Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance INSIDER Summer 2022 by Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS d’ELEGANCE®

INSIDER

Celebrating the Life & Legacy of the Automobile

EARLY LINCOLN

& The World of Art

Derek Bell at

LE MANS Follow Your Star!

THE 300 SL TOUR

Hot Rod Dynasties The Past is Prologue

PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS d’ELEGANCE®

INSIDER Celebrating the Life & Legacy of the Automobile | Summer 2022

FEATURES 10

My Life in Cars Derek Bell: Racing Icon, Living Legend

20 All in the Details Hot Rod Dynasties: The Past is Prologue

30 Dream Garage 42

Rob Kauffman, The Eclectic Non-Collector

DEPARTMENTS

Early Lincoln & the World of Art

The Advertisements that Elevated Lincoln to a Luxury Marque

56 Behind the Wheel Follow Your (Three-Pointed) Star: The 2021 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Classic

Panning for Gold

88 Social Seen See and Be Seen on the Concours Show Field

Lincolns with custom coachwork pose at the water’s edge on our 2013 show field. (Photo by Kimball Studios.)

Time & Place The Event Calendar for 2022 Pebble Beach Automotive Week

My Life with McFarlan by John Guilliams

On the Cover

Four for the Road Cars in the Lives of Four Pebble Beach Insiders

My First Trip to Le Mans with My Father as Guide Musings from Our Master of Ceremonies, Derek Hill

ME E T YOU R

MATCH

FLOORLINER

™

WeatherTech caters to auto aficionados and those with an eye for detail. Our aftermarket accessories are made with the same quality, care and craftsmanship as the vehicles they outfit. Discover why passionate motorists choose WeatherTech.

Auto. Home. Pet. Find Your Fit. BUY NOW!

Made in USA

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Recent events have reminded me how interconnected we are. Events that begin far away come so quickly to our door. News of the world often comes to me through the car people I know. I understood the seriousness of the pandemic early on because of car friends in Hong Kong and Italy and India. And with Martin beside me, I watched the shipping crises unfold. By now, I thought the world would be returning to some semblance of the “normal” we once knew. Yet we are still being challenged by current events. Yes, thankfully, personal travel is easier now, both domestically and overseas. Friends in Europe and Asia have enthusiastically made plans to travel to our 2022 celebration, and we look forward to seeing each and every one of them. But now shipping and supply chain issues, exacerbated by war, are having a greater-than-ever impact on preparing and delivering cars to the Concours. A key collector in Britain simply can’t get the parts he needs to restore his car. A long-faithful Australian entrant can’t locate transport via water or air, no matter the cost. Another friend in Holland, who was planning to celebrate his birthday by sharing a car at the Concours, reached out in distress when engine problems delayed the restoration. The delay meant the shipping date would be missed, and that put a seeming end to his birthday plan. My husband, Martin, reached out to try to find alternate transportation, and if all goes well, the car will make it here. Fingers crossed! The calls have been poignant: “I have been dreaming of such an honor all of my adult life. . . . But, much to my regret, I must decline your very kind invitation.” “We are so disappointed to have to withdraw.” “This decision is very difficult for us.” Amidst all of this, I’ve witnessed the car world coming together. In an odd way, I think we have grown closer over these past few years. More than ever, it seems to me, I hear of people sharing ideas, technology, parts—and even cars. People are lending a hand whenever and wherever they can. Because of this, I know we will still be able to showcase a display of some of the world’s greatest cars. And car collectors remain committed to being here: “We will be attending—even without a car in the best Concours in the world,” more than one participant has said.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Through all of this, I have gained a renewed appreciation for those things—marques and cars, and car events, of course— that have withstood the many tests of time. I’m thinking here, in part, about Lincoln and Le Mans, one of which is marking its centennial this year and the other of which is rapidly approaching that number. We will have Lincolns and Le Mans winners on our field in great numbers this year, and this Insider includes a preview of what makes these cars so great. Also headed to our show field are some of the best examples of the ’32 Ford Hot Rods. The Deuce is celebrating its 90th birthday on this occasion, and it has great bones. It is still a canvas for builders today, and you will read about some of the families—dynasties really (as Ken Gross points out)—that continue to work with these cars. We have also included a piece about the latest Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Classic, a rally for what I often think of as the quintessential blue-chip car. Whether in gullwing or roadster form, the 300 SL is iconic. It is also a very flexible go-anywhere do-anything car. I hope you enjoy this issue of the Insider, and then I hope you join us in August to celebrate great cars—and be together. Amidst the challenges of the wider world, let’s do all we can to affirm and strengthen our ties in the car world. Warmly,

Sandra Button Chairman

Our journey is written in the stars. Through the history of Lincoln, there have been countless visionaries, designers, engineers, retailers and owners along for the ride — a constellation of individuals coming together for one mission: to elevate life on the road. The story of Lincoln began with the belief that a driving experience could transform the way we feel, for the better. As we celebrate 100 years of that vision, we’re even more excited to see where it leads as we roll out our collection of all-electric luxury vehicles, fueled by the power of sanctuary.

PUBLISHER Pebble Beach Company EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sandra Button MANAGING EDITOR Kandace Hawkinson ART DIRECTION Katee Waller SENIOR EDITOR Martin E. Button PROOFREADERS Tessa Avila Robert Pruin DESIGN Nicole Doré at 62ABOVE PRODUCTION Chris Benzel Printed in Canada by Hemlock Printers

PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS d’ELEGANCE®

INSIDER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Leslie Armbruster is a 23-year veteran of the Ford Motor Company Archives. In her current role of manager, Leslie has enviable oversight of one of the largest and most complete corporate history collections in the world. Kate Constantin has edited Management Week and Business Age and has written for several other publications, including Financial Times and Computer Weekly. She loves and collects classic cars and makes Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance the hub of her annual calendar. Ken Gross is an award-winning automotive journalist, historian and museum curator. He curated the first Historic Hot Rod Class at the Pebble Beach Concours back in 1997 as well as every Hot Rod class that has followed. A longtime member our Concours Car Selection Committee, he serves regularly as one of our Chief Class Judges. John Guilliams got his first glimpse of a McFarlan about 50 years back when Scott Newhall, then-editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, asked him to tow one—and he was awestruck. Over the ensuing decades he became an expert on the marque, and in recent years, he has salvaged four of the roughly twenty McFarlans known to exist in the United States. Derek Hill first stepped to the microphone of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2014, and he was invited to be our Master of Ceremonies in 2015. He initially pursued a career in motorsports, ultimately driving to class wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and many other races, and earning the FIA International F3000 championship. More recently, he has focused on precision driving on road, track and screen. CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS & PHOTO ARCHIVES Pebble Beach Company Lagorio Archives with particular thanks for the work of photographer Julian P. Graham and William C. Brooks; Front Cover: Kimball Studios Frontmatter: Kimball Studios Derek Bell: Mark Sutton, Derek Bell, Kate Constantin, Kimball Studios Hot Rod Dynasties: Neil Boyle, Roy Brizio, Pete Chapouris IV and the SoCal Speed Shop, Fred Childers, Jeff Edelstein Photography & California Car Covers, Eric Geisert

Rob Kauffman: James Helms, Rob Kauffman Mercedes 300 SL Classic: Tom Leigh, Kate Constantin Lincoln in the Art World: Lincoln Motor Company McFarlan: John Guilliams, Steve Natale, National Automobile Museum (The William Harrah Collection), Nethercutt Collection Four Perspectives: Sherman Chu, Kimball Studios Social Seen: Sherman Chu, Kimball Studios Derek Hill: Derek Hill

Pebble Beach®, Pebble Beach Resorts®, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, Pebble Beach Concours™, Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance®, Pebble Beach RetroAuto™, Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum™, Pebble Beach® Automotive Week, Pebble Beach Golf Links®, The Hay™ Golf Course, The Lodge at Pebble Beach™, The Inn at Spanish Bay™, The Links at Spanish Bay™, Spanish Bay®, Casa Palmero®, 17-Mile Drive®, The Lone Cypress™, Stillwater Cove™, and their respective underlying images, are trademarks, service marks and trade dress of Pebble Beach Company. Copyright © 2022 Pebble Beach Company. All rights reserved.

AUCT IONS & PRIVATE B ROKE RAGE

GOODIN GCO.COM

310.899.1960

FRIDAY AUG 19 AT 5PM SATURDAY AUG 20 AT 11AM LIVE AUCTIONS OFFICIAL AUCTION HOUSE OF THE PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE®

1957 MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SL ROADSTER The Second 300 SL Roadster Built Displayed at the 1957 New York International Auto Show Just Two Owners from New

SATURDAY 3 SEPT LIVE AUCTION OFFICIAL AUCTION HOUSE OF THE CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE HAMPTON COURT PALACE NOW INVITING CONSIGNMENTS

1934 RILEY MPH SPORTS TWO-SEATER

I Well-Documented Example of the Ultimate Riley Model I Chassis 44 T 2255 I Without Reserve

Pebble Beach® and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® are trademarks and service marks of Pebble Beach Company. Used by permission.

Demand the absolute best INSURANCE

DRIVERS CLUB

CAR CULTURE

MARKETPLACE

800-922-4050 | Local agent | hagerty.com Policies underwritten by Essentia Insurance Company. Membership by Hagerty Drivers Club (HDC), a non-insurance subsidiary of The Hagerty Group, LLC. Only the HDC Program Guide contains a complete description of benefits. Purchase of insurance not required for membership in HDC. All third party makes, models, and vehicle names are property of their respective owners. Their use is meant to reflect the authenticity of the vehicle and do not imply sponsorship nor endorsement of Hagerty nor any of these products or services. Hagerty is a registered trademark of the Hagerty Group LLC, ©2022 The Hagerty Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

DEREK BELL

Derek Bell at the time of his Grand Prix debut, in September 1968. He qualified eighth but lasted just four laps before his Ferrari retired with mechanical failure in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

RACING ICON, LIVING LEGEND AN INTERVIEW WITH KATE CONSTANTIN

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Derek Bell pilots the four-wheel drive McLaren M9A in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July 1969.

It has been said that Derek Bell is one of the nicest chaps you’ll ever meet. I can attest to that. This 6′ 2″ race car driver is now 80 and officially retired, but he still gets to drive every once in a while, and when he does, he can achieve lap times similar to those of three decades back. He has driven many prestigious marques and competed with astounding success in both Formula and sports car racing. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times, the 24 Hours of Daytona three times, the World Sports Car Championship twice, and has been awarded numerous accolades and awards, including Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his service to motor racing. On a sunny December afternoon in Naples, Florida, sitting in his office surrounded by shelves of books, photos, model cars and awards, Derek shared his story with the Insider, reminiscing about how he got started and the highlights—and lowlights—of his amazing racing career. Kate Constantin: You went from farm boy to race car driver. That’s quite a social, vocational, and economic stretch. How did you do that?

Derek Bell: I wasn’t born on a farm; I was born in Pinner, Middlesex, northwest London, and spent much of my childhood running for the bomb shelter with my mum and little sister, every time a duddlebug buzz bomb came over. After the war we all suffered from respiratory problems due to the air pollution in London, so Mum took my sister and me down to Pagham, where Grannie had a caravan. We used to hang out by the gasworks because the smell was supposed to be good for your lungs—no antibiotics in those days! Mum met and married the chap who ran the caravan site, Bernard Hender. He was a farmer, and overnight I became big brother to four little sisters, aged two, three, four and six. It was quite a life-changing moment. My new stepdad was known as “The Colonel.” In between schooling I did a lot around the farm, which was close to Goodwood racetrack. I could drive a tractor at the age of nine, and by 15 I was ploughing the sugar-beet fields, listening to the 24 Hours of Le Mans on my little crystal radio, fantasizing about driving a race car. Often, I could hear them cheering Stirling [Moss] as he screeched around the corners of the Goodwood circuit. You could hear every gear change.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

DEREK BELL

So, from tractor to race car? Not quite. My old man, the Colonel, had a Jaguar and he used to tell me, “Go wash the Jag.” I wasn’t supposed to drive it, but I’d wash it and then I’d go flatten the road for four miles before returning it. It was the most natural thing in the world to drive it really fast. It felt right.

Below: The Porsche 962C driven by Derek Bell, Al Holbert and Hans-Joachim Stuck makes a pit stop during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1986. The car would go on to win the race, the fourth of five such wins for Bell. Opposite page: Bell and Stuck celebrate a victory in the World Sportscar Championship race at Monza in April 1986. They were driving a Porsche 962 C by Rothmans Werks.

My stepdad took me to the races whenever possible, and then a chap called John Penfold came to Church Farm to sell us agricultural machinery. We chatted a bit and he said he wanted to race, and so, with the support of my stepdad, we formed Church Farm Racing. I sold my old Mini Cooper and we each put in 300 quid so we could buy a Lotus 7 with a BMC engine. We were off to the races! What was your first race like? My first race was March 13, 1964, at Goodwood. I was 23 years old. It was pissing down with rain and conditions were terrible. I never passed a single car because they all just kept spinning out and falling off the road in front of me. It was a 10-lap race, and as I came around the last lap John [Penfold] held up a bit of old board with “P1” on it. (We didn’t have a real lap board because we thought I’d come in last.) It was pretty amazing because Stirling Moss was my hero and he had his SMART team [Stirling Moss Automotive Racing Team] there with Hugh Dibley as their driver. Hugh was driving a glorious open-cockpit Brabham BT8 and I was in this shitty little Lotus 7 with the mudguards hanging off. I kept waiting for his car to come thundering up behind me (he had a handicap, so he started at the back), but Hugh kept spinning off the track and eventually retired. When I realized I was in first place, I pissed myself laughing the entire last lap. We won! Our first year we finished second in the Championship despite the fact that we didn’t have enough money to participate in all the races. How did you make the transition to Formula 3? A mate of mine crashed the Lotus 7 at Mallory Park, and I was down at the pub with my old man and he asked me, “What you gonna do now?” I really wanted to race single seaters, so we sold the Lotus 7 and bought a Formula 3 one-liter Lotus 31 and then in 1965 a Lotus 41, and I embarked upon a major program of events in Europe. We got pretty banged up that year, endured all manner of shunts and scrapes—I even sheared off the wheels between two trees at Pau—and we ended up with enough spare parts for three cars. By the end of the 1966 season I was getting the hang of it and managed to eke out a fifth place at Albi and a couple of top six finishes. We graduated to a Brabham BT21 for the 1967 season, and I was finally getting some results: I took first at Brands Hatch, Castle Combe, and Silverstone, and second in Barcelona and

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Albi. But you have to keep moving up the ranks or you get typecast, so we set our sights on Formula 2. How did you get the funding to move to Formula 2? Good question. We needed a trailer, a car, and a couple of engines— it was a huge project for our little outfit. By this time my stepdad could see I wasn’t going to be a farmer, so we sold the Brabham BT21, which he had funded, took that money

plus a £10,000 loan backed by the farm, and bought a brand new Brabham BT23C chassis for £2,500, two Cosworth FVA engines each costing £2,500, and a bunch of other stuff. I tried to get sponsorship, but after writing millions of letters all I got was a lapel pin from AVIS with their slogan “We Try Harder.” Sounds like you were trying pretty hard. How did it go? Not well. Our first outing of 1968 was Barcelona and we didn’t start because a valve broke in practice. The second outing was Hockenheim on April 7, and that’s the race when Jimmy [Clark] died—so tragic. I met him for the first time the night before the race and was with him at breakfast the next morning with Graham Hill. I couldn’t believe it—Graham Hill, Jimmy Clark . . . and me! We went to the track together. Jimmy was one of my heroes, he was 32 years old. I was devastated, couldn’t help but think, “What the hell am I doing?” But you kept racing? Yes. We all did. It was horrific, but we kept to ourselves. I was lucky, I was never in the same place at the same time as a fatal accident, although I was on the same track sometimes. No one ever gave details while you were on the track, but if they stopped the race you knew it was pretty major.

