The third car of the post-war sports racers at Laguna last week is the yellow TZ - photos # 1 through 5, while the remaining five are of Peter Giddings remarkably original 1931 Monza 8-cylinder supercharged ex-Nuvolari car with numerous Grand Prix victories to its credit.
Last edited by John Z Goriup; 10-27-2015 at 03:18 AM.
Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T
Paying member No. 895 since 2006
" slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers
Staying with the Italian theme for the moment, a series of 5 of one of the few ASA 1000 GTs build by the firm from '65 to '69. Designed by Giotto Bizzarrini, the talented and successful designer / engineer who was responsible for so many iconic Ferraris after he and several others were fired from Ferrari by Enzo personally in '62, the 1000 GT was based on a small entry level Ferrari design. Steel bodied with alloy trunk and hood, 4-cylinder 1032 cc motor, and styled by a young Giorgetto Giugiarro, who was working for Bertone at the time.
Not much of a commercial success, it made its mark in motorsports with several important class wins.
Last edited by John Z Goriup; 09-05-2015 at 03:13 AM.
Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T
Paying member No. 895 since 2006
" slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers
Staying with the Italian theme, several sets of what else……….Ferraris.
Photos #2 & 3 are of a rare ( one of only thirteen made ) SWB 250 GT SEFAC 'Hot Rod", requested by Luigi Chinetti, Ferraris US importer, to be able to better compete in the US classes. Insanely expensive and sought after nowadays, please note the distorted grille and that the car does not appear to be symetrical………..a completely normal phenomenon in many Italian hand-built 'Specials' - Scaglietti seemed particularly prone to producing cars with uneven features, and only truly unaware restorers will spend their clients money making it "right". You'd probably knock millions off the value of this car if you were to 'fix' the crooked face. When I owned a 'normal' SWB ( meaning a 'run-of-the-mill' 250 SWB GT Berlinetta as opposed to the always rare and exotic SEFAC model ) I belonged to the FCofA and compared my car to several other 250 SWB GTs at meetings and drives, and can tell you that no two of the same model were ever completely alike…..and that all those imperfections became a permanent part of that cars provenance and dossier.
Photo #10 is actually one of the most famous one-off Ferraris, the '54 375 MM Rosselini car which won last years Best of Show at Pebble Beach, only to be used as the anchor for the canopy covering the cars in the owners pits this year.
Last edited by John Z Goriup; 08-24-2015 at 07:13 PM.
Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T
Paying member No. 895 since 2006
" slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers
Continuing with the Maranello brand, I thought it was interesting to observe two 'entry level' Ferraris in very close proximity to each in the pits, but seperated by about 45 years chronologically. The yellow car is an early 246 GTS, and the gray car is a current production 458 ( photos #3, 4,& 5 ).
This set is not in the order in which I wanted to post these images, but photo #1 is a magnificent, freshly restored '56 Pininfarina 250 GT.
Photos # 2 & 10 are of a beautifully restored and maintained '54 500 Mondial 4-cylinder sports racer with factory team provenance - one can usually tell the 4-cyl. cars because they do not need hood scoops / bumps because they have side-draft Webers, not the centrally mounted downdrafts of the V-12 motors.
Phot #6 is of an extremely rare '48 Cisitalia Touring Coupe, and shot # 7 catches the fast, thundrously noisy but sadly less than durable & reliable '62/3 Maserati Tipo 151 at high speed.
/3
Photos #9 shows two '54 Maserati A6-GCS models, with #8 picturing the immaculate, hand fabricated oil and gasoline tanks in the rear of the #527 car.
Last edited by John Z Goriup; 08-24-2015 at 07:17 PM.
Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T
Paying member No. 895 since 2006
" slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers
Carrying on with a pair of shots of possibly the most charming and delightful car there, a '66 Ginetta G12, followed by a snap of a road going Aprilia World-Championship winning super bike, and a couple of beautifully prepared Alfa coupes.
Last edited by John Z Goriup; 12-30-2015 at 06:10 PM.
Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T
Paying member No. 895 since 2006
" slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers
I have to chuckle, reading your dissertation on Scaglietti's approximate approach to coach building. Knowing that you are trained as an engineer, and are a man who admires precision in all things, it must have driven you nuts comparing your personal Short Wheelbase Berlinetta to others (or even the left side of your own car to the right). How Scaglietti's very first attempt at a complete body -- a hasty re-body of a wrecked Pininfarina car at that -- was chosen "most elegant" car at Pebble Beach is certainly at statement about the political nature of car shows. A wonderful beast of a car, but far from the zenith of the coach builder's art.
Nice work as usual, John! Your telephoto lens is particularly crisp! A new one, perhaps? Keep 'em coming!
-- David
…….and now for something completely different - more Porsches, specifically, their latest "Supercar' hybrid in the form of the 918, in Riviera Blue, one of at least seven or eight I saw during the week being driven on the streets and carrying plates, not dealer tags. Interestingly, there was a sparkling new metallic blue La Ferrari in the pit across the aisle from tjhe 918, making direct comparison between features and areas of special interest very convenient. The exercise really demonstrated the differences in philosophies and the marketing / engineering approaches of the two companies.
Last edited by John Z Goriup; 10-27-2015 at 03:23 AM.
Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T
Paying member No. 895 since 2006
" slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers
What follows is a series of randomly selected images of various Porsche types, models and eras.
Images #7, 9 & 10 show Ron Goodmans stunning '54 356. Ron runs a major shop in Sidney, Australia, is a real gentleman and is enjoying his third consecutive year at the Historics……the car is immaculate, fast and very well driven.
Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T
Paying member No. 895 since 2006
" slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers
….and a few more Porsche images.
Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T
Paying member No. 895 since 2006
" slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers
……..followed by a couple of sets of random images of various other makes and items.
Inmcidentally, FYI, image #6 is the engine compartment of a BMW M1.
Number 9 is the front of a Singer………nothing makes me happier than to see that Rob has made such a resounding success of his dream.
Last edited by John Z Goriup; 09-05-2015 at 03:25 AM.
Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T
Paying member No. 895 since 2006
" slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers
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