This 1958 Shell film looks at the 1958 edition of Coupe des Alpes, an alpine race that was conducted over three days in France and Italy. It follows the men and women’s teams as they overcome the challenges of this course including narrow or bad roads, challenging passes, and having to meet the stringent time conditions to qualify for an Alpine cup. The race was held from 1932-1971 and was one of the most prestigious races in the world in the 1950s and 1960s. The 1958 edition made its way through 70 named passes on its route, with the highest reaching up to over 8,500 feet.

0:09 a car racing down a mountain road 0:49 driver and navigator stooping to set up a camera and filming another car racing past, 1:09 “Coupe des Alpes – The Story of the 1958 Alpine Rally” a Shell Film, 1:31 the Alpine Cup, 1:39 topographic Map of France and Italy highlighting the race course and checkpoints, 2:31 opening ceremony at Marseille with the first car taking its place at the starting ramp, 3:00 different male drivers and their cars, 3:26 female contenders including Annie Swabo, Pat Moss, Mary Handley Page, Nancy Mitchell, and Anne Hall, 3:53 snaking roads on the first part of the race, 4:53 a police officer telling drivers to slow, 5:24 drivers stamping time cards at first check point, 5:54 cars driving deeper into the Alps as night falls, 6:05 drivers stamping their time card at the Franco-Italian border, 6:44 Blockley’s Austin Healey damaged after an accident, 6:56 drivers getting ready to drive in the Monza circuit, 7:11 drivers driving the circuit, 7:30 cars driving past the checkered flag, 7:31 cars on the road to Brescia, 8:11 cars locked away on a square in Brescia, 8:20 animation showing how many crews have dropped out and how many have been late, 8:33 topographical map of the next stage of the race with the course highlighted, 8:55 start of the second course in the early morning, 9:22 cars driving up dirt roads to the first pass with a car being written off, 9:55 close up for Peter Harper’s car descending from the pass, 10:37 cars loudly driving through a valley with some tunnels, 10:55 drivers stopping for their time card stamp, 11:11 drivers driving up a scenic mountain road to the next pass, 12:05 damaged cars pulling into the next stop and making repairs, 12:50 scenic countryside shots, 13:07 the first car swirling up a lot of dust, 13:26 cars begin driving up the pass, 14:03 a car waiting at a checkpoint, 14:23 cars driving towards the Passo dello Stelvio, 14:44 drivers waiting at a rail crossing, 15:12 view of the road up the Stelvio pass, 15:32 car struggling up with a busted rear tire, 15:42 footage of a car driving from the bottom to the top of the pass with many crashed cars lined along the road, 17:35 cars at the head of the race trying to make up time near the top of the pass, 18:15 car arrives at the top and begins the descent, 18:34 fog begins descending on the road, 19:10 cars trying to pass tight corners on the descent, 19:41 cars arriving at the final check point of the course at Megeve, 20:36 animation showing which cars can still win a cup, 20:50 topographical map of the final stage of the race highlighting the course, 21:10 cars preparing to leave at dawn, 21:40 cars racing out of Megeve, 22:08 morning mist making visibility difficult along the course, 22:44 cattle forcing cars to back up, 23:00 cars making their way up the first pass of the course, 23:44 Alpha Romeo drivers stopping, 23:54 “La Morte” pass with a very bad road, 24:18 drivers driving through a dark tunnel, 24:54 drivers fixing the brakes on their car, 25:16 a speed test on a tight corner, 26:36 drivers at the next checkpoint stamping their time cards, 27:24 cars racing down a large road to make up for time, 27:52 cars arriving in Gap, 28:46 cars driving on a pass at night, 29:11 cars making their way up another pass, 30:33 a driver almost leaving their co driver behind, 30:43 cars driving around tight corners, 31:08 Cars racing to the top of Mont Ventoux, 31:28 cars stopping at the last checkpoint before the finish line, 32:39 cars driving into Marseille, 33:13 cars driving through final hurdle of the race, 34:00 overview of the crews that have made it being presented their cups, 34:50 the women’s prize being handed out, 35:09 summary footage from the race.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com