Rare car sightings/stories

[MysteryTrain]

On a recent thread, Cranky was lamenting loss of Cobra uniqueness due to the ever growing population of road going Cobras. That and a post by CowtownCobra about seeing an F40 got me to thinking about exciting sightings of rare cars on the road. I am the automotive equivalent of a birdwatcher. I memorize makes and models of all years. I pride myself on identifying cars on the road from a distance, and I get a charge from spotting rare and exotic cars. I'm not talking about seeing these things "in captivity" (auto shows, dealerships, etc.) I mean spotting them in their natural habitat, in the wild. In other words, out on the street, being driven by their very lucky owners just like the rest of us in our Dodges and Toyotas.

Birdwatchers keep lists of every species of bird they've identified in the field. The rare birds are the most quested after, and I apply this mentality to my car watching obsession. Call me a freak.

Being in LA has afforded me quite a few great car watching moments. My first Countach sighting was very memorable, but I'd have to list my top three:

3. I saw a white Testarossa Convertible (Stramann conversion, I think) on Woodman Ave. getting on the 134 freeway in Sherman Oaks. This may have been the same car Road & Track put on the cover of a late 80's edition of Exotic Cars. Don't see that everyday.

2. F40, Foothill Blvd., LaCanada. So surreal to see on the road next to all the SUVs and Hondas, I almost didn't believe what I was seeing.

1. Lamborghini Miura on Tampa Ave. in Reseda. Going the opposite way from me on the road, the driver just ripped into the V12 and let her sing. I broke my neck trying to get a good look as he blurred by, but the windshield rake of a Miura is unmistakeable and unforgettable. I caught enough details and burned them into my memory that later I discovered the car I saw was an SV "Jota" conversion owned by Nicholas Cage. The SVJ's are the rarest of all Miuras, so I doubt I'll ever top that one. Especially given the celeb owner and the dramatic fly-by.

Honorable mentions to Lynn Park's vintage 427 street Cobra (I wouldn't have known it wasn't a replica except I'd seen the car in a local show once), and double spotting of a Murcielago AND a Saleen S7 driving in tandem on a congested 210 freeway through Pasadena.

What have you guys got? Did you ever almost swerve off the road trying to get a better look at some fantastic or rare car like other people do to you when you go by in the Cobra?

MT

[CowtownCobra]

The F40 was a beauty. Gotta love those people who will drive a $400k car on the street

[computerworks]

MT...

Nicholas Cage's SV - J...



...says it was originally owned by the Shah of Iran.

[MysteryTrain]

Ahh, that was her alright.


All bow to Ron, o Master of all things automotive photographic.

P.S. Ron, do you have a shot of my Grandfather's 83 Buick Park Avenue?

MT

[snakeeyes]

Two nights ago I passed a yellow Lambo Murcielago on I10 in rush-hour traffic--talk about a double-take.

I remember being in the tiny seaside community of Aransas Pass, TX--not exactly Seven Mile Drive--with my older brother about twenty years ago, when an orange Miura pulled out of a side street and went tearing down the main drag. Another neck-breaking double-take.

When I was in high school and living in Grafton, Wisconsin (population about 6,000), I was on a rural road one afternoon, coming back from a friend's house, when a silver 427 Cobra came flying past. I'll never forget that car. The license plate said "HSSSSS." I forgot what I was doing and ended up following it for probably 25 miles, until the driver appeared to grow tired of the tail. With a smirk in the rearview mirror he nailed the throttle on a straight piece of road, and I was left breathing fumes and shaking my head. That was an original car--I saw it at Road America about ten years later.

About ten years ago I was in a friend's driveway in Garden Ridge, TX, helping him with some bodywork on his '69 Camaro, when I looked up in time to see an F40 glide silently by. I stood there in amazement while my friend very matter-of-factly said, "Oh, that's Steve Earle. He lives down the street and has a bunch of Ferraris." Turned out to be Dr. Steven Earle, multi-time Ferrari 348/355 Challenge Champion.

Strangest encounter: I was in McAllen, TX on business a few years back, filling up my rental car at a gas station, when I heard the whoop of an exotic engine coming down the street. As I craned my neck to see over the car on the other side of the pump a 50's-era Ferrari coupe passed by, one of the Carrera Panamericana cars with "No Hay Dos" painted on the hood and sides. Must have been headed across the border for the Carrera revival race.

Those are the ones that jump to mind, there are more...

Bob

[flipper35]

Just southwest of Madison WI I met a Lambo LM002 coming the other way. Have seen the occasional Testarossa and Countach and once saw a Lotus Europa in the area too, but the LM was the rarest thing I have seen inthe wild.

[SPEEDEAMON]

Last summer I was driving my '65 Mustang GT fastback in the Malibu hills and something black and wicked looking came fast up my tail. It was a Jaguar XJ 220. Of course I pulled over and let him pass.

Shin

[maxrpm]

Althought I've seen my share of rare & exotic cars around, the one that will most be etched in my mind as shocking was seeing the Batmobile driving thru a parking lot on Hempstead Turnpike. I actually was able to turn around in time to see where he was going and got to talk with the owner and take some very cool (and unauthorized by bruce wayne) up close pics of the undercarriage & interior. I wasn't allowed any underhood pics. I know-I know...not as fast as an F-40 you say? well with atomic batteries and turbines to speed, my money would be on the Batmobile.

