Derek Wilburn of Long Beach, California, is a collector of many things, especially of Morgan history. Building and restoring the automobiles has been a family affair since he was a small boy. There is an understated joy Derek has when he talks about Morgans, and we hope this video lets you feel some of that joy.
The Targa California is our favorite way to experience the beauty and back roads of Central California in a vintage car. An homage to the original Targa Florio race in Sicily, the Targa California is a non-competitive 3-day vintage rally open to all cars 1973 or older.
There was a time when an art form known as coachbuilding existed. Back then, the coachbuilder did not have to answer to a CFO. Back then, the coachbuilder did not have to compromise his vision due to government regulations. Back then, the outrageous was possible. The Lamborghini Countach could only have been born then.
With a screaming, 1300cc twin-overhead cam engine, a lightweight aluminum body sculpted by Zagato, and a production run limited to 170, this is the Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ. Watch our good friend, Alfa Romeo expert, and race car driver Anthony Rimicci wax poetically about this rare beauty.
Infused with a strong rally heritage, the 1966 Lancia Fulvia Coupe transforms Adan Figueroa's world whenever he sits behind the wheel. It's easy to picture Adan no longer driving on the streets of Southern California but rather traversing the roads of Monte Carlo back in the '60's.
In 1963, Don Minkoff bought this 1960 Mercedes 220SE for his wife on their 10th wedding anniversary. He blindfolded her, sat her in the front seat, and said "Honey, I bought you a station wagon." We're glad he didn't buy her a station wagon. Watch Don's son, Mark, share the history of his family and their elegant car.
Next Monday, we'll begin a six-piece article series filled with tales of romance and intrigue. Follow the adventures of our Petrolicious protagonists as they navigate blind romance, love triangles, and Italian roads in a 1968 Alfa Romeo GTV.
Dick Hughes may have left behind the speedway and his beloved Alfa Romeo marque, but he can still be found blasting up country roads in his 1960 Triumph TR3A, the car of his youth, and he does it with the maturity and experience that comes with decades of vintage racing.
Ken Sirlin and his Porsche 356 Cabriolet have spent many fun-filled years together. Ken bought the car in 1985 after it had been restored from a bare shell. Since then, he's driven it endless amounts of miles through Europe as a competitor in the famous Liege Rome Liege vintage car rally. Though he no longer races competetively, Ken would never part ways with his racing partner.
Lamborghini has had a long history of naming its cars to reflect the power and tradition of bullfighting. In the hands of driver and owner CJ Bonura, it's easy to understand how the sounds and sights of this particular Lamborghini inspired the name "Espada", Spanish for sword, referring to the one used by matadors to defeat the bull at the end of the fight.
Since 2007, Bring A Trailer has been alerting us to some of the best vintage cars the web has to offer. Started by good friends Randy Nonnenberg and Gentry Underwood, the site has grown to become a huge asset to those on the prowl for a vintage car to add to their collection. Hear more about Randy and Gentry's journey to getting where they are today.
The Carabinieri are Italy's national military police force and have played an instrumental part in Italy's history, including helping bring down Mussolini during World War II. What makes them even more badass is that not only do they get to wear chic uniforms and drive Alfa Romeos, but in the '60s and '70s they were the protagonists in many real-life car chases...
On a dark, drizzly day in the San Francisco Bay Area, Petrolicious caught up with Ivan Jaramillo, the owner of not just one, but two Skylines: the Hakosuka and the Kenmeri. With epic histories, straight sixes and little effort, both cars cut the silence through the redwood groves and past horse ranches on Lucas Valley Road before posing for their close ups along the bay.
Even in seemingly mundane tasks such as running an errand to the grocery store, every car enthusiast has a choice to make: take the quick and efficient route from A to B or obey the siren song of the open road. With the wheel of a Mercedes Benz 300SL Gullwing firmly gripped, resisting that urge becomes nearly impossible.
In Napa Valley, California, the grapes have been harvested, and vintners are aging their reserves in cellers, but here at Petrolicious, we love vintage automobiles, the wonderful folks that drive them, and the community that always builds around a make. Here in wine country, we caught up with a strong community of Datsun Roadsters that help one another with parts, maintenance, and enjoying a leisurely day in the sun.
Ah...the joys of restoring a rare classic. You've spent countless hours toiling over that beloved restoration job or paid embarrassing sums to someone else to do it for you. Your unobtainable jewel of a vehicle is finally finished and you're ready to enjoy it and show it off. There's just one thing missing: a period-correct radio. Are you going to take the easy road and just put in a blanking plate in that hole? Heck no! Lino Carlini is here to the rescue and he's just an email away.
Some of the most precious gifts in life are the ones for which we didn't think to wish. They are the gifts that find us by surprise and connect us with family and loved ones who are no longer with us and those who are. This is a story of a man's passion for old cars that led him to such a gift. May all your unwished wishes come true.
Andy Greene's Sports and Vintage Race Cars is a special kind of a place. It's a haven for vintage cars to be maintained and in some cases brought back to life. Andy has a passion for all types of classic cars, but in particular the Ferrari marque that he has specialized in for over three decades. As one of the leading Ferrari mechanics in the country, Andy has worked on some of the cars most of us only dream about seeing one day.
Petrolicious had the privilege to not only shoot one e24 Alpina but two of these incredibly rare machines. The e24 Alpina B10 3.5 is the only one of its kind that exists in the Western Hemisphere and is one of 14 that are known to be left in the world. It is a rare sight to see one of these cruising down the street, but seeing one together with another e24 Alpina is a whole different ballgame.
More often than not, classic car owners deliberate whether to use their cars as daily drivers or keep them as garage queens. Why can't one car be everything? Black Beauty, Jack Olsen's Porsche 911 RSR, gets the royal treatment in The 12-Gauge Garage, but it also proudly wears rubber on the street and the track. Jack built an enviable shop out of a suburban, two-car garage and worked on it until its engineering, design, and function matched that of the Black Beauty, a Porsche through and through.
Driving can be a personal and intimate experience. This might be due to the swell of freedom it gives us or how every drive engages each of our senses, but there's something about taking a great drive that lingers in our minds at the end of the day and sometimes stays with us even deep into the night, as is the case with Maxx and his Maserati Merak SS. It's no secret we dream about our cars, but what do our cars dream about?
Everyone knows about the Morris Mini, but hardly anyone knows about the Morris Minor Panel Van. We found that Frank Monise Motors still utilizes their '61 Morris to lug parts to and fro. Their shop restores and services British automobiles for their respective enthusiasts, so it's fitting that the company still uses a Morris.
For a supercar, the Testarossa deserves much more respect than it garners. Its beauty has been overlooked by some in favor of the Countach. Now discounted to a fraction of its original price, it waits humbly for a return to grace. Vintage car collector Joe Ventura waits along with it. In the meantime, he's lucky enough to live daily with this beautiful redhead.
Can you recognize the signs of addiction? Do you know how to help a loved one who is Always Looking For Another? For 50 years, the AROSC has been providing support for those suffering from Alfaholism. Watch how Track Therapy, a key part of their successful 12-step program, has helped members cope with this serious
Alfisti around the world have the same modern day hero. Most have corresponded with this person at some point or another during their Alfa Romeo ownership or prior to the acquisition of one. He is the gatekeeper of all that is true about Alfa Romeo history. As the head of Alfa Romeo's Centro Documentazione, Marco Fazio is the custodian of Alfa Romeo's archives and is the go-to person for the Alfa Romeo Museum.
The griffin, a mythological creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, is the namesake of the Iso Grifo, an automobile with the hood, grill and engine of an American, but the lines of an Italian sports car. This Italian-American hybrid defines Italian muscle.
Manuel Leon Minassian often buys cars that have been neglected or are unwanted by the average buyer, and he is extremely picky as to how he'll bring them back to life. Although he prefers not to mention the exact number of cars he owns, there's one that he holds very close, a 1972 Alfa Romeo Berlina. Customized to his personal satisfaction, the work in this Berlina hints of his childhood as a rambunctious Alfa driver of only 13 years old.
Maybe it is the idea of endless customization possibilities that endears so many to the Beetle, or perhaps it is that behind these cars there are no two owners alike. After many mishaps involving stolen, burned, and wrecked Beetles, Stephan Ruiz has finally found his personal Beetle. Clean is the best word to describe this one-year-only 1967 Beetle, and Stephan wants to keep it that way. Sometimes we change a car, and sometimes we find the car changes us.
Joe Frazar is a true car enthusiast who enjoys driving a little bit of everything the car world has to offer. Joe has lived out his dreams by owning and experiencing over a hundred different examples. His collection constantly revolves as he hunts for new opportunities. Frazer Spowart had the chance to visit with Joe to see what's in his garage, including a beautiful Ferrari 328 GTS and the one staple that will never be sold, his hot rod Porsche 914-6.
Ashley Rodriguez, an amateur train photographer, has owned over 15 E28s in her lifetime. As a former trained BMW tech, she has spent her time buying and fixing various 5-Series models. She has owned every E28 model available, and as a lover of rare things, she now has her dream car, the M535i.
David Paddison didn't grow up in a car-loving family—he developed his passion for cars with his friends with whom he grew up racing slot cars before graduating into full-sized versions. Today he enjoys collecting classic cars and still looks to the ones he lusted after in his youth as a bucket list of must-haves. His beautiful 1974 Jaguar E-Type is one of those cars. Petrolicious had the chance to spend some time with David and his very special E-Type, one of the last sixty made.
Considered by many to be the most elegant Ferrari ever made, the Lusso has a specific set of rituals that one must complete in order to unleash the fury of the V12 under the hood. James Chen prefers to release that fury in the quiet stillness of the morning when traffic is light and the sun is slowly rising to its magic hour. With few distractions, the empty morning streets of Downtown Los Angeles amplify the two-hundred-and-forty prancing horses that lie in wait for the mash of the throttle.
The Fiat 500 has a long history spanning generations and spanning oceans. One particular Fiat, a Fiat 500D, has made its way over the last 49 years into the care of Annetta Calisi. After being attained in pieces, it was meticulously restored daily over a period of four months. Annetta and her Fiat, Luigi, could not be a better pair, and the lines between the past and the present fade as they both dress the part for every tiny journey they share.
Kevin Reimer, from Vancouver, Canada, is a professional downhill skateboarder, traveling around the world to race down technical roads. When looking for a car to buy, he desired something with similar traction and grip as his skateboards, as well as something that could handle turns at speed. He found his perfect car: a 1991 Nissan Skyline GT-R. When he discovered that he and the car had both raced and won on the same course, he knew there was a special connection.
When Holger Schubert created his studio-garage space, he did what any self-respecting, Ferrari-loving, minimalist architect would do: he took his work-of-art BB 512i and built everything around it. As any showcased work of art deserves to be, Holger's car is in the spotlight and on the pedestal that is the studio garage, which was designed and built for the specific purpose of working and living alongside the Ferrari. Holger shares the details of his car and of his enviable space.
BMW perfected the sports sedan. This simple concept, a winning blend of practicality, performance, stealth, and comfort is something we take for granted today, with competitors from across the globe selling their best imitation Ultimate Driving Machines. Somehow, though, none seem to be able to capture the elusive BMW feel, a magic mix of control weighting, feedback, and response—it's difficult to quantify exactly what makes a Beemer so special, but if you've ever driven one, you understand almost immediately. Many of us got our first taste of a real driver's car in a BMW, maybe in the boxy-yet-seductive shape of a slightly scruffy, second-hand Neue Klasse, E21, E30, or even E36. Our first furtive steps towards mastering throttle control, cadence braking, apex clipping, and oversteer—the most fun you can have in a car, brought to you by Munich's generations-deep dedication to the art of chassis tuning and rear wheel drive. Across the decades, BMW has created a disproportionately-large percentage of the world's all-time great driving machines, from 1930s-era 328s through the 2002, CSL, M1, M3, M5, and countless others—we want to celebrate them all. Throughout the month of June we will dedicate much of our time and resources to bringing you Bavaria's best, from insightful owner interviews, stories, original photography, fascinating and untold anecdotes, factory advertising, and of course, our trademark video profiles. Stay tuned; it's going to be an exciting month.
In 1989, Randy Balingit-Hartmann bought the first BMW M5 brought to San Diego and has owned it ever since. As someone on the shy side, Randy wanted a car that fit his personality—one that was fast and powerful yet unassuming. In all its unassuming four-door glory the E28 M5 is often overlooked, but this sedan packs the same amount of power as Ferrari 308 GT and if not respected will surprise you in the turns of your favorite road.
There are no substitutes for an E30 M3, and for Gabor Mester, no ordinary M3 would cut it. Gabor had his heart set on the specific M3 that started him down the path of BMW: a car that belonged to the parents of a childhood friend. Walking through his friend's garage one day and spotting this M3 instantly turned teenage Gabor into a car guy, who from that day forward took every opportunity to see and even wash the car. The dream of owning it came true after many years (and a bit of convincing).
If you are local to Southern California, chances are you may have run into Jack Charney, his 1957 BMW Isetta, and his one-of-a-kind sweater. This particular Isetta has a story, one that started when Jack purchased it new in 1957, and after feeling the regret of selling the car, nearly 20 years later, Jack found himself led him back that very same car.
It is hard to argue with the pedigree of the Lancia Stratos. Built with one uncompromising vision, the Stratos captured the hearts of many. Phillip Toledano was one of those, and for him, purchasing a car built with one purpose was a dream come true. As an artist, Phil was attracted to the Bertone wedge design and gives us a glimpse of what it is like to live with the fabled Stratos.
There may be no better way of describing the owning of a vintage car than as an island in an ocean of technology. For Pierantonio Micciarelli of Milan, Italy, this island comes in the form of a Fiat 2300 S Coupe. With so many rules and regulations to owning a vintage car in Italy, owning a car like this isn't just a means of transportation but a dedication to style, craftsmanship, and commitment. In a world of technology, this leaves Pierantonio, and many of us who choose the vintage car lifestyle, suspended in time.
Everybody has their “thing.” For John Willhoit, it’s certainly a German thing. For the past 37 years, he and his custom 1971 Porsche 911T have been Stuttgart’s outpost in Los Angeles County. Whether in his shop restoring classic 356s and 911s or on the road thrashing his own rear-engined machine, Wilholt’s German thing is a good thing indeed.
Every member of the Smith family harbors fond memories for the family patriarch’s beloved ’67 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spider. To them, the car doesn’t so much represent Ferrari as it does the memory of Eddie Sr., this extraordinary machine’s extraordinary first owner. Recently, in an act of incredible generosity, the family has jointly decided to part with the car, donating any and all of the no-doubt-considerable amount it will fetch at auction to charity—an act that would certainly bring a smile to Eddie Sr., himself a noted philanthropist.
The Ferrari Dino 208 GT4 is a unique car. Overshadowed by its bigger brother, the 308 GT4, the 208 was originally created to skirt under the Italian tax levied on engines above two liters. What the 208 GT4 lacks in displacement it makes up for in sound and style. For Bradley Price, designer and owner of Autodromo, the opportunity to acquire a practical "super car" of the '70s with its famous wedge styling was too hard to ignore. After a year of ownership, Bradley can consistently be found escaping the city and revving the sweet-sounding V8 along the roads and hills of New York.
The master sculptor Michelangelo famously said, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." Driven by the sole purpose of winning races, Zagato built a legend of creating objects of indisputable beauty born by removing all elements that were unessential. With aerodynamics, lightness, and speed as the ultimate objectives, the coachbuilder bestowed upon us sculpture after sculpture of essential beauty.
When you want to drive your vintage car, how far do you travel to get to it? Possibly into your garage or out to your driveway? For those vintage car enthusiasts in New York City that is the stuff of dreams. Owning a car in NYC is rare, and owning a vintage car is even rarer, but those who do are committed to the lifestyle. For these three owners, getting to their cars is almost a ritual in itself, and nothing brings more pleasure than slipping behind the wheel of a car that has as much personality and history as the city itself. Like many things in New York City, nothing comes easy, but the challenge makes it all the more worth it.
In 1962, crime in Rome was remarkably under control thanks to the valiant efforts of the local police. To reward the success of the force, the president of the Italian Republic himself asked Enzo Ferrari to assign two very special Ferraris to police duty. One of the Ferraris is almost immediately destroyed. One survives to this day. This is the tale of the survivor.
It takes a lot of driving, work, and a little bit of luck to achieve nearly a million miles in one car. Guy Newmark has been driving one car for forty-five years, a beautiful blue 356, and he has no thoughts of driving any other. After a million miles, Guy finds himself almost sad when he pulls the car into the garage, so he sometimes invents errands in order to keep on driving. With a car still as fun to drive as the day it rolled off the assembly line, this is easy to see why. Drive Tastefully®
Vintage cars require serious but rewarding commitment. The pre-war variety, however, demand a level of commitment bordering on devotion. With parts nearly impossible to find and expertise becoming rarer by each day, living with and driving a pre-war car means intimate involvement in every aspect of your car’s maintenance and upkeep. Roberto Vesco has been collecting, restoring, and driving pre-war cars for more than 35 years, but the satisfaction and joy that he experiences as a result is unparalleled.
Josh Withers is no stranger to BMW airheads. After building his own 1973 BMW Cafe, Josh was commissioned to build one in a similar vein for someone he never met, except through countless phone calls and emails. After two years of obsessing over every detail of this 1972 BMW R75/5, Josh completed the project and finally met what he considers his modern-day "pen pal". Josh, a photographer by day, spent many hours through nights and weekends breathing life back into this airhead that was considered dead. Like many who currently have or had a project of their own, Josh gives us insight into what keeps him obsessing, creating, and building. Ride tastefully.
Before the summer is completely over, we'd like to take you for a short ride along the Adriatic coast in the town of Rimini, Italy, where Federico Fellini was born. His unpredictable approach to life is something that lives on in the people of Rimini. Annalisa and her car are examples of this. She could have chosen to drive any of the more popular, high-performance cars among the ones that her father had in his collection, but she chose the Bianchina, because is the one that brings smiles to peoples' faces.
The name Jeff Zwart resonates with loyal Porsche 911 enthusiasts on a personal level. If you’re not familiar with his name, you’ve certainly been enjoying his work, because Jeff has been one of the key creative minds behind Porsche’s advertising campaigns for over 20 years. He has filmed and photographed everything from motorsports to the latest production models, coffee table books, posters, and art pieces. Click through to watch the video and to download some Petrolicious wallpapers of the two featured cars.
Owner, Jordan Melville, dives into his love for Saab, detailing how he brought this Saab 900 SPG back from the brink of the wrecking yard to experience the car as if it were brand new.While modern day Saab struggles to keep their cars on the road, Jordan’s 900 SPG keeps the flame alive.
Owner, Dave Scholz, shares his connection with a Japanese cult classic that could easily be regarded as the 911 of Japan. Its iconic beauty, modular mechanics, and desirability inspired Dave to heed to Datsun’s famous racing campaign of the ‘70s, “Dare to be different.” American heads were spinning when the 1970s ultimately snuffed out their beloved horsepower-drunk muscle cars. As the world watched them squirm for performance, Japan was busy developing the 240Z to bring a new thrill to American roads using balance, harmony, and technology.
Respected architect Jonathan Segal poetically describes what the 1973 Porsche 911 2.7L RS meant both to Porsche and its drivers. Jonathan's career as an architect has developed his pursuit for purity in the structures he creates. One look around Jonathan’s studio and garage, and you’ll know this isn’t just a man cave for rusted signs and pin-up girls—it's a forum, allowing each car to communicate to their viewers. Jonathan's signal-yellow RS demands an audience and it incites him to drive to the redline every time.
For Steve Strope of Pure Vision, turning his idea into loud and fast art is something very few fabricators can dedicate themselves to. His concept was created from a “what if” moment, where he imagined Ford and Martini Racing teaming up to dominate rally races across Europe. Powered by a 1966 Ford/Lotus Indy Car motor, this fastback Mustang is serious business when it comes to performance. Much like a watchmaker who knows the purpose of each moving part of a watch, Steve’s design signature can be found hidden in even the minute details of the car.
Many different types of cars run at Bonneville, but Bob chooses a car that you wouldn't ever expect to be racing at all, let alone down a strip of metal-eating salt: a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing. Now fetching over a million dollars, the 300SL is a car that you mainly see at a concourse or in a museum—not trying to break land speed records at Speed Week. For the last 12 years Bob has been bringing his Gullwing to the salt in an effort to break records and cure his "salt fever." Bob likes to say, "Enjoy your toys," and this is a motto we can stand behind.
One might not expect a small Wisconsin town in the middle of the state to make much of a distinction on a map, but Spring Green bucks this trend. First, Frank Lloyd Wright built the local and well-known landmark, Taliesin, and second, Ringbrothers set up shop. Brothers Mike and Jim Ring have been building cars together since 1994 and have been responsible for creating some of the most talked-about custom muscle cars of the past few years. We took a look at where they started and went for rides with their '65 Mustang "Producer" and '64 Fairlane "Afterburner".
With its many curves, elevation changes, and natural beauty, the Italian countryside is a perfect place to own a vintage car. Many dream of legendary cars roaming these roads, and when Donato Maniscalco was ten years old, his car of dreams was a Porsche 911. Years later that dream was realized when he purchased a 1968 Porsche 911t. Instead of keeping his collection of cars and his 911 in a garage, Donato observes the rich history of Italian motoring and regularly participates in rallies and drives.
The Vintage Auto Racing Association (VARA), was founded in 1973 and has become the largest vintage racing organization on the West Coast. VARA is comprised of many different vintage cars, so come race weekend it isn't unusual to find various 2002s, 510s, 240Zs, Corvettes, GTVs, and many more cars. Racing hard and racing clean is what VARA members strive for, and it is easy to see the camaraderie during a race weekend as members share knowledge, parts, and an all around good time.
For many, the "golden age" of motoring began in the late '60s and concluded in the very early '70s. It is easy to get caught up in the cars of that time period and overlook significant cars that came both earlier and later than this sweet spot of time that produced cars we all love. From time to time, we step outside of this realm to the explore the cars which stretch into as far as the early '90s—cars that will be talked about for years to come, like the Nissan Skyline and the BMW E30 M3. The MR2 is one of these cars.
What comes to mind when you hear the words "Italian motorcycle"? Ducati? Moto Guzzi? What about Gilera, Benelli, or Laverda? Italy has a rich motorcycle history and has been producing unique and beautiful bikes for years, but here in the United States many people aren't familiar with Italian brands outside of Ducati and Moto Guzzi—many are not even familiar with the smaller single-cylinder offerings of these two brands. Hugo Gallina, owner of Vintage Italian Restoration in Southern California, has been building and restoring Italian bikes out of his garage for years.
When Ferrari wanted to race in Formula 2 with its new V6 engine named after Enzo Ferrari's son Dino, Ferrari faced a problem. They needed to build enough cars to satisfy the homologation rules, so Ferrari turned to Fiat for help. A deal was struck with Fiat to build the Dino Coupe and Spider, and with this, Ferrari got its chance to compete in Formula 2. Danny Soukup always loved the way the Dino Spider looked, so for decades he worked his way into a position to buy the car of his dreams. He shares the new perspective into life that his car has given him.
Recreating a factory race car from the 1960s is no simple task—for Jason Len and his 1964 Jaguar E-Type, the challenges were no different. The hours and materials to build something of this magnitude far exceed any dollar amount that could be recouped from the finished car's sale, but this is irrelevant for Jason. To him, the idea of owning and recreating this car is simply about chasing a dream. He devoted his life to Jaguars, so when it came to deciding whether or not to build the car, there was no other choice that could be made.
Andy Greene's Sports and Vintage Race Cars is a special kind of a place. It's a haven for vintage cars to be maintained and in some cases brought back to life.
For some, the dedication and passion invested into their vintage car approaches fanatical levels, much like those who push their limits in the ocean. Whether racing from Molokai to Oahu or paddle-boarding for miles and miles off California's coast, being in the ocean can become an obsession. For Mr. Casey Annis, Vintage Racecar editor, his 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Veloce 1600 allows him to bridge the gap between his two pastimes—classic cars and the ocean.
Had the James Bond series been set in Italy, this would be his car. Instead, this Lancia Flaminia Super Sport Zagato belongs to Mr. Robert Giaimo and is simply about style. Simply being the operative word because the shape is so pure and unadorned. The Lancia was blessed with taut lines, classic proportions, and is mercifully devoid of any extraneous details.
Yesterday, we asked you which Japanese cars helped improve Americans’ opinions. But perhaps it wasn’t the cars as much as the people who bought them. At the young age of fourteen, Mr. Christopher Hoffman helped convince his mother to buy a ’77 Honda Civic wagon. That was just a small, first step in what would become a life-long infatuation with Hondas.
Starting any classic car is special. There is the sensation that something distinct and superior is taking place because of the rituals observed and details you notice. On this 1956 Porsche 356A T1 Speedster for example the windscreen is removable, the seats have a thin fiberglass shell and the steering wheel is elegant and spartan. There is little concession to comfort and virtually none to safety. When new, this was the least expensive Porsche available and had a 'less is more' philosophy behind it. Indeed, the car was intended to be taken to the track and be a legitimate club-racing contender. It seems that that's precisely how this 356 spent a large portion of its early life. Raced around Connecticut, the car racked up trophies and actually won the E-Production Championship in 1963. The majority of this car's first 50,000 miles were racked up on the track. It wasn't designed to coddle. Although it only makes about 60hp, it causes an adrenaline rush as you're close to the road, the instruments, and there isn't a lot surrounding you. There's immediacy about the car. And according to the owner, Mr. Jon Warshawsky, "It feels like a racing machine." When driving on B-roads, "you feel like you should be on the track." There is an intimate mechanical interaction because the power-band is narrow; both you and the car have to agree that the next shift is appropriate otherwise there might be bogging or might over-rev the engine. The feeling that something great is happening is due to this constant dialogue between you and the car.
