Author Archives: Frank Filipponio

Event Alert: September 2010 Calendar of Automotive Events

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Auctions, Paris Motor Show, Event Alert

September means the end of summer vacation, but the automotive festivities continue, including the Paris Motor Show at the very end of the month. We’ll have a full team coverage in the City of Lights, but that’s almost a month away. Between now and then there are hundreds of car-related events to keep all but the most rabid gearheads satisfied.

While our coverage of Monterey and the Woodward Dream Cruise last month gave us a year’s worth of classic and collectible car memories, September has a lot more to offer for classic car fans. Here’s some highlights:

If you’d like to buy your own classic, there are plenty of auctions in September as well: RM Auctions: Auburn Fall Collector Car Auction, Worldwide Auctioneers Auburn Auction, The Branson Auction, Vintage Toy Vehicle Auction, Mecum St. Charles Auction and the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Auction.

Racing fans can take in Formula 1 action during the Italian and Singapore Grands Prix. NASCAR has stops at Atlanta, Richmond, New Hampshire and Dover. IndyCar heads to Kentucky and Japan in September before wrapping up the 2010 season in Miami in October. The WRC hosts the Rally Japan this month, while the ALMS heads to Georgia for the Petit Le Mans at the end of the month. Grand-Am fanciers can catch the last race of the season at Miller Motorsports Park. Two-wheel fans can see the AMA Pro Superbike Championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

If none of those events appeal to you, check out our Google Calendar after the jump for even more listings, all with detailed info and links. And please don’t forget to use the comments section to add or modify listings.

Continue reading Event Alert: September 2010 Calendar of Automotive Events

Event Alert: September 2010 Calendar of Automotive Events originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AutoTrader Classics unveils Fireball Tim’s 1951 Chevy 3100 “Redster” ahead of SEMA

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: SEMA Show, Classics, Hybrid, Performance, Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Technology, Chevrolet, Celebrities, Specialty

The Redster by Fireball Tim Lawrence – Click above for high-res image gallery

Any time Hollywood’s current go-to car guy, Fireball Tim Lawrence, is involved in a project, you know it’s going to be a rolling masterpiece. So when AutoTrader Classic invited us to see Fireball’s latest creation ahead of its public debut at the SEMA show in November, we jumped at the chance. Make the jump for yourself to get up close and personal with The Redster.

Gallery: Fireball Tim’s Redster Unveiling

Continue reading AutoTrader Classics unveils Fireball Tim’s 1951 Chevy 3100 “Redster” ahead of SEMA

AutoTrader Classics unveils Fireball Tim’s 1951 Chevy 3100 “Redster” ahead of SEMA originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance roundup gallery

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: Classics

2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – Click above for high-res image gallery

Another Pebble Beach Concours has come and gone, the confetti has flown and the champagne has been imbibed. The somewhat surprising Best of Show selection has been entered into the record books, and now, we, your faithful Autobloggers, can finally get some rest. It’s been a grueling week full of new car unveilings, vintage car races, auctions and, of course, the Concours. As much as we enjoy every minute of it, and are sad to see it end, we’re always glad to be home again, sleeping in our own beds. But before we crawl back into our caves to slumber for another year, we have some unfinished business to take care of.

There are always thousands of images that don’t make it into the official posts, most of which are just as beautiful, and just as interesting. As you probably surmised if you’ve seen our coverage so far, this year’s Concours was truly spectacular – from the Dawn Patrol entrance of the twelve Jaguar XK-SS roadsters to the crowning of the champ, we’ve shown you the tributes to Indy, Alfa, and Jaguar, to the Ferrari SWB and Ghia… and now it’s time to show you all of the rest of the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. We’ve assembled a gallery of high-res images for you to peruse that covers what we didn’t cover to date. Call it a parting nod to you our readers and to all those who make this such a great event. See you next year.

