48th annual
Pebble Beach
Concours d'Elegance
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
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.
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".
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.
  
- 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.
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.
- 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).
- 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.
-
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!
-
- Class
M – Ferrari 1947-1968
- 1st:
342 America Cabriolet Pinin Farina s/n
0248AL, Lorenzo Zambrano
- 2nd:
166 MM Barchetta Touring s/n 0006M, Bud
& Thelma Lyon
- 3rd:
400 Superamerica Cabriolet Pinin Farina
s/n 1611SA, Oscar Davis
-
- Class
O – Scaglietti Coachwork
- 1st:
375 MM Coupé Speciale Scaglietti s/n
0402M, Jon Shirley
- 2nd:
250 GT Spider California LWB s/n 1431GT,
David B. Smith
- 3rd:
250 GT SWB Berlinetta s/n 1539GT, Lorenzo
Zambrano
- Text
Gregor Schulz
- Translation
Andreas Birner
|
