By Wallace Wyss
Photos Courtesy Artcurial Auctions
It seems, at first glance, a superfluous effort to do a design critique of a design that is over 50 years old, of a car that was never in production.
I used to think that about Robert Cumforford’s design analysis of one-off cars. But then I had a re-think. I realized that sometimes a design critique helps us elucidate why we like the car; or highlights trends at the time that we, perhaps raised in different eras, didn’t appreciate.
So here’s my take on this long “lost” car which, turns out, wasn’t really lost at all, just well-hidden in deep storage by an owner who, having been a key figure in real racing, wasn’t tempted to bring it out for vintage racing. (Count Volpi was even quoted at one time saying in effect that even if you owned one of these cars now, it could never be the same as owning it then; as if you can’t repeat history…) [Read more…] about Design Critique: Serenissima Le Mans