Driven World October 2015

D RIVENWORLD

Oct 2015

The Official Magazine of Supercar Sunday

After all... It’s a driven world!

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From the Editor It was a Sunday. I had to get the magazine done and to the printer first thing Monday morning. It had been a long week...but most are. We had a great day at Supercar Sunday and in my mind, I knew the magazine was 99% done. It was a sense of relief. I told Heather that we would go to lunch with my parents and brother in Agoura after Supercar Sunday.

The thing about publishing a magazine is that it’s never quite done. It is never perfect and there are always mistakes. Always. Well, at least with my magazine. Most people don’t notice, but there are a rare breed of readers out there, who notice the smallest of mistakes.

Some of them take great pleasure in informing me of my mistakes... I am not sure whether it is they are trying to help me keep my eye on the ball or... they just like telling me that there are mistakes. I once had a guy screaming at me at Supercar Sunday about a mistake or two... didn’t know the guy, not a regular, but he really did enjoy himself. I guess that is just how it is.

The car show was done. We were off to my parents and I knew that I would have my mom look over the magazine one more time. Already had the wife look it over, all the contributors and a few other friends. I do three spell checks on every story. But, there are always mistakes. I just hope they are not so obvious.

Just today I saw that a major publication called a Ferrari by the wrong model number on the cover. A simple keystroke and a F488 becomes a F458, the previous model.

I chuckled over it; some poor bloke is slapping his hand against his head real hard on that one.

Is it the end of the world? No. But, I do wonder how many editors looked it over and nobody caught it. I bet the buck got passed a bit. Glad to know that we are all human.

So, all I wanted to do after lunch with the family was relax at mom’s house. Like I said, it was a long week. Grandma loves to play with Scarlett so it is kind of a couple hours to just hang out.

That little voice of mine kept saying “check the magazine...” “Edit it one more time...” I really wanted to call it done and just relax, but I had better do the right thing. My mom had already looked it over once, Heather too, that left my brother Lance. Let’s see if I could con him into doing a little proofing on a Sunday afternoon.

Oddly, and I have no idea how this worked out, but my brother also produces a magazine for his work. He has the same type of deadlines and proofing challenges, heck, publishing concerns that I have.

Doing a magazine every month is a bit of work. It is fun, but a ton of stress. The second you think you can relax, that looming deadline creeps in. It can be a chore. Fun, but a chore.

I politely asked him to look over my magazine. It was about two-thirty in the afternoon. He was reluctant, but doing the best con job I could to get some free labor out of my brother, he finally agreed he would take a “quick look” at it. Perfect, that is all I needed, one more set of eyes before I send it off to the printer. About the tenth set of eyes.

That’s the other funny thing about it.

You can have ten people proof a magazine and all ten will spot different errors and miss errors.

It is interesting how all the minds work a bit differently.

There my brother sat at the kitchen table. The rest of us were out on the patio enjoying the afternoon. I kind of laughed that I had hustled him into doing this as he just met his deadline and the last thing he wanted to do was more work. But hey, what are brothers for?

Free labor!

As the rest of the family sat outside, the sun shining, playing with my daughter, all of a sudden I heard these yells coming out of the kitchen. Yells and then groans and then comments all of which have something to do with the fact that I have no grasp of the English language, punctuation or how to complete a sentence.

I meandured into the kitchen half asleep, not really wanting to deal with the magazine... but as my brother was doing me a favor, I had to see what all of the commotion was about. He had his hand to his forehead, a pen out and was slashing and scribbling notes faster than you could shift out of first gear. I had never seen so much red ink in my life. Could have painted a car with all that ink. Good grief, what the heck was going on?

My brother. Well, let’s just say that he is a bit more detail oriented than I am. He kept asking, who the heck proofed this? I said, to start your mother and sister-in-law and every other contributor and three spell checks. So then, he screams for my mom, a retired teacher and starts laying into her. Hey, the heat was off me, or so I thought.

Lance. Lance was always the creative one. Got better grades, was a bit more focused on school than I was and now, I was paying the price. As I sat next to him for the next five hours, all I wanted to do was relax. And, he was going to take a “quick look.” He analyzed every word. Every letter. One by one. I think Microsoft should hire him instead of their spell check. God knows he caught more.

There we sat as I took a beating. You can’t write like this, you can’t write like that.

My answer of course, as I laughed, was I can write however I want! He kept saying you can’t you can’t. Who writes like this? I told him that people have complimented me on my writing, I think he said, “they must have been lying.“

Story after story, page after page, it was like the worst grilling you ever got at school.

Pick a subject, whatever subject you hated the

most and imagine an expert beating you with those letters or numbers for five long, long hours. I think I left the table with less hair on my head than when we started.

I had to ask my brother! It is good to know that he cares so much to take so much time to perfect his little brother’s magazine.

God it was painful. I think it channeled some long lost lessons he must have tried to teach me when I was a kid. I actually, cannot remember the last time we sat down together to work on a project or something of this nature. I am sure he probably tried to help me with my math as he was better at it than I was. Clearly, he never helped me with my English. As painful as it was, it was also so fun. For every mistake he found, I found some quick response that made him a bit more frustrated. The beating I took was almost worth it to see him so frustrated with me. If you can’t take joy in frustrating the ones you love...I actually take great pride in it.

Oh that issue. I suppose he likes my writing style, but it is not so conventional.

Frankly, I don’t care. I write how I write and for those of you who know me, you know what you see is what you get. And that is it. It is from the heart, honest and I hope that it creates some type of emotion when you read it. But, the great thing about publishing your own magazine is you can write whatever the heck you want.

I suppose I have never really done things in order. I can tell you, I have never known what I am supposed to do with my life.I just try to do the best I can. I try to live by some code that is a blend of my parents’ ideals, society’s, a little bit of Magnum PI and Clint Eastwood cowboy movies. Somehow, in my mind it all makes sense. I think it sort of work. If not, I will at least be able to look back and say I did it my way or at least I tried damn hard to do so.

I guess that is something that I enjoy about the car community. We do things our way.

Hot rodding, customizing, we are doing what we want, how we want, and it makes sense to us. I suppose there is no reason to spend hours and hours and hours working on a car, modifying it to your own desires and goals. It may not make sense, just like my writing style and the mistakes you may find in the magazine. But, at the end of the day, I will take my mistakes, my wacky way of writing, the long hours staring at a computer and try to be more creative and just be me. Because, at the end of the day, when I put my head to the pillow, I know that what you are reading is from my heart. If you get it, great. If not, that is OK too.

To my brother, your attention to detail and creativity far exceeds mine. Thank you for caring so much to put in so much time. And, yes, I know I can learn a lot from your illustration, I always have and will continue to do so.

