A Car Life, by Larry Crane

The hosts were Rene and Maurice Dreyfus, brothers who had teamed Rene to a victory at the Grand Prix de Monaco in 1930, where he had even beaten the Bugatti factory team in his privately owned T-35B.

By 1937 he had won many races, but the Prix du Million (a one million franc prize for 16 laps of Montlhery track averaging exactly 146 k/ph) was one of his most memorable and in 1938 he was declared Champion of France. Then came the German threat and the French Army. The famous story is that at 1:00 a.m. on 7 May 1940, a knock on the window of the Peugeot 304 staff car where he was sleeping brought him to his feet. He was told to go immediately to his unit headquarters. After a brief conversation with his Major that suggested he was about to be shipped away from the camp. Rene assumed he was off to further training when the following exchange took place.

“Where do you think you are going, Dreyfus?”

“To Officer Candidate School.”

“No, not at all, not for the moment anyway.”

“But, then where are you sending me, Sir?.” the puzzled Champion asked.

“To Indianapolis.”

So off he went with Lucy Schell’s Ecurie Bleue as the French Army’s representative in the Indianapolis 500.

The team included the recently widowed Mrs. Schell, Mr. and Mrs. Rene Le Begue, Lucie’s son Harry (a fine driver in his own right after the war), Rene Dreyfus and Luigi Chinetti (yep, the one who told his friend Ferrari, if you send me some of your new V-12 sports cars I can sell them in America).

After confusion about the Indy rules, which were written only in incomprehensible English, Dreyfus and Le Begue finished 10th just as the Germans marched into Paris and raised the Nazi flag atop the Eiffel Tower.

No way to get home, they were quickly ordered to New York to do propaganda for France. Running out of patience and funds at an increasing pace Rene and an old friend from Nice bought the Red Coach Inn near Englewood, New Jersey.

It was quickly discovered as the place to be for expat Europeans trapped in the States for the duration of the war, but after 7 December 1941 he joined the U.S. Army and did a circuitous tour of the European theater. Upon his return to New York he found and bought a small French restaurant called Le Gourmet at 49 East 55th and re-established his international reputation as THE place in Manhattan. One of his customers, a dancer and a dream girl became his wife, but he soon lost her to Hodgkin’s disease and sold the restaurant they had shared so often. His third American restaurant became Le Chanteclair at 18 East 49th, and finally in partnership with his brother Maurice. Built on their established credentials as gregarious hosts the new address was soon home to legendary meetings that will endure for the life times of those who lived and shared the last half of the automobile century.

Most of his European racing friends passed through. Many of the American racing community passed through, motoring aficionados from all over the world passed through and on 27 June 1978, so did I.

Chris Pook, of the U.S. Grand Prix West in Long Beach, California, had commissioned Steve Earle of the new Monterey Historic Automobile Races to produce a vintage grand prix race with post war cars and the drivers who made them famous. It was an enormous success with the Southern California motoring cognoscenti and a party for the players. They gathered together for a television moment the day before the vintage event and Crane was in the building with his camera. It was one of the greatest captures of my photographic life. My heroes spellbound by the stories of their hero. A half-dozen exposures resulted in the one you see here. I produced a series of prints to be circulated around the world in the hands of friends so that each of the drivers would have a copy signed by all of them. During one of the logistic challenges, after more than half had signed, all were lost. I sent a framed copy to Rene at Le Chanteclair with my apology for the failure of our best idea.

It was nearly six months later that I arrived at 18 East 49th. I was greeted by Maurice. The restaurant was a long narrow room with a bar on the left near the entrance. Maurice’s maitre d’s podium was on the right. Both long walls were covered by framed racing photographs, but a four-foot space behind Maurice’s post had been cleared and centered there was my framed photo. With voice cracking with emotion, I nearly whispered,

“That’s my photo.”

“Oh, Mr. Crane,” said Maurice. “Rene would love to meet you, please sit here and he will be right out.”

It was a small piece of time I will never forget. I knew enough of his history to keep him engaged and telling ever more personal stories about his days in racing. He gave me more than an hour and shared lunch and a bottle of wine. Some of the conversation included the heroes in the photo. He knew them all. They were friends and often dined with him at Le Chanteclair. He had a story for each and often a smile or a laugh.

My copy of the image hangs in our living room where I can see it every day for over thirty years now. I am still moved by the reverence on the faces of my heroes as they share time with one of theirs.

In the picture are: Sir Jack Brabham (World Driving Champion 1959, 60, 66), Sir Stirling Moss (often victorious, never World Champion), Innes Ireland (as fast as his friend Jim Clark, if there wasn’t a party the night before), Juan Manuel Fangio (World Champion 195i. 54, 55. 56 and 1957), Richie Ginther (famously skilled racer and development driver for Ferrari), Rene Dreyfus (Champion of France 1938, restaurateur, raconteur, gentleman), Phil Hill (World Champion 1961), Dan Gurney (driver, owner, builder, eternal racer), Carroll Shelby (champion racer, consummate charmer, legendary builder and business icon), Maurice Trintignant (Ferrari team driver and creator of fine wines).

An 11 X 14 inch signed copy of “Heroes” is available for $200 from Larry Crane at mailto:CasaVetturaProductions@gmail.com.