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23 Nov

First Connecticut Auto Race: 1899 or 1900? Historians Disagree

Hiram Percy Maxim driving a gasoline powered Columbia Mark VIII with designer Fred Law

New Haven, Conn. – There seems to be general agreement among auto historians that the first closed course auto race in Connecticut was held at Branford Park in New Haven, a half-mile dirt track built for horse racing. The race meeting had two feature events, one for three-wheeled vehicles and one for four-wheeled vehicles, both being run in three heats. The date of the race meeting is generally cited as July 25, 1899. This date is reflected in several sources including Charles Betts’ Auto Racing Winners, 1895-1947: An Historical Reference Manual of American Automobile Racing (1948) and Allan Brown’s The History of America’s Speedways, Past and Present (2003).

In a 2008 article focusing on Connecticut race tracks, Brown clearly stated that, “Connecticut’s first recorded auto race was at Branford Park, a horse-racing track in New Haven, on July 25, 1899.” This would seem to indicate that Brown was very confident regarding the date.

However, more recent research has turned up evidence that this date may be off by a full year and in fact the Branford Park race more likely took place on July 25, 1900. This possibility was recently discovered by Donald Capps who is chairman of the Society of Automotive Historians Motor Sports History Section. Capps was digging into the very early automotive competitions in the United States for a possible paper on these events during the Late Victorian Era, 1895 to 1901, and sensed that there might be a problem with the date of the Branford Park race.

During his research, Capps discovered contemporary articles in The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune on an event held at Branford Park in 1900. Initially, he thought this was a later event, but the winner listed by Betts was Hiram Percy Maxim in a Columbia — who was also listed as the winner of the first five-mile heat for four-wheeled vehicles in both the New York and Chicago papers.

In his article on the subject Capps states “This would strongly suggest that the Branford Park event took place on 25 July 1900 – and not in 1899 as the Betts and Brown dated the event. I am at a loss as how to explain that both Brown and the Betts getting the date wrong by an entire year, although Brown seemed to sense, at least at one point, either some doubt or at least ambivalence regarding the date.”

It is interesting to note that both the Times and the Tribune articles state that the Branford Park meeting was, “The first automobile race meet ever held on a race track in this country,” as the Times stated it. The Tribune article had the sub-heading, “Track Racing for Motor Vehicles Inaugurated in America,” making the same claim as the Times. Capps goes on to state “Of course, there is the awkward problem of the race meeting held at Narragansett Park in Cranston, Rhode Island – another horse-racing track – in September 1896, which would tend to cast doubt on this claim. The race featured 7 entrants and was won by a Riker Electric car. In addition, there was also the event run in October 1899 on a circular dirt horse track at Galesburg Illinois District Fair Grounds, which was essentially a match race scheduled for 50 miles. The race between F.B. Snow in a Duryea and E.V.D. Morris in a Winton was halted at 15 miles when Snow’s vehicle dropped out with ignition problems.”

First U.S. auto race on a track at Narragansett Park, Cranston, RI September 1896

In any case, there seems to be no doubt that the Branford Park race was the first closed course auto race in Connecticut but historians should note, thanks to Don Capps’ research, the actual date of the race was July 25, 1900.

According to historian Allen Brown, the second auto racing venue in Connecticut also began as an active horse track, Charter Oak Park in Hartford. It was larger than Branford Park, a one-mile dirt oval. Charter Oak Park featured auto and horse racing from 1904 to 1929.

Connecticut has had 31 oval tracks. Only 3 are still in operation. Stafford Motor Speedway, the oldest, is located at the Stafford Springs Fairgrounds. The half-mile dirt oval was built as a horse track in 1892, and the first auto race ran in October 1934. There is no record of any auto racing at Stafford again until weekly stock car racing started there in 1948. The original dirt track was paved with asphalt in 1967 and it has remained in operation ever since featuring NASCAR Modified racing.

The second-oldest active oval track is Thompson International Speedway in the state’s northeast corner. Built in 1940 as a 5/8-mile asphalt track, it was one of the first in the country to be built as a paved track. Most paved tracks built before 1945, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, started out as dirt tracks. Thompson Speedway also had different configurations of road courses—the first known in the state—in operation from 1952 to about 1978. Part of one of the old road courses is still visible as part of the pit area. A little-known fact about Thompson is that it is the only Connecticut track ever to host what is now known as NASCAR Sprint Cup races (originally called NASCAR Grand National). The third active oval track is Waterford Speedbowl, built as a dirt track in 1951 and converted to a paved track a month later.

