Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / Luigi Chinetti: The Man Who Brought Ferrari to America
Transcript
- 0:00As part of Ferrari Fridays, William Ross from the Exotic Car Marketplace
- 0:04will be discussing all things Ferrari and interviewing people that live
- 0:07and breathe the Ferrari brand.
- 0:09Topics range from road cars to racing, drivers to owners, as well
- 0:13as auctions, private sales, and trends in the collector market.
- 0:28Hello everyone and welcome back to the Ferrari Marketplace.
- 0:31This is William, I am your host.
- 0:34Now, um, kind of touching basements are things like I had stated before, you know,
- 0:38kind of noticing downloads and whatnot, what seems to be getting the most and
- 0:41obviously it'd be more about the cars and history than so much about events.
- 0:45I know like a lot of you guys, I know a few of you know, download, you know, to
- 0:48kind of get the background and events.
- 0:49So I guess it all depends.
- 0:51and one's personal interests and tastes and what they want to know
- 0:55and learn just knowledge wise.
- 0:56Um, obviously I'm going to still, you know, do it because I attend
- 1:00quite a few events throughout the year, especially Ferrari events.
- 1:03Um, I'm going to kind of keep, you know, bringing those up.
- 1:05I think it's, it's intriguing and it's interesting stuff to people.
- 1:09Uh, especially ones that, you know, don't have the opportunity
- 1:11to go to these events.
- 1:12Um, you know, there's all these, you know, the Ferrari owners clubs
- 1:15all across the United States.
- 1:16So there's a lot of events that these are, you know, get put on and said,
- 1:20by no means you have to own a Ferrari to partake and enjoy the brand itself.
- 1:24So I said, anyone listen to this, even if you don't own a Ferrari,
- 1:27which, you know, majority of us don't, um, you know, definitely.
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- 1:42So, Hey, definitely, you know, get out there and attend it and support the brand.
- 1:46Um, but anyways, kind of getting back in, like I've said before in previous ones.
- 1:51You can't hold it against me how I don't know, I don't want to say
- 1:54bad, but you know, I'm just getting started and doing these podcasts.
- 1:57So trying to get them more smooth and getting the content
- 2:00correct and how to present it.
- 2:02You know, I'm ironing things out.
- 2:03So you got any suggestions?
- 2:05Hey, shoot me an email.
- 2:06William at the Ferrari marketplace.
- 2:08com.
- 2:09Um, you know, give me any thoughts, ideas for a podcast or episode of car.
- 2:12You'd like me to talk about anything, you know, um, Anything specific
- 2:17you'd like me to talk about?
- 2:18Hey, just let me know.
- 2:19I'm all ears.
- 2:20I am all ears.
- 2:21So Getting to it today's episode.
- 2:24We are going to talk about the infamous Luigi Shinetti As everyone
- 2:29knows it is familiar with this brand.
- 2:31He's basically the man that kind of that I guess You know if you look at the story
- 2:37You know, he is the guy that brought Ferrari to America, uh, basically, but
- 2:42what's kind of isn't a little bit known as he kind of, I want to say resurrected,
- 2:47but got, got Ferrari pointed in the right direction, but he played a huge
- 2:51role in getting to getting Enzo to.
- 2:54start building road going cars to support the racing enterprise.
- 2:58Because everyone knows all the reason he built those road going cars was to support
- 3:02his racing, because that's all Enzo was about was racing team, his racing team.
- 3:06Um, so Trinity played a big role in convincing him to go for that.
- 3:12Now, I mean, How much of it true is unknown because the conversation
- 3:16was just between Enzo and Luigi.
- 3:18So, but people in the know seem to confirm this.
- 3:22Um, so it's rather interesting, but let's get, you know, stir on this.
- 3:26Now, Luigi was born July 17th, uh, 1901.
- 3:30He was, uh, it was just north of Milan.
- 3:33I'm not going to attempt to name the, uh, town or county or
- 3:37whatever you want to call it.
- 3:38Because my Italian is terrible, terrible.
- 3:40And it's Giago Conorago.
- 3:45I know, like I said, don't hold this against me.
- 3:48I do not speak Italian at all and I can't, my accents are terrible.
- 3:52So, but anyways, you know, his father was a gunsmith, uh, and he apprenticed
- 3:58in his father's workshop and he earned his lathe operator certificate at age 12.
