007 May 2022

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NOTE FROM EUROPE

Now Pay Attention worldwide phenomenon, and audience expectations had grown too.
007: The Mystery Eon Productions approached Aston Martin to discuss using their
of the Most Famous latest model, the DB5, for Sean Connery to drive in the third film of
Car in the World the series.

There are several Bond Aston Martin DB5 movie cars, but Making the movie car
one actually used in the filming — with all the cool gadgets —
vanished 25 years ago In his superb 1991 book on Bond cars (the title of which I’ve
borrowed for this article), author Dave Worrall recalls how in
by SIMON KIDSTON November 1963, the legendary 007 production designer Ken Adam
(the man behind the hollowed volcano lair and oil tanker containing
“MY NAME IS Anthony Pugliese III, and I own the most famous car a nuclear submarine pen) and special effects guru John Stears (who
in the world. I’d like to speak to one of your specialists about its value.” later created R2-D2, C-3PO and the Death Star for “Star Wars”) paid a
The long distance line to London was crackly, but the self-assured visit to Aston Martin HQ just outside London and were turned down
American voice was unmistakeable. As I was an impressionable flat — “But we would be pleased to sell you a new DB5 for £4,500.”
22-year old, Mr. Pugliese had my full attention.
Eventually Aston relented and agreed to lend Eon their
 We’re in Kensington, London, in 1990, and my daily auction house development hack, chassis DP/216/1 (Development Prototype) for
duties consisted mostly of making tea, moving my boss’ car when the new movie.
parking wardens appeared in our cobbled mews, and cold-calling
people who (although they may not have yet known it) wanted to sell Turning Adam’s drawings into reality took two months. Stears and
their classic car in our next auction. three imaginative colleagues then had the daunting task of making
the gadgets appear to work, which was achieved by a hydraulic power
I had no idea what Mr. Pugliese might own — a Bugatti Royale or system housed in the trunk. It was decided flamethrowers were not
Ferrari 250 GTO perhaps — but it was likely to be more exciting than essential, but thankfully, the ejector seat was. By the end of February
another mug of Earl Grey. 1964, just days before filming started and at an estimated cost of
£25,000 (including a colour change from Dubonnet to Silver Birch)
 It was, he revealed, the original James Bond Aston Martin. Not they had created the original Bond Aston.
the DB5 “stand in” used for the driving scenes in “Goldfinger,” nor
even one of the two replicas the production company commissioned  Fast forward to 1968. After four years of hard work, including
to tour the United States on promotional duties — but the genuine filming “Goldfinger” (total budget $2.9 million) and a DB5 comeback
gadget-laden DB5 with which Sean Connery had evaded the portly in “Thunderball” ($9 million),  Aston Martin found itself with the
Auric Goldfinger’s henchmen and saved the world — again. “Effects” car (known as the “Trick” Aston by the film crew) “looking
like a sick dog,” and the “Road” car (DB5/1486/R) originally intended
Let’s take a step backwards. If you’ve read the original Ian Fleming as a stand-in and for driving scenes — but used more than intended
books, you’ll know Bond originally drove a well-used, Battleship due to on-set break downs and now also fitted with gadgets.
Grey supercharged Bentley, switching to an Aston Martin DB Mk
III mildly customised by Q-Branch in the “Goldfinger” novel. By The two replicas (DB5/2017/R and DB5/2008/R) had come back
the time the story was ready for the big screen, Bond had become a from being mobbed by audiences outside “Thunderball” premieres
on both U.S. coasts and were in storage, still owned by Eon. What
happened to them all?

The long, twisting road of Aston’s Bond cars

“25.4.68. REMOVING NON STANDARD EQUIPMENT AND
REBUILDING AS A STANDARD DB5.” Amazingly, this is how the
factory work record reads for BMT 216A, the original “Goldfinger”
Aston, which was unceremoniously stripped of all traces of its 007
past and sold that summer to a buyer from Kent, who had enquired
about buying a second-hand car.

Aston Martin kept the now-famous registration number.
The pair of replicas were sold to young up-and-coming car
enthusiast Anthony Bamford for £1,500. When he agreed to the price,
he thought he was buying one car. You can imagine his expression
when two were delivered. In what was possibly the best deal in
motoring history (although he’s done a few), he swapped one for a
1964 Ferrari 250 GTO — which he still owns. One of the replicas was
recently spotted being driven on the frozen lake of St. Moritz by its
Swiss owner, obviously enjoying himself in a black tuxedo. The other
has spent many years on display in the Louwman Museum in The
Hague, Netherlands.
When the buyer of one of Bamford’s DB5s decided to resell it in a
blaze of publicity, U.S. radio station owner Jerry Lee of Philadelphia
heard about it and contacted Aston Martin to learn more.
Having advised him that this was merely a promotional vehicle,

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On location with the
“Road” Aston Martin
DB5 and a suave Sean
Connery playing 007

they claimed that they still had the original — “but it is not for sale.” Vanished in the night
This was DB5/1486/R, the “Road” car. Mr. Lee’s $12,000 offer changed
Aston Martin’s stance, and Lee cherished it for the next 41 years I’m still not sure why Mr. Pugliese called a London auction house
before it was sold at auction for a single bid of $4.6 million. Today it’s for a valuation that day, which he proceeded to give me. He felt —
in a collection in Ohio, sitting appropriately next to a 1964 Ferrari 250 politely but firmly — that this was a $10 million car. And who knows,
GTO. he might have been right.

So, back finally to the mystery of the original. The buyer from Kent, We’ll never find out, though, as the classic car market crashed
Gavin Keyzar, dazzled by the publicity generated by other Bond Aston spectacularly that year. The Bond DB5 was never sold again either, as
sales, asked the factory to reinstall the gadgets. it disappeared from Mr. Pugliese’s Florida storage hangar one June
night 25 years ago, with only some car tire marks on the runway as a
Aston politely declined. clue to its fate.
Undeterred, Keyzar had a local coachbuilder do the job, minus
hydraulics, which were too daunting. In January 1971, successful Spirited away by cargo plane and dropped in the ocean? Dragged
Utah jeweler and serial car collector Richard D. Losee bought the onto a truck? After a long fight, the insurers paid out a reputed $4.2
original Bond DB5 from Keyzar and shipped it to America. It led a million, and they’re still offering a $100,000 reward for its recovery
busy afterlife, including a cameo role in “The Cannonball Run,” until (Pussy Galore might be more effective). Last summer, a bounty hunter
Losee’s retirement. In 1986, he instructed Sotheby’s to auction it in claimed to have discovered it in the Middle East, but I’d give better
New York City. chances for finding Elvis.
The successful bidder for $275,000? You guessed it: Mr. Anthony
Pugliese III. It’s probably an odd job for a licensed trouble shooter. Sound
familiar?

