A DeTomaso Pantera follows a 1963 Buick Riviera, ’47 Cadillac and ’37 Lincoln across the lawn at the Arizona Biltmore | Photos by Larry Edsall
Guests at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix were treated to an unusual happening Monday morning when a small parade of vintage automobiles motored across the lushly landscaped winter lawns of the historic luxury hotel.
This was the “dry run” for the inaugural Arizona Concours d’Elegance. Organizers of the event brought a selection of cars to test out the confines of the Biltmore’s inner lawns to see if the big classics could maneuver through the tight spaces, and whether exotic sports cars could get through without bottoming out.
The Arizona Concours is set for January 12, 2014, to open the famed collector-car auction week in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area. A collection of 78 exceptional automobiles will be displayed, competing in classes that range from vintage and classic to sports, racing and exotics. Judges will pore over each entry to pick the class winners as well as the coveted Best of Show.
The 1947 Cadillac eases across a ramp leading to the Squaw Peak Lawn at the Arizona Biltmore.
The cars that rolled across the dark-green rye grass Monday were a 1937 Lincoln Model K, a V12-powered sedan; a 1947 Cadillac Series 62 two-door sedan with a sweeping fastback roofline; a 1963 Buick Riviera; a 1974 DeTomaso Pantera; and a new Chevrolet Corvette coupe, which was being used to test ground clearance.
Overall, the testing was deemed a success, with just a few tweaks required for the carefully orchestrated procedure of bringing the cars onto the Biltmore site and into their respective places, handling the crowds and vendors, and conducting the awards ceremony.
“This is a first-year event, so there are some growing pains,” Mike Mullan, a member of the steering committee said as he watched closely as the cars crossed over a set of specially made ramps. “But everything seems to be going smoothly so far. We’ll see how it all comes together.”
For tickets and information for the inaugural Arizona Concours d’Elegance, see www.arizonaconcours.com.
Congratulations to Gary Loar from Cresson, Pa., on being the grand prize winner in our pre-launch drawing! Gary has won a great prize package for a classic car fan:
An autographed copy of Larry Edsall’s Masters of Car Design
A handsome ClassicCars.com stainless steel travel tumber with velour bag
I have owned this car, a 1954 Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe, for 20 years. I got the car to save her from the previous owner, who could not afford to restore the car and it was just sitting and deteriorating more and more.
Why this car? Because my grandmother had a ’54 Star Chief convertible, so I wanted one for many years. This is the only ’54 I could find at the time, but then good luck finding a convertible.
It took about one year to complete the restoration, which was done with the help of friends in the Pontiac Oakland Club International, the Antique Automobile Club of America and other friends who own classic cars.
We took the car down to bare metal, rebuilt the engine and transmission. I don’t think there was a bolt or screw that wasn’t turned.
Now, this car is just wonderful to drive.
The car made its “debut” in June of 1994 at a national car meet in New Hope, Pa.
I drive it to and from local car shows, though lately I’ve been trailering it to long-distant shows, though I have driven the car as far west as Indianapolis and as far east at Cape Cod.
At the Turin auto show in 1984, Honda, the Japanese automaker, and Pininfarina, the Italian design house, unveiled a concept car called the HP-X. H stood for Honda, P for Pininfarina and X for eXperimental. The car’s wedge-shape was reinforced by a series of sculpted ridges that streaked back from just behind the front wheels and over the rear tires. One of Honda’s V6 racing engines positioned behind the two-seat cockpit.
The concept laid the groundwork for a car Honda’s Acura division would reveal five years later at the Chicago auto show. The name was changed NSX, now was short for New Sports car eXperimental, except at this point the car no longer was experimental. It was the prototype for the NSX that would launch in the United States as a 1991 production model.
Honda had returned to Formula One racing in 1988 as engine supplier to the McLaren team, and McLaren’s Ayrton Senna and Indy car racer Bobby Rahal were among those who helped develop the NSX’s dynamic capabilities. The car’s aluminum body was designed by budding auto styling superstar Ken Okuyama, who accented the production car’s wedge shape with a clever wing-style spoiler that stood proud of the rear deck lid as it spanned from one rear fender to the other.
The car’s V6 engine spun to more than 7,000 rpm, where it produced 270 horsepower, more than enough to create excitement for someone driving such nimble and lightweight vehicle.
The NSX was Japan’s first widely distributed, world-class sports car and was pitted against everything from Ferraris to Corvettes.
NSX production ran from 1990-2005, and those cars still sell at used car rather than collector car prices.
That very well will change, especially with Acura showing a new NSX that goes into production in 2015 as a world-class but hybrid sports car with a twin-turbocharged V6 to power the rear wheels and with electric motors turning each of the front wheels for an all-wheel powertrain.
And, after all, if you buy a new NSX, what better companion for it in your garage than one of the originals?
Not only can you buy a classic car at Russo and Steele’s annual January auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., but you can learn a lot about the hobby as well through seminars the auction stages each year.