Opening day at Thompson Speedway May 26, 1940

Lime Rock Park in northwest Connecticut is the only active road course left in the state. Lime Rock is a 1.53-mile paved road course with eight turns. The track, which opened 58 years ago, on April 18, 1957, has been the site of numerous major road-racing events and was the favorite track of late actor and Westport resident Paul Newman.
Sources: Donald Capps, Society of Automotive Historians
Allen E. Brown, “A Short History of Connecticut Race Tracks” www.ctvisit.com
Archived Photos

Early American license plate featuring Hiram Maxim & the Columbia Mark VIII

16 Nov

The Petersen Museum Counts Down to its Grand Re-opening

The Petersen Museum’s new exterior.

Los Angeles CA – On October 19, 2014, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles shut its doors for a radical restyle, the first significant change to the building’s exterior since it opened in 1962 as Seibu, a Japanese department store. At the time of its temporary closure, the museum announced a “hard opening date” of December 1, 2015; now, just over a year since work on the building’s exterior and interior began, the Petersen has published its schedule for the reopening of the facility.

The first chance for the public to see the new facility comes on December 5, with the fund-raising Grand Re-Opening Gala to benefit the non-profit Petersen Museum Foundation. Tickets will start at $1,500, but include a sit-down meal from the Drago brothers, whose string of Los Angeles-area restaurants include Il Pastaio, Il Fornaio, Drago Centro, Osteria Drago and Panzanella Ristorante. An auction will offer VIP experiences at “some of the world’s greatest car events and auto races,” and the ticket price also includes a tax-deductible contribution to the Petersen Museum Foundation.

On December 6, the museum will host Preview Day, a limited-admission event that also includes catering from the Drago brothers, an open bar on the rooftop Connor Pavilion and live music. Visitors will have the ability to tour the museum’s 25 new galleries, and each attendee will be given a gift bag and entered into hourly prize drawings. Tickets for Preview Day are priced at $200.

The museum’s daring new design, courtesy of architects Kohn Pedersen Fox, features a flowing, skeletal façade that is inspired by the smooth, alluring curves of automobiles.

On December 7, the museum reopens to the general public, with adult tickets priced at $15. Discounts are offered to seniors, students, and children, while active duty military, police, fire, teachers and other museum employees receive free admission.

Exactly what visitors will experience inside the museum remains something of a mystery, though executive director Terry Kargas does promise the facility will offer “innovative architecture and design, cars as art, a satellite campus for the Art Center College of Design, Forza Motorsports racing simulators, the Pixar Cars experience for fans of all ages and a restaurant run by all four of L.A.’s famous Drago brothers.”

Planned exhibits at the new Petersen include Rolling Sculpture, a look at the role style and design played in the creation of limited production automobiles; Precious Metal, highlighting significant silver cars; BMW & The Art of the Automobile, which will include vehicles from the BMW Art Car collection; and Howlin’: Vehicles from the Nearburg Collection of racing cars.

For more information on the soon-to-be reopened museum, visit Petersen.org.

Article by Kurt Ernst, Hemmings Daily
Photos: Petersen Automotive Museum

The Petersen’s collection is home to Steve McQueen’s rare 1956 Jaguar XKSS, which Jay Leno calls “one of the great cars of all time, one of those cars that are works of art.”

09 Nov

Watkins Glen Motor Racing Research Center looks toward future growth

WATKINS GLEN, NY –The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) is looking to the future with expansion and growth in mind.

Center President J.C. Argetsinger said while the governing board has not yet reached a consensus on the expansion, he noted they are looking at a 10,000 square-foot facility to go along with their existing 5,000 square-foot building. He also added there has been some talk by the board about possibly making the expansion larger than 10,000 square-feet. Argetsinger said the center owns the former playground next-door, adding the new expansion will most likely be at that location.

“We could certainly use more space,” Argetsinger said. “It all depends on how much money we want to raise.”

The Racing Research Center is an archival and research library working with the materials of motorsports history. Its collections encompass race series and racing venues worldwide. No admission fee or fee to use the collections on-site is charged.
The center opened in June 1999 and has more than 700 individual collections. It has more than 3,800 rare and reference books, more than 2,800 cataloged race programs, some 4,500 cataloged films and about 800 periodical titles, some full-run. Photographs in the collections number in the tens of thousands.

Argetsinger mentioned there would be some display at the new facility, but noted it would be primarily for additional research space. He said he does not anticipate being more than one or two cars on display, but added some board members would like to see more on display.

“People will erroneously say we are a museum,” Argetsinger said. “We really are a library.”

Argetsinger noted one of the reasons for needing more space is because almost every time the center gets a new major contribution of materials to archive, they will receive more donations of historically significant items. Racing Research Center collections encompass race series and racing venues worldwide. The Center is the repository for several organizational archives, including the Sports Car Club of America and the Road Racing Drivers Club. The Center owns the archives of National Speed Sport News and the archives of John Bishop, co-founder of IMSA.

