JYS Moment of Zen

I love the ethereal quality of this photo. Just beautiful.

The Moment of the Start

Another scan from the Automobiliac Archive.  This one is from the start of the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix. It's actually a publicity photo for the movie Grand Prix, by MGM.

Last Drive of the Season?

Let's hope we can get a few more fun days in before the salt trucks come out...

Photo credit: Motoring con Brio

Phil Hill's racing photographs due out in a new book!

I for one am quite excited to learn that Phil Hill's personal collection of racing photographs, taken on his trusty Leica, are currently being compiled into an upcoming book entitled "Inside Track" by his son Derek, photographer Steve Dawson, and renowned historian Doug Nye.  Here's a brief video produced by Leica promoting the upcoming book.  One of my favorite shots is at 4:05 showing a trophy surrounded by stacks of prize money.

More info about the book at Phil Hill's official web site. You can sign up on thier mailing list to be notified when the book is out!

via Motorsport Retro

A GTV6 in Swingin' London

One of the pleasures of running this site is hearing from like-minded enthusiasts all over the world.  One such new friend is a Londoner named Alex, who has a beautiful red GTV6, with RHD, and wrote me one of the nicest letters I have received, about how reading about my exploits made him want to get out there and drive his car more.  On my recent trip to the UK, I of course had to look him up and go for a ride in his Alfa.First of all, Alex's car is in pretty damn nice condition, with an excellent respray and gorgeous Ronal Turbo wheels that make the car look totally stunning. Getting inside the car was sort of surreal, as I was of course getting in on the side I am accustomed to, yet all the dashboard is obviously on the other side.  It felt weird getting into such a familiar seat, but having no steering wheel in front of me!

We motored through some interesting parts of the city in search of a picturesque spot for some photos.  The thing that always surprises me when I ride in other peoples' GTV6's is really that no two sound alike.  There are so many different permutations of possible exhaust setup that riding in someone else's car is always something of a fresh experience.

At this point I have to confess a small twinge of jealousy.  The European bumpers really transform and lighten the entire appearance of the car, compared to the US bumpers, and Alex's Ronals just look so damn good.  It took him years to get his hands on them, as they are extraordinarily rare.I love that other than the rims, Alex has kept his car stock and really just maintains it beautifully. Being half Italian himself, Alex has a real affinity for these cars (he also owns a very pretty 1750 GTV!), and I am so glad I got to meet him and share in the passion we both have for the GTV6. Check out the full gallery of photos I took HERE.