With that event on your mind how was it to continue through the season? It shook me up, but I had a job to do. It’s strange because people often used to say to me, “When are you going to stop this playboy lark and get a real job?” I said, “Bollocks! You wanna go out there and risk your neck? You think I’m a playboy dreaming about nightclubs and girls when I’m tearing round the track at 200 mph trying to earn some prize money?” We’d invested time, energy, and a lot of money in this career; I wasn’t going to stop then. Besides, I got married in 1968 to Pam, so I had a wife to support. After Hockenheim, I managed a third at Thruxton and Nürburgring, and then, to my amazement—and I guess everyone else’s—I got a call from Ferrari. They wanted me to try out for their Formula 2 race team, driving their lovely little Dino 166. Ferrari! I couldn’t believe it! Life was further complicated by the fact that around the same time Major Terry Owens of the Cooper Grand Prix Team approached me to drive in their Formula 1 crew. It was like Christmas, twice over! By this time, you must have felt you had made it with the big boys. No, I didn’t at all. I constantly felt as though they were going to find out I was a fake and a fraud. I figured I was just

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

DEREK BELL Derek Bell and his son Justin, together with Andy Wallace, on the podium at Le Mans in June 1995. Driving a McLaren F1 GTR, they scored a third-place finish for Harrods Mach One Racing.

lucky and had a better car than other drivers. I guess you’d call it “imposter syndrome” today. I just tried not to make mistakes and it got me through.

The next day I was at Silverstone testing one of the 1967 Cooper-Maseratis. I got a real gut-full of the big time in just two days!

That said, you must have been overjoyed to test for Ferrari. That’s an understatement. Intimidated, too. When I arrived at Monza there were a bunch of Italian drivers there, including Mario Casoni and Tino Brambilla. I tested quicker than any of them, which was very reassuring. Then I drove down to Maranello and was shown around the factory by this little Italian guy. The place was deserted due to a “national holiday,” which is Italian for a labor strike! As we walked around the factory floor a gentleman walked towards us, tall, immaculate, wearing dark glasses with slicked back silver hair and a white raincoat over his shoulders. “That’s El Commendatore!” says my guide. Enzo Ferrari! We talked briefly. He was impressed that this kid from nowhere was beating his drivers in his cars, and he wanted me to drive for him. We went for a lovely lunch during which we spoke only French—he wouldn’t speak English, although I’d swear he could.

So, you had the choice of Formula 1 with Cooper or Formula 2 with Ferrari? Indeed. Not really a hard choice, to be honest. I mean seriously—Ferrari versus Cooper? Besides, the big V-12 Cooper-Maserati felt like an old truck in comparison to Ferrari’s Dino 166. I was not impressed.

It was beyond my wildest dreams to get called by Ferrari, all rather bizarre.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

I remember I went home to see Pam, who was in hospital with a serious bout of colitis at the time. My mum took me on one side and said, “You’ve received a telex from Ferrari. They want you to go back to Maranello and sign the contract. But if you sign that contract after what happened with Jimmy [Clark] and with your new wife in hospital, you’ll never step foot in this house again.” No pressure there then! In the hospital Pam asked me, “Did you sign the Ferrari contract?” Rather sheepishly I told her I hadn’t, and she said, “Why the hell not? You get back there and sign it!” The subject was never raised with my mum again. But you didn’t sign immediately, right? You ran a race for Ferrari without a contract. True. I went back to Ferrari to test

“ABSOLUTELY BLOODY MARVELOUS! WHAT A GIFT FOR A FATHER & SON TO DRIVE TOGETHER IN AN EVENT LIKE THAT!” DEREK BELL ON DRIVING LE MANS WITH HIS SON, JUSTIN.

Derek Bell at the wheel of the McLaren F1 GTR during prequalifying for the 1995 Le Mans event.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

DEREK BELL

out for the Monza Lottery Formula 2 Grand Prix. I couldn’t believe it when they asked me how I wanted the pedals positioned, what shape I preferred for a gear shift knob, and where would I like my seat padding. A far cry from the Lotus 7 with the mudguards hanging off! Yet, I wanted to do my first race contractually uncommitted. I’d been in control of my own car and my own career for so long, Ferrari’s dominance was a bit daunting. Besides, Coopers hadn’t told me what their offer was yet. I’d imagined £10,000—they wanted me for Formula 1, after all. Apparently, times were hard and they offered me a token gesture: a £5 retainer for three years. I thought, “Thanks, but no thanks.” I went down to Monza for my first Ferrari race and qualified for pole position, with 50 cars behind me—felt great! After 15 laps I was up front with a group of others in the race when someone touched me and my car suddenly swapped ends in a turn. My spin made three other Ferrari-works Dinos shunt, and Jean Pierre Jaussaud was flung from his Tecno. It was awful. Thank god he made a full recovery from the accident. But I had singlehandedly decimated the Ferrari squad. I thought, “Should’ve signed that contract!” Did Ferrari want to sign you after your Monza mishap? Incredibly, yes! Enzo was very impressed by my ability to get pole position on the grid at Monza. Not only did they want me to sign with them, they offered me a £1,000 bonus and a shot at Formula 1. The deal was £500 for an F1 race, and £250 for an F2. That’s how I joined Ferrari! Today they get a cool half million for an F1 race—but hey, I was living the life. My first drive in a Formula 2 Ferrari was at the old Modena autodrome. The chief engineer, Mauro Forghieri, was there, and as they were fastening my belts he leant into the cockpit and said, “You crash the car, it is the last time you drive a red car. Maybe you will drive a green car [British racing colors], but never again a red car!” As I went through the first chicane, I spotted a little 2+2 Ferrari with Enzo sitting in it, watching my performance. He was parked exactly where I would crash if I missed the turn. I guess he trusted me and I got the drive. How did you balance this high-pressure, high-adrenaline lifestyle with regular life? Away from the track my life was pretty normal: I played tennis, went skiing—had a wonderful life. We all did in those days. I’d play squash every Monday night, and my mates would say, “Off to Monza this weekend again, then. See you next Monday for squash?” and I’d say, “Hope so!” It’s not like that now when you’re on the simulator 24/7 and it’s test, test, test. Racing was very different back then, more organic. We had no electronic aids, no AC in our helmets, you

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

had to shift every gear with a clutch and gear lever, taking your hand off the steering wheel. The cars we drove were living, breathing animals, whereas today it’s all electronics. I consider myself very fortunate to have been part of that era. The era he refers to included 475 races over a span of 40 years. Derek drove with the Ferrari team for much of 1968 and most of 1969, in both F1 and F2. He also raced in F1 for Wheatcroft, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams, driving a variety of marques including Brabham, Porsche, Alfa, BMW, and Jaguar, to name a few. He won the World Sportscar Championship twice, the 24 Hours of Daytona three times, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times, in 1975, 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1987. In 1970 you participated in the making of the movie Le Mans and became friends with Steve McQueen. Tell me about that. A bunch of us were stunt drivers for that film: Brian Redman, Richard Attwood, David Piper and me. It was great fun but a bit boring—loads of downtime between takes. I drove a lot for Steve and we became good friends. I got to drive the Porsche 917, which was a very spontaneous and responsive car. It was very fast, but I didn’t do anything stupid. I thought, “I’d be a right dick to crash making a movie!” At Le Mans in 1971 you clocked the fastest speed ever recorded on the Mulsanne Straight at 246 mph in a Porsche 917LH. What was that like? The first time I drove the 917 at Le Mans, other than in the Steve McQueen film, was at the test weekend. I had driven for Ferrari the year before, and here I was driving a Porsche. Doesn’t get much better than that! The Ferrari could do 210 to 215 mph on the Mulsanne Straight, but the 917—that was something else. You just weren’t aware of how fast you could go. I was testing the 917 with Norbert Singer, the Chief Engineer at Porsche, the best engineer I ever worked with. I finished a few laps and Norbert asked me, “How many revs were you pulling?” and I said, “About 8,100.” He looked at me and grinned, “That’s good—she blows up at 8,200!” Anyway, Norbert starts fiddling with his slide-rule to compute my top speed and he starts to laugh. I asked him what was so funny, and he says, “I probably shouldn’t tell you; it’s better you don’t know.” I told him, “If Ollie [Jackie Oliver], Pedro [Rodriguez] and I have to drive this thing for 24 hours, we should know what it can do.” He grinned and said, “You topped 246 mph on the straight!” The 917 was other-worldly. In 1971, it took four track records: fastest qualifying lap, fastest race lap, longest distance covered and highest top speed at 244 mph—two miles slower than my test lap! I knew I could drive, but I didn’t know I could fly!

Right: Bell lines up with the David Price Racing team and their two McLaren F1 GTRs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1996 — Bell’s last Le Mans race. With Andy Wallace and Olivier Grouillard, he placed sixth overall. Below: Justin and Derek Bell together at Daytona in January 2008.

Your racing history is extraordinary. What was the highlight and lowlight of such an expansive racing career? Well, the lowlight was, without a doubt, Jimmy Clark’s death. The highlight was driving Le Mans with my son, Justin. What was it like driving Le Mans with your son? Absolutely bloody marvelous! What a gift for a father and son to drive together in an event like that! We drove Le Mans together in 1992, along with Tiff Needell, in a Porsche 962C GTi with a 3.0-liter Turbo Flat 6 engine. It was very wet and our car was set up for dry conditions, but we didn’t do too badly and came in 12th.

Above: Derek Bell, shown here in 2016, often serves among the Honorary Judges at the Pebble Beach Concours.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

DEREK BELL

By 1995 Justin was well on his way as a driver. He called me a month before the 24 Hours of Le Mans and said he and Andy [Wallace] were going to race and wanted me to join them. I was 53 at the time and had driven the Le Mans race 24 times already and won it five times. I figured I’d done enough. But he was adamant and I couldn’t say no. We were with Mach One Racing in a McLaren F1 GTR with a BMW S70 6.1-liter V-12 engine—and I didn’t get to drive the car before we got to Le Mans. I think we were 12th on the grid, but at about 3 am we were leading the race in diabolical conditions. In the middle of the night, it was Justin’s turn to take over from me. Usually you lean in and tell the next driver about the conditions and what to look out for—grease on the Mulsanne Straight, water in the chicane, etc. But as I strapped him in and he’s looking up at me with those big eyes, waiting for Dad’s words of wisdom, I couldn’t say a thing. It was a nightmare out there, so wet, and I was so scared for him—he was about 26 years old. I slammed the door—I couldn’t talk. It was bloody horrible. Dare I ask how it went? We did great. Came in 3rd overall and 2nd in our class, with 296 laps. The McLaren F1 GTR finished first with 298 laps. It was the highlight of my life! What’s the greatest challenge as a race car driver? I know some drivers have concentration issues and neck problems in endurance racing. I have been extremely lucky. My demeanor is calm and I don’t take chances. Concentration was never my problem and, although you got to the point sometimes where you were counting the laps, thinking “I can’t do much more of this,” I never really had a problem with focus or neck cramps, even though I am very tall. I threw up once at Nürburgring because my helmet was hitting the chassis; the seat had come loose and was vibrating violently, and it jarred my head. But that was unusual. So, no major accidents? Oh no! I didn’t say that. I’ve had a few spills. The worst was probably 1990 at Daytona driving a Porsche 962 owned by Giampiero Moretti. It was the first time Misti, my second and current wife, had come to watch me race, and she was wearing a yellow suit, like a race marshal. I remember seeing her as I came out of a chicane and went to the top of the wall. After five laps of waving at her, she disappeared and at that moment I blew a tire. I was at the top of the bank and went up in the air, coasting through the sky . . . floating . . . doing 190 mph. I could see the stars and hear the engine just ticking over. It seemed to last forever and was all rather surreal. Then I hit the ground and was flying along the tarmac upside down. The road tore through the roof and part of my helmet. Then, it all stopped. Nothing but the thrumming of the engine and the glug, glug, glug of dripping

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Derek Bell, now at home in Florida, is surrounded by mementos and fond memories.

fuel—I had just refueled! I could smell the gas, and I couldn’t get out. I turned off the engine to stop the fuel pump, and then I hit the fire extinguisher. Big mistake! I passed out as the oxygen was sucked out of the cockpit. It took emergency services two minutes and 40 seconds to get to me, and next thing I know they have the car on its side and are dragging me out. I was fine but was taken to hospital. Misti was in the tunnel when she heard the announcement that my car was in an accident. She went to the hospital but they wouldn’t let her in because we weren’t married yet. Eventually, I walked out and she was standing outside the hospital door. Poor lass! I was lucky. Very, very lucky. After a life lived on high adrenaline what do you do now for kicks? I play tennis, hang out with the grandkids, and take my lovely wife for dinner in the boat we have moored off the dock. Honestly, I don’t need the adrenaline buzz . . . although, having said that, the moment I sit in a race car, it’s incredible—the years melt away, and all of a sudden I’m 34 again, I’m at Le Mans . . . and I want to drive!

Legends

drive legends. The all-new Mercedes-AMG SL.

2022 Mercedes-AMG SL 63 shown in MANUFAKTUR Patagonia Red metallic paint with optional equipment. Equipment availability may vary. Vehicle coming soon. For more information, call 1-800-FOR-MERCEDES, or visit MBUSA.com.

Even at 90, the 1932 Ford remains wildly popular with the contemporary hot rod community. And we’re not just talking gray-haired guys and gals. Ford’s incomparable “Deuce,” especially in roadster or coupe guise, is still the quintessential hot rod. It’s the car that defined hot rodding, then and now. Although hot rodding was well underway before the Deuce took its first bow, the ’32 Ford put it all together in an affordable package with a great-looking body, on a perky 106inch wheelbase, in a variety of styles. The ’32 Ford featured a now-classic, one-year-only grille shell, mounted on a beautifully proportioned and artistically styled chassis. At the center was a rugged, easy-to-modify, flathead V-8. Henry Ford’s essential practicality ensured that as the flathead V-8 grew bigger and more powerful, Ford brakes and transmissions improved, and later model Ford parts could be readily adapted to ’32s. An enormous speed equipment industry sprang up to provide a seemingly endless supply

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

of clever manifolds, finned heads, aluminum pistons, racing camshafts, stroker cranks, ignition systems, and more. When the large displacement overhead valve V-8s appeared, hot rodders replaced their faithful flattys with Cads and Chryslers, Olds and Chevys, matching them early on with three-speed LaSalle and Buick gearboxes, then modern 5-speeds. Ford’s fragile rear ends gave way to rugged 8-inch and 9-inch Ford differentials. A legion of quality fiberglass ’32 roadster and coupe bodies, led by the pioneering efforts of (Dee) Wescott and Gibbon, ensured that even if you couldn’t find (or afford) original steel, you could still build the Deuce of your dreams. And Brookville Roadsters pioneered new steel bodies with panels from vintage presses that faithfully duplicated the originals. But the attraction continues to be a genuine 1932 Ford chassis and an original “Henry Ford” steel body. Over the years at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, numerous “classic” historic ’32 Fords have been award winners.

The winners of our inaugural Hot Rod class in 1997: Ray Brown and Kirk White in the second-place Ray Brown Roadster; Pete Chapouris III and Bruce Meyer in the first-place Doane Spencer Roadster; Don Orosco and crew in the third-place Ricky Nelson Roadster.

The Doane Spencer Roadster restored by Pete Chapouris III also received the Dean Batchelor Trophy for most significant Hot Rod.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

“For the Concours, it’s an advantage to have a car with a great history. When I competed there, I felt that I was given the opportunity to restore a great car, and I was at fault if it didn’t do well.” — Roy Brizio

Above: Andy Brizio (standing), often called the “The Rodfather,” and his son Roy have been building hot rods for decades. Andy put 200,000 miles on this purple and gold-flamed roadster, built by Roy, driving it to events all over the U.S. Left: Roy Brizio also restored the ex-Sam Barris ’49 Mercury owned by John Mumford that placed First in our Mercury Custom Class in 2015.

The same shops that build “new” roadsters have produced many of these award-winning restorations. There are countless talented builders. Steve Moal and his family in Oakland have been modifying cars for four generations. Father and son builders Vern Tardel in Santa Rosa, California, and Keith Tardel of Rex Rods in Johnson City, Texas, are great examples. Two more of the best hot rod craftsmen represent dynasties, encompassing several generations. Roy Brizio and his talented team in South San Francisco finish about half a dozen cars a month, including a couple of the crisp, clean-looking Deuce roadsters and coupes that have become his trademark. “We’ve probably done more ’32s than any other professional shop,” says Roy, “but we also build more cars than people realize.”