Another one of the center’s goals Argetsinger mentioned included the digitization of much of their archived records for easier storage and accessibility. He noted the new executive director would be charged with finding the funding to achieve this goal as well.

“Digitization will help with space, but we also want to keep the originals,” Argetsinger said.

Argetsinger said the need for space is not as great as it once was, as the racing center has been able to do things like rent space with the county for their documents. However, he added the architect they have been working with commented with the way the center is growing, they could be looking for more space in another 15 years as well. As a result, the IMRCC is seeking a full-time executive director to lead the funding efforts for the expansion.

“The Racing Research Center has achieved international success well beyond the expectations of its founders,” Center Governing Council Chairman Bobby Rahal said. “To build on that success, we’re ready to progress to the next levels in all areas of our operations and even better fulfill our mission of preserving and sharing the history of racing.”

For more about the Racing Research Center, visit the website at www.racingarchives.org.
Source Watkins Glen Review & Express
Photos International Motor Racing Research Center

01 Nov

Entry List Announced for Classic 24 at Daytona presented by IMSA November 12 – 15 Features 174 Race Cars

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The entry list for the 2015 Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA, November 12 – 15, has been officially announced and features 174 race cars and a current tally of 300 drivers from around the world.

“We have gone on record recently in saying that the entry list for the second edition of the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA exceeded even our expectations and hopefully the motorsports world will agree,” said HSR President David Hinton. “The caliber of the historic race cars and the massive mix of legendary stars and historic sports car racing drivers is second to none. This is truly an amazing representation of historic sports car racing machines and the men and women who compete in them and we can’t wait to get back to Daytona in just a few short weeks.”

In total, the 2015 Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA features entered teams from 15 different countries on four continents.

The diverse background of the international drivers turning out for the Classic 24 Hour should be equally impressive. While minimal additional entries will be accepted – HSR currently has dozens of hopefuls on a wait list – all teams will be able to add drivers to their officially entered race cars in the weeks leading up to the race. A lineup of drivers that is already packed with past and current sports car racing stars will no doubt grow over the next month.

The list of current and legendary drivers confirmed for the Classic 24 includes Jochen Mass, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Gijs Van Lennep, Jürgen Barth, Andy Wallace, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Eric Curran, Leh Keen, Scott Sharp, Jim Pace, Gunnar Jeanette, Dieter Quester, Didier André, Jean Marc Gounon, Jules Gounon, Zak Brown, Richard Dean, Jeff Zwart, Cooper MacNeil, Shane Lewis, Jack Baldwin, Mike Skeen and many more.

The equally impressive racing machines these drivers and other Classic 24 competitors will race in the Daytona event is a rolling collection of top sports cars and prototypes from the past 50 years.

The Classic 24 features six period-correct run groups rotating through a full 24 hours of racing on the 3.56-mile Daytona road course. The run groups, which include various classes of similar-era race cars, each take to the track four times throughout the 24 hours. The competitors in each group covering the most total distance in the shortest amount of time in their group’s four sessions will be “crowned” Classic 24 at Daytona champions.

Group A – 1960 – 1972: The oldest and perhaps most memory-stirring division, Group A features such legendary race cars as the Ford GT40, Lola T70, Chevron B8, Ferrari 365 GTB, Lotus Elan, Alfa Romeo GT Jr., several 1960s-era Corvettes and Mustangs, including a Shelby GT350, and a strong field of early Porsche 911s. A debuting entry not frequently seen in the United States is the French-built Matra MS630.

Group B – 1973 – 1982: Evoking the same emotion and memories of Group A with a little more turbocharged power and wide-body aerodynamics, Group B has attracted four Porsche 935s, six BMW CSLs, two Greenwood Corvettes, a Dekon Monza, several Porsche 911 RSRs and Carreras and big-bore Mustangs, Camaros and Corvettes. This group also features several of the ultra-quick and classic Chevron Lola and March open-cockpit sports prototype race cars.

Group C – 1983 – 1993: The prime of the GTP and Group C era is at the heart of this run group. A strong lineup of six Porsche 962s will share the class spotlight with two Jaguar XJR-5s, a Jaguar XJR-7 and a Porsche Fabcar. Several production-based race cars are also in Group C as is the debuting Aston Martin AMR-1 prototype that raced at Le Mans.

Group D – 1994 – 2002: Historic but familiar, the highlight machines in Group D include several Riley & Scott Mk IIIs and Daytona Prototypes, a Lola B2K, Crawford DP03 and GT Porsches, Corvettes, Vipers and even a TVR T400R. A debuting entry of note in this class is the Saleen S7R GT1.

