When we were young: Hooning Ferrari GTOs in the late 60s

A former GTO owner takes us on an intimate trip down memory lane as we watch some old Super 8 footage of him and his friends with their GTO Ferraris back when they were just used cars to play around with.  Oh to be a 19 year old in 1969 with my very own GTO!  The car belonging to the narrator is now in the collection of Ralph Lauren.  Here we get a glimpse of its wilder youth!  The part where they are painting the 250 GT California matte black is just outstanding. The footage is just perfect. In today's world of hipstomatic and After Effects filters, it's great to see real Super 8 footage that captures the time pefectly.

Pebble Beach 2011 Gallery is Up!

For all 175 photos over 3 gallery pages click HERE

The featured themes this year were the Ferrari 250 GTO (roughly 20 of them in attendance!), prewar Mercedes-Benz, and Stutz automobiles. Best in Show was won by Peter Mullin's incredible Voisin.

Look for cameos by Stirling Moss, Gordon Murray, Jay Leno, Ed Welburn, Ian Callum and Jason Castriota!

Tour D'Elegance 2011 Gallery

In between the big name events and top dollar auctions of Pebble Beach, there are a few more minor events tucked away, and the Tour D'Elegance is one of them. This is the only opportunity to see cars from the Pebble Beach Concours actually move on the road, and let me tell you, it was pretty darn cool!My dad and I staked out an uncrowded vantage point right next to the road and watched the cars roll by. Even though they were only going about 35 mph, it was an absolute thrill to hear the GTOs go by, and when a Jaguar C-type snarled past me about 5 feet away, I nearly wet myself.The drivers were generally in a great mood, either waving or at least giving the motors a nice rev for us as they passed by. In an action-packed week where the increasingly big crowds and the meticulous judging put pressure on the car owners, this was clearly their chance to have some fun with their machines.Click on any of the pics above to access the 125-photo Gallery! Make sure to look at both pages of images!

Or Click HERE

Monterey Historics 2011 Gallery and Video

The first installment from my trip (by popular demand) is my photoset from the Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca. Over the next week or so, I'll keep adding more and more content from the eventful week I spent at Pebble Beach and Monterey! The track is legendary so it was really a special treat for me to visit the place for the first time. I found it to be much like Road America in scale, and like Elkhart Lake, to see the whole circuit required a fair amount of hiking up and down hilly terrain.  I must say the corkscrew really blew my mind. After seeing hundreds of photos of the corner, I was unprepared for how steep the thing really is! And what impressed me even more is how incredibly step the downhill section of track is that immediately follows the corkscrew. On TV and video, you really can't see the extent of the incline. I gained new respect for the skill and bravery it takes to get around Laguna Seca watching these guys!After a lot of walking, we found a really excellent vantage point on the outside of turn 6. Here, you can look down on the cars, but are still quite close, and you can watch them fly through the turn and power their way all the way up the hill towards the corkscrew at full throttle. The sound was incredible. I hope you all enjoy the videos. The cars got progressively faster and louder as the day went on!

CLICK HERE or on any of the photos for the full glorious photo gallery!

Of course, one of the highlights was listening to the magnificent sounds of the field of Ferrari GTOs. Make sure you crank up your speakers for that one, folks!

Paddock of legends

I think words are unnecessary here. Just drink it in.

via the Chicane