The town of Milwaukee in Wisconsin is probably most famous for
its brewing industry, which evolved from German immigrants and
their penchant for beer in the mid nineteenth century, and today it
still has many beer halls and taverns within its boundaries. The
town was once the home of the four largest breweries in the
world, and the number one beer producer worldwide, although
today only one of these remains, Millers, which is the second
largest producer in the USA. The town’s brewing industry,
together with the associated places to sup the product, inspired
the well known song “What’s made Milwaukee Famous (made a
loser out of me)”, made famous by Jerry Lee Lewis. The European
immigrant influence is also evident in the older city layout and
architecture, with wide tree lined residential avenues and some
extraordinary houses and mansions, including that which is
considered the “jewel in the crown”, the Flemish Renaissance
style Pabst Mansion built in 1892. In recent years the city
landscape has changed, with office and residential towers
dominating the skyline, whilst the ultra modern Milwaukee Art
Museum in the Quadracci Pavilion, which opened in 2001,
dominates the lakefront scene.
The fifth annual Milwaukee Masterpiece classic vehicle gathering
was held over the weekend of 22 – 23 August, set in Veteran’s
park on the shores of Lake Michigan, just to the north of the art
museum, close to a marina. The two day event has a club day on
the Saturday, with a concours on the Sunday. This year the
former was chilly and blustery, but the concours was blessed with
bright warm sunshine and a light breeze off the lake. The
proceeds of the event benefits the local Jewish Family Services
organisation, which is a social service agency, helping disabled
and home-bound people of all ages, religions, ethnic and
economic backgrounds. Although the event may not have the
reputation and allure of its west coast counterparts in August, it
certainly doesn’t disgrace itself with the quality of entry, with
around one hundred and fifty varied cars and motorcycles on the
field. Plus, with a very reasonable gate entry fee of $15, it
provides attendees with excellent value for money, and it’s even
cheaper if you book in advance!
The 2009 edition had Ferrari as the featured marque, and with
renowned Ferrari historian, Alan Boe, as part of the selection
committee, one was guaranteed a choice selection. The Ferraris
were divided into three classes, Pre-1958, 1958 and Beyond plus
Competition, featuring a total of eighteen different examples,
ranging from a 1950 166 Inter Stablimenti Farina bodied coupé,
chassis number 041 S, to a 1972 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” coupé,
which has only 10,600 recorded miles on the clock, and is
reportedly still on its original set of tyres. Also within the Ferrari
contingent was the spectacular 1953 375 America Vignale
Coupé, chassis # 0337 AL, of Heinrich & Magdalena Kaempfer
from Switzerland, completing its post restoration American show
tour, having previously been shown at the FCA National Meet and
the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it won
the Ferrari class and received the Enzo Ferrari Trophy for the best
Ferrari present.
The range of cars and motor cycles on the concours field was
very varied, with novelties like the 1958 BMW Isetta 300 “Bubble
Car”, the 1964 Amphicar’ and the 1952 Crosley Hotshot SS
Special Roadster. There was also a pair of cars from the pen of
Milwaukee designer Brook Stevens, bearing the name Excalibur.
The 1961 Excalibur Hawk Coupé was a one-off prototype built for
the Studebaker Corporation to compete against the Chevrolet
Corvette in the SCCA race series, and an open version was
planned but never came to fruition in period. During the nineties,
Bob Shaw, a friend of Brook Stevens, persuaded him to give him
the drawings and model of the car to build a modern
interpretation, which he subsequently did, incorporating a few of
his own design ideas. The two examples appeared together for
the first time on the lawns of the Masterpiece. There was also
classes for Volkswagens, with the Microbuses proving particularly
attractive to the public, especially the 1959 fire truck version
constructed for the German Fire Brigade by Meyer-Hagen,
complete with a VW powered water pump on a trailer.
There were special classes for the Chrysler 300 series, so named
for the 300 horse power produced by the first model’s
hemi-engine. The model was produced between 1955 and 1965,
with a “C” for Chrysler prefix for the first model year, and
successive letter prefixes or suffixes during the following years.
The examples on display ran from a 1955 C-300 Hardtop Coupé
to 1965 300 L models in both Hardtop Coupé and Convertible
forms, with only a 1956 model missing from the impressive
line-up. There were also Bentleys, Morgans, “Fins & Chrome”
from the late fifties, muscle cars, a McLaren CanAm car, pioneer
cars including a 1909 Brush Runabout and a 1907 White Model H
Steamer, plus perennial classics like the Chevrolet Corvette and
Jaguar E Type. Of course, bearing in mind the town’s history, the
show wouldn’t have been complete without a beer truck, whilst a
VW Microbus ambulance was on hand to provide help to those
who had too much of “What’s made Milwaukee Famous”!
Ferrari Entries
Model Chassis # Entrant
Class 1 – Pre-1958.
166 Stablimenti Farina Coupé 041S G. & L. Hanke
340 America Ghia Berlinetta 0148A J. Thomas
342 America PF Cabriolet
0248AL J. Thomas 375 America Vignale Coupé
0337AL H. & M. Kaempfer 375 America PF Coupé
0355AL J. Thomas 250 Europa GT Coupé
0397GT R. & M. Anderson
250 GT S1 PF Cabriolet 0783GT H. & S. Hayes
Class 2 – 1958 & Beyond
250 GT S1 PF Cabriolet 1475GT H. Raab
250 GTE 2+2 Coupé 3447GT W. & A. Hudkins
250 GT Lusso 5081GT J. & K. Schaid
275 GTB 07523 B. & S. Brunkhorst
330 GTC* 10755 M. Rosen
365 GTB/4 15571 M. Ulinski Dino
246 GT 04092 B. & L. Budlow
Class 3 – Competition
166/195 Touring Berlinetta 0066 M M. & K. Leventhal
500 Mondial Spider Scaglietti 0556/0446MD R. Phillips
410 Sport Spider Scaglietti 0596CM B. & K. Ross
250 GT California Spider Comp 1451GT M. Gruss
250 GTO 3445GT C. & A. Cox * Did Not Show
Keith Bluemel
08/2009
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