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Greetings!
You may have noticed a bit of a change to the title of our Cobra Newsletter. In the area of automotive design there are a lot of things I've done besides the Cobras and I'd like to share those with you as well.
In addition to expanding this newsletter, we've started a Peter Brock Designs facebook page here to cover all my work at Shelby American which included a lot of cars I designed that weren't only Cobras, such as the Shelby Mustangs, the Lang Cooper, the DeTomaso P70, the Nethercutt Mirage as well as cars I designed prior to Shelby American (like the Corvette Sting Ray when I worked at GM) and the many cars I designed when I started my own design and race company BRE (Brock Racing Enterprises) such as the Triumph TR-250K, the Toyota JP6 and Hino Samurai. "Like" the new facebook page and you'll be updated on a more frequent basis of where we are, where we're going and what we're doing.
I hope you enjoy the expansion of topics. As always, we enjoy hearing your comments. Now on to the news!
Enjoy,
Peter (& Gayle) Brock
BRE
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SAAC38 a Fun Time
Shelby cars of all kinds gather at Fontana for a great weekend | |
 Foremost on our minds is the all-things-Shelby weekend we just returned from at the Fontana Speedway. The Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC) put on their 38th convention at this high class venue. It was extra special fun for us this year because we drove his and hers Coupes to the event. My dependable red SPC073 made its usual appearance but we've also snagged SPC036 which is a beautiful Concours-condition traditional-liveried blue with white stripes Coupe. The first time we got it into the shop and onto the lift, Gayle looked underneath and saw the gleaming belly pan and declared "mine!" It's been a real pleasure to have.
The best part of the SAAC convetion is of course to meet up with friends. Seen here is one of our favorite ladies, Sherry MacDonald (Dave MacDonald's widow), trying out Gayle's Coupe. She approved!
Prior to the event we were checking with some people involved with Shelby cars to see if they were attending and to our surprise some were not familiar with the SAAC organization. In my estimation, they are the primary reason the Shelby cars are as valued as highly as they are. They understood the value of these cars within just a few years of Shelby American shutting down. Their documentation of the cars has meant no funny business when it comes to someone trying to represent a car to be something it wasn't. If you aren't a member of SAAC you should be. Their newsletters and info on these cars is the best. All of us involved with Shelby cars owe them our support. Go here to check it out.
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On the Die-Cast Model Front
Finally... getting you some accurate Daytona Coupe Models
 I've been working closely with a high-end model company that has agreed to get them right! (the spy-covered image to the left eludes to the extensive details and work that we and the model company are going to, to ensure accuracy). Don't get me wrong. It's great to see all the various Daytona Cobra models out there. I can't however look at these models without noticing that 99% of them are based on one car's shape (CSX2299). Across the six Daytona Cobra Coupes there were three basic shapes and CSX2299 is the shape farthest from what I originally designed. The first Coupe, CSX2287, is the shape as I originally designed it (with the exception of the rear spoiler), CSX2299 is the first Coupe made in Italy where among other things they changed the shape of the roof thinking I didn't know what I was doing when they saw my drawings, and the next 4 Coupes made have basically a third shape which is a result of my explaining to the Italians why the roof was the shape it was. I appreciate all three shapes for what they are. What I don't like to see are models that represent all six cars but incorrectly with all one shape.
I have now teamed up with Truescale models to create entirely accurate models of all six Coupes. There are some great plans for individual cars as well as sets which will come out over time. The prototype of the first model to be offered is almost done. We will let you know when it is about to be available. Just a reminder, the fastest way to get news from us is to track our peter brock designs facebook page here. It takes a while to put together a newsletter but we can get info onto the facebook page quickly.
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Two Amazing Talents Leave Us
Within months we lost both Phil Remington and Bartell
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 You no doubt have heard of Rem's passing. We had talked on his 92nd birthday and although as sharp as ever, he wasn't happy with his health. He passed away a few weeks later. His memorial, held at the Riverside Museum was a great tribute to a great man. A couple of months after that I lost one of my dearest and closest friends, George Bartell. You've heard me talk about what a talented artist he was.
 I knew George for almost 60 years and he was the artist I turned to when I needed to create ads for the Cobras in the early '60s. With George's passing, the plans we shared in the last newsletter to release a limited number of the Art Center College's Peter Brock Lifetime Achievement Award prints was put on hold (to be resurrected sometime in the future). Instead we have focused our attention on the needs of George's family. The bottom line is George's widow needs financial help. There is a treasure trove of George's original art which we have now posted for sale here which is listed at well below market value.