Mr. Bob Gough's family moved to France for a few years when he was thirteen years-old and thus he grew up idolizing European sports cars and looking down on American muscle. That was until he discovered the 1967 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S. The ‘Cuda Formula S was upgraded in-house by Plymouth with suspension and brakes, allowing it to keep pace with Europe's best.
Some people might consider Mr. Brian Bent's lifestyle extreme, an anachronism perhaps. But we have a feeling that he'd be OK with that. You see, when Brian purchased this 1927 Oakland he built the clutch pack himself. He also makes his own 1920s and '30s style surfboards and his own period-correct clothing. Brian applies "Drive Tastefully" to his entire life, making sure that all the pieces fit him.
We're all affected differently. Some people fall in love because their dad or uncle had one. Others fall in love out of necessity, constant breakdowns requiring them to work on their car. For Mr. Frank Mandarano a tour through the Maserati factory in 1971 was enough for him to be smitten. He bought his first Maserati a few years later, a red 3500GT, which promptly broke the day after he bought it.
After expressing an interest in racing, saying it "looked like fun," Mr. Jack Griffin found himself strapped to a race car contesting the 12 Hours of Sebring. Sure it was his first time sitting in a proper race car, but he had four days of training in a Nissan 280ZX at Bondurant a week or so earlier. In spite of his ample
What sounds like a fighter jet and is faster than a Ferrari? Ladies and gentlemen, meet the incredible Howmet TX, an experimental race car that is the only turbine-powered car to actually win a race. Built by a talented team of engineers in 1968 using little time and just $10,000, the first Howmet was very much a moon shot.
In the fourth generation of a family of coachbuilders, Rosita grew up surrounded in every way by cars, from the Ferraris her mechanic father picked her up from school in, to the toy cars he brought home for his children. Thing is, even though the family worked on primarily Italian cars, her father's true love was with Porsche.
"This car reflects me, my personality, being unconventional,” says Matt De Mangos. “I mean, seriously, who imports one of these, and who spends eight years fixing one of these up? It’s not an exotic, there’s no cult following…" From Mitsubishi’s golden era, De Mangos says that nobody expected the company to show up with the car at the 1970 Tokyo Motor Show. Not originally designed for the U.S., this right hand drive Japanese coupé is a performance car unlike any other. Sold under the brand “Colt”, the GTO GSR, or Gran Turismo Omologato Grand Sport Racer is essentially a down-sized version of sports cars from that era, and in De Mangos’ opinion, often better than the original. In this case, a blast to drive. With a restoration spanning eight years, De Mangos says it involved a lot of personal growth, for unexpected reasons. “I had to learn Japanese, I had to make friends with people all around the world, I had to make things that weren’t available…” De Mangos says. “There was no catalogue, there was no forum telling me how to do something or making any suggestions.” The car is often taken out for a run, so if you see a beautiful, small coupé carving corners, you may have just stumbled upon De Mangos’ unique Mitsubishi.
“Son, once you get those training wheels off,” Mark said, “I’ll buy you your first motorcycle.” A day later, Haven could ride his first bicycle without training wheels. Soon, he was on a motorcycle…at three years old. “I just thought it was so cool that I could go so fast, and everything was a blur, and I got to do it "
"If I was to pick between painting and drawing," says, Radu Muntean, "I'd have a hard time picking. It's like, 'Which kid do you like the best, your oldest or youngest?' I love them both." A car designer by trade, Muntean's tastefully modified 1971 BMW 2002 is the mechanical expression of his passion for cars. Knowing early on that he wanted to be a car designer, the 2002 is an "uncommon" look that forced Muntean to spend some more time with the Bavarian coupé in order to truly fall in love with it. "It's not a super fast car," he says, "but it's a loud, fun, super quick car."
"One of my favorite things about this vehicle is the total pure utility of it," says Josh Commons, "…the only creature comforts—apart from a heater—is that the seats are padded." Built to be rugged, long-lasting, dependable, and easy-to-repair, the Toyota FJ40 has earned a reputation for being one of the world's best vehicles for going off-road, anywhere, any time. Family owned since 1992, Commons had it for 10 years before selling it to his sister, who sold it to their parents. After a time, it was passed back to Josh and hasn't left his possession since. "I've owned it long enough to go full cycle to where the brakes and the wheel cylinders wore out and needed to be rebuilt," Commons says. "You're turning the same screw you turned 20 years ago…it's kind of special." 8,000 feet up, Commons takes us to the beautiful mining ghost town, Boulder City. Not many vehicles—let alone off-roaders—can survive the journey, but the FJ40 almost makes it look like a piece of cake. "I don't see these as disposable, I see them as infinitely rebuildable," he says. "It's definitely an heirloom now."
“This is where it all started, this is where the roots are,” says Glenn Chiou. “It has that ‘Z’ because of this car.” With a 1972 Datsun 240Z-L in his care, Chiou is already the owner of an exceedingly rare car in the U.S. He then used his knowledge of history and Nissan’s past to source unobtanium-grade parts from the period Datsun competition catalogue, which tastefully brings this car up a notch in performance but retains a completely authentic look.
“When you’re out there in something like this, people just stop and…it might not even look like a car at first…it might look like a small spaceship floating around out there,” says Matt Hummel, adding, “this is my favorite car to get lost in”. A mis-spelled Craigslist ad led Hummel to this barn find-condition Porsche 356 that had been sitting since the ’70s, and is now used lovingly—with refurbished mechanicals—as his dirt road and desert driving machine. And to the people who see him and his car out in the middle of nowhere, he has an answer: “This is a real Porsche…and it’s out here,” he says. Years of hunting around the world for Volkswagen parts led Hummel to Porsche parts and cars, and he has amassed a large number of hard-to-find parts and a small collection of vehicles. Now, he only looks for old cars with their true character and patina still attached to them. The monetary value of the vehicle doesn’t matter to Hummel, his joy comes from simply getting out and enjoying his travels far off the beaten path. “You don’t have to feel inferior because you don’t have shiny paint,” he says. “Just get it running. Drive it now.”
“I made my mind up when I was a kid, that I have to work with cars, nothing else…I can’t do anything else.” This is Alexander Brevik, and the Mercury Cyclone is his car for driving. It may sound funny to say it’s his car for driving, but Brevik isn’t your typical enthusiast: most of his other cars, are project cars. Yes, project cars, and for very good reason: “I really like fixing the cars more than driving,” he says. “The one good thing about the Cyclone is when I get bored of working on my cars, I can always drive that, because that’s in good shape,” says Brevik. “I don’t have to work on it.” “I know it’ll take me from A to B, and wherever I want to go.” So if you see a Cyclone in Norway, don’t forget to wave—chances are Brevik is behind the wheel, maybe even running an errand to finish one of his project cars.
“It will break down some days. I don’t want to worry about that,” says Manuel Campa. You’re looking at a 1953 Volkswagen Beetle, a mass-produced marvel that is now quite the rare car, and it’s used by Campa as a daily driver. “I want to pick up my wife with it, I want to drive in the weekends with it, and have fun and enjoy. It’s a car to have fun with,” he says. "It might be silly for some people," says Campa, “but it’s a dream come true for me and I’m super happy with the car.” A dream come true? Campa is a painter by trade, who honors classic cars, motorcycles, and bicycles on canvas. “For me, my passions are my cars, my toys, my brushes, my canvas, my studio,” he says, “and that’s where I spend most of my days.” “The thing that not many people see is that you have to work very hard in your studio to make this happen…your painting is going to hang in someone’s house,” Campa says. After a long, difficult process, he says of his creations: “Finally, sometimes it’s worth having your signature.”
“This car garners attention from everyone,” says Grant Karnes, “and I think it kind of draws everybody in to what Porsche is.” Owned by a family friend who later sold it to his father, Karnes had known about and lusted after this particular car for years. A Porsche 911 Turbo, otherwise called the “930”, is a car worth lusting after. For a time, it was one of the fastest production cars in the world, and in stock form is still a strong performer. That said, Karnes did see a problem once he got a hold of his dream car. “It probably hadn’t been driven enough,” he said. “You know, a 930 begs to be driven.” Driving it in stock form for a while, Karnes eventually decided to lightly, gently modify the car. “Headers, exhaust, wastegate…” and the list goes on. Why? “I really had two objectives in the project,” Karnes says, “One was to really preserve the originality of the car and its ability to be returned to stock, and the second was that I really wanted to unleash the potential and see what the 930 was.” For Karnes, the 930 is a car that fits his personal philosophy perfectly. The car isn’t just an iconic shape or startling performance, it’s about how Porsche managed to harmoniously bring those elements together.
“Most folks think of Ferraris as 8- or 12- cylinder cars. A 4-cylinder Ferrari is kinda strange to most people. They also don’t realize that the first two Formula 1 World Championships were won with 4-cylinder cars,” says Rear Admiral Robert A. Phillips, USN (Ret.). “There are so few of them…there are three left with the right motors…” Bought after its racing career had drawn to a close, Admiral Robert Phillips bought the unwanted 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series II by Scaglietti in 1960 for the princely sum of $2,225, or as he puts it, “two-and-a-half MGAs”. Happiest on-track, these were Ferrari’s early series of privateer cars. It was sent originally to Venezuela, then to the U.S. where it was competitive on its debut at Sebring. By 1959, it had been relocated to a Rambler Dealership, with a seized differential! As it happens, the decision to wipe some dust off of the valve covers would change his life forever. “Ah, Ferrari—I’ve got to save it!” and with that, Admiral Robert Phillips had spent 2/3 of his salary on a broken Ferrari racing car. And then proceeded to fix it himself, and race, with the car accompanying the Navy family on its many moves over the years. Now, he’s a world-renown expert on the 500/750 Mondial models, after years of research and collecting factory Assembly Data Sheets.
“A lot of people can say they bought their dream car,” says Carter Kelly Kramer. “Not a lot of people can say they built it.” Kramer’s 1976 BMW 2002 is an example of how persistence can pay off. He bought the car at 16, from Ebay, with a tiny budget—and the car was far worse than described. Worse, he soon hooned off the road and punched it through a fence. The repairs took a long time, as Kramer was determined to do it himself. “I had a pair of garden shears, I had a hack saw, I had a crowbar, and a sledgehammer…” he says. “I slowly learned by taking the car apart how the car goes together,” Kramer says. “Don’t worry, I got this,” after his mom began to question why the 2002 was, again, in pieces. Over time, it was decided to get rid of the project before college—after the car had inspired his successful entrance essay. Inevitably, Kramer suffered from seller’s remorse and eventually got the car back: “It was like a dog that ran away,” he says. “I realized I took [a] nightmare and turned it into a dream…it’s taught me about cars, and driving, and fixing things. You can’t put a price tag on that.”
“I pack it up and drive to the track on the highway with modern cars around me, which is a little scary sometimes,” Bradley Price says, “but I love the feeling of freedom that it gives me when you get to the track, you just unpack the car and you’re ready to go!” Bradley’s casual approach racing may at first seem alien, if you’re only used to watching Formula 1 or Nascar. But when you’ve got a 1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce with tasteful period modifications, the Vintage Sports Car Club of America is the perfect series to race in—and this track, Lime Rock Park, is one of the best. “Lime Rock came about in the time period when this car was new, in fact, the first-ever race held with sports cars at Lime Rock in 1957 was actually won by a Giulietta Spider,” Bradley says. “In many events, we don’t even have timing. You just grid up wherever you want to be, find a friend you’re evenly matched with, and just have a fun afternoon of racing together.” Lacking a long straight and favoring drivers who are able to maintain momentum through corners, Lime Rock’s layout is a perfect venue for agile and nimble vintage racers to hang with high-horsepower machines.
To date, one of our most highly-regarded films has been “The Ferrari 250 GTO Speaks for Itself”, focused around Derek Hill and—without a doubt—a V12-powered legend. It wasn’t the whole story, however. See, we capture a lot of footage, and there’s been a clip we’ve wanted to air separately since the moment it was committed to memory: an in-car video of Hill driving the 250 GTO, minus sound, narration, or anything else that would get in the way. That clip is below. It may only be 7 minutes, but we have a feeling you’ll watch it more than once. Turn it up…
“The production line was really weird back then, I mean, they had wine for lunch… Hopefully you got a car that was built with everybody, before lunch, you know?” quips Jack Riddell, owner of this 1967 Lamborghini 400 GT. Thing is, Jack’s car may have been built on a day when the all the stars in the universe aligned to produce the best-built 400 GT: his car has nearly 300,000 miles on the clock, easily one of the world’s highest totals for a Lamborghini. He bought the car in 1972, after simultaneously saving up and talking its owner down to $6,250. It’s been a rewarding experience ever since. The car’s rarity at less than 250 made and Jack’s technical skills allowed him to maintain and improve the car through the years, and he’s become a trusted resource among fellow Lamborghini aficionados. One interesting update to Jack’s car is his custom-built ignition system. He modified a Jaguar distributor and added an MSD unit, eliminating the need for constant tune-ups. “Which is good, because I like to drive it,” he says. “You can cruise at 140 mph all day if you could do it legally, but you can’t, unfortunately…”
“…The color is crazy, like a Beetle or a Bus. It makes people smile. Always.” Porsche owner Antoine Gaslais and his 1967 912—the four-cylinder 911—are the perfect pairing for a relaxing drive. Gaslais is a screenprinter by trade, with experience in advertising, illustration, graphic design, and publishing. At this point in his life, he’s able to focus his efforts on his artistic endeavors. A few years ago, he decided to search for his perfect Porsche 912. After nearly five years, Gaslais was finally ready to call a close friend and say… “Listen man, I did something stupid. I bought a car.” It didn’t run. But it was numbers-matching, had been well-used, and wore its patina well—the perfect car for an enthusiast on a tight budget who was obsessed with finally getting behind the wheel and motoring, ’60s style. His friend Julien helped get the car running, and on the first big trip it was to take…well, we’ll let Gaslais tell the full story in the film. Now, he’s enjoying the performance of his brightly-colored Bahama Yellow 912. “These days, I’ll admit, when I get in the car it no longer feels like a mistake…” he says.
“When it comes to what cars you like, I think that everyone wants the cars they coveted when they were growing up,” says Skip Barber. “The 275 Ferrari, I can still see one in Cambridge, a bright yellow one—with a woman with the best pair of blue jeans and heels getting into the car…[So] I got the car.” Active in post-Second World War races after earning enough in the Merchant Marine to buy his first race car, Skip Barber quickly made a name for himself as an ace driver, eventually contesting in Formula 1. One of the feats he’s most proud of was beating the legendary Jim Clark in identical cars at the Canadian Mosport track. “That was a pretty big deal,” Skip says. “People would put me in cars they couldn’t sell; the This is what the world’s most influential driving instructor takes for a cruise theory would be that I’d do well and people would buy it.” As his career as a professional racer started winding down, he decided to set a goal for himself: “To do absolutely the best job we could,” he says. Graduates of the Skip Barber Racing School have gone on to win championships around the world, but Barber’s heart and soul have gone into protecting and building the legacy of his home track, Lime Rock Park. “We’ve tried to preserve the feel of it,” Skip says. “I think when you walk in, it’s the same…I hope.” And the car Skip will be driving as he pulls through the gates at Lime Rock? His beloved Ferrari 275 GTB, of course. Petrolicious wishes to thank the team at Lime Rock Park for their help and hospitality in the production of this short film, and for the great archival photos of Skip Barber during his racing days.
“In the summer of 1969, we found ourselves in Detroit. It was an exciting time for my father, of course, but for the whole family,” says Juan Escalante. “A visit to the Detroit Auto Show and seeing the Challenger…he just fell in love.” You’re looking at a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 426 Hemi 4-speed, one of only 137 equipped with the largest engine and a manual transmission. Chrysler made around 77,000 Challengers, making this easily one of the most rare variants. “From 1972 to 1996 the car remained in Venezuela,” says Escalante. “Word had preceded the car that a Hemi Challenger was to arrive in Venezuela, and this was among the motorheads and car enthusiasts… The car arrived, and they immediately started referring to the car as ‘El Hemi’.” With difficulty in finding parts in Venezuela, the car slowly slipped into disrepair after being parked—until Escalante and his brother convinced their father to ship the car to the U.S. to have it restored in 1996. Its completion in 2005 was bittersweet, however: their father passed away before the car was finished. “We had to gather ourselves and really think about how we were going to use the car, and one of the things that my dad always stressed was that the car [should be] used, that we would enjoy the car…that we would give rides to our kids and their friends and let them experience it,” says Escalante. “It’s a way of connecting those who have come before us to those who will be coming in the future.”
“Whenever I see this car, no matter if it’s day or night, no matter from which angle I’m looking at it, I just fall in love,” says Michael von Trzebiatowski, the proud owner of this 1971 Aston Martin DBS. The TV show The Persuaders is what ignited Michael’s love for the DBS, identifying with the car Roger Moore drove. His brother was drawn to the Ferrari Dino played by Tony Curtis, but when he was able to get one of his own, he got a house instead. “I bought the Aston Martin, but no house,” says Michael. He really does identify with the car, saying, “It’s a bit portly, good-natured, and robust…Making a great entrance with big fenders on my car—that’s just not my style.” Understatement is important to Michael, and it’s also OK that not everyone knows about his understated Aston Martin, or even notices it when on the road. Mind you, this isn’t some flash in the pan attraction to this car—it took Michael a decade to find the perfect example for him. And when it was the right time to fulfill this irrational desire, well…let’s just say that Michael’s brother was kept in the dark for a while about the DBS!
“In Australia, you’ve got several options; cricket, you have football, you have cars, and my dad was a car racer back in the day,” says Jason Humble. “So I was fairly blessed as a kid—I got to spend a lot of time at the race track.” When it finally came to owning and running his own race car, Humble had fallen in love with small, revvy, mighty, rotary-powered Mazdas. And few are as small and as mighty as this particular killer bee, a 1971 Mazda RX-2. In Japan, it was known and raced as the “Capella Rotary”. Humble’s car was found in disrepair, and he restored and built the car into the epic vintage racer it is today. “It’s a real genuine take on what what the car should have been in the day,” he says. Yes, even that insane engine noise is a throwback to 1971. “We’re the little car that could…or would like to,” Humble says, “We race pretty hard, we race door handle to door handle…I don’t think it’s fair to the car to be expected to be perfect all the time.” “I’m starting to now embrace embrace the fact it might have a battle scar or two.” With his meticulous maintenance schedule and preparation, there’s a good chance this RX-2 will be racing for years to come in Australia…even if its usually-perfect bodywork has a small blemish or two earned on the track.
“1969 is really about an era when I grew up,” says Keith Helmetag, “and when I did things like surfing at the beach, hiking in the woods…” “This car really embodies that outdoors, ‘go for it’ spirit.” He may just be right: 1969 was a particularly great vintage for Alfa Romeo’s long-lived Duetto “Spider”. With hardly any option but to motor with the top down, the tiny car’s form drops away at each end—a stylistic trick that helps immerse both driver and passenger in the scenery around them. An artist and designer by trade, Helmetag was also drawn to this particular car’s color. “In choosing a color, most Alfa Romeos are red. But I’m an eccentric, I like something a little bit different,” he says. “The green really appeals to me because I love nature, I love being outside.” Don’t think you’ll catch this stunning Duetto tucked away in a garage somewhere: with tastefully applied upgrades, he covers more than 5,000 miles per year, often taking it to meetings and other more practical engagements. Still, the open road is never far away. “I’ve just gone through another restoration…so the car is ready for another decade or more,” he says.
“I love the aspect of handmade, I love the aluminum work…” says Scott Gauthier, “I love that every one of them is unique.” “I’ve really been taken by that,” he adds. Once you hear Gauthier—an avowed fan of Italian coachbuilder Zagato—talk about this particular car, it’s clear this little jewel is something special. You’re looking at the only known surviving 1949 Fiat Topolino 750 MM by Zagato, one of a handful originally built…and a car that even raced flat-out in period at Italy’s harrowing Mille Miglia road race. It may be from before his time, but Gauthier knows the car inside out: he’s the one who restored it. “I’ve always loved working with my hands,” he says, explaining how he eventually found himself years later making his own jewelry. “Restoring cars, I think is one of the joys of owning a car… Because of the world I’m in, nothing really scares us. You just can’t look at it as too serious of a thing,” he says. “It’s just metal, paint, it’s forming, and it’s fabrication.” Judging by the numerous awards the car has been honored with since restoration was finished, this rare car will likely survive far into the future thanks to Gauthier’s own two hands.
“The Esprit is not a well-known car,” says Spencer Canon. “Car guys know what it is, but they don’t know much about it—it’s a mystery.” Canon’s profession as the founder and creative director of Ritte Bicycles may not be your first guess, but when you consider that performance cycling is all about doing more with less, well—a Lotus Esprit is the perfect sports car to have. Designed as one of the first examples of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s revolutionary wedge shape, Canon’s Esprit was from the generation updated by Peter Stevens (who also did the McLaren F1). It looked stunning…when new. “When I got the car, it just looked absolutely terrible,” he says. Faced with the prospect of fixing a trashed Esprit, Canon realized something liberating: “I had a car that was probably never going to be in a truly original state again, and that gave me permission—in my mind—to do a few things to it that the original designer wouldn’t be upset with…hopefully.” “If I can save a car from going to the dump or being parted out, then it’s excusable if it’s not painted the original color or has wheels from five years later…” he adds. Now tastefully updated, painted in striking light blue, and lightened beyond its stock form, this Esprit is finally the light canyon rider that Canon dreamed of creating.
“It was built in Italy…then it went to the Paris auto show, got great reviews…” John Breslow says, “It really became kind of a famous car, all by itself.” “This is unusual: that someone without great wealth could go and show the great coachbuilders in Italy and Europe his model, and to pull it off—it’s kind of the American dream to be able to do something like that.” Gordon Kelly was a Wisconsin-based designer who had the wish to design his own sports car—and so in the early ’60s had traveled to Europe to make his dream come true. He wasn’t a wealthy guy—he was just a “normal” enthusiast—and that’s what attracts Breslow to the unique and storied history of this car one-off car. Breslow’s Kelly Corvette, bodied by Vignale, is a 1-of-1 machine that’s completely unique. Its styling is out-of-this-world, especially for what used to be (and is still underneath) a 1961 Chevrolet Corvette. Thankfully, its rarity doesn’t mean it’s a trailer queen—he’s even done the Copperstate 1000 rally in the car. “It’s one-of-a-kind, it can’t be replaced, so I’m really careful with it…” “It’s like a van Gogh you can drive,” he says. Complete with all of its history, including a final paint job in 2004 under the now-deceased Kelly, this is one sculpture that should be thundering down the road for years to come.
“My car is a perfect example of me, in a sense of—it’s no frills. When you look at the car, and know it’s about business,” says Savant Young. “I carry the same demeanor myself—when you get locked in a cage with someone else, business needs to be done at that point.” For mixed martial artist Young, martial arts and cars have much more in common than you may first think. They both enjoy strong, inclusive communities, both have their highs and lows, and both provide a rewarding challenge that can last a lifetime. “It’s a labor of love in both aspects,” Young says. Young’s car of choice is a 1973 Mazda RX-3, a car he calls Mazda’s “enforcer”, because it was brought out to compete with sports cars from Nissan, Toyota, and Honda. It’s been extensively modified, and from its aerospace-grade braking system to its Toyota pickup truck rear end, it’s prepared to be a thrilling canyon companion. Young estimates the rotary is pushing out an “all business” 400 horsepower. “There is an emotional connection. I like to be seen in the car, I like people to ask me about it, and tell me stories of how their uncle had one, because that’s how I came across it, it was through my uncle.” “I work hard Monday through Friday, and I drive my car every weekend,” Young says. “If there’s a car show, I swear I’m probably out there most of the day, drinking beer and cleaning the car. It’s therapeutic…”
“We’ve had Porsches in our family for decades…my father’s had a billion of them, I think,” says Deryck Shakespeare. “But my very first memory [of this car], and my fondest one, is when I put the keys in the ignition and drove it out of my uncle’s garage.” The story of how this 1978 Porsche 911 Turbo ended up with Shakespeare isn’t typical, but speaks to the bond between enthusiasts. “My uncle was really ill at the time, unfortunately…Yeah, he was going to die, basically…and he rang me up [from] the hospital and said, ‘Look, wondering if you want my car…” From that ending, a new beginning: Shakespeare’s young son, Elvis, is now able to bond with his father over their shared love for the Turbo. The younger Shakespeare will need some training, though: these cars aren’t for the faint of heart. Only 28 of these were brought into Australia in 1978, but many haven’t survived. “A lot of people bought these cars…and didn’t come home,” Shakespeare says, “…these cars ended up around poles, ended up around trees, ended up upside-down…and, the technology isn’t in the car to cope with the amount of horsepower, really.” It’s all worth, it, though, as long as this cherished family car lives into the future. “You look at the car and you don’t think, ‘Oh gee, it looks old’…” he says. “What you see is a piece of history that will never be repeated.”
