Supercars
by Rudolf van der Ven
“When writing a book daftly called ‘Supercars,’ one inevitable result is an avalanche of debate about whether or not a car is an actual supercar and if it has a place in this book. What is a supercar, really? Where’s the line between a sports car and a supercar?”
Well, where indeed?
And right with his first choice, Belgian photographer van der Ven pours oil into the fire by saying the Lamborghini Miura is but the Mercedes 300 SL is not, part of his argument being that grand tourers just don’t have “It.” That said, the Mercedes SLR and SLS do make the cut, as do the BMW Z8 or Acura NSX. Most of the 50 cars in this book really brook no argument except the one that so many more examples could have been included rather than showing more than one model of certain marques.
C’mon, you recognize this one . . . no other [modern] car has that exposed gear linkage.
This being a car and not a photography book, van der Ven doesn’t go into much technical detail about the photographic technique he showcases here: light-painting. What readers will like is that it is eminently accessible to anyone with a camera, a source of artificial light, basic equipment such as a tripod, and space to move around the car while shining the light on it. A looong expose does the trick, up to a minute even; it is variable depending on the effect you want to achieve and van der Ven actually uses a long exposure on the short side, only 4–10 seconds. It is not uncommon in car photography and clearly suits his sensibility: “I want to create mystique, rather than show all the details.”
A perfect example of van der Ven’s “I want to create mystique, rather than show all the details” style. Of course with this car you only have to catch a glimpse of that rounded grille to know what this is.
The cars are presented in chronological order, divided by decade. The earliest is that 1966 Miura and the newest a 2022 Aston Martin Vantage. We mentioned already that van der Ven is based in Belgium and you might be tempted to think that his selection was influenced or self-limited by the fact that not everything under the sun happens to be available in little ole Belgium. But, he did have a shooting list, and he did travel, to the UK, Switzerland, Italy but, also true, there are instances were Targets of Opportunity presented themselves in dealer showrooms or private collections. Again, it doesn’t really matter anyway because the book would have had the same look and feel if other cars were in it.
Each is discussed on a page or two: basic history, specs, the occasional driving impression. A recurring theme is that of camaraderie among those who play with these cars. The easygoing conversational stye, in polished English to boot, does not diminish that they are serious and discerning about their cars (or stock in trade). At 13″ tall and over 9.5″ wide the book is the typically opulent Lannoo production; the satin paper lends itself well to cutting down reflections both in the reproduction of the photos and ambient light surrounding the reader but it is not entirely smudge-resistant.
The fact that the book’s straight spine prevents it from opening fully flat means detail gets swallowed in the gutter which in this type of photo book really compromises the composition. Incidentally, this is a rather rare Countach, a 5000S.
If van der Ven’s photos ring your bell, you can order on his website prints in different series (called Collections) distinguished by different sizes and finishes ranging from a few hundred to several thousands of dollars. Of course he takes commissions!
And if Shmee is still on your brain, know that he published his own book, Living the Supercar Dream (2016). And, no, you can’t visit the Shmuseum.
Copyright 2024, Sabu Advani (speedreaders.info).
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