Group E – 2003 – 2012: This group lets ALMS and Le Mans prototypes that couldn’t race at Daytona in their day a chance to take to the high banks. Two Audi R8s, a pair of Pescarolo 01 LMPs and a Porsche RS Spyder highlight the group that also includes three Oreca FLM09s and several different Daytona Prototypes. GT cars are plentiful too and include several Porsche 996, 997 and 991 models, two LMS Audi R8s and a Camaro, Ferrari F430 and Nissan GTR. Another entry not frequently seen in the U.S. is the debuting BMW Alpina B6 GT3.

Group F – HSR Cars: This group produced some of the closest and most competitive racing in last year’s inaugural Classic 24 at Daytona. Home to HSR classes that are not represented in the other five other groups, Group F also lets competitors with race cars that were never eligible to compete at Daytona a chance to build a little history of their own on the legendary track in the Classic 24. Offering a mix of machinery from six different decades, this group is also home to the oldest car in the Classic 24, a 1962 Lotus Super 7.

The entry list for the 2015 Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA is available by clicking here.

Of interest to Connecticut race fans will be the eye-catching 2007 Pescarolo Judd LMP of David Porter, of Darien. Porter challenged the Rogers Motorsports Audi team for the 2014 Classic 24 Hour win and has no intention of coming up short this year.

“To win the race is the hopeful accomplishment, that’s it,” Porter said. “We had the fastest car in every session last year and, unfortunately, I didn’t put on my best driving performance and screwed up. We ended up four laps down and, even with a car that fast, you can’t make back four laps. I want to redeem myself in my own mind as much as anything else. I’m looking forward to this so much. Sitting on that grid at 4:30 in the morning under the lights is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”

Story & Photos Courtesy HSR & IMSA

About HSR: Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) was formed in the mid-1970s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the race cars from our past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions seven vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned race tracks, including Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and the Grand Prix of the Americas. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at www.HSRRace.com. The Classic 24 Hour at Daytona, presented by IMSA, has a dedicated website at www.Classic24hour.com. HSR and the Classic 24 are also on Facebook and Twitter – in addition to the HSR YouTube channel.

About IMSA: The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 with a long and rich history in sports car racing. As presenting sponsor of the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona, IMSA embraces that history by supporting all involved in returning iconic race cars and drivers that have been responsible for many great moments throughout decades of IMSA-sanctioned competition to the race track. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, as well as four single-make series: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama; Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin; Ferrari Challenge North America; and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR Holdings group – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected WeatherTech Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. For more information, visit www.IMSA.com.

20 Oct

Pegaso Featured Marque at Amelia Island Concours 2016

Photo Amelia Island Concours

Amelia Island, Fla. – The Spanish Pegaso marque will be celebrated at the 2016 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, scheduled for March 11-13, 2016 at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island in Florida.

Pegaso is Spanish for Pegasus, the winged stallion usually depicted as pure white on the Pegaso insignia. Pegasus’ mythological role was to deliver thunderbolts to Zeus. Appropriate, because that was the effect the stunning Pegaso Thrill coupe had on the 1953 Turin Auto Show when the Spanish Touring-bodied grand touring coupe made its public debut.

“That such an elegant advanced design could come from a marketing plan promoting plebian commercial vehicles is a testament to the genius, vision and skill of engineer Wilfredo Ricart,” said Bill Warner, founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

Ricart was the suave, articulate (he spoke five languages) and urbane creator of the Pegaso automobile. From his arrival at Alfa Romeo in 1936, Ricart was Enzo Ferrari’s nemesis, finally displacing him and creating a fleet of advanced and complex grand prix and competition sports and touring cars. World War II halted Ricart’s leading edge designs for Alfa Romeo and saw him return to his native Spain.

1955 Pegaso Z.102B at the Goodwood Festival of Speed – Photo Brian Snelson

The Pegaso Z-102 was practically a grand touring coupe on a grand prix chassis; detailed with a supercharged, four-cam V-8 of 2.5 liters, a 5-speed constant mesh transaxle suspended by torsion bars and one of the most elegant de Dion rear suspensions conceived. Built in clean workshops by apprentices who were not troubled with the realities of modern mass production or the pressure of a time clock, the Pegaso roadsters and coupes were exotic road toys in the mid-1950s.

Only 84 Pegaso cars were created as nothing more than an advanced apprentice training program for the giant truck, bus and armored car manufacturing enterprise that took root, appropriately, in the former Hispano-Suiza factory in Barcelona, Spain. Nearly ten percent of Pegaso’s total car production will be on the field at the Amelia Island Concours 2016.

