For some, the Ferrari 206 S is one of the best looking Ferraris ever. Others think it looks like a P4 left out in the rain to shrink. This one was owned by the Swiss Filipinetti team and ran at Sebring in 1967. At the Nurburgring that year, it had a bad fire and ended up with famous French collector, Pierre Bardinon. Now with the Moghadam collection in Canada. This was shown at The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering.
Story and photos by Michael T. Lynch
Another Holy Week has passed on the Monterey Peninsula, and once again, the aging historian and Vicki enjoyed an abbreviated schedule. It consisted only of the Pebble Beach Tour lunch stop in Carmel, The Quail, the Rolex Reunion and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
When familiar faces started to appear on Thursday, the primary buzz concerned the auction market and the results were far from clear Sunday night. The short version is that the primo stuff sold well and the chaff less so, with sales of the latter both missing low estimates or not selling at all. It was the same with both cars and motorcycles.
Another subject, especially among the racing crowd, was the fate of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The race course is part of Monterey County’s Park System and the County has been looking for a new concessionaire to take over the management from the Sports Car Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP), which has been the track concessionaire almost from the beginning. This could have serious implications for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, which has reigned as the country’s premier vintage race almost since Steve Earle established vintage racing at Laguna Seca in 1974. SCRAMP began running the show in 2010 and there has been some loosening of both period car specifications and driver qualifications. No one knows what the outcome of the selection process will be, and it would be hard for the event to fail because of the 10 days of events surrounding it. However, depending on what car qualification criteria are applied by the new concessionaire, the prestige of the event could be compromised or further enhanced. In the scheme of things for most of those involved, this is a very small matter but a huge one for the international vintage racing community, which now mentions the Rolex Reunion in the same breath as the two Goodwood meetings in the U.K.
All the events are about cars, although one cannot put the politics aside. Here are some French and Italian vehicles that caught the eye of this observer during my time there.
Pebble Beach Tour
One of my favorite events is the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, where you get to see the cars in motion. They stop in Carmel for lunch and the general public, most of whom can not afford the $300 admission to the Pebble Beach Concours, can see the Concours cars gratis. This is a nice gesture to the Peninsula public who are mightily inconvenienced during Holy Week. The Tour is an attempt to get all the show cars on the road. This is done by incentive. There is a rule that if two cars are tied in points at the show field, and one went on the Tour and the other didn’t, the Tour car wins. Because fires in the area restricted part of the traditional Tour route this year, that rule was rescinded. The alternative route adopted, ran at such slow speeds that some cars, especially racing models, would overheat, so the entry was somewhat smaller than usual. There is a body of citizenry that would like to see Holy Week cancelled altogether and some government official, trying to get her name in the papers, circulated a petition to that end. Thankfully it failed miserably but event organizers will almost certainly be facing fees in the future to cover municipalities’ police overtime and other costs associated with events being held on their turf.
Shown here during the lunch stop in Carmel is Linda and Paul Gould’s Delahaye 175 S Chapron Le Dandy Cabriolet. The Le Dandy appellation was applied by Henri Chapron himself. About 50 of these were built. The majority had the traditional right hand drive of top of the line French high performance cars, and this example is one of only ten left hand drive cars made.
The flavor of the month has recently been Preservation Class cars. These are cars that are presented as found, many after long storage. They are made roadworthy, but the bodywork and interiors show the signs of years of use and storage.
This is the interior of John W. Rich’s Delahaye 135 M Chapron Cabriolet. It was shown at the Paris Auto Salon in 1949 where it was purchased by a Morocco resident. It later came to America where it was retired to storage in 1971. It stayed there 40 years until Rich found it. As can be seen, the interior is absolutely period correct, down to the Phillips radio. The upholstery is what poor people call, “worn out” and rich people say is, “showing a nice patina.” The car retains its original Moroccan license plate.
Prices peaked a couple of years ago when, in some cases, people were paying more for these cars than fully restored ones. Collectors soon realized that if they bought a preservation car, if they had to newly fabricate a large percentage of the car, it would no longer qualify for the class.
The timeless architecture of Carmel and the crowds surrounding magnificent cars marks this image as taken during the Pebble Beach Tour lunch stop in Carmel. The car is the Delahaye 135 M Faget-Varnet Cabriolet of Teresa and David Disiere. It was shown on the Delahaye stand at the 1948 Paris Salon. It was part of the famous French Ballion Collection that was auctioned last year. Three days after the picture was taken, the Delahaye took first in the Postwar Delahaye Class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
The Quail
Gregory Jones brought this impressive Bugatti Type 59/50B to the Quail. Note the unique oil cooler just to the right of the windscreen. This car was built from spares secreted away during the German occupation and is to the specification of Robert Benoist’s 1935 Grand Prix competitor. The non-traditional air intake dispenses with the typical Bugatti horseshoe radiator. A striking example of one of Bugatti’s most sought-after designs.
The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering has always been skewed toward sporting machinery and Anne Brockington Lee brought this Hispano-Suiza Fernandez and Darrin Coupe de Ville. It is a very sporting model of a marque better known for luxury carriages. The body builders were obviously aware of the French styling cues of the era. An example is the raised coachline running along the top of the flank of the car.
This one I really liked, but couldn’t figure out what it was. It was presented as a 1958 Alfa 1900 Sport Prototipo. Closer examination showed it had a twin plug head like the ones Conrero produced. The body is beautiful, with a rear three quarter view reminiscent of a SWB Ferrari, complete with an outside filler cap. Talking to the Alfa fanatics, it seems the body was built in the 1980s and the chassis is definitely a 1950s 1900 but with some upgrades like the engine. One neat piece, but I’m confused by the prototipo. The word implies the first of a series and nothing similar to this followed.
Any Maserati A6G 2000 is desirable, but the Zagato-bodied cars are especially tasty. The Time to Drive Collection brought this pristine example.
Early Ferrari Vignale coupes are tiny and beautiful. Look at the scale compared to the humans next to the car. Bruce and Rebecca Vanyo’s car is fitted with the 2.7-liter Tipo 195 engine. The dual tone paint job sets off the body crease perfectly.
Rally cars are thin on the ground during Holy Week, but the Quail always has some interesting examples. Seen here are Joseph Gabani and Thomas E. Shaughnessy’s (red) Alpine A110 1800 Group 4 cars. Variations of these won the World Rally Championship in 1973. The green car in the background is a rare Arnott-Climax built for Le Mans 1957. The body is by Prichard and Williams.
John Ridings Lee’s Alfa 8C 2300 Monza is a perfect companion to the Bugatti 59 next to it. A single-seat version of Lee’s car contested the great Grands Prix against the Bug in 1935.
Steven Reed’s Ferrari 512 M was raced in period by Marcello Pasotti who used the nom de course Pam. Another interesting name in the chain of ownership is Albert Uderzo, the creator of the famous Asterix comic book character. Reed has raced the car at both the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and the Le Mans Classic.
This is a Ferrari 375 Mille Miglia originally raced in 1954-8 by Bill Spear and Duncan Black who used it to win SCCA National circuit races as well as a National hillclimb. Owner Ian Gunn later raced it for two years in early U.S. vintage racing before offering it for $25,000 in 1974. With no takers, he put it in his garage. Car finder Mark Ketcham dug it out of 38 years of storage for Andreas Mohringer (seen behind the wheel) who had Paul Russell do the mechanicals, but the appearance of the car is as it was when Gunn last raced it at Watkins Glen in 1973. It was a deserving choice for Best of Show at The Quail.
The Rolex Reunion
Most of my time at the course was spent wandering the paddock and visiting with friends. Here is one image of some nice Italian entries. 20 is Tom Price’s Ferrari 250 GTO. The blue and white Maserati T61 was driven by Jeffrey O’Neill and the 85 is the Alfa GTA of Tom’s son, Nick Price, who raced under 185.
