The current issue of Hemmings Classic Car magazine (May 2013) has a very interesting article about the restoration of a 1955 Hudson Italia.  I’ll spare all the details about the history of the Italia (click here for that), but basically this car consisted of a Hudson Jet clad with very special superleggera bodywork built by Carozzeria Touring in Milan.  What makes this car so rare the fact that the entire production run consisted of only 26 units.  There was also a 4-door prototype built, but wait…  There is more…

The article in the magazine made mention that there was one prototype built.  Indeed – some time ago, I took these pictures of it at the owner’s garage.  It took me a little time to find the pictures and since this is such a special car, I decided to post them today.

Right off the bat, you can see a couple of things that differentiate this from the “production” model.  The prototype’s grill has a different pattern from the production version.  In addition – as you can see here – the prototype is missing the “HUDSON” lettering across the nose of the car.

Want proof this is the prototype?  A closer look at the center of the grille and you see this special emblem:

Here is another view of the grill this time with the “HUDSON” emblem on the bumper.  This emblem did make it to the production version.

Stepping back a little, the following picture shows just how intricate the front bumper is.  The article in the magazine talked about how painstaking it was to restore the bumpers on the featured car.  Given this is the prototype and it is nearly 60 years old, the chrome is remarkably well-preserved…

Moving back towards the back of the car, this is what the back and interior look like:

The red and cream leather interior as well as the carpet don’t look as good as the chrome – they show some wear, but given this is the original prototype it would be really bad (in my opinion) to “restore”.  I suppose to each his own, but this car is just to valuable.

Another difference from the production model is the rear tail light design.  This is what the prototype looks like:

The three “tubes” house the rear tail lights.  In the production model, these three tubes are equal in length – here as you can see, the middle tube is shorter.

I remember when I saw the Italia up close, if you looked hard enough you could see that this car had been “hand-made”.  For example, on the nose of the car are two “nostrils” above the headlights and they were not exactly 100% identical.  I also thought the interior was really special indeed – it looked so “modern”!  Finally, I did not get a chance to take a picture of it but the steering wheel center button read “Alfa Romeo” – I guess that was a extra spare steering wheel at Carozzeria Touring that just happen to make it to the prototype Italia.

This car has also been at Amelia Island Concurs D’Elegance back in 2010.  I remember the owner had told me about that, and sure enough…  Amazing thing, Google!  I found the following photos (from supercars.net) and the last one shows that Alfa Romeo steering wheel.

Ford GT40.

In my opinion the most amazing, outrageous, bad-ass machine of all times.  The car that Ford built to give Enzo the finger back in the 60’s when the deal to sell Ferrari to Ford fell through the cracks.  The masterpiece built by Holman-Moody that gave the boys from America the 1-2-3 win at LeMans.

Well, the Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance 2013 had a gaggle of them on display.  Unfortunately, but the time I made it to the green where they were on display many other folks had made it there too and taking pictures became very difficult.  I did get to take a few good shots, however there were just too many folks around these awesome cars.

Not much more to say – these cars speak for themselves!

A few years ago, I had a chance to visit the Hall of Fame Museum  at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Another one of those hallowed grounds you need to add to your personal bucket list.  At any rate, I’ve been there twice actually and every time I just marveled at the amazing collection on display.  Among the notables were the cars of one Harold Arminius Miller – If you don’t know who I am talking about here, then click the link.  There were many of his masterpieces on display at the Hall of Fame Museum and during my visits I was told there were even more amazing Millers stashed away in the basement of the museum.

I figured I’d never see that many Millers on display at one given place, but I was wrong.

At the Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance 2013, there were many.  And what a treat they were!  Impressive is an understatement.  When you look at the way these cars were built, the way in which the suspension was set up, the engines and the drive trains they were equipped with, you cannot but step back and wonder about the men that drove these machines.  They truly had cajones the size of grapefruits – no doubt about that.

As you scroll through the above listed gallery, keep a few things in mind:

• You think front-wheel drive is a “modern thing”?  Think twice.  If you pay close attention (i.e.: yellow car number 3) you will notice these cars have a front mounted differential.  Front-wheel drive in the 20’s and 30’s at Indianapolis.  Imagine that…
• You think four-wheel drive in a race car is something Audi ‘invented’ with the Quattro?  Think again (i.e.: car number 35 and the Bowes Fast Seal Special).  There were several of these cars equipped with four-wheel drive arrangements.  Imagine that, lapping the Indianapolis Motor Speedway…
• Superchargers?  Check.  These cars had superchargers.
• You think intercoolers were invented in the 80’s and 90’s?  Think again.  There were  air-to-air intercoolers mounted on some of these cars.
• You need to look close at car number 3 (the one with the twine wrapped steering wheel) it was equipped with an all mechanical braking system.  Yes, mechanical:  actuated by cables and pulleys.
• Check out the quarter elliptical leaf springs!  Works of art, huh?
• Check out the engine-turned dashes.  Imagine the care, hours and dedication it took a craftsman to make that.
• There are a few pictures of car number 35 (incidentally, all-wheel-drive).  Take a look at the airfoils around both the front and rear axles.  You think aerodynamics belong only on modern F1 cars?  Think again!
• The amazing chrome work.  The noses of these cars had chrome that was a mile deep.

Now that you have seen what the cars look like, take a look at the following gallery.  This is what a Miller looks like naked without the bodywork:

Pretty impressive.  Just keep in mind this is 1920’s and 1930’s technology.  Riddle me this:  take a look at that fuel tank.  How do you suppose it was a) made and b) welded together?  In the “naked” Miller you can see the front-wheel-drive axle, the engine-turned dash and firewall and the glorious engine.  Amazing.

Call me an automotive geek or just a nut for old cars.  But these machines represent a long-lost art.  It is a shame craftsmen that built these cars no longer are around to tell us the secrets that went into building such works of art.  I’ve read where race cars are a snapshot of technology at a given moment in time, just to be ran hard and then disposed of, replaced by newer, faster and better machines.  Well, I feel very lucky to have been able to see these cars and admire them for the third time in my lifetime.  In my opinion, they are glorious machines from very special slice of time…