Tintin Forums

In the early 60's, Hergé bought a version of a car which appears in only two Tintin books.
Which is the model of the car and in which books does it appear?

The car was a Porsche 356A Coupe and I swear Hergé owned one. See Tintin.com online shop story on their car collection. A picture in the Presentation section shows Hergé standing near a Porsche 356A.
The car appeared somewhere in The Red Sea Sharks. I suppose if I'm wrong, I would be demoralised.

Your image didn't come up... at least in my browser.
I think this is what you wanted. Fingers crossed for your answer. (Cool car!)

This is a difficult question, alvarolino. I have an idea, but I can't find it in two albums. Just in one.

Ok, I'll try, although I know nothing about cars.

If the car (tintinspartan mentioned) is the white "thing" into which Herge is stepping, it might be Panhard la Dyna -57 rather than Porche. The albums are

Sharks, 11,12
Tibet, 1

I quess

The Car was a Porsche 356A Coupe

Good attempt tintinspartan. Porsche 356 is really a cool car, but the car which appears in Tintin.com is not a Porsche! Moreover, the car in question appears in two books.

Hi tuhatkauno,
I don't think Hergé owned a Panhard Dyna. Anyway, the white "thing" is not a Dyna.
Thanks to take part in the challenge.

Is the car in question the Alpha Romeo Giulietta berline?

A cream one of these appears in The Castafiore Emerald (it's the uninvited photographers' car), and a red one appears (also uninvited!) in the rally scene at the end of The Red Sea Sharks, with a number two on its side.

I don't know if Hergé ever purchased a car of this model though, so this is just a guess. Obviously The Red Sea Sharks was written and drawn in the late 1950s, but I'm guessing that they might have contiued making the Alpha Romeo Giulietta berline into the early sixties, for Hergé to have bought one around the time you said.

You've got it, Balthazar!
In 1960, Hergé bought a Alfa Romeo Giulietta (Sprint Veloce version). This very car can be seen, together with his proud owner, in a picture in the Presentation section of Tintin.com online store.
It's your turn...

It's interesting that Hergé gave the intruding photographers in The Castafiore Emerald his own car. Maybe a little in-joke, like the cameo appearances of himself in other books.