I missed the Rolex Reunion last year for the first time since vintage car racing began at Laguna Seca. I returned this year and the organizers had been kind enough to arrange my two favorite races as the first two on Saturday. The prewar race combined three types of cars that had previously had their own races. With 49 entered and 40 starters there were plenty of cars on the track. Speed differentials of up to 50 mph, combined with the traffic, caused some anxious moments during overtaking by faster cars. The race itself was a good one, with Paddins Dowling’s ERA and Derek Hill’s Delage-ERA slugging it out. Dowling’s car stopped near the end but he had enough laps to still finish third, with Hill running out the winner and Charles McCabe’s ERA in second.
Back in the day, the 1955-1961 Sports Racing Cars over 2000cc was one of the most important of the weekend. Ferrari’s mixed it up with Maseratis so there was plenty of Italian exotica. Over the years as the small block Chevrolet has continued to develop and cars like the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas are no longer competitive since they can’t be modified/modernized without destroying their value. Thus, these cars have practically disappeared from the tracks. In this year’s race, half the cars were Chevy powered and there was only one Ferrari among the 14 starters. David Swig, who has emerged as one of the best vintage racers in the country, drove a beautiful winning race in the Revs Institute’s Scarab Mk1, one of the few Chevrolet powered cars to win in US racing in period. His late father, Martin Swig, a long-time vintage competitor at Laguna Seca, would have been proud.
After covering the aisles of the Reunion paddock, next week we’ll show you some things we liked at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Same time, same station.
Thanks for lovely overview. Went to the Quail for several years and last year because a friend had a car there –but the ticket price puts a further dent in an already expensive week!
You did not miss anything last year at the track — sadly, the event has fallen from the the times of Steve Earle — and a good part of the problem is the lack of ‘Wow’ cars -particularly those from Europe and Asia. The driver quality was pretty bad the last few years with many races red-flagged because of cars stuck in the kitty-litter. I think the days of race tracks being shared by motorcycles and cars is coming to a close. But the SCRAMP folks can do nothing about car values, which have also caused a number of vehicles to be ‘put away’ as they cannot be risked on-track.
The track crowd, down for several years, was up this year –although no where near the ‘good old days’ but I’m not sure how much of this was owed to BMW -who is the first manufacturer to really get behind the event since Steve’s days –and many of the attendees were bacchanal owners starting 10 days of Bavarian overdose!
The Concorso switching to Saturdays has also hurt the track attendance – as have the numerous events on Friday. Pebble remains the icon –but it merely splits the crowd into ‘racers’ and ‘concours’ crowd –although I love seeing all the racecars on the greens!!
Thursday in Carmel is definitely the way to begin the definitely. See you next year!
“An abbreviated schedule” or say a selective schedule is probably the best way to enjoy the highly impacted Monterey Week. If you want to see the Tour cars on a rural road, go a mile or so east on Aguajito Rd. just before the Tour starts. Then go south of Carmel on Rt. 1 and watch the cars go to Big Sur and to the Bixby Bridge for their return. Finish up with the cars parked on Ocean Ave in Carmel. No south of Carmel this year due to a big forest fire but most probably on 17 Aug 2017. If you live within the Bay Area or are in town for ten days ($$$$) go to the Pre Reunion on 12-13 Aug 2017. Track entry is (was) free with a $30 paddock fee. Traffic on these days is relatively lighter but is still “superclusterF. The big weekend is super-superclusterF.
Magnificent, Michael, thank you!
The coachbuilders – located in Edmonton, a not very salubrious suburb in north-east London – of the drop-dead rare 1957 Le Mans Arnott-Climax (at the Quail) was Williams & Pritchard Limited (not the reverse), a company that is hugely significant in the post war revival of British motorsport. Charlie Williams – ex-Corsica – and Len Pritchard – Supermarine Spitfire builder during the war years – were often the go-to bodywork guys for Lotus, Lola, Cooper, Lister, Elva, AC, Surtees, Costing, Speedwell, Gordon-Keeble, BRM, Sprinzel and more… The company closed its doors in 1986.