“This car draws people’s attention—mostly its vintage folks—usually 2002 owners, they say, ‘I love your 2002’ and then they realize it has four doors and the whole Neue Klasse’ story comes into play,” says Jim Huff, the owner of this rarely-seen BMW. What is this small BMW sedan? It’s a 1600 ‘Neue Klasse’, so-named for the “new class” of cars that the company developed to save the company in the early ’60s. This car led directly to the company’s longstanding success in touring car racing, which was literally born from the 1600’s incredible performances by privateer racers in Europe. After stumbling on the car a few times—including in a gift from his wife—Huff decided to find one of his own. “I was seeking knowledge, and trying to find one,” said Huff. He found this example on Craigslist, saying, “I wasn’t going to walk away without getting that car in some shape or form.” “This car gets used in several ways. It does highway runs…it gets driven on the backroads of California quite a bit,” he says. “In my own right, with a group of friends that drive Alfas, Porsches, you name it—we drive the backroads alone, once or twice a month. This car’s geared to hang.” Huff’s future plans for his Neue Klasse? To drive it, of course.
“The adventure began when we left the driveway,” says Larry Shank. “And that’s what was neat about the Jeep and the teardrop; you became part of the country from day one.” Shank is the proud custodian of this 1953 Willys Jeep CJ-3B and 1947 Ken-Skill Kustom Kamper Model 10, both bought by his father in period and used during their entire lives by his family for exploring the U.S. while on vacation. Traveling off the beaten path may seem extreme, but he has a different perspective: “You arrive not exhausted but exhilarated; because you’re already there, you’re already on vacation…” His father taught him how to drive the Jeep and fix the Jeep, and set up camp; their relationship was close and unique, he says. For his father, vacations were a way to reconnect with nature after months at a demanding job at Lockheed. “You could not go the places he wanted to go unless you had this. There were dirt roads, sandy roads, where a normal car would not make it,” Shank says. “The Jeep could get him every place he wanted to go.” Even today, Shank’s Jeep explores wherever his son wants to go.
“There’s a certain demand for a driver’s car that optimizes handling weight, exposure to the elements, and that very visceral experience that sort of makes you have to take a shower after driving it—for all the right reasons—you’ve got rocks in your hair and everything else.” Geoff Wise’s Lotus Super 7 is not only an elemental sports car, but an opportunity for curious onlookers to wonder, “What the–?” “People will just come up and talk to you,” he says. In a first for Petrolicious, you’re looking at a ‘kit’ car. In order to get around a hefty import tax on British vehicles imported into the U.S., the car was supplied in part form, along with ‘disassembly’ instructions from Lotus that were intended to be followed in reverse… As a result, many 7s have been developed, customized, and lovingly altered over the years to suit its owner’s wishes. Wise loves driving, so this 7 has been built for that—can you get a more pure driving experience than this ex-race car for the street? Probably not; the Lotus 7 is a legend for a reason, after all.
“I always wanted a V8, manual, rear-drive—and then there was Smokey and the Bandit,” says Gregg Hamilton, “When I moved here to America, [I realized] this is the only place in the world where I can really own one.” Wanting something that’s American, New Zealander Hamilton settled on this Pontiac Trans Am—that is definitely not like any other. Using tricks learned from years of working with some of the best World Rally Championship teams in the world—including Toyota Team Europe and Prodrive—Hamilton’s Firebird has been given handling to match its extensive engine modifications. “I needed something to do, so we found this car on eBay, and flew to Alabama, picked it up at the airport sight unseen…[and] it sort of just evolved into what it is today.” From its wider bodywork, to custom engine computer, to fully revised suspension and brakes, it’s “about as quick as a Z06 Corvette,” he says. Sound far-fetched? As someone whose day job is spent building and testing Ken Block’s latest projects, we’d believe him. “I like the mechanical-ness of it. I like the engine bay…I like that you can see the injectors, and plug for ECU…There’s no wheel arches in there, so you can see the uprights and the roll bar,” says Hamilton. “It’s not always about the drive for me. It’s about the build of it. It’s about tinkering with it…”
“In 1980, I had the chance to drive a brand-new R5 Turbo,” Christophe Guerin says, “and it was such a thrill that I got hooked.” That encounter, when he was 20, eventually led Guerin back to the Renault 5 Turbo 2 later in life. He certainly grew up in the right part of the world in order to become a car enthusiast: France. “I was born in Le Mans, 15 minutes away from the legendary circuit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” Guerin says. “My father worked at the Renault factory in Le Mans, and he was a handyman, so he gave me his passion for mechanics and repairs.” What began as studies in a technical college led to wrenching for local rally teams, learning from the masters, and seeing what made cars fast. But a love for the tiny Renault never faded. Finally, after years, he asked a friend to find a good one to buy. “I need one,” he said, “Find a pristine one for me, and make sure it’s red.” As it happens, the car he calls his “treat” was about to enter his life for good. “When I saw it coming, it was…I almost dropped to my knees,” he says. “That sound—you can’t forget it.”
“Driving this car through the hills is a great experience. There’s really nothing else on your mind when you’re going through the gears, and onto the brakes into a corner, and then accelerating through…” says Addison Lee. “There’s nothing else that you’re thinking about…it’s almost like taking a vacation after going for a drive in a car like this.” The relationship Addison has with his 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback is quite special, as it’s been his car since he was a teenager. Just about the only thing on the car that was complete when he bought the car? The Shelby GT 350 look-alike paint, so Addison decided to get some mileage out of that improvement and just hasn’t gotten around to changing it. His father, Don, helped him put the car together to go to school in, and it’s been in the family ever since. Addison’s Mustang has influenced his career, too: he’s currently a competitor in the SCCA Spec Mustang series. “Cost us a lot of tires, a lot of brake pads,” his father says, “but I know it was the foundation for him being a very accomplished race driver.” Though Addison’s car is not a Shelby GT 350, it’s been treated to a number of serious performance upgrades, including a 347 stroker with “about 430 horsepower and the same amount of torque,” he says. His racing experience means the car’s suspension and brakes have also been overhauled, so that it handles “a lot better”. “In my mind, there are few other cars that are as fun to drive,” he says of the Mustang. “The way they smell and even feel is something, for me, that’s hard to beat.”
“When these cars were new, sports cars were still a relatively new thing in the U.S.,” says David Swig. “You could either afford Ferraris and Maseratis, or Alfas and Fiats—my father, Martin Swig, was always on the Alfa and Fiat end.” With a father who was incredibly active in the car hobby, his sons David and Howard naturally picked up his passion for classic vehicles. Now, the two sons regularly tour together, restore, collect, and put their own stamp on the industry they love so much. Here, two of their favorites: 1959 Alfa Romeo Veloce Zagato, in red, and a 1960 Giulietta Sprint Veloce, in white. The Zagato started life as a racing car, while the white car is mildly upgraded but has been the “driver” in the Swig household for the last 35 years. “When you get behind the wheel of each, you really see the advancements that were made,” Howard says. “It’s interesting to drive these cars back to back, which essentially have a lot of the same underpinnings, but when you get behind the wheel it can be a totally different experience.” Our dad was great in a lot of things…but as we get older and get some experience we also see things he could have done better…” Howard says, “…we have a lot of years ahead of us to make it better, and make it our own.”
“We always want what we can’t have,” says Jay Kho. “The Supra, back in the day, you could go to a dealership and purchase one. You could never purchase a Nissan Skyline…it’s like a treasure you never want to let go.” Born in the Philippines, Jay Kho grew up with a car trading, street racing father who would race his Japanese car, “at Midnight,” he says. Once he emigrated to the U.S., however, Kho became quickly immersed in American and European cars, which were totally foreign to him at the time. After owning a few interesting ones, including a ’66 Ford Mustang, a chance encounter with an imported-but-hidden 1983 DR30 Nissan Skyline became an obsession. “I grew up in the ’80s, I’m an ’80s kid. Look at this car, and right away, you know it’s ’80s. It’s made in the ’80s. It’s so boxy, just the angular shape to it,” Kho says. After changing the engine to an SR20 and freshening the car as needed so he’s able to enjoy it, Kho’s R30 Skyline is road legal and his pride and joy. Despite its ‘Godzilla’ nickname, he’s modest about its performance, saying the SR20, “…has decent power, enough for me to enjoy it”. Now that he has his dream car, will Kho sell it? Not a chance—he’s still surprised he has the keys to a DR30! “It’s something that we could only dream of and aspire to,” he says. “Knowing that you have it in your garage…I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s there…”
“When I was a kid, I was so into cars, I had Road & Track, Car & Driver, I had Autoweek, I had all that stuff,” says Del Necessary. Inevitably, those publications ended up at his mom’s house; “…one day she was like, ‘I’m not holding onto this stuff, come get it,’ and I thought, ‘What am I going to do with all this?’ so I got rid of all those magazines… but I kept all the ones on the 16-valve.” A few years later, after a chance encounter with a classified ad, he was the proud owner of a 1983 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16. Its racing success and subtle engineering advancements are what appeal to Necessary and his wife. “I think it’s a beautiful car,” he says, “…my wife complains it’s a box.” A lifelong car enthusiast, Necessary has a small stable of classics from around the world, and while the others are all overtly sporty cars, the 4-door 190E is subtly menacing with a factory-fitted aerodynamic body kit. Menacing? Despite having less than 170 horsepower, its 2.3-litre engine was reworked by the British engineering specialists Cosworth, and the entire package was more than enough to challenge the E30 BMW M3 in period. “Sixteen valve [engines] were kind of peaky, you know, until it got up on the cam,” he says, “…but it definitely kicks in at about four grand, and comes alive.” He returned it to stock once getting the car, and apart from its European “Evo” wheels, remains as true to original as Necessary was able to get it. Once its daily driver, now, it get exercised regularly—early morning drives through the mountains are what Necessary loves most.
“Sometimes, there are things that are a little bit unorthodox, or a little bit extraordinary in one way or another, that deserve to have their story told so people remember they exist,” says Sam Fankuchen. “This [Commando] gets mistaken way more often for something else than identified for what it is.” So what is it? A 1970 Jeepster Commando, one of those domestic classics one doesn’t see too often. Over three generations from 1966 to 1971, only about 60,000 were made—and few survive today. That hasn’t discouraged Sam, however, whose Commando is fitted with a rebuilt and upgraded Dauntless V6 underhood and a number of other aesthetic and performance modifications. He says parts are about $100 for “anything that might break” and the pair have driven just about everywhere in California—way off-road, of course. “The gauges are not stock, but apart from that, nothing was added. In fact, things were subtracted,” he says. “I stripped out the all the interior and put [truck] bed liner in front to rear so I could just hose it out and not worry.” Inside, Recaro seats from a Mk1 Volkswagen GTI were recovered in marine leather, making them impervious to the elements (and Sam’s wetsuit). As it sits, the Commando is about as simple and robust as 4x4s get. “It was harder, more expensive, less safe to drive this thing every day, but I did it because I was committed to the project, I did it so that one day I’d be able to introduce my kids to cars like this,” Sam says. “When you’re looking at the future of our economy here, it’s really important to encourage an interest at a young age…” “…the next time a little kid sees this car and it makes him really happy, I know it maybe ignited a sense of understanding or appreciation for math and science and mechanical systems, which I think are going to be really important for people to continue to care about.”
“Once you get it on song, get up to 7,000-plus-revs, it was absolutely amazing,” says racing driver Derek Bell, “…and the fact you could brake so perfectly, flick it into a corner, put the power on…it just wanted the hell driven out of it.” Former Porsche works driver Derek Bell wasn’t just driving any classic Porsche on any road—he was driving the Targa Florio-winning 718 RS 60 on the actual Targa Florio course in Italy. Noted for its 800+ corners, dozens of hairpin turns, and danger everywhere else, the Targa Florio is still a revered, respected, and cherished event in Sicily, where it was held in period. Bell’s career, however, happened much later and he never did get a chance to drive Porsche’s diminutive giant-killer in period competition. “I never imagined I’d ever drive this car, I never imagined I’d ever drive on the Targa Florio…” “Here I was having this opportunity to step back in history, if you like, before my time with Porsche. When I realize that, and think about what Porsche has meant to me during my life, and what it’s done for me, I realize how lucky I’ve been to go back before my actual period with Porsche and drive a car that created history in 1960, and even before that.” Even for an accomplished motorsport veteran like Bell, the former racing car and course presented a number of challenges. “It took me some time to get completely confident with what I was doing, because I’ve never gone through so many hairpin bends in my life,” he says. “I had a very special feeling that I can’t really put into words, but it was almost choking me when I put it into 1st gear and driving it up the road, and that feel—it’s actually the feeling of freedom,” Bell says, “…because I was on my own, on this amazing course, nobody around, and I was driving through corners that the greats had actually gone ’round those corners.” Bell had to keep telling himself: “You’re not on just a bit of
“My favorite part about the car…is probably that I own it,” says the owner of this Dinalpin A110, David Griffiths. “I've wanted one of these for thirty-odd years. I finally managed to find one—in America of all places…[and] I'm not going to let it go.” Growing up in a car family, David was always interested in quick machines but never really saw anything like this tiny sports car until he was in that country for school exchanges—and he was hooked. “I'd see these little French cars buzzing around the countryside, cars we never used to get in England. They were designed for mountain passes. With the engine in the back, you could really push it and throw the car into a turn…it kind of intrigued me.” Through years of patience and some good fortune, he finally tracked down his dream car—and he’s only the machine’s third owner. When David got the car, it had been sitting, but this enthusiastic driver wasn’t going to let his sports car languish in a garage. “I needed to get the car running. That was the first step. Then after taking it on a couple of events, I realized it just wasn't going to keep up with anybody…it couldn't get out of its own way.” Now with subtle upgrades to improve reliability, drivability, and performance, David’s Dinalpin is going to be getting canyon road workouts for years to come.
“My first motorcycle was a Honda CBR600,” says Sarah Lahalih. “Part of the reason that I ended up with the bike that I’m riding today, the CB, is because I kind of struggled riding that 600 as my first motorcycle, as anyone would, without any proper instruction.” “But I knew that from the first time I was on my own motorcycle that I would ride forever.” Her “terrible” and “uncomfortable” 1973 Honda CB175 may be a humble classic machine, not to mention, “a little unpredictable and totally impractical,” but there’s good reason for why Sarah loves this bike. “I’d been riding for almost two years without really knowing how to brake or corner, I finally took the course, it was really empowering for me—life changing—and so I went on to become an instructor for that course, and then quickly went on to open my own school, which I owned and operated for 10 years in Chicago.” In the meantime, she’s trained instructors to build motorcycle training courses for the U.S. military personnel, she’s a writer, an expert witness for motorcycle accident cases…and races them as well. Her other passion? Boxing. A champion boxer for “three or four” years before losing a match, she sees many similarities between the two. “I love the movement of both of them,” she says, “…but from a personality standpoint, every activity I’m involved with involve moments of complete composure until moments of rocket launches…those moments of glory”. “Boxing and motorcycling are both really vulnerable activities because of the potential to get hurt,” Lahalih says. “It kind of teaches you how to be uncomfortable. If you’re willing to be uncomfortable, the reward is you get to drive and ride really awesome machines.”
“Some day, down in the future, whoever ends up with this car when it leaves my garage—they may choose to restore it,” says Dave Adams. “…but I hope if and when that happens, they do it with the correct lens so it’s not over-restored.” This 1957 Aston Martin Mk III is actually the prototype for the Mk III range, and was not only used for official testing and design duties, but had also been entered into the Monte Carlo Rally. As Adams explains, the Mk III represented a huge number of both endings and beginnings for the marque. “When Ian Fleming wrote Goldfinger in 1957, the gadget-filled Aston Martin, it was a Mk III. The movie was made in 1964,” he says. “Sean Connery drives a DB5, but James Bond drives a Mk III.” Adams has been working with classic cars since he bought and old Jaguar while a student in high school, and through years of learning, gaining experience, and importing classic cars—since the ’70s—he’s built a life around motoring. His beloved Mk III has remained in Adams’ care since he bought the car in England, and he knew from the get-go that this prototype was a special car. “I would call it a nice used sports car,” he says. “I sort of think it’s been art directing itself over these years…to me, this car’s perfectly awful—I love it the way it is.”
We’ve been blown away by the positive response to our film featuring the 1960 Targio Florio-winning Porsche 718 RS 60 being driven tastefully by Derek Bell. But’s time to come clean, however: we’ve been holding a little bit of footage back. Ever wonder what this lightweight mid-engined Porsche looks and sounds like from the driver’s seat? This is our uncut experience featuring one of Derek’s runs in the car, and once the Porsche is up to temperature it’s clear the car is begging to be driven faster and faster. The pair weren’t out to set speed records, but keep in mind how quickly they’re traveling given how harrowing and narrow the roads in Sicily are.
“In my case, when I started looking for BMWs, I gravitated toward the 1991…the 1991 coupé is the last coupé they made in the E30…” says Delia Wolfe. “The 318IS is the ‘baby’ M3; it doesn’t put out as much horsepower or torque…but it was the spiritual successor, if you will, to the 2002.” “It has everything you’d want in the 2002,” she says. Delia is the proud owner of a 1991 BMW 318IS, one of the last of the simple, mechanical, engineering-driven driver’s cars the Munich firm built its reputation on. “I found it down in Aptos, near Santa Cruz, somewhat sad and neglected—but I fell in love, because it reminded me about my 2002, and my Tii. And those cars were the cars I grew up on, those were the cars I loved first.” Wolfe has been able to repair and restore her car—she’s a BMW mechanic, restorer, and expert—since 2008, with it remaining tied to commuting duties as well as just about anything else, from flinging it through a twisty road or embarking on a longer road trip. “The E30 has its own cult following. People found that you could modify them with very little money, and that the cars were durable, and that there’s all kinds of places to exercise your passion,” she says. “There’s lowered and ‘stanced’ E30s, then you’ve got E30 spec racing, there’s a rally series…people run drift cars—every facet of racing seems to have a place for the E30.” “When you choose a car, you should choose carefully,” Wolfe says. “If it’s not the right car for you, don’t keep it…[but] I have to admit, I have got a kind of a jaded view in favor of the E30.”
“If I have a big smile on my face,” says Spike Feresten. “I know I’ve made a wonderful decision…and this car delivers it every time.” Spike says a lot of that’s due to the car’s sound, “…just a hair under illegal; inside, it’s a one-car Trans-Am race”. He’s not joking: his beloved 1968 Porsche 911L is actually a factory race car built in period for Trans-Am competition. That’s right: he’s able to drive this ex-race car on the streets and through L.A.’s famous nearby canyons. “I never knew I was destined to be someone who craves the experience of a street legal race car. I don’t mean racing on the streets, just driving a race car on the street!” he says. “That’s the whole car experience, living a life beyond my wildest car dreams.” Through a series of coincidences, the car is famous for other reasons—not only was it raced in period by comedian “Dickie” Dick Smothers but it featured in period Porsche advertisements, and was even a prized poster on a friend’s wall. “What do you mean, it’s got a title? I could put a license plate on that, and just, drive it and pick up groceries? For me, that’s irresistible.”
“These Fords are rarely altered,” says Thorsten Seitz. “Everything has already been done already…For example, VW, they don’t even know what else to improve on their Golf to stand out from the crowd…” “I like economy cars from Ford,” he says. “Let’s put it this way, I’m not someone who speeds. Rather, I drive on the freeway like a retiree…” Seitz’ collection of Fords really is impressively humble, as is his mechanical know-how. Whether it’s bringing a Cortina back from the dead or keeping an Escort on the road, his love for these mechanically simple classics running is to be applauded. So, too, should his taste in modification. “On old cars, many put exhaust tips, mud flaps, or some chrome trim that doesn’t belong there,” says Seitz. “No, I like to keep it very simple.” “There are people who do it differently, but everyone has to come to terms with himself. I just know that I don’t waste my time on things that aren’t worth it, it’s as simple as that.”
“We were left behind the rally because we broke a differential unit,” says William Medcalf, continuing: “…after fitting the differential unit we loaded the car up with out kit and we drove the car non-stop for 66 hours…” “Drove it from Ulaanbataar to Biysk, in Russia, on our own, unsupported, across the Gobi Desert…” You’d think that this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for William, but it wasn’t. In fact, he’s been around these big Pre-War Bentleys since he was a child. A typical vacation for his family was a nine-month road trip, undertaken in this same car. Thankfully, he’s an owner who believes that these big cars are at their best when being driven hard. “Anything with wheels should be raced. Everything with wheels should be driven to the limit.” “The best way to see a car is coming sideways through a chicane,” he says. A trained machinist who knows vintage Bentleys better than just about anyone else, William has devoted his life to uncovering the surprising secrets of these famously durable and sporting cars. So if you’re in a remote corner of the world and see a Pre-War Bentley catching you like you’re stuck in neutral, our advice is to give William a wave through and marvel at one of the most epic vintage tourers.
“It’s a car enthusiast’s collection, right,” says John Campion. “I don’t have cars because I want to impress anybody. If you don’t know what a rally car is, you’re kinda like, ‘That’s a dirty car, there are cracks on it’… But I find the passion I have for these cars goes back to the individuals who drove them.” Beginning as a “lucky” immigrant to the U.S. in 1984 with $26 in his pocket, Campion has worked hard for the last few decades and is finally able to indulge in the vehicles most meaningful to him. From a Lotus Cortina similar to the Ford Cortina his father bought new in period to World Rally Championship rally-winning group B cars, his collection is definitely filled with fog lights and Martini stickers. “I grew up in Ireland in the late-’60s and early ’70s, and had a fascination with all things mechanical,” he says. “My father was a mechanical kind of guy, and we grew up restoring old tractors and steam engines—so once I started making a few dollars, I started purchasing cars, and went through the wholy myriad of cars and ended up where we are today, which is predominantly cars from my youth—rally cars.” He makes no mistakes in recognizing his limitations as a driver, because piloting some of the fastest all-road vehicles ever conceived takes a steel will and full committment— “I drive the car for 15 minutes, and I’m exhausted…” he says to convey how amazing Group B pilots were in period. “Group B drivers were the best of the best of the best…” he says. “But it’s still humbling to drive the same car as these rally legends; to be able to show the cars, drive the cars, and get a wider audience for these cars.” “If you own them and don’t show them, and you own them and don’t drive them, and own them but don’t share them…it’s a rich man’s folly.”
“I’m an architect, and I’m very design-oriented. I think it’s a classic that everybody likes; you don’t need to be a car aficionado to like this car,” says Miguel Rodrigo. “I’ve driven it very hard from border to border twice with no problems whatsoever…” And that’s how Miguel describes his beloved Jaguar E-Type, a vehicle prized not only for its rarity, but for its beauty, performance, and, now, years of happy motoring memories—including its role in staging Peru’s version of the Cannonball* rally. After a number of entrants dropped out, the field flew away from the start, with Miguel and his E-Type finishing four hours ahead of second place, not bad for a race across Peru in a vehicle he’d bought at a U.S. auto auction. “The fun part is the traveling, not getting to Point B,” he says. “Sometimes, people only think about getting to Point B, but they don’t have the enjoyment from the whole process of traveling.”
“This bike is about history, it’s about my dad…it’s about what started a life-long passion for motorcycles, it’s what launched a career,” Tom McComas, “…and it’s why I’m a Hollywood stunt man.” In 1963, the first thing Tom’s father—also named Tom McComas—did when he was discharged from the military was to buy a BMW R60 motorcycle. This motorcycle. It was at times colored black, orange, and had a sidecar, which is how Tom Jr. began to experience the “euphoric feeling” he enjoys to this day. “When I’m riding it and I look down and see the speedometer, it takes me back to 13, 14, 15 years old and having snuck the bike out, riding it on the North Shore of Chicago…it’s a trip, I can’t describe it,” Tom says. “For him to have the bike makes me feel that it couldn’t be in better hands,” says Tom Sr., “…and I have total confidence that Tommy is going to love the bike as much as I do.” “Wherever I drive, there’s a part of him riding with me; if it wasn’t for my dad and this motorcycle…motorcycles have been with me ever since, because of my dad.”
“My general rule for cars that I purchase and drive is the aesthetic has to have a unique design, and there has to be a performance piece,” says TJ Grewal, owner of this Alfa Romeo Montreal sports car. “I’d never ever seen one in person, but I just knew that I was in love with the design.” “The first time I ever saw a Montreal, was this one.” His relationship with his cars is somewhat different from most, as they seem to dovetail with his other big hobby: photography. What started as capturing landscapes for TJ quickly turned into honoring his small but growing collection. “The professional side of life pays for everything else—this is the creative outlet. I want the car to be the hero, I want it to feel timeless.” “It went really quickly from fooling around with a constant light in the garage at a home to this setup, it was like, [snaps fingers] this is what I’m going to do…” For the Montreal, its 2.6-litre V8 with about 230 horsepower is “really happy around 90-100 mph” says TJ, with the car a perfect companion for a laid-back drive on a winding road.
“That car isn’t just me, it’s all the people I’ve interacted with to get to this place,” says John Benton. “I bought this car at 23 years old, I didn’t have all the answers…My car is the result of all those little journeys, here and there…” Now, John has his own shop that caters to classic Porsches, but it’s really about how he got to this point—a journey happened in his beloved 912. “I’ve heard people say that my car is me. You know, when they see it, when they drive in it, they’re like, ‘Man this car’s you, it’s so obvious’,” he says. “That wasn’t my intent, but it’s neat to hear from people—even strangers—you know, ‘you built this car, it’s so obvious’,” he says. His car had been found, driven, taken apart, repaired, restored, and loved over his many years of ownership, and the 912 really was his companion. “It was my daily driver…and weekend race car…” with modifications to suit both. Now, its heart is a “Very high-revving, twin-spark 1.7-litre, fuel injected 616 motor…” but to list off specs would do a disservice to Benton’s passion for these machines. “Everything I know put into a car…” he says. The only thing missing is his friend and former business partner, John Coffee, who died earlier this year…but not before completing his opus, a Datsun 240Z prepared for the Peking-To-Paris Rally. “John just hit a home run,” says Benton “…it’s his legacy.”