A Saoutchik-bodied 1952 Pegaso Z.102 – Factory promotional photo from John Lloyd

Carrozzeria Touring was contracted to produce alloy bodies for the Z.102, though customers could also request coachwork from Saoutchik or Serra. Beneath the skin, frame rails were drilled for added lightness, while the Pegaso used a rear transaxle and differential to optimize front-to-rear weight balance. Power output was initially rated at 165 horsepower, though later increases in displacement would produce as much as 300 horsepower from a 4.7-liter V-8. In between, the factory also offered a supercharger option, which produced 225 horsepower from the 3.2-liter V-8 introduced in 1954.

Given the Pegaso’s extreme pricing, customers expected performance on par with the cars of Ferrari and Jaguar, but the marque enjoyed little success in racing. As a showcase for Spanish manufacturing, however, the Pegaso excelled, and its build quality and attention to detail were reportedly second-to-none. By 1958, however, sports car production was creating an untenable financial drag on parent Empresa Nacional de Autocamiones SA (E.N.A.S.A.), so the Pegaso Z.102 and Z.103 models were killed off to focus on the firm’s commercial truck business.

“Pegasos are technically extravagant cars,” continued Warner. “It’s period Formula 1 technology for the road, wrapped in coachwork by the likes of Touring and Saoutchik. The Pegaso Z-102 did exactly what Ricart and the Spanish government wanted: it brought Spanish industry to the attention of the world, and did it in a very glamorous way.”

[Source: Sports Car Digest & Amelia Island Concours]

About The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
Now in its second decade, the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is among the top automotive events in the world. Always held the second full weekend in March, “The Amelia” draws over 250 rare vehicles from collections around the world to The Golf Club of Amelia Island and The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island for a celebration of the automobile like no other. Since 1996, the show’s Foundation has donated over $2.5 million to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Inc., Spina Bifida of Jacksonville, The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, Shop with Cops, and other deserving charities. The 21st annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is scheduled for March 11-13, 2016. For more information, visit www.ameliaconcours.org or call 904-636-0027.

11 Oct

Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman; Special Movie Screening in Norwalk October 28th

On Wednesday, October 28th at 6:30 PM, the New England Auto Museum will host a special one-night screening of the acclaimed documentary Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman at the Stepping Stones Multi-Media Gallery at Mathews Park in Norwalk. The event will raise funds for the non-profit New England Auto Museum, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing a permanent facility for display and education in automotive arts and technology.

“Paul Newman had a special association with Connecticut,” according to NEAM President Mike Scheidel, “as one of the most prolific and revered actors in American Cinema, as well as through his philanthropy with Newman’s Own and the Hole-in-the-Wall Camps, but what is not so well known is his passionate love for auto racing which became a focus of his life for 35 years.”

That passion is well on display in the documentary, co-produced by Adam Corolla and Nate Adams which recounts how Newman became bit by the racing bug when he starred in the 1969 film “Winning”at the age of forty-seven and continued until shortly before his death at age eighty-three in 2008.

Providing commentary and Q&A after the film, which is 83 minutes in length, will be Sherman, Conn. resident and Paul Newman’s long-term racing partner Bob Sharp. Newman drove for Bob Sharp Racing for many years, winning the Sports Car Club of America National Championship four times. Bob Sharp is among the many friends and fellow competitors interviewed in the film. Others include Robert Redford, who became one of Newman’s closest friends, his “Winning” co-star Robert Wagner; Jay Leno, no small car enthusiast himself; racers Mario Andretti and Patrick Dempsey, and Pixar founding member John Lasseter, who directed the actor in his final film role, voicing the tailor-made character of Doc Hudson in the animated film “Cars.”

In its review, the Hollywood Reporter lauded the film, describing the “archival footage of Newman racing and interacting with his fellow drivers as revelatory, with the actor’s determined efforts to be just one of the guys on ample display. One of the film’s most affecting moments is a haunting shot of the actor sitting mournfully in his car immediately after the death of his teammate Jim Fitzgerald during a 1987 race. As passionate about its subject as the actor was about driving, Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman provides a fascinating footnote to his distinguished cinematic career.”