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

In the late ’70s, Roy’s father, Andy Brizio—a legend in his own right—was running Champion Speed Shop in conjunction with his own T-bucket fabrication business, called Andy’s Instant-T’s. As a teenager, Roy spent hours building chassis, working the parts counter, and tweaking his own ’32 three-window. As T-Bucket popularity waned, Roy opened his own shop in nearby San Bruno, building hot rod chassis for Model As, Ts, and ’32 Fords. By 1980 he’d established himself as one of the world’s premier hot rod builders. Roy Brizio will tell you that he has no real desire to take the big show awards that have increasingly captured the public eye. “If a guy walked in and said, ‘Here’s a million dollars, build me a Ridler Award-winning car,’ that wouldn’t motivate me. My guys would quit if I told them to go and hand-make every bolt.”

Right: Roy Brizio’s shop built this stunning PPG Baby Blue roadster for rocker Eric Clapton. Below: Typical of Brizio cars, it is subtle and understated, with a classic stance and clean lines, but with a 351-cid Ford small block V-8, it is seriously fast.

“The problem with major awards is there’s only one winner,” he adds. “I’d rather build ten cars that make ten people happy than have seven out of eight [of the Ridler’s Great Eight winners].” You don’t often hear a shop owner/businessman like Brizio talking about work he doesn’t want to do, but buried in this honesty is the ethos that has made Roy’s business such a success. “We have a reputation for building straightforward hot rods that are as simple as possible, yet they’re very well-detailed, with plenty of power. We don’t offer fully handmade suspensions, and we don’t fabricate every single part. I appreciate the flathead-powered/quick-change-equipped nostalgia stuff, but that’s not where most of my clientele are. I want to go down the freeway in the fast lane and shift gears. I want reliability.” Perhaps the ultimate testimonial to Roy’s commitment to his clients is the heavy volume of repeat business his shop enjoys. From celebrity musicians like Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, and famous athletes like Reggie Jackson, to wealthy businessmen, it’s not uncommon for a single hot rodder to come to Roy Brizio Street Rods two, five, or a dozen times. “Without my customers,” Roy says appreciatively, “I’d have simply been the guy in the two-car garage building roadsters for a hobby.” Not that he sees anything wrong with that. While he’s quick to praise several other professional builders around the country, Roy’s pure enthusiasm for hot rodding finds him truly awed by do-it-yourselfers. “What really impresses me today is when I go to a car show or to a rod run and see a car that a guy built in his garage. I think, ‘Can you imagine if this guy had equipment?’ I’ve had guys walk into my shop with parts C-clamped together, asking me to weld it for them, and I don’t even know what I’m looking at. . . . Then they bring their cars here and I go, ‘Sonofabitch built this car in his own garage, and he doesn’t even have a welder, but he has a good eye, and he knows how to work a file and a drill press.’” Despite his almost anti-award bias, Roy and his talented team have taken the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster trophy at the Grand National Roadster Show (Bay-area-bred Brizio first

attended “Oakland” when he was just a year old, back when the show was named for its location in Northern California’s East Bay). He has also meticulously researched and restored historic hot rods and customs for long-time clients Jorge Zaragoza and John Mumford. Brizio’s talented team restored the ex-Jack Calori ’36 Ford coupe, a Hot Rod Magazine cover car in 1949, and won the Historic Hot Rod Class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2005. A Brizio restoration of Tom McMullen’s legendary Deuce Roadster placed Third in Class at Pebble in 2007, his restoration of John Mumford’s ex-Sam Barris Mercury placed Second in Class in 2015, and his restoration of the Kookie T for Ross Myers placed First in Class in 2018. This year the team will debut Myers’ ex-LeRoy Titus ’32 roadster for the ’32 Ford 90th Anniversary Class. Roy knows it’s a different challenge to restore a historic hot rod than to build a new car: “You have to bring it back to exactly how it was built originally. When building a car from scratch you can do anything you want. I have been very fortunate to be able to call on my friend Greg Sharp, who is one of the country’s top historians. He’s helped with historic

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Left: The original fiery flames on this iconic Tom McMullen Roadster were painted by Ed Roth. After Roy Brizio’s team restored the car, it placed Third in Class at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours. Below: After a Brizio restoration, Jack Calori’s elegant ’36 Ford custom, which starred on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine in 1949, won its class and the Dean Batchelor Trophy at Pebble Beach in 2005.

photographs, and he has an incredible memory. With the internet today, there is so much information available. We study the magazines where the cars were first featured. In some cases, we’ve had the original owner, or the guys who were a part of the original build, to advise us; that’s the best. I have so much respect for the builders that came before me, and what they accomplished with what they had to work with. It’s been challenging to bring these cars back to their original form. But hot rod enthusiasts love to see the cars at events like Pebble Beach, and back on the road, and that’s a great feeling.” Asked whether the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance or the Grand National Roadster Show is the most intense competition, Roy says, “There’s pressure at either show, but it is a bit different. For the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) competition, you’re building a new car for a customer who came to you with his basic ideas and design. You do your best to build a quality car that’s competitive. With Pebble, you’re starting with an old car that needs restoration, and you do your very best to bring it back to exactly the way it was originally built. For the Concours, it’s an advantage to have a car with a great history. When I competed there, I felt that I was given the opportunity to restore a great car, and I was at fault if it didn’t do well.” Traveling from San Francisco to Los Angeles, we meet another hot rod dynasty—the Chapouris family. In his five decades of hot rodding, the late Pete Chapouris III repeatedly shifted the entire hobby on its axis. First, he brought quality, mass-produced aftermarket parts to do-ityourselfers everywhere, and he revived the idea of coupes as “real” hot rods. A decade later Pete helped establish the fat-fendered car movement. And with meticulous restorations

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

in the ’90s, like the Pierson Brothers ’34 Ford coupe, the Bob McGee and Doane Spencer ’32 Ford roadsters and the So-Cal Belly Tank for Bruce Meyer, Pete mastered the practice of preserving classic hot rods. Like so many other second-generation rodders, Pete III’s expertise stemmed from a rare combination of mechanical skill, an artistic eye, and an unabridged passion for cars. He grew up prepared to spend his years much as his father did, at Los Angeles–area dynamometer manufacturer Clayton Industries. But he felt an irresistible urge to leave: “I had this pent-up ambition to build cars,” he once told me. “I thought I had the artistic ability and the know-how to do it. I can remember making brackets and looking at them and thinking there’s a space for me out there, doing something. Making parts for hot rods was a natural for me. I can’t remember not ever being turned on by cars.” “I wish I could play guitar like Billy Gibbons can,” he said of the famed ZZ Top musician, longtime friend, and frequent customer. “But I can’t do that, and he can’t weld, so . . .”

Evan Meyer piloted the ex-SO-CAL Speed Shop Belly Tank car across the ramp in 2011, followed by an F1 pickup in SO-CAL livery.

Pete’s chopped, flamed ’34 Ford three-window, the “California Kid,” when paired with Jake Jacobs’ yellow ’34 on the cover of the November 1973 issue of Rod & Custom, captured so much attention that the two founded Pete & Jake’s the next year. Now under different ownership, Pete & Jake’s was one of the first to bring well-engineered, quality suspension parts into home garages nationwide. In the late ’80s, Pete’s radical “Limefire” ’32 roadster was a thinly disguised but street-legal drag car. Built in 79 days, it was a Rod & Custom cover car and it also starred in many other magazines. In the ’90s, Pete’s eponymous PC3G enterprise impeccably restored several significant hot rods, ensuring they would be reborn rather than recycled. In 1997, Chapouris resurrected the SO-CAL Speed Shop, originally founded by the legendary Alex Xydias in 1946. It has become an enormous, nationwide operation, with multiple retail stores and a thriving mail-order parts and clothing division. Most meaningful to Pete was what it meant to be SO-CAL. After meeting Xydias, and securing the rights to the name, his perspective changed: “I didn’t want to screw up this guy’s reputation overnight! It became a legacy. I felt it was critical for that name to carry on. I feel really obligated to it, and to Alex’s family. . . . My Dad died in ’85, and Alex and

I got together and did this in ’97. He’s kind of been my Dad since then.” Pete didn’t just carry on the SO-CAL name, he enhanced it, crafting everything from beautifully built street rods and restorations and artfully customized imports to record-setting land speed racers. “If I have a talent,” he said years ago, “it’s being able to visualize just about anything finished. I look at all modified cars as hot rods. It doesn’t matter what they are. I think that’s where we stand above a lot of other shops. Everything’s different. I don’t like to do the same thing twice.” Chapouris compared himself to a movie producer or a band leader in his dual roles as designer and businessman; he might lead, but others now do the hard work: “Bottom line is, it’s about the guys that build the car. It’s not about me. I like that camaraderie of getting together with people and sharing ideas, because we all come up with original thoughts, and a lot of the stuff I’ve come up with is changed under the influence of the people I work around. I don’t consider anyone competition; I consider them partners.” His concern and selflessness earned him a spot in the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Hall of Fame in 1999.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Pete Chapouris III built the radical Limefire in record time, to prove a thinly disguised dragster could be street-driven.

A busy day at the SO-CAL Speed Shop. The green Model T Roadster was built in memory of Pete’s dad.

Alex Xydias with Pete Chapouris IV, III and V, who are continuing the SO-CAL Speed Shop.

Artist, team leader, businessman, and industry spokesman: Pete’s roles revolved around his unbridled passion: “I’ve got these memories of when I was a kid, of seeing cars, on special days. Like, I’m walking home from school and there’s this buddy of mine that had a chopped five-window, and it was in red primer and it had chromed Merc wheels and whitewalls on it, a hood top but no sides, a flathead, white tuck and roll in it, and he had chrome-plated all the window frames. It was really nice inside. His girlfriend, a dynamite little blonde, was driving this car, and the sun was just dancing off the inside of it. I’ll never forget that sight as long as I live. “I want other people to feel the same way about their cars as I feel about the cars that I build. I can remember the ‘California Kid.’ I’d worked on that car by myself one night over at the

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Four of the most famous hot rods of all time, complete with the Chapouris touch: the Pierson Brothers Coupe, the “California Kid” Coupe, the Jim Jacobs Coupe, and the Pete Chapouris Model T Roadster.

“The challenge is always to make sure the car stays true to the original build. It is easy to get carried away and then the car gets ‘over-restored.’ We always made our best effort not to do that.” — Pete Chapouris IV

old Pete & Jake’s in Temple City, and about half the car was sticking out of the garage. The outside light was on it. I wasn’t thinking about anything, but I looked up and the car startled me. It turned me on as much right then, 14 years later, as it did the very first time that I drove it. That’s what drives me. I want to have other people feel the same way about their stuff. I don’t think I have anything left to prove except that I love doing this. That’s really all it is.” Pete Chapouris III passed away in 2017 from complications following a stroke. Today his son, Pete Chapouris IV, runs the legendary SO-CAL Speed Shop, with a careful balance of artistic creativity and business acumen, concentrating on the SO-CAL brand of specific hard parts and merchandise. Although they currently aren’t building cars, they built

Norm Grabowski’s 1922 “Kookie T,” owned by Ross and Beth Myers and restored by Roy Brizio, won our class of Historic Hot Rod Cover Cars in 2007.

and restored dozens of hot rods at their former Pomona facility and just recently moved to a new location in Upland, California. And a young Pete V is already running around the shop floor. Like Pete III, Pete IV has enjoyed great success with both new builds and restorations. He noted that when his client Bill Lindig won the AMBR in 2012 with “Indy Speedster” built by the SO-CAL Speed Shop, “You could cut the tension in the building that Sunday with a knife. That car was built with every intention of taking that giant trophy home. The stars lined up that day and we did just that!” At the same time, he has continued to restore historic hot rods, for use and for show. “It’s an honor just to be invited to Pebble,” he says, “so the pressure is a bit less than competing for the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award.” Reflecting on restoring cars, he says, “The advantage of restoring a historic hot rod is that you have an exact template to follow. ‘Built from scratch’ cars can change daily depending on how much the client has been on the internet looking at photos for ideas. It’s a challenge to keep a scratchbuilt car project moving forward. When we restore a historic car, we’ve had an abundance of photographs, as well as the people involved with the original builds, and they were more than willing to share the information we needed to ensure the cars were restored as authentically as possible. The challenge

Pete Chapouris restored the Bob McGee Roadster for Bruce Meyer, and it placed Second in Class at Pebble Beach in 2007.

is always to make sure the car stays true to the original build. It is easy to get carried away and then the car gets ‘overrestored.’ We always made our best effort not to do that.” Both the Brizio and Chapouris shops have produced talented “graduates” like Bill Ganahl and Jimmy “Shine” Falschlehner, who’ve gone on to establish their own businesses, thus helping to ensure the hot rod hobby will continue. In just ten years, the 1932 Ford will mark its Centennial. We’re confident there will be a Brizio and a Chapouris on hand to celebrate— most likely with fresh restorations.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

HOUSTON | OCTOBER

20-22

• SCOTTSDALE

| JANUARY 21-29

1955 MERCEDES-BENZ 300SL GULLWING SOLD FOR $1,870,000

NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO SELL YOUR COLLECTOR CAR 270+

WORLD-RECORDS SO FAR IN 2022 Experience the Barrett-Jackson Auctions live exclusively on A+E Networks’ FYI and HISTORY channels.

100%

SELL-THROUGH

$236 MILLION IN 2022 AUCTION SALES

ALL THE CARS, ALL THE TIME. Streamed live on Barrett-Jackson.com

Consign. Bid. Experience. Barrett-Jackson.com

Best of Show

SOLD

1938 DELAGE DEVILLARS CABRIOLET

1937 DELAHAYE 135 M FIGONI & FALASCHI CABRIOLET

1936 LANCIA ASTURA “TIPO BOCCA” CABRIOLET

1996 PEBBLE BEACH® BEST OF SHOW

2000 PEBBLE BEACH® BEST OF SHOW

2016 PEBBLE BEACH® BEST OF SHOW

THE PLACE TO BUY OR SELL THE FINEST AUTOMOBILES

hymanltd.com // +1 (314) 524-6000

Pebble Beach® and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® are trademarks and service marks of Pebble Beach Company. Used by permission.

2022 Copyright Hyman Ltd · St. Louis, Missouri

Rob Kauffman introduces Kate Constantin to a lineup of cars—pointing out the Ford GT street car, inspired directly by the Ford GT40 race car sitting alongside it.

AN INTERVIEW BY KATE CONSTANTIN

Rob Kauffman,

The Eclectic

Non-Collector 32

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Luigi Chinetti and Philippe Étancelin piloted this 1934 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Rob Kauffman doesn’t consider himself a car collector—more just a “car guy,” a hunter-gatherer. His current “gathering” of around 50 collector vehicles includes some of the most important in automotive history (the 1966 Ford GT40 Le Mans winner) and some of the most fun, too (a 1900 De Dion Racing Tricycle). Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rob supports his penchant for classics with his dealership, RK Motors—complete with a vast showroom, on-site mechanic and paint shop, photobooth, and a staff of around 25 specialists. This spring, we walked amidst his favorite vehicles, as Rob described how a kid raised in Yonkers “with no money and no real talent” became passionate about cars. . . . Kate Constantin: Your family wasn’t at all involved in cars, so how did young Rob Kauffman come to own some of the most important cars in America? Rob Kauffman: I was the eldest of four boys and obsessed from the start. My mother says my first word was “Mom” (of course!), my second was “car,” and my third was “Dad.” As a child, I could recognize every marque that drove down the street, and as a young teenager I read every Road & Track and Car and Driver magazine I could lay my hands on. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

dream garage

The Fast Lane: a McLaren F1 (three-seater), a Ferrari F40 and a McLaren P1 (hybrid).

Right: The 1991 Ferrari F40 was the last Ferrari penned by Enzo himself, to mark the company’s 40th anniversary.

The 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France boasted 14 handcrafted louvres.

