The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Randy Leffingwell photographed the lost Porsche in ....Copyright Randy Leffingwell.
By Wallace Wyss
Of course, it is not really “lost.” Someone out there has it and my basis for thinking that is that I’ve seen pictures of it restored and resplendent in a recent Randy Leffingwell book.
I speak of the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Porsche 911 roadster, a one-off car that was built by Carrozzeria Bertone back in the first half of the sixties when Giugiaro was the main man on the boards at Bertone.
Aston Martin by Bertone, 2013. Credit Bonhams Auction.
By Wallace Wyss
Sometimes it’s the odd one that appreciates the most…
At one time, race cars were fetching a lot more at the major auctions than car show one-offs. The idea was that if you buy a race car, if you’re lucky you get one with history. You buy a show car, a one-off what do you get? A momentary bauble. A flavor of the moment as it were. Designs that came and went, mostly forgotten.
Well this 1960Aston Martin DB4 GT Bertone Jet coupe, chassis 0201L, Engine no. 370/-201/GT was sold at a May, 2013 Bonhams auction for the top dollar sum of 3,249,500 GBP ($4,928,697 USD) which is more than some Aston Martin DB4GT race cars go for even with some racing history.
There is a reason for this. This particular car was the last DB4 GT chassis—and the last of any series is worth more than the ones in the middle.
First a little bit about the Aston Martin DB4 GT as a model. “DB” means “David Brown” by the way, he being the owner of Aston after WWII. The DB4GT was introduced as the competition version of the DB4 sports saloon. First launched in in 1958, the Aston Martin DB4 was a direct challenge to Ferrari. It had an all new steel platform chassis with disc brakes all round, and a race-developed twin-cam six-cylinder 3.7-litre engine, all clothed in a perfectly proportioned aluminum body designed by Touring Superleggera of Milan.
Press release photo of the Giugiaro Aston.
Mary Ann Dickinson (MAD) eyes Monterey
Check out this 1938 Lancia Aprilia Sport Aerodinamica, a modern reconstruction of a pre-war car. Andrea Zagato built this one in recognition of his father’s original design, following the images from old photographs as there is no other record of the car. It is a sleek beauty, with lines way ahead of its time.
Every August we all trek to the Monterey peninsula in California for the Holy Grail of vintage car events, which have grown beyond control over the years like an abandoned garden zucchini. It is now a plethora of car shows, auctions, races, exhibitions and collector markets, all occurring in the same frantic week. And this car fun is pricey; attending Monterey has become a compulsory – and expensive – pilgrimage.
[Read more…] about MAD about Monterey
By Roberto Motta
Photo courtesy of the Archives Bertone
On November 2 the Italian Ministry of Heritage and Culture announced that the “Bertone Collection” kept at the company headquarters in Caprie, is now part of the national artistic heritage of Italy. Unfortunately, the Collection is missing some jewelry, but the majority of the collection now is safe.
[Read more…] about Bertone Museum Becomes a National Historic Site: In English and Italian
Courtesy Bertone Group.
By Roberto Motta and Pete Vack
As a consequence of the financial reorganization of Bertone, the liquidators of the Bertone Museum have chosen to offer six automobiles to collectors. These wonderful cars will be auctioned at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, Italy, 21st May, 2011.
[Read more…] about A Lady Sells her Jewels: Lancia and Corvair
Winning Delage D86 Roadster. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.
By Wallace Wyss and Brian Winer
French cars, Italian coachbuilders at Pebble Beach.