The special one-night showing of “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” will take place Wednesday, October 28th from 6:30 to 9:30 PM. Beverages provided by Nicholas Roberts Fine Wines of Darien and hors d’oeuvres will be served in the hour before the show. There will also be classic cars on display in the courtyard courtesy of Dragone Classic Motorcars, one of the event’s sponsors. Location will be the Stepping Stones Museum Multi-Media Gallery at 303 West Avenue in Norwalk (Mathews Park). Other sponsors of the event include Hagerty Insurance, Pray Auto Body, Pray Achievement Center & Pray Auto Museum and Spacefitters Logistics & Technology Group. Tickets will be $25 per person and space is limited to 150 attendees. Tickets can be purchased atwww.neautomuseum.org

06 Oct

Unique 1963 Barris Kustoms Buick Villa Riviera on the block at Dragone Fall Auction October 17th

Westport, Conn. – It’s no secret that “King of the Kustomizers” George Barris’ first car was a Buick, a 1925 Buick roadster passed down from family when he was just a teenager. But it would be a few years later when his touch would create some very special ones. One of Barris’ early custom cars was a 1941 Buick convertible featuring flow through fenders and a Cadillac grille. It helped young Barris get noticed; in fact he featured it on his business card. Many chopped and channeled “Kustoms” followed.

After the era of the chopped and channeled “lead sleds”, Barris made quite a few customs for movies. This caught the attention of Buick Motor Division itself, who provided him with a new 1963 Riviera to customize. The result was the “Villa Riviera”, a cherry red custom which was repainted white and used in the movie “For Those Who Think Young” (1964) featuring a young Nancy Sinatra and James Darren.

The Villa Riviera was originally created by Barris for use as his personal car. The story began when director Leslie Martinson was visiting the Barris shop in North Hollywood to look at a vehicle that Barris Kustoms was building for another film. At the time, he was quite taken with the Villa Riviera all decked out in cherry red paint over a fire frost white pearl base. Martinson quickly signed a contract that included a clause to repaint the Buick white so it would show up more clearly when filmed. The car was later used in an episode of the popular “Perry Mason” TV series.

Buick Villa Riviera before and during “For Those Who Think Young” production in 1964

In Barris Kustoms of the 1960s, George recalls the promotional appearances that he made with James Darren and executive producer Howard Koch for the film at theaters and drive-ins in the Los Angeles area: “It was a heck of a lot of fun to see the surprised faces of those folks who were here to see a movie and “the star and the car” were right there at the theater!”

George Barris and James Darren pose in front of the Villa Riviera.

The Villa Riviera has appeared at car shows, accompanied by this plaque which recognizes the contributions of James Darren (as Gardner “Ding” Pruitt III) and Nancy Sinatra (as Karen Cross) to the film.

After the movie was completed, Barris repainted the car with 35 coats of translucent cherry red kandy paint over a pure pearlescent white underbase. It seems much sportier in the red hue. But Barris wasn’t completely satisfied and kept experimenting. Note the open roof section and the extended fenders. The headlamps are concealed behind the fender ends.

Here’s the Villa Riviera again on a post card, this time wearing a Cherry and White scalloped paint treatment. The wheels have also been changed. It may have been more successful in solid Cherry.

Speaking of successful, AMT was so impressed with the Villa Riviera that they featured it as a build option for their 1963 Riviera 1/25 Scale Model. Note the groovy 1960’s graphics.

The Villa Riviera as it looks today, featured at the 2015 Dragone Fall Auction in
Westport, Conn. October 17.

The Barris Buick Villa Riviera will be offered at the Dragone Fall Auction in Westport, Conn. on Saturday, October 17th with a pre-auction bidding estimate of $165,000 to $180,000. Other unique and rare cars to be offered include the 1967 Exemplar I Concept Car built for Bridgeport Brass Co. estimated at $1,200,000 to $1,800,000, a 1924 Supercharged Mercedes 24/100/40 Custom Fleetwood Sport Touring (est. $1,200,000 to $1,400,000) and 1947 Lancia Aprilia Prototype by Pininfarina (est. $450,000 to $500,000).

Sources: Palm Springs Automobilist & Dragone Classic Motorcars

03 Oct

Thomas Edison’s New Jersey Estate is site of new Concours October 16 – 18

Thomas Edison’s Glenmont home in New Jersey will be site of new concours October 16-18
Photos courtesy edisonconcours.org

Edison, N.J. – Joseph Cassini III not only ruled from the judge’s bench in the courtroom, but cars from his collection have been honored on concours d’elegance show fields from coast to coast, including best-of-show accolades in 2013 at Pebble Beach for his 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Victoria.

Now that the judge has retired from the bench, and while he waited as his next star car underwent restoration (his LeBaron-bodied ’31 Stutz DV-32 Convertible Victoria won the American Classic Closed Award at Pebble Beach in 2016), Cassini had time to apply himself to something new.

Pebble Beach-winning car collector Joseph Cassini is organizing a new concours at the historic home of Thomas Edison in Llewellyn Park, NJ

Cassini is the founder of a new concours. The inaugural Edison Concours d’Elegance is scheduled for October 16-18 at Glenmont, the historic home of Thomas A. Edison on 16 acres in Llewellyn Park, New Jersey.

