Pebble Beach, August 16, 1998
The honorable jury
A tribute to Sergio Scaglietti
Two special 375 MM
The first 250 Testa Rossa
Denise McCluggage's toy
And the other Ferrari...
A long tradition
Best of Show
The verdict of the jury
The honorable jury
Phil Hill, Stirling Moss, Paul Frère and Sergio Scaglietti - could there be anyone
more suitable to discuss the design and the charisma of Ferrari automobiles from
the 1950's and 1960's? The three noted racers and the body manufacturer from
Modena were members of the jury of the 48th Concours d'Elégance in Pebble
Beach that was celebrated on August 16, 1998.
Of course they did not judge the participating Ferrari only - the Pebble Beach
Concours d'Elégance which his hosted on the immaculate green of the Pebble
Beach Golf Club traditionally attracts many of the best and most flamboyant
automobiles ever produced. Compared to the majestic Duesenbergs, Packard,
Mercedes-Benz and Bugatti the Ferrari often look less spectacular due to their
more modest size, but nonetheless the spectators pay as much attention to them
as to the giant cars from the pre-war era.
A tribute to Sergio Scaglietti
In 1998, there was a special category for cars bodied by the Carozzeria Scaglietti.
Sergio Scaglietti was very happy to be honored in this way and had come to
California personally. This is particularly remarkable since this was the first flight
ever for the man from Modena!
However, of course the so-called "Class O – Scaglietti Coachwork" was
dominated by Ferrari. To be more precise, there was just one car of a different
marque among the participants, a 1959 Corvette which clearly resembled the
1959 250 GT LWB Berlinetta "Tour de France".
Two special 375 MM
Among the automobiles of particular interest there were two 375 MM. The Spider
Scaglietti s/n 0366AM of Scott Rosen had started its life as a Spider Pinin Farina
and was been rebodied after just one year for its second owner by Scaglietti.
The 375 MM Coupé Speciale Scaglietti s/n 0402M of Jon Shirley, too, had originally
been a Spider Pinin Farina. Ordered by movie director and actor Roberto Rosselini
and his wife Ingrid Bergman, the bodywork of this extremely elegant coupe is
simply breathtaking; in the 1950’s, it was probably even more impressive than it is
today since in these days, the shape was more than just futuristic. Anyway, the car
obviously made quite an impression on the judges in 1998 who awarded both the
1st in Class O and the Luigi Chinetti Memorial Trophy for the best Ferrari of the
show.
The first 250 Testa Rossa
Another milestone of Scaglietti’s work was the 250 TR Pontoon Fender which set
a new standard in the construction of race cars. At Pebble Beach, one could see
the very first example of the series, s/n 0666TR (owned by Fred Peters and Chuck
Betz). This Ferrari had originally been fitted with another body using the style of its
predecessor, the 500 TRC, and was later rebodied with the new, evolutionary
dress. The first Testa Rossa has had a long career in motor racing, including a
2nd OA in the 1000 Kilometers of Buenos Aires in 1958.
Looking at these "creampuffs" from Scaglietti’s history, the other Scaglietti-bodied
Ferrari looked almost ordinary, e.g. the 250 GTO ’62 s/n 3943GT of Tom Price, the
250 GT California Spider LWB s/n 1431GT of David B. Smith and the 250 GT SWB
Berlinetta s/n 1539GT.
The latter was a little more special than the others since s/n 1539GT, owned by
Lorenzo Zambrano from Mexico, is the first SWB Berlinetta ever built and the 1959
Paris Motor Show car. After a ground-up restoration this SWB reveals all its special
details which make it different from the later production cars.
Denise McCluggage's toy
The latest in the bunch of Scaglietti bodied cars was one of the ten produced 275
GTB/S4 NART Spider, s/n 09437. The light yellow car is the first one of the mini-
series and has the most remarkable history of all NART spyders, at least as far as
motor racing is concerned:
The journalist Denise McCluggage (she was another member of the jury in 1998,
by the way) and "Pinky" Rollo drove this very car in the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring
and came in on 17th OA. Today this special car is owned by Bruce Lustman of
Aspen, Colorado.
And the other Ferrari...
After these many Scaglietti-bodied Ferrari, one should not forget all the other
examples of the marque at Pebble Beach which were not less interesting. The
oldest Ferrari present was the little 166 MM Barchetta Touring s/n 0006M of Bud
Lyon; it was awarded with the Strother MacMinn Memorial Trophy as the "most
elegant sports car".
S/n 0006M is in immaculate condition and is an example for Enzo Ferrari’s first
steps as a car constructor. In its class, the tiny Touring-bodied Ferrari was judged
second behind the rare 342 America Cabriolet Pinin Farina s/n 0248AL of Lorenzo
Zambrano.
Only two examples were made of this wonderful but somehow heavy looking car.
In 1954, it had been shown at the New York Motor Show.
Also entered in "Class M – Ferrari 1947–1968": 400 Superamerica Cabriolet Pinin
Farina s/n 1611SA, a 275 GTS (s/n 07885) and a 330 GTC (s/n 11517).
A long tradition
Ganz abgesehen von den Autos im Allgemeinen und den Ferrari im besonderen
hat der Concours d'Elegance von Pebble Beach eine einmalige Ausstrahlung.
Glänzenden Lack und Chrom auf penibel gepflegtem Rasen in einer Buch am
Pazifik - so etwas bekommt man sonst nirgends geboten.
Another specialty of the Pebble Beach Concours: Its change from a Concours for
new cars to the Mecca of the classic car enthusiasts happened seamless. The
first Concours was won in 1950 by a brand new Edwards R-26 Roadster and in
1968 the judges voted for a four years old Maserati Mistral.
Best of Show
This year the much desired trophy "Best of Show" was awarded to the Bugatti
57CS Corsica Roadster of John Mozart from Palo Alto, California.
Earlier that day, the proud owner had been spotted removing tiny pieces of dust
from his 60 years old sports car with cotton swabs – apparently, the work did pay
off!
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