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FUNNY THAT YOU ASKED
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Behind the Scenes I have a friend who thought, “What a great way
with Movie Cars to finance my car collection, I’ll rent them out!” He
had a perfect 1972 Citroën SM. The director of a
Movie cars are cool, but they’re not always what they movie had to have that car, as it was perfect for the
appear to be movie.

by JAY LENO My friend contacted a lawyer, who drew up an
iron-clad contract. If the vehicle were damaged
I HAD TO smile when I saw the topic for this issue in any way, he was covered. The lawyer and the
was “Behind the Scenes.” contract cost him almost as much as what he was
getting for putting his Citroën in the film.
When I was a kid, the most-popular show on
television was “The Ed Sullivan Show,” which was When the movie crew was done filming, my
a variety program on Sunday nights that featured friend couldn’t believe it. They had taken a Sawzall
everybody from The Beatles to Topo Gigio, the Italian and cut out the dash so they could fit a camera in
mouse. there. This was a while ago, when cameras were
still quite large.
My favorite part of the program was when they
pulled the curtain back and Ed Sullivan walked out — When he confronted the movie people, they
because for maybe half a second I got to see behind were very nice. “Just send us the bill,” they said.
the scenes. Was that Ringo or just a stagehand?
They did pay him, and oh, he’s still waiting for
When it came to automobiles and motorcycles, this parts.
need to go behind the scenes became even stronger.
Ok, there is one movie car…
What kid didn’t wanna own that orange Dodge
Charger from “The Dukes of Hazzard”? I remember Another great behind-the-scenes scenario is
thinking how durable that car was to take a beating when a car is hand-crafted, and they show you the
like that week after week! craftsman with the salt-and-pepper hair hand-
stitching your leather seat. Oh please, you really
Behind the scenes reminds me of another old think Geppetto using his thumb as a gauge is going
adage: If you like sausage, don’t watch it being made. to do a better job than a robot that is accurate to
one-millionth of an inch?
Just a few doors down from my shop is where they
used to build the stunt Chargers used in the “The Or when you buy a high-end luxury car, and
Dukes of Hazzard.” And surprise, surprise! They all there is an analog clock made by an extremely
didn’t have 426-ci hemi engines with dual quads upscale Swiss watch company in the dashboard.
and a 4-speed. Most were just shells with some kind Do you really want to go behind the scenes to
of tube frame and a small-block with an automatic find they just glued a new face with the Swiss
transmission. company’s logo over the clock that was already in
there?
I remember once thinking what a shame it was to
destroy so many Chargers for a lame TV show. I remember one start-up electric car company
couldn’t take us behind the scenes in its factory
Don’t let your car become a movie car because it was proprietary technology. That’s what
they called it. I called it a modified Fisker Karma.
Here’s another real-life, behind-the-scenes
scenario: Being paid to put your car in a Hollywood There is only one movie car I would want to see
movie! What’s cooler than that? being built behind the scenes — because I got
to drive it. This is the latest version of the Aston
Martin DB5 Goldfinger Edition.

I would have been able to see it was a replica in
the truest sense of the word — being built by the
original manufacturer. I could have watched the
original-style engine block being honed just as it
had been back in the day.

Aston Martin was kind enough to let me borrow
one of these iconic cars and drive it for a few hours.
This was not some beat-to-death, worn-out prop
car. It was a brand-new 1965 car built to the highest
standards. Driving it was one of the greatest car
days of my life.

Behind the scenes is cool, but I’ll take all my
cards on the table at the same time, thank you.

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AMERICAN MUSCLE

Chasing Time

“Getting to it someday” isn’t as bad as it sounds

by JIM PICKERING

THIS PAST MONTH, my local racetrack and the convention center  I’m a true believer in swap meets. I go every year to hunt parts,
right next door held their annual joint weekend car swap meet for take photos and catch up with friends. The April events kick off the
the first time in several COVID-plagued years. car year, after long, gray, rainy winter months in the garage.

 The two events — the Portland Swap Meet and the Portland  I love the parts, the possibilities and the focus of the day.
International Raceway Auto Swap Meet — are actually two Deadlines, bills, family needs — all of it gets pushed aside, if only for
independent events, not that it counts to the attendees. The events an afternoon.
both take place over the same weekend on a few hundred acres of
land that was once the wartime town of Vanport — a shipbuilding  Time may be money, but for me, it all ceases to matter out there.
community that washed away on May 30, 1948, when the dike Getting lost in the dream of a project is the point — I don’t tend to
holding back a flooding Columbia River broke. The onrushing water see the rust or the missing pieces or the hours of labor needed as
floated all the houses off their foundations, leaving nothing but clearly as I do the finished product in my head. Reality doesn’t set in
broken china and empty neighborhood streets behind. until I get home and try to explain what I bought to my wife. 

 Today, the locals think of the swap meet as one sprawling event I think that same dream is what’s behind the scenes of the people
with two entry prices. Combined, it’s the biggest car swap meet with the rough Superbird in a shed, or with the L88 torn apart in a
weekend on the West Coast. long-closed garage. Projects stall, but the dream remains, and its
possibility is powerful. It drives the “get to it someday” crowd to

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never sell, and would-be buyers to covet, so they too can dream of car was everything. A dream of speed, fury, escape. A passion
never selling. project.

 If only we had more time.  He finished first that day, and when we got back to the pits, he
gave me a hard time for how shiny my car was. “If it doesn’t go,
Frozen glory chrome it!”

In the midst of COVID-forced garage loitering, I spent a few  The picture is telling. Behind the wheel, he won, even when it
days cleaning up my garage space last spring, which included didn’t look that way.
sorting through hundreds of time slips from my younger days at
the PIR drags. They’re a reminder of my life before having kids — Powerful possibility
documented down to the hundredth of a second.
This year, there were better, cleaner, less-rusty cars at the swap
 Among the time slips was a photo from back in the late 1990s. It meet than usual. More two-door Impalas. Hemi Chargers. First-gen
shows my ’66 Caprice about midway down the quarter mile, leading Camaros. Tri-Five Chevrolets. C10s of every color. Maybe it was just
a ’71 Buick GS455 by three car lengths. me.

 The Buick belonged to a young guy named Nate, one of the  I don’t think about Nate often these days, except for places like
neighborhood speed shop employees, and the picture is deceiving. I the swap meet, where I always seem to run across a GS or Skylark
red-lit and got out front, and his Stage II Buick is standing tall — and with the same style taillights that passed me way back when.
on its way to eat my lunch.
I figure I’ll come across his car again one of these days, owned by
 Buick’s 455s are serious performers, and this one had been someone else now and serving a different dream. I like to think it’s
worked over with hotter-spec cylinder heads and some kind of locked away in a garage somewhere — and far from the used-up
top-secret cam. The thing ran low 11-second quarter miles in street brown, tan and yellow beaters I see at the swap meet. It’s probably
spec and was in the 10s on the bottle. It was Nate’s ultimate street shiny, too.
monster — and the thing that powered him through the hard days of
a fatal diagnosis.  I thought about that this year as I wandered the rows of truck
parts, Corvette bumpers, project-car Impalas and Mopar intakes.
 Nate housesat for a family that lived outside the U.S. most of the I was surrounded by young and old dreamers, who were buzzing
time, which meant that when he wasn’t at the speed shop, track or around and carrying beat-up fenders, doors and trim that probably
hospital, he spent his time in a big suburban house full of someone looked good to them when they picked them up in the haze of the
else’s family photos. He didn’t seem to mind that his only things in afternoon — and will likely take on a different look when the focus
that place were the Buick and a set of Mickeys on Centerlines stacked fades.
alongside it. Laser-like focus was his constant — and his edge.
 It’ll take time, energy and skill to set that stuff up right, but there’s
 Wash away the house, the yard, the unfamiliar memories — the no hurry. Hopefully they’ll get to it someday.

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TALKING FAST

Formula One in the
United States

New races, new teams and a very promising young driver
point to an exciting new era in the U.S.

by ZAK BROWN

THIS TIME OF year always reminds me of my first motor racing Daniel Ricciardo hooks horns
experience. in Austin, Texas

I was just a small boy when I visited the Long Beach Grand Prix and in 2021, the Grand Prix in Austin enjoyed a weekend attendance
for the first time in the spring of 1981. I still cherish the program of 400,000.
from that event, which I had signed by former Tyrrell racer Eddie
Cheever. It was such a memorable experience watching F1 cars blast  The huge spectator numbers at The Circuit of The Americas last
down Shoreline Drive in the warm Californian sunshine. October proved there is an appetite for more Formula One races in
North America.
 In the year after my first race, there were two additional street
races — in Detroit and Las Vegas — added to the FIA Formula One The latest city to appear on the F1 schedule is Miami, which has
World Championship schedule. In 2023, for the first time in four set a new standard for debut races. The 5.41-km Miami International
decades, will we once again have three Formula One Grands Prix in Autodrome was created next door to the spectacular Hard Rock
America. Stadium, which is the home of the Miami Dolphins NFL franchise.
The first Grand Prix held there in early May brought the style, food
It feels as if we are on the cusp of a new golden era for the sport in and fashion of the Sunshine State to Formula One, and it was no
the United States. surprise the race was a sellout. A huge credit must go to Dolphins
owner Stephen Ross and CEO Tom Garfinkel for putting on a great
 Formula One lost its foothold in the U.S. during the 1990s, partly event.
because IndyCar was in its ascendancy. Following the split in open-
wheel racing, F1 tried to renew its interests Stateside with a race on On to Las Vegas
a newly built road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It
was certainly a spectacle to see Formula One cars roar around the  While everyone loved Miami, the next focus is on F1’s next big
banked Turn 1 in the opposite direction, but it wasn’t until 2012 new race scheduled for November 2023. Back in 1982, the season
when a new circuit opened near Austin, Texas that a true F1 home finale was held in Las Vegas in the car parking lot of the Caesars
was established in the U.S. Palace casino and hotel complex. After a gap of 40 years, Formula
One has recently announced that it will be returning to Vegas on a
A new Formula One growth strategy brand-new street track.

Since acquiring the ownership of Formula One in 2017, Liberty This time around, things will be very different.
Media has not shied away from their desire to expand the sport to Part of the course will feature cars racing down the famous Strip,
new venues, which the American company describes as “destination
cities.”

Part of their growth strategy has been the exposure of the sport
through fly-on-the-wall documentaries, and the success of Netflix’s
“Drive to Survive” series has seen an explosion of interest —
particularly in America. Viewing figures of races are up 40 percent,

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Michael Andretti
during his short
stint with McLaren

and the city’s bright lights will provide a dramatic backdrop with a racing, no driver from the U.S. has come close to emulating his
start time proposed for Saturday night. I’ve no doubt this race will achievements in Grand Prix racing.
attract huge worldwide attention — and will set a new benchmark
for future cities that hope to host a Grand Prix.  In 1993, his son, Michael Andretti, raced for the McLaren team in
Formula One, but sadly, the partnership was to last less than a year.
 The upshot of three American races is not only having an impact
on spectator numbers and fan engagement, but there are new Michael returned to America to continue his successful IndyCar
opportunities for sponsorship and investment from American firms career before establishing his own team in the series. With the
who want to be involved with Formula One. growth in F1’s appeal, Andretti has recently spoken about expanding
his squad to include a Formula One operation within the next
At McLaren, we have a number of U.S.-based companies that couple of years.
have become partners with us in recent years, including Dell
Technologies, Coca-Cola, Google, CNBC, Splunk and Arrow  While it would be a positive step to have a second American
Electronics. F1 team on the grid, the next big leap in popularity from a U.S.
perspective would almost certainly be if a driver enjoyed the same
 Our partnership with Arrow spans our F1 and IndyCar programs. success that Mario Andretti did in the 1970s.
After an absence of four decades, our acquisition of the Arrow
McLaren SP IndyCar team last year was a sign of McLaren’s long- In fact, there are a lot of great American drivers currently
term commitment to racing in the U.S. competing in IndyCar, but I think we need to look further down the
racing ladder to discover the emerging talent of the future.
Being involved in IndyCars also means I get the chance to return
to Long Beach — but this time as CEO of the team. Enter Ugo Ugochukwu

 Like F1, IndyCar is now under new ownership, and with an  One driver I’m excited about is a rising star from New York —
increase in both spectator numbers and television viewing figures, Ugo Ugochukwu. Having first started karting at 6 years old, he has
the sport is in strong health. But motorsport in the U.S. could yet scooped a number of titles, first in the U.S. and then in Europe. With
reach even further heights in the near future. a mix of Nigerian and Italian heritage, the 15-year-old American
has just made his single-seater debut in the British Formula 4
Mario Andretti’s shining legacy Championship — the first recognized step on the pathway to F1.

 Back when I visited Long Beach in ’81 and got Eddie Cheever’s  A few years ago, we signed an option on the youngster and have
autograph, he was one of only two American drivers on the entry helped partner him with the successful junior series operation,
list. He finished fifth in that race, a few seconds behind the great Carlin, to learn the ropes of racing from the same team that took
Mario Andretti. The 1978 world champion was my hero and is Lando Norris through F4, F3 and F2 — right to the top.
a true legend of our sport. He remains the only man to win the
Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the FIA Formula One World It will be fascinating to watch Ugo’s progress as he begins his
Championship. That era coincided with his time in Formula One professional racing career in the UK this year. Just as I did in 1981,
coming to an end, and since Mario Andretti’s departure from Ugo today is just starting his motor racing journey, and we can’t wait
to see where it takes him.

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BUILDING A STORY

The “Eco + Muscle”
Dodge Challenger
Cliffhanger

Making a third gen Hemi Dodge Challenger faster and lighter
was a big project, but that was only half of the story

