The Niello Concours at Serrano Is Sunday October 2

by Mike -

The Niello Concours at Serrano is scheduled for Sunday October 2. This event will be celebrating the marque of Cord Motor Cars and the 50th anniversary of the E-Type Jaguar.

There also will be a gathering of Iso cars, so I am planning to take both the Iso Grifo and the Bizzarrini.

If you are there stop by and say hello. I spoke to several My Car Quest readers at Concorso Italiano and the Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance in August and loved it.

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Ferrari 275 GTB NART Spider

by Mike -

The Ferrari 275 GTB/4 (4-cam) is one of the best sports cars of all time. So, imagine how much greater it would be if it were also a convertible?

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That is exactly what Luigi Chinetti was thinking when he asked Enzo Ferrari to make a spider version of the 275GTB/4. Chinetti was the first Ferrari dealer in the US, the founder of the North American Race Team (NART) and a great race driver himself.

This request led to ten 275 GTB/4 Spiders being made for NART in 1967 and 1968 by the coach builder Scaglietti. All were sold in the US by Chinetti.

This elegant green 1968 275 GTB/4 shown here is a replica NART Spider made by the same artist who did the work on the original ten when employed by Scaglietti.

It is owned by my friend Phil White, above, and was on display at the Danville Concours d'Elegance recently. I like to see a Ferrari that is not Ferrari red and this green looks great!

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The Danville Car Show

by Mike -

The Danville d'Elegance was held this past Sunday in beautiful downtown Danville, California.

Here are some photos from that sunny day.

1970 McLaren M8C

Mercedes 300SL Roadsters

Maserati Ghibli Spider

1967 275 GTB/4 NART Spider, more on this car later.

Ferrari F1 Car Once Driven by Gilles Villeneuve

Ferrari F1 Car Once Driven by Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine

Race Cars Driving Down the Street

Mini Cooper

The event benefits the Michael J. Fox Foundation and The Parkinsons Institute for  the fight against Parkinson's disease.

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The Past And The Future

by Mike -

I never tire of thinking about great events from the past and anticipating things to come. Here are some pictures from the recent Monterey Car Week and Hillsborough.

A Lamborghini Miura SV at Concorso Italiano.

I am going to a car show this weekend in Danville, California, although I am not showing a car, a friend and I will drive the Iso Grifo. It always draws a crowd in the parking lot.

The Iso Grifo, above, on the beach in Pacific Grove, near Pebble Beach.

Looking through the Iso Grifo dew covered windshield as we drive onto the field at Concorso Italiano.

I love the green color of this Maserati Ghibili at Concorso Italiano.

The new silver Jaguar super car on the lawn in front of The Lodge at Pebble Beach.

The red Alfa Romeo Zagato in front of The Lodge at Pebble Beach.

A Fisker sitting unattended in a back parking lot at The Lodge at Pebble Beach.

A picture of Paul Turek taking a picture of Valentino Balboni and me with the Bizzarrini at Concorso Italiano. (Photo by Rebecca Fuller).

Two Bugattis at the Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance. I think you all know that the Bizzarrini won the Owner's Choice Award at this event - beating out even these two magnificent Bugattis.

I am planning to take both the Bizzarrini and the Iso Grifo to the Niello Concours at Serrano on October 2. It is a long drive for me but they will have a display for Iso and Bizzarrini cars so I cannot miss that.

The Iso Grifo and the Bizzarrini GT 5300 waiting to go.

Please share your comments with me and other readers.

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Above is the view as I enter the Bizzarrini.

I never tire of this view.

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The Bizzarrini Wins The Owner's Choice Award At Hillsborough

by Mike -

The Bizzarrini GT 5300 went to the Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance this past Sunday, the oldest continually running Concours d'Elegance in the world.

I signed up for "display only", meaning no judging, because I just wanted to relax and talk to car people, my friends and maybe have a beer, which I did.

Just Minding Its Own Business

However, I also had two notices placed on my windshield that my presence was requested on the stage. The first was for the "Parade d"Elegance" where they interviewed owners of unusual cars that you may not have seen before. The video of this interview is at the end of this post.

Then just when I was planning to leave for the day another notice appeared on my windshield letting me know that I had received a "Perpetual Award". I had no idea what this meant but I stayed to find out.

Beautiful Cars Attract Beautiful Ladies

When I drove up to the stage for the second time I was informed that the Bizzarrini had been voted the "Owner's Choice Award" winner. This means that the other 200 car owners voted my Bizzarrini their favorite car at the show!

This is like winning the Oscars - voted the best by your peers. There were several spectacular Bugattis, Jaguars, Ferraris, Packards, Maseratis and many other great cars at this event. I posted photos of some of these classic cars here.

The Bizzarrini Engine

I was stunned because I went there to just relax and not to be judged. Fortunately they did not ask me to make an acceptance speech.

I also enjoyed meeting the My Car Quest readers who stopped by and in one case talked to me when I was in the car driving up to the stage. Thank you all.

The "Parade d"Elegance" video is below and is 2 minutes and 58 seconds long.



My thanks to all of the owners who voted for my car, I do appreciate the honor.

Please share your comments with me and My Car Quest readers.

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Waiting To Go Home After A Long, Fun Day

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Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance - A Great Event

by Mike -

The Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance was held this past Sunday. It was a great day and was a well organized and well run event with many special classic cars.

1968 Lamborghini Miura

The Italian Lineup

1969 Iso Grifo Series 2 Targa

The Bizzarrini GT 5300 surrounded by a Maserati Bora and Maserati Merak

This is the longest continually running Concours d'Elegance in the world. This was the 55th year and I expect Hillsborough will continue to hold this record indefinitely. I wrote about this event here.

1937 Airomobile, experimental sedan

1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Aerodynamica

1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal

1956 Austin Healey 100M

1937 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante

1937 Bugatti Type 57SC

1952 Jaguar XK120M

1923 Bugatti Type 32 "Tank De Tours"

This Bugatti above looks like it is going backward.

The Ferrari Lineup

1954 Arnolt Bristol Bolide

Iso Grifo in the parking lot

We drove the Iso Grifo to the event and trailered the Bizzarrini. The Grifo spent the day in the parking lot.

I entered the Bizzarrini GT 5300 for "display only", so no judging, which should allow me to have a more relaxing time and talk to other car people without the pressure of judges. 

But as you will see in the next post it did not turn out as I had anticipated.

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Please share your comments with me and other readers. Some photos by Michael Menetto.

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