Seen above left is Alex Zanardi winning the US 500 at Michigan Speedway in '97) To the below right is "Characters of Speed" an incredible painting that includes 12 portraits of some of the most important people in racing.  The plan is that whatever doesn't sell by August will go to an auction house (a place where few of us will have access to it). This is a rare opportunity to possess some of the most amazing automotive art ever created... and proceeds go to a great cause.
Take a look and if you have any questions just let me know here. I want to help you get a piece you'd rarely be able to have under normal circumstances and I want to help George's family.
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DeTomaso P70 Comes to the States
One of my favorite designs done while at Shelby American will now be seen in public
 The relationship between Shelby and DeTomaso was a contentious one. I was sent to Italy to design and oversee the creation of a body for a DeTomaso chassis. When the car (called the P70) was done and shown at the Turin Auto show, Shelby wouldn't pay DeTomaso. It set DeTomaso on a path of revenge. He hid the P70 away and created the Mangusta (an animal that eats Cobras). Decades went by with no one knowing what had happened to the P70. A European collector who was an expert in DeTomaso cars found the  P70 in the mid 2000s in the old DeTomaso factory. He documented the pivotal role it played in DeTomaso's history in a book "De Tomaso Macchine da Corsa" (we have a few copies available here) and brought the car out of hiding, showing the car at Monterey in pretty ratty shape.
The car has now been purchased by a Southern CA resident and has been restored to good condition. It will be on display at The Quail Motorsports Reunion (described below). We have some pretty interesting archive images of this car which you can see here.
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Corvettes at Carlisle
Why would I be at a Corvette show? | |
 If you know much about me you know I've been around! As one of the youngest designers hired by GM, I left Art Center College of Design to join GM Styling in 1957. I worked with GM Styling executive, Bill Mitchell, on what would become the '63 split window Corvette Sting Ray. It now being the 50th anniversary of the car, I decided to share the fascinating inside story of its design and creation.
It's not only a great story but GM opened up their photo archives to us. Gayle and I spent a day at GM Styling in Detroit picking out images never before seen by the public. The book titled: "Corvette Sting Ray: Genesis of an American Icon", will ship starting August 12th. It contains more than 160 photographs and more than 20 of my original sketches that have never been seen before. These visuals show the origins and evolution of one of America's most iconic sports cars. It's an amazing tale of strong personalities (Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell, Ed Cole, Zora Arkus-Duntov), the dynamics of the automotive industry in the '50s and '60s and an insider view of corporate design never told before.
Once done I realized I don't think I've ever seen a book written about how a car came to be, written from the perspective of inside the design studio. Below is one 2-page spread from the book that shows me on the left pg in the GM studio in 1958 next to a full-size clay model of what will become the '63 Corvette. On the opposite page is just one of my 20+ sketches included in the book where I describe what is seen in my sketch. 
We are offering a special here on orders of the book received prior to when it ships August 12th. Also at this location is a pdf showing several pages of the book. I'm really pleased with it. The book will be officially launched at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca the week of August 14th, where several autograph sessions will also be held. The following weekend, I and the book will be at the Corvettes of Carlisle show in PA.
I know it's not a Cobra book but if you're a "car guy" (that covers the ladies as well), you will find this book a must have. And if you're anywhere near Carlisle, you have to experience this incredible show August 23rd-25th!
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"The Quail" to Feature My Designs
Monterey week just got busier
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 The Quail Motorsports Gathering, occurring the Friday (Aug 16h) of Monterey Motorsports week, will be featuring cars that I have designed. In addition to a Daytona Cobra Coupe, a Shelby 350GT Mustang (you'll learn in my Sting Ray book how I came up with stripes for the Shelby Mustangs and Cobras), a '63 Corvette Sting Ray, there will be BRE Datsuns, the DeTomaso P-70 mentioned above, my personal Cobra Daytona Coupe and several other cars of my design. An e-mail blast Tuesday at 8:51am announced the availability of tickets to the event. An e-mail less than an hour later announced that all tickets were gone and the event was sold out. We hope you were one of the lucky ones and we'll see you Friday August 16th at The Quail. If not, be sure to stop by our booth at the Laguna Seca track Fri-Sun Aug 16th - 18th.
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The Rest of Summer/Fall 2013
In addition to the Monterey and Carlisle events mentioned above, I will be Grand Marshal at the Palos Verdes Concours D'Elegance September 15th. The weekend before that has us again in Southern CA for the LA Shelby American Automotive Club (SAAC) car show at the Santa Monica Pier Sept 8th where I am the Guest of Honor. We're sure glad we've stopped traveling so much (-:
We hope to see you somewhere soon!
Peter & Gayle Brock
BRE
342 Sunpac Ct
Henderson, NV 89011
702-558-3374
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