“The design of the car is definitely timeless. The body style, you see it evolving in new cars,” says Bryan Calvero, saying of his 1994 Lancia Delta Integrale Evo II, “…it was definitely ahead of its time.” How does a U.S. citizen buy a car that never ended up coming to North America? Well, for Calvero, a lifelong love for European sports cars pushed him to find his perfect Delta. “I grew up in L.A. County, in a small city called Cerritos, and the car culture in that city was predominantly Japanese cars, you know, Honda Civics, Integras, CRXs,” he says. “I’ve had a deep passion into European sports cars, thanks to my father.” What began as collecting every European model car he could get his hands on, Calvero moved onto books, magazines, events…and then his dream: to own a European sports car. “Learning about the pedigree and the race history about the (Delta) was only like kinda the icing on the cake,” he says. “I love cars with a great story, with a great race pedigree.” “I get a lot of people…they don’t know if it’s old or if it’s new, or modern,” Calvero says. “[but] you get that certain crowd that loses it when they see it.”
“From what I can remember,” says Loïc Maschi, owner of this Fiat 850 Sport, “at 6 months old they gave me a toy car, and I fell for it, that was the beginning of it. I’ve always had a passion for cars and especially for vintage cars, I used to make reports on car shows, races…I couldn’t picture myself driving a modern car.” “I fell in love with it, and I drove home with it,” he says of the first encounter with his brown classic car. But it wasn’t as easy as it seemed: the car needed a lot of work. You know, the type of work that requires a full restoration. Loïc’s adventure is fascinating; friends, family, and newfound friends all helped push him to finish the work to complete the restoration, a restoration that went through several twists and turns as he found his own limits as an owner-enthusiast-mechanic. The story of how this little car was finished in time to be shown at the Chantilly Arts & Elegance concours must have been spurred on by love: “…it’s my first car,” he says. “I think you all know you can love your first car.”
Wake up, walk down to the garage, and hop in your Ferrari: if there was a 288 GTO a few paces away, wouldn’t it be more effective than caffeine? This is our new series, Morning Coffee, and it just had to kick off with a furiously turbocharged supercar that people recognize more from posters...but not after you see this. The Ferrari 288 GTO was the company’s first real production engine to use turbocharging for outright performance, with byproducts including wastegate swooshes, flames spitting from the exhaust, and 400 horsepower. Lighter than the 308 series and utilizing advanced components like Kevlar in its construction, it’s a Group B car that simply was never able to compete in anger. Too bad then, but not now: all 288 GTOs made are street-legal, and can be fired up in much less time than an espresso. Does your idea of a morning jolt have a Prancing Horse on its flanks?
“We in Palm Springs embrace the mid-century modern design aesthetic, says Scott King. “We bought the first car,” says Sandy Edelstein. “We thought it was going to be a really big deal, really difficult to buy, an old collector car, and after we bought it, it really wasn't that big a deal and so it was like, "Maybe we should buy another one’?” It’s clearly evident that a passion for automobiles runs deeply with the duo, beginning when, as Sandy says, “Those were the days when the new cars always came out every September and they would put paper up on the windows of the dealerships. You'd go try to look in between the cracks in the paper to see if we could see the models and as soon as the paper were down, my dad took me and my brother to all of the car dealerships in town and we saw all the new models and sat in them. That was definitely where I got it from.” From a single collector car, another one came along. And another. And...well, from a Mid-Century Modern or “Jet Age” 1959 Mercury Park Lane to a 1992 Acura NSX, the pair’s collection is best described as intelligently eclectic. Each has its virtues. “We'll pile people into the Mercury or the Lincoln and give them a tour of the local sites and people are just thrilled to be in those cars and it sort of adds to that experience of seeing what's happening in Palm Springs, around town, and what things were like in the past,” Scott says. “It's really cool to be able to get out of a 59 Mercury and get into a Acura NSX and then get into a Cadillac Seville and then get into a Mercury Bobcat and then get into an Alpha Romeo,” says Sandy. “It's really wonderful to experience the full breadth of automotive cuisine.”
“This isn’t pure nostalgia, it’s not as if I want to get back to 1955, I just think there’s something—there’s an analogue world that’s coming to an end,” says Jeff Martin. “Everything’s sort of automatic, and you push a button and download an app, and…there’s nothing like that going on with the Alfa.” Alfa Romeos have been a fixture in his life since childhood, when a friend of his father’s showed up to the house in one. “The sound of the door, the sound of the key turning the ignition on, the sound of the e-brake being released, the sound of the carburetors springing to life, the sound of the precise shift from 1st to 2nd—that click, that you know you’re seated right there—the sound of the cams chattering in a low gear…” It’s as much an aural delight for Martin as it is one to the eye; the “Italian DNA speaks to me,” looking like it was from, “another dimension”—but when he finally could afford his dream car, found one, had it restored, and took delivery…an errant motorist destroyed the car before he could enjoy it. The new one that he found to replace it? “These hippies that lived up at Santa Cruz, they put it in the Recycler, and I bought it from them…” Martin says. “It just purred down the road…the moment I’m loving my drive down the 101, the gas tank falls off, showering sparks up its back…” Now, on the road and driven regularly, the car “speaks to” Jeff in a way that’s both unique and rewarding in his life.
“Racing, it’s not about the race—it’s about the trip” says Taz Harvey. “I mean, the trip is fabulous. Going down there, living in Mexico for two weeks, it’s an adventure.” Beginning with a well-handling Datsun 510 for the La Carrera Panamericana, Harvey realized after a few years of strong results that a faster car was needed to challenge for outright stage victories—and maybe eventually—a win. “The natural progression was the Z,” he said. This one actually came to him—some customers at the dealer he was at wanted to trade it in on a used pickup truck before converting it from an automatic-equipped street car to a 240Z ready for road rallying. “It has about 220 horsepower at the wheels—for 2,400-lbs, it gets with the program pretty good…” Harvey says. “On crowned roads in Mexico, when you’re going 100 mph, you’re constantly putting in steering input. That’s what makes it exciting…you’re really going fast.” Last year, Harvey and co-driver Rudy Vadjak finished first in Histórica B and sixth overall.
“My passion has always been cars,” starts Hans-Michael Gerischer, saying, “Cars always influenced me and kept me moving, and it’s really the only passion I could never let go of.” Heavy words, and even moreso when you consider Hans-Michael’s choice of car: a Porsche 911 (964) that he’s grown to love, cherish, and update since he moved on from driving the Volkswagen Beetle—a fundamentally similar car. “If you fix up Volkswagen Bugs and tune them, I mean the basic idea, the fundamental construction, is very similar,” he says. “Eventually, you reach the limits of the Beetle. So I decided to move on, and I bought a Porsche.” When you’ve spent your entire live infatuated with cars—first pining over them, then driving and fixing them—and settle on the 911, the journey makes sense. For this particular 964, it began as a daily driver, “and then, it more and more became a hobby car”. Learning to drive it during trackdays before starting to modify his car, Hans-Michael took a reasoned approach: “Eventually, my driving skills improved to a level where the driver was better than the car. This lead to improvements on the car”. Amazingly, his love for the car turned into a business called manufaktur964, where 911s are restored and built to a customer’s wishes—with his personal 964 a living showcase for what’s possible. Since buying his Turbo, the two haven’t stopped changing, with it being built to his exact standards for driving to, around, and from track days: “I’ve had this car for 21 years, and I never found something else that, for me, was worth replacing it with,” he says. “It’s just simply my car, end of story.”
“Around 2006, I drove down to the Half Moon Bay. The car was standing for years in a barn on a pumpkin farm,” begins Klaus Kutscher, Restoration Expert at BMW Classic. “It was really rough. A lot of parts were missing…” he says. Even finding a BMW 507 is an achievement, but true ‘barn find’ cars often require a Herculean amount of work to get right. This particular car had a saving grace, however: “We searched the VIN number and realized that the car belonged to Elvis.” That’s right: when Elvis Presley was based in Germany for the U.S. military, he drove this very car as his daily driver, even buying a second to give to friend Ursula Andress. As you could imagine, Elvis driving around Germany in a white BMW 507—of which there were roughly 250 examples made—wasn’t difficult to spot. “He loved the 507,” Kutscher says. “The car was normally white, and all his fans made kisses with lipsticks on the car, so he was mad and he painted the car red after that,” with Kutscher confirming the legend. It’s stories like those that helped to keep the restoration moving, even as the true measure of the task began to present itself. “The dashboard was cut and they had other instruments also in the car. They cut the frame. The car was painted twice, then black, and then after that again in red. Then the car [had] …a big accident.” Responsible for restoration at BMW Classic, the car presented both an opportunity to preserve history, as well as showcase the talents of his team in front of some serious crowds. After recently making its full public debut during Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance as the centerpiece of BMW’s 100-Year anniversary celebrations, the car will undoubtedly be active and present at classic car events for years to come. “We always want to keep the car in this condition. That means in perfect condition. Now you can see the result looks, for me, beautiful, more than beautiful.”
“Cars, for me, were not a part of my life before, living in Scotland—I didn’t even own a car,” says Owen Miller. “I came down to South America looking, basically, for work as a geologist. When I moved here, I bought a ’65 Mustang, and it sort of, all sort of went from there…” Working as a geologist in South America for the last 22 years now, Miller quickly gained an appreciation for what sort of classic cars he really enjoys—big American ‘boats’. After owning a number of different cars, a friend said to him, “You need a Cadillac,” to which he replied, “Well, yeah, of course…who doesn’t?” “When I park that car, I turn around and have a good long stare at it,” says Miller, who’s definitely not tired of his 1973 Cadillac Eldorado. “It brightens other people’s days, that’s the main thing about it.” But first, finding a Cadillac in Peru? Good luck—“There’s no Cadillacs here, I imported it.” As huge ’70s luxury liners are very much a rarity in Peru, the car still stops traffic, onlookers stare, and people are in appreciation for the old American convertible. With a pledge to keep it for as long as possible, it’s clear the car has made a lasting impression and Miller will be motoring with it for years to come. If you see a white Eldorado convertible in Peru, be sure to wave as the pair glides by.
“I was a bit skeptical about the color in the beginning, but I kind of like it now. It stands out, definitely,” says Torfi Sigurjonsson of his Speed Yellow 928. With a small list of cars to collect, the brightly-colored Porsche was actually #2. “On the top of the list was the E500, which I bought 2006, and this is a US model. I bought it in New Jersey.” Torfi’s day job? Airline pilot. “I was hooked on aeroplanes since I was a small kid. Nothing else was an option, other than being a pilot. I'm quite lucky really, to have a job,” he says. “It's a hard competition to get a job with the national carrier like Icelandair, but I made it there, I've been there for now 26 years.” Torfi agrees that there’s a connection between fast aeroplanes and fast cars—least of which their aversion to the winter months. But he doesn’t own his vehicles for speeding, saying, “It’s a nice feeling just to drive around, not too fast. You know of all the power in there, and knowing that you have it is a good feeling. You don’t have to be going 200-plus [kph].” With a busy working lifestyle and a dedicated hobby, no matter what, Torfi will always make room for the machines he loves. “I try to keep my life not too complicated, but I have this car fetish. V8 fetish. You only have one life, so I try to make the most out of it.”
“You picture, back in ’69, the guy that got in here, i mean, he had the coat and tie, thin cigarette in his mouth and driving this luxurious thing—to him, it was a Bentley of the time,” says Emin Kureghian. “Today, I get in, slam the door shut, turn it on, step on the gas; it’s not going anywhere and I have a laugh.” “They were pretty generic cars, there wasn’t much to it,” he says. He’s right: the car here sports a carbureted 4-cylinder engine, automatic transmission, skinny 14-inch wheels and tall tires, all a far cry from what BMW offers its customers today. Acquired at a charity auction after being in long-term storage, the car is unrestored but has been cleaned up and turned into a fine driver. Designed in-house by BMW, its spec sheet isn’t what matters: “It’s kind of a hybrid between the 02 and the newer coupes. It’s got lines from both—if you take a good look, you can see both sides of the story.” “The fact that it pulled [BMW] out of a sales slump is really something, like a whole new generation...almost like the E30 of its generation.” If Emin restores the car, it’ll be taken back to its original color, but for the time being, he’s just driving it tastefully, safe in the knowledge he’s been able to keep a part of history alive. “I’m part of the cause, so to speak—to me, it’s home.”
“I searched for a car to compete in the Mille Miglia. It was quite a long process to find the right car…so I searched, but there was one problem, how to convince my wife?” says Michael Stehle. “I convinced her to come with me…I showed her the car…‘Wait, wait, let’s start the engine’— ‘OK, you can start the engine’,” she said back. Once this ex-Works 1952 Ferrari 340 Spider by Vignale had cleared its throat, the verdict was in: “OK, you can buy this car,” his wife said. In the early 1950s, this was Ferrari’s supercar. This very car drove the Mille Miglia in 1952, with Enzo Ferrari appointing his top driver Piero Taruffi to race it—leading for much of the race before being felled by transmission troubles. Still, it would race in a number of other period events, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Targa Florio, always placing well against other top machines. “This car, you can like it or you can love it; but in my opinion, it’s a pure racing design, it’s reduced to a minimum,” Stehle says. “In comparison to Pininfarina, this coachbuilder tried to make the car more beautiful, maybe, but Vignale was just functional—I fell in love with the shape, it’s the minimum of design.” His first time driving the car was at the Mille Miglia, and that at first, it wasn’t easy to drive—more than 340 horsepower and a very lightweight body made him cautious until he grew more familiar with the car and, eventually, began to overtake his fellow drivers. But when the car was stopped during his first Mille Miglia, it was the Italian people’s unmatched respect for Ferrari that was perhaps most surprising. “They kiss the body, they want to see inside, because they appreciate the car so much,” Stehle says. “In 1952, this was the most important car for Ferrari at that time, they didn’t make too many cars; they didn’t have too much money. So they invested time, money, and all the effort in this car.”
We've been lucky over the years to have had the chance to not only see a few Alpine A110s in the metal, but to actually drive them. As an office we've had this saying for a while that "you don't really drive an A110, you wear it." It's somewhat of a running joke that has been tough to describe to outsiders. Any time the marque or model was mentioned, that phrase would come out and we'd all chuckle. That was until we decided to make a short film, the latest in our "Morning Coffee" series about what that experience is like. The cockpit is so intimate, so snug, so perfectly purpose built that it's akin to applying a wetsuit to yourself to go surfing. There's a certain ritual to the way you have to prepare to get in the car, to turn the key in the ignition, the whole thing is just so personal. This one is owned by our friend Jürgen Clauss, the man behind AlpineLab: “Sometimes, when stepping into my garage, and looking at my cars, I am surprised that it is already 30 years and the Alpine hasn’t worn out yet,” he explains from his German workshop that specializes in these small French sports cars. “I still like to look, drive, and work on these cars every day,” he says, “To me, it was always unique, always something special; you even had to have certain ergonomic prerequisites to drive an Alpine.”
When we first met with Daniele Spataro we were immediately enamored with his humble approach to collecting cars that much of our community has forgotten to the sands of time. How often do you run into someone who even knows how special a Fiat 1100 103 Vignale is, let alone owns one in as-new condition? We asked him to tell his story in our latest film, which you can also enjoy below. My first vintage car was a Fiat 100 Turismo Veloce from 1955 that I restored by myself at the age of 18. Because of it I developed a passion for these cars. In time this passion brought me to collect some derivatives of the 1100, like the "Barchette Da Corsa", "Stanguellini" the Volpini and so on. I live in Sicily and here you can still find the famous "barn finds" In people's garages and barns. I found several unique cars abandoned in barns, or in haylofts. To this day you can still find cars like that. The same happened with this unique car which is the 1100 Charmant Vignale derivated from the Fiat 1100 103. Only 12 were built, the body was built by Alfredo Vignale who usually only produced a set of 12 for each type. Designed by Giovanni Michelotti, who was one of the most important and prolific car designers in the world. Michelotti found his right-hand man in Vignale. Michelotti would design the cars and Vignale with his artistry would complete the body work. This car was built in 1953, one of the first of this type produced, it is really fun car to drive, but the singularity of this car is that it is essentially brand-new. I found it in Messina 4 or 5 years ago. Perfectly preserved, the odometer read 6,012KM since 1953. It was originally purchased by a wealthy lawyer in Messina, who picked the basic version and not the Turismo Veloce one because this version was more sober in body and accessories. So, since he was a discreet gentleman he picked this basic model but, when he ordered it he asked for some peculiarities, because he wanted this car's custom details not b
As we continue our exploration of Icelandic car culture, our next stop is with a very special friend of Petrolicious, Sigfús B. Sverrisson. To call Sigfús a "fixer" is an understatement. He was a tour guide. A Sherpa. A Chef. An Innkeeper. To say that our filming expedition to Iceland would not have been possible without Sigfús is a massive understatement. We profiled his stunning C3 Corvette in all its glory, and we interviewed him about how it found him. "When I bought this car I had my eye on the 82 Corvette because I liked the way they had changed the design and by removing emblems, logos, stripes, you get a really clean looking car and the flow of the lines, the white colour on this car, I think it’s lovely. The reaction to this car, you know, when people see it they smile and they look at it and they wonder if they know Corvettes at all. They wonder what’s different with this Corvette because it looks different from other Corvettes and that reaction is the one I enjoy. The bewilderment. It’s like we were stopped by the police the other day, my wife and I when we were out on an 80s date… I hadn’t gotten a ticket for like, 25 years or something, and he was writing the ticketing he was going, “er, I know this is a corvette what’ a Corvette? Is it like a Dodge?” For that I should’ve gotten off. I’m not as young as I used to be, that’s for sure. But in here I think it’s still there, thank god. My grandfather founded one of Iceland’s largest companies, importing Volkswagen, Landrover, later on Audi, so i’ve been around cars since I was born. When I was four, I could tell just by the lights what kind of car, what year, everything. I had hundreds of toy cars. If you look at the family album I would always have a toy car in my hand, everywhere. I made the most beautiful noises playing with them, of course. They’re probably antiques by now, like I am. I do remember vividly when I saw my first Corvette, and that was on a tr
Matt Jacobson is a simple man with specific tastes. He spent years tracking this car down, and we recently sat down with him to hear the full story: I always loved the car. It’s so elegant, it has this look of an Italian sports car of the era with all the VW underpinnings, and that extra foot, or however little bit longer it is than the regular Karmann Ghia platform. It’s very well-proportioned. The rear end is evocative of a round tail light BMW 2002. And, it has this bubble top roof that sits on very narrow B pillars that make it look like the hard top of a Mercedes 300SL Roadster. I had been looking for an original or mostly original example and since the car was never originally imported to America, very few were around, And, most of the ones I did see had been lowered and modified. Petrolicious actually has the most complete write up on the Type 34 and while there is a small community of Type 34 collectors online, the details are pretty sparse. ISP West in Carson, is owned by Alex Pagado, has really done the most to build interest in Type 34 VW’s. He knew I was looking for a Type 34, and didn’t want to show me his personal car that was hiding under a cover in his shop. He loved it and didn’t want to sell, but we ultimately figured that out. Without Alex’s VW knowledge and inventory, I wouldn’t have been able to put together such a great collection of early, unrestored cars. As a kid there were a lot of Karmann Ghias around, and they just never spoke to me. I have a greater appreciation for them now, but they lack the lines of the type 34. The type 34’s are often referred to as “razors” because of that sharp crease around the belt line. I think it just makes it so elegant and beautiful, and the regular Karmann Ghias don't have that. I'm starting to look at Karmann Ghias differently. I've seen some great ones around, but they just haven’t done it for me.
Jean-Luc Outreille is a simple man with a simple passion: Classic Alfa Romeos. We recently joined him to collect the full story of his Ochre Superstar: Alfa Romeo is, for me, the brand which represents, in all model variations, sport. The car that interested me, the car I liked, was the Alfa Romeo Bertone Coupé for its lines, its attitude on the track. It runs on three wheels, generally, it raises a wheel. I always told myself that one day I would have one. My name is Jean-Luc Outreille, and I drive an Alfa Romeo Bertone Coupé GT1300 Junior 1968. Why am I passionate about cars? I think it couldn't have been any different because my maternal grandfather was a mechanic, at FN, at Minerva. He worked in Scotland at Rolls-Royce. He returned, finished his career as a mechanic at General Motors, here in Mons. My paternal grandfather was executive chauffeur from 1928 to 1974. And in my early childhood, there were not many cars, not a lot of cars. And when I was five or six years old, we drove executive cars, cars from the factory where my grandfather worked, and I drove when I was a child in Ford Fairlanes, Ford Falcons, Ford Galaxies, Citroen Tractions, DS, Jaguars, from the factory. My father didn't spend all of his career... but he began it as a gas station manager. I was born in a gas station. I'd bathed in the smell of gasoline since childhood. We attended circuits. Chimay initially, I think, Francorchamps, Nivelles, when the Nivelles circuit opened. The car I liked was always the Alfa Romeo Bertone Coupé in GTA, in 1300 Junior, in 1600. I became interested in becoming a future buyer in the late 70s. Unfortunately, they were often in very poor condition. They were used cars. So I held on to this dream. And one day, I saw an ad on the internet, I waited, I thought, I said to myself: "Don't be hasty, we'll look at others.” But it was still there. Its color was yellow, Ocher yellow. I went to see it, and from the moment I saw it, I could
If you are someone who lives in the greater New York area, cares about classics, and haven’t heard of Dominick European Car Repair, we have to assume you are lying about one of the aforementioned. Like Ben & Jerry’s is to the Vermont Ice Cream Community, Dominick European Car Repair is the cornerstone of the New York Classic Community. Since Dominico Spadro, a Sicilian immigrant, opened its doors "back in the days when these exotic vintage cars were just cars" (1961) they have been helping Petrolistas across the North East keep their classics on the road. In addition they've built a worldwide following for their world class campaign support on rallies like The Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Colorado Grand and more. They are, without questions, legends of the classic world.
Jorge Nicolini is the proprietor of Museo de Autos Antiguos Colección Nicolini, Lima Peru’s only classic car museum. His 365 2+2 GT is a tremendous sight to see in a town like Lima, so when we had the chance to tell his story alongside the story of that car we had to jump at it. It is our pleasure to share this film, alongside with his first hand telling of his story below. Well, this is a passion. Really, I have this passion. I have had it since I was a boy, since I was young. So for me, what I like is to buy a car that is in bad condition and be able to restore it, to bring it back to life and to be able to use it, to drive it, to travel in it. My name is Jorge Nicolini, and I am the owner of the Automobile Museum here in Peru. The Ferrari that I have is from the year 1968. It’s a V12, a 365 2+2 GT. It belonged to Mr. Bertolero. He bought it new from Italy. He brought it to Peru in the year 1968. It was a car that was made for family use. It was for 4 people. It was a sports car with 12 cylinders, but a family car. I mean, it had all the pretense of a sports car. 800 of these models were made. Well I have liked cars since I was a child. I have followed the car races in Peru since childhood. As a child I was given a pedal car with inflatable tires, an English car, an Austin. You could open the hood and see 3 spark plugs. For me, that car was the best. But my family, my dad and my uncle they were reps for Packard and Mack trucks in Peru. So, as a young boy I was always going to the shops, looking at the new cars, the new Packards. I would get in them, and get in the trucks. So I started a long lived passion for cars. But I have also been a cart racer. I have been the Pan-American Champion here in Peru. I have raced in Chile, I have raced in Argentina I have raced in all of South America. I have even raced in the United States. I went to the last Italian Championship, but unfortunately because of a problem in my ribs I could not race. Th
The latest in our "Morning Coffee" series comes in the form of the iconic DB4 GT, gloriously lipsticked in white and driven in anger by its owner, Paul Michaels of Hexagon Classics. Introduced in the fall of 1959 the DB4 GT was a high output, low weight variant of the DB4 that was revolutionizing the company built by the car's namesake, David Brown. The wheelbase shorter, its skin replaced by aluminum, its rear seats removed, the DB4 GT was the car that would bridge the gap from the early design touring language of the DB4 into what would become the notorious car issued to 007, the DB5. In total, 75 DB4s would be completed in GT spec, with of course another 19 handed off to the team at Zagato. The engine though is truly where the GT shone in comparison to its non-GT brother, bringing an output of 302hp and a max speed hovering around 151mph. The cars were, in period, very fast. As Paul Michaels illustrates in our short film, they can indeed still hold their own on a crispy Sunday morning. The example we are looking at here was ordered from the factory by none other than Thomas Sopwith (yes, that Sopwith), and is one of only four in existence to be what is considered "Build Sheet" spec DB4 GT Lightweights designed to take on Ferrari's 250GT SWBs on the GT circuits of Europe. Needless to say, it's a very special car.
Tom McComas Senior is a simple man with only a few indulgences: family, friends, and BMWs. Several months ago we profiled him and his son around a very special R60 motorcycle that has been passed down from when he bought it new to his son Tom Jr., Hollywood Stuntman, who rides it around the streets of Los Angeles to this day. That BMW R60 would be the machine that would start a life long love affair with the marque, leading to an exceptional circumstance around his son's birth, and a CS available to buy in Joliet Illinois. “I ran into the dealership and said to the man, “Don’t sell that coupe! My wife is in labor and I’ll be back in the morning to buy it.” As he was running out the sympathetic manager of the dealership said to his salesman, “If you don’t sell it to that man, you’re fired.” He returned shortly, bought the car, gave everyone in the dealership cigars, drove back to the hospital and picked his wife and newborn up "starting them off in style".
