One of the rewarding aspects of having friends who are always in the thick of it is that you get to hear stories that aren't necessarily going to be reported in the news press. For those of us who are connoisseurs of limited-edition anecdotes, these stories have a particular caché when the subject is something about which you are passionate and already knowledgeable but the tidbit being offered up has somehow escaped everyone's attention. This is what happened on Father's day when my son Sean and I visited with Gary Wales and his wife Marilyn in their home. "I've got something to give you," Gary told me. "I want you to have this."

Gary led us into his pub where one could be excused for thinking we'd just been transported to Blighty and walked into an episode of Inspector Morse or Midsomer Murders. We pulled up our chairs and scrutinized a glass picture frame holding a printed cocktail napkin with a few ink drawings scribbled on it. The napkin was from "Chicago's Triple Treat: London House, Mister Kelly's and downstage room Happy Medium". Seeing that one of the drawings on the napkin was a rendering of the rear aspect of the famous Ferrari Breadvan was not too surprising as Gary and his partner Dick Merritt were the first U.S. owners of that illustrious car. The next two drawings were somewhat more enigmatic.

The first was a profile drawing of what looked to be a race car. The second was a rear aspect of another race car that had elements of a Ferrari 250P but with arching rear fenders that resembled nothing I'd ever seen on a race car. What did it all mean? We were about to find out.

Back when Gary still had the Breadvan, he was having dinner in Chicago with Luigi "Coco" Chinetti one evening. Coco had a Ferrari 250LM and wanted to know if Gary would like to trade the LM for the Breadvan. This got Gary's attention. What Coco intended to do was to take the Breadvan and redesign the body. To show Gary what he had in mind, Coco took out his pen and drew the three illustrations on the napkin. The first showed the 'van exactly as it looked, the second two gave an idea what Coco would want it to look like if he could acquire it from Gary. It might have come to pass but for one thing--the 250LM in question had a blown engine and Gary was reluctant to take on the ordeal of an engine rebuild. Having done a rebuild on a GTO, I must admire his reluctance.

In the end, Asa Clarke bought the Breadvan from Gary and in turn sold it to my friend Matthew Ettinger. The Breadvan remained in its original shape. I spent a lot of time in and around this car and, for a time, the Breadvan was titled in my name but I'd never heard the story of Coco Chinetti's interest until the other day. It is amazing to think how close this iconic car came to being re-designed.

This just in from Ed Niles (who was also part of the Breadvan provenance):

"That was not the Breadvan’s only chance at re-design. My friend Gordon Culp, engineer, classical guitarist, butterfly collector, and Lusso owner, was the supposed U.S. purchaser. Relying on Gordon’s promise that he would buy it, my friend Roberto Goldoni in Rome placed a healthy deposit on the car. Then, Gordon reneged, saying among other things that the cost of converting the rear of the car to 250GTO style was too high for his budget. With Roberto in a panic about his deposit, that’s when I got Merritt in the act. Exit Culp, would-be re-designer. Cheers! Ed"

 

I can only imagine the attention the car would still be getting had it gone under the knife.

The Enzo concept also began its life as a napkin drawing by the designers, at lunch one afternoon. The original design was to be roofless- similar to the f50. If you imagine the Enzo without a roof, it looks even more like an F1 car.

As always, thanks for posting. Your stories are incredibly interesting and provide insight that comes second only to turning the key.

 

does the breadvan still has its original form ? is she in US ?

 

It has been returned to original--or very near original--form and is in Germany.

 

Elysée Wednesday tonight--"But to me the most important thing to know about an assassination is not who fired a shot - but who paid for the bullet!"

Look for us Wednesday evenings on the patio from 8 pm (or shortly thereafter) until about 11pm at Caffe Primo, 8590 Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069. Underground parking on Alta Loma just east of the Cafe and south of Sunset or on the street.

No need to RSVP; just join us if you can.

 

"Elysée Wednesday: Drive!" Episode 2 is in the works. We are using Indiegogo.com as the campaign vehicle which allows people to contribute to projects they feel are important. If you haven't heard of it, don't worry neither had I. On the campaign website, there is a list of what one gets if they want to participate.

The idea is that we would have our own "Elysée Wednesday: Drive!" web channel. Episode 1 (45 minutes) in 'in the can' and we are looking now to produce Episode 2. It is all Ferrari all the time!

Whether or not you can contribute, I hope you will spread the word so that we can keep filming these shows and maybe next time, your car will be on our show.

Check it out: http://igg.me/p/143103?a=774401

 

From Serge Dermanian:

"Hello Stephen,

While filing some pictures, I found this rare shot of the famous 512S, that was the cause of so much polemic about the "secret chassis number". This picture was taken at Pebble Beach in 1996.

I remember a friend had told me that when new, this car was painted medium blue and the Commendatore was seen driving this car a couple times. Although a very interesting design, the only drawback was access to the cockpit by means of lifting the whole windscreen--very heavy!!

Hope you like this one.

Serge Dermanian"

 

Thank you to Mick Walsh and Classic & Sports Car magazine for their mention of Carrera Panamericana (1950-54).

 

Elysée Wednesday tonight--"I'll make you two promises: a very good steak, medium rare, and the truth, which is very rare."

Look for us Wednesday evenings on the patio from 8 pm (or shortly thereafter) until about 11pm at Caffe Primo, 8590 Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069. Underground parking on Alta Loma just east of the Cafe and south of Sunset or on the street.

No need to RSVP; just join us if you can.

 

Elysée Wednesday tonight--"They seem to murder everything that moves."

Look for us Wednesday evenings on the patio from 8 pm (or shortly thereafter) until about 11pm at Caffe Primo, 8590 Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069. Underground parking on Alta Loma just east of the Cafe and south of Sunset or on the street.

No need to RSVP; just join us if you can.