The seed for the event was planted soon after Cassini’s Packard won at Pebble Beach. He was having lunch with a friend, a lawyer with whom he had worked in a law firm before becoming a New Jersey Superior Court judge. The friend was chairman of a foundation that supports the Edison Innovation Foundation and the Charles Edison Fund (Charles was Thomas’s son and was elected New Jersey’s governor in 1941).

Joseph Cassini in his 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Victoria after winning Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach, CA. in 2016.. (Photo Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Cassini’s friend’s renovations were being done on the garage at Glenmont and he thought a car show might help with that effort.

The garage isn’t some simply car shelter but a two-story building that housed the world’s first electric-car charging station, which is still there. Edison and his wife each had a Detroit Electric. He also converted a Locomobile from steam to electric power. The garage also holds the Ford Model T that Henry Ford gave Edison, and Cassini thinks that car is the oldest single-owner T in existence.

Cassini said the concours will be open to 90 cars, with 15 classes of six cars each. There will be a class for electric vehicles, he said, adding that 80 percent of the cars on display will be pre-war machines and that the newest car on the field will be 1960 models.

As for cars produced since 1960, he said, “You can go to your local car gathering (from cars and coffees to cruise-ins) on the weekend and see those cars.” Cassini said the show field will reflect his own current interests in the classics. But, he added, his tastes have changed.

Cassini’s father owned a trucking company that did contract demolition work, and Cassini spent a lot of time as a youngster in the shop, learning from the mechanics and using the equipment to build his own go-karts and mini-bikes.

After law school, Cassini took a road trip across the country to Los Angeles, where he saw a 1956 Ford Thunderbird for sale. He kept thinking about that car all the way home, and after returning to New Jersey, he did a deal to buy the car.

For some 15 years he collected 1950s and ’60s cars — Thunderbirds, E-type Jaguars, split-window Corvettes and Corvette roadsters. But then, in the early 1990s, he attended his first Classic Car Club of America event and marveled at the Packards, Stutz, Cords and Auburns. Before long, those were the cars he was collecting, restoring and showing at concours.

For more information about the event and the charities it will benefit, visit the concours website.

Source: ClassicCars.com

28 Sep

New Keno Brothers Auction in New York City November 19 Features Historic Ferrari N.A.R.T. Daytona

Photo: Keno Brothers

New York, N.Y. – Over the past 40 years, Leigh and Leslie Keno have gained world-wide acclaim for their passion for beautiful design, exquisite craftsmanship and impeccable provenance. Now, after a lifetime of maintaining a private passion for fine automobiles, the Keno Brothers are bringing their wealth of expertise in classic automobiles and extensive experience in the auction industry to establish Keno Brothers Fine Automobile Auctions. Their inaugural event, Rolling Sculpture, will take place during the heart of the New York art auction season on November 18-19, 2015, at Skylight Clarkson Sq. in Soho, New York City. Within this uniquely suited space Keno Brothers Fine Automobile Auctions will create a multi-sensory experience highlighting the beauty of each lot, while also bringing to life the history of each automobile – starting with one of the most important N.A.R.T. (North American Racing Team) Ferraris.

The 1971 Ferrari N.A.R.T. Daytona racing at LeMans (Photo 24h-lemans.com)

Just as some of the greatest masterpieces of art were produced in Italy, so were some of the most magnificent automobiles. The Italian marque, Ferrari is synonymous with beauty, style and speed, and recognized worldwide for its uncompromising legacy of victory on the racetrack. Epitomizing the Keno Brothers’ vision to offer important automobiles with unique provenance, a singular, storied Ferrari is amongst the first of the sale’s offerings to be announced.

The 1971 Ferrari N.A.R.T. Daytona 365 GTB/4 Daytona, chassis number 12467, is among the most historic of Ferrari’s North American Racing Team and will be one of the stars of the Keno auction. Modified for competition from a standard V12 road car, its first major race was the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it astounded the crowd by finishing fifth overall, behind only the purpose-built and much more-powerful WSC prototypes, with drivers Bob Grossman and Luigi Chinetti Jr. The Daytona came in eight laps ahead of the GT cars against which it would be classified in the future. The Ferrari, which heralded a number of factory-prepped Daytona Competiziones, has a pre-auction estimated value of $4.9 million to $5.9 million.

“Our goal as a company is to channel the trust, integrity and knowledge that we have built throughout our entire lives into every aspect of this new auction house,” said Leslie Keno, Co-CEO and Founder of Keno Brothers. “Our inaugural sale will offer a unique selection of 45 of the most highly coveted vehicles from around the world. Whether a racecar– purposefully built to go extremely fast or a touring car, designed with fanciful curves and sensual lines, each offering has a distinct story to tell.”
“It’s automobiles like these that are carefully curated to present some of the greatest achievements in automotive history,” said Co-Founder Leslie Keno. “Each car is extraordinary and will be elegantly displayed so that its history, styling and special attributes can be appreciated within its unique historical context.”