In previous years, topics have included buying and selling advice from experts and even how to deal with your collection as you near the end of your ability to be the active custodian of your collector cars.
Two seminars will be offered at Russo and Steele in January, one on vintage racing and the other on the art of vehicle restoration.
“Vintage Racing: Putting the Pedal to the Medal” will be offered Jan. 16 at 9 a.m. and will feature:
Lyn St. James, the first woman to win rookie of the year honors in the Indianapolis 500 and a four-time driver in recent years in the vintage racing car reunions at Goodwood in England;
Cris Vandagriff, whose grandfather was the riding mechanic for Barney Olfield at Indy and whose father was a pioneer in post-war sports car racing. Cris, who turned Hollywood Sports Car into the largest Ferrari dealership in North America, has competed in vintage racing cars since 1989 and later left his dealership to become full-time general manager of VARA — the Vintage Auto Racing Association — and later bought the Historic Motor Sports Association;
D. Randy Riggs, editor of Vintage Motorsports magazine with lots of seat time in a long list of vintage racing cars;
Brian Ferrin, who races the historic Bud Moore/George Foreman Trans-Am Mustang;
Mike McGovern, chief instructor at the Bob Bondurant School of High-Performance Driving School;
Chris Hines, a racer whose ArrowLanes LLC prepares and maintains late model stock cars and vintage racing sports cars.
On Friday, Jan. 17, the Russo and Steele seminar subject will be “The Art of Vintage Restoration” with a panel that includes:
Lance Coren, an auto appraiser who specializes in Ferraris, Shelbys and other exotics cars;
Bob Smith, whose Coachworks Inc. restoration shop has sent dozens of cars to the show field at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance;
Alan Taylor, whose Alan Taylor Co., specializes in the restoration of pre-war American and European automobiles, many of which have gone from his shop to Pebble Beach.
They don’t make them like that anymore may be a cliche, but it also rings very true when it comes to the design of automotive tail lamps.
Remember how, if you are of a certain age, back when you were a kid and you could identify every car on the road just by the glowing shape of its tail lights at night?
Try that today as you cruise down the freeway, and it doesn’t really matter if it is day or night, because safety regulations and other factors have pushed the styling of tail lamps from exciting toward generic.
But not back in the day, especially in the later 1950s and early ‘60s when entire auto bodies and seemingly every detail of each visible component was fresh and new — O.K., and sometimes downright bizarre — each year.
Here are just a few from that era that we’ve seen in the past few months as we’ve visited classic car auctions, shows and concours.
The first retail sale of the new 2015 Ford Mustang GT will occur during Barrett-Jackson’s 2014 Scottsdale auction. All proceeds from the sale will go to JDRF, the former Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for its work on type 1 diabetes research.
“We’re kicking off the next 50 years of Mustang in style with a 2015 model featuring a sleek all-new design, world-class performance and innovative technologies,” Steve Ling, North America car marketing manager for Ford, was quoted in a press release announcing the first retail sale of the new pony car.
“We’re thrilled to be able to take advantage of Mustang’s popularity to help achieve the dream of ending juvenile diabetes,” he added.
It was just a couple of weeks ago that Ford unveiled its new Mustang, which won’t be available at Ford dealerships until the third quarter of 2014.
The person posting the highest bid at Barrett-Jackson will have to wait to take delivery, but will get the first retail sales unit and will be able to specify transmission, color and other options. The car also will be autographed by members of the Mustang design and engineering development teams.
The 2015 Ford Mustang GT will be powered by a V8 engine producing more than 420 horsepower.
JDRF has been a frequent beneficiary of special Ford sales through Barrett-Jackson.
“Ford’s charitable vehicle sales at Barrett-Jackson have raised more than $3 million for JDRF through the years,” said Jeffrey Brewer, president and CEO of JDRF, “and these funds are helping us make tremendous progress towards therapies and treatments that will make life better for people with type 1 diabetes today as we work to find a cure for this terrible disease.”
Ford has supported the JDRF effort since 1983.
April 17, 2014 will mark the Mustang’s 50th anniversary. Each 2015 model Mustang will celebrate that milestone with a badge showing the galloping pony logo and the words, “Mustang – Since 1964.”
In addition to the special Mustang auction, Ford will stage a hot-lap riding experience at WestWorld during the auction featuring the Shelby GT500, Focus ST and Fiesta ST. The Mustang created for the Need for Speed movie (see photo) also will be on display. That car features a custom wide body, unique 22-inch wheels and larger air intakes for its supercharged V8 engine. The movie debuts March 14, 2014.
MUSTANG VS. CAMARO:At Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction in 2009, the first retail sale of the then-new Chevrolet Camaro brought $350,000. Use the “Share your thoughts!” box below to guess what the new Mustang will bring at Barrett-Jackson in 2014.
Maxx (at far left) and the Christopher family fleet, including Dad’s classic cars and Maxx’s older brother Cody.
(Editor’s note: This story was written by Maxx Christopher’s father, Andrew.)