-Dustin

D RIVENWORLD ISSUE 70, oct 2015

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Dustin Troyan

ART DIRECTOR Connected Media Group LLC

contents

COPY EDITOR Heather Troyan

DESIGN Connected Media Group WEB DESIGN

Jeff Balbien

STORIES BY Dustin Troyan Mark Llewellyn Brooks Smith Tommy Mansuwan Mark Llewellyn Jim Hunter Mike Grudt Greg Grudt

PHOTOGRAPHY Greg Grudt Christan Welch David Rosenthal Duane Steiner Tommy Mansuwan

Gabriel Sarkisian Jim Hunter

Advertising / Marketing Dustin@connectedmediagroup.com (818) 516-5053 www.drivenworld.com www.connectedmediagroup.com www.supercarsunday.com Driven World Magazine is published twelve times per year by Connected Media Group LLC. It is distributed at upscale locations and events all over California. It is also available online and distributed electronically to high-net-worth individuals as well as members of the car community at large.

All rights reserved. Driven World and Supercar Sunday are registered trademarks of Connected Media Group LLC. No articles, illustrations, photographs, or any other materials or advertisements herein may be reproduced without permission of copyright owner. Driven World Magazine and Connected Media Group LLC, do not take responsibility for the claims provided herein.

Connected Media Group LLC, Driven World Magazine, and its affiliates, contributors, writers, editors, and publisher accept no responsibility for the errors or omissions with information and/or advertisements contained herein. Connected Media Group LLC does not assume liability for any products or services advertised herein and assumes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers or editorial information.

On the Cover: McLaren Perfection Photo: Greg Grudt

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Monterey, Outside In

I’ve been fortunate to cover Monterey Car Week for several years.

Heading to Monterey with an objective beyond ogling cars has elevated that experience.

There’s still plenty of ogling, but playing a role in the

Story + Photos // Jim Hunter

scene, even if that role is to merely document proceedings, remains highly rewarding.

This year was to be a bit different.

With the addition of the Ferrari Club of America International Meet, my wife Traci and I would

effectively become part of that scene. Having entered our 1982 308 GTSi for Field Concours Judging, we dived straight into the fully immersive experience of preparing, driving, and presenting a car during one of the most vetted celebrations of automotive art and history on any calendar. The resulting week proved as enjoyable as any I’ve experienced to date, but also the most challenging.

The diligent attention to detail required to properly show a car, especially adjunct to Monterey Car Week, is significant. In the course of bringing my car to the field, I’ve quipped, “Ferrari problem? What problem?”

Indeed, problems encountered as result of practicing one’s passion are not problems at all. This holds true for any enthusiast, no matter

what marque or model holds the glimmer in their eye. It’s part of the process, and the subsequent journey and labor is one of love.

Yet show cars are built to be driven. For those who embrace the art of driving, the act of maintaining and preserving a driven vehicle is a way to hold onto those experiences, and a way to give back. Ideally, understanding that one is but a temporary custodian of the instrument that embodies their passion only enriches their enthusiast experience.

Fulfilling this objective requires a broad support network. Perhaps one of the reasons we all love cars so much is because we soon realize how fortunate we are to not only share our passion with others, but to be able to depend upon each other along the way of preserving and restoring these special vehicles.

Having enjoyed several great drives in my 308 while maintaining a schedule of gradual

preparation, August’s arrival put my quest to automotive nirvana into high gear. We planned to make the drive up the central coast with friends and fellow 308 owners, and got together the Sunday prior for a pre-drive detail. Three Pininfarina 308s in one driveway is an inspiring sight. We had fun preparing for the journey over jack stands and pasta.

Unfortunately, my nirvana soon turned

to horror when I experienced a sudden and unexpected fuel pump failure returning home on the 5 North! The fact that I was in the fast lane with virtually no median did not help matters, but I learned a valuable lesson: when experiencing such a breakdown in bad traffic, you’ve already done a lot to preserve your car and your life by making traffic a whole lot worse! It’s hard to imagine that my story would have had a happy

ending in light traffic and higher speeds. I was stranded with a bizarre mix of relief yet empathy for the thousands forming the parking lot that eventually enveloped my car. Oh well, life in the big city as they say, at least they were moving slowly enough to see a Ferrari.

Crisis averted and fuel pump replaced, we lined up a few short days later to make the marvelous trek to Central Coast.

Ferrari was the featured marque at

Pebble this year, so it was a foregone conclusion that we were in for an exciting week. In addition to all of the serious concours, racing, and auction activity, Ferrari executed a perfect example of “Pop-up” customer activation with “Casa Ferrari,” situated just a few clicks south of Carmel on Hwy 1.

The location, chosen for it’s inherent architectural notes on Enzo’s Fiorano home-office, provided Ferraristi a chance to

see the new 488 GTB in person. Casa Ferrari catered Ferrari owners with excellent food, drink, and gelato. No doubt, we felt privileged to have our cars parked and photographed at such a fun and impressive venue that so captured the spirit of Maranello. It proved a nice sidebar to the already hyper-stimulated car scene.

Friday morning I resumed journalistic duties, arriving early at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to photograph the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The Rolex is a highlight of the North American motorsport calendar. It does not receive headline media coverage, but it should. It is not uncommon to witness an enthusiast’s eyes roll up and back when they wax about The Rolex.

This year’s Rolex field offered a notable addition: the return of the Grand Prix Historics.

The contingent of yesteryear’s legendary F1 chassis was awe-inspiring. Along with immediately recognizable landmarks such as Chris Macallister’s former Niki Lauda Ferrari

312 T2 and Duncan Dayton’s JPS Lotus 79, this year offered new entrants including John Goodman’s 1978 Tyrell 008 Chassis #03, a 1974 Hesketh 308B, and a contingent of McLarens, including Danny Baker’s 1976 private entry M23 once campaigned by American driver Brett Lunger. SoCal Ferrarista Anthony Nobles was also on hand with his 1983 RAM March.

Saturday brought Concorso Italiano at Bayonet Black Horse Golf Club in Seaside. With the FCA Field Judging scheduled for the meet

on Monday, Italiano was more casual this year, but one would have been hard pressed to notice given the diligence in which the owners took to detailing their cars. Italiano effectively became our dress rehearsal. Our 308 drove beautifully to the venue, and owner bias had me beaming as she stood proudly against a considerable field of formidable examples!

Black Horse is such a great venue.

Over looking the sea and the bay north of the Monterey Peninsula, a pleasant ocean

breeze made retreats into the shaded hillsides a welcome relief from what was proving an unseasonably warm August on the Central Coast.

We took the day to enjoy the company of friends and the multitude of other marques and chassis on display.

