The Mille Miglia is a transcendent and transformative experience. When you are driving down a narrow road on top a ridge in Tuscany, with valleys stretching below on either side and the smell of the farms on the air coming into the car it’s easy to forget city traffic jams and overheating 65 year old cars.
Danville, CA, about an hour’s drive from San Francisco, is not the most convenient locations for a classic car museum, yet the quality of the Blackhawk Automotive Museum’s exhibits, unique design and other area attractions make it worth the trip.
The Vesuvio Gray Giulia TI Sport I was driving quickly cast a spell over me as had not been the case with so many other contemporary cars. It was clear that it was both capable and characterful, but not with the kind of ‘quirky’ character that Italian cars can sometimes possess. That and the fact that it attracted an amazing amount of attention wherever I went sealed the deal.
With a carefully selected docket of vintage collectibles and modern exotics, Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island Auction has earned its reputation as one of the East Coast’s premier auto auctions.
Last month in Scottsdale, Arizona, a restored 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce sold for $176,000 at the Bonhams auction in Scottsdale (including premium). Think about that: $176k can still buy a 40-year-newer Ferrari 550 Maranello, or a brand new Porsche 911 Turbo with a smattering of options.
Every January, Arizona’s dry, salt-free climate brings automotive enthusiasts from around the world to Scottsdale for a week of shows, auctions, and seminars. As the first major event on the collector car calendar, Scottsdale showcases a quality of cars rarely seen off of a concours green.
To do something completely different, after a dozen years rallying around Western Virginia and West Virginia, we moved Mountain Mille 300 miles South. The rally took place just a week after Hurricane Matthew, but the storm affected coastal North Carolina and not the western mountains. Even better, the weather for the rally was perfect.
Every year since 1991, Concorso Italiano has provided a stage for contemporary Italian exotics to meet their svelte forebears. While the event has certainly burgeoned, the formula remains the same; multi-colored lines of Lamborghinis with doors held aloft sidled up next to rows of vintage Ferrari clothed in racing red.
As the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the most distinguished automotive event in the world, Gooding & Company has quite a bit to live up to. A docket brimming with over 100 pristine examples of the most collectible cars extant ensures that these expectations will be met.
