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This Alfa Romeo 8C from the early 1930’s arrived quietly one morning, as many were getting ready to head home. From what I understood, it was a recent restoration from Illinois and the owner simply wanted to take it out for a drive. I had never seen one prior, and I haven’t seen one again since. We never know when cars like these will show up, and that’s part of what makes the whole event exciting for me.
Some of the jaw-droppers aren’t quite what they seem. For example, this Ferrari 250 GTO wasn’t built at the factory in Maranello. It’s a very convincing and high-quality re-body from the 1970’s that’s based on a 250 GTE. Which means you get all of the looks, feels, and sounds of the genuine article without all that paralyzing fear about someone giving it a love-tap in traffic. I mean, there’s probably still some fear about that, but not $52M worth of fear.
In the vein of rare and unusual Ferrari, we have this one-off special from Italian coach builder Drogo based on a 250 GT. Piero Drogo was an Italian-born racer who managed to start in a single Formula One grand prix before opening his Carozzeria Sports Car in Modena. Less famed than the likes of Scaglietti and Pininfarina, Drogo’s workshop still made a few bodies for Ferrari that achieved a degree of acclaim, although Carozzeria Sports Car would close before the end of the 1960’s. Another example of pedigree purgatory, as these kinds of cars weren’t designed nor developed by Ferrari officially but were built by an outside coach builder. Even without the pure-blood DNA, something like this is no less stunning to behold and no less Italian in its construction.
We have regulars from all segments of the automotive realm, like this ’57 Chevy Bel-Air built and owned by Wooly’s Hot Rods. If the cage peeking out from the interior, massive rear slicks, and drag wheels weren’t enough of a clue that this chrome plated classic means business then the blower towering out of the hood certainly gives up the guise. When the supercharger is singing at full pitch and the nitrous is spraying, the big block nestled in the tube framed front end will churn out just about 1,000 horsepower. Although not an incredibly well-known name among hot rod builders, Wooly’s is a local shop that puts out a consistently jaw-dropping quality of work.
I'm not the most well-versed in hot rod culture, but I can always appreciate a cool car when I see one. This early 50's Mercury makes regular appearances and I always enjoy seeing it.