“We apply the same criteria and principles to motor cars that we use to evaluate works of art—line, proportion, design, originality and provenance,” Co-Founder Leigh Keno commented. “In addition to assessment and essays by the top experts in a particular make and marque, we will provide deep information on each car that makes transactions more transparent, reduces trading friction and makes the learning curve less steep for new collectors and sellers, including heirs.”

Leigh Keno with his Jaguar SS 100 (Photo Jim Motavalli, New York Times)

The Keno brothers are applying the same evaluation techniques and scientific technology used in the art and antiques world to the classic car world, in an effort to raise the standard by which cars are assessed and represented.

“When a potential buyer is considering acquiring a work of art by Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol or an exceptional automobile by Ferrari or Bugatti, there should be no “guesswork”, said Leslie Keno. “Many of the technologies we’ve used in the fine art and furniture world will assist us in distinguishing the true condition of these automobiles more accurately than ever before.”

For example, when appropriate, scientists will apply a variety of x-ray analytical technologies used in the art world in order to take the guesswork out of the purchase, allowing potential buyers to bid with confidence.

While car collectors will have the chance to bid on these automobiles during the live event, bidders will also be able to participate online in real-time, thanks to proprietary new software. Developed by Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder Bradley R. Farrell, this software collects automobile data in new ways, making the rarity and quality of a given automobile easier to understand and giving potential bidders a more informed purchasing experience.

Previously, Bradley Farrell oversaw his own digital marketing and technology company, responsible for creating experiences for companies that included Citrix and Cisco Systems’ global marketing teams.

For further information on Keno Brothers Fine Automobile Auctions, visit KenoBrothers.com.

Source: Sports Car Digest and Keno Brothers Auctions

Photo prnewswire.com

23 Sep

The Fina Sport, Mid-Century Italo-American Hybrid Built in New York City – Part 3

Part III: Fina Motors, Move to Norwalk, Connecticut in 1957

Norwalk, Conn. – After the success of the Fina Sport at Madison Square Garden in 1954, and at successive car shows including a first place trophy at the Philadelphia Autorama, not much is known as to why the coupe and its sister convertible the following year, were not put into production. The price of $14,000 (quoted in Italamerican Magazine) may have been a major deterrent when the average American car was selling for less than $2,000.

1954 World Motor Sports Show Grand Prix trophy awarded to Perry Fina

In 1957, Perry and Joe moved the garage to Norwalk, Conn. at 130 Connecticut Ave. and became a dealer for Studebaker-Packard, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar cars. It appears that the Finas kept the prototype Fina Sport cars as there is a picture of the coupe with Perry and his wife Lillian in the Norwalk showroom taken in late 1960 as well as the convertible in the showroom window around the same time.

Perry and Lillian Fina with the ’54 Fina Sport in the Norwalk showroom Christmas season 1960

Previously the site of Fina Motors at 130 Connecticut Ave. in Norwalk

1955 Fina Sport Convertible circa 1960 in Norwalk showroom with ’56 Philadelphia Autorama trophy

Perry Fina passed away in New York City in 1970 just shy of his 78th birthday. Joe continued to run the garage in Norwalk, briefly retiring in the early 70’s before accepting a position with the State of Connecticut Trade School System in a consulting role providing technical advice and guidance for the state’s trade schools. Joe remained in that role for 19 years during the course of which time he became friends with fellow Redding, Conn. resident and car enthusiast David Reed. Because of Dave Reed’s interest in cars and memorabilia, he was able to acquire all of the remaining photographs and artifacts for the Fina Sport cars from Joe Fina, many of which were used to compile this article. The whereabouts of the Fina prototype cars today is somewhat of a mystery. Joe Fina passed away in early 1999. Dave Reed has been in touch with the owner of one car in Pennsylvania who claims he is going to restore the car with his son. The convertible turned up on E-Bay a few years ago from a seller in Des Plaines, IL looking very much the worse for wear for an asking price of $275,000.

Remains of the Fina Sport convertible on E-Bay in March, 2011 asking price $275,000

Dave Reed believes there is a third car in Houston, TX but has not been able to locate the owner. It would be a tribute to the ingenuity and foresight of Perry and Joe Fina to bring a least one of these cars back to life for new generations of car enthusiasts.

Last of Three Articles

Original Photographs & Artifacts contributed by David W. Reed, Redding, CT
Article compiled by Nick Ord, New England Auto Museum
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