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michael t lynch

Is the End Nigh?

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The ex-Bill Devin Ferrari 250 MM will be sold at Bonhams Quail Auction during Pebble Beach week in Carmel. This is Bill posing with the car in 1953. This image is from a photo shoot that was for a Road & Track cover. The car made the cut, but Bill was replaced by a female model. Certainly a R&T cover car is worth a few more bids. See R&T cover below.


Michael T. Lynch

As the Monterey Bay historic automobile “Holy Week” approaches, there are some interesting tea leaves to read on the auction front. We will discuss the cars going on the block during the week’s auctions shortly, but the big sale news is the pending deal to sell the entire Bonhams auction house. [Read more…] about Is the End Nigh?

Art of the Car Concours ® 2014

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Richard Crump and Kathi Box’s Fiat 850 Spyder drew lots of attention. The color was partly responsible. They say if you lived through the hippie era and can remember it, you weren’t really there. I do recall these little Bertone beauties of the period introducing a whole new generation to the pleasures of motoring in an Italian car. Credit: Bob Dinkins

By Michael T. Lynch

The Eighth Edition of Art of the Car Concours® continued the show’s ascension as a leading automotive event between the two coasts. Both entries and people passing through the show field were records. Last year, the organizers added a Meet the Legends program on Saturday. It was a panel discussion of road racing in the 1950s featuring Sir Stirling Moss, Denise McCluggage and Masten Gregory’s late brother, Riddelle, himself a racer. Held appropriately in an academic amphitheatre at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, the discussion drew well over 300 people. [Read more…] about Art of the Car Concours ® 2014

Michael T. Lynch at Pebble Beach 2013

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One of the things that make the Pebble Beach Concours unique is its special displays. The organizers are able to present exhibitions of exotica no other event can manage. One of them was a group of cars bodied by Carrosserie Vanvooren. Founded by Achille Vanvooren in suburban Paris in 1910, the firm was taken over in 1919 by Marius Daste, who guided it through its golden era of the 20s and 30s when it became known for its high quality work on luxury marques, especially Bugatti, Delage, Rolls/Bentley and Hispano Suiza. The French arm of the last company was not far from the Vanvrooen atelier. The magnificent H-S seen here is a J12 Vanvooren Cabriolet entered by Robert M. Lee. Note the sophisticated shape that belies the size of the car and the contrasting coachlines that stand in relief from the remainder of the body. Five of the eight entries in the class were Hispano-Suizas. Credit MTL

By Michael T. Lynch [Read more…] about Michael T. Lynch at Pebble Beach 2013

California Mille Kickoff

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This car is the make and model that started it all. In 1982 Martin Swig and Road & Track photographer John Lamm took a similar Alfa 1900 SSZ, without a Zagato signature double bubble roof, to the first Mille Miglia retrospettiva. They were the only Americans entered. That experience led to the creation of the California Mille. This example was brought by Bruce and Cathy Milner.

A Bittersweet Gathering

Story and photos by Michael T. Lynch

The sky was clear on Nob Hill in San Francisco and the temperature was in the mid sixties. An exceptional group of collector cars from all over the world were backing into their spaces on the street between the Pacific Union Club and the Fairmont Hotel. It was the traditional kick-off luncheon for the California Mille. For many of us it was an emotional time because it was the first edition of the event run without its founder Martin Swig, who left us in 2012. Many joked about the weather, saying that where Martin was now gave him a more direct line to control that.
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Friday at Monterey with Michael T. Lynch

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Alfa S-11

David Smith’s Alfa S 11 Corto Spyder Speciale, described in VeloceToday’s 25 August issue, shows its final form at The Quail.

Story and photos by Michael T. Lynch

In our previews of the Alfa S 11 and the Bugatti Type 64, we promised you pictures of the cars when they appeared during Holy Week. In addition here are a few more Italian gems that caught this historian’s eye.
[Read more…] about Friday at Monterey with Michael T. Lynch

Lynch: The Dénouement of the Third Bugatti Type 64

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By Michael T. Lynch

Two weeks ago, Veloce Today brought you the story of David Smith’s Alfa S 11 Corto Spyder Speciale. It will debut on the lawn at The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering, held at the Quail Lodge in Carmel on Friday the 17th of August during the Monterey Peninsula Holy Week. Joining it there will be the imposing Bugatti Type 64 coupé from the Mullin Automotive Museum. The Bugatti has a recently completed body and this is the first time it will be seen. This is how it all came about.

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Michael T. Lynch on the Alfa S11 Project

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This picture of the engine as found sent David Smith on the journey that resulted in the Alfa S 11 project.

By Michael T. Lynch
Color photos courtesy David Smith

This article was originally published in 2012.

