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wally wyss

Sidebar: The XNR and a Barn Hunter’s Dream Dashed

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The XNR in its full glory. The author long lusted after this car, figuring only he remembered it was pictured in ‘National Geographic’ magazine in Kuwait. Well, someone else obviously found it and restored it. Pebble Beach show program says the owner hails from Beirut. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

By Wallace Wyss
Color Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Car hunters find their barn finds in various and sundry ways.

One of my ways is to commit to memory cars I see in magazines and file away mentally the last known location.
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The Return of DeTomaso: BlandblandBlandblandblandBland and more Bland

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Not bad for a crossover, but terrible for a De Tomaso. Courtesy Pininfarina

With a tip of the hat to Monty Python, we can’t help repeating ourselves over the exciting Pininfarina De Tomaso Deauville which was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show last week.

By Wallace Wyss

Just when you thought the name “DeTomaso” was dead as an Italian marque, it’s back. And guess who designed one of the first new proposals for the once-defunct Italian brand? Chez Pininfarina , who showed a new Deauville prototype crossover at the Geneva show.
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Ferrari Art

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I don't know who did the original Pininfarina Dino road car prototype drawing, maybe Pietro Brovarone? Of course, the first production 206GT road car had quite a few differences, but this was probably done after the Plexiglas- nosed four headlamp prototype. I like to find references to the designs early in the game so you can see how the designs developed.

By Brian Winer

Wallace A. Wyss is known to most sports car folks as a writer and author (with ten car history books to his credit), but in 2007 he re-discovered a long dormant talent for putting a brush to canvas and has since painted over 50 portraits of Ferraris. Brian Winer, Boston-born free lance writer and art connoisseur, interviewed Wyss to ask him what fascinates him so much about the prancing horse.
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Beauty As a Liability: The Ferrari Lusso

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By Wallace Alfred Wyss

I remember visiting a guy in Newport Beach about 20 years ago who was a Can-Am racer who had just bought a Ferrari 250GT Lusso. I felt sorry for him because , as far as Ferrari 250s go , that model was known at the time as strictly a boulevard car with no racing potential, and therefore little investment potential. [Read more…] about Beauty As a Liability: The Ferrari Lusso

DeTomaso Mangusta, A Critical Look Part I

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Beauty, interrupted. At its best, pictured here, the Mangusta is a work of art. At its worse...well... Car and photo courtesy Daryl Addams.

Beauty, Interrupted

By Wallace Alfred Wyss

The DeTomaso Mangusta is one of the most beautiful cars ever to come out of Italy. But it does have its problems. [Read more…] about DeTomaso Mangusta, A Critical Look Part I

Sugarman’s Express: The Ghia 450SS

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John Huggins' 1966 Ghia 450SS.

By Wallace Alfred Wyss
Photos by John Huggins

Long ago, you could go to an Italian carrozzeria and order custom-made bodywork for your Chrysler, or Cadillac or whatever and pay a few thousand bucks and have a car that looked like a million bucks.
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Holy BatConcours!

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Story and photos by Wallace A. Wyss

[We were holding this article on the Greystone Concours held at the Doheny Mansion and run it along with an article about Bill Doheny and his cars. But information is not easy to obtain and we are still doing research. (yes, we need help!) In the meantime, we can’t let this neat story by Wally Wyss simply slip away. Late, but still good, we present it now with our apologies. Ed.]

If there really was a Bruce Wayne (aka “Batman”) and he had a mansion in Beverly Hills, then Greystone Mansion would be it. In fact it’s been used as a set for many films, including “Batman and Robin” with George Clooney. It is a genuine fieldstone mansion, with a slate roof, cobblestone courtyards, manicured gardens, all located high in the hills above Sunset strip, and was built by E.L. Doheny who reportedly was the first to strike oil in L.A. He built the mansion in 1928 for his son Ned, whose son William would eventuall become very active in the Southern Cal sports car movement. It is now a recognized historical landmark. Doheny’s place made a near perfect site for a concours d’elegance on April 11, 2010, and yours truly was privileged to be one of the few reporters invited to the $100 apiece spectator price event.

A 1937 6CM 1500 Maserati, chassis 1540. Once owned by UK vintage racer R. Fielding, and it was sold at a Goodings Auction in 2006 for $726,000. No name tag on the car but plenty of interest.


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The Count’s Revenge

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Art by Wallace A. Wyss

Mr. Wyss wrote this for us some time ago but it still passes muster even with the revelations of the new book “Rebel Rebel”. And a nice way to introduce one to the subject of the incredible Ferrari Breadvan. Ed.

By Wallace Alfred Wyss

Yes, there are Ferrari racers with a sense of humor. The Ferrari 250GT ‘Breadvan’ is a result of one such owner’s sense of humor. It was based on a 1961 competition 250 GT SWB modified by Ing. Giotto Bizzarrini.
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From Starving Author to Starving Artist

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“500 Mondial at Monterey 2008” See VT Store for More, click here.

By Pete Vack

According to Wally Wyss (rhymes with reese) only a handful of automotive writers earn a living writing. Recently, after having authored over ten books so far and hundreds of articles, Wyss figured that in order to really succeed he would instead become an automotive illustrator.

But he also admits that the successful automotive artist is even a rarer breed than the well paid automotive writer. So we all wondered, what is Wyss thinking, using the duh word and circling our temples with an index finger.
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