Typically 2+2 body styles are less desirable to two-seaters—that’s true of the Datsun 240Z and the Lotus Elan. But with the Lotus the Plus 2 wears the larger size with elegance, and at a still-attainable price point. While not enjoying the valuation of the lighter drophead coupe, the 10 inches of additional width and two feet of length give the classic a character of its own. Brieuc like other Elan enthusiasts was initially looking for a convertible, but fell in love when he saw this 1972 +2 coupe in Lotus Yellow with matching numbers. Beautifully maintained on the outside with not even a hint of a crack in its fiberglass body, the Elan delights on the inside with its burl wood dash. “I’m an idiot but I love it. I love this car,” said Brieuc. Seeing the lithe, 2000-pound coupe in motion, we can see why.
There are cars with history, and then there is OKV 2. The second works D-Type to roll out of the factory in Coventry in 1954 was immediately handed to Sterling Moss, where he and co driver Peter Miller set a new record speed on the Mulsanne Straight. A chipper 172.97 miles per hour. Over the next years the car would be held by the hands of some of the most capable racing drivers of the era. Norman Dewis, Peter Whitehead, Tony Role, Ken Wharton and Duncan Hamilton just to name a few. It went on to a successful career in the mid to late fifties racing around the UK and European circuits, but not without a significant series of crashes and rebuilds. Jack Broadhead hired Bob Berry to race it at Goodwood, securing multiple podiums in period. In 1956 the car was painted a lighter BRG where it then placed 3rd at Silverstone and 1st at Goodwood. Later in the meeting it was heavily crashed…again. At that point most had considered it a total write off after a cartwheel at St. Mary’s. Mercifully the car was rebuilt…again. From Coventrycars.com: “Through 1956-1958 OKV 2 continued to be raced by a variety of drivers including Jack Fairman, Ron Flockhart, Peter Blond and cyclist Reg Harris. In 1958 engine changed at works from E2004-9 to E2065-9. Soon thereafter sold to Gerry Crozier. In 1960 sold, via Chequered Flag, to David Jaycox in Canada. Later owners included George Gordon, James Mace and James Catto between early 1960s and 1980. During this period, one driver was killed and car was crashed, around 1964, by A. Smith at Mosport Park. In 1980 403 was sold in damaged state to Geoffrey Miller (Canada), and soon thereafter sold to Lynx. Car that was re-imported was to late D-Type production specification with steel frame. In the early 1980s it was rebuilt and sold to James Wallis of Sevenoaks, UK. In 1995 it was sold to Robert Cooper of Gloucestershire, UK., and in 1999 to Terry Larson of the USA. Terry’s first drive in the car was racing at the Goodwoo
These are pieces of art. In those days, engines and cars had personalities, and you could certainly see that from driving them.” Explains Phillipe Reyns of his 1960 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder Vignale. Cruising through the desert back roads just outside of Scottsdale, Arizona, behind the wheel of his gorgeous blue over red leather Gran Turismo drop top, Phillipe retells the history that lead Maserati to infuse their racing roots into production cars. “Before the war in the 20s and the 30s, racing was their thing. They were not concerned about making road cars. The primary reason for existing was racing, but to have a road car to sell along side is what paid the bills for racing. So, it was an easy decision for Maserati to build a road car. These cars were selling for quite a bit of money in the day and they really helped Maserati keep racing.” Originally focused solely on racing, like many automobile manufacturers Maserati was faced with serious financial limitations post-war. It was decided building production cars would greatly benefit its competition program. “The history of the Maserati 3500 GT started, really, in 1957—the banner year for Maserati. They won the Formula One championship with the 250F, and then they had success with their sports racer, the S350.” Maserati continued racing and the world benefitted from some of Italy’s most beautiful creations, the rest is history.
Mr. Middleton is the founder and acting manager of Middleton Motor Services—an Ullenhall based full service garage established 30 years ago. “Well, I’ll tell ya’ what. It’s 50 years on the 11th when I started my Austin apprenticeship and I was into motor racing straight away a couple years later.” Middleton has shared quite the romantic racing history with some of the all-time great drivers and motorsport mechanics. In an emotional tone, Middleton reads off a personal letter from Fangio, thanking him for his help in the inaugural opening of the Fangio Museum. With a seemingly endless archive of Haynes repair manuals within reach, a collection of still frame memories with the likes of Sterling Moss and Fangio, and a gentleman’s humble charm, it’s clear Middleton is far more than a fan of racing—its been his entire professional life. “It’s total passion,” Middleton describing his lifelong mechanical career, “It’s something that you feel for.” Middleton’s understated white Delta doesn’t wear the commonly tacked on rear spoiler or Martini graphics. “The Lancia Integrale is a beautiful tool because it’s very unassuming. It hasn’t got a huge amount of horsepower, it’s got four-wheel-drive, which in these type of cars is very reassuring.” Instead, it’s clean and orderly, maintained with the upmost precision. Maintained in the only mentality this veteran serviceman knows how to, “Everybody can make something look good, but it’s what’s underneath the paints that counts.”
This week we take a ride in Gilles Dicham’s Colorado Orange 1972 BMW 2002 Touring through Beaucort, France. Gilles grew up with a Golf GTI driving mother and Panhard wheeling father—needless to say, Gilles was unable to avoid receiving his parents’ petrolhead passion. “So, today, I have over 12 vehicles at my house. I think the story will go on. My love is insatiable,” says Gilles in the most relatable gearhead mentality. With a tightly packed garage full of Panhards, old motorcycles, and Volkswagen GTIs, this plucky old Bimmer found its way into Gilles’ heart in a totally unrelated way. Gilles tells, “On race tracks, I met a few friends who drove BMW New Class, and I would regularly join them in the Parisian region to attend Club Horizon 2002 cocktail parties. That is where I came across this famous Colorado Orange Touring and fell in love immediately. Not for the model or the engine power, but really for the color.” It’s oftentimes an unusual reasoning or characteristic that draws us into a particular car, but once it grabs ahold of you, it seems impossible to avoid. Gilles ends the film on a note that rings all too true for the lot of us, “Unfortunately, I cannot help myself when an interesting product meets my eye, particularly when I have a history with a specific car.”
This week, in partnership with Toyota, we take a ride in Ron Ng’s pair of Toyota 86. Although 31 years separate Ron’s Toyotas, both cars were concocted from similar recipes intended to delivery a tasteful drive. If you’re unfamiliar with the famous Japanese econobox tuned driver’s bargain, listen to what Ron has to say. After owning eleven classic AE 86, he’s gained an encyclopedic knowledge of the Japanese nostalgic car commonly referred to as Hachi-Roku—literally translating to “8-6.” Ron can’t seem to shake his hankering for the AE 86. “Whether it’s the AE 86 or the new Toyota 86, they’re a blast to drive. I can't get away from it,” he says. After rebuilding six, Ron seems to be stuck with the hallmark Japanese hatchback, so he felt its modern equivalent, the new Toyota 86, would make the perfect addition. “Driving the new Toyota 86, it definitely has the characteristics of driving the older Corolla. It’s engineered to be a driver’s car,” Ron states. Referring to his latest ‘86 GTS build and personal favorite Corolla to date, Ron admits it’s not an inherently fast car, “It's a momentum car. You always have to push it. You’ve gotta learn your brake points properly to keep your RPMs up.” So when driving Toyota's newest sportscar, Ron said "it kind of comes natural." With the high-strung 4GE-swapped four-pot blaring, Ron wrings out his Hachi-Roku through the winding back roads of Southern California’s magnificent mountain terrain, emulating a picturesque scene torn from the pages of Japanese touge anime. “The new 86, or the old AE 86 Corolla, both cars share an amazing driving spirit. It makes you want to go out and have fun and enjoy yourself," satisfyingly explains. That’s what it’s all about.
This week we take a ride in Peter Lentz’s Porsche 964 through Iceland’s most scenic mountainous switchback b-roads. A commercial pilot for Icelandair by trade, Peter came across this jet black Carrera 4 and had to have it. “You know, because we don't have so many cars in Iceland for sale, I just grabbed the opportunity and bought the one that was on sale.” Not that you’ll hear Peter complain about the air-cooled beauty he had to ‘settle for.’ “I'm not especially keen on driving fast anymore. I used to when I was younger, but not anymore. I like flying fast, especially if you level off on top of the clouds. When you cruise along at 860, or 880, almost 900 kilometers an hour, you have an immense sense of acceleration and speed. So, I get my kicks for speed up there because on the roads it's not so sensible." Living along the northern 64th parallel, it’s amusing if not a tad coincidental that he pilots a 964 when not charting commercial flight paths. Sheer ground speed isn’t what Peter is all about, but neither is his modern classic Carrera. “It's not about driving fast. You know, if you can drive a car that lies well on the road, feels good, sounds great, it's a good thing.” With worn leather driving gloves fixed to the four-spoke yaw-controlling helm, right hand dancing with cogs through a well-used shifter stalk, Peter seamlessly stitches his driving passion with the age-old “pilots drive Porsches” adage. “Of course, I didn't know that during my career I would get a job in Iceland. As it is for now, I've been with Icelandair for 18 years and, yeah, I always look forward to going to the job. The perfect end of the day is to go for a drive… in a Porsche.”
This week we take a ride in artist Camilo Pardo’s 2005 Ford GT. If you’re unfamiliar with the man, you best strap in: Camilo Pardo was the lead designer on the Ford GT program. Born in New York, Camilo and his family resettled in Detroit when he was 10 years of age. Already a fan of automobiles, the shift to Motor City only further enamored Camilo to the Domestic machines of the 1960s and 1970s. “I was on a mission to be an automotive designer,” says Camilo, and after graduating from the Center for Creative Studies in 1985, he was promptly hired by Ford for his evident talents. By 2005, Camilo was leading the SVT Studio Ford GT production design team. In response to working on such a special project, Camlio says, “You dive into it. You put all of your emotion into it, your heart. You wake up faster, you get into your car quicker, you drive to work, you're a little earlier. It changes your life.” But despite his ecstatic enthusiasm in playing such a vital role in Ford Motor Company heritage, Camilo admits the project had its hardships. “As we approached the auto show, they cancelled the production car. It was disappointing. My goal was to do a concept vehicle that really looked like a production car, could maybe some way talk everybody to put it back on for production.” The rest is history. Camilo and his design team’s Ford GT concept proved to be such a hit, Ford announced the car would be produced at the unveiling. Since 2005, Camilo has owned five previous GT with this custom liveried silver, black, and orange example being his sixth and latest example. From dreaming of classics as a youngster in Detroit, making his way through design school, and landing a key studio position at Ford, Camilo Pardo’s career hasn’t come without its challenges, but it’s been one hell of a ride. “I've spent a lot years designing cars and it doesn’t always come full circle. It is an automotive designers goal and dream.”
Each week with every film we produce we’re going to aim to give you a bit of a gallery from behind the scenes. This week we take a ride in Maxime Delestre’s 1975 Austin Mini through the rural back roads just outside of Normandie. The grandson of a Peugeot salesman and son of a rally co-driver, Maxime grew up within a passionate petrolhead family. After watching his father compete in rallies for years, at the age of 17 Maxime earned his own rally co-driver permit, following in his father’s flame suit and helmet-toting footsteps. At 18, Maxime secured his driver’s license—a possession we so easily forget we petrolheads all once craved to attain. Immediately, he made way for the twisting-and-turning roads so ideal for the spirited driving he wished to explore. There was just one problem: Max felt modern cars weren’t delivering the experience he so desired. “Something was missing. It lacked noise, it lacked vibration, and it didn't smell of anything.” Naturally, Maxime realized only an analog machine from the past could fulfill his driving needs. Being an 18-year-old student posed a financial limitation, but as we know a small car fund can buy small car fun—a classic Mini was the obvious choice. After a short stint with a deteriorating 1992 Mini Sprite, Maxime was able to source a stunning bronze 1975 Austin Mini he’s still revving out-and-about today. Finally satisfied with the Mini, Max confesses there were some growing pains involved with the coming of age. With cars and competition always on the mind, Maxime admits it was often a distraction. “In school, I spent more time drawing in my books than studying, the teachers hated me for it.” Instead of making his enthusiasm for machines and doodling a complication, Maxime decided to turn it into a career by studying automotive design. “The nice thing is that I can use many different aspects—the past with vintage cars such as the Mini, the present with racing cars and fun fast
This week we take a ride in Englishman John Holland’s Sandglow colored 1981 Range Rover through the rural lush greenery just outside of Worcestershire. John took a liking to the old British off-roaders after getting to know a local retired military officer. The service member regularly drove grand excursions in his Range Rovers, which left an impression of adventure on John. Inspired by the colonel, John couldn’t turn down the chance to acquire the gentleman’s Range Rover when the opportunity arose. “Once I'd driven it and used it, even though it ate petrol, it just consumed petrol, it was so much fun to drive.” Hooked on the driving manner, John blames his Landy love affair on the veteran service member. “I owe a lot to that guy because he was the inspiration for owning a Range Rover—for wanting to drive a Range Rover.” Smitten with his handsome stable chariot, John reflects on the truck’s finish. “I tell ya, it's a curious color,” John notes on the pale mustard hue. “It's definitely one thing, it's a color that seems to grow on people.” A tone derived from the Camel Trophy entrants, there’s a unique way the Sandglow paint works over the simple two-box designed classic—a perfect pairing on this motorcar. The magic in the machine’s honest, utilitarian shape and character has kept John committed in driving Range Rovers, in spite of their temperamental tendencies. “There are some times that car can be an absolute pain in the neck, but you've got to just balance that out with the pleasure it gives in terms of driving it, owning it, and enjoying it. So, that's why I'm going to keep driving a Range Rover, an old Range Rover.”
This week we take an all-out ride in Bjartur Gudmundsson’s Pininfarina styled MGB GT track car, gravel road slinger, and daily driver through some of Iceland’s most stunning back roads. “It's loud, it smells of gasoline and fumes, but that's part of the car. It is loud so you're not allowed to think. You can’t. You just have to drive,” chuckles Bjartur as he revs the stylish British coupe before sidestepping the clutch. It’s evident this petrolhead has mastered the “it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow” mindset, as he’s caught sliding the flickable classic sports car down wet tarmac and fearlessly flogging over narrow muddy gravel paths. There aren’t many classic cars running around the small Nordic island nation, especially those that are notorious for dissolving via rust. But during a trip to the United Kingdom, Bjartur came across an MG and was immediately hooked. Drawn to the minimal but purposeful lines of England’s most popular sportscar, he admits, “Well, for me, I loved the look. When I saw it the first time, I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to have a car like this.’ I just fell in love. Everyone who has them knows what I'm talking about. It's just that simple.” Naturally, like most of us upon the discovery of a new “needed” car, when Bjartur returned home he began feverishly scouring the Internet in search of an MG to make his own. Today, he’s got three in the garage: the blue GT film star being thoroughly rung-out, and two more projects that are currently under the knife getting the royal restoration rotisserie treatment. “My wife's brother, he wanted one as well, so that's why we bought two. Every Monday night, he comes over and we work on the cars. Too many people have bought cars, taken them apart because they were going to do something, and never finish them. That's the truth. So, what I say is, one night a week just to work on the car. It doesn’t have to be more than that. If
This week we partnered with Alfa Romeo to sample a buffet of tasteful Italian machinery. The full spread includes an iconic Autodelta-prepared GTA racer, the Barchetta-style Giulietta Competizione Spider Sebring, the luxurious grand touring Montreal, and their modern brethren, the carbon tub chassis constructed 4C and the German-performance-sedan-crushing Giulia. We sat down with Alfa Romeo USA Brand Ambassador and all-around genuine Alfisti, Brandon Adrian, to uncover what it is about the century-old sports car staple that’s so special. Is it the sheer beauty evoked in so many of the marque’s designs? Or is it the way they deliver the drive and make their devout wheelman feel? Brandon proclaims it’s both. “An Alfisti is someone that has dreams of Alfa Romeo, pretty much constantly, and those dreams become a reality when you actually get in those cars and drive them.” Many would argue that the deep feelings stirred from driving an Alfa is a hyperbolic cliché, but that’s simply not the case for those bewitched by the Italian roundel. Like many Alfaholics, Brandon’s lifelong love affair with the manufacturer stemmed from its romantic racing history. “It all goes back to the racing heritage. I actually much prefer to be at the racetrack than a concours. If there's an opportunity between the two, I'll always pick the racetrack because that's where my passion and the fun lies. But these cars can do both,” declares Brandon. Alfa Romeo’s mix of divine driving dynamics and stunning design aesthetics has always secured the endearment of enthusiasts. Whether it’s a vintage racer or a modern performance sedan, “Any Alfisti would rather be driving an Alfa Romeo than looking at an Alfa Romeo, even though looking at it is just as beautiful.”
This week we take a turbocharged, all-wheel drive ride in Volker Gehrt’s 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 replica through the rural roads just outside the central German state of Thuringia. Years ago while attending an auto show with his wife, Volker found an Audi Sport Quattro rally car scale model for sale at a vendor’s booth. Always a proponent of Audi’s iconic gravel and tarmac racer, Volker purchased the die-cast and made the little Group B toy a tasteful desk ornament. Over the course of countless days spent working in his office with the model nearby, Volker found himself infatuated with the idea of building a full-sized tribute. “With time I thought that there must be a way to build the car. I had to find a way to do it,” says Volker. Coincidentally and initially unbeknownst to him, Volker happened to cross paths with Roland Gumpert—the leading engineer behind Audi’s famous AWD drivetrain. After becoming acquainted with the Grandfather of Quattro, one day the two enthusiast friends started chatting about cars, reminiscing on the Golden Era of Rallying. That’s when Volker proposed building an accurate tribute to the most extreme version of the various Group B Quattros. Gumpert ecstatically agreed to assist, using his motorsports connections to source parts and manuals needed to properly recreate the racing identity of the homologation hero. It was decided that the build would pay homage to the E2 iteration that Walter Röhrl drove to victory in the 1985 Sanremo Rally—Audi’s first and only ‘85 WRC season win. To make the recreation all the more special, Gumpert made a surprise arrangement to have Walter Röhrl meet with Volker during the build. “I’ll never forget when he arrived,” reflects Volker. “He stood in front of the car and said, ‘Mr. Gehrt, I feel like I am having déjà vu. I am taken back to Audi Sport looking at my winning car.’” Humbled, Volker smittenly states, “That is one of those stories I’ll nev
This week we squeeze into an unusual Japanese car: a 1989 Nissan Pao. The smitten owner of this adorable compact city car, Godis Sanchez, tells us what it was about the pastel teal retro-mobile that lured him. After first discovering the limited production Japanese domestic market hatchback, Godis says, “I told my dad, ‘You know, that looks like a little wagon that never decided to grow.’ It was perfect. It's just a weird car, and I like that—the weirdness of it. It has it's own character. It looks like it came out of a Pixar movie.” Japanese cars have become more collectable than ever thanks to a growing fanbase and, in recent years, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 25-year grey market vehicle import exemption has enabled stateside enthusiasts to dabble in foreign market autos that were never sold new in North America. While select cult-followed Japanese Nostalgic Cars, such as the Nissan R32 GT-R, are more mainstream, enthusiasts like Godis dared to differ from the common imports with surprisingly positive results. “I like the fact that people come and ask me about the car. I like that when you're passing by, they don't know what it is. They give you thumbs-up everywhere you go,” Godis says smiling, “To me, I didn't want a GT-R. I wanted something special, something different.” With an estimated 50 horsepower, the excessively accessorized car is more about style than speed. “It demands for you to be sympathetic with every input you put into it and to be gentle with it. You're not going to be speeding in it; this is a city car. 0-60 is dependent upon what you had for dinner last night.” But don’t let the Pao’s portion-control-proportions fool you. Once inside, it’s roomier than you’d expect thanks to its clever, minimalistic packaging. “Seeing such a tall guy coming out of such a small car, people wonder, ‘How'd you get in there? Do you fit?’ People don't realize there’s nothing in there other than the d
This Tuesday morning’s highly caffeinated Morning Coffee original film series serves up a hot-pressed shot of espresso in the form of a sinister 1959 Triumph TR3A. We find our focused petrolhead protagonist, Stadler Patrick, standing roadside, looking out over one of many idyllic valleys in the French countryside. As the day comes to life in the early morning light, total silence is only interrupted by the singing of birds and cool blowing winds—that is, until Stadler marches with purpose to the driver’s door of his old British roadster. The crunch of gravel under his soles stops at the metallic click that announces an open entrance into the cockpit, and a deliberate pull of the low-slung door being shut precedes the less-than-sedate drive ahead. Stadler’s demeanor makes it clear he’s on a mission to motor with earnest enthusiasm. Settled into the saddle, he twists the key in the center dash-mounted tumbler and gives the long pedal a jab of throttle, abruptly awaking the inline-four cylinder to a chattering idle. First gear is engaged, the clutch is released in opposition of throttle application, and forward motion begins as the needle in the rev-counter climbs. Perforated brown leather driving gloves tightly encase the white knuckles within, gripping the intricate black and polished metal steering wheel. The pace quickens. The Triumph’s sealed-beam eyes spear warm light as the fender-to-fender-wide grille devours the winding rural B-roads of Haut-Rhin in France's greater Alsace area. Banging up and down through the four-speed gearbox, Stadler locks up the front disc brakes, killing the built momentum. Paused at a fork in the road, our driver clenches his hands tighter around the wheel with the distinct sound of distressed leather wrinkling under pressure. He contemplates which path to take. The snow-embanked route is chosen after brief deliberation, and the spirited sprint continues. After a scenic ascent up the mountainside's ribbon of r
This week we take a ride from the bustling city streets of Bangkok to the winding rural roads just outside the capital in Chayanin Debhakam’s Ferrari 308 GTB. In Thailand, just catching a glimpse of a Prancing Horse out of the stable is a rare occasion, but Chayanin’s choice to daily drive his Ferrari is what elevates his enthusiasm for the marque. Before you can see one in the wild though, the car needs to be brought in first, and sourcing a Ferrari in the BKK is an entirely different challenge for these buyers. “The 308 GTB is the Ferrari that I grew up with and it was the first Ferrari I ever saw,” says Chayanin. When it came time to find a Ferrari of his own, he reached out to the president of the Ferrari Owners Club of Thailand, who was able to find the car that Chayanin now drives so often. “He finally found one and it was exactly what I was searching for.” Once he had the Rosso-Corsa-on-crème GTB parked in his garage, Chayanin did some research and discovered the car was originally Fly Yellow over black leather—another victim to “resale red.” This is when his quest for perfection began, “I wanted to restore the car back to the original factory standard.” Using some extra workspace at his office, Chayanin (with repair manual in hand) got to work. Singlehandedly tackling this project would have been tremendous, but Chayanin fortunately has a group of enthusiast friends who brought their individual talents to the table. Chayanin humbly admits, “Some of them have different skills than me. I don't know everything [and] cannot do everything myself, so having extra help and knowledge is great.” In recent years, tracking down correct 308 parts has become quite the task, but Chayanin was unwavering in achieving his vision, stating that his ultimate goal was to have it drive and feel as it did when it left the factory. His obsession to return the car back to factory spec went as far as buying a new old stock (NOS) exhaust syste
This week we take a ride in Petrolicious founder and CEO Afshin Behnia’s personal Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale through the urban grid that makes up the roadways of Los Angeles. Mr. Drive Tastefully himself opens up to reveal what propels his passion for the marque: an almost dire desire to research, learn, seek out, collect, and—most importantly—drive vintage Alfa Romeos. But Afshin wasn’t always an Alfista, confessing his attraction toward the Italian marque wasn’t his first love. “I was always into the more obvious cars—BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris,” admits Afshin, “I didn't really discover the marque [Alfa Romeo] in its true sense until, I think, I was twenty or so.” Shortly after acquiring his first though, an ‘86 Spider, the ownership experience piqued his curiosity for the carmaker, and sparked the beginning of a long love affair with the manufacturer’s illustrious past. “Naturally, as with anything, if I get a new toy or if I discover a new hobby, etcetera, I kind of get obsessed and want to know as much about it as possible,” Afshin states in your typical gearhead logic. What really lured him in was the rich history and significance in motorsports, noting, “The lineage that it has, the models, and the people who raced for it and things like that, it just blew my mind. I said, ‘How the hell did I not know about Alfa Romeo before this?’” Of course, it didn’t take long for him to discover the extensive and undeniably impressive catalogue of beautiful classics Alfa has archived in its portfolio. The diversity in design caught Afshin’s attention on top of the racing endeavors: “All the top design houses from Zagato, to Pininfarina, to Bertone, to Ghia—they’ve all had some very interesting Alfa Romeos that they've designed. It was like discovering this whole world that I felt silly for not having known about before.” In the process of discovering and admiring decades’ worth of Alfa automobiles, he learned
This week we take a ride in Romain Saraiva’s firecracker red 1976 Toyota Corolla KE35 SR along the country roads just south of Paris. “I grew up in the back of a Renault 5 and Mercedes 190,” Romain reminisces, “On the highway, I would play a game with my father and my kid brother. The goal was to guess the make of cars and trucks. My father would always win because of all the old cars. That’s where it all started.” What began as an innocent game to pass the time on family road trips became the seed for a lifetime of automotive love. “I became interest[ed] in those cars,” Romain lovingly admits, “I am curious, and not knowing what make they were intrigued me.” In his younger years, Romain’s family acquired a sturdy Toyota Hilux—the seemingly immortal compact truck the world’s workforce has depended on for decades—and years later Romain’s grandfather is still driving the trusty Toyota hauler. His granddad’s Toyota pickup-turned-farm-truck, a neighbor’s often-driven Datsun, and the Saraiva family’s Mazda MX-5 with a six-digit odometer tally all came together to capture Romain’s curiosity: “I found it so interesting. I came to realize that these cars had a story and a soul.” When Romain eventually came of driving age, he was studying art in school and was after something special for his first car; something different, something with a soul. After discovering the unusual classic Toyota Corolla coupe in Portugal while on a family vacation, Romain kept an eye out for a similar sled once home back in France. Finally, he found a red and white Corolla KE35 SR for sale: “It reminded me of Starsky & Hutch, so I fell for it.” But Romain’s lusting eyes were blinded from what lay beneath the shiny red paint. He quickly discovered that the car was somewhat shoddily thrown together—not to mention it had been wrecked and hastily repaired for a quick sale—but the Corolla’s charm captivated Romain all the same, and he
Join us this week as we squeeze into Sergiu Topala’s Rover Mini Cooper for a ride around Moldova. Though produced in 1994, his little British box roundly recalls the styling and engineering that made the name so famous in the 1960s, and in keeping with the more modern model year, this Mini is subjected to long road trips and anything else that one might do in a normal car, albeit one with no air-conditioning or power steering. With years of experience working with vehicles like his Mini, Sergiu’s privy to all the tricks and issues that can crop up when purchasing a vintage enthusiast’s car. In fact, he recalls a trend in which a good lot of left-hand drive Minis from Continental Europe were scooped up, converted to right-hand drive, and then sold back to their home country in a strangely roundabout and not-quite-right type of homecoming. Some of these were even re-converted and sold outside of the UK for a second time, so when looking for one of his own, Sergiu knew it had to untouched in this regard. The car that he eventually purchased has none of this sketchy history, and coming from the twilight decade of the original shape’s production run, it is well-suited to creating many years of new memories. Of course, even a newer Rover Mini Cooper is still going to epitomize simplicity and eschew extravagance though. That’s no issue though when it comes to those lengthy road trips, as the later, ‘90s-era Minis were geared towards even greater accessibility than the originals. Retaining the same efficient layout and cheap entry point, these later Minis were designed for longer excursions and an overall greater frequency of use over the earlier models, and so were fitted with motors that spun the odometer with ease both around town and on the open road. Herein lies the reason for Sergiu’s choice. “I didn’t buy this car for a collection,” he says, “I got it to drive it.” Adding to this, he speaks of his Mini as if it were a good friend or f
Join us this week as we venture into the plush leather seats of the ultimate retro techno-toy: BMW’s 8-Series. In order to pay proper tribute to the veritable king of rapid luxury, we’ve tracked down Taylor Patterson’s pristine example of the line-topping, limited-production 850CSi. While BMW was revealed to have been making a bonafide go at an M8 variant of the big grand touring coupe back in the early ‘90s—and in fact the company’s sole box-flared beast of a prototype still exists, complete with carbon-fiber wheel covers—that car never made it to the masses, or at least to that portion with the taste and means to acquire such a car that would have likely carried an MSRP somewhere in the Ferrari territory it was aimed at. Luckily for those people though (and for the second and third and fourth owners), M still left some incriminating fingerprints on the 8-Series, and as with most stews stirred by its hand, the result was an unmatched vessel of prowess that they simply called the 850CSi. At the time of its reveal in 1992, the peer group for this car was almost nonexistent, and on a more abstract scale, there have been very few in its wake to attempt a similar blend of substance and poise. It never claimed to be a sporty coupe, yet it could outperform many of them. The car’s true domain however was a lengthy trip with the room to show off how comfortable 100+MPH can be; this was the kind of car whose essence was understated, yet its presence never went unnoticed. Though any form of the E31 chassis was and is a genuine rarity, the CSi stood even further apart. At the time, this was the end-all, be-all, the award-winning stew of a high-tech ecosystem paired to a taut motor that could push the impressive package well past the imposed safety speed threshold of 155 MPH. Further boosting the desirability of the CSi model was the inclusion of special staggered forged M-System wheels with the distinctive “throwing star” bladed covers, a more r
Each week with every film we produce we’re going to aim to give you a bit of a gallery from behind the scenes. This week we bring you some stills from our film shoot with Petrolicious’ Director of Marketing Andrew Poole and his 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider. Finished in a vibrant coat of Verde Inglese (the Italians’ take on British Racing Green) this convertible isn’t just for sauntering around town looking pretty as the sun pours in. Of course the little Italian beauty is happy to absorb the admiration of passersby, but the car’s swept-back stature, long unbroken belt lines, and endearingly eager fascia take care of that handily on their own, for radiating charm in a parking space doesn’t require chassis bracing and a worked-over motor. The tight cockpit and massive dome of visibility afforded by the absent roof can offer an ideal view of a quaint little town being explored in first gear, but it’s also perfectly suited to this car’s Mr. Hyde side, in this case providing better views of the gaps between slower cars. After adding an aura of authenticity to a morning espresso run, the little Alfa is ready to escape the bustle of population and find a place to indulge in its capabilities. This is no standard Spider after all. In addition to chassis stiffening and suspension tweaks, the car also houses a motor that’s received an abundance of upgrades, including hot cams and a dual Weber carburetors. Prepared by Petrolista and self-proclaimed Alfa Romeo nut (he does have at least 20 at any given time it seems) Manuel Minassian, the motor is both ready and asking to be used properly. In the film featuring his car, “This Alfa Romeo Spider Is A Well-Oiled Multitool,” Andrew proves that its potency lies not just in the ability to draw a gaze. Gone is the doughy body roll, and in its place a level of poise and nimbleness begging for a set of switchbacks. The power output has been upped accordingly, turning this car into a form of the classic “slee
This week we take a tandem ride in Jean Francois and Sarah Majkowski’s pair of Peugeot 205 GTIs through France’s Bourgogne countryside. Like many of us, Jean grew up around all things automobile—from stationary car shows to the dynamism of rallying, from diecast collecting to photography, the man has long been enamored with wheels and racing. Securing his driver’s license in 1985, the same year Peugeot dominated the World Rally Championship in 205 Turbo 16 spec racers, it’s no wonder that Jean took a particular liking for the snail-fed—es-turbo - escargot—hot-hatch production versions of the venerable French race car. Unfortunately, being 16 years old at the time, Jean couldn’t afford the rather pricey Peugeot—despite his father working for the marque at the time. Life happened and Jean didn’t revive the drive to get a 205 of his own until nearly a quarter-century later. While stopped at a store one day in the checkout aisle, Jean happened by chance to grab a magazine. “The 205 GTI was celebrating its 25th anniversary. I flipped through the pages, gazing at the car, [and] I fell in love again and needed one, fast,” says Jean. Call it chance or destiny, but the man and the machine were about to reconnect. A few months later, Jean found a crisp white earlier 1.5-liter example in a solid, “driver” condition. And just as his father influenced him decades earlier, Jean brought along his daughter Sarah for the trip to inspect the car candidate. The polar-painted 1.5-liter GTI was purchased soon after, but it wasn’t long before the father/daughter duo sought to add another. “I wanted another one,” Jean states, “ and I found a 1.9-liter, 130 horsepower, Miami Blue. However, it was a wreck.” “That car drove me crazy. Its Miami Blue carcass all beat up,” Sarah tells us as she recounts wondering if they’d ever manage to get the car drivable and presentable again. With two years of dedicated time and energy lovingly poured
This week we take a fully-flexed ride in Bromley Howser’s beloved 1969 Dodge Charger packing HEMI power and a four-speed through the Mojave Desert just outside of Colton, California. Growing up in the golden era of American motoring, Bromley always cherished the muscle cars of his youth—like the numbers-matching piano black ’63 split-window Corvette Sting Ray in his garage, of which he says, “I had a little model, a little gas-powered RC [Sting Ray] car. I suppose when you get older, you want the real thing.” The Howser garage also houses a custom 1970 Chevelle packing a 454 under its hood, which he says is, “Good for taking the edge off.” We believe him. But the highlighter-colored Charger featured in this film came into his ownership under less than ideal circumstances. One day, while out riding his motorcycle, Bromley was hit head-on by a fleeing motorist who left him wiped out in the middle of the street with a broken back. The road to recovery was long and painful. Able to smile about the incident now, Bromley recounts, “I was laying in the hospital bed and my girlfriend asked me if I would give up the motorcycle, which I said, ‘Yeah, probably… if I could get a HEMI Charger.’” Sounds like a fair tradeoff, no? He soon started looking for a project to build and found a listing for two classic Chargers in Denver up for grabs. One body was sitting dormant in a field with its engine parts spread rather unceremoniously across the seller’s garage floor. Hesitant, in fear of getting in over his head, Bromley looked through the parts thoroughly only to discover that “the car was every bit of what the fellow was representing. It was all 100 percent there.” After rebuilding the entire car using casting books as reference, Bromley discovered not only was the car complete, but it remained entirely as it would have been in ‘69 with the exception of the fuel pump and alternator, making the car “as close to original as you can g
This week we take a very special ride in one of Italy’s most celebrated and pedigreed entries in the book of automotive history: the Alfa Romeo GTA. While many get worked into a frenzy over the lightweight Bertone coupe’s rich racing history, that’s not what sparks this Alfista’s passion for the aluminum Alfa. Instead, owner Filippo Montini tells us that “The passion I have for this car is not due to its value or because it is rare, nor for its heritage. It’s just that when I get in it, and I close the door, I am in my own special world. I tune everything out. I leave for a timeless dimension; it is where I go to blow off steam.” In case you’re unfamiliar, the GTA is widely considered one of Alfa Romeo’s motorsport masterpieces, securing the Division 2 European Touring Car Championship in 1966, 1967, and 1969. Although it is based on the road-going Tipo 105 Giulia Sprint GT, the GTA is an Autodelta-built special built from the ground up for ultimate overall performance. The GT Alleggerita, meaning “lightweight,” features an abundance of plastics and an all-aluminum body skin to bring the pounds way down. Various magnesium components—including the featherweight 14-inch wheels, valve cover, timing cover, and bell housing—further eliminated unnecessary weight. Under the letterbox hood is a 1600cc twin-cam inline-four fitted with an upgraded distributor, larger 45mm carburetors, and most significantly, a trick twin-spark aluminum head that in Stradale trim made approximately 115 horsepower—Montini’s GTA, now in full Corsa spec, makes a screaming 160 from the little mill. Peering over the crisp Giorgetto Giugiaro-penned lines of this pristine GTA, you wouldn’t guess it was once a dismantled disaster of parts when Montini acquired it a decade ago. “We bought the GTA sight unseen because it was disassembled, without thinking what the build would entail,” (Montini cannot say this without a smile on his face), “without assessing
This week we take a stately stroll through Redditch, England in an olive (but not drab!) Range Rover that’s hiding an unusually high-class past. Having embedded the marque into his life after completing an engineering apprenticeship at Land Rover in the 1990s, Phil Holland, owner of Twenty-Ten Engineering, knows his way around classic Range Rovers. From nut-and-bolt resurrections of all but lost scrapyard-bound Rovers, to refurbishing genuine barn finds, the ranges in which Phil is willing to scale in saving these British motoring staples knows no bounds. With a career in rebuilding these old off-roaders, it’s no surprise Phil has uncovered some with interesting history over the years, but nothing’s quite as remarkable as the pale green box-on-wheels filmed here. A customer found this particular example abandoned in a farmyard in a rather poor state of care (read: neglect). It had been off the road for so long that there were no records of its last Ministry of Transport (MOT) inspection, indicating it had been many, many years since it was last roadworthy. A lot of classic cars tend to carry storied pasts by way of sheer age, but occasionally vintage machines are sold by overzealous owners who tie delusions of grandeur to their sale in hopes of increasing appeal and value. This doesn’t apply here. Phil tells us, “As the guy collected it, somebody—who worked or lived at the premises where it came from—made a reference, ‘Oh I think that used to belong to the Queen.’ ” Oh sure, of course it belonged to the British Royal Family. Obviously, this bit of weightless hearsay wasn’t taken all that seriously, but the Land Rover Heritage Division uncovered the truth: this Range Rover was sold new and delivered directly to the Royal Household. “It’s a proper, original Royal car. There’s still a bit of an investigation going on to try and work out exactly who drove it and owned it. But they didn’t have a huge amount of cars so it’s prob
The Fourth of July may not be celebrated outside of the US, but an appreciation of American muscle knows no bounds; join us this week as we take a rumbly ride in Mathieu Houtreille’s crisp Ermine White 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray through the back roads surrounding Luxembourg, Belgium. Like many of us, Mathieu grew up under a gearhead’s roof. His father, Jean-Luc Houtreille, ensured he raised his son properly. “Ever since I learned to walk, my dad took me to all the car affairs,” Mathieu tells, “I would see the mechanics work under warm hoods, and the smell that emerged would captivate me.” A natural-born car-obsessed boy, where his father leaned towards the Italian marques, Mathieu differed, oddly falling for old American steel and iron. Mat says, “For me, the monsters that gave me goose bumps were the ones with massive V8s and a thunderous sound coming out of their tailpipes. That's what I loved.” Forever longing for Detroit muscle, a trip with his wife stateside sealed his fate with Corvettes. Referring to this excursion, Mat clarifies, “It is a country with a lot of wide-open spaces. It is magical, and you can't understand unless you've been there, and taken those roads, because you can't describe it [otherwise].” Learning of the ‘50s and ‘60s American car culture’s love of machine as well as its street racing scene, Mat realized this era was a special time that no longer exists, admitting that oftentimes, “If you tell people you hand-wash your car and you love your car, they will think you're dumb.” The sad truth is, most people view that mentality as outdated, but not Mathieu of course. Call it born in the wrong country in the wrong generation if you want, but we prefer to regard Mathieu’s passion a dying romance we’re happy to see still has a heart with a strong pulse. After wheeling a C3 for a while, his appreciation for the earlier C2 Stingray turned into an obsession. “I had to acquire one of those sacred
As an obsessive gearhead with some engineering background to boot, it seemed Martin Buckley was a young man destined to spin wrenches for a living—but he had different plans. “I went down that road a little bit, but being a mechanic didn’t seem to have anything to do with liking cars. It was almost about hating them,” Martin reflects. “There was nothing glamorous about it at all. I wanted the sexy part of it.” So, Martin took an unusual but highly rewarding route in turning cars into another career: writing about them. Jokingly referring to his self-proclaimed “Motoring Connoisseur” title, Martin wrote his first piece for Classic and Sports Car magazine at age 16. The topic? The then new and now iconic BMW E9 coupe, which Martin admits was the car he was “completely obsessed with at the time.” Understandable. Ever since then, Martin has been wholeheartedly committed to motoring magazines and professional automotive journalism, ranging from Classic and Sports Car to EVO, Autocar to Top Gear. His dedication to the car crazy wordsmith craft has paid off, too. With an assorted collection stabled in his automobilia-plastered garage, Martin has, as one might guess, a widespread appreciation for all types of automobiles. His passion for petrol is vast, but he does have a soft spot for the quirky but clever, funky but charming, NSU Ro 80. “I do remember seeing them on the road as a kid,” Martin remarks on the Wankel-whirling Ro 80, “Even in the ‘70s and ‘80s, it still looked futuristic, and it somehow still looks futuristic now.” Martin first purchased this NSU a decade ago. It was a decent original driver with sunbaked paint and a neglected powertrain. Within an hour of having it home, Martin and a friend were able to get the rotary revolving again after just minimal maintenance. After going through the rest of the drivetrain, Martin secured an MOT and sold the car to a friend… who eventually sold it back to Martin. As a sec
This week we join Michael Potiker for a ride back in time in his tastefully modified Mercedes 190 SL as he wheels around Los Angeles in the low-cut period-correct roadster. For most, the gorgeous Benz offers more than enough personality in stock form, and would be no difficult feat to become attached to, but to achieve an even deeper bond with his machine Michael hasn’t shied away from adding some custom touches. After acquiring the 190 SL following a serendipitous stroll down his father’s street where the pair came across the car for the first time, he went about researching the legacy of the model to discover what they were used for, trying to ascertain their place in the era from which they came. Though often shadowed by its older brother the 300 SL, Mercedes also offered packages for 190 SL owners who were looking to go racing, and upon learning of this option Michael went about sourcing parts and finding builders to transform his car into a Southern California-style racer while also paying homage to the original Rennsport kit (which Mercedes would sell to customers separate from the car, with the owners adding the pieces themselves). On the experience of driving the resulting slice-like Mercedes roadster, he explains that for him, “It’s not even about the roads and the scenery, it’s about rowing the gears and operating this absolutely ridiculous vehicle.” While it’s nice to enjoy our cars in ideal settings, we have to agree with Michael on what’s paramount in all of this, and that is the actual act of driving, regardless of where it’s happening. There are certain cars, like this one is for Michael, that have that kind of pull on us that can turn any drive into an activity that reaffirms your original passion for the car. And when you use such a thing regularly? That’s even better, and in keeping with his idea that it’s important to use cars like this, because it’s “about experiencing something that’s drastically different
This week take a lap through the French countryside in Gabriel Henaut’s 1973 Chevrolet Camaro. Gabriel grew up under an influential father who also happened to be a mechanic. You know this story; with the seed planted early on in his life, cars were a point of passion for a young boy, and that hasn’t changed since. But like every tale told often, there’s a reason for that. When it results in cars like Gabriel’s Camaro emigrating to France, when the journey and the result are equally intriguing, these are the examples of whatever the Hero’s Journey is for the world of cars that are worth telling. Growing up, his father taught him how to wrench and shared the tricks that come with experience, but more importantly, he encouraged Gabriel to adopt the do-it-yourself mindset. Getting a license and driving on his own began a longtime love affair with Mk1 Volkswagens, and Gabriel refreshed and restored several early Golfs, but after spending a good deal of time around, in, under, and on the iconic four-banger hot-hatches, he desired something different. Something unique thundering around in France. Maybe something American? They say forbidden fruit is the sweetest, and a plump V8 from Detroit is about as foreign as it gets in northwestern French. “V8s were just fantasy,” Gabriel says with a small smirk, “You think it’s impossible, until one day you ask yourself, ‘Why not?’ ” So, after colluding with a friend to take a trip to the United States, the search for a machine to quench his thirst for torque was underway in full. In 2013 they flew to Los Angeles to start poking around for something rust-free, but couldn’t pass up the chance to visit Las Vegas while on the West Coast. On the way out of the city, they get lost in the desert’s stretches of deserted roads for much longer than anyone would want to (which to be fair is not very long), and barely make it to a petrol station before running out of fuel. After topping off the tank agai
This week, Bill Atkinson takes us for a ride in his 1972 Piper P2 as he shares his history with the niche British marque. Back in the ‘60s, Veteran Formula 3 works team leader George Henrotte owned a small outfit called Campbell’s Garage, which was located in the village of Hayes, in Kent, England. The determined privateer banded together with a small group of talented tinkerers, wrenches, and visionaries to create a bespoke performance machine of their own. By 1966, Piper Cars was formed and development of their prototype racing car began. Soon after, a group of club racers convinced Piper to produce a GT-style sports car. Piper built a car in response, which gained traction by 1967, showing some promising demand for small-batch production. Made-to-order with a number of powertrain options, the sleek, low-slung, and lightweight fiberglass-bodied machine caught the attention of Brian Sherwood, a club series racer. He saw serious potential in the little GT, and quickly got involved with Piper Cars. It didn’t take long before Brian was put in charge of overseeing the production car segment of the company. Around this time, Bill Atkinson, the owner of the car in the film, recalls, “In 1968, I had a Rover 2000 and I decided I wanted a bit more performance from it. At the time, the only people in the country who could do head work on the car to improve performance was Piper Cars.” After hitting it off with Brian Sherwood, Bill reminisces, “At that time, I saw the Piper GT body and thought, ‘What a wonderful thing.’ I'd never seen anything quite like it…quite as beautiful, I suppose.” Infatuated with the project, Bill mentioned if the car were to make it to production, he’d be genuinely interested. Some time later, he received a letter from Brian Sherwood stating that the Piper, now named the GTT, was road worthy and available for purchase. Bill, keeping true to his word, made another trip to the Piper garage and placed an order, securing
This week we go for a lively ride in one of Britain’s (if not the world’s) most beautiful automobiles: an Aston Martin DBR1. One of just five hand-built DBR1s produced, this example is particularly significant due to it being the very first one made, in addition to it being the same model, though not the exact car, that earned Aston Martin an overall Le Mans victory and a worthy motorsport legacy. Obviously, a car of such importance requires expert narration, and we were lucky enough to get the perfect man for the job: Stephen Archer. Mr. Archer, a veteran Aston Marin racer since the late ‘70s, is the official Aston Martin Works Historian. Aston Martin Works is the historic home of the brand, and has a history of its own that is almost six decades in the making, so it goes without saying Stephen knows a thing or two about the cars. Stephen retells DBR1/1’s most memorable moment, a tale that places near the top of the all time greatest racing stories. “Come '55, John Wyer and David Brown decided to produce a racing car that'd finally take the fight properly to the opposition,” Stephen tells, “[And] right from the outset, the DBR1 was to prove itself an incredibly competent racing car. And yet it was designed by a tiny team led by one man, Ted Cutting, who designed the chassis, the engine, and the beautiful, beautiful body that epitomizes racing Aston Martins.” “Come 1959, the team of Aston Martins went on, of course, to win Le Mans—in fact, they took first and second. But why is this car, DBR1/1, so important if it wasn’t the winning car? Well, just three weeks before Le Mans was the 1,000 Kilometers of the Nürburgring and the factory wasn't going to enter a car there—the target was to win Le Mans—but Stirling Moss said, ‘Look we've won this race twice, we can win this race again. Just let me take the car there,’ and John Wyer agreed.” With a five minute and five second lead earned by the 17th lap, it appeared Moss wa
This week, join us for a late night cruise sitting shotgun in Sébastien Defaux’s 1985 BMW 316 across the cobblestones and lamplit streets of Lille, France. Like many young boys pushing toys around on the floor, Sébastien’s initial love for wheels came in the form of a firetruck infatuation. Obsessed with the vibrant red mobile extinguishers, it’s no surprise that Sébastien dreamt of growing up to become a firefighter himself one day. That profession plan stuck for a while, but it all changed when he came across a model of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. “Bye, bye, firefighters, hello, backfires,” Sébastien quips as he remembers the moment of transition, admitting that the form of the scaled-down Benz was enough to sway him away from the path of battling blazes and onto the track of sporting automobiles that would eventual lead him to the Ultimate Driving Machine. With a cousin already steeped in BMWs, not to mention an uncle who’d raced a 2002Tii around the Nürburgring, Sébastien became interested in the motorcars from Munich soon after that pivotal moment with the toy Gullwing, noting, “[My cousin] has owned a lot [of BMWs]. He’s an auto body mechanic, so he fixes a great deal of them.” Sébastien then finished school with his diploma in auto body repair after learning the trade under his cousin’s guidance. “This allowed me to get a closer feel for this brand's bodywork,” explains Sébastien, adding, “That's when the double grille managed to get me.” The BMW bug had bitten, and it left a permanent impression on Sébastien. While he adores many of the marque’s masterpieces, it was a happenstance run-in with an E30 M3 parked on the street that really influenced him when the time came to buy his first car. “I instantly fell in love with that model,” Sébastien tells us, “I was there facing her, and I thought, 'This is the one I need.'" While an E30 might seem like a perfectly suitable first car, many of us forget the ch
This week join us as we take a ride in Gary Corcoran’s prized De Tomaso Pantera along the mountain roads overlooking Los Angeles. Back in 1980, Gary was a recent college graduate who just had landed his first professional job. The company’s employees were offered a $250 automobile allowance as a perk after three years of employment—and that presented some opportunities for a young enthusiast. Subsidized rides are a nice benefit to anyone, but especially so for people like Gary. “I looked at a number of Corvettes, and I always loved exotic cars and looked at 246 Dinos,” Gary adds, “I actually came across [the Pantera] at a Ferrari dealership in Newport Beach while driving along Pacific Coast Highway.” Taken aback by the hard-edged and aggressive lines of the then-unknown car; he had to get a closer look to figure out who’d made the thing that caught his eye, and he promptly educated himself on the merits of the Pantera soon afterward. Having built a few American muscle cars back in high school, the Pantera’s Ford-derived 351 Cleveland V8 and ZF gearbox meant Gary could handle maintaining the otherwise exotic mid-engine sports car with ease, and he hasn’t looked back since, stating, “Although I paid the same price—about $20,000—that I could have spent on a 246 Dino, I’ve never regretted the decision, and today the Pantera enjoys a great increase in value and appreciation no matter where I go.” Gary enjoyed his beloved car for years, but as we know, life manages to get in the way sometimes. If wanting fun cars is a disease, then marriage, kids, and career were the vaccines that kept Gary from succumbing to the plans he’d laid out for the Pantera. That’s a dramatic way to put it though, and eventually (after 20 years of ownership and a few thoughts of selling along the way) Gary was able to get some work done to his hibernating Pantera. It began innocently enough. Gary brought his car to Don Byars at Full Throttle Pantera
This week we are paring down on horsepower and wheel-count while turning the charm up to 11 for a ride on the back of this 1957 Lambretta scooter. Though it began life inside the factory doors of Innocenti in Milan, this particular pale yellow sweetheart has spent its days in France, and mostly under the ownership of a single family. The 20-year-old current caretaker, Maxime Delestre, begins the story for us at the beginning, before recounting its tumultuous path through the decades. It exists now as a glossy and glinting example of post-war Italian design, but it hasn’t always been this way. The scooter became a part of the Delestre clan when Maxime’s great uncle Raymond purchased it in the ripe year of 1959. Having no license to drive a car, and given the popularity of these cheap and stylish modes of transportation (think Vespas, Lambrettas, Piaggios, lots of pastel colors accented in creme and chrome), he never even considered car ownership; it just wasn’t necessary. Raymond and his wife even took the little Lambretta on a 220-mile road trip one year. Luggage? Strapped to the rear tire. Why not? Using a scooter in place of a daily driver takes its toll though, and by 1970 it had fallen into a state of disrepair that rendered the cute cruiser inoperable. The issues relegated the Lambretta to occupying a space in the corner of the family’s barn, at Maxime’s grandmother’s house. And there it sat for just a year shy of two full decades of immobility. A sedentary lump of metal, the Lambretta sat amongst chickens and hay and other pastoral accoutrements, accumulating dust and the occasional chicken feather on top of the trove of memories still beating warmly in its soul. After the passing of his grandmother in 1989, Maxime and his family had to make a decision regarding the future of the forgotten scooter stored in her barn. 19 years had left it in a state of blight, and given that a neighbor had expressed interest in restoring it, the Dele
This week, in partnership with Mercedes-Benz, we take a ride in Jonathan Hodgman’s 1987 Mercedes-Benz AMG Hammer wagon along the lakeside roads just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. While today the AMG badge is an acronym known and revered for upscale German precision and performance, there was a time not too long ago when the cars of Aufrecht, Melcher, and Großaspach were produced independently, without official Mercedes oversight, as Mercedes didn’t officially absorb AMG as its in-house performance division until 1999. Though they may have more budget and a wider range of cars now, the AMG autos made before the merger were no less impressive machines. Far from it. More than a decade before the merger, in 1986, AMG began offering V8 engine upgrades for the W124 chassis—one of Mercedes’s most beloved mid-size sedans. Thanks to its understated but well-proportioned looks, excellent ergonomics, comfort, and solid out-of-the-box performance, the W124’s overall package was a competent one from the factory, but as we all know, everything can be improved. These traits made the vault-solid E-Class of the ‘80s an exceptional base to build upon, sure, but it was a wholly different car after AMG worked their magic, adding to the its capabilities by massaging nearly every aspect of the already exceptional platform. These V8-swapped W124s were designated as Hammers after some clever journalist coined the term when reviewing the Autobahn rocket, so it’s safe to say the AMG earned its name from the big bad V8s (which would include the 360-horsepower 5.6-liter V8 that made it the fastest sedan in the world at the time), but it wasn’t just the big tuned mill squeezed under hood that made the car such a success; AMG also reworked the transmission, suspension, brakes, and added an aero kit along with their equally blocky 17-inch three-piece wheels. It was the full package. And by 1987, AMG raised the performance bar once again with an even crazier 375-horsepo
Our films always aim to share the kinds of automotive stories that capture the essence of why enthusiasts like us love their cars beyond any physical or measurable properties; sometimes that means recounting the tales of obscure machines and their dedicated owners who are few in number but highly passionate, and then there are those centered around creations possessing a universal pull, a gravity around them that pulls us near and creates relationships with each of us in some form or another. The F40 falls emphatically in the latter group. We all know this car, we all have our opinions about it, and it’s safe to say even its detractors must acknowledge its significance not only in the history of Ferrari, but in the evolution and history of the supercar at large. It lives in the minds of everyone with more than a passing interest in high-performance automobiles, and for a lucky few, it lives in their garage. For father and son David and Cooper MacNeil, this is reality, but it will never be ordinary. As Cooper sums it up so succinctly, “To drive a red F40 really is a dream come true for me.” Having driven race cars for a decade now, it’s not like he’s been plopped into this car after solely spending time behind the wheel of a common commuter car. The F40 is about as close as possible to a race car for the street, and while that’s a cliche saying no doubt, it’s fitting here given the F40’s responsibility for so many utterances of it. The hallmark of any memorable performance vehicle is not just the capability to deliver speed and high-Gs though, as function without form is not enough to make forge the kind of yearning the F40 creates in so many minds. Indeed, this car represents a case of the form following an almost singular function, but it’s certainly not lacking in looks; at once sleek and full of right angles, defined creases, and punched-out negative space chopped into its planar panels, it is a definitive product of the 1980s that’s
The 911 T was the most stripped-down model in the range, and arguably the most pleasurable experience because of it. No excessive luxuries or functionality to take away from a pure driving experience.
Since 1988, Mike Muniz has owned this Toyota TE27 Corolla. In that time, its been street car, a drag car, a road race car, and currently it’s an homage to the TE27 rally cars that began with the chassis’ debut race at the 1973 RAC Rally.
When Enzo opened the doors to Ferrari 70 years ago, he could have hardly imagined the motorsports empire he was beginning. Twenty years later, when he debuted the 250 LM, there wasn't a doubt in the world that Ferrari was the pinnacle of design, style, and speed. This is the story of one of those rare and very special race cars.
There are many ways to measure the quality of a vehicle. Speed, rarity, and style are all tried and true favorites. But there's only one way to measure a Brütsch Mopetta: in smiles per gallon. In that category, this little peculiarity is number one.
This is the story of a 1991 Venturi 260 APC, an enthusiastic 24-year-old named Geordan Fusi, and a father and son bond over speed, style, and craftsmanship.
Ousted from a successful career as a chief engineer at Ferrari, Giotto Bizzarrini went off to build his own racing machines to compete on the international stage. Powered by a monstrous small block V8, this very car—Bizzarrini A3/C No. 0222—would go on to win its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965.
A hearse is an unlikely hero car, but the converted Jaguar E-Type from Harold and Maude is one that’s worth reanimating. The original from the film was crushed and scrapped, but an enthusiast in Arizona has recreated a painstakingly perfect homage to the cult classic’s morbid but undeniably stylish Jag.
Losing a dad too soon in life is beyond difficult to deal with. Anthony Nicolo bonded with his from an early age, spending significant shared time around the Renault 8 in the family garage, teaching, learning. Building on these experiences and using what other mentors had passed on to him, Anthony would go on to build his late father’s Renault into a rally-inspired hot rod that honors their shared passion for these souped-up French classics.
You’ve heard the infamous origin story of Lamborghini, but what about another Italian sports car company that was birthed out of frustration with Enzo Ferrari? Renzo Rivolta decided to do something about his dissatisfaction with Ferrari cars, and so he built his own GT machine bearing his name: the Iso Rivolta. Giugiaro designed the car whilst employed at Bertone, and though it may seem quintessentially Italian, it has some international elements in its DNA too—namely the 5.4-liter Chevrolet Corvette V8 under its elegant hood. Though Renzo Rivolta passed suddenly in 1966, not long after the first Rivoltas were built, his story is being retold and rediscovered by the next enthusiast generation thanks to owners like Helmut Boening and his immaculate example of Italy’s muscled elegance.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI defined and led the wave of hot hatchbacks, but it’s harder these days to find early generations of the People’s Sports Car without questionable backstories and odd modifications. Andrew Tucker put in the time to find the right car, and his clean and complete 16-valve Mk2 GTI is a due reward for his efforts. It is a cult classic preserved as it should be, and it’s 27 years later it still offers dollops of driving joy alongside the inescapable nostalgia.
n this week’s film, we sit shotgun with Sean Lee for a drive around Los Angeles and its famed canyon roads in his first-generation 1991 Acura NSX. Tastefully modified with period-correct parts, this lithe streak of silver is an evolution of the stock car that was already a fantastic blend of sport and practicality, and though it isn’t factory-original, it has respectfully followed the trajectory, embodying the idea of “OEM plus.” It is, in a sense, more of an NSX than it was before; Sean has built upon the car, honing and enhancing this Honda (sorry, “Acura”) without coming at the cost of the car’s original identity.
When the Porsche 911T was introduced in 1968, it redefined the concept of sporting simplicity. In the years since, the ethos of the original has evolved to bring us the 2017 911 Carrera T. Though no longer the entry-level option it once was, the new T remains focused on the purity of the 911 experience; what isn’t necessary, isn’t there. It is light, focused, the antithesis to apathy, and tangible proof that some people still care about the way driving makes us feel.
Join us this week for a special film as we follow along with Marino Franchitti for a track session in Nick Mason’s 1959 Maserati Tipo 61 “Birdcage.” Delicate and purposeful in single swooping package, this is the car that defines what it means to be ethereal, and it is the best looking bit of motorsport engineering to be housed in a web of chromoly steel.
In this week’s film we head off to the French commune of Annemasse just outside of Switzerland, where we met multiple generations of the Degenève family as they recounted the story of this Toyota 2000GT. The clan operates the oldest Toyota dealer in the country, and at one point Jean-Pierre Degenève owned two of these cars. He was forced to sell them both, but decades later his sons tracked down this white example outside of Tokyo with the help of Toyota. After buying and then hiding the car from their father’s eyes for months, he was finally presented with it on his 70th birthday. That’s gifting tastefully.
Follow Petrolicious into the heartland of America as we pay a visit to Indiana to meet Matt Euson and his Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer Vehicle Design. Whether it’s a quick jaunt to the office, picking up the kids from football practice, or tearing through the secluded snakes of tarmac outside of town, this 911 is driven as it was built to be.
For the first Made to Drive installment in 2018, we got back together with our good friend and all-around good guy Bruce Meyer and a pair of American heroes from his impressive collection. We met up with him and his ‘Vettes at Thermal Club for some track time in these iconic endurance racers—specifically, the Briggs-Cunningham-prepared C1 that brought the Corvette name to Le Mans for the first time in 1960, along with the indomitable force of red-blooded horsepower that won its class in 2009, known simply as the C6.R.
Join us this week as we follow Kevin Doran’s ex-Paul Newman Datsun 280Z to the track and hear the history of this enthusiast’s dedication to the arts and sciences of speed. Kevin Doran has been around motorsports for the majority of his life, from watching his dad racing on short track ovals to working on an IndyCar team straight out of high school, he’s been in or under fast cars for quite a while.
This week we put the top back on Greg Stanley’s 1966 Mustang Convertible to indulge in the unrestricted sounds of its four-barrel carb while we adopt a simpler, more mechanical notion of the American muscle car. Indeed, many a minivan will out-accelerate it today, but the drama and involvement of the senses that comes with cars like the original Mustang is a timeless pleasure. Complete with the original window sticker and plenty of documentation, Greg’s example is a prime example of this motoring icon.
In this week’s Made to Drive episode we fold ourselves into the cockpit of Jasbir Dhillon’s 1991 Jaguar XJR-15 to experience one of the rarest and rawest supercars built in the 20th century. Aimed at transferring the Le Mans-winning XJR experience to the road, just 53 examples of the XJR-15 were produced with the help of Tom Walkinshaw under the banner of Jaguar Sport, and only 27 were optioned for road use. Powered by a beautifully shrill six-liter V12, it’s a lesser known but no less sexy staple of 1990s supercardom, and one of the finest examples of a “race car for the road,” of any decade.
This week we head a few hours north of our Los Angeles HQ to catch up with Bruce Canepa and one his Porsche 959. It’s one of the rarest cars to wear the company’s crest, but he’s certainly no stranger to the thing—after spending over a decade trying to find the legal loopholes necessary to put one on the road in the United States, one tends to form a bond, become familiar. The 959 has been duly lauded for decades as one of the most advanced and ambitious supercars ever produced, but beyond all that it may have also saved the beloved 911 by showing the world what could be achieved with a rear-engine design.
Join us this week as we drive through the history of Alfa Romeo’s motorsport lineage and kick the tail out on a Giulia Sprint 1600 GTA, TZ-1, Giulia TI Super, and the new Giulia Quadrifoglio. A conversation about the history of driving is at any given time no more than a few words away from the land of red racing cars and coach-built curves, and when talk does inevitably land in Italy, you should start with Alfa Romeo. If motorsport enters the discussion, you must—there would be no prancing horses without the cross and serpent, after all.
n this week’s Made to Drive episode we recall less wintry weather in the heartland of the country as we join Cy Schmidt for a late afternoon cruise along the backroads of Ohio in his 1969 Mercury Cyclone CJ. The last two letters designate the V8 under hood as a special one, and at this moment we can’t think of many verbal twosomes possessing as many promises of giddy smoking-tire fun as the words “Cobra Jet”—and the base car, the Cyclone, was named after a fence-ripping, cow-tossing fit of natural aggression to begin with.
In this week’s Made to Drive installment we are in Florida with Petrolicious’ friend and vintage motorsport enthusiast, John Campion. Joining his collection recently, this 1981 March 811 Formula 1 car represents a different era of top-level racing, wherein one could buy an engine and build a chassis to compete without spending hundreds of millions of manufacturer dollars. Though this sinister black sword of a racing car wasn’t on the same pace as that year’s world championship contenders, the Guinness-sponsored machine driven by Irishman Derek Daly was still ferociously quick in an absolute sense, and it’s a treat to see it in action on a race track so many decades later on.
In this week’s Made to Drive installment we are visiting France to spend an afternoon with a young couple infatuated with vintage Alfa Romeos. They currently own two with plans for more, but it was this 1972 Alfetta and its striking factory color of Verde Pino that began the momentum. It’s a unique mixture of a stylish but practical small sedan combined with Italian sporting heritage, and though it isn’t the most well-known from the marque’s impressive lineup in the early 1970s it is a notable piece of their history. In the case of Tristan and Manon, his wife to be, the Alfetta is now part of their family, and it will be starting a new legacy.
Like last week’s installment in our Made to Drive series, we are back in France, only this time at much higher elevation as we power slide through the snowy roads of the Courchevel ski resort perched high in the Alps. With his skis affixed atop and a preference for counter-steering, Mark Birch is using his 1994 RS2 exactly as intended. Sure-footed Quattro paired with a classic Audi turbo five under the hood is a recipe for the ultimate snow day as far as we’re concerned, and though it never received any motorsport attention, it sure does a good job of aping its WRC relatives as it carves sideways ruts into the churned-up powder behind it.
It’s not a shrunken Type 2 VW, but rather an adorable little import built in Japan in an era long before Subaru started to earn its modern granola-crunching and power-sliding fanbase. Sun-soaked Arizona is an altogether alien terrain if you’re arriving from Japan, and as far as U.S. cities go, Greater Phoenix is not wanting for space—certainly not when compared to the tightly-packed streets of Japan’s metropolitan hubs—and a tiny van with an even smaller motor is no way to experience these wide-open desert highways if your version of the American Southwest requires a V8. But traversing the ramps and right angles around the city? This little UFO is quite handy indeed. The Subaru 360 Van is an efficient use of of space and it gets the kind of excellent mileage you’d expect from a barebones and mostly utilitarian machine, and yet its value lies more in its charm than its function.
An automobile that was produced in numbers well into the tens of millions doesn’t seem so unique, but what if one of those cars hadn’t been touched for more than forty years before its rediscovery? That’s the story behind this Soviet-era survivor that shows just under 150 kilometers on the clock, and it’s all original despite the Curtain coming down decades ago. It’s a time capsule from an altogether different history than most of the cars in our Made to Drive series, and though it’s not a sporting machine by any means, the VAZ-2103 “Zhiguli” is still one of the most significant cars ever built. Let the proud owner of this 1975 example tell you why.
Gather up a handful of some choice racing cars along with a trio of top drivers who brought them to the podiums in the period and you’re bound to have a good day at the track. If those cars happen to be a trio of Alfa Romeo Tipo 33s, the drivers have the last names of Bell, Merzario, and Galli, and it’s all going down at speed on the same track these cars were developed on decades ago? There’s really no room for improvement if you’re a cross and serpent devotee. Join us as we accompany these racing legends—both human and machine—for an unbeatable track day at FCA’s private test circuit in Balocco, Italy.
Join us this week on the backroads (and dirt paths) of Los Angeles as we follow James Chen and his Jaguar XKSS recreation for an evening drive without a destination. Built on the underpinnings of an E-Type, his nimble British roadster wears some genuine D-Type parts as well, and because it isn’t one of the 16 invaluable original examples of the XKSS built in 1957, it can be driven without the fear of a multi-million dollar visit to the ditch if things get out of hand. This one is certainly enjoyed to the fullest, and though we understand it’s not the same as the real deal, it delivers a different kind of pleasure for the simple fact that it can be driven “as intended.”
When it comes to the divide between road cars and their motorsport relatives, the gap between the excruciatingly meek Renault 5 and its mid-engined Group B derivation is one of the widest to be found in history. In the United States, the front-wheel drive, front-engined base-model was known simply—and if you ask us a bit presumptuously—as “Le Car.” We’re not in the US for this shot of Morning Coffee though, and it’s hard to be concerned with odd model names when you’re sitting shotgun in a street-legal replica of the R5’s evolutionary apex, the so-called, “Maxi Turbo.” We’re joining Aris Jocelyn for some automotive espresso today inside his Maxi homage built on the already-formidable platform of a 1983 Renault 5 Turbo II, and though the recipe is simple, the ingredients are certainly exotic: first, find some scarcely populated mountain roads in southern France. Next, fire up the turbocharged French rally machine of your choice. Then pull the trigger.
Roger Kaege first saw a Singer-modified Porsche in a magazine back in 2009 and was drawn to the car’s appearance and ethos. He’s not alone in that regard, but looking into the cost of ownership put him on a different path toward parking a “modern vintage” Porsche in his garage—Roger happens to be a vehicle and chassis engineer, so he decided to take the project on himself. He’s poured 2,000 hours into the build since he bought the base car, a rear-wheel drive 993, and though he was inspired by Singer he didn’t set out to recreate their work. Rather, he stuck with more Porsche series production parts to keep the cost down with the benefit of proven reliability and serviceability. It’s still very much built to spec though, and Roger’s high standards that saw pieces like the front bumper reworked multiple times in pursuit of getting it just right have ensured that such a description fits the car as a whole. He’s achieved the balance between modern performance and retro optics, taking no shortcuts along the way.
This week we’re a few hours north of the Petrolicious HQ in Los Angeles as we follow Lisa and her tastefully modified E10 through the forested curves and rolling highlands of the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s her third 2002 so far, but this one was always defined as her lifetime car—a keeper—and the license plate tells you all you need to know in that regard: translated from Latin, tesoro means treasure, and after a restoration prompted by some unfortunately clumsy tow-truck maneuvering, that’s exactly what Lisa’s 2002 has become. It’s exactly as she pictured it in her head, and with a host of choice aftermarket parts from the likes of BBS, Weber, and Recaro, we imagine she’s not alone in her admiration for this classic German coupe.
This week we’re ditching two wheels from our usual four to take a ride with Efraon Triana around the the foothills and coastal routes that wrap around the central hub of Madrid on his bespoke Harley-Davidson Sportster. By blending the mechanicals of a modern bike with a hand-crafted recreation of the original 1957 design as the wrapper, he’s created a machine that embodies the best of both worlds; the quality rises to OEM standards, but the machine stands alone as a triumph of personal creativity.
Magnus Walker is more than just a well-known figure in the air-cooled Porsche world, but it would be wrong to assume that’s all he’s interested in. So rather than joining him for yet another jaunt in a naturally aspirated rear-engined machine, this week we’re focusing on a 1980 924 Carrera GT. One of just 406 produced, Magnus has added his own stylistic touches to this box-flared beast, which he describes as a unique but similar driving experience when compared to the 911 platform. It still lives up to the badge on the hood though, and he explains the challenges and rewards therein as we take to the elevated Angeles Crest Highway above the city.
Typically we start these descriptions with the location, the car, and the driver, but Heidi Hetzer and her 1930 Hudson Great Eight don’t fit the mold, seeing as the 77-year-old took her rather ancient automobile on a journey around the world. Inspired by Clärenore Stinnes, the first to accomplish such a feat, Heidi battled cancer, nearly lost a few fingers, and defied the odds during the course of her monumental road trip. Possessing a spirit found in few, her love of driving is positively boundless, and so is her cheery outlook on life and the people you meet along the way.
This Tuesday takes us to Thailand to spend an afternoon with an Alfa enthusiast living far from the source of the Italian marque’s classic heroes. Chong Song Ong moved from his home in Malaysia to the country across the northern border, but it wasn’t until his second year there that he even saw an Alfa Romeo. With the help of a friend he found his own, restored it, and has been enjoying it for a decade since. In that time he’s made a lot of new friends thanks to his passion, many of whom have purchased and restored vintage Alfas of their own.
Slow down and join us for a leisurely cruise this week as we join the Glancy family and their pristine Jaguar XJ6C as we escape from the hectic tangle of Los Angeles. Emphasizing the ethos of grace, space, and pace, the stately pillar-less coupe was the last car produced under the directorship of Sir William Lyons, marking the end of an era that helped establish Jaguar as the brand we know it as today. A rare but accessible classic, this svelte feline is in “top nick” as they say, and under Christopher Glancy’s stewardship the elegance of the paint and brightwork will be preserved for the moment he can pass this automotive heirloom down to his daughter. Effortlessly waxed and gleaming under the SoCal sun, it’s hard to imagine a more stylish way to slow life down, at least for a little while.
The Ferrari 250—pick just about any version—was the ultimate 1960s grand touring car and it was introduced to the world before that decade had even begun. More than half a century later its genetic code is still identifiable in today’s top sports coupes, but for this edition of Morning Coffee we’ve ditched the roof for a blast around Britain’s B-roads in a rare open-headlight version of the series II California Spyder. With a Tipo 168 3.0L V12 planted below the sultry length of the hood, four-wheel disc brakes, a shorter wheelbase and a wider track than its predecessor, later Sypders like this one owned by Hexagon Classics’ Paul Michaels offer the strongest cocktail of classic front-engined Ferrari performance and Italian coachbuilt style from the house of Scaglietti. If you’ve had your espresso already, here’s the second shot.
This is the story of following a trail of gas into the a tractor barn. It is a story of a family legacy of mechanical inclination and a desire to learn from and build upon classic machines. A story of a father and son taking seven long years to transform a 356 shell and a box of parts into a car that reflects their histories and their personalities. The Auratium Green 356 A Type 2 is the culmination of more than just the hundreds of hours of patient toiling that went into its resurrection, for it represents the passing down of talents and a way of living and approaching material objects with a calculated but still very human touch. It is one thing to understand how it all works, another to to fall in love with the act of making it happen.
Continuation GT40s are not pieces of kit car replica shenanigans put together with a case of cheap beer next to your buddies in the garage. Cars like this week’s subject are built as faithful, well, continuations of the originals—schematically accurate in more than just appearance. When it comes to such cars, Superformance is the standard in the industry, but while he admits to the quality of their work, Ted Baird, the owner of this car, went a step further and using a collection of original parts he’d amassed over time, he made sure his GT40 would be a true 1966-spec machine, complete with pieces from some of the race-winning cars themselves. As he says, the car is still as gorgeous as ever, and Turtle Wax ICE Spray Wax makes quick work of adding a layer of shine and protection to this brute of a machine.
Having spent his formative years doodling and drawing bikes and cars he’d only seen on TV, Dan Untura was determined to become an engineer or a designer. His parent had different plans for his future though, so he became a doctor. But fate it seems has a sense of humor after all. Dan became the most mechanical doctor you can be, doing his residency in orthopedics and trauma. The exact branch of surgical medicine where you’re using “pretty much” the same tools you’d need in a garage. You’ve got your power tools and ratchets. Only difference being that the mechanical problem that your trying to fix is a human body.
This week we are back in Germany with a beautiful 1958 356A 1600 Super. Its owner, Sebastian Wolff, has experienced plenty of Porsches in his time—just watch him riding the diesel tractor to the barn where he makes the switch to the significantly sportier for proof—but he makes no airs of being an expert on the marque. Rather than memorize decimals and stats, the enjoyment is found in the action of driving the car on country roads, or simply admiring the 356 at rest, taking in the distinct curves wearing the elegant shade of Meissen Blue. There’s no wrong way to express your passion for Porsche, but we tend to favor Sebastian’s approach: find a road far removed from the stress of urban density, literally unplug from the nagging call of constant connectivity, and submerge yourself in the joys of driving a simple but engaging sports car.
Those among us lucky enough to call car collecting a hobby typically align these efforts toward a unifying theme. The common centers of gravity are things like “only air-cooled P-cars,” “coach-built cars from the ‘70s,” or perhaps “one of every M car.” For Philip Moffat however, the common ground is colors and shapes, a more open-ended set of criterion that just happen to have resulted in two cars made by the same marque in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Jacques Jenn was a French youth with American dreams. He wasn’t chasing the full gamut of capitalistic treasure though, just a specific piece of it: owning an automobile. No big Buick bomb nor malaise-era sadcompact would cut it though. Jacques needed a Mustang. Grown up and living in Strasbourg with a son of his own but still captivated by these high-horsepower pieces of pop culture, Jacques decided to look for a restoration candidate. Eventually a friend found a ’68 GT Fastback—same year and body as the one in Bullitt—and over the next two years Jacques and his son restored the car to its current lightly modified but thoroughly gorgeous state of being. A few days after completion, he drove it to get married to the girl who supported the project from the beginning. Turns out the American Dream takes to translation.
As a bonus film this week, we've ventured into the facilities of our friends at Hemmels International, where Mercedes-Benz Pagodas and Gullwings are reborn and rebuilt by renown craftsmen. Joseph Sullivan, a 3rd generation mechanic and Technical Director, has had a vision for perfecting Pagodas from the start and created an incredibly rigorous process for stripping, sourcing and rebuilding every single component of a car. As a customer the experience is just like walking into the Mercedes factory in '60s and ordering Pagoda, Gullwing or 190SL to your preferred specification - color, interior materials, performance, you name it. Better-than-new? Yes. Stunning? Absolutely.
Long before it was turned into a model name, the thrill of discovery had become a fundamental piece of the Land Rover story. And while the English 4x4s have enjoyed a renaissance of popularity as of late, for every pristine one parked in a spotless garage there’s an old workhorse being chucked through the mud, used as intended. Basem Wasef falls into the latter camp; his 1963 Series IIA cleans up pretty nicely, but it looks much better fording than it does parked and polished. Early Land Rovers like this one are pieces of equipment built for prolonged and hard use. A tool for travel, for exploration, for finding the pleasure in mechanical purity. To drive it requires constant adjustment and attention, and you’ll barely hit highway speeds down a hill, but to be part of a different era and attitude of the automobile is well worth it.
This week we are outside of downtown Los Angeles in the hills of Thousand Oaks, CA to spend some time with Christopher Mejia and his favorite Chevrolet Corvair Monza out of a collection that’s 25-strong. Owned since new by his grandfather until the day he died in 1995, this car was passed down, crashed, rebuilt, crashed again, and then resto-modded into this beautiful black blade by the same grandkid it used to bring to kindergarten in the morning. The air-cooled flat-six in back made the Corvair a unique piece of American automotive history, and by adding push-rod air-suspension among other custom touches to the car that’s never left the family, Christopher’s Corvair goes a step further.
In a time well before the word supercar entered our vocabulary, the fastest one in the world was built in an economically compromised Spain by a state-owned manufacturing company whose primary focus was on trucks, buses, and other industrial vehicles. In other words, the Pegaso Z-102 was born of strange circumstance, and since it was a wildly expensive endeavor for a country recovering from civil war, not many were built in period, and they remain obscure today with only a few dozen surviving from the original production run. A dry-sump V8 with four cams powers the alloy coachwork (a number of bodies were available from Italian and Spanish coachbuilders like Touring and Serra), and though it saw no success on the racing circuit, the Z-102 was among the most advanced and high-performing GTs of its day. Join us for a ride around the outskirts of Madrid as we put Rafael Pueche’s 1955 example through its paces—rare cars need exercise too.
A 28-year-old living in a small space wherein the kitchen and the bedroom are one in the same is a typical scenario, but unlike this repurposed Volkswagen T4 Transporter, studio apartments tend to stay in one place. Callum Creasey’s modified 1996 example has taken him and his girlfriend all across Europe thanks to the dependable four-cylinder diesel under the hood, and the social media following that’s cropped up in the wake of their adventures has turned their hobby into much more than an Instagram page or just something to do on spare weekends. Full of wool blanket and coffee-mug charm coupled with the functionality required to actually live in it for more than an afternoon picnic, it’s hard to say whether this story is about the journey or the destination—why not both?
Cars and coffee make for a common pairing, but we aren’t talking about a rushed cup grabbed at the gas station that’s slugged down on autopilot as you sit in traffic with the commuting masses on Monday morning. The parking lot car shows that have taken on the Cars & Coffee name are a better way to enjoy the two, but this is a different story altogether. This is one of those perfect mornings when a quality roast is followed by an equally caffeinated drive away from the gridlock of silver and beige, in a car that could easily pass for the automotive manifestation of espresso. Find an empty street, add a hot-rodded Alfa Romeo GTV, and try not to have the time of your life.
Straight away you realize something’s a bit different about this Dino. The wheels are beefier, the arches are angrier, the sound it makes doesn’t sync with your memory of these cars (probably because there are two extra intake trumpets underneath the transparent engine cover), and while the badging looks factory-correct, you don’t think there was ever an Evo version of the mid-engined sports car named after Enzo’s tragic son. The car is a one-off, and it’s part of the venerable collection of classic and modern Ferraris owned by collector David Lee. By borrowing a block from the F40, losing the turbos, boring it from 2.9 to 3.6L, and fixing twin banks of velocity stacks, David’s “Monza 3.6 Evo” is a naturally-aspirated screamer that combines modern performance with the Dino’s ageless style in a package that doesn’t compromise on either end.
Joseph DeBattista came to the United States in 1974 with $600 to his name. Hard work and the right attitude allowed him to start a family and a car collection later on, and while he drove E-Types and the like in the interim it was the unexpected addition of an unassuming Lapis Blue Opel Kadett that built the strongest bond between him and his son Joey, who first cut his restoration chops as a rubber mallet-wielding toddler making a few dents in Dad’s MGB GT project. The DeBattista’s Opel was received in trade for Joey’s Volkswagen (the company that GM was targeting when they revived the Opel name in the early 1960s), and the subsequent restoration process kicked off an odyssey of a restoration project that’s paid off handsomely in ways that money can never measure.
The power of Porsche is rarely measured on a dyno, but you can always tell when it’s taken hold of someone. Eli Kogan is certainly no stranger to the marque from Stuttgart, and today we’re joining him for a spirited run through the gears in the type of empty space in the Arizona desert that almost audibly eggs on right feet. In between heel-and-toes and counter-steering his Maritime Blue 964 RS (it’s not an RS America either, despite the US plates), he explains the reasoning behind his Porsche infatuation—from the first triple-digit speed run in the passenger seat of his dad’s 993, to the race-derived nature of the legendary RS line, but we’ll shut up now and let him and the flat-six do the talking.
Driving fun cars with your friends is, by no stretch of definition, time well spent. Being able to do so while you’re in high school and can say that your first car wasn’t a typical five-speed automatic Corolla only makes it better, but owning half-century-old baby Brits like Daniel Harrison’s 1958 MGA and Daniel Hornstrand’s 1962 Austin Mini Cooper isn’t simple. Both have rebuilt his car’s engine, and while their pack of petrolhead friends all offer competent help in the garage, it’s a rare time when all the group’s cars are running well at the same time. They don’t mind though, and adopt an attitude that focuses on the fun times with friends who will spend weekends in the garage chasing the inevitable gremlins that come with not only owning and driving (often), but maintaining cars like these.
Lots of people will tell you how they feel about a car, but if it’s Érik Comas you know he’s not parroting some review he read in a magazine once upon a waiting room. He’s raced Skylines for Nismo in Japan, 911s at Le Mans, and after taking up karting as a teenager he turned his talent into a path that got him to Formula 1. He’s raced touring cars, multiple formula series, and dabbled in some rallying for good measure, but of all the incredible machines Comas has driven in his day it’s the Stratos that earns the most emotions when he gets behind the wheel. It doesn’t hurt that this is garden variety Stradale version either, and after watching Erik slide his Group 4 rally car around on wet pavement it’s not hard to imagine why this racing driver says it handles “perfectly.”
Not everyone gets the chance to own the kinds of cars they adored as children, and far fewer end up with the exact same one that made them fall in love with sports motoring in their impressionable youths. Tony Parkinson’s Austin Healey 100S is one such example of that story though, and he is the proud owner of the exact car that his boyhood self idolized growing up outside of Adelaide, Australia. He recalls seeing it out for testing and tuning when it was being set up as a competition car, and now Parkinson is the one behind the wheel during historic race events and road rallies. Patience pays off, and if you’re dedicated and persistent enough then your boyhood dream can live in your garage.
Spence Canon already knew his way around a Lotus Europa before he bought his second one, but it wasn’t his plan to double up on the ‘60s British sports car. After building his first into a race car to run in vintage motorsport series in California like VARA, this bright orange street car project was both familiar territory and a new challenge, seeing as it was his first time putting one together with license plates. As with his other Lotus, he’s done all the work on it in his driveway with basic tools and a standard floor jack, and even though it gets its work out in the canyons on a relatively regular basis Spence says this rare Type 54 Europa street car is a rolling restoration—and the satisfaction of putting it together and modifying it to make it his own is equal to the joys of downshifting on the way into a hairpin.
This week we’re in England putting our harnesses on in Mark Brown’s modified BMW M3. The E30 generation was the very first of the now-iconic M3s, and the only one that was built as a race car first and street car second. The homologation special supported the most successful touring car of all time for the German marque, and Mark didn’t escape the draw of the M3 when he watched them compete in the period. Following a debilitating accident, he’s now recovered and behind the wheel of his own E30 M3 that he’s modified into a tasteful, street-legal, track car that looks the absolute business with a set of driving lights on the hood.
Let’s say you’re a mechanical engineer who’s always wanted to build a sports car. Let’s say you’re living in Italy in the 1960s and you happen to be friends with some of the country’s greatest minds, including a certain prolific and talented designer at Ghia: Tom Tjaarda. What do you do? When Peter Giacobbi found himself in such an auspicious situation after sharing a bottle of wine with Tjaarda one night, he got to work. In a time well before computers did the precise calculations and modeling involved in creating something as challenging as a high-performance automobile, Peter and Tom did the math and the drawing all on their own, and the result is something that you’d never call cobbled together. Peter calls it the Sinthesis, to represent the marriage of Italian design and American engineering, and 40 year later it still provides the same go-kart experience it did when it was a newborn in 1970.
Maxime Gransart grew up around motorsport. His father raced all over France in the 1960s in various cars–including a go at the 24 Hours of Le Mans—but his Lotus Seven left the greatest impact. Maxime was set on owning one, but when it came time to purchase his first car he went with something a little more modern in the form of a first-generation Elise. He loved it and bought another one, but he eventually found his way into this 1964 Super Seven. A longtime devotee of Colin Chapman and his emphasis on lightweight, minimalist designs, Maxime fell in love with the tube-frame chassis, its street and on-track characteristics offering an experience that no other marque can. When he isn’t heading for the backroads in the Seven, you might find him sharing another Lotus—an Elite—with his friend in the Le Mans Classic. His actions follow his words: “I started with Lotus. I’ll continue with Lotus.”
Today we are in the company of a Dutchman who’s keen on driving a particular French coupe in a historic Italian road race. After acquiring it from a loving owner who’d taken care of the car for the last twenty years, Mark Geessink became the proud owner of this rare piece of automotive history. The A106 was the first car to wear the Alpine badge, and only a few years after founder Jean Rédelé created the polyester-bodied car based on Renault running gear, it found success in Italy when it won its class in the 1956 Mille Miglia. The model’s history is kept alive and well thanks to current caretakers like Mark, who’s competed in the modern-day version of the race since 2014, always completing the full route in the small but stalwart Alpine.
This week we’re joining Antonio Albacete outside of Madrid’s city center for some laps on the world class Circuit of Jarama. The famously narrow racetrack has hosted the world’s fastest automobile and motorcycle series in its day, but rather than the giants of motorsport that are Formula 1 machines and MotoGP bikes we’re here in the pits and on the tarmac with a classic Mini that’s even smaller than standard. Antonio’s father built this car in the 1970s to serve as a hill climb racer and a development mule of sorts, and a few engines later and a brief stint as a rally car with different owners, it’s back in the family that it was born into. Beyond the sectioned bodywork, this Mini’s mechanicals have been comprehensively converted to full go-kart spec. In other words, it’s the perfect representation of 1970s privateer engineering gone right.
In the 1970s, the Belgian gendarmerie had its stable of national police cars bolstered by the likes of BMW’s 2002ti, and later on they counted the Golf GTI and Volvo 240 Turbo among their mechanized ranks, but no cop in the country—or the rest of the world—had ever kept the streets safe with the same pace as provided by the 2.7 RS-powered 911 Targas. Until 1993, the small batch of 911 Targas that Porsche delivered to the Belgian government in 1976 were the fastest police cars in the world, and today they’re some of the rarest; of the original 20, only three are known to exist, with most of the rest succumbing to the rigors of the job. The lucky officers that drove these beautiful workhorses had to pass stringent testing, and Ari Epstein put in two years of his own hard work in order to find this rare specimen. Since cleaning it up and bringing it back to life he’s been sure to drive it often, always obliging the officers who pull the Porsche over so they can take a photo with their retired colleague.
The Ferrari 412 might not carry the same cachet as the marque’s truly definitive road cars, but the three-box design of Maranello’s stately GT was made with the same ingredients as its more iconic kin, and the result is aging better than anyone would have guessed had you asked them even five years ago. Styling by Pininfarina, thrust by V12, it was a marked departure from Ferrari and their trusted design partner’s curvaceous work in the 1960s, but the 412 stayed true to the Ferrari ideals of fast-paced grand touring spiked with a dose of Italian verve. Only 576 examples of the car were ever built—the last of a lineage that began in 1972 with the 365 GT4 2+2—and finally, more than thirty years later, the boxy but sleek design is being regarded for what it is instead of what it’s not.
Skip the coffee and ditch the Red Bull today, it’s time to upgrade your morning ritual with an Iso Grifo A3/C and the accompanying soundtrack of a modified small-block Chevy echoing in the hills of Bergamo. Almost impossibly low and wide, it is only more striking today than when it debuted in the 1960s. The original cars are exceedingly rare today, and their story in period was rather short-lived and fraught with disagreements between the men responsible for its creation. It was really Giotto Bizzarrini’s baby, and the great Italian motorsport mind—having such cars as the Ferrari 250 GTO and Breadvan to his credit—did not half-ass it when it came to the A3/C either. The Corvette-sourced engine was robust and reliable, Giugiaro’s wind-tunnel-developed shape was endlessly sexy, but the car wasn’t destined to live up to the greatness of the men who built it. Today’s film star is an exacting recreation of one of the original ten cars produced with the riveted alloy bodywork, and better yet it’s owned by a former employee of Iso, who today runs a restoration business that is emphatically the place to go for a perfect restorations of the marque’s machines.
We’ve featured a lot of Porsche 911s on Petrolicious, but few have lived as many lives as this 1971 example has. It belongs to a barrister from Johannesburg named Andre Bezuidenhout, and since he acquired it in the early 1990s as a candidate for a race car conversion it has been through a few phases. After an accident that totaled the car and ended its motorsports career, it was restored to road-going specification, sold to someone who lived out in the countryside, and thought to be gone from Andre’s life until he chanced upon it a few years ago and decided to repurpose it once more. Now it’s in proper touring car guise by the literal definition of the word, fitted as it is with a rugged luggage rack among other mods meant for drivability over long distances, and it’s definitely got a good gig these days; whenever Andre and his wife want to travel some place new, they forego the rental car and just ship their 911, affectionally named “Frisco,” and use that to explore instead.
The F40 ranks among the most recognizable and beloved road cars ever produced, and so there is very little new left to say about the machine itself—we all know that it is a potent performer, a spartan go-kart powered by a twin-turbocharged V8 nestled up between tires of construction site proportions. But cars that attain levels of popularity like the F40 has don’t become any less special the more we fantasize about them, and though the spec sheet might be committed to the memories of many a supercar enthusiast, each example has its own story. In the case of Jasbir Dhillon, this F40 is woven into the fabric of his life beyond the excitement that it provides to the lucky soul in the driver’s seat. It’s a means to bond with his family, a link to his childhood and his past, and as something well beyond the definition of an inanimate object, it’s a piece of his being that he has plans to hold onto well into the future.
Ask someone on the street to name an Italian automaker and chances are your question will be answered with “Ferrari” or “Lambo,” but there would be no Miura without the 250, and no prancing horses to speak of without the cross and serpent of Alfa Romeo. The Milanese marque has a history that spans over a century of ingenious engineering, triumphs on the track and the street, and evocative styling from the greatest names in coach building. From humble but charming city cars to Grand Prix podiums, Alfa is arguably the purest embodiment of everything that we love about Italian romanticism and ingenuity, and for Petrolicious founder and CEO Afshin Behnia these cars are the perfect vessels for Driving Tastefully. Join him this Christmas for a drive along the Angeles Crest Highway in his 1956 Giulietta Spider.
André Lotterer was born in a motorsport family. His father had a racing team in Belgium that has been one of the very first ones to play around with Audi rally cars. That was a long-wheelbase Quattro. A wonderful if slightly oblong mix of five cylinders sending power to all four wheels. André loved the sound especially. It was an entryway into motorsport, and soon André began racing karts. It turns out he wasn’t all that bad. In fact he was good enough to drive on the winning team three times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He earned those wins with Audi, completing a pretty impressive circle that began with seeing the rally cars his dad worked with many years ago. To make it an even more comprehensive story, he now calls this souped-up Sport Quattro his daily driver. Not your typical transportation, but then again this is Monaco we’re talking about.
Gregorie Desmons has always had a sensitivity to the aesthetic elements of life, and so for him the first impulses to own classic sports cars came from the question of form rather than horsepower. Though many will argue that art following its purest definition shouldn’t be concerned with anything practical like transportation, we all know the truth to be otherwise. For the same reasons that architecture blends with sculpture, the fact that a machine can be so beautiful to look at while simultaneously providing a solution to a problem very much rooted in cold hard physics is more than enough reason to consider certain cars something far more than a means of moving ourselves around. That’s certainly how Gregorie feels about his Mark III TVR Grantura.
The influence of modified Japanese sports cars found a new high watermark in the car enthusiast community in the 1990s and early 2000s, especially with the younger subset looking for something other than their parents’ favorite European and American fare. Skyline GT-Rs, Toyota Supras, Mazda RX-7s, and their contemporaries provided already-potent bases upon which one could build a truly personalized machine, in regards to both performance and aesthetics, and with outcomes on either end of the spectrum of taste. The model lines were nothing new, but they arguably peaked—and simultaneously—during the 1990s and early 2000s. This is when Aaron Backx grew up, so the obsession with cars like his twin-turbo rotary-powered RX-7 featured in today’s film shouldn’t be surprising. A lot of kids were affected by the so-called Gran Turismo era, but very few of them can say they grew up to own one of the halo cars of the era, Mazda’s ultimate send-off to the iconic RX-7: the Spirit R.
What happens when you call a racing driver out of retirement, stick him in a car designed by a fledgling aerodynamicist just a few years out of school, and send him off to compete in a world-class event? If the driver is two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi and the designer is Adrian Newey, then you get a number one qualifying spot at the 1984 Grand Prix of Miami. The March 83G was part of a new era of motorsport in the early days of Group C and IMSA GTP, and it kicked off what Fittipaldi calls his second career in the sport, one that would see him completing 13 seasons of IndyCar with two wins at the Indianapolis 500 along the way. Today we follow along as he becomes reacquainted with the very same March 83G that he thanks for getting him there.
The mountain roads outside of downtown Los Angeles don’t have much in common with the ovally arenas of stock car racing, but whenever Steve Dauria takes his modified Mercury Marauder out for some exercise on these tangles of asphalt he imbues the place with the spirit of classic NASCAR, from a time when the cars were still ostensibly based on the road-going versions sitting in dealerships awaiting their purchased on the post-race Monday. The distinctively American yawp of the Merc’s V8 (which he built in his garage along with the rest of this stately beast) is enough to make you nostalgic or deaf depending on how close you are to the thing when the pedal’s on the floor. Beyond being an impressive build in its own right, it’s all the better for the fact that Steve’s hands turned the bolts.
Hadrien Le Flanchec started collecting vintage watches when he was about 12 years old, during a time in his life when he would make many visits to small markets with his grandfather to look at chronographs and divers and tanks, and he remembers always being attracted to special dials and special cases like anyone else, but for him it was always about speaking softly and carrying a special movement on your wrist. Watches are what drew Hadrien to cars, and his horological tastes have always manifested as very discreet watches that had special movements powering their timekeeping functions, so the decision to drive a factory hot-rodded Volvo station wagon should be no surprise, seeing as it very much follows that trajectory. An odd but formidable competitor in motorsport guise, the long-roof 850R remains one of the coolest Q cars in its road-going form.
Robin Grove built her career in customs brokerages importing high-end stone and tile into the United States from time to time, but her cargo also frequently included automobiles making long journeys to the United States. Her interest in cars had begun developing in her teens, but after decades of learning the ins and outs of her field—to mention nothing of the fact that she now runs importation businesses around the world—very little time was left over to spend time with her own special car. One day a friend told her that this AC Bristol would be perfect for her, and the rest is history.
To most, a Rolls-Royce is symbolic of a certain standard of life—or at least a certain degree of comfort as you live it—but for David Lee and his father, Hing Wa Lee, the winged Spirit of Ecstasy that’s perched on top of the Phantom’s stout grille stands for gratitude. His father had held the brand in high regard since his teenage years running his own business in Hong Kong, but he never bought one for himself when he could finally afford one, preferring to take care of his family instead. Many years later, David was able to purchase the then-new 2005 Phantom for his dad as a way of saying thank you putting the comfort of their lives before his. His father has since passed away, but David hasn't touched any of the settings in his Phantom, using the experience of driving his car as a way to add to the memory of the man who raised him.
Porsche only built one official Speedster variant of the last air-cooled 911 (the 993), and that car was constructed for none other than Ferdinand Alexander “Butzi” Porsche. Later on, Jerry Seinfeld would send his 993 Cab to the factory and pay an untold but obviously lofty sum to have it converted. A few third party workshops made their own conversions over the years, but in other words, the 993 Speedster barely exists, and was never sold to the public from Porsche. But for Karen and her husband Jäger, both avid 993 fans, it was a shape too captivating to forget. So, they bought a 993 Cab that already had a few 964 Speedster pieces fitted, did a bunch of research over the course of a few years and few trips around the world, and got to work. With the help of John Fogg, the car that emerged on the other end of their Speedster quest lives up to the one that had taken up residence in their dreams, and they’ve been enjoying the unique P-car ever since.
Often confused for its four-doored siblings, the Mercedes-Benz W111 Coupe is about as stately as cars come. The first of many a great pillar-less coupe with a three-pointed star on its nose, the W111s are arguably among the most regal automobiles ever produced; here is a car designed to be let into the driveway via remote-controlled wrought iron gates. For the owner of this 1968 280SE 3.5 Automatic example, Jayesh Patel, it’s all about the luxury and the history embedded in this big coupe. It’s got an automatic gearbox, and while that may leave heel-toe enthusiasts wanting, you don’t buy these cars for their agility and sportiness. This is the ultimate cruiser, a leather-swaddled land yacht that is equal parts engineering triumph and sensory indulgence.
Loris Kessel received an Alfa Romeo Giulietta from his parents as a present for his 18th birthday—an auspicious beginning to his automotive adventure. He used that little Alfa to get his racing license, and it evolved into a wide-bodied hillclimber of sorts, with his first competitive event being a timed sprint through the hills between Bormio and Stelvio. He continued to pursue motorsports, and after some time in Formulas 3 and 2 Loris found an entry into the top tier of the sport. To race in F1—in any era—is something that few people experience and that many dream of, but to compete in 1976 when Lauda and Hunt were in the throes of their great rivalry surrounded by a grid of stacked talent? That’s something to cherish forever. Loris is sadly no longer with us, but his son Ronnie is keeping the enthusiasm rolling, campaigning his father’s favorite F1 machine in historic racing today.
You’re a Porsche enthusiast running his own restoration and sales operation in the UK. A client’s request for a 1973 Carrera RS sends you to Japan to inspect a possible candidate, and the shop owner mentions another unique Porsche you should see before you fly home later that day. You find a rusty, dust-covered Targa that hasn’t moved for decades. What do you do? For Alan Drayson, founder and proprietor of Canford Classics, the decision was simple: it had to be saved. Saved, but not restored, for how could you erase the history of a Japanese 911 barn find in pursuit of a shinier coat of paint?
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Rich Plavetich became a car enthusiast in his grandfather’s garage while the two of them worked on the white Lincoln Continental featured in today’s film. It came to the family in a roundabout way—the original Continental sold to his grandfather as a new car was in fact a used car, which was replaced with this “executive demo” example—but it set Rich on a path from an early age. At just 19 years old, he landed a job at GM Design, moved to California not long after that, and has been designing cars ever since. His grandfather’s Continental, the one that started it all, is still with him.
If you drive a Spyker long enough, you’ll begin to memorize your answer to the inevitable at-the-gas-station question: what the hell is that thing? The Dutch supercar company can trace its roots back to the late 19th century when it was coach-building cars and airplanes, and even though the current owners have little to do with the origin story, the C8s were still produced in the Netherlands during the car’s decade-plus of limited-series production. Today we take a ride with James Chen and his 2006 C8 Spyder on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
*paid advertising from hyundai dressed up as usual Petrolicious content* Mason Filippi is a young guy living in California. He races cars for a living. Put those two facts together, and you might think he’d be a little jaded when it comes to automobiles that have the capacity to excite. And yet, despite competing with a factory-backed team in a major racing series, Mason’s enthusiasm for his daily driver is still pure puppy dog. Racing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Series with the TCR version of the Hyundai Veloster N, his road car—a 2019 Veloster N—is the perfect complement to the tool of his trade.
Is it practical to ride an Italian sportbike from Amsterdam to Cape Town? Hardly. But if you have the mechanical know-how to improvise repairs on a Ducati 998 in the middle of the desert, the only thing holding you back from a continent-crossing adventure is the will to start one—at least according to Peter Muurman. He has some solid supporting evidence though, seeing as he’s taken his 998 through 54 countries and racked up nearly 100,000km in the process. It takes a certain outlook on life to take on journeys of this scale, and if you complete them, you’ll never see the world the same way again.
Over the last year, we've followed the journey of Kurht Gerhardt, his copilot Derek Boycks and their Porsche 912 in preparation for one of the most difficult rallies on Earth - the Peking to Paris.
In real estate, location is everything. Surely there's no better location than a 15th-century castle among vineyards outside of Modena, Italy, but what lies inside Castello di Panzano Castelfranco Emilia that transcends even this scenic location. Collezione Righini, as it's called, is one of the finest private automotive collections in the world, housing several landmark Alfas including Tazio Nuvolari's 8C 2300, many Lancias (including a Stratos), important Formula 1 cars, and the very first car that Enzo Ferrari built after departing Alfa Romeo, the only Auto Avio Costruzioni (AAC) Type 815, which was raced in the Mille Miglia by famous driver Alberto Ascari.
At Petrolicious we’ve had the pleasure of enjoying some of the world’s greatest exhaust notes. Symphonies from engines with storied histories that are fueled by the highest octanes are what get us out of bed in the morning, and the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale has to be one of the greatest of them all. It is this fact that drives us to profile the beautiful noise in the short film above. Enjoy.