“I have a very sophisticated system to decide what I buy: I buy what I think is ‘cool.’ ” — ROB KAUFFMAN

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

When I was 13, for my Bar Mitzvah, my parents bought me two Firebirds from a junkyard for $70, and said, “You’ve got three years to make one good car!” They were the first cars I ever owned. They were up on cinderblocks in the driveway, and I busted my knuckles on those cars in the freezing cold for months. Then, I had the idea to advertise extra parts in the local PennySaver. A guy came by and I sold him a taillight for $20! Note to self—new plan! Sell the cars for parts and trade up. I made enough money to buy my next car, and so on and so forth. I just loved working on cars. Long story short, I got a job at a local foreign car garage and eventually traded up from

A 1932 Ford Roadster rests beside a 1939 Ford Deluxe Convertible

those two junk Firebirds through dozens of cars, including many Beetles, to eventually buying my first “big” car—a Ferrari F40, which I bought in 1998. Did you study auto-engineering in college? Hell, no! I wanted to skip college altogether and continue to work on cars. One day, my frustrated dad said, “Look, if you go to college, maybe one day other people will work on your cars, rather than you working on theirs!” He was right; I studied finance and business administration, and that worked out pretty well. As my finance career developed, I started to buy a few cars and motorcycles, and I kept them in my mom’s garage in upstate New York. Then I realized I had to get organized and have a proper place to store and maintain my stuff. Based on advice from a few knowledgeable friends, I picked North Carolina. It has turned out to be a great choice; there’s a huge car culture here with most of the NASCAR race teams, plus the roads are good and the weather is great. It’s really only been over the last decade or so that I have accumulated most of the cars you see here. You say your first big car was the 1991 F40 Ferrari you bought in 1998. Why that car? I didn’t have the intention to start a collection; I more or less backed into it. I have a very sophisticated system to decide what I buy: I buy what I think is “cool.” The F40 was ultracool—one of the first true supercars, road-legal but able to

break the 200 mph barrier. The F40 was designed for Ferrari’s 40th anniversary by Pininfarina under Enzo’s watchful eye and is Formula 1 inspired. I am the second owner of this car and have put most of the 7,200 miles on it myself. It can hit 90 mph in second gear. It’s awesome! You also have a 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France, which is set up for touring. Yep! Although they certainly didn’t have cupholders back in 1957. This car has it all— performance, sex appeal, and room in the trunk for luggage. Among my favorite features are the louvres—only the Italians would handcraft 14 tapered louvres just for looks. You can imagine the boss at Ferrari frantically trying to get the car ready for a race and meanwhile they are taking their time to carefully craft 14 little louvres by hand! This car completed the Mille Miglia in 1957 in 11 hours and 44 minutes, placing ninth overall and fourth in class, and is one of only eight Berlinetta Tour de Frances in existence today. This 250 GT went to Pebble Beach in 2010 and won second in class. I have since driven it thousands of miles on tours and events, including the Modena Cento Ore and the Colorado Grand. Hence, a few conveniences like the cupholders. So “cool” to you is a race car? Not necessarily. I like all kinds of cars and vehicles. Cool is unique, historical, original, interesting. I like vehicles that

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

dream garage

Left: The 1966 Ford GT40 was victorious at Le Mans in 1966, when Ford took first, second, and third. Below: The 1900 De Dion Bouton Tricycle “Firefly” with 2¾ horsepower Bottom: Rob Kauffman wins the Revs Program at Stanford Award at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2016 with his 1901 Panhard et Levassor Type B1 Race Car. “It’s a bit like racing a bar stool!”

“If you could have told little Robbie Kauffman, as he was lying under a junk Firebird in the driveway at 13 years old, that he would be taking cars to the Pebble Beach Concours and would have friends there, he would never have believed you.” — ROB KAUFFMAN

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

This 1963 Chevrolet Impala remains exactly as Junior Johnson raced it in 1963, when he set a speed record at Daytona.

can offer different types of experiences—from the London to Brighton in a 1901 Panhard Vanderbilt Racer, to the Le Mans in a GT40, and everything in between. If there were such a thing as the Book-End Award at Pebble Beach, I might be a contender with the 917/30 Porsche with 1500 horsepower and the unrestored 1900 “Firefly” (a De Dion Bouton Tricycle) with just 2¾ horsepower. Both are interesting and exciting in their own way. That said, I have to admit I do gravitate toward sporty, powerful vehicles. After all, the Firefly was a racer in its day. I have a photo of it on the London to Brighton in 1934, and it looks exactly the same. It has a chain drive, and you sit up tall with virtually no brakes and no clutch. Thirty miles an hour on that thing is somewhat terrifying. Scarier than the 917/30 for sure! Racing has influenced much of your collecting and event participation. How did you get into racing? I was always interested in racing—be it vintage or modern. In the 2000s, once my career was a bit more established and I had some liquidity, I got into modern racing myself, eventually in some iconic and amazing events—Le Mans, Daytona, and Spa, for example. Then, as a team owner in 2014, I joined forces with Chip Ganassi Racing. We’ve had some major successes in NASCAR, IndyCar, the 2016 Le Mans with the Ford GT, and the 24 Hours of Daytona. I still do some driving, and it’s amazing—such an adrenalin rush.

It really makes you appreciate the people who do it for a living. I feel very fortunate to be able to enjoy the cars you see here, and I like all forms of racing. Some guys say, “I’m not into NASCAR; I’m a Formula 1 kind of guy.” I say there’s no rule that says you can’t like them all! I see you have one of the ultimate NASCAR racers here—the 1963 Chevrolet Impala. How did you find that? This is an iconic car and I found it in a barn—literally! Junior Johnson drove this car. He was a bootlegger-turned-racecardriver nicknamed “The Last American Hero,” and he claimed 50 series victories and was a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. This car was prepped by Ray-Fox in 1963 on the quiet, away from the factory. It has the RPO Z33 Mk II Chevy engine with 650 horsepower, called the “Mystery Motor” because, well, basically it was an illegal V8. It achieved the fastest qualifying lap at Daytona 500 in 1963 at 163.2 mph and won just about every race that season. Then GM halted its racing program, and NASCAR banned the car and the engine. This car was spirited away. I found it in storage, still owned by Junior Johnson himself. The car is one of very few survivors of that era as most were busted up. Its illegality probably saved its life! I took it to Goodwood’s Festival of Speed a couple of times; it’s such fun to drive. It is totally original right down to the tape on the steering wheel, all the decals. . . . It’s an absolute legend, and it was an honor to meet Mr. Johnson in person and acquire the car directly from him.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

dream garage

Kauffman crosses Bixby Bridge in his 1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder l while on 2021 Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance.

It sounds like you drive many of your cars. I do. All of them. I am more of a “go” owner than a “show” owner. It’s one thing to drive a car over the ramp of a concours, but it is another to drive it on the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, or the historic races or the Colorado Grand. These cars were built to be driven—and, in most cases, driven fast.

victorious in every race but one in the 1973 Can-Am series. We took it on the Tour, tootling around the country roads—it was great! Everyone loved it, heard it running, saw it in the flesh. We did the entire thing in first gear, cruising at 50 to 60 mph. The hardest part was the U-turn at Big Sur. The car certainly wasn’t designed for that!

In 2017, we took the 1907 Renault Vanderbilt Racer on the Pebble Beach Tour down to Big Sur and back. My guys in the shop were worried about being able to make the whole tour given the old brakes, the antiquated systems, but I said to them, “Look, here’s a picture of Willie K. Vanderbilt (an American racing legend who lived from 1878–1944) driving this car over the Arlberg Pass in 1907. If he could make it to the top of that pass back then, I think we can certainly make it to Big Sur and back tomorrow!”

You have entered cars into the Pebble Beach Concours every year since 2016. What’s it like for you to be at Pebble Beach?

Likewise, the 917/30 Porsche. This car is totally badass in my opinion. We took it on the Pebble Beach Tour, too. It looks huge and heavy, but you take off the body and you are left with an aluminum frame that is about as light as a lawn chair. Mark Donahue raced this car at over 220 mph around Talladega—it was called the “Can-Am Killer”—and it was

Also, I see that Pebble Beach is evolving and moving with the times. There is a perception out there that fewer and fewer people are interested in classic cars, but I’m not sure that’s true. Recent statistics from my friends at Hagerty show that half a billion people worldwide and more than 70 million in the U.S. say they are “interested in cars.” If you go to an event

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

It’s unbelievable. If you could have told little Robbie Kauffman, as he was lying under a junk Firebird in the driveway at 13 years old, that he would be taking cars to the Pebble Beach Concours and would have friends there, he would never have believed you. It is the pinnacle, and I love the hard non-negotiable deadlines and uncompromising standards it requires; it appeals to my nature.

Below: This 1937 Bugatti, once Thunderbird Aqua, has since been returned to its original Slate Grey with Oxblood leather.

Above: “Little Robbie Kauffman” in his early racing days.

or a race meet, you see kids and families, and that’s great. People in our position have a responsibility to pass the torch to the younger generation. That begins with the addition of different classes, such as supercars, Countaches, 917s—and this year there is even an “unorthodox fuel” class on the field. Exhibits oriented to younger people, plus some youthful judges, all add up to younger people feeling more involved— I hope. Don’t forget, the cars from the ’80s and ’90s are now 40 and 30 years old. These cars are fast becoming the “new” contemporary classics. Just saying that makes me feel old! You entered the Pebble Beach Concours with a 1901 Panhard and the GT40 Le Mans winner in 2016, a 1907 Renault Vanderbilt Racer in 2017, a 1937 57S Bugatti in 2018, a 4.5 Liter Bentley in 2019, and the Porsche 917/30 in 2021 (as there was no Concours in 2020). Do you have a favorite moment? You know, awards are terrific, but I try not to get too hung up on the judging. I look at it like this: if you are a world-class racecar driver and you happen to come up through the ranks at the same time as Lewis Hamilton, you are probably not going to win as much as you think you should. Life is often about timing. When I go to Pebble, or any such event, I go to enjoy the magnificent cars, the wonderful people—the experience

and privilege of being part of the day. But of course, winning is always great, I’m as competitive as anyone else! I can’t deny that 2016, when we took the Ford GT40, was a special year for us. Le Mans had a 50th anniversary celebration of the 1966 Ford win, when the GT40 took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. (That was the event that engendered the movie Ford v Ferrari. We went to the movie premier with Matt Damon and Christian Bale, and it was so much fun.) Edsel Ford wanted to get the three cars together and we had one of them, so I shipped it to Le Mans and all three did a parade lap. I have the photo of the cars together with the modern Ford GT racer and the Dunlop Bridge in the background; it’s my screensaver. Then, I shipped the car to Pebble Beach, and along with the other two Le Mans cars we lined up on the ramp on Day of Show. Edsel and Henry Ford III gave us each an award. It doesn’t get any better than that. It is an amazing piece of automotive history, and it can still do 200 mph. The same year you brought the GT40 to Pebble you also brought a 1901 Panhard et Levassor Type B1 Racer—more than half a century its senior. That’s quite an age difference! What is the race history on that?

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

dream garage

The 1934 Alfa Romeo 8C, the 1934 Le Mans winner, is “small, light and ultra-fun to drive!”

The Panhard won one of the first-ever endurance races in the U.S., from New York to Buffalo. It was the Bugatti Veyron of its day; it can go 45 mph and the driver is completely exposed to the elements. It’s a bit like racing on a bar stool! Rob and I wander around the showroom, passing by scores of cars with history and prestige, including a 1907 American (one of the first American purpose-built sports cars), a 1912 Simplex (chain driven with a 10-liter, 4-cylinder engine), an all-original unrestored 1915 Harley Davidson motorcycle, a 1926 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Piccadilly, a 1928 Bentley, a stunning 1937 Bugatti (which was formerly an ugly Thunderbird Aqua and has since been returned to its original Slate Grey with Oxblood leather), a 1962 Mercedes 300 SL Roadster, a 1964 Shelby Cobra, plus various supercars, such as Ferraris, Ford GTs, a McLaren F1 and P1, and various NASCAR celebrities. We end our tour with the paragon of collectibles. . . . The 1934 Alfa Romeo 8C! You are taking this to the Le Mans Classic this year; will you be driving it yourself? Yes, absolutely. This is a very special car—the 1934 Le Mans winner. It’s the ultimate 1930s racer: small, light and ultra-fun to drive. It was way ahead of its time when it raced against the Bentleys. I will be driving solo. I wouldn’t want someone else to have the responsibility for such a historic car. If it were more fungible—maybe, but at least if something happens to it, I know who to blame! The Le Mans Classic is an amazing

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

experience because we drive the cars at speed around the full Le Mans 24-hour course. It becomes very clear how much skill and stamina the drivers in the ’30s had to race these cars for 24 hours on this track. It was serious stuff; it was tough and dangerous. You mentioned that you feel that owners of these cars have a responsibility to pass the torch and share their cars. How do you execute your sense of responsibility? We do a Coffee & Cars here once a month, opening up the showroom and running some of the cars on a makeshift testtrack around the industrial park. We get cars lining up around the block, and hundreds of people attend. It’s really fantastic. When I see a kid leaning in, really showing an interest and asking questions, I love to get them sitting in the car—a Ferrari, another race car, it doesn’t matter. I think, maybe that could be the next little Robbie Kauffman getting all fired up for the future. It makes my day. What’s your bucket-list event and your bucket-list car? As Chip Ganassi always says, his “favorite race is the next race.” I like that philosophy—whatever the next event is, whatever the next car is. It is an evolving thing, not a contest. I try to keep in mind that, regardless of your resources, you can only drive one car, in one place, at one time. The key is to be safe, stay solvent and enjoy the moment. That’s my overall goal.

FOR THOSE DRIVEN TO COLLECT A

D R E A M

H O M E

F O R

YO U R

LUXURY STORAGE CONDOMINIUMS FOR SALE TO SCHEDULE A TOUR, CALL JLL, INC. AT 707-846-1648

SALES@NAPAVAULT.COM | NAPAVAULT.COM 1055 SOSCOL FERRY RD, NAPA, CA 94558

Jones Lang LaSalle Brokerage, Inc. Real Estate License #: 01856260

D R E A M

M AC H I N E S

HIGHWAY 1’S ULTIMATE DESTINATION FOR ELEVATED CASUAL CUISINE, AWARD-WINNING ART, AND EXQUISITE VIEWS Experience the natural beauty of Big Sur, farm-to-table cuisine from a James Beard Award-winning chef, unique gifts by local artisans, and rare ﬁne art from world-renowned artists.

COASTBigSur.com | 49901 Highway One, Big Sur, CA 93920 | 831.667.2301

Visit our Other Property, the Mullin Automotive Museum, 2021 HMA Award Winner for Best Collection 1421 Emerson Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033 MullinAutomotiveMuseum.com

early lincoln & the world of Art By Leslie Armbruster

From the moment that Lincoln was purchased by Ford Motor Company, the marque was destined to embody luxury. Lincolns were to be more than transportation; they were to be subjects and objects of art. Edsel Ford, the only son of Henry, had argued for Ford’s purchase of Lincoln on February 4, 1922, and he was soon appointed to serve as its president, overseeing every aspect of production and perception. Edsel had an impeccable sense of style and design, and this was evident in everything he did, particularly in overseeing the development of Lincoln and crafting its public image.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

The market was primed for a luxury car. After World War I, Americans were ready to leave the trials and tribulations of wartime behind and embrace the opulence of the roaring ’20s. That trend was evident as magazines began to focus on wider circulations in the new culture of consumerism. Print advertisements became more prominent within the magazines and more artistic, often featuring beautiful images of high society, a peaceful home life, and bucolic outdoor settings. The intent was to illustrate all that society had missed during the war.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Popular artists like Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish became household names when publications featured their art on covers and companies commissioned them to create original illustrations for advertising. At a time when illustration was not considered fine art in America, many artists turned to advertising contracts as a way to both make a living and gain an audience for their beautiful works. Though color photography would not become mainstream in magazines until the mid-1930s, color printing was increasingly affordable for publishers in the early 1920s. Illustrators had the ability to be colorful and bright, while still being as factual as possible with their artful depictions of everything from food to automobiles. The 1920s and 1930s were arguably the greatest years for creating works of advertising art. It was a time when the convergence of big advertising budgets, pools of great artistic talent, and hungry consumers created the perfect recipe for these wonderful works of art. Along with other companies of the time, Ford Motor Company and its Lincoln Division benefited from this wealth of talent by creating advertising that still speaks to consumers today, 100 years later.

