Photography, Racing & Random Thoughts…
Posts tagged Mercedes-Benz
Cars & Coffee – Saturday 07/07/2012
Jul 7th
Ferrari F458 Italia Spider (image © 2012 Victor Varela)
I made the trip down to Irvine for this morning’s Cars & Coffee. A few interesting cars included a rare a 1951 Ferrari 340 America Touring Berlinetta s/n 0126A .
You can view the gallery of images from this Saturday’s gathering at my Flickr.
Vic
Cars & Coffee – Irvine, Is the weekly Saturday morning gathering in Irvine, California where hundreds of proud drivers congregate to kick tires and have a cup of coffee. There is something for everyone to enjoy; classics, exotics, concepts, hot rods, motorcycles and motor-sport. And it’s all free, minus the coffee of course.
Cars & Coffee – Saturday 06/23/2012
Jun 23rd
Ferrari F430 Scuderia (image © 2012 Victor Varela)
I missed the Cars & Coffee gathering last week as I stayed home to watch the opening hours of the classic endurance race in Le Mans, France.
I had a rough time sleeping this morning and managed to get myself out of bed with only 3 hours of sleep. With the minimal amount of sleep I had, I made my way to Irvine to see what interesting cars I would find this week.
I covered the cars as the arrived and left the parking area as well as walking through the rows of cars on display. I didn’t take too many images this week as I was feeling a bit tired and just focused on enjoying the cars.
You can view the gallery of images from this Saturday’s gathering at my Flickr.
Vic
Cars & Coffee – Irvine, Is the weekly Saturday morning gathering in Irvine, California where hundreds of proud drivers congregate to kick tires and have a cup of coffee. There is something for everyone to enjoy; classics, exotics, concepts, hot rods, motorcycles and motor-sport. And it’s all free, minus the coffee of course.
Cars & Coffee – Saturday 06/09/2012
Jun 9th
1954-type Lancia D24 Sports-Racing Car (image © 2012 Victor Varela)
I’ve been on hiatus from C & C for several weeks and decided it was time to make the morning drive down Irvine once again. I had company driving down to the O.C. this morning as my wife, nephew, brother-in-law and niece joined me for the sports car gathering.
The car count was excellent at this week’s event. There were the regulars who attended and filled up the parking lot with many of the cars people just love to come and watch, as well as some unique examples. The 1954 Lancia D24 was definitely the star of the gathering and was a great example of one of four reconstructed in the 1980s by Luciano Basso, the Lancia Museum’s official restorer and by Guido Rosani, a highly regarded engineer whose father was a director of Lancia in the 1950s. The original Lancia D24s race wins included the 1953 Carrera Panamericana with Fangio and Bronzoni, the 1954 Giro di Sicilia with Taruffi, the 1954 Mille Miglia with Ascari, the 1954 Targa Florio with Taruffi and the 1954 Oporto Grand Prix with Villoresi.
We covered the parking area and spent more time just taking in the atmosphere and admiring the cars. I didn’t take as many images of the cars as I usually do and found myself being more selective of what I captured and tried different vantage points from where to capture them.
You can view the gallery of images from this Saturday’s gathering at my Flickr.
Vic
1954-type Lancia D24 Sports-Racing Car
You Tube: Lancia D24
Cars & Coffee – Irvine, Is the weekly Saturday morning gathering in Irvine, California where hundreds of proud drivers congregate to kick tires and have a cup of coffee. There is something for everyone to enjoy; classics, exotics, concepts, hot rods, motorcycles and motor-sport. And it’s all free, minus the coffee of course.
Cars & Coffee – Saturday 04/28/2012
Apr 28th
Ferrari F430 (image © 2012 Victor Varela)
The car count was a bit down from last week’s event. Despite this, there were many of the regulars who attended and filled up the parking lot with many of the cars people just love to come and watch,
I covered the parking area and spent more time this Saturday talking with owners and admiring the cars. Although I didn’t take many static images of the cars, I felt I enjoyed myself more just by looking at the cars instead of trying to find and capture profiles and angles of the tightly parked cars.
You can view the gallery of images from this Saturday’s gathering at my Flickr.
