http://www.classiccarshow.com/elegance/med_pr_97_14.htm (Internet on a CD, 07/1998)
COLLECTION WAITS A DECADE FOR CAR OF DESIRE
Then Enters It in The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island Concours
JACKSONVILLE, FL (February 6, 1997) - This it a tale of desire that lasted a decade or more and the result is a premier entry March 8th in the second Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance weekend, presented by Mercedes-Benz as a charity benefit for Hospice Northeast.
The car of desire was the Tipo 61 Birdcage Maserati sports racer driven by Gaston Andrey of Massachusetts to the 1960 Sports Car Club of America D Modified national championship. Its 2890 cubic centimeter engine produced 250 brake horsepower at 6500 rpm, down on raw power to its principal rivals Ferrari and Aston Martin, but its lighter weight and excellent handling made it competitive.
Proof of this came in the Nassau Bahamas Races in 1959 when Andrey finished second to a 4.2 liter Aston Martin piloted by Stirling Moss for the Governor's Trophy. Andrey's #2455 competed regularly against Maserati's unofficial works team Camoradi fielded by Lloyd Lucky Casner, a Miami auto dealer. Casner and Gregory drove a different Tipo 61 to a class victory in 1962.
The likes of Walt Hansgen, Jim Hall, Briggs Cunningham, and Carroll Shelby considered the Birdcage the finest front engine sports racer ever built. And so did one of the owners of the Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, Florida.
But before the Brumos Collection could acquire the Andrey car, it was sold, ending up eventually in Sun Valley, Idaho where enthusiast Bob Baker kept it. According to Bob Snodgrass, President of the Brumos Collection, Baker granted Brumos the right of first refusal should the car ever go on sale. It took 11 years before Baker relinquished the car to Brumos in a private sale.
The Birdcage came East again, was restored anew and has even returned to competition -- this time in vintage automobile racing. It and its history is one of the myriad associated with the special vehicles at the Concours which on Saturday, March 8th, is honoring chairman Phil Hill, American's first World Driving champion and a car collector himself.
The Concours is part of a weekend of activities including a golf tourney on Thursday, the Mercedes-Benz Challenge Rally and a gala banquet on Friday and other dinners and fashion shows. Hospice Northeast, a facility for the care of the terminally ill, is the charity benefitting from the proceeds.
For additional media information, please contact:
Bill Ussery
Mercedes-Benz of North America
phone: (904) 443-2135
email: ussery@usa.mercedes-benz.com
wwweb: http://www.classiccarshow.com