Edsel would eventually play a role in designing some of Lincoln’s finest offerings, including the Lincoln Continental and the Lincoln Zephyr. But from the very start, he focused on Lincolns as custom creations. And no doubt he had a say in choosing which artists would be selected to create beautiful advertising for the brand. Many of the largest advertising agencies were based in Chicago during the 1920s, so Detroit’s automobile manufacturers had easy access to a large pool of both experienced and up-and-coming illustrators from which to choose. Ford Motor Company and its Lincoln Division engaged many different artists and illustrators to create imagery for their product advertisements during this era. Oftentimes, one illustrator would create an elaborate background scene, while another drew the actual vehicle being advertised, highlighting optional equipment like wood trim, wire wheels, side-mount mirrors, and in the 1930s, radios, leather upholstery and custom luggage. Artists frequently highlighted optional elements of the actual vehicles in a subtle way within their pieces. Take, for

Edsel and his wife, Eleanor, were lifelong supporters of the arts, amassing an impressive personal collection of fine art, many pieces of which would be donated to the Detroit Institute of Arts after their deaths. During their lifetimes, they supported that and other artistic organizations, such as the Detroit Artists Market and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The most prominent of Edsel Ford’s collaborations with the Detroit Institute of Arts was his patronage of Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Murals, a series of twenty-seven original frescos adorning the walls of an interior court of the museum. Created in 1932 and 1933, the murals depicted the people and machines that had worked to create the automotive and pharmaceutical industries, and subsequent prosperity, in the Detroit area. A sea of machines, industries, and workers of all shapes, colors and sizes, the murals represent the heart and soul of the community. Rivera took a break from creating the murals to paint a separate portrait of Edsel Ford, choosing to honor his artistic spirit by depicting him in an automotive design studio, rather than a factory. Opening page: In the mid-1920s, the art of Haddon Hubbard “Sunny” Sundblom helped to position Lincoln as a luxury marque. Sundblom also helped to create Coca-Cola’s version of Santa Claus. Prior two pages and next two: The birds and butterflies that William Stark Davis painted for Lincoln advertisements in the late 1920s represented optional color variations for a car, both inside and out. Davis went on to work for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Right: Later advertising art, such as this 1932 piece created for the Lincoln KB, was often unsigned. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

example, the work of Winthrop Stark Davis, better known as Stark Davis, who created some of the art for ads for Lincoln in the late 1920s. Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1885, Davis based his career out of Chicago, where during the 1920s and 1930s, he created art for the Ladies’ Home Journal, as well as a wide variety of businesses, including the Ethyl Corporation. He would go on to work for Walt Disney Animation Studios in California, where he lived until his death in 1950. Perhaps his most famous pieces of advertising art are the various imaginary birds—and one butterfly—that he painted for Lincoln. Each of his birds or butterfly represented optional colors for exteriors and interiors of Lincoln motor cars. Separate artists then drew the vehicles to appear with each bird in coordinating optional color schemes. The overall effect of this campaign was dramatic and elegant, which speaks to its enduring popularity.

reflect on the vehicles shown. This allowed them to imagine how these beautiful cars might enhance their lifestyles. The simplicity and stylishness of these advertisements can still be felt today. Born in 1889, in Muskegon, Michigan, Haddon Hubbard “Sunny” Sundblom studied at both the Art Institute and the nearby American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he based his career. He is most known for the advertising art he created for Coca-Cola, helping to invent their version of Santa Claus, but he also worked for the United States Marine Corps, Proctor & Gamble, and Quaker Oats, among other companies—and he created many works of art for Lincoln advertising, often placing the cars in settings that offered hints of palatial dwellings, peaceful settings or favorite pastimes, including golf. Sundblom died in 1976, leaving behind a lasting legacy of beautiful work.

Other artists utilized negative space to create a sophisticated feel in their advertising art. Campaigns by Haddon Hubbard Sundblom, Frederick Smith Cole, and Floyd Curtis Brink often demonstrated this technique. Their understated outdoor scenes were partnered with expansive backgrounds in soft, muted colors, which gave consumers time and space to

The advertising art of Floyd Curtis Brink (left), Sunny Sundblom (middle), and Frederick Smith Cole (opposite) often placed Lincolns in peaceful settings, with favorite pastimes.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Left: This 1925 artwork by Cole pairs Lincoln with the growing advancement of flight. Below: The new Lincoln-Zephyr with its aerodynamic streamlined shape was the sign of the future, as noted in this 1936 ad. Opposite: This 1933 advertisement emphasized the 12-cylinder power at the heart of Lincoln motor cars.

The art of Floyd Curtis Brink continued many of the same themes as Sundblom, and Brink’s creations might be mistaken for those of Sundblom although they often include somewhat more bold strokes and fewer details. Brink was born in Illinois in 1892, he studied at the St. Paul Institute of Art, and his art appeared in publications like Good Housekeeping and Ladies’ Home Journal. He created advertising art for several automobile manufacturers, including both Ford and Lincoln. He died tragically in 1935 when a plane flown by fellow commercial artist Albert Whitney lost one of its wings and crashed. Born in 1893, Frederick Smith Cole attended the Art Institute of Chicago, and after fighting in World War I, he returned to Chicago to work as an illustrator. He would later move to Detroit and open The Art Studio with his business partner to be closer to automotive manufacturers. During his career, he created advertising illustrations for both General Motors and Ford, including the Lincoln Division. His work for Lincoln expanded on the themes initiated by Sundblom and Brink, showcasing the excitement and adventures of world travel,

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

even pairing Lincoln motor cars with new airplanes. He lived in the Detroit area until his death in 1967. Although Lincoln continued to create beautiful advertising for its products, like the Model K, Model KA, and Model KB, the use of signed artwork in its advertisements soon ended. The clean lines and geometric figures of Art Deco style, which were clearly apparent in some of the later Lincoln materials, were also used to advertise Lincoln’s all-new Zephyr in the late-1930s. The streamlined design and alligator-type hood of the Zephyr lent themselves beautifully to the Art Deco style. Economic challenges and technological advances of the day would bring this era of advertising art to a close by the end of that decade.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Handcraf ted C ook ing R ange s & Suite s , Steel Cabinet r y, Fine Wood Work ing & Appliance s Ne w York • Miami • L os Angele s w w w. L e Atel i e r Pa r i s . co m

•

1 800 792 3550

Celebrating Our Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Best of Show Winners

1990

1993

2012

2021

PaulRussell.com

978-768-6919

Photography by Michael Furman

Pebble Beach and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance are trademarks and service marks of Pebble Beach Company. Used by permission. ®

BY K A T E C O N S T A N T I N

YOUR (Three-Pointed)

STAR! 58

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

The 2021

MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SL CLASSIC A car for all seasons, all roads and almost all drivers

Randy Elber traces the curves in his 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

2021 M E R C E D E S - B E N Z 3 0 0 S L C L A S S I C

Above: Dannie and Craig McLaughlin give the Classic two thumbs up.

“ ‘Trailer Queens not advised!’ This should be the caveat for the 300 SL Classic tour!” joked John Willott, President of the 300 SL Foundation, when he called to invite me to ride on the 2021 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Classic tour. In hindsight, I can see why: in the space of five days participants aged from 32 to 92 encountered sun, sleet, and snow, climbed to over 14,000 feet, and covered over 1,200 miles. “These cars were built to drive,” said John. “They need exercise!” The 300 SL Classic was the brainchild of Tom Thornhill, long-term owner of a 1955 Gullwing and marque enthusiast, who recalls, “One night in 2017, I was having a few drinks with Craig McLaughlin at the closing dinner of The Colorado

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Grand, and he said, ‘I’ll do it!’ The 300 SL Foundation and Board were formed and the Classic was conceived!” Craig, director of the 300 SL Foundation, purchased his dream car—a 1957 300 SL roadster—in 2011 in San Francisco, where it had been garaged since 1977. “When I was a kid,” he says, “my parents bought me a slot-car race track and it came with two cars, a Jaguar XK 120 and a Mercedes 300 SL. I fell in love with the SL and my fate was sealed!” Together Craig and Tom mapped out a route, sent the information to Gull Wing Group members and other 300 SL enthusiasts, and in the fall of 2018 the first 300 SL Classic explored northern Arizona. A roaring success, it was followed by the oversubscribed 2019 Classic through Monument

“

T H I S I S T H E M O S T F U N YO U C A N H AV E W I T H A 3 0 0 S L— B U T I T I S N OT FO R T H E FA I N T O F H E A RT.

“

— Craig McLaughlin

Dean and Allison Rogers power through the rain in their 1955 Gullwing.

Valley, Zion and Arches National Park of Utah. The third Classic took place this past September, when 47 coupes and roadsters, 100 drivers and navigators, two hospitality directors, three photographers, two luggage and soirée hosts, and a crew of four marque mechanics, complete with a fully stocked Mercedes-Benz parts truck and flatbed, drove from Colorado Springs to Santa Fe, New Mexico. “This is the most fun you can have with a 300 SL—but it is not for the faint of heart,” says Craig. The mystique of the 300 SL, with its iconic Gullwing doors and voluptuous profile, is globally appreciated. From 1951 through 1952, the race iteration of the model took first and second at Le Mans and a clean sweep of first through fourth at the Nürburgring. Production started in 1954 and continued Steve and Kimmy Brauer pose in their 1961 Roadster.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

2021 M E R C E D E S - B E N Z 3 0 0 S L C L A S S I C

George Bunting’s Gullwing poses with doors spread wide at the top of Ridgway Pass in Colorado, with a stunning view of snow-capped peaks in the distance.

until 1963 by which time about 1,400 coupes (more often, called “Gullwings” for their uplifted doors) and 1,858 roadsters had been built. “These cars aren’t just rare and amazing to look at,” says John Willott, “but they are the scions of a postwar racing champion. To see almost 50 of these cars on the road at the same time—it doesn’t get any better than that.”

D AY O N E Colorado Springs to Aspen (196 miles) Shifting gears to day one of the tour, after a brief drivers’ meeting, participants departed from the Broadmoor—an opulent hotel built in 1918 in Colorado Springs—and headed for the open roads of Colorado, route book in hand and adventure in heart. The first leg was up Pikes Peak in the celebrated tracks of the Stutz Bearcat of William Brown, who,

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

in 1913, first scaled the infamous 12-mile, 14,115-foot peak in five hours and 28 minutes. For this segment of the tour, I sat beside John Willott in his gorgeous 1955 silver Gullwing, as he artfully passed three 50-foot semis on the elusive straights between 360-degree switchbacks, whilst ascending a 7% gradient, toggling between first and second gears. Most of the 300 SLs scaled Pikes Peak in under an hour, stopping at the summit just long enough to appreciate the effects of 43% less oxygen on the human brain and the 3-liter, 6-cylinder engine of the SL. “You can feel the decrease in power,” John remarked. “That said—mission accomplished!” John’s Gullwing was built for Prince Paul von Metternich of Austria and it was built specifically for racing. The car ran at Le Mans in 1956, having already participated in the Italian Mille Miglia, where it came in 2nd in class and 6th overall,

Brown Maloney, a hard-core all-weather driver, kept his top down no matter the weather.

Bob and Dave Baker in their 1955 Gullwing.

bearing the same number John uses today: 504. John’s father, a master machinist, purchased the car in 1966 and set about transforming it into the ultimate everyday driver. “My dad threw a rope over the limb of an oak tree in our yard to hoist the body off the car,” recalls John Jr. “He laid out sheets on the living room floor, one for the engine and another for the transmission. Great days!” John Sr. rebuilt the wiring harness and added an extra-large fan for cooling, a sports cam and electric fuel pumps, as well as hand-crafting a beautiful wooden dash. In 1969, John took his high-school friend, Ann, for a spin. “When we got back, I asked her how she liked it,” says John. “She said, ‘Can it go any faster?’ That was the moment I knew I would marry her!”

Right: Clusters of Aspens dot Ridgway Pass. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

2021 M E R C E D E S - B E N Z 3 0 0 S L C L A S S I C

A Gullwing is dwarfed by the mountains of Colorado.

“

T H E S E C A R S W E R E B U I LT TO D R I V E . THEY NEED EXERCISE!

“

— John Willott

Above: Glenn Rudner and Mary Beth Beasley brought an amazing all-original 1955 Gullwing, posed here at a lunch stop at Midway Schoolhouse in Paonia, Colorado. Right: John Willott and Kate Constantin stand beside John’s 1955 Gullwing at the top of Pikes Peak, elevation 14,115 feet.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Willott’s car passes boulders stacked like monuments.

Having scaled Pikes Peak, the descent was a breeze—for most. In line for the parking lot at the top, Martin Button and his co-pilot Sandra suffered a stalled engine and, to add insult to injury, their starter quit. The steep road was alarmingly narrow with harrowing drop-offs on both sides. Quick as a flash, Sandra signaled to the cars behind to hold while Martin coasted the 300 SL backward down the slope, dropped into reverse and popped the clutch to bump-start the car. With the engine running, they did a 9-point turn on the narrow roadway and took off downhill to the jubilant clamor of onlookers! (Thanks to the marvelous machinations of the mechanics from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center—Nate Lander, Nick Antonio and Robert Webster, under the direction of Mike Kunz—a new gear reduction starter unit was fitted and the lovely ivory roadster was raring to go the following morning.) Next we motored by the Garden of the Gods with its towering edifices of red rock pushed up through the surface of the earth some two billion years ago as tectonic plates collided. Lunch was in the little town of Buena Vista, then we continued west through the breathtaking Twin Lakes and over Independence Pass at 12,095 feet, surrounded by giant boulders of pink granite. Superb planning and benevolent weather facilitated the most stunning scenery, set against aspen trees turning from green to gold and sending sheets of gilded pennies flying in the wake of motorcars.

Above: Kate Constantin in Brown Maloney’s roadster.

After 196 miles of high-adrenaline motoring, we arrived in Aspen, where the 300 SLs lined up in the basement parking lot of The Little Nell, an exclusive boutique hotel named for a mining claim made in the late 1800s. The luxurious ski resort was once a hub of silver mining and was the first town west of the Mississippi to get electricity, in 1885. As we took the elevator up to the reception desk, we came across Helmut Reiss and his co-pilot, Danica. “What a day!” remarked Helmut, owner of the “Black Prince,” a 1962 roadster that overheated and had to be flat-bedded to Aspen while Helmut and Danica drove a 21 AMG GT 63 coupe

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

2021 M E R C E D E S - B E N Z 3 0 0 S L C L A S S I C Drivers found themselves dodging cascades as well as raindrops.

D AY T W O Aspen to Gateway (235 miles) Bright and early on day two, I co-piloted for Brown M. Maloney, owner of a lovely 1957 roadster that he purchased in 1993 with 74,000 miles. “I love these cars!” said Brown, who has toured both Australia and Israel with the roadster. “They have everything: beauty, sex-appeal, performance, gravitas and track heritage! The 300 SL is really just a thinly veiled racecar.” At the drivers’ meeting we learned that there was some inclement weather awaiting us on the road to Gateway, 235 miles west of Aspen. “No problem,” beamed Brown. “We won’t get wet with the top down if we drive fast enough!” Sure enough, we made it through the Redstone Historic District with only a minor dousing, and on to Paonia, where my navigation skills were sorely tested as we drove past our lunch stop—twice! Following a tardy but sumptuous lunch, we motored on by Grand Junction and made it to Gateway Canyons Resort—just in time for cocktails at the resident automobile museum. All around us, glowing in the setting sun, the austere buttresses of red rock stood like sentinels posted across the landscape.

D AY T H R E E Gateway to Santa Fe (403 miles) The third day of the tour placed me in a superb 1956 silverover-red Gullwing with George Bunting of Baltimore, Maryland. Although George could find no documented history for the car, a small spherical light on the righthand side of the top-dash, used to signal the car’s identity to the pit mechanics, suggested that the car may have been raced. “This car is moving sculpture,” remarked George as we set out for Santa Fe, New Mexico, under very heavy skies. “The iconic styling and engineering were way ahead of their time . . . but the windshield wipers really suck!”