[Nedsel]

I heard a low shriek behind me as I was driving on the PA Turnpike, coming back from the Spring Carlisle event back in the early '80's. I was in my station wagon in the right lane. The noise grew louder and suddenly a bright red Ferrari 250 GTO blazed past me in the left lane. I'm sure my jaw hit the top of the steering wheel as it quickly faded from sight. Wow. Then I started thinking about all the crap I had spent two days locating in the dirt and mud that was sitting behind me in the wagon and thought, well, I guess I'm living my life in a different time zone.

[RallySnake]

Max,

Years ago a guy called and asked if I could build a rally computer for the Italian Mille Miglia. I agreed and when it was ready, I invited him to run in a local rally to test the clock in his car before shipping it (the car) to Italy. He agreed and on rally day, he came by my house to pick me up. When I walked outside, this is what I saw.

It was a 1951 Ferrari 212 Vignali, easily worth $300K. I felt strange sitting in the left seat without a steering wheel, but the glorious sound from the V12 engine was shear music. Steve is quite a driver, too. He slid the narrow tires around many a tight curve on the mountain roads. As the miles past, the car seemed to run better and smoother. Steve said the engine was breaking in after a rebuild.

It's funny, I am used to getting looks and thumbs up and comments in the Cobra. In the Ferrari, people just stare. I don't think he was really impressed with the $5 trophy we won, but it was a day I'll remember forever.......

Paul

[Chuck Nickloy]

Mountains of Co, in my rearview mirror. The pic is reversed because of the mirror.

[Hal Copple]

the most uncommon car i have seen in the past few years was a Vector going the other way on the Interstate north of Charlotte.

But the all time most unusual car, was back about '66 or so, i was driving across Ohio, i think, going from Lincoln to DC, in my TR-4. I had just accelerated away from a toll booth station, and was about up to speed, when this low, red Ferrari slowly went by to my left, blowing lots of blue oil smoke. I have recalled that sight many times, i believe it was a race 250LM.

[excelguru]

1. Fiero that didn't have a headlight stuck in the "up" position. (The rarest of 'em all!)

2. Red '84 Ferrari Testarossa in Atlanta traffic back in '84 or '85.

3. Red Ferrari 512 Boxer around Atlanta back in the mid 90's. It was the middle of summer (100 F, 98% RH) and the driver looked like he was sitting in a sauna.

[Edley Rondinone]

A BMW M1, on Vannuys Boulevard back in the early 80's...

[PatBuckley]

Snakeeyes-

Back in 1976 I shared an ex-AW rootbeer stand building in Grafton that we used to work on our race cars. We had a Formula Ford, 2 A Sedans, and a FV....

The place was located in 4 corners...(it may have been 5 corners) - do you remember that?

Pat Buckley

[Jamo]

Good thread.

I couldn't even begin to describe what you see driving around the streets of Monterey and Carmel at nite during the Concours/Historics...

Here in Fresno...I see my neighbor's F40 pretty regularly, after you here the scream. Another guy in town (owns a distributing company) has had an F40, an F50 and now an Enzo...and parks it front of his office. Another 50ish gent drives his Superbird around most Friday nights during the summer.

Saw a Cunningham C4, undoubtedly a reproduction, cruizing through Napa a few years ago...a thing of beauty with a nasty raspy exhaust.

Best catch so far...a McLaren F1 (dark blue) in Knightsbridge (a trendy little burb of London).

I would imagine Wilf could fill a book with the wonders he sees on the M1.

[G.R.]

A '30's Rolls(Bentley?)w/ open Chauffers seat, silver/grey cruising sedately along Manitou RD. in Manitou Spgs., CO--definitely a double-take looker.

About a dozen MG TC's, TD's, TF's, and a couple of A's cruising up to the summit of Trail Ridge Road as I was going down--had to turn around and follow them back up to the top--Denver area MG Club on a road run--they pulled over and parked at the summit--some absolutely stunning restored MG's.

Not really race cars I know but all of them are classic


One other,the M-48 tank that some dememted soldier or guardsman took for a Joyride from Ft.Carson thru N. Denver, saw this thing come roaring up behind me in the other lane on Colorado Blvd , just before he decided to start tearing up the neighbor hood---now that was a sight to see in your rearview mirror.

[snakeeyes]

Pat,

I sure do recall that intersection. Time has also blurred my recollection but I think it's referred to as "Five Corners." It's really funny you mention that because the county road where the guy in the Cobra finally put pedal to medal was the one that runs from Grafton, past the Circle B bowling alley, through the intersection where the old A & W was. It was just past that intersection that I suddenly found myself staring at a silver dot on the horizon.

I don't know if you recall Covered Bridge Park, just down the road from there. I used to go park there and sleep off my hangovers when I was supposed to be in church... I'll undoubtedly burn in Hell for that but admitting it here won't change anything.

Small world--

Bob

[snakeeyes]

Pat, by the way, I sent you a PM--

Bob

[TimG427]

Jamo, the fellow with the distributing company in Fresno also has some Corvettes. About ten years ago when we lived in Sacramento, I used to visit with him by phone. He had a 1965 396 radio/heater delete yellow Corvette roadster. We talked about some type of trade for a car I had.
Did anyone see the red Z8 BMW with the hardtop that was on Mopac with us on Saturday. Looked unusual, but nice, with the hard top.
Do you think that anyone will be telling stories about "what they saw" after the Saturday road trip. To see CSX2476 on the road was pretty special for me.