Vic
Cars & Coffee – Irvine, Is the weekly Saturday morning gathering in Irvine, California where hundreds of proud drivers congregate to kick tires and have a cup of coffee. There is something for everyone to enjoy; classics, exotics, concepts, hot rods, motorcycles and motor-sport. And it’s all free, minus the coffee of course.
Cars & Coffee – Saturday 04/20/2012
Apr 21st
Jaguar Lightweight E-Type. (image © 2012 Victor Varela)
My nephew, Andrew and I, arrived a bit earlier than usual this morning, hoping to catch a few more cars arriving to the day’s Cars & Coffee event in Irvine. We found a huge crowd and countless cars at today’s gathering that we were almost lost on what we should capture first. It wasn’t long before my attention was captured by a stunning British Racing Green Jaguar Lightweight E-Type. I spent a fair amount of time gawking at it’s beautiful shape and absorbing all the detail of this classic race car. It is cars like this one that compels me to make the weekly drive down to the OC.
After I pulled myself away from the gorgeous green cat, I proceeded to walk the parking lot until another race car caught my attention. This time it was a Rosso Corsa Formula One Ferrari F-2001. The F1 car was surrounded by onlookers and photographers trying to get a look and a picture of this Italian racer without someone’s head, arm or camera. I was able to get a couple of images of the Ferrari – some of which I share in my Flickr set.
We stayed longer than usual as there were just too many cars to look at and photograph. I ended my morning visit with some last shots of the F1 Ferrari as it was being loaded into it’s transporter.
It was great to see all the cars that turned up this week. The F1 Ferrari was cool to see at Cars & Coffee, but the Jaguar was the star of this weeks gathering.
You can view the gallery of images from this Saturday’s gathering at my Flickr.
Vic
Cars & Coffee – Irvine, Is the weekly Saturday morning gathering in Irvine, California where hundreds of proud drivers congregate to kick tires and have a cup of coffee. There is something for everyone to enjoy; classics, exotics, concepts, hot rods, motorcycles and motor-sport. And it’s all free, minus the coffee of course.
Cars & Coffee – Saturday 04/14/2012
Apr 14th
Ford GT. (image © 2012 Victor Varela)
The morning was particularly cold and clear after yesterday’s storm. SoCal was visited by a cold front that brought some dramatic lightning and thunder to our area. It might explain why the crowds were a bit light this morning at the Irvine meeting place for Cars & Coffee. Although cold, the skies were mostly bright and clear with the crowds and cars either staying home or on their way to Long Beach for the annual carnival of speed. I didn’t mind the thin crowd as it allowed me quality time with the cars that were there.
You can view the gallery of images from this Saturday’s gathering at my Flickr.
Vic
Cars & Coffee – Irvine – Is the weekly Saturday morning gathering in Irvine, California where hundreds of proud drivers congregate to kick tires and have a cup of coffee. There is something for everyone to enjoy; classics, exotics, concepts, hot rods, motorcycles and motor-sport. And it’s all free, minus the coffee of course.
Cars & Coffee – Saturday 04/07/2012
Apr 7th
Porsche 911 Turbo… remembering Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. (image © 2012 Victor Varela)
I was surprised to find a long train of sport cars trying to get into the parking area for this morning’s Cars & Coffee. There was also a larger than usual crowd walking to the lot and strolling through the aisles. The small lot was reserved for everything Porsche and it was filled to capacity. A fitting tribute to the late Ferdinand Porsche.
This week, I experimented with different settings and locations as the sky was clear and the sun was creating harsh light and shadows. At first I wasn’t to happy with what I had captured, but after going through the images, I was pleasantly surprised with what I had captured this morning.
You can view the gallery of images from this Saturday’s gathering at my Flickr.
Vic
Cars & Coffee – Irvine – Is the weekly Saturday morning gathering in Irvine, California where hundreds of proud drivers congregate to kick tires and have a cup of coffee. There is something for everyone to enjoy; classics, exotics, concepts, hot rods, motorcycles and motor-sport. And it’s all free, minus the coffee of course.
Cars & Coffee – Saturday 3/31/2012
Mar 31st
Mercedes Benz SLR Mclaren (image © 2012 Victor Varela)
The morning was dark, cold and drizzly as we arrived in Irvine for Cars & Coffee. I expected a smaller crowd this week as the weather reports had been predicting rain for today. The number of cars and car nuts was pretty much the same as usual despite of the weather. Luckily, there was no rain.