by RICH TAYLOR

IN THE EARLY 1980s, my friend Tony Assenza was Auto Editor of at “Popular Mechanics,” Bruce Mitnick, decided this time we should
“Popular Mechanics.” He used to joke that the ultimate “Popular use a Chrysler product.
Mechanics” headline would be, “Build Your Own Thermonuclear
Device From Used Vacuum Cleaner Parts and Other Items The third-gen Dodge Challenger had just been introduced and
Commonly Found Around the Home!” was in short supply. Bruce went to a Dodge dealer in New Jersey
and bought a brand-new Challenger R/T with no options. The car
Two decades later, following this same logic, “Popular Mechanics” was White with Dark Slate interior, had a 5.7-liter, 370-hp Hemi V8,
hired my Minisport company to create “Project Cars.” The concept 5-speed automatic and 3.06:1 differential. It cost $30,740. I think he
was that these offbeat vehicles would encourage PM’s enthusiastic put it on his corporate credit card.
“Do It Yourself” readers to attempt similar home projects —
hopefully not involving radioactive materials — using tools and auto Of course it was winter in Connecticut. The very first thing we did
parts they purchased from “Popular Mechanics” advertisers. was drive the Challenger to the dragstrip at Virginia Motorsports
Park and then the road course at Virginia International Raceway to
As we worked on each car, my wife Jean — a professional establish baseline numbers.
photographer and graphic designer — would take photos. I would
then write an article about what we had done, Jean would design the I stomped the Challenger from 0 to 60 mph in 4.95 seconds and
magazine pages, the PM staff would sell advertising and the result down the quarter-mile in 13.55 seconds at 103.65 mph. I herded it
would be a Special Section published in all 1.5 million monthly through a 700-foot slalom at 58.13 mph and braked it from 60 mph
copies of “Popular Mechanics.” to a stop in 111 feet. I achieved .83 g around the VIR 200 foot skidpad
and a wobbly 63-second lap of the VIR Patriot Course.
I would then personally trailer each car around the country,
displaying it at the annual Pocono NASCAR race, the Oshkosh
Fly-In, the SEMA Show in Las Vegas and other car shows as far away
as San Bernardino — and then drive it across the stage at one of the
annual January collector car auctions in Scottsdale, AZ.

Hearst Corporation, the owner of “Popular Mechanics,” then
donated all the auction proceeds to charity. Readers and advertisers
loved our Special Sections. “Popular Mechanics,” Minisport and
friends whom I employed as subcontractors made a lot of money,
and national charities were grateful for the unexpected donations. It
was all a win-win-win!

One car, two power plants

One of my favorite Projects was called “Eco + Muscle,” which
published in 2009 in two separate sections in the May and June
issues. This started out simply enough. We had started with Ford,
General Motors and Jeep vehicles in previous projects, so my client

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LEFT Baseline tests before
we started work
BOTTOM LEFT How many
Minisport techs does it take
to insert a coil spring under
pressure?
BOTTOM RIGHT New front
shock tower brace

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BUILDING A STORY

Modifications galore with six-piston calipers and 13.6-inch rear rotors with four-piston
calipers. The front Brembo brakes were so large, the 18-inch
I decided the 4,041-pound Challenger needed to be lighter, more Challenger wheels no longer fit! We ended up with Avarus AV5
aerodynamic, with more power, better brakes and much-stiffer five-spoke wheels, 20x8.5 on the front and 20x10.0 on the rear,
suspension — but all while keeping it street-legal, comfortable, fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires, 265/30ZR-20 on the front,
fun-to-drive and reliable enough for the everyday commute. 305/35ZR-20 on the rear. A dozen years ago, this was pretty much
state-of-the-art, and it’s still a potent setup today.
We started with obvious hop-ups for the Hemi V8: A C&L Air
Induction System instead of the bulky stock air filter and housing, Richmond Gear heard about our Challenger project, and they
American Racing headers, 2.75-inch exhaust pipes, aftermarket offered to supply a new differential with 3.55:1 ring-and-pinion gears
catalytic converters and a high-flow Corsa cat back exhaust. and Quaife limited-slip. Of course, changing the differential ratio and
Then we installed a ZEX Nitrous Oxide injection system, fed by a tire size confused the Challenger’s ECU, which promptly locked the
Nitrous bottle in the trunk into an oversize Arrington Engines 90 transmission into 2nd gear and “Limp Home Mode.” We had to use
mm Signature Series throttle body. This flowed so much more air the Diablo Predator to reprogram the ECU to accept the changes.
through the intake that we had to reprogram the ECU using a Diablo
Predator computer. Getting lighter

Twelve years ago, no one made an aluminum replacement for From Seibon Carbon, we sourced a lightweight replacement hood
the molded plastic Hemi intake manifold, which we were warned and deck lid made of carbon fiber. We considered cutting off the
wasn’t safe to use with too much Nitrous. We ended up with a Challenger roof and replacing it in carbon fiber, but that just got to
smallish Number 40 Nitrous nozzle and Number 21 Fuel nozzle, be too messy. Instead, my friend John Van Alphen and I stripped the
which limited our Nitrous system to an additional 75 hp instead of a stock roof and covered it in carbon fiber cloth set in epoxy to match
potential additional 175 hp. Running on new Pulstar ef1 Pulse spark the hood and trunk. We also removed the outside rearview mirrors
plugs, the conventional intake and exhaust work added another and replaced them with tiny video cameras.
60 hp, giving us a total of 505 hp, up 135 hp from the stock 370 hp
Hemi. In the porky Challenger, that still meant each horsepower had Putting rubber on asphalt
to tow almost 8 pounds of car.
It was now time to test our changes. With the Nitrous system
We installed a front shock tower brace from Razors Edge turned off, at VIR, I achieved 1.2 g around the VIR 200 foot skidpad,
Performance, and then we replaced the entire Mercedes-derived an impressive improvement of .37 g; 60 to 0 braking in 95 feet,
front suspension with a kit from Pedders USA that included racing- an improvement of 16 feet; and 63 mph through the slalom, an
style bushings, stiff springs and fat anti-sway bars for both the front improvement of 5 mph. I considered these were all substantial
and rear axles. We then added Bilstein Ultimate Performance shock performance increases, thanks to our suspension and brake
absorbers front and rear. We set up the chassis “square,” as racers upgrades.
say, with equal settings for both right and left. The front wheels were
given 9.5 degree caster, minus 1 degree negative camber and plus .1 On the road course, the Challenger was still a handful. It still
degree toe-in. At the rear, we used minus .5 degree negative camber weighed 2 tons, had numb steering and exhibited a disconcerting
and plus .1 degree toe-in. yaw motion. I got down to a consistent 60-second lap, which was
3 seconds faster than stock — but still 2 seconds a lap slower than
We also fitted Brembo Gran Turismo brakes, 15-inch front rotors

68  Linkage 007

LEFT Laying the carbon fiber
top and hoisting the new rear
suspension into place

ABOVE Engine compartment
showing nitrous and high-flow
intake

RIGHT Page from Eco +
Muscle layout in “Popular
Mechanics”

I’d driven in a stock Ford Mustang GT the year before. I frankly had Virginia Motorsports Park, which crumpled the front fender, grille
expected to be another 5 seconds faster, but the Challenger was just and spoiler, bent the subframe and did surprisingly more damage
too challenging to keep on the black part. than you’d imagine from such a comparatively mild shunt. Oh shit!

Speaking of keeping things on the track, we then went to Virginia “Popular Mechanics” already had well over $100,000 in this
Motorsports Park dragstrip. My first run with the Nitrous system project, but money was not the issue. The issue was scheduling. We
turned off netted 0 to 60 mph in 4.50 seconds, an improvement of already had all the photos, information and test figures we needed
half a second over the stock Hemi, plus the quarter-mile in 12.9 to produce the May Special Section. But this was a two-part pair of
seconds @ 110.50 mph, a satisfying improvement of .65 second and Sections in both May and June!
6.85 mph.
Even if I hadn’t wrecked the car — or to be more precise, even if
We turned the Nitrous system on, and the Challenger ripped the car hadn’t wrecked itself while I was behind the wheel — the
off 0 to 60 mph in 3.95 seconds on its way to a quarter-mile in 12.4 June Section required a massive rebuilding of the Challenger to turn
seconds at 114.0 mph, an amazing improvement of 1.15 seconds it into a 700-hp, Gas-Electric Parallel Hybrid with an electric motor,
and 10.35 mph over the stock Challenger. I was so excited I couldn’t 336-volt battery pack, completely redone interior, new paint job and
wait to do it again! many other time-consuming details.

Bang! Now we had to repair the crash damage before we could even
start on the changes. With literally millions of dollars in advertising
On my second dragstrip run with Nitrous, about halfway down the on the line, this was a major disaster.
strip, at roughly 90 mph, the prototype Richmond Gear differential
split its case in half, locking the right rear wheel while continuing to There was no way out!
power the left rear wheel. The Challenger made an abrupt right turn,
while I frantically steered left and smoked the Brembo discs. EDITOR’S NOTE: We’re sorry to leave Rich in such a bad spot, but we’ve run
out of space! So, to learn what happened next, please tune in to this
I almost got away with it! space in Linkage 008, which comes out in August!
I smacked the Challenger into the right-side concrete barrier at

  Linkage 007  69

CAR LIFE

A Car Guy
Then and Now

My first car was a Camaro, and it might not be a dream
car now, but having that car was like a dream back then

by MICHAEL STRAHAN

A LOT OF people know me from “Good Morning And there was my space flight aboard Blue Origin
America” on ABC, Fox NFL Sunday and even from NS-19 on December 11, 2021, where I became the
hosting “The $100,000 Pyramid.” tallest person to ever fly into space. My life has been
quite an adventure.
Others know me from my 15 years in the
NFL, where I played defensive end for the New But, you know, I often just think of myself as a guy
York Giants and made a living chasing down who is crazy about cars. It’s always been that way.
quarterbacks. I’ve always lived a car life.

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Early days could find — and I still do. In Germany, most of the
magazines weren’t in English, so this forced me to
When I was kid, my dad, a U.S. Army officer, was learn enough German, so I could learn more about
stationed in Germany, so, I lived there for a few years. the cars I loved.
When I was 13 years old, I saw the 1985 Porsche
Gemballa Avalanche, and it completely blew my Cars do that — you see one and you want to know
mind. more about it, how it works, the details of the design
and how it was made. There’s always something new
In those days, I bought every car magazine I to learn.

I have always loved cars because they are like art.
When I look at them, I get a certain feeling. It brings
out a certain emotion, and certain cars take me back
to memories that are happy. 

I got my first car when I was 14 years old, and it was
a Camaro. I had to learn how to rebuild the engine. It
may not be my dream car now, but back then having
that car was like a dream. 

A growing passion 

In 1999, I reached a point where I could buy special
cars. I felt very blessed and lucky to reach that point. 

Like a lot of car people, I remembered all those cars
I loved as a kid. When I was successful enough to buy
them, I bought just about all of them. I still don’t own
them all.

As time went on, I sold some of those cars. I found
out that I only fit in some of them when I was a kid,
and most cars weren’t made for someone my size. So,
of all the cars I dreamed about, I bought — and kept
— the ones that fit me.

A lifelong process 

I’ve been very fortunate to not have a dream car, as
I look at them as reality cars. 

My taste in cars continues to evolve. A lot of cars
that I consider to be dream cars may not be the most
expensive — they’re just fun.

I like cars you don’t see at every other stoplight.
I love cars that are unique and limited. The cars
that I now love are the DeTomaso Guara and the
Glickenhaus SCG004S Nass Tuatara.

 I wonder what will be the next car to catch my eye
— and renew that special feeling.

I always get asked what’s your favorite car, and the
answer is they are all my favorites.

I’m first and foremost a car guy. I love the next thrill
of the automobile and that’s what makes the love of
cars so much fun. It is not a hobby — it’s a way of life.

My life. My car life.

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AD

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SPECEORNFDES FCROTMION

Racers are all driven
to win, but is there
such a thing as a
perfect run?

by ELANA SCHERR

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Photos courtesy of NHRA/NATIONAL DRAGSTER IT’S NOT ABOUT feet but by
fractions of an inch. It’s minutes
chopped into thousandths
of a second. Unsurprisingly,
professional drag racers tend to be
perfectionists. They all agree that
any run that gets you the win light
is perfect enough, but each has a
different idea of what the ever-
elusive, truly flawless pass would
look like. I spoke to a dozen NHRA
veterans and asked, “What’s your
perfect run?”

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→  ↗
DON PRUDHOMME WARREN JOHNSON

Top Fuel Dragster and Nitro Pro Stock Driver (retired)
Funny Car Driver (retired) 6x NHRA Pro Stock Champion
4x NHRA Funny Car Champion
Run: 1997 Pennzoil Nationals
Run: 1989 U.S. Nationals
Perfect is only the amount of error you’re willing to accept.
You know how many runs There’s no such thing as a perfect run. There’s only as good a run as
I’ve made down the quarter you can possibly make under the existing conditions. You’re dealing
mile? There was never a perfect with variables, you’re dealing with track conditions, atmospheric
run because we always felt as conditions. Just in shock settings on our modern Pro Stock cars you’ve
though we left something on the got 20 variations. So, I don’t have a perfect run because I was always
table. inquisitive as to what I could improve.
[After much cajoling by interviewer]
A run could be low ET and I guess you could say the 200 mph run [6.894-seconds at 200.13]
top speed, and when you look because that was the first-ever 200 mile an hour run. Or Kurt’s first
at the numbers you see there’s a six-second run back in ‘94. That was probably as perfect a run as you
little more in it, so you try to go could make under those conditions.
out there and set it quicker and Same thing with the 200 mph run. I actually improved that to
blow the f@#king engine up. 200.53 later on. It’s like a big chess game. You got to be aware of
everything that’s going on at any moment because any of that stuff
I’ve never been at peace with could change and you’ve got to be able to change with it.
thinking that I made some kind
of a fabulous run and it was the
greatest run ever. Even in ‘89
when we won the Bud Shootout
at the U.S. Nationals and set the
all-time low ET record [5.17].
The ET was great, but the speed
wasn’t good enough. The car
nosed over at the end [It was
on fire]. So I felt as though we
screwed up.

You know, you’re always
scared of the next guy coming
along and beating ya. You’re
never satisfied because it would
be over if you’re satisfied. I
mean, you’d just be done.

Even now I’m not satisfied,
I still dream of racing, of going
faster.

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←
BRITTANY FORCE

Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster Driver
2017 NHRA Top Fuel Champion

Run: 2017 Auto Club Finals

I’ll take the win. I don’t care how crappy the run is.
We’ve won races where you’re blowing up in the lights and it
sucks because you’ve destroyed an engine and it’s a lot of work
for your team but you get the win. Ideally, though, you want those
smooth, perfect runs.
There are a handful of runs in my career that stand out. My
first-ever run in a top fuel car, that’s a big one, but the number one
run for me would be Pomona in 2017, when our Monster Energy
team won the championship. All weekend long, we were number
one qualifier. In round two against Richie Crampton, if I won the
round, I would win the championship. That run felt pretty perfect,
because I had a good light, and we ran quick, 3.67. You couldn’t tell
who was ahead, who was going to win. You want those side-by-side
drives. We’ve had better runs than that, but in that moment, what it
meant and what it stood for and what it accomplished, made it the
perfect run.

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↑ ↗
ROLAND LEONG RON CAPPS

Nitro Funny Car Crew Chief/ Ron Capps Motorsports NAPA AUTO PARTS Funny Car Driver
Team Owner (Retired) 2x NHRA Funny Car Champion

RUN: 1991 Season Run: 2016 Thunder Valley Nationals

Jim White was driving the The year we won the championship in 2016 was the last season of
Hawaiian Punch Funny Car and the laid-back headers for Funny Car. You were allowed to angle the
we set a track record, but when headers back, which created more push for the car, but without them
we went to inspection, they aiming up and those flames pushing the car down, there was less
said the body was illegal, that downforce.
the wing was too far back. Now
with those old bodies, they’d It was one of the craziest seasons. John Force, half the runs he was
sag, so the wing was maybe an making were not in his lane at the finish line. And that’s the best, most
eighth of an inch too far back, experienced driver, probably in the history of Funny Car. That tells you
but it was because the back how hard they were to drive at that time.
was low. So they threw the run
out. Well I moved the spoiler in It was night qualifying at Bristol. The track has settled over the years,
about a half-inch to make sure and it’s created these bumps, almost jumps. Now, in a Funny Car, it’s
it wouldn’t happen again, and about the spot where a clutch locks up. When I hit that bump and the
we went back in there and won clutch locked up, it lifted the front end and carried it.
and set a national record [White
set several records that season, It lifted so high that the injector blocked my view of the track, but
and made the first Funny Car I knew I was hauling ass, so I didn’t want to lift. I could look out the
pass over 290 mph]. side window and see that I wasn’t going left or right, or at least I didn’t
think I was, so I stayed in it. When it set it down, I was probably going
It’s not just winning one race. 300 mph. It went right through the lights and they came on the radio
To me, making a perfect run, and said that was low ET. I think that was a track record run at the
it’s great, but if you can’t repeat time. I said, ‘That was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in a car, but
it, then you're not going to win the coolest run I’d ever made in my life.’
much, right? Making that really
good run, we’ve all done it at
different times, but the bigger
thing is being able to repeat it.
Which we did at the next race.

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↙
ALEXIS DEJORIA

DC Motorsports Bandero
Tequila Toyota Supra Funny
Car Driver

Run: 2014 U.S. Nationals

There’s definitely such a
thing as a perfect pass. Great
burnout, straight, get the tires
nice and hot. You take off,
great reaction time. You’re
stuck right in the groove
and nothing goes wrong. No
dropped cylinders. The car
makes it all the way down, it
doesn’t blow, and you’re fast.
Those runs make everyone
go, “Oh, I could do this.” They
aren’t all like that, but we aim
for it every time.

One that felt perfect was
in the final round of the 2014
U.S. Nationals — It was the
60th Anniversary of the U.S.
Nationals.

I had John Force in the
finals, the most winningest
Funny Car driver in the
history of the sport. I killed
him on the tree, and he trailed
me basically the whole time.
At the end it was hard to tell
who had won. We basically
ran the same number, same
speed, but because my
reaction time was better, I got
him. It’s all about who makes
fewer mistakes on race day.

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↑
ANTRON BROWN

Driver: AB Motorsports Matco Tools/Toyota Top Fuel dragster
3x Top Fuel Champion
Run: Any record-breaking ones

We always strive for perfection. We can get close to it, but that
perfect run target is always moving. The computer data shows that
every time.

We’ve broken world records and thought we had a perfect run
but there’s always more that we could've done. More fuel here.
More clutch there. We land in the bullseye area, but we never hit the
bullseye in the direct center. Still, on all those record-breaking runs,
you could tell everything was working right, the car was moving
forward, it had no lost motion. You have to wait for those type of
conditions to line up where you can hit a home run like that. And then
it’s up to you to execute it, to make it happen.

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←
TOMMY IVO

Dragster/Funny Car Driver
(retired)

Run: 1974 Winternationals

Perfect run? Oh, the
dragster crash in ’74.

It was a brand-new car and
I hadn’t qualified yet. It was
the first time I’d ever been
in jeopardy of not making
the program. So that had me
all excited. Then I rolled up
against Tarzan, my old crew
guy, and of course the closer
we got to the starting line,
the more I tuned it up. When
it exploded the fire was so
ferocious it zeroed out the
down pressure on the wing
and it rolled it over. Over she
went.

The first thing was
obviously sheer terror. At first,
I thought, “That’s it I’m dead.”
I didn’t even worry about
getting hurt. It scared me so
bad, I closed my eyes and
missed the whole show. Let
me tell you, them ostriches
aren’t all stupid. When I
closed my eyes, everything
got better. I opened them
once and I looked, and I was
down track, and the timing
tower was upside down so
I closed my eyes again. And
then it became a sense of
euphoria, of floating. If I
could only make one run drag
racing, this would’ve been
the one, because you’re never
going to have that experience
again. But perfect? No, there
is no such thing as a perfect
run. It’s always, if I left a little
better, if it grabbed a little
better, if I’d given it just a little
more lead. I guess I’m too
picky, picky, picky.

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→
ROBERT HIGHT

Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car Driver
3x NHRA Funny Car Champion
Run: 2017 Sonoma Nationals

You know it right away. Back at probably 200 feet when the clutch
is coming in and the conditions are great and the thing really sets
you back in the seat. It’ll lock the clutch up at, say 500-600 feet and
that is when you know you’re on an amazing run.

The only thing you can tell at the finish line is the engine RPM.
You can hear if it’s really happy, it’ll be up high. But you never quite
get the perfect run.

On the 339 mph record, if we could’ve put the back half of that
run with the front half of other runs that we’ve made, I think the
car could have run 342 mph. A lot of it is track conditions, and the
engine has to be perfectly happy and tuned to perfection, not lean
where it’s burning the spark plugs, not too rich, where it can drop
cylinders. It’s a fine balance.

