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We've had such a great time these last few weeks on both coasts at two vintage events, Monterey and the Lime Rock Historic Festival. From seeing familiar faces and old friends to a wife breaking down in tears as I signed her husband's car, explaining to Gayle how he was diagnosed with cancer and how his car has been keeping him going much longer than anyone expected he could survive. It's something we hear often. A constant reminder of how our vehicles are so much more than pieces of metal. They bond us together in a way that can't be explained to anyone not in "the club". Man has had rituals since the beginning of time. Us car folk have Monterey, Lime Rock, Amelia, Hershey, Pebble, Pikes Peak, Le Mans, Indy... even auctions like Barret-Jackson and Mecum. Our tribes gather and we enjoy.
Another ritual is the annual Shelby Museum party in Boulder, CO. Two weeks ago they celebrated their 20th annual party and gathering. 20 years! Every year they release a new poster to commemorate the event and this year's is a stunner. By special arrangement we are able to offer it to you (see details below).
It's not a ritual (at least not yet), but we're holding an Open House at the very end of this month (Friday Sept 30th). We moved to our new building in Henderson at the very end of last year. Being next to the Aerovault facility has been a real benefit and we want to share both spaces with you. John Morton will join us and we'll have book signings, photo opportunities with the cars, tours of how the Aerovaults are made and I'll be pulling out some items from my archives to offer. And last but not least, some great BBQ. See details below.
Before the Open House on the 30th, is the Red Rock Concours in Summerlin (near Vegas) where I will speak Saturday evening the 24th and the concours will be held the 25th. Below we will share details on how to get tickets to both. Then the Open House on Friday the 30th. Followed in October by Barrett-Jackson in Vegas the 13-15th. That sounds like a bunch of fun!
All details are below!
Peter (& Gayle) Brock
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BRE/Aerovault Open House
Friday September 30th, 10am-2pm
We're excited to show you our new showroom with the infamous "History Wall". Gayle has gone through the archives for years to show you my history from getting my first car (an MG TC) in 1952, to my work at GM Styling in '57-'58, to my early racing career in Southern California when I worked for Max Balchowsky and met Carroll Shelby, to working for Shelby from '61-'65, to the BRE design and race years of '66 through '73, my hang gliding endeavors at my company UP (Ultralight Products) and on and on through to today with Aerovault.
John Morton is joining us and we'll have copies of his book available for autographing, of course all of our posters and wonderful George Bartell artwork (lithos and originals), apparel and such. I'll also be pulling some one-of-a-kind items out of my collection to share.
Photo Opp! Then there are the cars of course. On display will be my personal Daytona Cobra Coupe, my v-8 powered Datsun 510 (Datzilla), our BRE Tribute 240Z, our original-condition BRE Baja 510 (it's often the highlight of people's visit with us). We are also working to have another special car here. We'll see if that happens! Bring your special ride and at 11am we will have a group photo taken with all of us and our vehicles.
We can't forget to mention the BBQ. Any great event has good food... and we will! A registration form will be sent out in the next day or two via e-mail so you can let us know if you're coming. We sure hope to see you on the 30th.
Click here or on the photo above to get directions!
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Shelby Museum Annual Party
Special Ken Miles/Cobra art poster released for 20th anniversary
Austrian artist Klaus Wagger's work is quite impressive. Wagger has created this striking piece of Ken Miles on his way to victory at the US Road Racing Championship at Riverside in 1965. Klaus's prints often sell in excess of $200. You can see more examples of his wonderful work here.
This poster, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Shelby Museum in Boulder is a bargain at $29.95. I'll also be proud to autograph it if you choose that option at checkout here . Or give us a call and we can take your order over the phone at 702-558-3374.
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Monterey Week
Looking back at our photos, how did we do all this in one week?
Monterey week continues to grow. Stories abound the entire weekend of traffic, trying to get to 3 events each day, etc. It's been simply impossible for us to get everywhere we've wanted to go in the past. This year however we had some heavy-hitting help. Aerovault Production Manager, Damien (seen here on the right), joined us to give people an in-depth tour of the Aerovault in our booth at Laguna. Kat had the entire week handled even before it began with identifying what to take, getting everything loaded, then unloaded when we arrived, managing our schedules, shooing us on our way as we needed to get to the next activity, basically handling everything. We hope you were able to meet these two highly valued people. If not, you have another chance to by coming to the Open House. Thanks Damien and Kat!