Sunday would normally mean rising at 3:30 am to make Pebble’s Dawn Patrol, but not this year. Work remained in preparation for Monday’s Concours. I was fortunate to find the doors open at T Rutlands on Sunday morning and picked up some replacement pedal pads for the 308. By mid-morning I resumed my abbreviated journalistic efforts, focusing on the immensely popular Trans-AM cars at Mazda Raceway. After a couple productive hours, I was off to install the 308’s factory original metric rims and tires that I’d had restored earlier in the summer.

FCA festivities kicked off on Sunday night with a reception and Ferrari Mercato, where I was excited to pick up a North American sales brochure for the 1981 308s. We had a chance to meet new friends, and I was exceptionally inspired to become acquainted with alumni of Atlanta’s former hub of Ferrari passion, FaF Motorcars.

Monday morning provided a much welcome relief from the heat and brought a touch of drama to our drive to the concours in heavy fog. Our car loves the cool air, and she never sounded better. I was stoked! She had been running marvelously from the moment we left LA. Eric at The Auto Gallery had performed his normal magic, and with strict scrutineering I was

more confident than I’d ever felt prior any other concours. As we found our place on the lawn, sunlight eventually cut low and raked across the field with specular hits of brilliant color.

The morning was busy but relaxed.

A couple cups of coffee, a few final touch ups . . . everything was going to plan.

Judging commenced shortly after 9 AM. I watched with anticipation as the judges worked their way toward our car. Showtime!

Presenting the car, I listened carefully as to follow the judges’ instructions verbatim.

“Start the motor” came the call. Effortlessly as ever, the 3-litre V8 turned over. Wait a second.

It started, but what’s that strange noise? Huh?!

My 308, which that very morning sounded as beautiful as a deftly conducted operatic Italian symphony, now sounded like an old AMC Matador with mice running through the manifolds. How can this be? What on earth?

There I sat . . .

In my younger days I would’ve completely lost it, but I’ve found reserve in maturity and somehow managed to maintain some degree of a poker face. “Ferrari problem, what problem?!” It was all happening so fast, I just tried to focus on the judge’s instructions.

If they reacted to the awful sound, they did not show it. The chief judge calmly called further instructions. Turn on headlights, hit your high beams, left blinker, antenna, etc. Then came the call for the air conditioning, initial crisis seemingly averted.

Now keep in mind my AC had been working perfectly. I drove to Monterey from LA in complete comfort.

It had been so warm in Monterey this time around that when we were in the car, the AC was blowing, and it was blowing air that would freeze helium.

I confidently click the switch . . .

“Your AC’s not working,” a judge remarked from outside the car.

“Sure it is!” I confidently exclaim. “It’s blowing frigid air on my face right now.”

“Can’t be. There’s no compressor belt,” he calmly replied.

Huh? All of a sudden I realize that the air blowing on me is warm. Oh no!

Indeed, the compressor belt had sheared, and for all I know it happened after we changed the wheels the evening prior.

I saw the Platino vanish into thin air. I tried to hide my disappointment. I was embarrassed. I wanted the judges to know how hard we’d worked to bring the car before them, and that we weren’t callous enough to present a car which was in need of such a degree of repair.

The judges wrapped up their duties and kindly thanked me for the bringing the car.

I tried to put it out of my mind and not

let it ruin our trip. I tried to enjoy the nice lunch provided as part of the concours, and I spent the afternoon focusing my thoughts on the other magnificent cars on display.

The afternoon grew quite warm and very bright. They announced the judges would soon be making the rounds to issue their notifications I had not given up all hope but I found myself seeking shade and not wanting to stay by my car as the day wound down.

It seemed to take forever, but finally a judge arrived.

“Mr. Hunter? You’ll line up over there to take the cue for the award presentation.

Platino.” I could not believe it.

When it was my turn on the stage, the Chief Judge congratulated me, and as he shook my hand he offered that under the circumstances the AC qualified as a transporter issue. Wow.

I was once again reminded of the “broad support network.” I’d never imagined that a judge could also play a role in that network, but these gentlemen certainly had, and recognized the efforts so many had put toward bringing this 308 to the field.

Stepping inside the Monterey scene, I experienced something unique, a plateau of the enthusiast, collector car world. It will always stay with me, and even next year when I’m back to my normal journalistic endeavors, I will never really be on the outside again.

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The Monterey Auctions

Story // Mike Grudt Photos // Greg Grudt

“Only $750K for this Koenigsegg?

What are you people thinking?” As I stood next to Christian von Koenigsegg during the Pinnacle Portfolio event at RM Auctions in Monterey during car week he didn’t say anything.

I’m pretty sure he was thinking something like that when a 2008 Koenigsegg CCXR (which is only 1 of 5 in the U.S. and was featured in the movie “Fast and Furious 5”) crossed the auction floor. The car was expected to bring over $1M and he looked sort of disappointed at the sale price. I had a brief conversation with him and complimented him on his beautiful exotic vehicles. He thanked me and moved on to the numerous others waiting to speak to him.

There were so many other rare and exclusive cars in this collection I can’t list all of them. A few of note were the last Ferrari Enzo built (#400) given to John Paul II, a beauti-

ful McLaren F1 (one of two examples upgraded

by McLaren Special Operations with an LM-spec engine), the first Bugatti Veyron Chassis #001, a Maserati MC12, numerous rare Ferrari street and race cars, a Porsche 959 and other classic Porsches, a Lamborghini Reventon, a Lamborghini Miura, and one of my favorites was a good old American one of two 1000HP 2005 Saleen twin-turbo S7 in a beautiful butterscotch color. RM also auctioned off many other rare and unique high end vehicles at Monterey during car week. I believe they claimed the highest total sales for the week. RM had an amazing collection of cars at a single event.

The next auction on our agenda was the Russo and Steele event just around the corner near Fisherman’s Wharf.

Each auction listed a few marquee vehicles of note in advance to draw attention to their event.

We wanted to make sure we didn’t miss any of them. At Russo and Steele we saw an immaculate (and very rare) 1 of 48 1990 Lamborghini LM002 “American” SUV. This V12 off road monster with a white on white color combo looked showroom new. I have only seen a few of these and they are awesome. I saw my first one in 1990 when I was invited to test drive the first civilian, and some military versions of the Hummer H1’s out in the hills near Palmdale. As we motored the Hummers way off road through the mountains and across some creeks (it was raining and very cool to drive through “rivers” a couple of feet deep with no worries) we passed a magazine test group and photo shoot (I believe it was Motor Trend) of a Red Lamborghini LM002. I was just in awe as I later found out this vehicle had the V12 engine from a Diablo. Wow!! Anyway, this auction had a little bit of everything. They had numerous

muscle cars, Ferraris, Lamborghini’s and just about any other car one could imagine. It was very cool.

