Hershey Time

It's Hershey time once again. I've been going to Hershey (the AACA's annual event in Hershey, PA) with Dad since 1974 - it's annual pilgrimage I look forward to all year.  This year is a special one as I'm bringing my son for the first time - the next generation car guy in our family. 

This year I'll be live-tweeting from Hershey, so please follow us on Twitter: @VintageMotorBlg.

Here's a few photos of treasures from past Hershey events.

1908 Benz Grand Prix Car

1908 Benz Grand Prix Car (photo credit: C.L.)

While perusing the collection of a friend recently, I saw this picture among the many covering the walls. I was curious about the coat-of-arms seen on the car. Upon further inspection the scene looks to be take here in America, circa 1908-1910 (based on the clothing). After a bit of research, I believe this to be a picture of one of the 1908 Benz factory GP cars. Benz brought forward a new design in 1908, due to the drubbing they took in 1907 at the hands of Mercedes. The cars featured a 12 liter, 120hp, 4-cylinder engine and performed well on it's first time out at the 1908 French Grand Prix - Victor Hemery  would bring one of the three cars home in 2nd place.

The Motor Car Journal of November 7, 1908, reporting on the pending American Automobile Club's Grand Prix race to be held in Savannah, states "The three Benz cars for the contest are the same as took part in the A.C.F. Grand Prix in July last; they have, however, been fitted with new engines, the cylinder dimensions of which are states to be 150mm bore by 200mm stroke". Victor Hemery would come to the United States to pilot one of the cars. The other two would be driven by Willie Haupt, fresh from his success with the Chadwick, and David Bruce-Brown, an unknown at the time who would go on to have a remarkable but short career.

The picture herein would appear to show one of the Benz GP cars with the Heraldic symbol of Prussian Royalty - the Royal house of Hohenzollem (of which Kaiser Wilhelm II was a member). Is the car shown here in Savannah? It doesn't look like a warm weather environment. Is the driver shown Hemery, Haupt, or Bruce-Brown. Well, after comparing pictures of the three, it appears not to be Hemery or Haupt. It might be Bruce-Brown but I'm not confident of that.

To give the story one more twist, Robert Dick's Auto Racing Comes of Age: A Transatlantic View of the Cars, Drivers and Speedways, 1900-1925, notes that in April 1908 Louis Bergdoll, of the prominent Philadelphia Brewing family, bought a GP Benz: "Louis J. Bergdoll of Philadelphia has purchased the Benz entry in the Grand Prix, and expects to bring the car to this country soon after the big race in France and enter it in the Vanderbuilt Cup race". 

Is this the car Bergdoll purchased and campaigned on the east coast? If any readers know more about this image, please leave me a comment.

1908 Benz Grand Prix Car (photo credit: www.favcars.com)

Scottsdale Super-cars

Lamborghini Murcielago (photograph by the author)

His and Her's Ferrari 458's (photograph by the author)

I went to a local Cars and Coffee event in Scottsdale this past weekend and it reminds one that Scottsdale is littered with super-cars. Its plan silly how many Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc. are prowling the streets of this southwestern community.

Don't get me wrong, I love these cars as much as the next person, even though they're out of my reach. However, when you see so many in one place, it does take a bit of the shine off. Thankfully, I had my son with me, who loves super cars and could identify each model. It's interesting to see the contemporary super-cars next to a few from the past.

One of the cars that caught my attention was a friend's Renault R5 Turbo. These cars were introduced to complete in Rally racing and a road-going version was manufactured between 1980 through 1986. The car seen here is a 1985 "Turbo 2" with aluminum roof panels. Of the 3576 total R5 Turbos (all years), these Turbo 2 (later variation) are not often seen in the United States. Weighing in at roughly 2200 lbs and with 160+ horsepower from the mid-engined turbo charged 4-cylinder, these cars are street rockets.

Renault R5 Turbo 2 (photograph by the author)

Bugatti Veyron (photograph by the author)

Aston Martin DB6 (photograph by the author)

Aston Martin V8 Vantage (photograph by the author)

A pair of wonderful Jaguars

Jaguar XKSS (photographed by the author)

You never know what you'll find at a local car show but I was surprised to see these two fantastic Jaguars at an event this weekend in Scottsdale. I'm not sure why I should be surprised as there are a number of significant collections within the area. These two are both from the same collection.

The first car seen below, a C Type Jaguar (XK120-C), is the "competition" version of Jaguar's landmark XK120 road car. The XK120 was introduced in 1948 to great fanfare and shortly thereafter Jaguar introduced the C Type. Produced between 1951 and 1953, only 53 were built - and yes, this one is the real deal. The C Type famously won on its first time at Le Mans (1951) at the hands of Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead. The twin-cam, inline 6-cylinder engine produces over 200hp.

The next car is an XKSS, the street version of Jaguar's D Type competition car. The D Type was introduced in 1954 and would win Le Mans in 1955, 1956, and 1957. When Jaguar retired from racing is 1957 (temporarily) the company had 25 D Type cars under production and needed to sell them. They would alter the car slightly, making it road legal, and sell them as the XKSS. Although, the D Type (and XKSS) share the same basic engine as the C Type, this car is a completely different chassis (monocoque construction). Jaguar's plan was cut short when a fire swept through the factory and a number of the XKSS cars under production were destroyed. It's said that only 16 of these cars survive. I've had the good fortune to see 4 of them in person - fantastic.