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↙ ↑
ERICA ENDERS KENNY BERNSTEIN

Elite Motorsports Melling Per- Top Fuel Dragster/Funny Car driver (retired)
formance Chevrolet Camaro 6x NHRA Champion
Pro Stock Driver
4x Pro Stock Champion Run: 1992 Motorcraft Gatornationals

Run: 2014 Auto Club Finals Through the 25 years of doing this, there have been a lot of perfect
passes, but I’d pick the first pass over 300 mph. No one had ever done
I guess the most perfect it before. It wasn’t expected. It wasn’t even discussed. It came out of
in my career, because nowhere.
it ultimately allowed us
to secure our first world I was just thinking of being number one qualifier, so when I got
championship, was that through the finish line and one of the guys reached in and pounded
entire weekend in Pomona. me on the chest and said, “Three, three,” I thought he meant I had
qualified number three. I thought, that’s not good, what is he so
We were leading Jason Line happy about? Then the guy hollered out, “300.” Dale Armstrong [Crew
by 19 points, but every time Chief], was on the starting line. He looked at the elapsed time that
he won a round, he would go came up on the screen, saw how good it was, knew it was number
around me by one point — one, and turned around and started walking back to the pits and
because it’s a 20 point spread never even noticed the speed. The crew members went crazy and
per round. So, I would watch said, “Turn around and look at the board.”
him win in front of me and
know that I had to win as well. Not only did it run 300, it ran 301. No one else even ran 300 until
the March or April of the following year, which really surprised all of
We had an excellent race us, because usually, when one team does it, everyone starts popping
car. I think in three of the it out. It took almost another year for it to happen again. I give Dale
four rounds of eliminations Armstrong and Wes Cerny all the credit in the world for doing it.
on Sunday, we went 6.49 and
then in the finals we went One thing that’s funny about that run, speaking of perfection, it
6.48. We were really fast. I was actually put the cylinder out right before the finish line. It probably
driving really well. I was trip could have run 303 or 304 on that run if it had stayed lit, but it was just
zip the second to last round. enough for 301.
[That’s triple zero, a perfect
light].

The last round, oh, I don’t
even want to say it, but both
Jason Line and I went red. I
was just .002 red and he was
.011 red. So that run wasn’t
perfect, I would have liked to
fix that two-thousandth of a
second. But he was worse red
than me, and that run won us
our first world championship.

When I was a kid practicing
lights, my dad would say,
“All right, final round for the
world championship and
a million dollars,” and we
would cut a light. To have it
actually play out in real life
in that exact fashion was
really unique and surreal and
awesome.

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AT THE END of each conversation, I asked our drivers if they’d ← but I win. Now I got to go out
ever seen someone else make a perfect run. Prudhomme on the last run of the year
mentioned Garlits, as did Ivo, but later Ivo called me back TONY SCHUMACHER and run quicker than the
to add his vote to the overall winner, Tony Schumacher. record — but not too quick.
Schumacher’s final round pass to clinch his third world Don Schumacher Racing
championship at the 2007 Winter Finals is a pass so famous in Maynard Family/Scag Power I barely moved in to stage
drag racing history it’s referred to as simply, The Run. Equipment Top Fuel dragster because we had to be in so
driver shallow, so thin, so far back,
8x NHRA Top Fuel Champion we needed every centimeter
of the track. The car couldn’t
Run: The Run [2007 Winter move a foot left or right.
Finals] Every time you move a car
around, you lose time. It had
We were like 336 points to go dead straight.
behind [Doug Kalitta]. Halfway
through the year, we started I’m sitting in that car, and
to catch them. When we got one of my Army guys came
to Pomona, we were 45 points over, leans in, and says, “Hey,
behind. To get those points we not to put any pressure on
had to win the race, and set a you, but I’m on the phone
world record. But if Kalitta went with a Black Hawk helicopter
three rounds, none of that would circling Baghdad right now.
matter. He’s also got to lose. And And they’re waiting to hear if
he doesn’t do that often. you do this.” Our team always
stepped up with the pressure.
He qualified number one,
we qualified number two. We Then it was dead silent.
made a run on Friday that The final words I hear are,
wasn’t a record, but it was close “Here we go.” They spin the
enough that it would be good motor over and it starts.
for a backup, if we went quicker Can’t hear another thing
in eliminations. Normally what after that. It was beautiful. It
happens is you go out Friday was calm. It was awesome.
night when the weather’s the That moment, I was going
best, you set the record. And to have to tell my grandkids
then you have all weekend about it, whether we won it
to get within one-percent on or lost. It’s a whole lot better
race day. [At the time, a record story, the way we did it. You
run had to be backed up by a know, the next year in the
second run within one-percent finals I had to win again for
of the record run.] the championship, but I
didn’t need a world record.
Well, we did it ass backwards. And you see how that takes
We got a run that was good away from the story.
enough for a backup. But our
last chance was the last run You can have a run that’s
of the year. We had to win awful, but if you win it, it’s
the race. And we had to run fricking perfect. I mean, you
quicker than the record, but not can do everything wrong
outside the one-percent. It was and go out and win a round,
freaking insane. that’s the same 20 points
as a good run. But what we
Doug wins his first round, I did, what made The Run,
win my first round. Doug wins wasn’t just the run down the
his second round, I win my track, it was the whole year
second round. Third round, leading up to it. You’ve got
Doug gets beat on a holeshot by to set up the necessity for
Melanie Troxel, my teammate. perfection. Truthfully, what
He has a perfect run, a great made it great wasn’t just that
reaction time. And she has this we did it, it was that we put
miraculous .020 light, probably ourselves in a position where
her best of her life, and beats we had to.
him. He’s out, I still got to win
my round and I do. It was close,

  Linkage 007  89

JUDGING

Here Comes
the Judge

Many concours judges have decades of
experience — and are true experts on the
cars they examine

by CARL BOMSTEAD

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Trying to make
all the little
things perfect
before the Pebble
Beach Concours
d’Elegance judges
arrive

Exactly how good ENTERING YOUR CAR in a major concours such as to ensure the authenticity of the cars, as acceptance
is your car? Judges Pebble Beach or The Amelia can be an arduous and to Pebble Beach implies that the car is, in fact, a
at the Pebble stressful process. period piece of history — and that status stays with
Beach Concours the car long after the owner has moved on.
d’Elegance The selection committee at every major concours
d’elegance takes a long and hard look at the car to On the big day
ensure that it is, in fact, what it is represented to be.
Having a car accepted is an honor in itself, and
Once accepted, the car owner goes to great lengths driving your car onto the famed 18th Fairway at
to present the car in the best possible light — and it Pebble as day breaks is a thrilling experience.
all comes down to the judges spending 20 minutes Concours Chairwoman Sandra Button personally
or so to determine if your car is worthy of a coveted greets each entrant and presents their welcoming
award. gift. The car is then escorted to its assigned position,
and owners and helpers then dive into last-minute
Judging at Pebble cleaning while awaiting the judging team.

The process for presenting a car on the lawn at Judges at Pebble Beach have years of experience,
the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August and they judge in teams of three. Of late, there has
actually begins in January, when applications are first been an emphasis on younger judges, but lifelong
accepted. knowledge is difficult to replicate.

The selection committee is made up of marque Each class has a team leader or Chief Class
experts, and they have the resources to dig deeply Judge, depending on the team, and they have strict
into the linage of the cars. They do extensive research instructions. They will not touch the car. Judges ask
the owner to open doors and hoods.

Before making an authenticity deduction, judges
will politely ask the owner to document the item in
question, often with a questions, such as: “I have not
seen that starter on a 1935 Packard. Is there a reason
yours is unusual?”

It had better work

The cars are put through their paces as, unlike
many other concours, the operation of the car is fully
vetted at Pebble.

The clock, radio, lights and windshield wipers are
checked to ensure they are fully operational. The ease
of starting the engine is noted, and exhaust leaks
are a deduction. If something is amiss that is easily
corrected, the entrants are given time to correct the
fault.

The findings are not discussed with the owner, and
any discussion among the judges is held away from
the car. The entrants and their families are thanked
profusely, as without their participation there could
not be a concours.