The next day, in addition to all of our other exploits we visited the Gooding Auction.

They are located in Pebble Beach in a prime spot near the main events of the week. Gooding always seems to have a collection of very select high end and rare vehicles. This year they had some amazing vehicles. A few I liked were a 1982 Porsche 956 racer, and many older Porsche street and race cars, a 1980 BMW M1, many rare and unique Ferraris including a classic (and very expensive) 1962 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale, and If I brought my checkbook I could have driven home the $2M 2015 McLaren P1 in Volcano Orange. Oh well…maybe next year. I’ll have to remember to clear a spot in my garage. Off we went to our next stop…Bonham’s.

Bonham’s Auction (also referred to as the Quail Lodge Auction) is held in Carmel adjacent to the Quail Resort. They are fairly small as auctions go, but they always have a nice selection. This year a few cars of note were a 1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider (is it just me or do the old expensive Ferrari’s always have a very long name?), many other classic Ferrari’s, Porsche’s and Mercedes’ cars, and a 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic. Believe me I have seen just about every type of car and I’ve never heard of this one. It was listed for $2M+ so it must be rare and special. There was a very nice 1982 Jaguar IMSA racer and a 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America. Again, never have seen or heard of one of these but, listed for $2M+ I thought it was worth a mention. Oh well. Next stop…the Mecum Auction. Off we went.

I love American muscle and that’s why I love the Mecum Auction. The Mecum always has a huge selection of good old American horsepower…Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaros, Mopars, Pontiacs. All cars I grew up with and easily recognize. They also always seem to have some very rare and unique European exotics

thrown in the mix. This year they had a few very special cars of note. One of the main cars in my opinion was the 1976 Porsche Turbo Carrera owned by Steve McQueen. This was the last special order Porsche he owned. It was a special color Slate Gray that he spec’d and another cool feature (keeping with the King of Cool aura surrounding Steve McQueen) was a special switch on the dashboard to kill the rear lights if he was chased on Mulholland by the police, as the story goes. After being overwhelmed by the old Corvettes, Mustangs, Chargers, Camaros, ‘Cudas and the huge number of other cars at this auction I need to highlight some other vehicles of note. When the Miami Vice Show was on television in the mid 80’s Ferrari provided two black Testerossa’s. The show’s director had them painted white for better visibility at night and one of them was up for auction at Mecum. Another special car was a 1970 Hemi Cuda Convertible with virtually every option owned by the young designer who penned this design. Black on black and the epitome of muscle cars and sold for over

$1M. Also, a one of one 2005 Black Maserati MC12, a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT in Fayence Yellow with only 252 miles (If I owned one I would have that number of miles the first day) and a 1967 1 of 62 U.S. spec Toyota 2000 GT listed for well over $1M. Ok, I saved the best for last…a 1974 Chevrolet Greenwood Corvette IMSA Wide-body racer, “Spirit of Sebring ‘75”.

This car was one of six wide-body models and among those cars held the record for most pole positions, most race wins and most “fast lap” records. Oh, I almost forgot (yeah right) this car holds the overall all-time highest official speed ever recorded by any car at Daytona: 236 MPH. Not too shabby for a 40 year old Chevy L88 big block.

If you have never been to the Monterey Car Week Auctions you owe it to yourself to experience the vast array of old, new, rare and unique examples of vehicles in a small geographic area that isn’t replicated anywhere else in the world. It was truly amazing. Please enjoy my son Greg’s photos and all of the other articles in this special “Monterey Edition” of Drivenworld.

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Book Review: The BEst Job In the World

Review // Brooks Smith

Burt “BS” Levy has been turning out his own, unique brand of motor racing novels, for just over twenty years now. In the decades since struggling to get his first book, The Last Open Road self published (after being famously told by one publishing house regarding car enthusiasts that “Those people don’t read.”), Burt has produced six books in two related series, all of them self published. His latest installment, The 200MPH Steamroller: Book II The Italian Job, is actually both the sixth book in the series proper, and the second in the particular 200MPH Steamroller series-within-aseries, following a peripheral character from the earlier books on a new set of motor racing adventures.

If all of this sounds a bit confusing, well, I guess the only recommendation I have is to read all of Burt’s other books, until you’re caught up. But then, that would have been my recommendation on so many levels. This

is a book, and a series of books that really should be read by all gearheads, and especially fans of sports car racing. It manages to illustrate for those weren’t lucky enough to see it for themselves, a glorious period in motor racing, when technology had advanced enough to give drivers everything they needed to go quickly, but had yet to begin easing them out of the picture.

It puts us in the stands, and pits, and garages, and lets us walk among heroes and gods, with a press pass in pinned to our lapel so they’ll make nice with us.

The latest book sees us back at Fairway Motors (Which in no way at all resembles FoMoCo.), as their new “Absolute Performance” program begins to take shape. As it does we’re treated to personal drama, corporate drama, and the occasional, period correct near-nuclearholocaust drama. In between, there’s more

than a little humor, and an absolute ton of cars, the racing of cars, the development of racing cars, and the sensation when all that work and drama come to a head for a fleeting moment, then pass by leaving whatever happens in their wake. Racers, and those who follow the sport will recognize the feelings.

If I have one other recommendation with these books, it’s to keep an internet browser tap open to your favorite search engine. You may think you know about cars and racing, I tend to think I do. Burt though, has obviously put a ton of research, compounded with a lifetime’s worth of passion and knowledge into these books, and it show up as detail in every visit made to a race meet, manufacturer, or local shop.

An enthusiast will almost certainly want to check up on things half-remembered, or never learned.

For the right reader, it’s a certain kind of magic.

Book kindly supplied for review by AutobooksAerobooks, and available for purchase at www.autobooks-aerobooks.com. Autobooks: The world’s fastest bookstore, since 1951!

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Pagani Raduno 2015 Beverly Hills to Monterey

Story + Photos // Greg Grudt

On Saturday, August 9, 2015 an extremely rare, once in a lifetime, event took place in Beverly Hills, CA. A world record gathering of Pagani Huayra’s assembled at the Montage Hotel. In the past seeing one or two Huayra’s together in North America was considered a big deal and an amazing sight to see (and still is).

However, there were eleven Huayra’s parked in the valet lot at The Montage Hotel. Another way to think of this is that eleven percent of the total production of Huayra’s was parked right in front of my very eyes. Pagani planned on making 100 Pagani Huayra’s, each individually numbered. There were Huayra’s from all over the United States including California, Florida, Texas and Connecticut and there was even one that was flown in from Saudi Arabia. Each Huayra was incredibly unique, from a straight pipe exhaust on the La Monza Lisa Edition, to a cool plaid interior on the Scotia Edition. There was such a wide variety of exterior colors and interiors. It was quite an experience seeing them all parked

together like this.