Jaguar C Type (photographed by the author)

Jaguar XKSS (photographed by the author)

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1926 Duesenberg Model A Custom

1926 Duesenberg Model A Custom (from the author's collection)

I purchased this photo at Hershey last year. On the back is hand-written "Auburn". Of course, it is not an Auburn, but a Model A Duesenberg that was customized in the day for Theodore Koslov (often spelled Kosloff). The car is currently offered for sale by Mark Hyman - the asking price is $695,000.

Hyman describes the car as being commissioned in 1933 with the work done by Bud Lyons, a Hollywood based custom shop of the period. The photo appears to show the car wearing a 1934 California license plate and may show Theodore Koslov in the background - the man standing farthest to the right? I've been able to find little on Bud Lyons, however Hyman notes that the car utilizes a 1934 Oldsmobile hood and taillights. 


Theodore Koslov (1882-1956) was born in Moscow and started as a professional ballet dancer. Arriving in the United States in 1909, Kosloff was introduced to Cecil B. De Mille and began working as an actor. Soon Kosloff was also in demand as a choreographer on Broadway as well as in films. Kosloff's acting career was in decline about the time this car was built as he was not able to make the jump to "talkies" due to his Russian accent. However, the LA Times noted, "Kosloff, for his part, was clever, or lucky, enough to take Paramount stock in lieu of salary early on. And having invested wisely in L.A. real estate, the onetime starving artist became an arts entrepreneur."

Koslov sold the car not long after this photo and the car traveled through many hands, even having it's engine swapped for a Marmon V-16 (around the time of WWII).  The car stayed in LA until being rediscovered by Ray Radford in 1979 who commissioned the current restoration with help of Strother MacMinn.

Today the car is a bit different than the original in detail. If you look closely you see a number of small deferences, including the color.

The Duesenberg Model A Custom today (photo credit: velocityjournal.com)

George Whittell and his Phantom I Rolls-Royce

George Whittell's 1927 Rolls-Royce PI - S425FL (from the author's collection)

I had the pleasure of seeing this car recently, and I have to admit, I was really taken by it. The Springfield built cars of Rolls-Royce of America are some of my favorite cars from the Classic era. This car (S 425 FL) is a very early Springfield Phantom I (1927) and wears the step plate of a somewhat obscure San Francisco body company. I'm not sure I'd describe the body as beautiful, but in person it's quite striking and it's rare to see a Rolls-Royce bodied in San Francisco. Needless to say, I had to find out the story behind the car.

Well, it appears I'm not the first person to be curious about this car as I found an article from August of 1987 written about the car in Special Interest Autos. The Rolls-Royce's history is facinating and starts with George Whittell Jr. Mr. Whittell, the only child of San Francisco real estate and banking wealth (he was actually a twin, but his brother died at the age of three), was a notorious playboy with a passion for cars, boats, and women. Many automobile enthusiasts will know him as one of the Duesenberg brothers greatest fans, purchasing six Model J's over his lifetime. One of these cars, nick-named the Whittell Coupe, was sold by Goodings & Co in 2011 for $10.34 million. 

It turns out George liked Rolls-Royce's as well, and according to an interview by Automobile Quarterly (Vol. 26, No. 1) of Francis Kuboski (Whittell's mechanic), in August of 1927 Whittell accepted delivery of a Rolls-Royce Phantom I chassis from Springfield. According to Kuboski, Whittell hired a coachbuilder from England to come over and design a body to be built at Burt Larkins shop on Geary Street in San Francisco. Further, according to Kuboski, after the car was delivered to Whittell, he parked it and drove little. This conflicts slightly with the SIA article which stated that Whittell was sometimes seen in the car diving about with one of his pet lions. Regardless of which story you believe, the car saw minimal use and was sold to Douglas Duggins - a neighbor of Whittells in Woodside, CA. In 1948 the car passed to Lee Sturla, who stored the car for over 40 years there in the San Francisco area. I'm not sure when or from whom the current owner acquired the car. As with all Phantom I's, this car has a 7 liter, 6-cylinder engine and appears to retain its original paint and interior.

Larkins & Co. is described within Mark Theobald's wonderful website, coachbuilt.com. The company was started just after the civil war by an Irish immigrant named William Larkins. By the time the company entered the automobile business it was run by William Bernard Larkins, but he died in 1913 and his son, William Burton Larkins (known as Burt) took over. After the great fire of 1906, the company relocated three times, finally settling in the former Geary Street car barns (originally housing steetcars or trollies). The company was primarily an auto body painter and repair shop. However, they built custom bodies for the luxury dealers in San Francisco and were also known for what would come to to be called the "California Top" (called the Larkins Top by the company). I had the good fortune to see one of these tops fitted to a Pierce-Arrow recently (it being sold new in San Francisco). Larkin & Co. would survive until the 1950's, when the next generation transformed it into the Larkins Brothers Tire Shops.

Today it is thought that there are less than a handful of surviving Larkins & Co. bodied cars.

1927 Rolls-Royce PI with Larkins & Co. body (from the author's collection)

 (from the author's collection)

I believe this is a Larkins Top on a Model 48 Pierce-Arrow (from the author's collection)