After a quick 11-hour hop across the Pacific, I'm back here in the land of small cars and funny soft drinks. I'll be in Japan for a couple weeks, visiting the in-laws and of course doing some Speedhunting along the way. I'll try to post as much Japan material as I can, but before that I want to post a few photos from a show I attended right before I left – the Belmont Concours d'Eleganza back home in good old Fresno, California.
Typically, the conservative and proper world of the Concours wouldn't really fall under the Speedhunters focus, but since it's Luxury and Exotic month I figured I'd take a look.
Plus I was also interested to see what kind of turnout this first time local event would get.
It wasn't a particularly large show , but there was a nice sprinkling of cars representing all eras. Several cars from the local Porsche club could be found on the grass of the Belmont Country Club.
Although some might find them unexciting, I've always enjoyed looking at factory correct muscle cars. There were a couple of immaculate Hemi 'Cudas, a Boss 429 Mustang, some Shelbys, and a big block Camaro SS convertible, among others.
A bit more fitting to our monthly theme would be this incredible '67 Cobra. Unlike a lot of the cars being shown, this Cobra is clearly used for more than looking good on the grass.
Ferrari : the quintessential exotic. There were plenty of them on hand including late models like this F430…
…or classics like this showroom condition Dino.
It's been some time since I've been able to drool over an F40 in person. Is this the greatest exotic car ever made?
Besides all of the Italian machinery, there was also a large row of burly high end Americans – namely Vipers and Ford GT's. I dig the track-ready style of the newer ACR Vipers.
Alfa Romeo has never quite held the exotic status of other Italian car makers, but that doesn't take anything away from the presence that cars like this '62 Giulietta have.
Despite being of an age that's too old to be modern and too new to be classic, this '97 Aston Martin DB7 was looking as sharp as ever,
You really couldn't find a better car for some cross-country touring than this gentleman's exotic.
Another car that looked a bit out of place on the showgrounds was this Shelby Daytona Coupe. It was likely a replica, but that just means there's nothing to worry about when hammering it out on the track.
And finally, my personal favorite of the show – a 100% original '74 DeTomaso Pantera. What could be better than the combination of gorgeous Italian styling and the heart of an American muscle car?
Every part of the car was factory correct – down to the original Goodyear Arriva tires. I had forgotten how great these cars look in untouched, stock form.
Many times I've found that the small events can be just as fun as the big ones, and the Belmont Concours was a perfect example of this. The proven combination of nice cars and a nice setting made it the perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Ok…now to catch up on some of the sleep I've lost of the past few days.
-Mike Garrett
The first red Ferrari picture is actually a 2004 360 Challenge Stradale.......not a 430.
i hope this isnt the last time i see a F40 in this month of exotics. nice pix!
F40'S look so damn awesome! I think the designers of these should be given a special award from me. LOL. NACA ducts galore, but it pulls it off very nicely. Best looking car, period! That's what's up!
Nike Air Yeezy's are rarer than Ferrari F40's. Ferrari hasn't yet mastered the art of selling those days. LOL.
well actually that F430 is a 360 Modena:) (just 430 rims)
wow, I didn't know fresno rocked so hard nowadays!
I love de Tomaso's, although I like the Pentera, the Mangusta is the prefered design for me. Great pics and coverage, it must be a strange contrast to go from all of these big muscle/exotic cars, to the wee little ones of japan.
Hey Mike if u get the chance there is another Concours held on the Stanford campus next to the stadium; I have been going for a few years now and the collections are just as nutty as this if not even more so. Last year there were about 80 Ferrari's including like three 250 GTO's, Lambo Muira, and much much more. It was there that I saw the ACR before it actually came out, at the time I thought it was some guys custom job lol; also I think you would enjoy the large selection of Duesenbergs and Center Cords since your into the older stuff.
F40 greatest ever? IMO the McLaren F1 is superior in so many ways and much more groundbreaking design (not to mention better looking!)
Lamborghini Miura is easily the ultimate exotic to me.
Those pictures that Lin took of it with its cowls open did it for me
Mike, please tell me you've got more photos of that black 930 Porsche 911!
what's the car to the left of the Shelby Cobra?
Its a 1970 Dodge Charger
Man, i don't even care about the rest of the cars, that Dino..... just.... PURE SEX ON WHEELS AND PETROL!!
Hey Mike, what about those '30s cars behind the DB7? Maybe not Speedhunters' usual material, but they sure look luxurious! After all, nothing can top the roaring twenties and early thirties when it comes to outlandishly opulent luxury cars IMO. Truly the golden age for American cars, when marques such as Packard, Pierce-Arrow, and DuPont (yes that DuPont) went head to head against their finest European rivals like Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza, and Isotta-Fraschini. Don't forget the era when the luxury car came into it's own this month!
Thats an enzo next to the F40 right? glad to see you got your priorities straight F40 > enzo for sure!
Mike, thanks for taking your time to visit our Concours, it means a lot to me and I hope you enjoyed yourself. Your pics are really nice - to all reading this blog, mark your calendars - we'll be back in 2010! The Belmont Concours d'Eleganza is coming back June 6, 2010.......Armando Lozano, event Co-Chair.
Those GT40's look like the new or retro model. And the Vipers are a relatively new model also. As much as I love drooling over brand new exotic cars, I have to ask a question. What is the point of driving a car off of the showroom floor, and directly onto a Concours show field? It's a competition based on returning an older car to its original condition. It's not very competitive to put a car that still has the sales sticker adhesive on the window, against 20, 30, 40, or more year old cars that have actually been lovingly restored to original condition through thousands of hours of hard work. Is there some kind of age or mileage limit? Kudos to anyone with a 50+ year old car with zero miles on it that has been stored in a hermetically sealed garage for half a century, but what is the point of putting a brand new car into such a competition?
I like this kind of feature Mike. Maybe it doesn't look like Speedhunter kind of article that much, but I hope this kind of event will be featured more.
Oh, Dino, every time I see one of those the words "Sex on wheels" just come to mind.
2400lbs, steel tube chassis, manual 5-speed with foot clutch, computer only controlling the engine, no driver-aids, no abs...no power anything, Last Ferrari overseen by Enzo and wrapped in Group C inspired Pininfarina carbon bodywork. For me, Ferrari's after the F40 seemed to have lost their soul to more technology and more weight.
I like vipers, but I read straight passed it the first time... I was thinking about the F40
Is that a'n aluminium body cobra? love the f 40!!!!
I wonder if that "'67 Cobra" is a Kirkham Motorsports car? Better than original!
http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/
I am a Lambo guy first and formost, but I dig what the F40 is all about.
I think you guys need to let linhberg loose at one of these concours events with an old film camera, old style shots of these older cars would be awesome.