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Two prewar racing cars loaded onto a covered transporter at the end of the day

Two prewar racers

Race numbers still on the bodywork: they leave one event for the next.

Full side view of the enclosed transporter, both decks open, in a forest

Both decks open

Every car on board has its own deck, its own straps and its own number.

Two crew members closing the gullwing door of a Mercedes 300 SL

Closing the door

A gullwing door is heavy and hinges at the roof. Two people close it, one holds the frame.

Cream Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing on the lower deck, side doors of the transporter open

Cream on the lower deck

Painted the colour it left the factory. Everything about the loading assumes that stays true.

Man photographing a white Mercedes SLS AMG on the transporter before unloading

Photographed on arrival

The state of the car is recorded before it moves. It is the only version everyone agrees on.

Red period Mercedes van aboard an enclosed transporter

Period van

A vintage commercial gets the same lashing as a sports saloon.

Car transporter with side doors open, Ferraris aboard

Side doors

Side access saves pulling cars out to reach the one at the back.

Rear of a red Ferrari Testarossa inside the transporter at a circuit

Still on board

Between two sessions the car goes back inside rather than sit in the paddock.

Closed transporter parked under the arches of the Cinquantenaire in Brussels

Under the arch

Closed on arrival. What is inside is not announced to the square.

Prewar Bugatti coupé on the transporter deck, side doors open, arch behind

Bugatti under the arch

A car of this rarity is unloaded where it will be shown, and nowhere in between.

Wooden steering wheel and dashboard gauges of a prewar Bugatti

Wood and dials

No servo, no synchromesh, a handbrake outside the body. Driving it aboard is a skill of its own.

Front of a yellow AMG GT Black Series loaded in an enclosed trailer

Before closing up

A last look inside: one car, four straps, nothing else aboard.

Audi Sport quattro S1 coming down the ramps of an enclosed transporter

On the ramps

Low ground clearance, calculated gradient: the S1 comes out without touching.

Citroën DS in orange road-safety livery inside an enclosed transporter

Original livery

A road-safety DS on its way to an exhibition, decals intact.

White Citroën DS in a small enclosed truck under the Cinquantenaire colonnade

Under the colonnade

A small enclosed truck parks where a semi-trailer would never be allowed.

Red prewar Bugatti roadster half covered by a dark tarpaulin on the transporter

Half covered

An open car keeps its cover until the last minute, even inside a closed truck.

Front of a black prewar Bugatti coupé with horseshoe grille inside a transporter

The horseshoe grille

Every panel on this car was beaten by hand. There is no supplier for a replacement.

Red prewar Bugatti roadster on the upper deck of a transporter, ramps down

Upper deck

Up top, out of reach and out of the way. It comes down last, when the square is clear.

Classic drophead coupé inside an enclosed trailer

Under cover

An eighty-year-old body sees daylight again only on arrival.

Vintage motorcycles strapped on the upper deck of a transporter

Top deck

A motorcycle does not travel lying down: it stands, wheels chocked.

Streamlined grey prewar Bugatti on the lower deck, side of the transporter open

Streamlined body

Bodywork drawn for speed in the nineteen thirties, on a deck drawn for it seventy years later.

Two prewar Bugattis on the two decks, seen through the open side of the transporter

Two on board

The side opens along the whole length, so a car can be reached without moving its neighbour.

Front of a black prewar Bugatti grand prix car with twin aero screens on the deck

Grand prix car

Cable brakes, a bolster tank, almost no bodywork. Strapped by the tyres, like the rest.

Crew member strapping an electric SUV to a transporter deck

Electric SUV

A new car gets the same precautions as an old one.

Photographs 145–168 of 238