- 4:03Now think about that.
- 4:05This day and age, if you had a kid that got in there working and he got
- 4:07a certificate to work a lathe at 12, I mean, you'd have, you know, a lot of
- 4:12agencies on you for, uh, child abuse.
- 4:15Um, but different times back then, you know, you had, you did what
- 4:18you did, uh, to support yourself.
- 4:20School actually wasn't a priority more was is about supporting the family
- 4:24earning money So he got his late late operators tip at age 12 and he qualified
- 4:29as a mechanic at age 14 Now at age 16 in 1917 He went to work for Alfa Romeo
- 4:34as a mechanic Where he met another guy that was also working there as a
- 4:38mechanic and worked for racing by the name of Enzo Ferrari So with things
- 4:44kind of going on, you know So this is the age and era of Benito Mussolini,
- 4:49uh, the fascist party rising up in Italy and kind of taking things over.
- 4:53Um, so things got a little bit sketchy, a bit murky there in Italy.
- 4:57So he packed up his bags and that, and he went to Paris where he worked
- 5:01for, Alfa Romeo as a salesman.
- 5:04So you kind of see he's already kind of at a very young age, kind of getting
- 5:07around and making himself known, uh, in.
- 5:11The automotive world, which in all honesty back, you know, you're only
- 5:14talking, you know, the late teens, early twenties where, you know, the automotive
- 5:18industry was still in its infancy.
- 5:21Um, you know, shit.
- 5:22I mean, the first cars only hadn't been running for what?
- 5:24Not quite 20 years or just a little over 20 years by that point.
- 5:27Um, so.
- 5:29Making your way and getting that part is, you know, very,
- 5:32very commendable on his part.
- 5:35Um, so while he was obviously working as af you know, working for Alpha Me as a
- 5:39salesman and he started, you know, also, I wanna say Moonlight, but also working
- 5:43as a mechanic for the racing sports Carri, you know, team and that stuff.
- 5:46He also started driving too, and he's a really good driver.
- 5:49I mean, really good driver.
- 5:51Um, you know, he raised in Lamont numerous times.
- 5:54Um, you know, from 1932 to 1953.
- 5:57He's won it three times.
- 5:59We'll touch base on that a little bit later than this in this podcast.
- 6:02Um, but you know, driving cars from, you know, Alfa Romeo, Talbot and
- 6:05Ferrari, you know, he was rather successful, uh, in his racing career.
- 6:10So you gotta give him kudos as that.
- 6:12So, but, you know, following the outbreak in a world war two, you know, um, he
- 6:17had the opportunity to come to the United States with, uh, Lucy O'Reilly
- 6:23Chanel, uh, of Icario blue team.
- 6:26Again, if I pronounce these wrong, I apologize.
- 6:29Don't hold it against me.
- 6:30But, it was for, uh, driver Rene Dreyfus.
- 6:34It was for the Indy 500 in 1940.
- 6:36So, you know, As timing we have it this was great because it got him out of
- 6:40Europe right when basically the you know what hit the fan So timing was perfect.
- 6:45So, you know, he went went there and state you did the race But then he ended
- 6:49up staying there and he stayed in New York and he got approval I guess they
- 6:54work reason work permit what I'm not sure back to what they might have call it But
- 6:57he got a job working at Pratt Whitney Uh, to support the allied war effort and
- 7:02then he got, you know, uh, work in there.
- 7:04He's, you know, started working on Rolls Royce engines and he, uh, met a master
- 7:09mechanic by the name of Alfred Momo.
- 7:13Now during this time, you know, he applied for American citizenship
- 7:17in 1947 and he took his oath of allegiance on March 6th of 1950.
- 7:24And this is kind of a little, uh, tidbit note, his naturalization papers.
- 7:28Was sponsored by Zora Arcus Duntof as people with Corvette, you know knowledge
- 7:36He's the father of the Corvette.
- 7:38So, imagine having that.
- 7:39That's your man that supported you and sponsored you in the United
- 7:42States, and that's pretty impressive.
- 7:44Um, so, you know, he was working and everything, you know, supporting
- 7:47the war and whatnot, so really not, you know, obviously auto racing and
- 7:50everything as a whole was basically put on hold, especially over in Europe.