Some 25 or so Arnotts were built in Harlesden, a suburb of north-west London, a stone’s throw from the original Ace Cafe, by Arnott’s Garages owned by a Miss Daphne Arnott. The 1098cc Coventry-Climax FWA engine replaced the more humble Austin/BMC A-series in time for Le Mans first in 1955.
Nice to see the old Bill Spear Ferrari 375, in which i saw him win in 1954
at March Field in California,
Curiously , 10 years later in `1964 new owner was allowed to
race it at Cumberland, Maryland, The SCCA was evidently not
thar strict on this “vintage ” machine racing against modern cars.
Thanks Michael T
jim sitz
Oregon
Once again, Michael has knocked it out of the park with the best ever article that encapsulates the entire weekend’s highlights! His clear, masterful presentation sets a standard that can be used as a useful guide for those who have never attended…..the whole experience has become truly overwhelming!
This was my 31st, and didn’t think I’d take as many pix. I took the most ever– 2000– and don’t think any of them rival Michael’s great pix. Truly, a man that can do it all!!
Gary Krings
To add to Michael’s excellent summary, The Quail, while somewhat over priced relative to other choices during Monterey Holy Week, is a special event with lots of very notable cars and personalities. I was fortunate to have my car accepted for the event this year and so was able to view the field at leisure.
A couple of notable additions to Michael’s review would bet he last Ferrari to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the NART entered 250LM in 1965 driven by Jochen Rindt, Masten Gregory and Ed Hughes. The car is still in its original livery, having avoided the clutches of the restoration vultures. The car now resides in a mid west US museum.
Additionally it was difficult to avoid the Lambo display of 25 Miuras for its 50th anniversary. As a career Ferrari man, it was nice to meet and chat with the new Lambo CEO – the recent Ferrari F1 Team Manager Stefano Domenicali. Very approachable and chatty guy – he seems like a good choice with his CV and style. A pleasure to meet you – good luck Stefano.
Then there was the display of about 20 or more BMW Z8s – the now much loved larger format sports car designed by Henrik Fisker of Fisker Automotive fame. These owners behave like family – photos abounded and a social crowd for sure.
And finally, I share Michael’s serious concern about the future of Laguna Seca Raceway. This track needs to be ‘saved’ before it is too late. Re-creating it later will be impossible with the tree huggers et al. The Monterey Historic Races are a ‘One Off Event’ on the global classic car calendar and have attracted the best of the best for decades.
Robert.
To add to Michael’s excellent summary, The Quail, while somewhat over priced relative to other choices during Monterey Holy Week, is a special event with lots of very notable cars and personalities. I was fortunate to have my car accepted for the event this year and so was able to view the field at leisure.
A couple of notable additions to Michael’s review would be the last Ferrari to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the NART entered 250LM in 1965 driven by Jochen Rindt, Masten Gregory and Ed Hughes. The car is still in its original livery, having avoided the clutches of the restoration vultures. The car now resides in a mid west US museum.
Additionally it was difficult to avoid the Lambo display of 25 Miuras for its 50th anniversary. As a career Ferrari man, it was nice to meet and chat with the new Lambo CEO – the recent Ferrari F1 Team Manager Stefano Domenicali. Very approachable and chatty guy – he seems like a good choice with his CV and style. A pleasure to meet you – good luck Stefano.
Then there was the display of about 20 or more BMW Z8s – the now much loved larger format sports car designed by Henrik Fisker of Fisker Automotive fame. These owners behave like family – photos abounded and a social crowd for sure.
And finally, I share Michael’s serious concern about the future of Laguna Seca Raceway. This track needs to be ‘saved’ before it is too late. Re-creating it later will be impossible with the tree huggers et al. The Monterey Historic Races are a ‘One Off Event’ on the global classic car calendar and have attracted the best of the best for decades.
Robert.
Great write up again. Sorry to miss you and Vickie, but glad you made it. Very proud of David Swig and he did his Dad proud.
Duncan Black offered to sell the 375mm to my Dad for $3500. in about 1962.
After a short drive Dad thought the clutch a bit stiff for Mom to go grocery shopping
with.