<h3>Speed, Style & Beauty<br>Hoods Up!<br>28 April 2005</h3>
I returned to the MFA's show Speed, Style, & Beauty, an exhibit of some cars from Ralph Lauren's collection. This time it was Hoods Up! night, which happened only once a month. This was way cool, not only because I could see the engines, but because it attracted the true motor heads.
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1930 "Count Trossi" Mercedes-Benz SSK
1955 Jaguar XKD
Man, if I could have just one car from this show, this would have to be it. I've loved this design since I was 8 or something (were there still dinosaurs then, Dad?) This car (maybe not this very car) won three straight Le Mans races. I built innumerable models of it and always showed this off like this with their hoods open. Gotta love that British racing green.
1955 Jaguar XKD
And under the hood, it's pretty nice, too. I love it when the hood opens this way. It makes so much sense.
950 Jaguar XK120 Alloy Roadster
Of course if the D-type is too ostentatious for you, maybe you'd rather have this. It's even street legal.
1929 Blower Bentley
This might be the most famous engine on display. It belongs to the car Ian Flemming gave James Bond in the early novels. W.O. Bentley didn't want to include the supercharger in this engine, but his racing customers forced the issue.
1929 Blower Bentley
There is a great story about Bentley and Bugatti:
- Ettore Bugatti was losing Le Mans annually to a certain British automaker when he let envy get the best of him. W.O. Bentley, he reportedly said, "makes the fastest trucks in Europe." -- Motor Trend
1933 Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix
Compare the Bentley with this.
1933 Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix
Talk about competitors with different approaches!
1996 McLaren F1
Here's a car that really gives you your money's worth on Hoods Up! night.
1996 McLaren F1
This thing has a top speed of 230 MPH and does 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds.
1988 Porsche 959
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe
You gotta love this car. The body sculpture and classic styling are really hard to capture in a photo. Standing beside it, the car just radiates build quality and solidity. It has the subtle lines and curves of something that could only have been mass produced, but it has the quality of something that could only have been made by hand.
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
My friend Erik (Doctor It) Miller, put this car on his list for Santa.
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
I suppose as long as you are wishing, you might as well pull out all the stops. My source says this is "one of the rarest, and most expensive Ferraris ever produced."
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Mille Miglia