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Connecticut Concours Now Competes With the World's Best

"Concours d'Elegance" is a unique affair dating back to the early 30's. It was originally a beauty contest for cars in an era when custom bodies were the rage among wealthy playboys and their fashionable ladies. Following a depression, World War 2 and eventual recovery, the concours soon became a social event in both Europe and America.

The Concours d'Elegance is no longer contested by new cars but by classics; in essence recreating those halcyon days of art deco and streamlining. There are enough events happening now, and their organisers competing, that a prize for the best show might even be appropriate. Indeed, if I could afford the travel there would a Classical Drives award; imagine the fun of attending all the world's great concours in one season!

What causes me to muse about this is the annual Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance, held in Westport, CT on September 20 and 21. Chairman Bill Scheffler says: "When you enter our venue you will be greeted by the oldest car or motorcycle on display. The layout then guides you through a timeline of automotive history and ends with significant examples of automobiles and motorcycles of today."

September 20 features the Nutmeg Tour for Autism, with up to 50 vintage automobiles taking a 50-mile tour. Each will raise money for one of the event's charities benefiting autism research and relief. Saturday evening will feature a gala reception with this year's celebrity dinner speaker, Frank Deford, Senior Contributing Editor for Sports Illustrated and the author of fifteen books. The evening also honors one of the deans of automotive art, the renowned Chuck Queener. Oh, to be in Connecticut in September!
See full article.

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LA Concours Draws More Than 400 Exceptional Classics - 04 June 2007

The Future Steps Forward at Classic Cars Concours - 30 July 2007

Carmel's Concours-by-the-Sea Shows the Cars the Others Don't - 18 August 2007

Denim & Diamonds in Vegas Concours - 21 August 2007

Classic Cars and Speedboats Coming to the PNW's Finest Concours - 25 June 2008

Pebble Beach Concours Study Reveals Oldsmobile Concept - 16 July 2008

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Famed McQueen/Revson Porsche Racer Highlights Bonham's 2008 Monterey Sale

My memories of actor/racer Steve McQueen are just two: the first came during a Sebring 12-hour race when a colleague pointed him out. I wasn't a movie fan in those years so his presence meant little. The second happened when I was applying for a copywriter's job in a Toronto ad agency and with little agency experience worried that I might not be accepted. With time to spare I went to a local theater showing McQueen's "Cincinnati Kid." McQueen, a young gambler under the tutelage of Jackie Gleason, was cool, confident; a winner. So inspired, I got the job.

On August 15th at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, California, Bonhams & Butterfields will be offering Steve McQueen's Porsche, a 1969-70 908/2. McQueen and Peter Revson finished second overall in the 1970 Sebring 12-Hours, just behind Mario Andretti. The car was used that same year at Le Mans, mounted with two cameras to produce footage for McQueen's classic film Le Mans. It went on to become a five-time competitor in the Le Mans 24-Hour Grand Prix.

McQueen purchased the Porsche specifically to compete at Sebring, teaming with American F1 driver Peter Revson. Their private car seemingly had no chance against the factory giants. Yet, with only 25 laps remaining, they were in the lead; an incredible upset for the professional teams. Ferrari ordered Andretti to "win the race at all costs." Although the 5-liter Ferrari 512S was more powerful than the 3-liter Porsche 508, Andretti couldn't pass until the second-to-last lap, winning by only 23 seconds! More amazingly, McQueen had raced with a broken foot in a cast, duct-taped to keep it from coming apart.

[I've been corrected (see comment below) by a viewer who knows his movies. It was Edward G. Robinson that played opposite McQueen, not Jackie Gleason.]
See full article.

Related Entries:

Actor/Racer Steve McQueen's Wurlitzer Jukebox Highlights Auction - 04 November 2006

Canadian Racer Dies, Brings Back Memories of Earlier Porsches - 10 January 2007

Memories of Sebring and Spring Breaks - 18 March 2007

Steve McQueen Tests the Greatest GT Cars - 30 December 2007

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Now Five Times Larger, Renovated BMW Museum Opens in June

A couple of centuries ago (or so it feels) my then employer, Trans Global Films, sent me to Munich to unearth old film footage for a BMW infomercial. I spent many hours in the basement of BMW headquarters, many more with my delightful editors, two very attractive young German ladies (both, alas, married). But the real highlight of the trip was an escorted tour of the company museum. Its classic "bowl" design allowed for a curving ramp on which cars and motorcycles were displayed in a timeline of BMW history. The only drawback was its relatively small size. For the past two-and-a-half years BMW has been expanding and renovating the museum, adding more than 50,000 square feet and increasing display space fivefold. The idea, says the company, is to "fascinate visitors with exciting topics about mobility, communication and society." The new museum opens to the public June 21st so if you're touring Germany this summer consider a side-trip to Munich. A lovely city, it celebrates its 850th anniversary this year. Now that's history.
See full article.

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Old Time Radios and Classic Cars Earn Their Keep in California's Astor Museum - 13 February 2007

Britain's National Motor Museum - 17 February 2007

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Petersen Museum Reveals Treasures of the Vault - 13 February 2008

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