I captured images more selectively this week, focusing more on focal lengths and composition. I kept the setting shutter speed at 1/40 and played with the f-stop and ISO to compensate for the darker outdoors.
You can view the gallery of images from this Saturday’s gathering at my Flickr.
Vic
Cars & Coffee – Irvine – Is the weekly Saturday morning gathering in Irvine, California where hundreds of proud drivers congregate to kick tires and have a cup of coffee. There is something for everyone to enjoy; classics, exotics, concepts, hot rods, motorcycles and motor-sport. And it’s all free, minus the coffee of course.
2011 Mille Miglia – Mika pilots the ’55 Mercedes 300SLR.
May 13th
F1 World Champion, Mika Häkkinen and IMSA Champion, Juan Manuel Fangio II, as they depart from the staging point at the Mille Migilia in the stunning Mercedes 300SLR.
[image - © Copyright All rights reserved by Mercedes-Benz Classic]
Ralph Lauren Classic Car Collection Exhibition in Paris
May 6th
Ralph Lauren reveals his classic car collection in Europe for the very first time and is transporting his most exquisite car collection to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris for a special exhibit called “The Art of the Automobile: Masterpieces from the Ralph Lauren Collection”.
The exhibition opens from the 28th of April, where a selection of Ralph Lauren’s most prestigious sports cars from the 1930s to the present day is on show for the first time in Europe at Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs. 17 outstanding cars, chosen by the curator Rodolphe Rapetti, outline the main phases of European automobile history.
Stylish not only in clothing but also in automobiles, world renowned designer Ralph Lauren has established himself as one of the world’s major car collectors. His impressive collection includes a 1938 Bugatti, a 1958 Ferrari Testa Rossa and a 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago; making Ralph Lauren’s range of cars ‘a museum of automotive history, an archive of performance machines that represent the finest achievements in motorsport’.
With this collection, Ralph Lauren shows that the automobile is a major art form created by the industry’s biggest names: Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and of course, Ferrari, the high point of this unique collection.
The exhibition will be the first time his collection will be shown in Europe; and with the distance the cars were required to travel, the transportation and instillation of cars was planned and carefully executed to maintain high standards of care.
[source: YouTube - WorldCarFans]
The Art of the Automobile – Masterpieces from the Ralph Lauren Collection.
May 5th
If you love sports cars, than you probably already know of Ralph Lauren’s amazing car collection. It is one of the most beautiful collection of cars in the world – one worthy of a connoisseur and designer, know for his impeccable style and taste.
17 automotive masterpieces from his collection, are currently on exhibit at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and include the 1933 Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix car, 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (chassis 3987, once belonging to Mr. Stephen Mitchell), 1996 McLaren F1 LM, 1955 Jaguar D-Type, 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and the 1956/1958 Jaguar XKSS.
The exhibit runs through August 28th.
California Mille.
Apr 21st
The California Mille is an annual historic and classic car tour which is held over the course of four days and is run on some of the states most beautiful scenic roads. It is inspired and pays tribute to Italy’s classic open-road endurance race, the Mille Miglia, which ran twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 and covered 1000 miles from Brescia-to-Rome-to-Brescia.
This California tour is an exclusive event which is open to cars that either ran or would have been eligible to run in the original Mille Miglia event. To participate, the entrants car must have been built from 1957 or earlier and are screened for their car’s historical significance and general condition. The array of cars that are entered include vintage Ferraris, Bugattis, Jaguars, Mercedes-Benz, Porsches & Alfa Romeos. Despite the many well pedigreed entries that are submitted, the entry list is limited and not all applicants are accepted.
From April 24th to April 28th, 2011, the 21st running of California Mille will once again take part as approximately 70 historic race cars will take part in this back road adventure.
The tour will start with a free preview atop San Francisco’s Nob Hill on Sunday, April 24th, with the cars departing the following morning. This challenging drive, which is not an actual race in keeping with the posted speed limits, will continue through Thursday, taking them through much of Northern California’s wine country. The California Highway Patrol will escort the cars during the tour to facilitate traffic control, communications and to keep the event safe for all participants.
You can get a detailed itinerary of the 2011 California Mille here.
[via Wikipedia, California Mille]