The top secret Pagani Raduno 2015 turned out to be not so top secret. Every possible leaper and photographer in Southern California ventured out to the Montage Hotel in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Pagani madness. Kids with iPad’s, cell phones and other photographic devices filled the valet lot and surrounding

sidewalks to get their photos. At approx. 1:30pm, all of the cars departed for Santa Barbara which was the next stop on the rally. The random cars driving around aimlessly in Beverly Hills had no idea what was coming. While watching the cars leave a very rare silver Vector was coming the opposite direction and even photobombed some of my photos. Nearly $15 million dollars worth of cars made their way down Canon Street. People were hanging cell phone out their windows and couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. The looks on these drivers faces was priceless.

I nearly forgot to mention that there

were not just Pagani’s on the Rally. An ultrarare exposed carbon fiber Koenigsegg Agera R, a Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari 458 Speciale, Lamborghini Aventador and some Rolls Royce’s joined in on the fun and were part of the rally as well. The rally lasted a couple of days and ended up in Monterey, CA for Car Week.

Another blue Pagani Huayra with a yellow stripe from Texas was up in Monterey and joined the group, which brought the total up to 12 Huayra’s! Many of the Huayra’s were on display at the Pagani booth at The Quail. Throughout the course of the week, I saw many of the Huayra’s driving around Monterey, but I never saw them all lined up together again.

All in all it was an absolutely amazing day in Beverly Hills getting to see that many Pagani Huayra’s together in one spot.

Monterey Car Week hadn’t even started for me yet, but it sure felt like it had. I don’t think I will be forgetting this day anytime soon.

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The Twelfth Annual Motor4toys Charity Car Show and Toy Drive

Story // Dustin Troyan Photos // Greg Grudt // Gabriel Sarkisian

The Twelfth Annual Motor4Toys Charity Car Show and Toy Drive is around the corner! On Sunday, December 6th, 2015 the entire car community will come together with one purpose in mind, to help children during the holiday season. It is that simple and it is truly magical. Just about every type of car imaginable will be present and will be loaded with toys to donate to the Motor4Toys Charity Car Show and Toy Drive.

The car show kicks off the toy drive season for the Motor4Toys Charitable Foundation which over the last eleven years has collected over five million dollars of toys which have been distribute to needy children throughout the state of California.

The Foundation revolves around the very kind motorsport community and over the last handful of years, has grown outside of the car world. Many schools, businesses, Cham-

bers of Commerce and even city entitles have gotten behind the toy drive and helped to collect toys during the holiday season. Every year, the Motor4Toys Charitable Foundation continues to grow with the kindness and support from so many kind people.

Over the past eleven years, so many people have played such an important role in making the Foundation what it has become, that when you think of Motor4Toys, you think of the car community. Every single person that has ever given a toy is considered part of the Motor4Toys family.

As the Foundation has grown, many people have asked how can they support the toy drive outside of the car realm? That is simple.

First and foremost, we would love for you to do a toy drive at your school or business. Many people have actually done Motor4Toys holiday parties at their business or home and asked

the guests to bring toys in lieu of wine or other gifts. It kind of changes the whole atmosphere of a holiday dinner. It has become a tradition for many.

How long does Motor4Toys collect toys? All year round. We collect toys all the way through the month of December and have the ability to get the toys into the hands of children very effectively. Last minute toy donation are always appreciated. We receive toy donations throughout the year and have the ability to distribute toys all year long. Children always need something to know that people they may not know care about them.

For more information, please visit the Motor4Toys website: www.motor4Toys.com You may also donate online as well. See you at the car show on Dec. 6th. It is going to be one for the record books!

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Car Culture

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Mark Llewellyn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sidecar is a onewheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, creating a threewheel vehicle.

A sidecar was first seen in a cartoon by George Moore in the January 7, 1903, issue of the British newspaper “Motor Cycling”. Three weeks later, a provisional patent was granted in England. Graham Brothers of Enfield, Middlesex, partnered with Jonathan A. Kahn and the production of sidecars was born.

Sidecars have been manufactured consistently since the early twentieth century. Sidecars were quite popular up to the first half of that century because they provided a cheap alternative to passenger cars. Sidecars have not only been used by the general public, but armed forces and police departments all over the world have incorporated their use. Sidecar manufacturers have designed some sidecars that allow the third wheel to have driven power, giving them better traction. Depending on the country and driving laws, sidecars can be mounted on either the left or right side. In the U.S., sidecars are mounted on the right side. Sidecars have been involved in racing for years as well. The lucky guy in the car is referred to as the monkey!

Although sidecars have become much less common since the mid 1950’s, a number of manufacturers worldwide continue to produce sidecars, including royal Enfield, Ural, and the new Indian Motorcycle Company. www.LeonsTransmission.com

Supercar Sunday

Story // Dustin Troyan Photos // David Rosenthal

What makes Supercar Sunday so cool...the cars of course. Well, that is not entirely true. The real answer is the people who drive all those cool cars that have helped to make Supercar Sunday one of the most recognized automotive events in the world. When people think “Supercar” they are often thinking about the newest exotic car that is being produced by a handful or so of manufacturers primarily in Europe. Brands that come to mind might include: Lamborghini, McLaren, Pagani and so on. Yes, the cars are absolutely incredible and they are all to be appreciated for the design and mechanical genius that makes them so special. But, at Supercar Sunday, there are many other “supercars” that come to mind from a great many enthusiast.

Naturally, we are all familiar with hot rods. Some people take them for granted, they have been around for quite some time. Their early beginnings were that of guys who had small budgets, but wanted to explore modifying cars to their own personalities. They would chop up whatever they could, lighten it up, go race it and figure how radical they could get with the an old steel body.

Over the decades, some might argue that these hot rods gave birth to not only a whole new subculture of car enthusiast, but the motivation and the creativity to think outside of the box. They pushed the envelope so far, that the mechanics became art and what was once

a chopped car is now a prized possession in a collection.

To some, muscle cars of the sixties and seventies might have also been placed in that same category. A loud, magically inefficient vehicle that lacked the refinement of a European exotic car. But, as the decades rolled by, those same muscle cars that might have been destined for the scrap yards, became highly collectible as they were seen for what they truly were: the embodiment of passion and the American experience. At the time, they were cutting edge technology. They may have been big, gas guzzling, loud and hot, but they could also run fast in a straight line, be lightened up to turn a corner and thinking of the Ford GT40, give all those Europeans a run for their money.