Gallery: 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

Monterey 2010: The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance roundup gallery originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion paddock walk

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Racing

2010 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion – Click above for high-res image gallery

We can’t exactly say that we’ve always liked the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion – mainly because this is the first year that the event, formerly informally known as the Monterey Historics, is using that title. No matter what they call it, though, we have to say that we’re glad some things never change. By that we are referring to the fact that the paddock is open to everyone and that the cars you see are some of the most amazing vehicles you’ve ever laid eyes on. Even the non-race cars that serve as basic transportation for the drivers while in town can be achingly captivating.

We just couldn’t resist walking around for a couple of hours and banging off a few hundred photos. There are race cars returning to their stalls, some heading out to the track, others just parked and still others undergoing open-heart surgery. There are display vehicles and street cars, along with a few celebrities on hand to participate or just admire them. We’ve put together a gallery of a few dozen of our favorites below.

Gallery: 2010 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Paddock

Monterey 2010: Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion paddock walk originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: Jaguar’s 75th birthday party at Pebble Beach

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Jaguar, Misc. Auto Shows

Jaguar 75th Anniversary at Pebble Beach – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’ve already shown you that Jaguar was honored at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with a dozen XK-SS roadsters showing up for the party, but there were other Jaguars on hand as well – lots and lots of remarkable Jags.

The history of Jaguar actually began almost 90 years ago when two young men hell-bent on motorcycle glory set up a small company to produce sidecars under the Swallow name in 1922. The younger of the two was William Lyons, who later became Sir William Lyons, mainly because Jaguar went on to bring Britain so much motoring glory. The sidecar business eventually turned into an automobile coachworks, with custom bodies on a bespoke Standard brand chassis that became know as the S.S.I. and S.S.II.

For the follow-up to those early S.S. models – Standard Swallow some think – Lyons had commissioned a new overhead-valve six-cylinder engine that was about 50 percent more powerful than the old side-valve engines they had been using. They put the new engine in a new chassis, enclosed it in the company’s first four-door sedan body and Lyons personally chose what he thought was the most appropriate name from a list of choices given to him by his advertising people – Jaguar. On September 23, 1935, the company unveiled the SS Jaguar to London’s assembled press. That car led to the short-wheelbase SS Jaguar 100 sports car that helped establish Jaguar’s reputation for performance with its early racing success.

After World War II, the company decided to change its name to simply ‘Jaguar,’ dropping the newly infamous “S.S.” label. The automaker also started focusing less on inexpensive sportscars for the homeland market, and more on luxurious models aimed at capturing rich American buyers. One way to do that was with new product and Lyons and his crew were cooking up a duesie – a new sportscar featuring a double overhead cam engine just like the race cars of the era. The goal was 160 horsepower from the engine’s 3.4-liter capacity and a 120 mph top speed. That car was the iconic XK120 – “XK” for the engine and “120″ for the car’s top speed. That begat the XK140 and 150 and a whole slew of other legendary vehicles that bore the Jaguar name.

Some of the finest examples of Jaguar’s pedigree were on hand at Pebble Beach on Sunday. Take a look in our high-res gallery below.

1935 S.S. 90
1935 S.S.I. Drophead Coupe
1938 Jaguar SS100 Roadster
1952 Jaguar C-type
1953 Jaguar XK120 SE Roadster
1955 Jaguar D-Type
1961 Jaguar E-Type Fixed Head Coupe
1966 Jaguar XJ13 Prototype

Gallery: Jaguar 75th Anniversary at Pebble Beach

Monterey 2010: Jaguar’s 75th birthday party at Pebble Beach originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: A century of Indianapolis 500 entrants féted at Pebble

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Racing

Indianapolis 500 100th Anniversary at Pebble Beach – Click above for high-res image gallery

The 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 this May represented the 100th Anniversary of “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing.” The unbroken streak halted a total of five years during our involvement with the two World Wars. It’s hard to believe we’ve had this legendary race for that long, but the centennial was certainly deserving of recognition – and although perhaps a bit incongruous to some, it was celebrated in grand style at no less than the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. As America’s premier race, why not have America’s – and perhaps the world’s – premier classic car event host the festivities?

