheel the ability to regularly reach speeds that had before then been incomprehensible on earth. To think that in a little over a generation (30 years), top speeds went from 45 to 200 mph. While some of the brands then established strove to great achievements (on and off the tracks) built on those solid foundations and testing years, a few merely survived and are today, under the gloss of apparent glory, but ghosts of their former selves while most disappeared as they could not reconcile themselves to the transition to an era of hyper-reality and financial realism.
• The racers: were they gods, certainly not as their mortality attest. Were they devils, they could not be, given their daredevil qualities. Were they simply men, then? Impossible – how could they have accomplished so much and their names lived so long. They were heroes, earth-bound Icaruses who flew like the wind, consumed by a passion for speed and the emulation brought by their peers. They were artists seeing lines at 180 miles an hour that would have escaped the eagle-eyed and knowing, most times, just how far their machines could be pushed. They were uniquely versatile, capable of dominating their machines completely and demonstrating the range of their talents across both car marques and types of races. They were great technicians, able to discern the slightest shortcoming of their steeds and capable of diving under those hoods and fixing them on the fly. They were men in full, having experienced life (and sometimes near-death) to the fullest, some of them blossoming at legendary drivers at an age beyond what we can understand by today’s standard. They had the right stuff, courage and fortitude and a moral compass that always pointed in the right direction. They were chivalrous and gentlemanly without being forced, and the anecdotes that illustrate that (from Peter Collins giving up his car out of respect to Fangio, El Maestro, while leading in the points for the ’56 world title, or Sir Stirling forcing the reinstatement of Hawthorn in Porto because it is the right thing to do and thereby forgoing his ’58 world title by a single point) can only make us long for such characters today. They were raucous, loud and boisterous as their engines and never slowed down. They’ll live forever for their deeds and the inspiration they have become for generations afterwards.

Maurice Trintingnant at the 1961 Watkins Glen Grand Prix

Across all these, one (not so) common thread: Suixtil. Borne out of the passion of its founder (and that would not survive his demise) the brand and grown into a well-respected ready-to-wear fashion brand in Argentina. At that point, M. Rudmann felt he could finally indulge his passion for car racing. He first helped JM Fangio by buying him the first Chevrolet that would allow him to race competitively (he was, before then, a 35 years old truck driver from Balcarce), then going on with JF Gonzalez when he chipped in for the acquisition of a proper Maserati and finally helping the first Argentinian racing team sent to Europe to compete in the original Formula 1 championship that was to become the original Escuderia Suixtil.

Sir Stirling Moss dressed in his iconic Suixtil racing shirt

That team, Fangio, Gonzalez, Onofre Marimon and Benedicto Campos was going to take Europe by storm. Used to competing in substandard conditions across the aforementioned grueling TC races, they suddenly found themselves equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, the preparation of which they jealously oversaw. The results were immediate and astounding and the team, with their South American bonhomie, made light of it all and celebrated it all like they celebrated life itself with an intensity no one knew. The constructors rushed to secure the Argentinians’ services – and were handsomely rewarded for their foresight! The other drivers took note as well, and soon enough, either out of respect or hoping for some of these great graces to rub-off, most of the paddock could be seen sporting the unmistakable blue pants and other assorted pieces of specially made kit (another first) to their own successes. Consequently, the brand became universal on the podiums during those days and it is near impossible to count the victories it got associated with, though the present team is busy rebuilding a photographic archives of it all.

Revived over 7 years ago, the Suixtil brand capitalizes on an unrivalled DNA to recapture, through its carefully crafted merchandise, the indomitable spirit that it encapsulated so well during that era and that represents such a refreshing sight in today’ blandness brought about by fast-fashion. Because, you know, style, like character (and these heroes had it in spades when they invented “cool” without even trying – you just didn’t back then) just doesn’t go out of fashion.

Who wore Suixtil?

By Vincent Metais, Managing Director of Suixtil Ltd.