The judges then return to the Judge’s Room, where
the real work takes place. Each judge stack ranks the
cars in their class based on the issues they have noted
and the points they have deducted. There is also a
three-point subjective allowance for elegance. Cars

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JUDGING

Judges examine every that have completed the Thursday Tour d’Elegance driven in anger and banged about a bit are not held to
inch of the car, and any are awarded a ribbon, and in the case of ties, that as high a standard.
flaw is noticed ribbon makes the difference. Yes, tour participation
has entered into several judging decisions. The history of a race car is also taken into
consideration, as a car that won the Daytona 500
The judges go through a lot of give and take — would be looked at more favorably than one that was
with animated discussions — as they arrive at a a mere back marker.
unanimous decision on the ranking of the cars.
Judging at The Amelia is in the “French” style,
It is often said that being invited onto the storied which means the cars are judged on their elegance
18th Fairway at Pebble Beach is honor enough, but — as was done in the 1930s, when a concours was a
human nature makes winning an award — and driving competition of new cars.
up the ramp to receive the trophy icing on the cake.
The operation of the cars was not observed in the
The Amelia 1930s, as they were newly manufactured. The judges
at The Amelia note the condition of the car and the
The Amelia, the rebranded Amelia Island Concours quality of the restoration. Authenticity is noted — and
d’Elegance, takes a very similar approach to Pebble the engine compartment is observed for correctness
Beach when selecting cars for their concours. The — but the cars are not started.
main difference is that the focus at The Amelia is
heavily slanted toward racing, so cars that have been Judges, in a process similar to what occurs at
Pebble Beach, rank the entrants in their class,

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ABOVE Amelia Island judges working their way
through a class of NASCAR racers

RIGHT Carl Bomstead hands out coveted awards
in the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Class during the
2022 The Amelia Concours d’Elegance

but cars that win a Corporate Award are not in
the running for a class award. The class winner is
determined, and the next two in the ranking process
win Amelia Awards. The Amelia presents two Best
in Show awards: Concours de Sport and Concours
d’Elegance.

Judging is not meant to be an adversarial process
and experienced judges attempt to make the judging
process as pleasant and stress-free as possible for the
entrants. Even billionaires and captains of industry,
however, can have nerves that are frayed during the
judging process — especially if a light that worked a
short time ago fails when the judges show up.

It is incumbent on the judging team to be fair and
supportive, making it a fun and enjoyable experience
for all.

Carl Bomstead has decades of judging experience at the Pebble Beach
Concours d’Elegance and The Amelia Concours d’Elegance.

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

The Next Big Thing

The car world is always changing — what’s the next
big evolution going to be?

WITH RESPECT TO the
collector car world, what’s the
next big thing?

Gord Duff

Global Head of Auctions, RM
Sotheby’s

We’re seeing so much
interest around so many
different types of cars that
when it comes to the “next big
thing,” there isn’t an obvious
place to start.

One recent development
is the market for limited
late-model supercars and
hypercars. Where some of the
more notable supercars of
decades past would depreciate,
if just momentarily, we’re
seeing the latest limited models
become “instant classics,”
generating results far in excess
of their original price as soon as
they can be brought to market.

It isn’t just restricted to the
latest cars though. The cars
that represent the very best of
a marque, or a marque’s very
best from a given period —
think of a Mercedes-Benz 540K
Special Roadster, Ferrari 250
TR, Talbot Teardrop — those

2004 Acura NSX-T, sold for $154k at RM
Sotheby’s Fort Lauderdale sale in late March

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Image courtesy RM SOTHEBY’S

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

cars will, in my view, continue technical knowledge and hobby should think about what © Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
to set records. There was making new friends. they can do to help collectors
some discussion about those feel more secure about the years, you’ve likely heard about
cars losing their audience as While there have always been driving experience and to the rise of collectable digital
collectors who remember national and regional clubs become more knowledgeable art with NFTs, and tremendous
them from new age out, but I holding annual gatherings, about their vehicles. growth in the virtual world
think we can put those worries these events typically feature of the Metaverse. I honestly
behind us. short, scenic drives and a Jay Ward believe that we are heading
concours-like show followed by into a hybrid market where
We’re seeing interest in cars a banquet filled with awards. Creative Director of Franchise, highly collectable cars might
from a much larger group of Collectors who grew up in the Pixar Animation Studios be offered physically as well as
people than in years past. There ’80s and ’90s are more likely digitally and experientially, all
are more events, more places to seek participation-focused When I think about where at the same time.
to see cars online than there driving events and technical the collector car world might
ever were previously. I can tell sessions led by the experts be going, my first thought is Think about the future car
you that’s led us to keep an who designed and built their looking at what technology collectors who will start to
eye on Japanese cars and cars cars. Many will also value the trends are emerging as well. approach their real purchasing
like the ones you’ll see in our opportunity to engage with power over the next 10 to 15
Youngtimers sale, and lately, experts that they’ve become Unless you’ve been hiding
the kind of “last of their kind” acquainted with through social under a hubcap for the past few
cars. I think if you’re looking media channels.
to buy a new car today that
has potential as a collectible, Successful events will
the last naturally aspirated recognize the desire to drive
or last gasoline-only cars are on roads well suited for our
interesting. Cars like Cadillac’s collector cars, trucks or utility
CT5-V Blackwing are really vehicles. Participants will
enticing. attend for the value of the
experience and camaraderie,
Lastly, I’ll say that there with minimal emphasis being
are a number of cars that placed on winning an award.
have become what we’d call Businesses that support our
“Internet Famous.” Ken Block’s
Gymkhana cars for instance.
Tens of millions of people
know those cars in a way that
is totally unprecedented. They
haven’t really started finding
their way to auction yet, but it
will be interesting to see if that
kind of notoriety translates into
collectibility.

Paul Morrissette

President, Chubb Insurance
Solutions Agency

I see a trend towards more
manufacturer-specific events
that focus on driving, building

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years. This is a younger, tech- ways that are more meaningful roll our eyes at the thought of ABOVE RM Sotheby’s
savvy generation who have and relevant to them. all this, maybe even bemoan paired the final
always had wireless Internet, today’s younger car collectors Lamborghini Aventador
lightning-quick mobile In their Metaverse garage, who foam at the mouth for ’90s and a matching NFT for
devices, immersive video why can’t they have Lightning Supras and E46 M3s, but it’s all sale in late April. The pair
games and a deeper affinity McQueen parked next to their relative isn’t it? The generation achieved $1,603,125
for all things digital. These Group B Lancia? Why can’t after them may gravitate to
budding gearheads will likely they purchase a Ferrari 250 something entirely different,   Linkage 007  99
be the ones that grew up with SWB at auction on Saturday, but the hobby moves on.
parents who loved F1, going take it to the local track on
to Goodwood, and collecting Sunday, and race the bespoke Despite the ever-evolving
a few classic cars along the digital version of it in “Gran technology and the changing
way… and so will they, but this Turismo 10” on Monday? of the guard, blue-chip classic
next generation will want to cars continue to be desired,
experience all those things in For those of us who have collected and loved. That’s the
been in the car world for good news in all of this.
decades, it might be easy to

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