A large class of past Indy winners and notable contenders gathered in Pebble Beach on Sunday. Take a look at our gallery and you will see most, if not all, of the entrants – many on rare special loan from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum:

1911 Marmon “Wasp”
1920 Peugeot 3 Litre
1928 Miller “Front Drive Special”
1934 Ringling & Henning “Wonder Bread Special”
1938 Maserati 8CTF “Boyle Valve Special”
1950 Kurtis “Cummins Diesel Special”
1953 Kurtis Kraft KK 500B “Bardahl Special” B
1961 Cooper T51 “Kimberly Cooper-Climax Special”
1961 Watson “Bowes Seal Fast Special”
1965 Lotus 38 “Powered by Ford”
1972 McLaren “Sunoco Special”

Some incredible cars with the strongest of pedigrees are in there, and the best part of this class was seeing how much things have changed while some things seem to stay the same despite the era. Take a look at the gallery below and see the evolution of Indy race cars over a century.

Gallery: Indianapolis 500 100th Anniversary at Pebble Beach

Monterey 2010: A century of Indianapolis 500 entrants féted at Pebble originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: Ferrari 250 GT SWB lovefest at Pebble

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Coupe, Misc. Auto Shows, Ferrari

Ferrari 250 GT Scaglietti SWB Gathering at Pebble Beach – Click above for high-res image gallery

Although most Ferrari modelsare highly coveted, the 250 GT Short Wheelbase Berlinetta is one of those cars that sportscar enthusiasts dream of even catching a glimpse of someday. Well, “someday” was Sunday at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for those who attended. And not only did they get the chance to see a 250 GT SWB up close and personal, but there were eight of them on hand so everyone could share. How clever.

As the historians among you will know, Ferrari had been building street and race cars since 1947, and through the ’50s they also made some of the most exquisite dual-purpose cars of all time as well – cars that could be driven to track then raced there. In the late ’50s, the best known of these was Ferrari’s 250 GT Long Wheelbase Berlinetta – a.k.a. the “Tour de France.” At the Paris Auto Show in 1959, its replacement was shown for the first time – the 250 GT Passo Corto, or Short Wheelbase Berlinetta. As its name suggested, it rode on a shorter wheelbase than the TdF, but also had other significant changes.

The engine was a classic 3.0-liter Ferrari V-12, producing between 240 and 280 horsepower. Less than 160 SWBs were built from 1959-1962, no two exactly alike. There were “Lusso” versions with a steel body, a full interior, door panels, sound deadening materials and wind-up windows. There were also light alloy cars with smaller diameter tube frames, no sound deadening, sliding Plexiglas windows and race-ready high-compression engines. These were for people who definitely wanted to track their car,s and although faster than the Lusso editions, they didn’t quite match the ultimate SWBs – the Comp/61 or “SEFAC Hot Rods.”

The SEFAC cars had the alloy body but also some subtle changes like a more laid-back windshield. They also used the highest spec, with almost 300 horsepower. So-equipped, they could run 0-60 mph in five seconds and had a top speed over 150 mph. Ferrari only built 21 of these Comp/61s and four of them were in the mix at Pebble this year. What a treat.

Although ruggedly handsome, with an aggressive stance and tight proportions, the appeal of the SWB goes further. The SWB is forever coupled with that time in racing history when the Italians started to feel the pressure from a new foe – The Americans…and one particular Texas chicken rancher/racer who was helping Ford take down the Maranello firm. The threat posed by the Shelby Cobra was countered by another evolution of the dual-purpose Ferrari sports racer – the legendary 250 GTO.

Gallery: Ferrari 250 GT Scaglietti SWB Gathering at Pebble Beach

Monterey 2010: Ferrari 250 GT SWB lovefest at Pebble originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: Ferrari 250 GT SWB lovefest at Pebble

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Coupe, Misc. Auto Shows, Ferrari

Ferrari 250 GT Scaglietti SWB Gathering at Pebble Beach – Click above for high-res image gallery

Gallery: Ferrari 250 GT Scaglietti SWB Gathering at Pebble Beach

Monterey 2010: Ferrari 250 GT SWB lovefest at Pebble originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: Pebble Beach honors Alfa Romeo on its 100th birthday