Above: George Bunting on the rooftop garage of La Posada de Santa Fe.

provided by Mercedes. “Our car broke down, but we still got to see some of the most beautiful countryside in America in a fantastic Mercedes!” Once again, thanks to the trouble-shooting masterminds of the mechanic crew, the Black Prince was back on the road for day two, with a new thermostat and two very happy occupants.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

The rain came down in sheets as we departed Gateway Canyon and drivers ahead of us texted snapshots of snow on their windshields. (“Don’t worry,” texted Martin from 50 miles ahead, “If you don’t like the weather in Colorado, just wait half an hour!”) Luckily, we did not encounter snow— only dense fog, driving rain, and hail. George used the wipers intermittently with the lights, so as not to drain the battery. “In a Gullwing you have two choices,” he explained, “enjoy visibility with the windshield wipers going or with the lights on! You can’t do both!” On the world-famous Million Dollar Highway, we cut through great forests of aspen that oxidized the valley walls

“

Jan and Michael Friberg’s Roadster nears Gateway Canyons Resort in Gateway, New Mexico.

THESE CARS AREN’T JUST RARE & A M A Z I N G TO LO O K AT, B U T T H E Y A R E T H E S C I O N S O F A P O S T WA R R AC I N G C H A M P I O N .

“

— John Willott

with a translucent blush. The route climbed to over 11,000 feet, well above the tree-line and through lunar landscapes, looking down on the lilliputian villages of Silverton and Ouray. George skillfully navigated hairpin bends, skirting the mountains on single track roads with signs that warned “Watch out for falling rocks and wildlife,” while veering around murky rock-laced cascades emptying out onto the road before us. “Note there are no guard rails up here,” commented Shawn McGregor, the flatbed driver who followed us up the pass and stopped with us at the summit to take photos. “That’s to enable the snow plows to push the snow off the edge of the mountain. There’s a memorial up here somewhere in memory of all the snow plow drivers who didn’t make it!” With this information nervously absorbed, we set off for Durango and lunch.

Above Right : Craig and Hanne Ekberg wait patiently, as do others, while a road crew removes loose rock from a cliff face above our route. Right: Sandra and Martin Button sporting pullovers from the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Way to represent!

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

2021 M E R C E D E S - B E N Z 3 0 0 S L C L A S S I C

“

T H E S E C A R S A R E 70 Y E A R S O L D, & BAC K I N T H E DAY T H E Y W E R E T H E FAS T E S T C A R S O U T T H E R E . T H E Y A R E M E A N T TO B E D R I V E N — FAS T.

“

— Craig Ekberg

The 300 SL of Ed and Tina Knoll complements the craggy monoliths.

Over a burger and root beer float, we chatted with the most senior members of our little group, Egon and Tila Hagemann, aged 92 and 91 respectively. Egon and Tila emigrated separately from Germany to the United States in 1959, met over Kaffee und Kuchen, and have been to every 300 SL convention in the US and Germany since 1992, often in their 1957 roadster. “We’ve been driving together for a long time,” smiles Tila as she takes Egon’s hand at the table, “and I’m still a terrible navigator!” Egon nods and says, “That’s true, but we always get there in the end. I’m a great driver, but she still tells me how to drive after all these years! I don’t like to see brake lights ahead, so I get up close to overtake. I like to say I have never rear-ended anyone, but one or two cars have backed into me!” Egon winks. Back on the road we head for Santa Fe via Pagosa Springs and Espanola, bypassing the “Uranium Drive-In” gas station and stopping at one of the few stations to carry the high octane/ non-ethanol fuel these cars need to operate efficiently at altitude. Close to 6 pm we arrive at La Posada Santa Fe, ready for some libation while comparing notes with old friends and new acquaintances.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

This year’s tour was equally divided between those who had participated previously in a 300 SL Classic and those who were newcomers, such as Glenn Rudner and Mary Beth Beasley, pathologists (forensic and pulmonary respectively) in Manhattan. Their car, a 1955 Gullwing, is an unrestored “barn find”—literally; it was discovered in a barn with 18,000 miles on the odometer. Marque specialist Randy Elber not only found the car, he made it run and drive. “And not just drive, but drive up Pikes Peak no less!” enthused Glenn. When asked what two pathologists discuss over dinner, Glenn revealed, “Dead bodies and diseased lungs! Oh, and cars of course!”

D AY F O U R Santa Fe Loop I (254 miles) Day four rolled around, and I found myself seated beside Craig Ekberg (also known as Sir Craig) for a circular outing from La Posada up through Taos to Red River for lunch. Craig’s 1955 Gullwing was fully restored in 2000 and is fitted with a racing kit. “These cars are 70 years old, and back in the day they were the fastest cars out there. They are meant to be

driven—fast.” In addition to his passion for driving fast cars, Craig is the team captain of the Tiger Squadron, a formation flying team of 20 pilots who execute precision acrobatic demonstrations in a variety of vintage aircraft. In 2019, Craig took his Gullwing to England and decided he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit the Goodwood Motor Circuit. He arrived at the end of the day when the Lotus race team was leaving the track. “I asked an official if I could take a spin around the track,” recalls Craig, “but he said ‘no.’ I told him I had come all the way from California to drive the Goodwood track, and I showed him my CA license plate. He told me to wait there.” The official disappeared and after a few moments returned, jumped in a Porsche Cayenne and told Craig to follow him. “We tore around that track and it was fantastic!” says Craig, “One of the highlights of my life!” Sure enough, Craig put his Gullwing—and me—through our paces, winding the engine up to 6,000 rpm before overtaking, and cruising at speeds just “slightly” north of the limit. Notably, unlike the Italian supercars that hunker down and crouch through acceleration, the Gullwing seems to lift and soar, defying its mighty 2,800 lbs of bulk, in an almost out-of“metal”-body experience. Needless to say, we got to lunch and back to La Posada in record time.

D AY F I V E Santa Fe Loop II (213 miles) The final day of the tour was a leisurely trip out to the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort in Bernalillo, via the small bohemian village of Madrid. Bob Baker needed a navigator, as his son, David, had to return home. Instead of a navigator, Bob got me, quite possibly the worst map-reader in the group. Somewhat predictably, we overshot the lunch stop. Shortly after Bob acquired his 1955 Gullwing, he took it on a rally in Utah where the group encountered a sandstorm. “We got totally sandblasted, and the fine sand got into every corner of the interior,” says Bob. “The bumpers looked like brushed aluminum, and I was really concerned the sand had gotten into the engine.” Bob had the car fully restored in 2010 by the in-house restoration atelier at the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar, California, where they assured him that the engine was perfectly fine. “These cars are fantastic; just look at the aerodynamic design! Plus, they are reliable. I don’t care how beautiful a car is, if it is wed to the flatbed, it’s no good to me!” As we motored back to base through heavy Santa Fe traffic under a hot fall sun, the temperature inside the

An overview of 300 SLs converging at the Midway Schoolhouse.

Gullwing cabin rose significantly. “It can get to be a sauna in here,” Bob commented, lifting his door to cool the interior at a red light, much to the amazement of motorists all around us. “The payback for having excellent visibility is the ‘Gullwing greenhouse’ effect.” The Classic culminated in a lavish dinner at which prizes were awarded and money was raised for the various charities supported by the Gull Wing Group—the Make-aWish Foundation and McPherson College. Students in the Automotive Restoration Technology Program at McPherson are restoring a 1953 Mercedes-Benz 300 S Cabriolet in the hope of having it invited to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2023, and the Gull Wing Foundation raises funds to support the program and ensure the longevity of dying restoration skills. New friends and old said their farewells, exchanged contact information, airdropped photos, and lingered on the patio to prolong the five-day event for a few more precious moments. “It has been fantastic,” remarked Sandra Button. “Great cars, fantastic venues, amazing scenery, all types of weather, and some very memorable driving. All in all, a wonderful adventure with great friends.” Her husband, Martin, added, “We are ready for the next tour in 2022. Drive while you are alive. You can sleep when you’re dead!”

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Quality. Tradition. Inspiration.

foll10ow0 thMe roadade oinf/taly %

cashmere scarf - rallyscope

Silk tie and pocket square - posh

travel case - globetrotter

stringback driving gloves - heritage

Discover all the collections on www.theoutlierman.com WORLDWIDE SHIPPING

weekender garment bag - globetrotter

1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C by Scaglietti Estimate: $7,500,000 - $9,000,000 USD

19-20 AUGUST 2022

MONTEREY NOW INVITING CONSIGNMENTS

CALIFORNIA +1 310 559 4575 HEADQUARTERS +1 519 352 4575 FLORIDA +1 772 219 9215

82_MO22_Pebble Beach Concours Insider.indd 1

RM Sotheby’s Lic. No. 84391

2022-04-29 2:29 PM

COSDEL EXCLUSIVE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPER FOR THE WORLD’S PREMIER CAR COLLECTION

Photo: Kimball Studios / Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

Arturo Keller’s 1938 Mercedes 540K Autobahn Kurrier collecting its well-deserved Best of Show prize at the 2021 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. COSDEL INTERNATIONAL | Trusted—and Safe—Shippers of the World’s Finest Cars Since 1960

IMPORT-EXPORT-EVENTS-CUSTOMS CONSULTATION USA +1 (415) 777 2000 | UK +44 (0) 1304 803 000 | JAPAN +81 45 620 3134 | WWW.COSDEL.COM Pebble Beach® and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® are trademarks and services marks of Pebble Beach Company. Used with permission.

the greatest of automobiles, the finest of people, the most beautiful of settings, the best time of year. Middle East, November 18-20, 2022

Palm Beach, January 26-29, 2023

Modena, Spring 2023

PANNING Guilliams treasures this McFarlan TV 6, which was most likely a Special Sport Phaeton when it emerged from the factory.

My Life with McFarlan

BY JOHN GUILLIAMS

FOR GOLD PebbleBeach BeachConcours Concoursd’Elegance d’EleganceInsider Insider Pebble

Housing a glass tube to indicate radiator temperature, the standard McFarlan moto-meter bears the insignia of a thistle, denoting the family’s Scottish origins.

I have always loved automobiles—the history, engineering and design have piqued my interest ever since I was a boy—and the McFarlan in particular has played a special role in my life. Why? I love a good antique car lead—and to be a McFarlan enthusiast, you have to be a detective, because these cars are ultimately rare and exquisitely nuanced. Although the McFarlan Motor Company produced about 100 automobiles annually between 1909 and 1928, there are probably only about 20 existing in the U.S. today. How is that not fascinating? All that said, the McFarlan did not feature early in my automotive history. I was raised in Orinda, California, and had an affinity for engineering. In 1965, when I was 15, my physics teacher would have me work on his car during physics class (and I always got excellent marks!). A local father also hosted a Boy Scout group focused on restoring Model A Fords. We would work on antique cars on the weekends, and we were constantly asking at service stations and garages if they knew of any old cars we could buy and restore. I called it “panning for gold,” because you never knew what “nugget” you would find in an old barn or garage. We found a 1917 Mercedes, a 1910 Rausch and Lang electric, and many old Fords—but most of the time the buyers for William Harrah’s collection were one step ahead of us, with much deeper pockets. Nevertheless, it was fun. In about 1967, I wrote to Boys’ Life—the Boy Scouts magazine—to tell them what

we were doing, and they sent world-famous Life magazine photographer Phillipe Halsman to photograph us! Fabulous automobiles were just woven into the very fabric of my life. Soon, I took an after-school job with a local gentleman named Owen Owens, who was often a participant and would soon be a Best of Show winner at the Pebble Beach Concours. He asked if I was interested in hauling a 1935 Lincoln from Tulare, in the central valley of California, to Oakland. Always up for a challenge (and a paycheck), I loaded the 5,500-pound behemoth onto my flatbed and very carefully towed it to his Oakland facility, called “The Garage.” A converted old muffler shop, The Garage was a hub for classic car collectors in the Bay Area; I recall that Lorin Tryon, Co-Chairman of the Concours for nearly three decades, had his Packard Darrin Convertible on view there for some time. Owens and his friends gathered there every day, bringing their automobiles for repair or storage, and I did everything for them, from hauling and driving to painting and repair. Owens would say, “I have this car I need you to move. You can take it to school and then bring it to The Garage afterwards.” So I would drive to school in a 1956 Cadillac, or a 1936 Packard Convertible Coupe V12, or a 1929 Model A Town Car. . . . Basically, I was paid to play.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Jack Dempsey, seen here in a McFarlan Roadster, was among the many celebrities who favored the marque.

Above: A driver’s perspective of Guilliams’ special sport phaeton. Right: Remnants of this badly weathered mid-1920s McFarlan may serve as patterns for needed replacement parts.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

One day, Owens’ friend Scott Newhall, Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and already a Pebble Beach Best of Show winner, asked me to move a car for him—a 1925 McFarlan Twin Valve Six, Type 154. I was stunned when I saw it; it was the most amazing automobile I had ever seen. It was monstrous—a Knickerbocker Cabriolet—with room for five passengers in the rear compartment, having auxiliary seats that tucked into the driver’s partition, and elegant upholstery that was still in good condition. I think it was originally black and green, and it had an aura about it; it was not ostentatious, but a thing of beauty and quality—the epitome of wealth and elegance in the roaring twenties. (This very car now belongs to the National Automobile Museum, formerly the Harrah Collection, and will be on the Concours show field in August.) That was my first experience of the McFarlan, and I was smitten. Over the next 38 years, I continued my work restoring and repairing automobiles, while also researching the McFarlan marque. During the same period, I studied engineering and conservation of natural resources at the University of California Berkeley, built a home in the Berkeley hills, designed and built a railroad and grist mill for a friend, and— with my wife and family—planted a vineyard and built a home and winery in St. Helena. It was a busy time.

Above: Charlie Chaplin bids a woman good day alongside a McFarlan phaeton.

I managed to collect a few cars over the years, including several Cadillacs, a Cunningham, and three Rolls-Royce motor cars. Then in 2007, two friends were at an antique car swap meet in Bakersfield and came across a couple of McFarlans—two out of a mere 20 existing in this country! They told me about them, knowing my penchant for the rare marque, and, without hesitation, I bought them both, sight unseen. I was fascinated. In the late 1920s, when the Ford Model A cost around $500 brand new, the McFarlan had a price of around $10,000, depending on custom features, and was the auto-idol of the rich and famous, including Jack Dempsey, Fatty Arbuckle, and Al Capone, who bought one for himself and one for his wife. McFarlan was one of a select few American marques—along with Pierce-Arrow, Cunningham, Packard and Rolls-Royce— that catered to the top echelons of society in the 1910s and ’20s, and yet so few people in America, or the world, have ever heard of McFarlan today. To purchase two examples felt like an honor and a privilege. One of the cars was a 1923 TV 6 Roadster—or so I thought. On inspection, I surmised that the car was original from the rear fender panel forward. But the side panels behind the doors featured an intriguing series of bolt holes and a female light socket, which was correct for a Special Sport Phaeton,

Guilliams first glimpsed a McFarlan when he was asked to move this 1925 Town Car, now located in The Harrah Collection of the National Auto Museum.

according to a sketch I had acquired. I knew immediately that the car had been modified. This car remains unrestored and still wears the TV 6 Roadster body to this day. (Interestingly, at some point, mechanics also made it into an “electromotive” car. They removed the transmission and installed a monstrous electric generator that powered a DC electric motor running the rear axle. There were more than 20 batteries in the rear of the roadster, and as you applied the accelerator, it rotated a circular oak beam studded with brass bars that, in turn, engaged the batteries to increase power to the rear axle. What a feat of engineering!)

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Right: This magnificent 1923 McFarlan Knickerbocker Cabriolet, once owned by Fatty Arbuckle, now resides in the Nethercutt Collection. Below: A McFarlan taillight. Below Right: An engine valve cover.