I write this story with sorrow and with joy, to tell the story of my son Maxx Christopher’s love affair with cars from the time he was crawling, pushing Hot Wheels Johnny Lightings cars across the floor.
Maxx always loved cars, car movies, car shows, working on cars and just talking about cars.
When Maxx was 4 years old, I bought a 1971 Pontiac GTO (a restoration project), As I began the restoration, Maxx started helping me in the garage, first by holding the light and handing me wrenches and sockets. At an early age, Maxx got to know his way around a toolbox.
Maxx watched and participated in transforming my ’71 Goat into a show-winning car, winning trophies in several shows including the GTO North West Regionals.
But this was only the first of several show cars that Maxx worked on with me over the years. There was a 1972 Olds Vista Cruiser, 1968 Mercury XR7 GT 390 Cougar, a 1972 Olds Cutlass “S” , and a 1974 Triumph TR6. Maxx had become quite knowledgeable about classic cars.
Photos courtesy Andrew Christopher
When Maxx was 13 he saw a picture in a car magazine of an Opel GT and fell in love with it. Maxx told me that someday he was going to get a Opel GT and my answer to him was that you never see Opel GTs.
But as fate would have it ,the next week one popped up in the local want ads. Maxx and I went to look at the Opel GT. There was a complete car, but all apart in boxes.
I bought the car for Maxx for a $1,000.
After all those years helping me restore my projects, Maxx finally got a project of his own, and I thought this is going to be fun spending time with my teenage son wrenching on his car in the garage. I told Maxx I was not going to work on the Opel unless he is alongside me. He participated on every aspect of the restoration.
The next three years are full of cherished memories for me, spending time with Maxx restoring his Opel GT — time we spent together was not only car talk but what happened in high school that day along with leaning life lessons not only for Maxx but for me.
By the time Maxx turned 16 his Opel was completed and wearing stunning bright orange paint. Maxx drove his Opel GT to show off his car at its first car show a month later and took two trophies — best sports car and best high school car. He was so proud and I was so proud of him.
Maxx continued to drive his Opel GT to school and to car shows, taking home trophies until he left to for the Job Corps Urban Forestry program on the Oregon Coast in October 2009 to begin training to become Arborist. The Opel GT stayed in my garage while Maxx completed the 13 months of training.
When Maxx retuned to Southern Oregon he loved being able to drive his Opel GT on the mountain roads again.
With the economy being slow, Maxx had a hard time finding steady employment as an arborist, but he didn’t give up. Then he found an arborist job on the other side of the world, in New Zealand, on the Internet.
Maxx applied for a work visa and he was off to New Zealand at age 18, leaving his Opel GT behind again.
After five months missing America with work coming to an end, Maxx returned home, only to find a still bad economy with scarce employment opportunities. He decided to join the military and serve his country in December 2011. In January 2012 he passed his armed forces test and his physical.
But two days before he was to be sworn in, he lost his life at the hands of a drunk driver. It was February 4th, 2012. Maxx had climbed into the back seat of a car that had been driven over to pick up Maxx and a friend. They got in not knowing the driver had just consumed a ½-bottle of rum and was five times over the legal limit.
Today, the Opel GT sits in my garage and remains a part of our family, and I can feel Maxx is riding along with me when I drive his car.
The first BMW Art Car ever created, a 3.0 CSL GT racer painted by the acclaimed artist Alexander Calder to run in the 1975 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will headline a special BMW “Batmobile” class at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on March 9, 2014.
The Calder project, which melded motorsports with fine art, was inspired by French race driver and art auctioneer Herve Poulain. BMW race cars used as painting canvases by the world’s most-renowned artists – including Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol – became an annual tradition for the German automaker.
Driven by Sam Posey, the 1975 Batmobile qualified first in its class and 11th overall as it carried Calder’s colors through the world’s most famous endurance race. A driveline failure ended its race early, but not before BMW had made a major impression on both the art and the racing worlds.
BMW’s groundbreaking Batmobiles presented fans with a new kind of all-out road racing and marketing during the mid-1970s. The 19th annual Amelia Island Concours will present a number of these historic cars in its special Batmobile class.
For more information about the Amelia Island Concours, see ameliaconcours.org.
Another year of top-drawer concours d’elegance events across the nation is coming around again, including two brand-new ones added to the 2014 docket.
The inaugural Arizona Concours d’Elegance starts off the January collector-car auction week in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area on Jan. 12, 2014, at the historic Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix. Long envisioned as a focal point for the famous Scottsdale/Phoenix auctions, the concours will feature 78 exceptional automobiles on landscaped lawns within the art deco splendor of the Biltmore.
Meanwhile, Concorso Italiano has spawned another new concours that takes place in Palm Desert, Calif. The new Desert Concorso on March 30 is a celebration of Italian cars, but other European sports and GT cars are invited to join in the festivities that include Italian food, fashion and culture.
The original Concorso Italiano on the Monterey peninsula moves back to its old location at Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course in Seaside, Calif., while changing the day it takes place from its longtime Friday slot to Saturday, Aug. 16
