Dear ,
Spring is here and we're taking the wraps off our Speedster and Mustang for another top-down season. In a few weeks I'll send our annual "something to do with classic cars every weekend of the summer" calendar!
Previewing the season, the Speedster in its "best supporting prop" role at a wedding-themed photo shoot organized by Brendan Stewart from Symbol Photography.
We've had an pretty cool off season with a couple of highlights being a visit to the Paul Russell Company in January and my first visit to the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in March.
Paul Russell and Company
Any conversation about classic car restorers in New England is likely to start with, or eventually get to Paul Russell Company located in Essex, just north of Boston. I had the opportunity to visit the company on a lovely Saturday morning in January. My visit was through the auspices of the Northeast Region of the Porsche Club of America. It's a trip we organize every two years and it's a real treat. Recommendation #1: if you ever have the opportunity to visit, JUMP at it!
Paul Russell is the crème de la crème of restorers - absolutely one of the most highly regarded in the world. Among the company's award winning restorations are Ralph Lauren's 1938 Bugatti T57SC Atlantic Coupe that won Best of Show at Pebble Beach in 1990 and a breathtaking Ferrari 1950 Ferrari 166MM/195S Berlinetta Le Mans that won the same award at Cavallino in Italy in 2008.
As much as it is a pleasure to see beautiful cars undergoing the Paul Russell treatment, it's wonderful to learn about and experience the philosophy and values that underlie the company's success. Picture taking is not allowed during visits, but you can take a
virtual tour of the shopat the website
As our group was led from the fabrication shop to the paint shop to the assembly area to the leather shop, I couldn't help but marvel that this may be one of the few places in the world where a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, one of the great classics, actually can come to seem commonplace. Paul Russell built its reputation in part through its work on Mercedes and it continues to be the place to go. We saw several 300SLs in various stages of restoration. One most striking is finished in a deep violet finish. Not appropriate one might scoff, hardly original. But, as it turns out, it actually is the original color - clearly unique! The car also has what at first appears to be black leather interior, but we came to realize was actually a midnight blue. Subtle, beautiful. Not only do you see 300SLs at Paul Russell; you see the most unique and outstanding examples.
One of the most remarkable stories we heard during our visit was about another Bugatti Atlantic Coupethat is being prepared for this summer's Pebble Beach Concours. "Prepared" is an understatement. We learned that there were only three Atlantic Coupes built. One is the award-winning example owned by Ralph Lauren. A reclusive West Coast collector owns a second. The third long ago came out on the short end of an encounter with a train. The owner at the time and his mistress apparently perished and the car was not surprisingly, a total wreck. Over the years, according to the story, a semblance of the original was reconstructed. Now, what's happening in Essex is a complete rebuilding - salvaging as much of the original as possible and building from scratch all else that's needed. That includes the wood frame, which we saw mostly complete, many newly shaped-by-hand aluminum body panels and a fully rebuilt drive train. It's an incredible undertaking. It will be a real treat to see the final product.
Amelia Island
Along with Pebble Beach in August, Amelia Island over the last 15 years has become THE Concours to attend. Not only are there way too many fantastically beautiful cars to see, it is distinguished by always having a kind of crazy, idiosyncratic class - this year it was "Cars You Never Knew Existed" - and the fact that the entire event benefits a local charity - the Community Hospice of Northeast Florida. As such, Amelia Island continues to reflect the personal vision and style of its founder, Bill Warner.
1970 LeMans winning Porsche 917 at Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
For me, one of the exciting aspects of the event was its focus on the legendary Porsche 917 racecars. I think of the period from the mid-60s to early 70s as a golden age of sports car racing. Spurned by his bid to buy Ferrari, Henry Ford set out to beat the Italian at LeMans - and did so with the GT40. Then, the FIA in effect banned the 7-liter cars, which opened the door for Porsche to step in with the 5-liter 917. There's a famous picture of all 25 of the cars required homologation lined up at Stuttgart on April 21, 1969. The 917 in various versions went on to win LeMans, Daytona, and the CanAm series. Early on, it was best known as nearly undriveable. Later, with the aerodynamics sorted out, it was best known for its 240-mph top speed down the Mulsanne straight. White-knuckle time!
Amelia Island not only brings great cars together; it brings great personalities of the sport together as well. I enjoyed a session on Friday that included some of the greatest 917 drivers - Brian Redman, Vic Elford and Derek Bell, as well as engineer John Horsman, credited with solving the 917 handling "challenges". It was cool to hear their stories. One problem: the 917 put so much power to the rear wheels that the tires distorted away from the wheels and blew out (fun at 200+). The solution: literally, thru-bolt the tires to the rims. Another problem: built for road courses, the design of the cabin left zero visibility on Daytona's banking. Solution: cut a hole in the roof so the driver had a little bit of a view! Calm and composed 40 years later, it was hard to imagine these seemingly kindly gentlemen gritting it out under those conditions.
Recommendation #2 if you're a car nut: get thyself to Amelia!
Live Life: Rent a Sportscar!