So the next time you are at Supercar Sunday and you pass that hot rod or muscle car and might consider dismissing it as a gas guzzler; take a moment and think about how that design, that custom made car, that big loud engine might have been a “Supercar” back in its day and nobody every thought about it.

The word might not have existed, but the cars did. How the people and the cars from the past have shaped our future is absolutely incredible.

Many of these cars are timeless just like the memories we create every Sunday at Supercar Sunday. Thanks for being a part of it.

Arab Hyper Cars Invade Beverly Hills

Story + Photos // Greg Grudt

You might recall late last year the supercar trio that “lived” at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA for nearly six months.

That supercar trio included a red Ferrari LaFerrari, a yellow McLaren P1 and a 1 of 3 brown Bugatti Veyron Vitesse Rembrandt Edition.

Those cars, all hailing from Qatar, have made their way around the globe spending time in various cities for weeks and months at a time.

Shortly before those cars left, a mysterious black matte carbon Bugatti Veyron Super Sport from Qatar arrived via a 747 jet. Instagram and other Social Media sites blew up. I went and found the car near LAX and got some of the first photos of it on US soil. Very little was known about this car and very few pictures of it existed

The buzz about that car had slowed down as weeks went by and then in July social media blew up again. A matte white Ferrari LaFerrari from Qatar randomly appeared along with a yellow LaFerrari. A newly wrapped Bugatti Veyron and a white McLaren P1 with a blue interior also joined the group. A bare carbon fiber Koenigsegg Agera R and blue Pagani

Huayra with black wheels (these both were on the Pagani Raduno Rally) also came in via a 747 cargo jet. Most of these cars line the valet lot at the Beverly Wilshire on a daily basis.

Usually in past summers we would see two or three Arab cars buzzing around Beverly Hills, but nothing of this magnitude!

London, England has typically been a hotspot for Arab supercar owners in the summer time. With the recent supercar noise restriction in place by City Council in London, many of the Arab supercar and hypercar owners were looking for a new summer “hangout.” It appears as though they chose Los Angeles as their hangout for the summer. This of course was great news for local car enthusiasts.

Some other cars that haven’t been mentioned or photographed such as a Mercedes AMG 6x6, some Bentleys and Rolls Royce’s were also flown into Los Angeles for the summer. Hopefully we will continue to see Arab hypercars flooding the streets of Beverly Hills and that this trend will continue for the years to come.

Golf Tips with Tommy Mansuwan People mostly think of white sand beaches, crystal clear water, and sunshine when the name Bali is mentioned. However, I learned on a trip there in June that golf is among the highlights of this island paradise. With the layouts of the courses designed between the edge of the Indian Ocean and the rolling hills of the inland forests, there are no shortages of spectacular views to be seen. It just so happened that our event was held at Bali National Golf Club, a course I would personally rank among my favorites that I have played around the world.

As this was my first ever trip to Bali, I was plenty excited but yet unsure of what awaited me. Will this place be as good as everyone says it is? More importantly, how is the golf course going to be? Let me take a step back and remind everyone that not all professional tours around the world play on perfectly manicured courses like the PGA Tour does. So when one of those weeks arrives for us, it becomes a real treat. Arriving into Nusa Dua, the two lane road quickly shrunk into what looked like one way roads.

These were more fitted towards Smart cars rather than the full size vehicles we were in.

Just as quickly as we crammed down the tight roads, we found ourselves at the gates to the golf club.

Upon exiting our taxi, I knew this would be one of those special weeks. Tall palm trees littered the driveway which led to the Balinese-style clubhouse. Stepping into the foyer where the center of the complex had a fire pit in the middle of a water fountain, it didn’t seem right to be playing competitive golf here. The atmosphere was set more towards a spa day instead of a professional golf tournament. Nonetheless, I went about my business and prepared for my practice round on the course.

The two nines at this course have completely different feels as the first half winds its way through the mountain and forest while the second half is much flatter as it nears the ocean. To my surprise as I step

Bali National Golf Club

up to the first hole, the plaque reads 496 yard par-4. But wait, it has a waste bunker that runs down the left side for 250 yards along with a hazard that comes in on the right side. Oh, and there is also a tree in the middle of the fairway 270 yards from the tee. Did I mention that it also plays uphill?

The rest of the outward nine is a nice mix of short and long holes with plenty of elevation change to keep you entertained. Along the way, you will arrive at the scenic downhill par-5 7th hole which has the Indian Ocean as the backdrop for your approach shot.

As you make the turn to the inward half, the 10th hole allows you to calm your nerves a bit. Playing as a 342-yard dog leg right par-4, this hole gives you plenty of space for you to miss. However, there is a massive waste bunker that will catch anything short and right. Unlike the first nine, this part of the course is relatively flat with plenty of bunkers guarding the greens and landing area. Don’t allow your senses to relax too much since you’ll have to deal with the island green par-3 17th hole. This is es-

sentially the 17th at Sawgrass on steroids.

This version measures 185 yards from the back (compared to roughly 140 at Sawgrass) and typically plays into a stiff wind coming off the ocean. You may want to buy some extra balls from the pro shop before the round.

If anyone has the opportunity to play golf in Bali, I would highly recommend a round here. While the green fee isn’t cheap (approx. $190), it isn’t nearly as high as most other top courses in the States. Being one of the most well conditioned courses I have seen in recent memory, I would say Bali National is worth the splurge.

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The Gearhead Diaries

Most people want a car that takes them places. It may come as a shock to some of us, but the primary motivation the average citizen has or buying a car is, well, motivation, reliable motivation at that. Reliability and cost are, for most, the two biggest factors in purchasing a new car, or even an old one.

Sure, people want safety, style, performance, and even fuel economy, but even for luxury car buyers, those first two hold sway. I’ve known people to hand back the keys to their Maseratis, in exchange for a more reliable Mercedes Benz, because the German car was cheaper to operate, and they didn’t have to think about it.

And I can’t say I disagree with them.

Their priorities make sense. If you’re going to pay for personal transport, it should probably get you where you’re going most of the time, and do so at a price you can afford. But of course, that’s where I run into a problem.

The cars most people choose, don’t take me anywhere.

I’ve become aware over time, that the priorities I have when choosing a car are not only not those of the average citizen, they differ greatly from those of many of my fellow gearheads as well. It’s not that reliability isn’t important to me. Some people like working on cars, but no one finds it charming when they break. A car that won’t start isn’t really a car at all. And try as I might, I’ve yet to discover a way to buy more expensive cars

Brooks Smith

without having a lot more money (If you have discovered the secret, please stop reading and immediately email an overview to the Editor.), so price is still a major consideration.

I resent them both, though. They’re not my priorities, they’re the priorities of life, and I’m often willing to go so far out of my way, as to decouple my car from its role as primary transportation, in an attempt to push their influence back in favor of other factors.

