Autoblog

Click to see gallery of high-res images from the Rodeo Drive Concours

The Rodeo Drive Committee again held its annual Father's Day Concours D'Elegance this past Sunday. A seminal Beverly Hills event, this year's theme was "Cars of California". Nearly 100 woodies, convertibles, vintage and classic cars lined the pavement of this swanky Beverly Hills street. Henrik Fisker might not be a California native, but his coachbuilding company is based in Irvine and so it was fitting to honor them with the show's first ever Rodeo Drive Award for Automotive Excellence. Estimates say 30,000 people were on hand to see the Latigo and Tramanto, as well as several dozen other classic and exotic autos. Always a special show because of its location, the cars are almost secondary to the glitz and glamour of Rodeo Drive. A huge gallery of pics were provided by our friend, Duane Steiner. Click on any image here to see the whole lot, and check out the read link to see some of Duane's other event coverage at SoCalSpeedZone.com, including videos of a recent charity run that featured about 100 Ferraris on a CHP-led drive to Santa Barbara.



All photos © 2007 Autoblog.com/Duane Steiner

In addition to being one of Hollywood's coolest actors, Steve McQueen was also a racer and car collector. This stuntman-turned-actor liked to play hard, and his personal vehicle collection showed that. He actually owned one of the Bullitt Mustangs, plus the Porsche 917 and 911S from Le Mans. And McQueen was also fond of Ferraris. His very first one, in particular, was among his favorite cars by most accounts. It was a Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso. The Lusso, or "Luxury" Ferrari was a derivative of the 250 GT platform that spawned the legendary GTO and SWB. With its long flowing lines, it is considered to be among the most elegant GT cars of all time.

Steve's personal Lusso was finished in a metallic brown that was allegedly custom-ordered for its understated good looks, and it became his daily driver for more than ten years. Since leaving McQueen's collection, it has has passed through several hands before landing with its current owner in 1997. Since then, it has undergone a 4,000-hour concours-quality restoration and is considered one of the finest Lussos in the world. The car has been shown regularly on the West Coast since then and is now about to cross the auction block. Christie's will be offering it at Monterey in August, and estimates predict a sale in the $800,000 to $1,000,000 range. Before heading to Monterey, however, the car will be touring with the Christie's auctions when they hit New York in May, and in Greenwich in June.

Follow the jump for the Christie's press release. Our buddy Duane Steiner of SoCalSpeedZone has also provided us with a video clip of the car being described by its current owner, Michael Regalia.

Thanks for the tip, Luigi!

[Source: Christie's via Sybarites]

Click image above for high-res gallery by the author and guest photog Jason Thorgalsen

There are several Cannonball Run-type rallies that take place around the country (around the world in some cases). Fast cars breaking the sound barrier as they hustle from coast-to-coast in search of fame and glory. Well, that's how some of them started, at any rate. Nowadays the rallies tend to be a bunch of rich folks with exotic cars touring the States with a smattering of track sessions here and there to really test the cars and drivers. Luxury hotels and VIP parties mark the nights and moderately fast (in theory) highway cruises mark the days. One of these new age rallies just kicked off on its maiden run from the Santa Monica Pier over the weekend. And it was quite a celebration.

The cars are familiar, some of the faces too, but this rally has a slight twist. Billed as a sort of exotic car vacation run, the Joy Ride Rally has a deeper purpose. Part of the entry fee from each driver goes to support the Salvation Army's Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. The rallyists will follow a route through the Southwest and end up in New Orleans in about a week, to view some of the damaged areas first hand. We were on hand for the launch from the Santa Monica Pier and tagged along for a bit to get some shots. The police escort was a nice touch, but we had to explain to every single officer that we were indeed part of the entourage despite our lack of a supercar. The cars gathered on the classic wooden pier with a big crowd enjoying the free show.

Follow the jump for the rest of the story, plus video of the departure courtesy Duane Steiner at SoCalSpeedZone!

[Source: Joy Ride Rally]

Updated captions by John


Another one of those small classic car shows that seem to pop up all over the place on any given weekend, the Best of France and Italy show, now in its 6th year, was held this past Sunday. Every year it manages to draw out some of the greatest examples of French and Italian classics that are such a part of the European car scene. But this show is held in America, and more specifically California, so some of the vehicles are very rare sights for showgoers. Held at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, it's a showcase for the best of French and Italian motoring machinery. This is a non-judged show, covering everything from "the rough restoration project to the serious concours offering."

Entrants are encouraged to bring their whole collection, although the organizers point out that even if you don't have a car, there are plenty for sale. Sure there are modern examples of Europe's finest, but the biggest reason to attend this show, compared to similar concours around SoCal, are the oddball creations that always manage to find their way into the field: "The intent of this gathering is to provide a meeting place for those marques that get little attention at the fancier concours." Local celebrities often show up at this event, a stone's throw from Burbank and Hollywood. Leno often brings some wonderfully weird creation and Bruce Meter almost always has some outrageously awesome Ferrari from the '50s or '60s to share. Here we offer a small taste via the photos of our friend Duane at SoCalSpeedZone.com. Full gallery available by following the read link. Enjoy.

When Otis Chandler passed away back in February, he left a lot more than a legacy of publishing prowess. Sure, during the 1960s he had transformed his family's newspaper into the world-renowned Los Angeles Times that we know today. But when he wasn't in his office, Otis liked to drive. And hunt. But more about the hunting later. It was his love of cars that brought him into our field of vision. Chandler was passionate about cars in the way one might say Jay Leno is. He had a whole warehouse of cars. And not just one make or model, no. When Otis got interested in a particular type of car, he'd buy a whole bunch of them, but his tastes changed regularly and so did his collection. Packards, Duesenbergs, brass-era cars, and even muscle cars have all come and gone. A few of each has stayed. Bikes and Corvettes seemed to be his most recent fancy and are well represented.

Mr. Chandler kept most of his cars and bikes on display at his Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife in Oxnard, CA, halfway between L.A. and Santa Barbara. Many of his most prized pieces had already been sold, including his 1894 Baldwin steam locomotive and his beloved Porsche 917 racecars. But the remainder of his collection, some 50 cars and 40 bikes are going up for auction October 21st. Gooding & Company has been chosen to handle the event next weekend. We saw some of the cars that had been hauled up to Pebble Beach in August, and many of the others, including his 1931 Duesenberg LeBaron Special Phaeton, were captured by our friend Duane Steiner of SoCalSpeedZone on a recent visit to the museum. That Duesie, by the way, is expected to fetch $1.3 to $1.7 million.

And that hunting we mentioned earlier? Otis had a fascination, respect and true affection for wildlife, which led him to pursue record-size game animals. Visitors to the museum were frequently surprised to encounter some of the most magnificent dioramas of game animals from across the planet intermingled with the cars and bikes. No word on who might be handling that auction.

[Sources: Popular Mechanics, Chandler Museum]