1st for the week was the Peninsula Concours where us judges chose this beautiful Talbot Largo |
Also at the Concours was one of our favorite ladies, Alma Hill (Phil Hill's widow). |
Next evening was McCall's Motorsports Revival where Dan Gurney (L) caught up with MotoGP Champion Wayne Rainey. Oh, the stories! |
It was a big week for Ford, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the GT40 win at Le Mans. |
At Edsel Ford's reception I got to pose with this beautiful 2016 Ford GT rendition of the 1965 winning GT40. |
Speaking of Edsel Ford III, here we are at an autograph signing a the Laguna-Seca track. |
Another two of my favorites. Sir Stirling and Lady Moss. |
The week ended on a high note as Greg Miller (seen here to the Right), of the Miller Collection in Utah, stopped by dinner Saturday night to announce they had purchased at auction, the first Cobra ever built. Greg got a standing ovation for keeping this piece of U.S. history in America! |
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Lime Rock
It doesn't get much more fun than this!
The Lime Rock Historic Festival two weeks after Monterey was much more low key and focused. That doesn't mean less busy but going only to the track everyday was a nice compliment to Monterey week. We don't get to the East coast as often and the lines at our autograph sessions were impressive and always fun as we see what people dig out of their closets to show us.
And of course there's the opportunity to see old friends.
During a panel discussion one evening we recreated this BRE archive photo (top) taken in 1972 at Road Atlanta with John Morton (L), myself and Sam Posey (R). We are having fun!
We sold a lot of my Corvette books at the autograph sessions which caused our inventory manager to raise the flag that we're nearing the end of our printing. At this time we don't have plans to do a second printing so
don't wait if you think you might want one go here (they make especially nice gifts). But I digress.
As the honored guests of the event John Morton and I each had the opportunity to choose our favorite car at the Lime Rock Concours on Sunday. It's just another example of what I love about how cars bring us together. John had picked a couple of contenders when he came across a non-descript early circle track car. The car was certainly not a concours winner but the owner had over time pulled together the entire race history on the car. While looking at that history, John found it was the car that had won the very first race John had gone to with his father at the impressionable age of 7. Game over... it won John's award for his favorite car at the Concours.
My choice was a mid-'60s 850 Fiat Spyder with a body by Bertone. It's a beautiful Italian design. A car that was inexpensive yet every detail attended to. It would never be a contender for top honors at a concours. Knowing the top cars would be taken care of by the regular judges awards, I chose it to bring attention to how special it is and ensure it wasn't overlooked by the crowds. Both sets of owners were thrilled to be chosen. Our choices are just another example of how cars bond us together.
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50th Anniversary Daytona Cobra Coupe Model Series is Over
It's like something is missing
This is the first newsletter in almost two years where we don't have a new Daytona Cobra Coupe model to share with you.
There are no new models planned. We do however have some sets still available of Set 2: Bondurant wins LeMans, and Set 3: Breedlove's Land Speed Record Breaker on our website here.
We also have some single models and autographed photos (not sets) still available. Some are signed by drivers, some are not and I can sign any of them.
They are listed on our ebay store here where we can specify quantity so there's no chance we'll oversell.
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Red Rock Concours Sept 24-25
A great opportunity to see my favorite presentation
I was honored to be approached by the Red Rock Concours to not only be involved in their Sunday Concours at the beautiful Red Rock Country Club in Summerlin, NV (west of Las Vegas) but to also be their Saturday evening dinner speaker.
I'll be presenting one of my favorite topics on the "Path of Least Resistance" on the history of automotive aerodynamic design. What's so special about this talk are the images. To demonstrate the stories I share photos I have collected over decades that show some extremely interesting ideas for automobiles.
By request the Concours is opening up the dinner to the public (previously it was only open to entrants). For $85 a person you get: 1) a nice dinner, 2) to hear my stories and see my photos of some pretty interesting vehicles AND 3) it includes admission to the Concours the next day.
Click here to print the registration form for tickets to the dinner, my presentation AND this includes admission to the Concours the next day!
I'd really like to share this presentation with you.
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With our leaving the photojournalism business, which had us on the race circuit most of the year (and behind photo fences), we've been able to enjoy more cars shows and speaking events. This has meant we've also been able to meet and spend more time with the "tribes". It's been a real pleasure.
From your tribal members,
Peter and Gayle Brock
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