- 7:52Now, you know, in the United States it was, you know, it was still kind of
- 7:55going on, but not to the extent that it was prior to the war and after the war.
- 7:59You know, because obviously everything was getting pushed and
- 8:03driven towards, hey, support the war effort, support the war effort.
- 8:06You know, gas rationing the whole nine yards.
- 8:09So anyways, um, when the war finally ended, you know, Sinetti decided, you
- 8:13know, he returned to Europe in late 1949.
- 8:16Uh, so first went to Paris to see if his house was still there and
- 8:20trying to see if, you know, if he still had a place, you know, that
- 8:23was there he could stay at and live.
- 8:24Um, turns out it was gone.
- 8:26So from there he carried on, he went down to Modena to meet with Enzo.
- 8:30And kind of talk about things and, you know, during the war and that, you know,
- 8:33Enzo's plan, they were, um, you know, it got converted, uh, you know, got, you
- 8:39know, nudged to build machine tools, you know, obviously it was for the war effort,
- 8:43you know, and Enzo was, you know, he was a big racing guy and car guy too prior to
- 8:46the war, but this is what he had to do.
- 8:47So anyways, guys.
- 8:48Thanks.
- 8:49Chinetti went down, it was Christmas Eve, and he met in Ferrari's
- 8:53office, and obviously this was prior to the other big fact thing.
- 8:56He still had a smaller one that was in Modena, not over Maranello yet.
- 9:00But anyways, you know, again, this is kind of where things might get a
- 9:02little murky, the second hand, third hand, kind of that sort of thing.
- 9:05But, basically, Enzo was, you know, a bit despondent, you know, Because, you
- 9:12know, he felt back to the abandoned building the sports cars and whatnot,
- 9:15you know, and he had to go in this.
- 9:16And so Chinetti says, Hey, look, you need to stop making the machine tools,
- 9:20you know, and resume building your racing cars, but you also need to start
- 9:24building road, going cars to support that.
- 9:25He goes, I can sell them in.
- 9:28You know, Paris and France and in the United States and right then
- 9:32and there without having, you know, any orders or anything and
- 9:35he placed an order for 25 cars.
- 9:37Talk about ballsy, no words, none of this, you know, I, I'll take 25 cars right off
- 9:41the bat and say, now I'll get them sold.
- 9:43So that kind of got the, uh, I guess gas going in Enzo's veins and got him.
- 9:49All right, I can do this, get going.
- 9:50So, but, you know.
- 9:52In June of that year, so six months later, seven months later roughly,
- 9:56you know, um, he already started, began building that one new 125
- 9:59that he was going to go racing with.
- 10:01Um, you know, V12 engine designed by Colombo himself, that great Colombo V12.
- 10:06And in 19, September 46, it fired up on the test bench.
- 10:12I mean, so basically what, um, a year from start to finish to have a car and
- 10:18an old motor, everything like that.
- 10:20I mean, that's pretty impressive.
- 10:22Um, so that's when Enzo, you know, he started outlining all the type of cars
- 10:25you want to plan to build and what he wanted to do and, and the whole nine
- 10:30yards basically setting in place the Ferrari image and the Ferrari legacy.
- 10:36So, so from there, you know, Chieti, you know, he was obviously in France,
- 10:43you know, in this meantime, he was still selling some pre war alphas and Talbots
- 10:46to American customers and stuff like that.
- 10:49Um, But again, he did not have to be in the position to
- 10:53make that thing for 25 cars.
- 10:54But anyways, Jun didn't care.
- 10:55So after that too, Cheney became, you know, Ferrari's, you know, designated
- 11:00importer and seller of Ferraris in France and the United States, you
- 11:07know, not a not a bad gig, huh?
- 11:09So anyways, That kind of got him going to there, but I kind of want
- 11:13to talk about, you know, his, you know, his racing career a little bit.
- 11:17Um, like I said, he competed in LAMA from 1932 to 1953.
- 11:25Uh, in 53.
- 11:26He didn't drive though he was just a sponsor of a car, but like I said, he
- 11:29won this three times and he actually won Lama his first time out driving an
- 11:34Alpha eight C and he partnered with, uh, his co-driver was Raven Summer
- 11:38and they won first time out and so.
- 11:42outstanding achievement.
- 11:44So now also, he, that following year in the same HC, he won the
- 11:49spot 24 hours with Louis Chiron.
- 11:52So, he's partnered up with some very, you know, talented, famous
- 11:55people from back in the day.
- 11:56Um, and, you know, obviously being very successful.
- 12:00Now in 1934, he teamed up with Philippe, I can't pronounce his last name, and,
- 12:06and Ytan Selian, um, to win the second, Well amount of 24 hours in 1934.
- 12:14So he's doing pretty well But isn't 32 doesn't get 33 and 34 he comes with now.
- 12:21I believe also that year He also won I Think in for you one spot.
- 12:29I know he won spa again so I now he kind of had a low but obviously because
- 12:34the ward everything like that, but in 1949 I He was back at Le Mans with a
- 12:40Ferrari and this was the first Ferrari ever to win the 24 hour Le Mans.
- 12:44And it was a Ferrari 1.
- 12:456 MM.
- 12:46And this is kind of, you know, the, the, the folklore and everything, which is
- 12:51great because he had partnered with Baron Selston of Scotland, uh, as his co driver.
- 12:58And as you know, 24 hours.
- 13:01But back then it really wasn't any time limits like they have now, right?
- 13:04Certain driver going to drive so much.
- 13:06That's why now teams have, you know, 345 drivers.
- 13:09You're only allowed so much time behind the wheel.
- 13:12And back then it didn't matter.
- 13:14But 1949, he basically got a 20 minute respite from racing
- 13:21and got behind the wheel.
- 13:22So I don't know how much You know, how he drove the first,
- 13:28uh, first leg, how much he drove.
- 13:30I don't know if he drove for 14 hours, 16 hours, 18, whatever.
- 13:34Then turn it over to Selson, uh, for 20 minutes.
- 13:38And he got back in the car and finished off.
- 13:40So I, so I, I'm not quite sure exactly how it followed up.
- 13:42I, um, I tried to look online to try and figure that out, but I really
- 13:46couldn't find any documentation say, okay, he drove for X amount.
- 13:49And so it's only drove for 20 minutes, but could you imagine that driving?
- 13:54Basically, he basically drove 24 straight hours.
- 13:57And back then, actually, it wasn't I want to say that unheard of because
- 14:01I know there's quite a few instances where an individual who raised
- 14:06did the whole 24 hours himself.
- 14:08Um, but I just don't get it.
- 14:10But now you got to remember to back then, though, I mean, you're not
- 14:13talking the speeds they have now the G force and everything like that.
- 14:16You know, that was more, you know, it was an actual endurance race where, you
- 14:19know, you had to take care of the car.
- 14:21You had to take care of your brakes.
- 14:22You know, you couldn't beat on this car.
- 14:23You had to be very fluid, very smooth.
- 14:26So you're not talking the neck wrenching and stuff that you got
- 14:29going on and just this, you know, your, the concentration levels that
- 14:32you have to have this day and age.
- 14:33I mean, obviously back then he had to have those.
- 14:36Concentration levels, but especially because of course, basically only was
- 14:39lit down the front straight and I think a couple of the corners other than
- 14:42that, it was pitch dark and you know, at nighttime and I love those guys
- 14:46minute, but just from memory, what not.
- 14:47But I mean, that's just very, very, very impressive though.
- 14:52Um, now, like I said, he won spa actually, uh, in 33 and again, he won
- 15:01it in 1949 in that same one 6 mm 166 mm.
- 15:05Um, Uh, for driving a Ferrari with John Lucas.
- 15:08So, again, he had a lot of success also at Spa.
- 15:11You know, he said he also, uh, posted winning in pairs
- 15:1312 hours in a Ferrari 166 SC.
- 15:17And again, in 1950 with a Tepo 16MM teamed up with John Lucas.
- 15:22So, again, he, this guy is very competitive and a very good driver.
- 15:27I mean, in 1951, he was a riding mechanic in a Ferrari 212 that won
- 15:31the grueling Carrera Panamerica race.
- 15:34I mean, that's 2, 100 miles over across five days across Mexico.
- 15:37That thing's beat the living, you know, what are you driving at?
- 15:41I mean, so look at that.
- 15:42I mean, and I guarantee he, he drove some of that race.
- 15:47Not just, just right in the past years, right?
- 15:49I guarantee he drove some of that too.
- 15:50So, I mean, that's a heck of a racing resume just on that merit alone.
- 15:55So now, um.
- 16:00Getting back to, I guess, after his racing exploits and that, you
- 16:04know, obviously he was getting up there and a little bit of age.
- 16:07So, um, you know, I guess saying retiring from being behind the wheel, you know,
- 16:13let's say if that's what his choice was, but it seems to be, you know, obviously
- 16:17he's getting up there, um, doing it.
- 16:20So, you know, at this point then, so he's appointed, you know, the
- 16:26factory agent in the United States.
- 16:28And he opens up his dealership and he's starting, you know, getting clients from
- 16:34all over the country because he's the only Ferrari dealership and it's over on the,
- 16:37uh, in, uh, in Greenwich, Connecticut.
- 16:39So that's the Ferrari dealership.
- 16:41We've got people in California and whatnot because obviously the convertibles and
- 16:43everything were a big hit back then.
- 16:45Um, but, you know, so he started getting tons and tons of interest,
- 16:51you know, in the cars with that.
- 16:52And so.
- 16:56He gets his first, um, first car he sold was a TPO 1 16 6 mm touring
- 17:02barta chassis number oh oh oh two M.
- 17:06It was sold to a Mr.
- 17:07Tommy Lee in Los Angeles in the first three months of 1949.
- 17:11So right there was the first car sold ever here in the United.
- 17:13First Ferrari ever sold here in the United States was 1 6 6 M Barta.
- 17:18Chassis number 0002M.
- 17:21So there you go.
- 17:22And the second car that was ever sold to his dealership was another
- 17:25Ferrari Tipo 166 Spider Corsa.
- 17:28Now that one was chassis 016 1.
- 17:32now, or LI believe, or I, something like that.
- 17:35I can't read the, my handwriting.
- 17:37But that was sold to everyone's favorite and everyone knows who he am.
- 17:40Favorite Sportsman Briggs Cunningham.
- 17:42So, and he actually drove that to second place at Watson, Glen's in a race in 1949.
- 17:46So right outta the box, that thing was ready to go.
- 17:49Um, that car is actually in Cunningham's, uh, museum currently.
- 17:53So, which I would believe is the Revs Institute, 'cause it kind of went
- 17:56to Miles car, then Connecticut's, you know, Cunningham's and whatnot.
- 18:00Um.
- 18:01His third Teepa 166 MM Barchetta 0010M sold to a, uh, heir to the
- 18:08Kimberly, Kimberly Clark tissue paper fortune, Jim Kimberly.
- 18:13So obviously he had the money at his disposal and be able to purchase the car.
- 18:18Now he entered it in his few events, but, um, You know, not, not like I
- 18:25guess you'd say, uh, a huge background racing user, but, um, they actually
- 18:30won an event in 1951, uh, And that was the first Ferrari in the United States
- 18:35to win an event in the United States.
- 18:37So, that was rather interesting little tidbit information.
- 18:40So, the third Ferrari ever sold.
- 18:41Hey, it became the first Ferrari to ever win a race here in the United States.
- 18:46Now, this next person, uh, this next one he sold in 1952.
- 18:51Um, um, it was a 1951 212 Export Barchetta 0078E.
- 18:58Now, he sold that to Everyone's formula.
- 19:00One favorite Phil Hill.
- 19:02Um, so this is kind of where the relationship and I guess, you know, say
- 19:08Kennedy's relationship with Enzo started, I guess, grooming American drivers to go
- 19:13race for Ferrari because not only would it be, uh, Phil Hill, you know, you got,
- 19:18uh, Dan Gurney, Mastin Gregory, quite a few, uh, American drivers came up through,
- 19:24as we all know, the ones he created was Nart, the North American racing team.
- 19:29Um, you know, to get people, you know, into formula one drives.
- 19:34Um, so anyways, he sold that car to Phil Hill and, you know, Kennedy would
- 19:38later hire Hill as a driver and, you know, obviously he recommended him to
- 19:42Enzo himself and the rest is history.
- 19:44Now, a little background on, you know, Phil's case is Enzo utilized them more
- 19:51in the sports car racing aspect of it, not the open wheel F one stuff.
