2013 Greenwich Concours
We hoped we could give you a thorough report of the Greenwich Concours since we were fortunate enough to be selected to be on the lawn with all of these wonderful cars. But we were kept so busy by all of the fans of our ’67 Mercedes-Benz Rally Tribute, that became impossible. So what we do have is a series of photographs of some of the cars we were able to see. We did fire up the dash-cam for a peek at what we experienced getting onto the lawn and getting off the lawn. We did manage some other footage of cars as we walked around the park. Here is a brief video of what we experienced from inside the Merc.
We see that there is a Ford GT40 in the ring with all of the Mercedes-Benz automobiles. It is an important historic car that represents one of the best American racing stories. This one is for our avid Mint reader, Vince Conti. We know he can’t wait for his daily fix. The short version goes like this. Henry Ford made a deal to buy Ferrari and at the last minute, Enzo killed the deal. This infuriated Hank the Deuce so he made it his mission to bury Ferrari through racing by beating him at the 24 Hours of LeMans. Ferrari dominated the race for years so it was a bold statement. He had a team of engineers both in the UK and in the US build the GT40. the 40 stood for the overall height of the racer. It didn’t take long for one of the prototypes to make a podium position and this car, the car parked next to us, was the car that did it. It is the second-oldest surviving GT40 and the first lightweight chassis. It was also part of the first team of GT40 entries at Le Mans and part of the first GT40 podium. It was test mule for the Shelby team, and at one time it was driven by Ken Miles, Bob Bondurant, Bruce McLaren, Phil Hill, Chris Amon, Richie Ginther to name a few. Ford did crush Ferrari in 1967 when Ford GTs placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd and the best part was Hank was there to gloat. The GT40 Prototype at Greenwich sold last year to current owner Tom Papadopoulus for $4.95 million. It was parked in our ring so it would be close to the judges tent when the awards presentation before the crowd began. They wanted it to make a grand entrance – tailpipes roaring.
Here are some other great cars at the event.
A beautifully restored 1959 Jaguar XK150
1939 Delage D-6 GP car
A wonderful and luxurious 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 Cabriolet
1959 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT in full rally preparation Finished hours before the event..
At The Bonhams Auction, an Isetta Police car with Motorcycle in tow. Like bringing a puppy into a kindergarten class…
At Bonhams…a Fiat Multipla
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL with fitted luggage
A 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster without fitted luggage!
Mercedes-Benz 300 Estate Wagon Coach-built
Awards ceremony gave us the opportunity to drive by while the crowd cheered! That’s the back of famed race driver, PR Exec, Automotive Journalist Judy Stropus. She’s a friend and judge at the event.
