Here is part 2 of our highlights from the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. This was the first time a Ferrari has ever won best in show (see above), as well as a very uncommon occurrence where a post-war car takes the top honor.
Enjoy the photos of these incredible cars!
Continue reading Highlights from the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Part 2
When it comes to a Dodge Challenger, it doesn’t take a lot to get my attention. This particular Sam Posey ex-Trans Am 1970 racer had all the right bits to make me keep my eyes peeled for it. The lime-green paint scorched more than the 80+ high temperature of the day, while the fantastic side pipes, hooked up to a sweet-sounding Mopar small-block V8 provided a thundering soundtrack that added plenty of depth to the bellow of Trans-Am race cars that dominate the track at the end of the Saturday racing sessions at Laguna Seca during the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Although this car was here last year (and is apparently a regular visitor to the track during Monterey Car Week), it’s always a welcome sight, especially for a Mopar maniac like myself. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Sam Posey’s 1970 Dodge Challenger at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2014
Here is the first batch of our highlights from the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It was a great year this year, with loads of unique automobiles in attendance, including 16 of the 17 remaining Ruxtons (shown above). Maseratis were also featured this year for the marque’s centennial, as well as a stunning showcase of Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas, and some truly beautiful machines with coachwork by Darrin.
This is rolling artwork at its finest, so enjoy the photos. There’s much more to come!
Continue reading Highlights from the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Part 1
I had goosebumps the whole time when I saw this video. The Ferrari 330 P4 is one of the most significant sports racing cars of all time, and this is the only remaining true P4 in existence. The other P4s were turned into Can Am cars, and Jim Glickenhaus owns the Ferrari 330 P3/4, the P3 that made the jump to P4 spec. So this thing is precious beyond belief.
This Petrolicious video will make your lust for the P4 almost agonizing in severity, because in addition to hearing its godly V12 howl, and seeing its timeless sexy looks, the owner tells us just how great it is to drive. Oh how I’d love for even just one lap in this car someday. Here’s to hoping…..
On Sunday, I attended the River Edge Classic Car Show in River Edge, NJ thanks to a tip from my aunt, who happens to live there. I was expecting this show to be another small neighborhood car show in a small town in Bergen County. To say the very least, I was completely and utterly wrong. Despite the rain all over New Jersey and the threatening, humid air hovering over the city park, the show went on and was a runaway success. Admission was free, food was reasonably priced, and the atmosphere was friendly and full of good vibes. All sorts of cars were welcome, from a gorgeous early 1930s Chevrolet sedan all the way up to a restored 1970 Plymouth AAR Cuda, among many other fantastic cars. There were muscle cars, hot rods, offbeat classics, Mustangs, and even a Lotus Esprit V8. I was incredibly impressed at the variety and the caliber of cars on display out on the street on Sunday afternoon. The weather held up, everyone had a great time, and I even saw a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 that I’d judged in 2007 (more on that car in a future post). A great day was had. Enjoy the photos, everyone!
Continue reading Highlights from the 2014 River Edge Car Show
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
For the last eight years in a row, a car with a diesel engine has won the 24 Hours of LeMans. Seven of those eight victories belong to Audi, and Audi is a part of the larger Volkswagen group that has brought us such supercar marvels as the Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Aventador, and most recently, the Porsche 918 Spyder. If supercars are supposed to be “race cars for the road” then it is high time for VW to set the precedent for true oil-burning supercars and sports cars.
As it turns out, they’ve already come damn close a couple of times. The first one came in 2008 in form of an Audi R8 with a 5.9L Turbo-Diesel V12 under the hood. The second was a promisingly realistic diesel Boxster with a VW badge called the “Concept BlueSport.” In both cases demand was deemed to be too low, and the timing also happened to coincide with the global economic downturn. I agree that the climate was probably wrong for both models at their respective debuts, but having said that, the world has changed a lot in the last few years.
The other Best of Show award at Amelia this year was designated as the Concours d’Sport, an award to go to the best racing car on the field that day. I wasn’t sure what had the chops to sway the judges this year. While I was taking pictures along a wall during the awards ceremony, this blue 1958 Scarab destroyed my eardrums and stole my attention for a little while. Little did I know until I saw it waiting on the side that it was to recieve a Best of Show. My eardrums were again destroyed, but this time, I was fine with it. This little Scarab deserved its win and looked head and shoulders above much of the other racers in the field this year. Enjoy the photos.
Continue reading 1958 Scarab: Best of Show, Concours d’Sport, 2014 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
Here is the second part of our highlight reel from the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. It includes everything from the magnificent Ferrari 330 P3/4 you see above to the brand new McLaren P1 and Lamborghini Huracan. Also featured are the best in show award winners, a Horch 853 and a Scarab Mark II. The cars at this year’s show were truly incredible, and we literally were shooting photos from sunrise to sunset.
Enjoy the photo gallery.
Continue reading Highlights from the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance (Post 1950)
A couple of weeks ago, I spent the weekend in Boston visiting my cousin and her husband. While I was up there, I revisited the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline just outside of town. I hadn’t been there in more than 4 years, so I was excited to come back and see what had changed. Here is a selection of what was at the museum at the time I was there, including a 1953 Corvette, a prewar Bugatti four-door cabriolet in beautiful shape, a Mercer runabout, a selection of classic racers from the 50s and 60s, and a pristine Corvette Stingray in the back room. The museum has a smorgasbord of prewar cars on display both upstairs and in the family’s personal collection, located in the basement. This is definitely a great place to go if you like smaller car museums with an eclectic and ever-changing display set. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Presenting a selection from the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, MA.
This beautiful Ferrari 250 GT SWB was at Festivals of Speed: Amelia Island last year. It is a stunning example of this iconic Italian racing car painted in Ferrari’s signature red. This classic Ferrari was one of many stunning cars at the show last year, and we are looking forward to attending this year’s event in a few weeks. I’m sure there will be much more where this came from. Till then, enjoy the photos.
Continue reading Ferrari 250 GT SWB at Festivals Of Speed: Amelia Island 2013
Right at the entrance to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, last year, was an RM Auctions booth with this majestic 1953 Ferrari 340/375MM Berlinetta Competizione on display. It was a sort of tangible promotion for the auction they would be running in Lake Como, Italy later in the year, and what a way to draw attention! As a well-decorated classic racing car, this Ferrari 340/375MM Berlinetta Competizione just screamed top-dollar, and it wound up selling for around $13 million (9,856,000 Euros).
Many may wonder what makes this car $13 million worth of “special.” Just remember that cars have become like fine art at this point, and historical significance plays a huge role in these astronomical values. Most notably this car, chassis number 0320AM, helped to propel Ferrari to victory in the 1953 Manufacturer’s Championship. While it only took first place at the 12 Hours of Pescara, this 340/375MM managed to accrue many solid finishes that helped Ferrari earn valuable points. In particular, it placed 6th in the infamous Carrera Panamericana, and the car set a record over a stage of the race that has yet to be broken — averaging 138mph over 223 miles on public roads (yes there was pedestrian traffic during many races back then). Now just imagine trying that in even a fast modern car, let alone one with 1950s era technology, like this Ferrari.
Mind Over Motor 