- 19:54But due to circumstances, he ended up getting in to the F one car
- 19:58and we know what happened there.
- 20:00He ended up, you know, winning the F one championship after
- 20:03the said death of von trips.
- 20:05Uh, was it Manza?
- 20:07I believe it correctly was.
- 20:08Um, if I'm wrong, just let me know correctly.
- 20:10But I believe that It was a Monza.
- 20:12It was an Italian one.
- 20:13I believe it was a Monza.
- 20:14Um, so Von Trips was killed, so then Phil went on to take the title, uh, after that.
- 20:21So, obviously, you know, things are going well.
- 20:23And this is where, you know, in the, um, early 50s, you know, where
- 20:27Kennedy forms the famous NART.
- 20:29Racing team, North American racing team.
- 20:32Uh, he got financial support from, uh, George Arendt and Jan de Vroom.
- 20:38Um, you know, they were obviously good customers and so they were able to help
- 20:43fund his team, which as we all know, was exceptionally successful, especially
- 20:51in endurance racing at, you know, at Sebring's Le Mans right up in the 1970s.
- 20:55Now, um, for.
- 21:01F1 Ferrari actually did a few races, races, um, under the
- 21:08NART banner of racing Ferraris.
- 21:09They were 1 5 8s and they actually painted them blue and white for the races.
- 21:13So it wasn't in their traditional red.
- 21:15Um, that was in the 1964 season.
- 21:18Now, um,
- 21:23it would, um, I'm trying to figure out.
- 21:29How to word this next part.
- 21:32Um, for some, you know, the FIA is, uh, you know, refused to homologate the two
- 21:3850 LM for international sports car racing.
- 21:41So Enzo returned his competition lights.
- 21:44If I've never raced in a Ferrari, you know, Ferrari red again, um.
- 21:50You know, so, you know, a little tiff here, you know, Enzo like
- 21:53to throw his weight around.
- 21:55So that's why you had the NARC colors for the 1964 United States Grand
- 22:00Prix at Walton's Glym and again at the Mexican Grand Prix of 1964.
- 22:04So in 1965, the dispute was resolved.
- 22:06The cars are painted one red once again.
- 22:08So he had that little short period of time where Ferraris weren't racing in red.
- 22:12They were, you know, under the colors of where's racing.
- 22:15Now there's some, you know, famous ones that were blue.
- 22:17Um, that were raced also, I believe it was Sterling Moss who
- 22:21raced his, it was a blue one.
- 22:22Um, but that was under a different thing, not NART.
- 22:25But, you know, so it kind of just, it shows, you know, Enzo's,
- 22:30I guess, stubbornness in regards to wanting to get his way.
- 22:34Um, and now, you know, there's great stories regarding
- 22:40some special cars, you know.
- 22:42Um, and here in America, obviously, you know, convertibles were huge, are huge,
- 22:47you know, very big draw and, you know, over here and not so much, but I think
- 22:52one of the most famous was the NART spider that he got commissioned for,
- 22:58you know, commissioned them to build.
- 23:00Um, they're supposed to do 25, but only 10 were built.
- 23:03Um, I know a few years ago when sold for, was it mid 20 million range,
- 23:0927 million, I think after all said and done with fees and whatnot.
- 23:12Um, so they're out there, but only, only 10 were built.
- 23:15Um, one of the famous owners was a Mr.
- 23:18Steve McQueen, you know, but you know, Chinetti had to really convince and
- 23:23twist Enzo's arm to build these cars and prove that there was a market for him.
- 23:28Um, You know, so thank God he did, you know, because it was kind of basically
- 23:35a continuation of the California spider, which was, you know, gorgeous car itself.
- 23:39But, you know, if you ever seen one of those NART spiders, uh, the
- 23:42275 NART spiders in person, those things are absolutely stunning.
- 23:45Um, you know, so kind of moving on.
- 23:52So, you know, obviously.
- 23:54He's getting up, I guess say retirement age and whatnot.
- 23:58You know, this is, you know, in the mid seventies, um, in the mid seventies.
- 24:02He com you know, he commissioned Giovanni Macke, Mitch ti if I'm
- 24:06saying that right, to, uh, build a, a series of Ferra daytona's, which
- 24:11in that essence, they were never called daytona's from the factory.
- 24:14The only reason it got the name there, the 360 fives, was.
- 24:17They had won Daytona that year, the first year that car came out.
- 24:21So they just kind of got pegged and stuck with the Daytona name.
- 24:23So everyone just calls them Daytonas.
- 24:25But it was never officially called a Daytona from the factory.
- 24:28But anyways, that's what they always just go by now.
- 24:31Um, but he worked, he partnered with Michelotti to, uh, produce some heavily
- 24:35customized, uh, 365, uh, race cars.
- 24:39And they were the 365 GTB Ford Daytona Nart Spiders.
- 24:43Um, so this was shown at the 1974 Tour and Auto Show.
- 24:48Uh, a second conversion was done for, on chassis 15965.
- 24:53And was built up as a racing car for, uh, an anticipation of appearance
- 24:56of the 1975 24 hours Le Mans.
- 24:59Um, some reason the cars withdraw before the race.
- 25:03So it never raced.
- 25:04Not sure where that car is at currently.
- 25:06Some of you out there probably know, uh, shoot me an email.
- 25:09Let me know William at the Ferrari marketplace.
- 25:11com.
- 25:11I love knowing, want to know the history and stuff where these cars went.
- 25:14Um, so he ordered three more of those conversions for road car specifications.
- 25:19Um, and.
- 25:22One was gifted to his wife.
- 25:23So, I'm not quite sure where the rest of them are at.
- 25:25Um, I know they're floating around there.
- 25:27So, like I said, anyone know what's kind of on that?
- 25:29Let me know.
- 25:30I'd really, uh, kind of like to kind of close the book on that story in
- 25:34regards to where those things went.
- 25:36So, anyways, um, that's pretty much you know, his story because I
- 25:42believe after we got done with that um, I'm not too sure I think it was
- 25:47in 1977 He sold the, you know, sold the dealership, sold the business.
- 25:52Um, and you know, obviously went into retirement, stayed in
- 25:55Greenwich, uh, enjoyed his life.
- 25:57Obviously he's a very popular guy and, you know, knew a lot of people.
- 26:00So I'm sure he was extremely busy man, uh, after that.
- 26:03And he, uh, ended up passing away on August 17th in 1994 at the age of 93.
- 26:10So you want to talk about living your best life?
- 26:13You know, that guy, you know, had a Did a fantastic, fantastic
- 26:17job, on living his best life.
- 26:19I mean, just all the stories is there.
- 26:21There's a lot of stuff there.
- 26:22And the next episode I'm actually gonna talk about, uh, the 19, uh,
- 26:2665 LeMans winning two 50 Lmm that.
- 26:30Was under the nart spider banner that went on to win lamar And but there's a
- 26:34great story behind that car and the guy's driving it and just basically not wanted
- 26:38to be there so Stay tuned for the next podcast because we're going to talk about
- 26:41that car because there's a great story and history behind that car Not just the lamar
- 26:44race, but everything else about it But anyways Uh, that's my, uh, kind of story
- 26:50here and background on Luigi Cianetti.
- 26:52Um, I apologize.
- 26:53I'm sure I missed a lot.
- 26:54I mean, you know, this is what I could dig up.
- 26:56There's so much stuff out there on the gentleman.
- 26:58Uh, I kind of wanted to touch on the big things that I felt were important.
- 27:03Um, but he was a fantastic individual.
- 27:06You know, you read the stories and, you know, people that, uh, were
- 27:08met, were friends with him, whatnot.
- 27:10It's just, he was a very gracious, generous man, super nice, but,
- 27:13and he just had a head for racing and knew how to do what he did.
- 27:16So congrats to him.
- 27:18So anyways, that's it.
- 27:19I'm wrapping up.
- 27:20Uh, again, I really appreciate everybody downloading and listening.
- 27:23And again, be patient with me as I try and get these things worked out, um,
- 27:26as I get more episodes under my belt.
- 27:29I'll get a little smoother.
- 27:30Hopefully the sound's okay.
- 27:31I'm using this one program.
- 27:33So hopefully everything sounds good But again any thoughts any suggestions
- 27:36insights, please just shoot me an email william at the ferrari marketplace.
- 27:40com I appreciate it guys till next time.
- 27:43Take it easy
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