Cool Hunting

Christie's: Exceptional Motor Cars by Evan Orensten

greenwich_councours.jpg

Every car in Christie's Exceptional Motor Cars at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance Including the Sergio Franchi Motor Car Collection auction has a story—the people who made it, owned it, where and how they bought it, and sometimes how they restored it.

Many of the 46 cars in the sale were collected and owned by the famous tenor Sergio Franchi. His favorite car—and the highlight of the auction—is his 1930 Isotta Fraschini 8AS Boattail Convertible. Isotta Fraschini's were truly the cars of royalty in the early 1900s—both those with countries and those who commanded their people from the silver screen of Hollywood (perhaps best personified by Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard who was driven in her similar looking 1929 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Castagna Transformable).

One of the fascinating things about many of these fine automobiles is that you would order the chassis from the manufacturer, and then have any of several coachmakers finish it for you. Sometimes standard packages were offered and sometimes they would create completely custom cars. While this practice exists today (with coachbuilders such as Fisker, who build custom bodies on Mercedes chassis) this artform has lost visibility from the much more plentiful field of customizers, like those featured on Pimp My Ride, who take existing parts (mostly) to modify production cars.

Many of the cars are much more accessible, and practical, than the IF (which is estimated to sell for somewhere around $700,000), with bargains to be found on recent classics like Jaguar, Delorean and Buick, and "Janie," who earned her fame by being the last Checker Cab in service in New York.

4 June 2006
12:00 pm
Roger Sherman Baldwin Park
Greenwich, CT
USA

greenwich_councours_2.jpg

Tools
Print
Email
Save / Bookmark
fShare Share
Permanent link
Sphere It
This entry posted on 19 May 2006 at 1:00 AM
Related Entries
Advertisement
Don Pendleton x Furni Clock Auction to Benefit Element Skateboards Awareness Program
Furni Creations collaborated with skateboarder and artist Don Pendleton on two alarm clocks to help support the Element Skateboards Awareness Program. Made from 200 year-old wood from a barn in the Swiss Alps and hand painted by Pendleton in his signature style, all of the proceeds go towards Element's work with youth to help develop self-esteem and tools to lead productive and happy lives...
Airstream x MINI Cooper S Clubman x Republic of Fritz Hansen
For someone like myself who grew up traveling in converted buses, this new Republic of Fritz Hansen-designed Airstream and coordinating modified MINI Cooper S Clubman doesn't look exactly practical, but it does look dreamy. At 6.8 meters long (about 22 feet), the Airstream trailer makes for a relatively compact way to make a road-trip luxurious—for fans of both sea and sun. Incorporating neoprene, acid...
Damián Ortega: Materialista
Mexican artist Damián Ortega's masterful new installation at Galpão Fortes Vilaça takes its title, "Materialista," from the Spanish word describing a truck that transports construction materials. The truck parts themselves are Ortega's chosen medium for the piece, a play on the idea of materialism and deconstruction. Totaling eight meters long, the Mexican artist hung steel parts from the ceiling to create the illusion of...
2009 Ferrari 599XX and Maserati Gran Turismo
Kicking off this year's New York International Auto Show last week, we attended the U.S unveiling of the new Ferrarri 599XX and Maserati GranTurismo S Automatic at Ferrari's Park Ave showroom. Both were originally exhibited at the Geneva Auto Show a few weeks prior and are the focus of much desire. While the GranTurismo is the more practical choice, the Ferrari, a professional level...
Recent Cool Hunting Videosview all Cool Hunting Videos
Advertisement
Advertisement
Recent Entries

J. Howells Werthman: We Are Making Plans


PhoneSuit MiLi Pro Video Projector


iPhone HP Calculators


Society6


Bedol Eco-Friendly Water Drop Clock


Context x Kicking Mule 1980 Hand Dye Jeans


Liquid Image Camera Goggles


Interview with Erik Madigan Heck of Nomenus Quarterly


Photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten