Elysée Wednesday: Drive! (theme)

Once again, Michael Chanslor has come through with a composition and performance that I think sets the perfect mood and pace for the images and action--in this case, his music for our new series Drive!. Over the years, Michael has created themes for my projects including Clip Joint, The Jerry Fairfax Show and Point of Departure--each score different from the others and all completely right for the project.

Listening to his music is pure pleasure for me.

GTO 3987: First race, first win

These photos show GTO 3987 at its first race--the 1000km of Paris at Montlhéry in 1962--which it won. The GTO was entered by Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team and was driven by brothers Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez. Ricardo (seen in the yellow helmet) died two weeks later on the first day of practice for the Mexican Grand Prix of 1962 at the age of twenty.

These photos were sent to me by my Facebook friend Luc Ghys. The color photo is from the Alexis Callier collection.The black and white photo is from the archives of Maurice Louche.

Elysée Wednesday: Drive!

This is the promo for my new TV series Elysée Wednesday: Drive! Many fine people offered up their time, their cars and their enthusiasm for which I would like to thank them all. The series is an extension of our Elysée Wednesday gatherings and almost all of the people one sees in the promo are EW regulars.

Drive!

This is the quick tease for our new Elysée Wednesday series Drive! The show is an extension of our weekly gatherings and features EW regulars, their friends and their cars. The intention is not to compete with Top Gear (a program that I enjoy very much) but to have the viewer join us in what we consider to be great fun and to provide a close up view of these extraordinary cars.

Ferrarista.fr

I am pleased to note that, with a dozen posts, my thread on Ferrarista.fr--a French language Ferrari forum--ranked 4th in my first month on the board. For those who speak French, it is a very enthusiastic collection of knowledgeable Ferrari people.

Quelques-uns des 10 sujets les plus populaires actuellement sur le forum Ferrari de Ferrarista.fr

. Vos émotions en Ferrari : on n’y est ou on n’y est pas !?!
2. Ou entretenez vous vos italiennes ?
3. Le marché des 550 Maranello
4. Ma vie avec GTO 3987
5. Prochain Car & Coffee by EAP le 12 février 2012
6. La remplaçante de la Ferrari 599 en 2012
7. Rumeurs et spyshots de la remplaçante de la Ferrari Enzo
8. Ferrari 458 "Scuderia" : a-t-on des infos ?
9. Rencontre Ferrarista.fr du premier trimestre 2012 : inscriptions ouvertes
10. Comment obtenir votre autocollant de Ferrarista.fr

Point of Departure (theme)

This is the theme music for my film Point of Departure which was composed and performed by Michael Chanslor. Michael and I have enjoyed a long association and he created music for Clip Joint and The Jerry Fairfax Show. Michael also served as post production supervisor on the Carrera Panamericana documentary.

Michael knew that I like Nelson Riddle's Route 66 theme so he worked a musical quote into the Point of Departure theme with his variation on the piano fills as a nod to that theme.

Motor Trend Vintage Video Find

From Motor Trend Magazine:

For the enthusiast, there’s nothing like seeing in-period footage of vintage cars tearing up the road, and that’s exactly what today’s video find is. Three Ferraris – a 250 GTO, 250 California Spyder, and 250 Pininfarina Coupe – on Mulholland Drive in the 1960s being driven the way Enzo intended. Of course there’s a fair amount of goofing around by the drivers as well – one of whom who was a founding member of Southern California’s first Ferrari club.

The video was recently rediscovered by the poster (the owner and driver of the GTO) and his commentary – full of recollections, memories, and observations – is as mesmerizing as the footage itself. Today, this collection of three Ferraris would be worth in the neighborhood of $20 million, but in the period this 8mm film was shot, they were considered nothing but interesting used cars – the vintage Ferrari market had yet to begin its stratospheric soar. Different times, to be sure. Click below to check it out.

[Read more]

Ferrari 330GTS (video)

We go for a drive in Michael Adam's Ferrari 330GTS. Kenny Lombino's Ferrari 16M Scuderia is the chase car. A Ferrari 599 also makes an appearance.

Gary Wales: Ferrari Breadvan

The photo here shows Gary Wales after signing artist Phil Ward's rendering of the Ferrari Breadvan. Breadvan fans will remember that Gary and his partner Dick Merritt were the first owners of the car in the USA.

Photograph of Enzo Ferrari at Monza

On September 5, 1970 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy, I had the good fortune to meet Enzo Ferrari. We spoke in the paddock during Saturday practice for the Italian Grand Prix. As we talked about my Ferrari GTO, Juan Manuel Fangio joined us and listened politely. The full story can be read here.

Two days ago, I came across the photo posted above while searching for photographs to use in my book about GTO 3987. It immediately caught my attention. Posted on Photobucket (below is the link to the photograph as I found it.), the picture is labelled '1970-Enzo_Bertet ACi-Monza'. The photo was taken on the same day and at the same place--in the paddock at Monza--where I had my encounter with Enzo Ferrari. It is conceivable that the photo was taken within a few minutes of that meeting. I contacted the gentleman who posted the photo--I've been following his blog for many months as it turns out--but he did not know who took the photograph or who might hold the copyright (as it is not watermarked).

I would like very much to find the photographer or copyright holder for two reasons: The first being that I would like to obtain permission to use the photograph in my book; the second being to ask if he/she might have taken a picture of Enzo Ferrari and Juan Manuel Fangio talking with a kid from California on that day. It would be too miraculous, but I have to ask.

Should anyone know the photographer or how to track down its copyright holder, I would be much obliged.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/enzo%20ferrari%201970/bouboum/Enzo%20Ferrari/1970-Enzo_BertetACi-Monza.jpg?o=9

Kenny Lombino: Ferrari Club of America

Here are excerpts from my talk with Kenny Lombino about Ferraris, the Ferrari Club of America and Kenny's Ferrari 16M Scuderia spider.

Ferrari 330GTS

I received an email from Michael Adams saying, "...don't forget to come over to see the best 330GTS ever. It's at home now." Two weeks earlier, Michael had invited us to take a drive in his immaculate Ferrari 275GTB which we did. He said he really wanted us to see the GTS which was elsewhere at the time. It had come home and thus the invitation for a return bout. Since Kenny Lombino of the Ferrari Club of America had made the introduction, I thought it was fitting and proper for him to join us. This time he left the Maserati at home and brought along his Ferrari 16M as a chase car.


I had driven a 275GTS many years ago and Michael's 330GTS seemed newer now than the 275GTS did then. Like his 275GTB, Michael's GTS seemed to be in showroom condition. The engine sounded like Ferraris of legend and it idled at high revs like a nervous Thoroughbred going into the starting gate. I've never experienced another engine that conveys as much excitement and anticipation as does the Ferrari V12.


Michael pointed out to me that the interior of the GTS and been re-done more than once and it was finally the handiwork of Tony Nancy that we see in these photographs.


It was a beautiful day for a ride and photographing this gorgeous car. While we were at it, Kenny treated my son Sean to a warp-speed experience in the 16M which doesn't accelerate so much as it moves instantly through space and time.



We were a skeleton crew for this EWTV shoot with Kenny Lombino, Sean Mitchell and Jeanetta Dumouchel handling cameras and chase cars and we want to thank Michael Adams for extending his invitation to us to enjoy this car that has a seven-figure market value and a provenance that is beyond price.