The second of the pair from Bakersfield was a Sedan, but the discovery of a pink slip for the chassis (talk about panning for gold!) shows it originally had a Roadster body—and I plan to restore that bodywork to it. With this restoration at the top of my to-do list shortly after the acquisition, I located a gentleman in upstate New York with a stash of McFarlan parts, including transmissions. I drove a Penske truck to his place during a snowstorm and discovered a veritable McFarlan gold mine. There were original coils, headlights, and even a chassis complete with radiator, engine and transmission, which was so rusty it sank into the truck bed. I drove that truck all the way back to California feeling like I had struck gold! In all, I now own four McFarlan automobiles, including the two aforementioned from Bakersfield. The third McFarlan I acquired is a chassis with serial number D2000V (for the fall of 1920), which could well be the first McFarlan TV 6 chassis built in Connersville, Indiana. The fourth is a 1925 Roadster Type 142 that was badly damaged in a fire when a battery charger in the trunk ignited. Unfortunately, the upper wood body and the upholstery were lost, but the lower body framework is intact. I call all these enormous wood-framed automobiles “road locomotives” for a reason: they had to be extremely rugged

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

to function. In the 1920s, roads were largely dirt and gravel, and a car had to be substantial to be able to fly along at 45 mph bearing monstrous engines, titanic weight, and elegant coachwork and interiors. It’s no wonder few marques were able to provide an appropriate product. The McFarlan engine was an important element of the marque’s initial success; the 573-cubic-inch Twin Valve Six with three spark plugs per cylinder (which closely emulated the much-admired Pierce-Arrow Dual Valve Six) was renowned for its dependability and durability, as well as its over-the-top aesthetics with 48 nickel-plated head nuts. With so much power under the hood, stopping was an issue. In order to tame the beast, McFarlan introduced hydraulic brakes to the TV 6 series in 1923, well ahead of many of its peers— and just two years after Duesenberg. The idea, of course, is to restore all of these lovely automobiles to their original specification and condition. But the events of life—not the least of which was the Glass Fire that ripped through our home amidst burning 11,000 acres of Napa and Sonoma Counties in September of 2020—have delayed my plans. Meanwhile, I continue my research and my endless hunt for McFarlan history and objects. In addition to tapping into the huge community of likeminded collectors and historians, I

Guilliams sometimes refers to his McFarlans as “road locomotives” because they had the power and reliability to move the massive creations over often rugged roads. Below: This letter from Scott Newhall, then-editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, is among the trove of McFarlan correspondence and documents collected by Guilliams.

“pan for gold” on the internet, constantly trolling eBay and the like for memorabilia and documentation, such as photos of Jack Dempsey and Charlie Chaplin with McFarlans, original catalogues and brochures, and even a postcard of a McFarlan race car mailed from Healdsburg, California, while the McFarlan race team toured the West Coast. At one point, I bought the firewall ID plate from Jack Passey’s McFarlan for $5—another gold nugget! And just this past December I purchased a radiator cap complete with motometer for a McFarlan radiator. (The moto-meter, mounted above the radiator cap, is a glass tube filled with red alcohol, which indicates the radiator temperature.) The insignia for McFarlan is a thistle, denoting the McFarlan family’s Scottish origins, and it is front and center on all McFarlan radiator caps—except this one. This cap is engraved with the name A.H. McFarlan (for McFarlan Motor Corporation creator and president Alfred Harry McFarlan, who lived from 1881 to 1937), and it is quite possible this is the radiator cap from his personal car. People ask me, “What is so special about the McFarlan?” The honest answer is that a McFarlan automobile probably isn’t that different from its peers—Pierce-Arrow, Packard, Cunningham or Rolls-Royce. The designers and engineers that created these pieces of art had skills and methods that

are largely lost in today’s auto-community—such as how to sweat-solder nickel onto a part—and when you discover some nuance or technique or document, it is like driving a time machine and unlocking the secrets of a bygone era. These magnificent marques of the early 20th century are all worthy of adulation, but the McFarlan is so rare and so unknown outside of enthusiasts’ circles that it feels deserving of my time and effort to discover and reveal as much as I possibly can. I am panning for posterity.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

2022 CHARITY DRAWING TI C KE TS AVAI L AB L E AT pebblebeachconcours.net/charitydrawing

One of the primary objectives of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is giving back to the community and those in need. Through the annual Charity Drawing, a select group of charities can raise much-needed funds by giving donors the opportunity to win cars donated by our generous sponsors—and the charities get to keep 100% of the proceeds. Our Charity Drawing Partners:

We Thank the Manufacturers who are Participating in the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Charity Drawing:

Purveyors of Rolling Art Simply the best. With over $1 Billion in PRIVATE SALES! Don Williams, the president and founder of Blackhawk Collection, is celebrating 51 consecutive years of displaying a car at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® Blackhawk Collection has been recognized around the globe in the Classic Car industry as one of the world’s most respected purveyors of fine automobiles. Under the direction of Don, along with his son Brian, the Blackhawk Collection consistently presents some of the most sought after and significant collector cars on the planet. Many of the most famous and well-known classics have passed through their hands, and their clients trust them explicitly. With an impeccable reputation for honesty, integrity, and knowledge, we can help you purchase or sell one car or an entire collection.

1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster One-Off Coachwork by Mayfair

Pebble Beach® and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® are trademarks and service marks of Pebble Beach Company. Used by permission.

www.blackhawkcollection.com

Telephone: 1.925.736.3444

Purveyors of Rolling Art

1947 Delahaye 135MS Figoni et Falaschi Narval Cabriolet

1931 Cadillac V16 Roadster Coachwork by Fleetwood

www.blackhawkcollection.com

Telephone: 1.925.736.3444

4 FOR THE ROAD

Cars in the Lives of Four Pebble Beach Insiders 84

JIM FARLEY Jim Farley, president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Company, is an avid motorsport enthusiast. A former Pebble Beach Concours entrant, he has served since 2011 among our Honorary Judges. I attended my first Pebble as a mechanic in the late 1980s. I worked for Phil Hill at Hill & Vaughn in Santa Monica as a way to partially pay for my UCLA MBA. I would camp at the Monterey Campgrounds with my friend Lia (now my wife), and we would get up at dawn to see the cars being positioned on the lawn and to assess the competition, then depart as we couldn’t afford to attend. Lia and I have attended every chance we could since then, despite what brand or job I had in the industry. We now have a house in Carmel; Pebble brought us here. Pebble is a nearly 40-year love affair, completely shaping my life in so many ways. I achieved a lifelong dream in 2018 when we were invited to display our 1955 Lancia Aurelia—a car previously owned by John Lamm (who drove it onto the lawn that day). Our family even won a class award. This past year was special as Ford displayed our Ocean to Ocean exhibit, a recreation of the 1911 East to West Coast demonstration that Henry Ford conceived with the Model T.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

We found the original T that completed the trip, and we recreated the trip with our new all-electric Mustang Mach E. My favorite car on the show field in 2021 was the Voisin; the interior and details are just so provocative today. I also brought my kids and friends to Dawn Patrol this past year, so it was a full circle moment—and this time I was able to walk up to the Judges’ Breakfast afterwards.

NICK MASON Nick Mason is the son of Bill Mason, director of a series of films on the History of Motor Racing. Despite the distraction of a fifty-year career as the drummer in Pink Floyd, Nick has managed to compete regularly, including five times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. By keeping most of the cars he has raced, he now has an over-stuffed garage of competition cars. He is an advisor to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and is a life member and Guardian of the British Racing Drivers Club. He is also president of the Guild of Motoring Writers. It was my Dad’s fault really—a documentary film director with a passion for motorsport. I was taken to Silverstone from about seven years old, to watch him race his 1930 4.5 Litre Bentley (yes, of course, we still have it!), ably assisted by Wally Saunders, one of the original Bentley team mechanics—and I’ve never got over it.

Initially I really was primarily interested in motor sport. I didn’t want to be a collector; I wanted to go racing—but somehow couldn’t quite bring myself to part with my old racing cars! I learned a lot about the importance of preservation and restoration when I was invited to become a trustee of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in the UK. I realized that if we want to find a future for the cars we love, we need both racers and preservationists to keep both interest and authenticity alive. It was the running of the GTO rally in California ten years ago that provided the excuse to ship a car over and finally experience the ultimate concours. Since then I’ve been an entrant and an Honorary Judge. It was pretty mind bending! Stuffed with the great and good of automobile excellence at every level—and that’s not just the cars. There were the Collectors, of course, but also restorers, manufacturers, dealers, and some of the greatest drivers from every form of motor sport. Special moments? Dinner with Sir Stirling and Lady Susie Moss. A chat about some of the entries with Phil Hill, perhaps the embodiment of Pebble with his expertise in restoration crowned with a Formula One world championship! Being an Honorary Judge and watching the experts at work. Perhaps most magical was Dawn Patrol, with Sir Jackie Stewart (how many names is it acceptable to drop?)

wandering around the gleaming monsters appearing in the mist prior to the arrival of the garden party. Jurassic Park has nothing on this… Too many great cars to pick one. Love the ’30s Hollywood cars that we never see in the UK, and the untouched preservation class dribbling oil from a total oil loss system. Just can’t wait to get back . . . !

JOCHEN MASS Jochen Mass is a racing great with numerous successes to his credit. He was a Formula 1 racer from 1973 to 1982, and he also scored many wins in sports cars before and after that period and was involved in both IROC and IMSA. With Hans-Joachim Stuck, he won the World Sportscar Championship in 1972. He has also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Spa, and the 12 Hours of Sebring. He has served among our Pebble Beach Concours Honorary Judges since 2007. Pebble Beach cast a spell of exotic splendor and grandeur into my life many years back—an image of all the beauty there is to admire in the world of Cars. Race cars or fantastic sedans, with 12- or even 16-cylinder engines! Cars driven by the names of all the important people of cinema, politics, or just plain wealth—and from all over the world. Wonderful characters to fill your fantasies with images of beautiful

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

4 FOR THE ROAD

Cars in the Lives of Four Pebble Beach Insiders 86

Ladies and their Companions, splendid Men in the prime of their lives. I had the chance to become an Honorary Judge in the nineties, judging the more sporty segment of the wonderful sports cars of the fifties and later. This is something very difficult to absorb. The glamour and seductive design make it almost impossible to look with a neutral eye at all the details that give you an idea about the life these cars have lived with their respective owners. The patina of the decades of a life well lived, the small blemishes on the paint, the worn leather that might give you a hint of the beauties sitting in comfort and elegance, wonderfully displayed for all the public to see and to muse about who these lucky creatures might be—if they hadn’t been already widely known from the movies. Isn’t it funny that you can look at a world of peace, comfort, beauty and fame, and you can do all that without feeling too envious, just liking it, because these are the carrots for our existence, and one day you might end up being part of all this. Well, you might! But even if you don’t, it’s still a great stimulant to dream about it. It’s just a great display of what companies can design given the okay for the feasibility of coming up with something fancy, even knowing that they will never be produced in greater numbers.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

It really doesn’t matter. We as judges look at them with admiration and sometimes with the sneaking conviction that we have found something that is slightly at odds with the rest of creation. You drift back to the year a car was built and you see it in a different light. You look at a Maharaja Rolls, with the windows all shaded with intricate curtains and a luxury required by the status of these potentates and admired by all the poor souls looking at them. . . . You think about what the last century produced in beauty, music, art, fashion, and last but not least transport—cars, planes, and architecture. Yes, I know, we had the most terrible wars as well, but the times in between and after were strangely productive—as if we knew that such beauty is short-lived. What has all this to do with Pebble Beach? This great car show is more than that—it evokes all these emotions and allows us to see more of what lies behind. For that, I’m ever so grateful to be part of it.

JIM PATTERSON A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Jim Patterson has had a successful business career in restaurant operations, oil and gas, telecom, insurance and other private investments. He has been a community leader in the area of scholarship programs and has served on the boards of several colleges and universities and other civic organizations. He has the

distinction of being a two-time Best of Show winner at the Pebble Beach Concours, in 2010 and 2015. What an exciting journey! It began after visiting the Pebble Beach Concours many years ago. To me, Pebble Beach Best of Show was always the star in space that I saw, but never believed was attainable. I wanted it, but it was “way back there” in my subconscious. Now we have two! When I found the Bugatti Voll & Ruhrbeck (the Waterfall Car) I began to believe I had a chance, only to lose at the finish line. I remember a seasoned collector reassuring me that there were still other chances out there. “Don’t quit trying,” he told me. The Delage appeared, but I never thought of it being a Best of Show winner. I don’t even remember the moment at the auction when it was mine! I was initially advised to change the color from the original white. I was told no white car ever successfully competed for Best of Show. I then learned there were dozens of whites from which to choose … but a white Duesenberg I saw was a perfect match to the original color. Then, something took charge that seemed almost like an “outof-body” experience. Why was my car selected for the CBS interview and filming? Why did Jay Leno spend close to an hour filming my car? Why was there a switch from traditional white roses to red? Why was I confident as I sat there before the announcement? I felt like something was happening

and I was just along for the ride. Something like karma, or a wonderful blessing. I knew it all came down to the votes, and I was confident but serene. So Best of Show at Pebble Beach did happen, not once but twice, and I am so pleased and so thankful to have been along for the ride!

These Concours memories are drawn from the book 70 Years of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, available now at bit.ly/PebbleConcours70thBook.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

FROM CLASSICS TO NEW-VEHICLE FLEETS, WE HAVE YOU COVERED. When you have the largest fleet of specialized automotive carriers in North America, safely transporting vehicles to an auto show or delivering an auction purchase right to a collector’s doorstep is customary. With award-winning drivers at the helm, first-class service is standard.

800.521.6393 Reliable Carriers, vehicles taken seriously.

reliablec arriers.com

P R O U D S P O N S O R O F T H E P E B B L E B E A C H C O N C O U R S d ’ E L E G A N C E® The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Logo ® is a trademark and service mark of Pebble Beach Company. Used by permission.

Celebrating the very best of the historic car hobby in the USA and around the world. The collector car scene is vibrant, forward thinking and essential. Magneto is not a magazine that reflects only times gone by, but celebrates the historic car movement in the here and now. The best events, the technologies that are driving innovation in restoration, the personalities and the ever-changing market for buyers and sellers. Keep informed and entertained with a subscription to Magneto - the quarterly magazine for those with a serious passion for collector cars. See you at RetroAuto at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance VIEW THE L ATEST SUBSCR IPTION OFFERS AT WWW.MAGNETOMAGAZINE.COM/SU BSCRIBE/

SOCIAL SEEN

Lavendar Lambo love

Maneuvering David Cooper’s 1938 Peugeot 402 Darl’mat Pourtout Roadster into position is the work of many hands. Top: Alma and Derek Hill and family await a trip over the ramp. Above: Sometimes it’s all about the perfect bonnet— or do you say hood?

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Top: The Keller clan celebrates their Best of Show win. Below: The Fritz Burkard family poses beside their new Bugatti.

Concours Chairman Sandra Button surprises Anne Brockinton Lee with the Lorin Tryon Award.

Above: Jill Shibles pairs perfectly with the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Gangloff Stelvio she showed with John P. Shibles. Right: Michael and Katharina Leventhal share their 1954 OSCA MT4 1500 Morelli Spyder.

SOCIAL SEEN Above: Lorenzo Trefethen is ready to pour his family’s finest.

Doris Gilles, Brooke and Erica Hyman provide a pop of color.

The concept lawn is a delight to enthusiasts, no matter the age.

Merle Mullin emerges from the Bugatti 57SC Atlantic that took our top award in 2003.

Above: As Jeff and Kelly Decker know, black and white (with perhaps a tinge of cream and shades of gray) are always right.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

September 29 October 2, 2022

SCAN TO PURCHASE TICKETS!

@AudrainConcours

#ACMW2022

Perhaps the open umbrella of this distinguished gent will ward early morning mist away from Anne Lee’s Lancia Aurelia Spider, with its distinct windshield.

See & Be Seen on the Concours Show Field

SOCIAL SEEN

Below: Rachel Holt accents Rob Kauffman’s Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder.

The Chrysler of Mark Smith serves as backdrop for a photo op. We will miss you, Mark!