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: Car Buying, Concept Cars, Motorsports, Classics, Misc. Auto Shows, Alfa Romeo

A Century of Alfa Romeos at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – Click above for our high-res image gallery

It might be hard to believe, but Alfa Romeo is a century old. Check that – A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, or Lombardy Car Manufacturing Company) is 100, having been established in 1910. That was the year that a group of Milanese enthusiasts decided they could build cars better than the stuff they were getting from foreign automakers. ALFA wasn’t very successful at first – at least not financially – but during World War I, the company was taken over by a young engineer, Nicola Romeo, and the rest, as they say, is history. 100 years later, we have some of the most incredible and memorable sports and racing cars of all time wearing the cross-and-serpent or the Quadrifoglio.

At the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, the automaker received a warm welcome, with two dozen or so of their most significant models on hand for the festivities – many from the factory museum. Those 24 cars represented just a small sample of the sports and racing cars that made the company famous – everything from one of their first 1910 A.L.F.A. 24-hp Torpedo model, to the bio-mechanical 2010 Alfa Romeo Pandion Bertone Coupé.

It was a great gathering of incredible cars to honor this legendary automaker as it enters its second century, a century that will thankfully see its return to the United States market. It’s hard to say if today’s models will stand the test of time like the classics gathered at Pebble, but we think that the 8C Competizione will look sensational out there on the 18th fairway in 40 years, just like it does today.

Gallery: Alfa Romeo 100th Anniversary at Pebble Beach

Monterey 2010: Pebble Beach honors Alfa Romeo on its 100th birthday originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: Pebble gathers a dozen Jaguar XK-SS roadsters for Jag’s 75th

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Frank Filipponio

Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Performance, Jaguar

Jaguar XK-SS Gathering at Pebble Beach – Click above for high-res image gallery

Okay, full disclosure – We have to tell you that we have a conflict of interest on this one. The Jaguar XK-SS is one of this author’s top ten sports car designs of all time. This partially-civilized, D-Type-derived, semi-comp car is just plain awesome. Seeing one of them at a museum or event is like glimpsing the Pietà as you enter the Vatican – Its beauty can overwhelm you if you’re not prepared to see it. Imagine our delight, then, when we learned that the organizers of the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance had put together a small gathering of XK-SS roadsters to celebrate Jaguar‘s 75th birthday. It’s their birthday, and we get the presents.

Just 25 of these incredible machines were built during their short run – a tragic fire at the factory took nine of them and halted development of not just the XK-SS, but of the D-Type as a whole. Try as they might, the Pebble Beach folks simply couldn’t get all 16 of the survivors together for this occasion…but how does a full dozen sound? Any event that has one SS in the field is pretty remarkable in our books. Having more than one is almost unheard of. Having a dozen on hand, all in one place at one time… in an almost perfect line on the Pebble Beach golf links with nothing behind them but the course and bay? Sublime.

Why does the XK-SS draw such admiration? Well, all you need do is look at it and you have your answer, but there is much more to the story. When Jaguar withdrew from racing at the end of 1955, they had a few spare D-Type chassis on hand. They also had something of a budget crisis at the time. Why not make a few changes for road use and offer the unfinished cars to the public? Jaguar added an extra seat, another door, a full-width windshield, luggage rack and folding top and the SS was born. It weighed but 2,000 pounds and had the D-Type’s 250-horsepower 3.4-liter straight-six under its shapely bonnet. It only weighed about 100 pounds more than the full-on racer and was sold at a 30 percent discount over the D.

Doesn’t that strike you as something of a bargain for a wild, hairy beast for the street? Steve McQueen thought so. In fact, the legendary actor and racer owned the same example twice. After buying one new, he had the interior customized by artist Von Dutch. He later sold the car but missed it so much that he bought it back a few years later. He had the car in his collection until the day he died. It’s now in the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, but was in Pebble Beach for the Concours on Sunday…along with eleven of its friends. Check out our stunning gallery of high-res images below.

Gallery: Jaguar XK-SS Gathering at Pebble Beach