Weirdly, perhaps, for a person who spends a lot of his time writing and talking about sports cars and supercars, performance isn’t really one of those factors. At least not relative to other cars. While I don’t want a car that feels sluggish, comparative numbers mean little to me. Neither is style, or comfort.

Safety, I’m embarrassed to say, almost never occurs to me.

What is important to me is maybe a little harder to define. Fun is maybe the shortest way to put it, but if it were that simple I’d have a Miata and be done with it, and I don’t. Period charm can mean a lot to me, as does the sense that the car is somehow advanced, or clever. So those standards are nice and contradictory…

Mostly I want the car to feel somehow exotic, and not always in the way acknowledged “exotics” feel exotic.

I’m looking for the singular experience, a sense of removal from the day to day. In short, I want a car that works as transportation not from

where I am to where I need to be, but from where I need to be to where I want to be.

It can be a tricky proposition, and it leads to the coveting of cars no one else likes.

Explaining why a car is special can be fraught.

Saying you want a tiny car made of conduit pipe and fiberglass, with a fire pump for an engine, little to no interior trim, which no one wanted at the time isn’t terribly impressive.

Better to say you’d like an Emery GT, a lightweight, racing-inspired grand touring car, of limited production powered by an advanced space frame chassis, and a Coventry Climax FWA overhead-camshaft engine helps people understand. At least until they see it…

It also leads to excessive reading, looking through old books for ever more obscure examples of lost automotive microbrews.

The books are important because you end up really liking cars that basically don’t exist, and that you never see in real life.

Ultimately though it’s not the rarity of the car itself that matters, but the rarity of the experience. The removal from the day to day is what makes a car interesting enough to put up with on a day to day basis I spend enough time doing things that I find mundane, and I don’t want the things about which I’m passionate to feel that way even for a second.

It’s probably asking a lot of a car.

But in the end, it’s just a question of what you mean by “personal transport.”

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Monterey Car Exotic Summer Run JOn and Dustin’s Week 2015 Story // Dustin Troyan Photos // Scott Killeen

Story // Mike Grudt Photos // Greg Grudt

Monterey Car Week means different things to different people. For my son Greg and I, it means the annual opportunity to spend a few days experiencing the most rare, unique, coveted automobiles in the entire world with a few thousand like minded individuals. I don’t know how this was even possible, but this year’s event surpassed the one last year.

Granted we did extend our trip by an additional day, but seriously how can so many of the best of the best cars in the world be here at the same time? I’m just amazed. If you have attended you know what I mean. If you haven’t I can’t begin to explain. You must experience this for yourself.

We arrived early Thursday morning following our predawn start from Agoura Hills.

Greg and I always make a gentlemen’s bet on the first supercar or unique car we spot as we enter the Monterey area. Two years ago it was a Bugatti Veyron and last year it was a Porsche Carrera GT. This year we spotted a Red Ferrari Testerossa and then we quickly saw a yellow C7 Stingray from Bondurant racing school. I think the Testerossa is an amazing car, but I have to go with the Stingray. Former race car champion Bob Bondurant has probably done more to prepare race car drivers than anybody else. If you want to get technical the first supercar we saw was a beautiful matte gray and black Ferrari La Ferrari that we spotted near the RM auction. Last year we caught a glimpse of one La Ferrari, this year we saw about ten. What difference a year makes.

Anyway, we visited some of the auctions in the afternoon and early evening and then settled in for the amazing next few days of car overload

we were about to experience.

Our next day began early as we stopped by a local resort known to always have some one-off amazing supercars parked in front. We were in luck, we saw a “tennis ball” colored lime green Porsche 918 (I don’t know the official name of the color, but it looked like a tennis ball), a Dark blue Pagani, a pearl white Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta, a red Ferrari La Ferrari, a yellow Ferrari La Ferrari with a dark blue roof, an orange Porsche GT3 RS, a dark green McLaren P1 (when I say green, I mean everything is green except the tires and windows), and in the parking lot we saw a red

Lexus LFA and other crazy rare cars. It wasn’t even 8:00 AM and we already saw all of those cars…really? We continued on to Quail or as it is officially known as, The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. This year was absolutely beyond compare. I really don’t know where to start. Ok, here we go….Koenigsegg had a model ONE: 1 in their display. There are regular old everyday supercars and there are hypercars, but this is the world’s first megacar with an incredible 1:1 HP-Kg ratio. Very impressive. Acura had three colors of their new model replacement for the NSX (I remember the Acura Superbowl commercial with Leno and Seinfeld a couple

of years ago. It’s about darn time.) It looks very nice and I hope it comes out soon as planned. Quail also had a display with five Ferrari F50’s and an amazing array of Pagani’s including a crazy Zonda Revolucion model that looked more like a piece of art work than a super exclusive vehicle. Some other favorites were the one of five orange 1993 Jaguar XJ220 “S”, a Blue and yellow 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO racer and a 1984 Jaguar XJR-5 race car that marked Jaguar’s return to racing after a multi decade hiatus.

There were so many rare cars and also a few motorcycles at this event. Quail definitely lived up to their expectation this year.

In the early afternoon we had to pull ourselves away from Quail to pursue some of our other scheduled stops. We stopped by Pebble Beach to check the activities and then we visited a couple more

Monterey is the chance to run into our car friends that we see often, some occasionally and some maybe just once or twice a year. That night we met up with some of our friends and we drove into Carmel to see if any cool cars were in the area and also to visit an amazing little bakery and ice cream parlor, Carmel Bakery to be exact. So off we went and I had a bowl of coffee mocha brownie ice cream at this little shop that was just about the best ice cream I have ever had.

One of our friends who is an ice cream connoisseur said that this place is near the top of his list for ice cream. I have to agree with him. We walked around downtown Carmel and saw a Ferrari La Ferrari and a few other nice cars, but we hit the jackpot when we found six very unique Porsche 918 Spyders in a garage. One was a Weissach

of the auctions (please see my article in this issue highlighting those events). Then we made sure to arrive in Cannery Row well before 4:00 PM. Why? A new event took place this year on Friday night. Cannery Row has a storied history thanks to author John Steinbeck who wrote a novel in 1945 under the same name. Seventy years later the inaugural event “Exotics on Cannery Row” took place during Monterey car week to add yet another chapter to this area. The event was unbelievable and also “free” to the public. I have been to hundreds of car events and I have never seen four Ferrari La Ferraris, a few Porsche 918s, two McLaren P1s, a pair of Ferrari F50’s and an Enzo, a couple of Bugatti Veyrons and one of the coolest cars ever, a very rare silver Mercedes CLK-GTR all in one place. There were so many amazing cars and so many people enjoying them. It was a big success for a first effort and hopefully there will be many more to come.