Above: Brian and Samantha Murphy and their kids, Bryson and Mack, enjoy a trip across the awards ramp. Left: Italian designer Angelo Anastacio and friends enjoy some bubbly.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Monterey

JET CENTER AUCTION HELD ALONGSIDE THE REIMAGINED HAGERTY MOTORLUX EVENT - 18 AUGUST 2022

2006 Ford GT 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG 2020 Ferrari 488 Pista Spider 2015 Ferrari La Ferrari 2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast 2018 Ferrari California T 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

BROAD ARROW AUCTIONS The Halo Car Collection represents an outstanding single owner collection of seven cars that represent some of the best in-category examples of mostly ultra-low mileage and attractively optioned supercars. The Halo Car Collection, in reference to their exalted position as supremely desired and much lauded examples of their respective marques, will be offered this coming 18 August during the Monterey Jet Center Auction.

+1 313 312 0780

A BROAD ARROW GROUP COMPANY

broadarrowauctions.com

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

24 th PEBBLE BEACH TOUR d’ELEGANCE presented by Rolex On the Tour, Concours participants trace portions of scenic 17-Mile Drive and Highway One from Pebble Beach to Big Sur and back, showcasing elegance in motion for all to enjoy. Time/Date: 9 am to 2 pm, Thursday, August 18

2022 Pebble Beach Automotive Week

Schedule:

7 am: Cars line up on Portola Road near Pebble Beach Equestrian Center 9 am: Cars depart, tracing portions of 17-Mile Drive and Highway One

71 st PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS d’ELEGANCE

Noon: Cars return to Pebble Beach

On Sunday, August 21, over 200 of the most prized collector cars in the world roll onto the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links—where they strive to be recognized as the best. The automobiles are judged for their historical accuracy, their technical merit and their style, and the best garner reward and recognition.

Noon to 2 pm: Participants enjoy a luncheon at Mercedes-Benz Spectators welcome; for a map of the Tour route, go to www.pebblebeachconcours.net.

Time/Date: 7 am to 5 pm, Sunday, August 21 Location:

The Lodge at Pebble Beach and the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links

Schedule:

5:30 am: Dawn Patrol viewers are allowed access Dawn: Field opens to entrants 8 am: Judging commences 10:30 am: Field opens to spectators 1:30 to 5 pm: Awards presentations

General Admission Tickets are $425 through July 31 and $525 thereafter. VIP tickets range from $950 to $4,000. All tickets can be purchased online at www.pebblebeachconcours.net/tickets.

PEBBLE BEACH MOTORING CLASSIC The Motoring Classic is the ultimate road trip for enthusiasts, winding down the West Coast from Seattle to Pebble Beach, arriving just in time for Pebble Beach Automotive Week. The scenic 1,500-mile route for the fourteenth annual trip climbs the Cascade Mountains, takes in Crater Lake and crosses the Golden Gate Bridge. Dates:

Monday, August 8 to Wednesday, August 17

Location:

Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland, Washington to The Lodge at Pebble Beach

Schedule:

August 8: Participants gather in Kirkland, Washington August 9: 8:30 am Departure from the Woodmark Hotel August 17: 3:00 pm: Arrival at The Lodge at Pebble Beach

Spectators welcome for departure and arrival.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

PEBBLE BEACH AUCTIONS presented by Gooding & Company

The Pebble Beach Auctions presented by Gooding & Company offer car collectors the opportunity to not only see but acquire automobiles of the highest quality, provenance and design. Viewings: 10 am to 6 pm, Wednesday, August 17 9 am to 6 pm, Thursday, August 18 9 am to 9 pm, Friday, August 19 9 am to 5 pm, Saturday, August 20

Auctions: 5 pm, Friday, August 19 11 am, Saturday, August 20 Location: Parc du Concours near Pebble Beach Golf Academy

Fee of $40 admits one person to all auction events; purchase of catalog for $100 admits two to all auction events; bidder registration fee of $200 includes catalog, admission and reserved seating for two.

PEBBLE BEACH RETROAUTO

DISPLAYS , DEBUTS AND RIDE & DRIVE S

RetroAuto has established itself as a wellcurated marketplace for the true automotive enthusiast, showcasing rare collectibles, historic automobilia, art and literature as well as luxury items, technological tools and official Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance merchandise.

Many automotive and luxury goods manufacturers will be hosting displays and unveiling new cars and concepts throughout Concours week. Ride & Drives will also be offered. Watch our website for the latest information regarding new car debuts and other exciting events. Time/Date: Thursday, August 18 to Sunday, August 21, subject to individual manufacturer Location: Concours Village near the Pebble Beach Golf Academy, as well as the first and third fairways of Pebble Beach Golf Links and nearby locales beginning on Thursday, August 18. The Concept Lawn, featuring the latest concepts and new cars, is held on the practice putting green in tandem with the Concours on Sunday, August 21. Cars load onto the Concept Lawn beginning in the afternoon on Saturday, August 20. Most exhibits are open to the public without fee.

Time/Date: 9 am to 6 pm, Thursday, August 18 through Saturday, August 20; 8 am to 6 pm Sunday, August 21 Location: Concours Village near the Pebble Beach Golf Academy Open to the public without fee.

PEBBLE BEACH CLASSIC CAR FORUM

presented by AIG and Alliant Private Client The Forum offers a series of must-see panels and interviews featuring luminaries of the automotive world. It also provides car enthusiasts with the opportunity to see, hear and even meet their heroes. Forum sessions and panelists will be announced on the Forum page of our website beginning June 15. Dates: Thursday, August 18 through Saturday, August 20

Location: Concours Village near Pebble Beach Golf Academy

Reservations highly recommended; most Forum sessions do sell out. Most of our Forum sessions are open to the public; all require reservations and some include a small fee. For further information and to reserve your seats please visit www.pebblebeachconcours.net/forum after June 15. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

Celebrating 22 years of partnership with the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®. Thank you for helping us continue to bring positive change to the lives of children and families. FOSTER CARE CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH RELATIVE CAREGIVER SUPPORT KINSHIPCENTER.ORG Pebble Beach® and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®are trademarks and service marks of Pebble Beach Company. Used by permission.

“The World’s Premier Collector Car Event.” —VANITY FAIR

Save the Date! AUGUST | AUGUST | AUGUST | AUGUST ©2022 Pebble Beach Company. Pebble Beach®, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, and their underlying images are trademarks, trade dress and service marks of Pebble Beach Company.

PB-020 Save_the_Date_Half_Page_Final.indd 1

5/19/22 3:25 PM

THE EXTREMELY WELL LIVING MAGAZINE

www.legrandmag.com

DEREK HILL

Musings from Our Master of Ceremonies

MY FIRST TRIP TO LE MANS WITH MY FATHER AS GUIDE Text and Photos by Derek Hill

On my second trip to Le Mans, in 1992, I started taking photos. Here, the Mazda MXR-01 exits pit lane, which had just been restructured.

100

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

“This was a time before there were major pit lane safety regulations, so even I, as a 15-year-old, with the right pass, could walk freely up and down pit lane during the race! This was also in the days before pit lane speed limits were introduced so the atmosphere of walking in the pits was more like running from the bulls. This was beyond the most exciting thing this kid from Santa Monica had ever dreamed of experiencing!” – DEREK HILL

As I walked around the Le Mans circuit with my father, his enthusiasm and joy were palpable.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

101

DEREK HILL

Musings from Our Master of Ceremonies

Racing through the night.

I look back with great fondness on my first two trips to Europe, both of which focused in large part on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s greatest motor racing endurance event. These first family trips across the pond were led by my father, Phil, a three-time Le Mans–winning motor-racing veteran, and my mother, Alma, who was born in Lithuania at the onset of World War II and raised in a Germany at war. My older sister, Vanessa, and I were in our early teens and we had never been to the fabled old world, yet we had parents who often traveled there—and it was finally our turn to go! For my father, with his illustrious racing career, Europe was a home away from home—a place to reconnect with past racing comrades and visit circuits where racing battles were fought, while taking many interesting detours along the way. For my mother, the continent was her birthplace. But these

102

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

early family trips were more than a matter of a retracing of steps and sharing stories with us; they were priming my sister and me for what would be time spent living there, pursuing careers, and eventually becoming Europhiles and Anglophiles enjoying many happy returns. During the first trip, in early 1989, we took in the sights of Paris from the seats of a brightly colored 1959 Cadillac Biarritz convertible, and we travelled by helicopter to various chateaux of the Loire Valley. But perhaps the stop that I remember most was a visit with my father’s Ferrari teammate, Olivier Gendebien, with whom he shared his three victories at Le Mans. I was too young to understand the complexities and depth of this convivial lunch engagement, but my father had already imparted to me the respect and importance he placed on Olivier.

Below: The trio driving for Peugeot Talbot Sport—Mark Blundell, Derek Warwick, and Yannick Dalmas—participate in the 1992 prerace drivers parade.

“Yes, being the Formula One World Champion was his crowning achievement, but I could tell by the way he spoke of it that Le Mans was perhaps the most meaningful race of all to him.” – DEREK HILL They were a perfect pairing as drivers: my father could hold a conservative yet rapid pace in any weather, expertly diagnosing the status of the car and relaying circuit conditions, and Olivier would listen intently to his reports, adapting his driving to maintain a winning pace. It always worked best for Olivier to start the race, as my father’s anxiousness would get the better of him in the build-up to the waving of the green flag. Then my father always finished the race, which gave Olivier, who was quite the ladies-man, a chance to shower and get spiffed-up for the victory photos—often with a lady on each arm. My father often made himself laugh when recalling Olivier’s exchange with American motorsports commentator Chris Economaki after a tough-driving victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Economaki said, “Olivier, congratulations on the win. You guys worked so hard out there in these terrible

conditions—describe to us what it was like!” And Olivier, with his thick Belgian accent, responded stoically, “It wuz like nothing.” His relaxed nature balanced my father’s hyper-active nervous system, and the pairing yielded phenomenal results. Our first family trip continued through much of France, Germany, Italy and made a stop in Monaco, then it was time to head back home. But a mere ten months later we returned to France to attend the 58th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. My father had raced in 14 of those previous events, and having him serve as our tour guide around this legendary arena was like following a kid in a candy store. First he took us on a lap of the 8.5-mile circuit, most of which was run on public roads. Driving down the 3.5-mile Mulsanne Straight for the first time really differentiates this circuit from

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

103

DEREK HILL

Musings from Our Master of Ceremonies

Positioned in third on the starting grid, the #7 Toyota Team’s Group C car undergoes its prerace check in 1992.

the average racetrack. The prior year, the Mercedes-backed Sauber C9s had reached 249 mph there, but in the ensuing months, organizers had placed two chicanes on the seemingly endless straight! At one point my father stopped the car and said we had to get out. In keeping with his nostalgic nature, he wanted us to see the very spot where Wilbur Wright had demonstrated flight for the first time in Europe, in 1908. To think there wasn’t even a Le Mans motor race when that happened; what hallowed ground for engineering feats! In the days leading up to the race, we made frequent stops at Bernard Cahier’s little camp trailer parked near the race paddock. Bernard, the ever-gregarious French racing photojournalist, was a dear friend of my mom and dad. He was well connected, a staple of the racing scene, and provided a familiar and safe harbor for my father to escape the hustle and bustle of the crowds on the massive Le Mans racetrack grounds. There were encounters with Carroll Shelby and numerous other racing luminaries who were in constant circulation; Bernard and his wife, Joan, really held court for everyone. When we walked through the main spectator areas, my father was stopped frequently for his autograph. The French oozed with pride and respect during their moment with the old champ, and the honor accorded him gave me new insight into my dad’s importance. Along the way, my father would stop

104

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

and say something like, “Oh! We MUST stop and get a Grand Marnier crepe!” Walking with the retired gladiator through his old arena, free of stress and fight-or-flight instincts, we all enjoyed these moments. After the race started, we had dinner in a packed hospitality hall near the Dunlop bridge. Loud conversations were competing with the roar of the cars driving by at speed, when a major accident happened right at the Dunlop curve, creating quite a commotion. Everyone simultaneously lurched from their chairs and ran to see what happened. This was the last year the race utilized the original pit lane garages, so the teams, with their cars and crews, were squeezed into every imaginal spot. This was a time before there were major pit lane safety regulations, so even I, as a 15-year-old, with the right pass, could walk freely up and down pit lane during the race! This was also in the days before pit lane speed limits were introduced so the atmosphere of walking in the pits was more like running from the bulls. This was beyond the most exciting thing this kid from Santa Monica had ever dreamed of experiencing! A horn blew loudly each time a car entered the narrow pit lane, and you could only gauge if you were in a safe spot by watching the readiness of a pit crew outside their garage. But sometimes even the crews were surprised by their cars—so one had to pay serious attention. On one particular occasion, when the

Toward the end of the Mulsanne Straight, Group C Prototypes streak by at well over 200 mph while a gendarme looks on.

“I also walked away from that first trip to Circuit de la Sarthe with a newfound understanding of my father and a greater respect for all he had accomplished.” — DEREK HILL horn sounded, I was standing amongst a group of people near one garage, when all of a sudden a big rope pulled all of us swiftly out of the way. I had the sensation of being lifted off my feet. Then—woosh!—a race car darted right into the spot where I had been standing. Stern looks from the pit lane attendants conveyed their frustration with so many people in the middle of the action. But it was simply magic for this 15 year old to witness the action up close. It was probably the moment I realized motor racing would play a big part in my own future. The following morning, when we returned to the track to watch the final half of the race, my father insisted on taking us to a café that was just a few steps from the Mulsanne Straight, where cars went by at top speed. At first it seemed we were just sitting in a quaint little trackside café . . . but each time a Group C Prototype came flying by, the pressure bubble coming off the car would smack the row of wooden windows with such force that I thought they would shatter. It made for a particularly exciting coffee and croissant. Over the course of the race, the Silk Cut Jaguars took advantage of the problems that the faster Nissans were having. So, as my sister and I watched the final hour from the grandstands opposite pit lane, we were surrounded by British fans who had made the not-so-distant journey across the channel. They were waving their Jaguar flags and Union

Jacks and chanting ‘Jaguar, Jaguar. Go kitty go!’ My sister and I initially chuckled as these words landed on our young Californian ears, but even we got into the chant as their enthusiasm was contagious! The 7-liter V12-powered Jags did win in the end, finishing first and second, and it was glory to England all around. After the excitement of being in pit lane, witnessing such an adrenaline-throttled experience, I think I returned to California a different person. I also walked away from that first trip to Circuit de la Sarthe with a newfound understanding of my father and a greater respect for all he had accomplished. I thought about his first Le Mans as a works Ferrari driver in 1955, when a car crashed into the grandstands, killing over 80 spectators very near the spot where I had stood. I saw his love and deeply grounded respect for this perilous race where he experienced the highest of highs—and some very dark moments. Yes, being the Formula One World Champion was his crowning achievement, but I could tell by the way he spoke of it that Le Mans was perhaps the most meaningful race of all to him. Le Mans was, is, and hopefully will always be the arena where manufacturers, teams and drivers compete for the top honors of endurance racing.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Insider

105

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 70 Years of Automotive Excellence

A celebration of the very best of the Pebble Beach Concours: the

The book will be lavish in every respect – oversized,

amazing cars, the great collectors, the judges and the partners that

beautifully produced and with over 240 pages of great writing

have enabled this annual event to have remained at the pinnacle of

and stunning photography. Available in Standard, Publisher’s

the historic motoring movement for so many years.

and Chairman’s editions, the book will become a collectors’ item and highly sought after.

70 Years of Automotive Excellence will reflect on the development

Ad.indd 1

of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance - from its early role as an

Published by Hothouse Media in partnership with the

accompaniment to the Pebble Beach Races to its pioneering role in

Pebble Beach Concours. To pre-order your copy visit

changing attitudes towards restoration and preservation.

bit.ly/PebbleConcours70thBook

01/06/2021 21:16

WHERE OCCASIONS RISE TO YOU

Pebble Beach®, Pebble Beach Resorts® and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® are trademarks and service marks of Pebble Beach Company. Used by permission.

TH E A L L- N E W L E XU S L X

What is life’s greatest luxury? The freedom to climb any peak and chase any dream. Introducing the all-new LX 600. With more power and more innovation, you can boldly explore wherever your drive takes you.

Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance INSIDER Summer 2022

Articles inside

All in the Details

Dream Garage