Impressions of a Ferrari 250GTO
Aug 6, 2011 | 04:30 PM
#242
Thread Starter
| Teamspeed Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 299
From: Los Angeles/Paris
My interview with Marc Sonnery
‪Stephen Mitchell interviews Marc Sonnery‬‏ - YouTube
I had the pleasure of interviewing Marc Sonnery about his book Rebel Rebel: Breadvan - the most recognizable Ferrari in the world. After visiting my former GTO on display at L'art de l'automobile, we retired to the Hôtel Georges V where Marc and I spent a relaxed hour chatting on camera. I am pleased to present this excerpt.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Marc Sonnery about his book Rebel Rebel: Breadvan - the most recognizable Ferrari in the world. After visiting my former GTO on display at L'art de l'automobile, we retired to the Hôtel Georges V where Marc and I spent a relaxed hour chatting on camera. I am pleased to present this excerpt.
Aug 15, 2011 | 04:00 PM
#244
Thread Starter
| Teamspeed Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 299
From: Los Angeles/Paris
Serge, the GTO and...
Stephen Mitchell interviews Serge Dermanian - YouTube
Serge Dermanian was the "caretaker" for the cars in the Ralph Lauren collection that were kept at Montauk. He drove them, performed maintenance on them and cared for them as though they were his own. In this interview, when I referred to GTO 3987 as the love of my life, Serge responded by saying, "Your love and my love!"
Since the Ferrari GTO will be a hot topic this week as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance will commemorate the 50th anniversary of this model, I thought it a good moment to post this excerpt of my conversation with Serge that took place in his home overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Nice.
Serge Dermanian was the "caretaker" for the cars in the Ralph Lauren collection that were kept at Montauk. He drove them, performed maintenance on them and cared for them as though they were his own. In this interview, when I referred to GTO 3987 as the love of my life, Serge responded by saying, "Your love and my love!"
Since the Ferrari GTO will be a hot topic this week as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance will commemorate the 50th anniversary of this model, I thought it a good moment to post this excerpt of my conversation with Serge that took place in his home overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Nice.
Aug 31, 2011 | 02:00 PM
#245
Thread Starter
| Teamspeed Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 299
From: Los Angeles/Paris
Ferrari GTO at 140 mph
There is something special about late night/early morning motoring that goes beyond the absence of traffic. The darkness combined with the cooler air seems to add horsepower to the car as well as the dream and I used to do quite a bit of this on my way home after a night at Matthew's night club and the ceremonial three AM breakfast with selected companions.
One night, or early morning, I was headed home on the freeway at what I would call cruising speed. The GTO had a rev counter but no speedometer, so it was all seat-of-the-pants, so to speak. Nearing home, I turned onto my exit and waited at the end of the off-ramp for the traffic light to turn from red to green. It seemed to take forever and though no one else was on the street at that hour, I (inexplicably) waited for the green light reflecting, perhaps, on the events of the evening. When it finally turned green, I saw red. It was the red light from a California Highway Patrol car which pulled up behind me. "Pull to the side of the road," came the metallic command from the P.A. I did as instructed.
As the patrolman and I exited our cars, he came towards me with an incredulous smile saying, "If you hadn't stopped for the light I'd never have caught up with you." I mentally filed this in Notes to Self and prepared for the worst. His next words were: Can I see the engine?
He seemed to know what he was looking at, noting the six carburetors, twelve velocity stacks, and two distributors. He took his time enjoying the sight and I wasn't going to rush him. He asked about the redline. Usually 7000, 7500 on birthdays and special occasions, I told him. He used his flashlight to examine all the interesting bits in the engine compartment. I couldn't help noticing his citation pad tucked under his arm. Again, no need to rush him.
Finally, he'd seen all there was to see and had, no doubt, committed it to memory. Had he a camera with him, I'm certain he would have asked to take a picture. "Do you know how fast you were going?" Under any other circumstances, this would be a cool question that I would attempt to answer but before I could decline, he went on to say, "I clocked you at 140 about four miles back."
As I began to think about whom I could rouse from bed at that hour to bail me out of jail, the patrolman said, "Try to keep your speed down while you're in California, okay?" Absolutely okay, I thought!
And so it was that we parted company as the sun was coming up, the Nevada plates going far beyond the call of duty on this occasion.
One night, or early morning, I was headed home on the freeway at what I would call cruising speed. The GTO had a rev counter but no speedometer, so it was all seat-of-the-pants, so to speak. Nearing home, I turned onto my exit and waited at the end of the off-ramp for the traffic light to turn from red to green. It seemed to take forever and though no one else was on the street at that hour, I (inexplicably) waited for the green light reflecting, perhaps, on the events of the evening. When it finally turned green, I saw red. It was the red light from a California Highway Patrol car which pulled up behind me. "Pull to the side of the road," came the metallic command from the P.A. I did as instructed.
As the patrolman and I exited our cars, he came towards me with an incredulous smile saying, "If you hadn't stopped for the light I'd never have caught up with you." I mentally filed this in Notes to Self and prepared for the worst. His next words were: Can I see the engine?
He seemed to know what he was looking at, noting the six carburetors, twelve velocity stacks, and two distributors. He took his time enjoying the sight and I wasn't going to rush him. He asked about the redline. Usually 7000, 7500 on birthdays and special occasions, I told him. He used his flashlight to examine all the interesting bits in the engine compartment. I couldn't help noticing his citation pad tucked under his arm. Again, no need to rush him.
Finally, he'd seen all there was to see and had, no doubt, committed it to memory. Had he a camera with him, I'm certain he would have asked to take a picture. "Do you know how fast you were going?" Under any other circumstances, this would be a cool question that I would attempt to answer but before I could decline, he went on to say, "I clocked you at 140 about four miles back."
As I began to think about whom I could rouse from bed at that hour to bail me out of jail, the patrolman said, "Try to keep your speed down while you're in California, okay?" Absolutely okay, I thought!
And so it was that we parted company as the sun was coming up, the Nevada plates going far beyond the call of duty on this occasion.
great story!! 
