Cars in the Park, a Bentley stole the Italian automobile show for me

D50 photos:

Yes, I know a Bentley is British. I'm guessing this one made its way into the show by way of an Italian connection of some sort.


Looking from the passenger side of the car, across the hood ornament.


Looking from the driver's side of the car, across the hood ornament. Not even that woman's patterned blouse can destroy the design magnificence.

All of these parts add up to one great big, beautiful car.




Do these signs reveal the Italian connection? I found on Wikipedia that the 1000 Miglia (Mille Miglia) was an Italian open-road endurance race held between 1927 and 1957. In 1982 the Mille Miglia endurance race was revived as a road rally event. Nowadays, timing rather than speed is of the essence for the enthusiasts from around the world who race their vintage cars, dating from 1927 to 1957. This magnificent parade of classic machines has earned the Mille Miglia the reputation of being "the most beautiful road race in the world". Every May, Brescia becomes the meeting place for the rich, famous and passionate as they prepare to do battle over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of Italian roads. The event is closely followed by the press and immortalized every year by one of world's most respected photographers, Giacomo Bretzel, whose images so perfectly communicate the intensity, the emotion and the spirit of the moment. The history of the Mille Miglia is traced in all its glory, from yesteryear to the present day, at the Mille Miglia Museum, Brescia. This collection is a must for all amateurs of the automobile and its history and includes a fine collection of books and photographic works.


Here's a close-up which has the year 2007 on it, so this beauty must have made the race that year. Yes! I have found a photo of it in the gallery of the 2007 Mille Miglia at Supercars dot Net! Yes! It is labeled as a Bentley 3 Litre Speed. In the photo there is a man driving and a man in the passenger seat. I would put the link, but I don't feel comfortable with the license plate being visible, nor do I want to alter the photo taken by someone else. Sorry.






How many people do you count in this photo? Reflections included, I count 20. When the sun's out, Portlanders come out in even greater numbers. And the young lad standing beside the vehicle gives you an idea how huge it is.


Sweet car gazing.




Thank goodness I was able to get a photo that shows the true color of this wonderful car. Is that British Racing Green?


The front end of the great big beautiful car.

Candid #1

D50 photo


June 25 I rode the 12 bus to the Portland State Farmers Market before walking down the South Park Blocks to see the Italian cars. Although I couldn't understand their language, it was easily obvious to me that these two women enjoyed being together, laughing and talking until the one of the right left the bus, I'm sure telling her friend good-bye, have a great day, some sort of good wishes as she pushed open the back door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. I wish I could have taken the photo a few seconds earlier so that you could see the five tiny gray buttons on the ribbed portion of the sweater's sleeve. When I downloaded the photo, I noticed that her olive green pants had matching buttons decorating them, too, four of them visible from the knee down as she sits beside her friend.

I've tried to crop the photo so that you can see the buttons. They spoke to me of days gone by when my Mama decorated dresses she made for me with buttons chosen carefully, buttons that matched the fabric's colors, buttons hand-sewn in just the right place of her choosing.


The sweater's buttons and the pants' buttons.

Cars in the Park: Italian Cars

Ferrari 430 Scuderia, one machine whose calmness at the curb surely belied its need for speed. I read on the Internet, zero to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds with a top speed of 198 mph. I read on the Internet that it weighs just under 3000 lbs. and has a 4.3 liter V8 engine with 503 horsepower. I thought as I looked at it from every side, this car inhales asphalt at the hands of the woman who owns it. But where can she legally drive it, I immediately wondered, as it desires to be driven? I doubt I'll ever find out, but oh, how I would have loved to have heard that engine at least start up.






A look at the engine.




Gotta love that guy's grin!

A bit more from the Internet, from Edmunds dot com:

What Edmunds Says

If you want a race-ready Ferrari for the street (and really, who doesn't?), the 2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia is where it's at. Just don't expect three pedals on the floor.

Pros

Wicked acceleration, otherworldly handling from lightweight chassis, closest thing to a racecar for the street that Ferrari sells.

Cons

Wallet-vaporizing price, conventional manual transmission unavailable, not ideal for the daily commute.

I couldn't find an exact cost easily, so I gave up looking when I saw almost $300,000!