Category Archives: Car Shows

Photo galleries from places we’ve been and events we’ve attended

Car Shows

1967 Bizzarrini Spyder S.I. 5300 Targa at Hershey

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Bizzarrini Spyder SI 5300 Targa at Hershey 1

This gorgeous 1967 Bizzarrini Spyder S.I. 5300 Targa was present for The Elegance At Hershey last Summer. It is one of just three Bizzarrini Spyders built, and the second I’ve been lucky enough to lay eyes on in person. I saw the 5300 Spyder Prototipo at the Concours d’Elegance of America in Michigan back in 2012.

Another result of Enzo Ferrari pissing people off, these Bizzarrinis are breathtaking automobiles that utilized the knowhow of one of the foremost automotive engineers of the era, Giotto Bizzarrini. Before founding the company bearing his name, Giotto Bizzarini masterminded the Ferrari 250 GTO and designed the Lamborghini V12 that was in use until 2011.

These Bizzarrini 5300s were serious performers of their day. When a Ferrari 275 GTB had a 330hp, these Bizzarrinis made use of a 420hp V8 sourced from the Corvette Stingray. This is Italian and American work in perfect harmony. Enjoy the photos.

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Car Shows

Lamborghini Aventador at Amelia Island

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Amelia Aventador 3

Lamborghini brought this snazzy red Aventador to the Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island for test drives. As you might imagine, the list was pre-booked, but we got ourselves on the waiting list in case someone decided they didn’t want to have an awesome day. Well, nobody skipped their drive, but I still needed to find a use for the photos I took of this stunning car, so here they are!

I maintain that the Aventador is the best looking Lambo since the Miura. There is just something ohh so right about its sculpted, angular shape that will make a Murcielago seem obese by comparison. Red is also a fairly uncommon color on an Aventador, so as it sat there, looking like a luscious red pepper, I was compelled to snap a few pics of it. Enjoy!

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Car Shows, SHOWCASE

Rolls-Royce Silver Spur IV Mulliner Park Ward at Festivals of Speed Amelia Island, 2014

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It’s not often that I see a Rolls-Royce Silver Spur in a color as noticeable as this one.  Most of them are muted grays, blues, or black, or a nice off-white.  Not this one, though.  This rather rare Mulliner Park Ward model is a crisp Carmine Red with a gorgeous magnolia white interior featuring offset piping.  I spoke to the owners, who had on display their red daily driver, a St. James Red Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed.   Red chairs, red Bentley, red Rolls, red shirts, red shorts.  I’m not sure what their favorite color was, but I’m sure it’s not British Racing Green.  Among the few Spurs I have seen in my years, this Silver Spur V looked fantastic and the red paint shined brightly in the blue, sun-kissed Florida sky.  With blinding chrome, classic whitewall tires, and gorgeous solid wood trim on the inside, this Spur looks ready for the spotlight.  Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Rolls-Royce Silver Spur IV Mulliner Park Ward at Festivals of Speed Amelia Island, 2014 →

Car Shows

Saleen S7 at Hopewell Cruise Night

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Saleen S7 in Hopewell 6

Everyone attending the Hopewell Cruise Night this past weekend was treated to the awesome spectacle of this Saleen S7. The car belongs to a local exotic car dealer who routinely spices up cruise nights with the jewels from their inventory. The owner was nice enough to stop in traffic for me to get a few pictures, even opening one of the S7’s flamboyant gullwing doors.

I caught up with the car later after it had been parked, and it was covered in people. A car like an S7 has a special effect on the mood of an event, turning a “good” evening into a “great” evening. It is one of the few proper American supercars out there, and it took on the likes of the Ferrari Enzo and Porsche Carrera GT when it first came out. This particular car  also happens to be one of only four naturally aspirated S7s outfitted with Saleen’s performance competition package, which adds another 100 horses to its stampede of speed. A very rare car, indeed.

This cruise night could’ve been a forgettable one because the weather deteriorated about halfway through the evening, but this Saleen S7 made sure that wasn’t the case. Check out the photos for more info!

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Auto Idolatry, Car Shows, SHOWCASE

Purple People Eater 1959 Corvette at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, 2014

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Purple has never looked this intimidating before. This 1959 Corvette, in its purple and white paint job and black interior, was a mainstay in the SCCA-B Production racing class during the late Fifties and early Sixties. With mechanical fuel injection and a 283 sitting under the hood, this racer won all but one of the events it was entered in 1959. Nickey Chevrolet, a performance mainstay of the time, fitted the Corvette with heavy-duty racing parts such as a larger fuel tank, safety chains, and a roll bar, along with a smaller windshield. However, the rest of the car is as it was out of the factory, with factory stock heavy-duty suspension and the (by the end of that very season) race-proven Rochester fuel injection. It shined brightly amongst its ‘Vette companions at Amelia Island, with the purple paint job being about as subtle as a smashed grape on a white kitchen floor. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Purple People Eater 1959 Corvette at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, 2014 →

Car Shows

Highlights from the 2014 New York International Auto Show

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Lamborghini, Lotus, and Bugatti
Lamborghini Aventador, Lotus Evora S, and the obligatory Bugatti Veyron, of course.

We made it out to the New York International Auto Show to see some of the new cars that have come out recently. The industry has been very exciting in the last few years, as we move out of the global recession, with many great ideas taking shape, as well as a few that leave us scratching our heads.

Check out the gallery below, and let us know what you think of the new style we are trying out with some of our photos. Enjoy.

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Car Shows, SHOWCASE

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona at Amelia Island

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Few cars can match the romance, beauty, or allure of the Ferrari Daytona.  I have seen a select few of these over the years and this wasn’t the only one in the area that weekend last month at Amelia Island, but it was the first car that I found myself actually chasing down all weekend.  The Daytona came rumbling out of the parking garage while Nick was busy driving the Viper, so I had nothing else to do but watch the streets for interesting cars.  I’d say it was worth me breathing like a pack-a-day smoker to get some pictures of this classic V12 coupe.  It was a balmy 49 degrees while I was gaping at the Daytona, so the engine was putting out smoke and making everything smell nice and old.  The yellow color especially set this car off from the gray skies and the gray backdrops of the parking lots and the Ritz Carlton.  There’s no reason not to want a car as pretty as this in any weather, anywhere. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona at Amelia Island →

Car Shows, Obscure Autos, SHOWCASE

1967 Sabra at the 2013 Scarsdale Concours

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Sabra Front

Here’s some news for you.  At one point Israel had a short stint building cars.  No, not tanks or army Jeeps.  They had a little sports car they could call their very own.  This car, shown here at the Scarsdale Concours last fall, is called the Sabra.  This is a 1967 model.  The Sabra was named because the colloquial meaning of the phrase in Hebrew is “born in Israel” and the cactus logo is known as the “sabra”.  Israel manufactured another car before this known as the Sussita–Yitzhak Shubinksy requested Reliant Auto produce a small sports car (yes, the same Reliant Auto that produced the hilariously incompetent Reliant Robin and Reliant Regal), which they did in a scant 9 months’ time.  Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1967, production was cut short.  A total of just 171 were made during its life, and a scant 41 made it to the United States.  The owner was gracious enough to show it at the Scarsdale Concours this past fall.  While it isn’t the prettiest car in the world (far from it), it is certainly unique and drew a solid crowd of its own that afternoon.  Enjoy the pictures. Continue reading 1967 Sabra at the 2013 Scarsdale Concours →

Car Shows

Lamborghini Murcielago LP-670 SV at Festivals of Speed, Amelia Island

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Lamborghini LP-670 SV FOS 1

One of the stars of the Festivals Of Speed, Amelia Island this year was this bright orange Lamborghini Murcielago LP-670 SV. There were a number of flashy Lambos vying for attention on the show field, but somehow this “Super Veloce” edition of the Murcielago always seemed to stop people in their tracks.

This bull is a beast. With a 661hp 6.5L V12 under its hood, it can hit 60mph in 3 seconds flat, blast through the 1/4 mile in 11.2 seconds, and go on to a v-max of 209-213mph (depending on the aero settings). In addition to its incredible performance, the SV is a proper Lambo with all of the “machine guns” fitted, as Clarkson likes to say. It has that silly-awesomeness that seems to give it a strong gravitational pull on everyone’s attention. The SV is also an extremely rare bird with just 350 units produced, however there are rumors that as few as 186 units were actually produced before the factory had to be revised for Aventador production.

It is always awesome to be in the presence of a Lamborghini of this caliber. Bella Machina!

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Car Shows

Chevrolet Nova SS-396 at the Hollywood Car Auction, Amelia Island

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Chevrolet Nova SS396 Front

At the same auction where the Hudsons were sold, this very clean 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS396 eagerly awaited a new buyer.  It looked smart and professionally restored, with a 396ci V8, manual transmission, gorgeous black interior, and a black vinyl roof, topped off with redline tires and Rally wheels.  Unfortunately, this Nova didn’t sell at the auction and at this time I am still unaware if the car has changed hands.  That said, this is one of the straightest, cleanest late-Sixties Novas I have seen in a very long period of time.  Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Chevrolet Nova SS-396 at the Hollywood Car Auction, Amelia Island →

Car Shows

Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta by Touring at Amelia Island

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While I was waiting to sign up to drive a Porsche, and while Nick was busy driving the bewitching new SRT Viper, I spent most of my brisk Florida morning at Amelia Island chasing after cars that were entering the hotel grounds.  While I was running around, I found myself chasing down this gorgeous little number.  This marks only the second time I’ve found myself close to a 212, one of the first well-known cars Ferrari produced.  This particular car is a 212 Export Berlinetta wearing its original Touring coachwork in a deep, rich burgundy hue with a rather Spartan tan interior, wire wheels, and details that kept my attention for a solid amount of time.  It may have been parked among a Lamborghini Aventador, Porsche 918, and a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, but the little 212 had absolutely no problem drawing a crowd to itself in front of the Ritz-Carlton. Enjoy the photos.

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Car Shows, SHOWCASE

Three Hudsons, Auctioned Off at the Hollywood Car Auction Amelia Island

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Hudson Commodore Convertible Front
1949 Hudson Commodore Convertible (Front)

I’m a sucker for Hudson’s “Step Down” styling and engineering of 1949-1954.  These were some of the first American cars to utilize advanced body and chassis manufacturing techniques after the war was over and the effort paid off on the track.  In NASCAR’s early days, the Hudsons were almost utterly unstoppable thanks to their design.  The body and chassis were a semi-single unit and the floor was placed lower than the frame rails, which enabled passengers to “step down” into the interior (hence the phrase).  This saved weight and also lowered the vehicle, improving handling.  When paired up with the later “Twin-H-Power” straight-six engine, the later Hornets were unbeatable on the track in their day, dominating the field in the early Fifties, with 27 of 34 Grand National wins in 1952, 22 of 37 in 1953, and 17 of 37 in 1954.  Three of these Hudsons were up for auction at the Hollywood Car Auction at Amelia Island, and all three of them sold.  The yellow 1949 Commodore convertible sold for $73,000 before buyer’s premium.  The two Hornet sedans up for sale were later models (the burgundy is a 1953 model, while the black one was a ’52).  The black 1952 sedan sold for $62,000 and the burgundy 1953 sedan sold for $87,500.  Enjoy the photos.

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