One of my favorite parts of

Edition and most of the others were in colors we had not seen before. We had fun walking around Carmel at night. The weird thing about Monterey and the surrounding areas is that the sidewalks “roll up” very early. We were in Carmel at 9:30 PM on a Friday night and almost everything was closed. We are so spoiled in So Cal. This was probably a good thing though since it allowed us to get some well needed sleep between our busy days.

We got up early on Saturday and headed over to Concorso Italiano. This event had just about one (or as was often the case -5 or more) example of nearly every Italian exotic car built in the last forty or fifty years.

This event marked the 50th Anniversary of the Iso Grifo. They were a very limited production Italian car built from the late 60’s to mid 70’s with a Corvette and later a Ford drivetrain. I have only seen a handful of these and this event had at least eight examples. Very nice cars. I also really enjoyed the extensive Pantera collection (remember they are powered by a 351

Ford) and the De Tomaso Mangustas. There were so many Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s it was just mind boggling. It was Italian car overload as it always is at this event. If you love Italian cars and you haven’t been to this event make it a point to attend next year. You’ll thank me. We had a schedule to keep so off we went.

The next stop was Laguna Seca for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

This is always one of my favorite events during car week. Saturday was the big day so we made sure we were present.

I spoke to a number of people at the track and many said they just stay at the track to watch races for four days and never venture into Monterey or Carmel.

I also spoke to people in Monterey who never planned to visit the track. There is so much activity in such a short period of time, it is difficult to balance where to go and when. I forgot to mention that Greg started planning this year’s trip soon after we returned from Monterey last year.

He highlighted the “must see” cars and events and had a very concise plan to follow. This is the best way to maximize the numerous happenings in Monterey.

It avoided backtracking and kept us on track to enjoy as much as we could during our four day adventure. A curious side note, Greg and I racked up over 35 miles walking during our four days in Monterey based on my iPhone health app. I got exercise and enjoyed cars in the process? It doesn’t get better than that.

Back at Laguna Seca we enjoyed some great vintage races. A couple of my favorites were the 1973-1981 Class with the IMSA cars and a 1976 Greenwood Corvette (just about the coolest sound

one can imagine down the straights), the 1981-1984 IMSA cars and the 1967-1984 Formula One car race. I believe the F1s were V8’s as they sounded great and these rare and expensive historic racers weren’t garage queens. I’m sure the majority of the drivers were never professional racers, but they went all in during their respective races. I guess you could call it pride or ego…just a guy thing ladies. That pretty much summed up Saturday’s busy schedule. We made sure to hit the rack early to rest up for a very busy Sunday to cap our four day adventure.

We were up at dawn (or a little after, no dawn patrol for us. We are hard core, not that hard core though) to begin our day at the main reason for Monterey Car Week, the 65th Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance event. We parked along the beach and hopped on one of the first shuttle busses.

The traffic around Pebble Beach is virtually closed to all vehicles except shuttle busses and a few other rare exceptions. We were dropped off and proceeded over to the world famous 18th fairway at Pebble Beach Links for the Concours event. The venue was still pretty light with spectators so we quickly photographed what we could before the throngs of spectators poured it. We always try to shot the rare classic Ferrari’s first since people tend to gravitate toward them.

Pebble Beach attracts virtually everybody who is anybody in the car world. So many people looked familiar I just couldn’t place who they were. I did see Sir Jackie Stewart, Sir Sterling Moss (ironically sitting in a golf cart next to the first SLR a 1953 Mercedes #722 and one he raced), Peter

Brock (Carroll Shelby’s first employee and designer of the awesome Shelby Daytona of the mid-60’s), the garage monkey guy who does all of the Hemi commercials and of course Jay Leno and Bruce Meyer. The marquee vehicle this year was duPont. I had never seen a duPont car until that show where I saw at least eight of them. They were lined up against the edge of the field with the ocean as a background. Just beautiful.

One thing I did notice was most of them had a clear crystal rooster head radiator cap.

Some of the others had different types. The most unique (let’s call it just plain weird) cap was a silver or pewter colored cap with a chimpanzee with arms extended above its head holding a pinecone? My first thought was of all the choices why did the owner choose that? I guess we’ll never know. We left the area and went over to the concept lawn where manufacturers display some of their concept cars. Arnold Schwarzenegger pulled up in a classic Bentley and walked around the lawn area to check out the vehicles. Like I said, everybody who is anybody attends this event. We checked out the McLaren tent and then went down the road to the Mercedes tent. These really aren’t tents. They were portable temporary structures set up specifically for this week.

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Outside the Mercedes display area they had a number of G Wagons in bright colors and other nice cars outside. Inside they had an awesome AMG GT race car and a beautiful Maybach limousine. The coolest thing they had inside was a super secret vehicle in an enclosed room. We went in one at a time and had to leave our cell phones and cameras at the desk and sign a waiver. We entered through a double set of blacked out doors and inside was a new prototype of the S-Class Cabriolet. I sat in it and the guy

lowered the hard top convertible top for me.

It was a really cool car. I can’t divulge any more information…I signed a waiver. I’ve never experienced anything like that. Only in Monterey. That was it for Pebble Beach this year and back to the track we went.

On Sunday, Laguna Seca had some great races. My favorites were the great sounding 1966-1972 Historic Trans Am cars and finishing the day were the 19681978 Formula 5000 racers. We walked though the paddocks and enjoyed the rare

and very exclusive array of vehicles. A few of note were a Red Ferrari 250 GTO and also a White 250 GTO. These are ~$30-$50M cars. Amazing. Also we saw the Koenigsegg One: 1 again (beautiful car), the new Ford GT and one of my favorites, the Corvette C7.R racecar. This year the event celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 as the marquee vehicle.

They were in abundance at the track and they appeared to be all over Monterey this year. It seemed that just about every GT350 owner brought his (or her) vehicle to car week. They had a special display at the track and Ford rolled out a new 2016 model of this iconic vehicle. We walked through the paddocks one last time and made our way to the parking lot.

As per usual when we left Laguna Seca Greg’s truck was just about the only vehicle left in the lot. As we started to leave we had a special departing gift as we saw the Corvette C7.R drive out of the track area past us to be loaded up. I just love those cars. What a way to end our trip to Monterey.

We headed home and recapped our numerous stories from the previous few days. Of course we will begin to plan for next year and possibly extend our trip by another day or two. As always please enjoy Greg’s photos from our amazing few days experiencing Monterey Car Week (I believe he shot ~7000 photos…Lol). Also…see you there next year!

NISSAN MARQUE DAY NOW THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH

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