Event
For the last few decades, the crew at ec has made the 240-mile run to Monterey like clockwork. The Monterey Historic Races, Pebble Beach Concours and huge Barrett-Jackson auctions promise a perfect weekend for motorheads-we've never been disappointed. About a decade ago, the Concorso Italiano (CI) was created to provide an exclusive place for all things (you guessed it) Italian. Although it began as a rather intimate gathering, the CI has evolved into a full-blown party for cars from the land of pasta.
Located within the picturesque grounds of Blackhorse Golf Course in Seaside, California, any car hailing from Italy that registers and manages to get to the Monterey Peninsula is eligible for the CI, which makes for a fantastic diversity of cars: new and old, rare and ubiquitous, perfect and well-worn. Where else can you find an acre or more of V8 and V12 Ferraris celebrating their marque's 60th birthday parked near a brace of Maserati 3500GTs (marking the big five-o), not far from a dozen Lamborghini Countachs? Other features of 2007's Concorso included a celebration of the rare V8-powered Fiats and Siatas, and the fabulous Ferrari 250GT Cabriolet and California Spyder. The show also paid homage to the designs, double-bubbled or otherwise, of Ugo Zagato (1890-1968).
This time around, ec stepped up its involvement with a sizable booth and a special award for a special car. Given that none of us are concourse judges or restoration experts, we decided to base our award criteria on a 'restified' classic, a car no longer in production but upgraded for daily driving.
We found the perfect vehicle, a gorgeous 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS belonging to Smokey Wallace. Smokey and his wife had converted the Dino's rear deck lid into a table, laden with cheese, bread, fruit and wine. Although some Ferrari owners keep their cars in hermetically sealed environments, Smokey was more interested in using his car to its full potential-who knew a Ferrari could double as a table? Modifications include revised suspension bits, an upgraded fuel and ignition system and a fabulous but well-hidden stereo. No, Smokey won't win any awards for restoration accuracy, but he does drive the car every day and his mods are both discreet and effective. Plus, we think this car is dead sexy and would love to see one like it in our own driveway.*For more information about the Concorso Italiano, go to www.concorso.com.
Monterey Historics
The main racing event is the Historic Races at Laguna Seca. While some may enjoy seeing rare cars sitting on a lawn, others (like us) want to see them in action. Classes are divided by year and displacement, which makes for some great racing action. The celebrated car for 2007 was the Indy Roadster, but hundreds of vintage European racecars were in attendance. Seeing beautiful old racers in a museum is one thing, but being able to see and hear them driven in anger is what it's all about. You owe it to yourself to do this at least once in your life.