When the world’s automotive elite gather at Monterey, they bring an amazing array of machinery with them. VeloceToday is previewing two cars that will be present, one Italian and the other French. Both will be the subject of much controversy. Some will see then as logical completions of concepts that were interrupted by World War II, done to the highest standards. Others will opine that they are sacrilegious creations putting false Gods before us. One thing is for sure. Much fine wine will be downed discussing their merits and shortcomings. Both have revered nameplates. One is an Alfa Romeo and the other, a Bugatti.

This week we will begin with the Italian vehicle, with the Bugatti following in the next issue. The nomenclature for the Alfa, chosen by the owner David Smith, is a 1938 Alfa Romeo S 11 Corto Spyder Speciale.

It all began when David was offered an unusual Alfa engine by an Italian broker. It was pictured strapped to a pallet, rough with no accessories. David realized it was one of the three S 11 V-8s made in 1938. Despite the fact that he was told the engine was frozen and there was water on the oil dipstick, the purchase was completed. [Read more…] about Michael T. Lynch on the Alfa S11 Project

A Response From the Author of “The Limit…”

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By Michael Cannell

I defer to your and Michael’s grasp of automotive history in most of these points. However, I think you’ve erred in some places and overreached in others. I’ve attached a handful of rebuttals. In some cases, you seem to treat my decision to not include a bit of information as a form of inaccuracy. Bear in mind that “The Limit” is meant to be narrative non-fiction, not exhaustive history. [Read more…] about A Response From the Author of “The Limit…”

Sergio Scaglietti: 1920-2011

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sergio scaglietti

Sergio Scaglietti (l) is seen here with Piero Ferrari. Piero issued the following statement; 'He was one of my father’s best friends. He was next to me with Marco Piccinini also the day my father died and stayed with me the whole night until the funeral. I loved him and he was a very important part of my life. The world is emptier without Sergio.'

By Michael T. Lynch

The world has lost one of the great artisans of immediate post-World War II coachbuilding. Sergio Scaglietti died last Saturday night at his home. A son of Modena born in 1920, he joined his brother at Carrozzeria Emiliana when he was just 13, a year short of what Italian labor laws of the time allowed. This was due to the death of his father and the need for family income.

[Read more…] about Sergio Scaglietti: 1920-2011

Lynch on the First Ferrari GTO

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When Pebble Beach announces a special display, the enthusiast community immediately comes to life. No one who saw the six Bugatti Royales at Pebble Beach in 1985 will ever forget the spectacle. A class for Bugatti Type 57s with coachbuilt bodies in 2003 was extremely impressive, with a large entry and car histories on placards mounted on standards. (This article originally was published in September 2011.)

Ferraris also have had their days at Pebble. An exceptional turnout was guaranteed every ten years when Ferrari was the featured marque at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races and Pebble Beach added more classes for the products of Maranello. Hopefully, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion will continue this tradition. Other years have yielded some gems as well. In 2009, there were Pebble Beach classes for ten Ferrari 166 Barchettas and all four remaining 250 TR/59s. Last year, there were eight iterations of the 250 Short Wheelbase on the field.

A contemporary image of 3223 GT at the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour. This is the livery as it appeared at Pebble Beach this year.

This year provided one of the best, if not the best, Ferrari entry ever, and the highlight was a 50th Anniversary class for 250 GTOs. It had 21 cars aligned along the shoreline. Heading the line on the right was Bruce McCaw’s 250 Sperimentale, one of two SWBs used in developing the GTO. There were also two four-liter GTO variants with hopped up Super America engines. [Read more…] about Lynch on the First Ferrari GTO

Lynch on the Collier Collection and Revs Institute

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Dr. Clifford Nass is seen at the wheel of an automobile simulator in the Communications at the Humans and Interactive Media Lab at Stanford. He is the Director of the Revs Program at Stanford.

Lynch explains goals of the Collier Collection and the new Revs Institute at Stanford

By Michael T. Lynch

As an enthusiast, I’ve often wondered over the years where the automobile went wrong with Academia. Although the automobile has had a huge impact on many intellectual disciplines, little scholarly work has been written about it that wasn’t negative. Certainly cars have had deleterious effects on society – pollution, urban sprawl and fatal accidents among them — there have been positive aspects as well. When I left the Midwest to go to school in the Northeast, it occurred to me that in centers of intellectual inquiry like New York, Boston, New Haven and Philadelphia, these cities all had working mass transportation systems. Many people didn’t even own cars, simply renting them for occasional weekend excursions. Intellectuals operating in these public transportation hothouses could only see the evil in the automobile, not considering what a miniscule portion of our population is served by even minimally-effective public transportation. Certainly the automobile is positive in that a huge percentage of American workers could not get to their jobs without one and would have no ability to start a new job, if they lost one.
[Read more…] about Lynch on the Collier Collection and Revs Institute

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