Flick the switch
As I did not get a call from the BBC to appear on the new Top Gear, nor did I receive a call from Mr Clarkson to be part of his new venture, I thought I might as well plough my own furrow. I know that it is far from the finished article but I hope you like it. We will try and bring you another exciting instalment before Christmas, so look out for Episode 2. Before then though there is lots to do including, attending the 3rd Edition of the Bund Classic Concours d’Elegance in Shanghai 16th-18th October; running the Southern Hemisphere’s leading classic car auction at Motorclassica in Melbourne on Saturday October 24th; and attending the Dubai International Motor Show as a guest speaker at the UAE Motor Museum in November. But enough of that, flick the switch and get into Overdrive.
Overdrive
It is always hard getting back into the swing of things after you have been travelling. Having been to Europe three times so far this year there has been plenty to catch up on back at home however. One of the things that I have been working on is a new short film clip about classic cars called ‘Overdrive’.
It has been an exciting project with the script written by myself and the filming and editing carried out by one of my old college students Augusto Keltika Jnr. He is a talented man as can be seen from his website http://www.kanary.com.au.
Some of the cars we talk about, show and drive are rather rare including an original right hand drive Maserati Ghibli SS Spider, an original right hand drive Lamborghini Miura (not the S I am driving in below but a red SV), along with a special Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster. ‘Overdrive’ will be brought to you in next month’s new posts and I hope you will enjoy the 10 minutes of indulgence.
Also coming up is the All British Car Day at the end of August which usually proves to be fun, and talking of British cars I have some exceptional examples (including the one below) consigned for the Motorclassica auction on October 24th. Details are to be found on the Theodore Bruce website -(http://arts.theodorebruceauctions.com.au/asp/searchresults.asp?st=D&pg=1&ps=25&sale_no=AS0206+)
It’s a small world…
I am busily consigning cars for the Theodore Bruce ‘Motorclassica’ Auction (www.theodorebruceauctions.com.au) taking place on October 24th at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. Amongst the interesting vehicles already consigned is a very interesting Alfa Romeo TZ1 replica (pictured below). It was built in Italy by Greppi at the beginning of the 1990s and is as close to one of the original 112 cars built by Alfa Romeo in the 1960s as it is possible to be without actually being a Factory car.
In Italy recently it was a great opportunity for me therefore, to “only connect” as E. M Forster said, and to join the dots and visit Giorgio Greppi at his amazing workshop in the small town of Colico on the north eastern shores of Lake Como. A sprightly septuagenerian, Greppi has been hand crafting remarkable cars sine the 1950s and continues to do so today. As well as having a fantastic reputation for recreating cars such as the TZ1 and the Disco Volante he also produces wonderful one-offs such as the F.LLI.Frigerio ‘Berlinetta SS’ which appeared at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in 2104 depicted in this catalogue shot.
They do not make them like him anymore!
Giorgio Greppi by one of his recreations.
The Prop Set
Whilst in Italy recently I visited the ex-Caproni aeroplane factory which has now been turned into a museum, Volandia. It is right next to Malpensa airport, Milan and incredibly interesting. Any editors out there who want the feature please get in touch.
Inside Volandia.
The gates of the old Caproni aeroplane factory.
The Jet Set
Attending the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este as a member of the media is probably about as close to the jet set as I am going to get, but at least I am getting closer! Great cars, great ambience, great stories!
1954 Fiat 8V
Cars and Fashion!
La Dolce Vita in Riviera
Riva Aquarama
The first weekend of the Italian summer season was spent on the Italian Riviera photographing classic Riva speedboats. It was a fantastic trip, and thank you to the organisers and the Hotel Lido Palace for making my stay such a pleasant one. Keeping up with speedboats and having a platform to photograph from is no mean feat so my thanks must also go to my ‘chauffeur’, Rodolfo Gozzi. Rodolfo has the patience of a saint and ferried me around in the fantastic Invictus (www.nauticabertelli.it) – I could not have had a better pilot.
View from the Hotel Lido Palace, Santa Margherita Ligure
Shooting from the Invictus at Sestri Levante
Living the Dream
It is that time of year again – early summer in Italy. The Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza is taking place on the 22nd -24th May and I am lucky enough to be in attendance once more. Having covered this fantastic event for the last couple of years I am really looking forward to spending another fabulous weekend on Lake Como. 
The following weekend I will then be attending a Riva boat rally in Santa Margherita Ligure. So, if you see someone walking around with a permanent grin on his face, then you know that is me. For those of you who cannot be in attendance look out for the upcoming stories in Rewind Magazine (Singapore), Invictus Magazine (USA), Volante Magazine (UAE) and Unique Luxury Magazine (Australia),amongst other periodicals around the world to feature my articles.
Highest Bidder
As a specialist consultant to Theodore Bruce, Australia’s oldest auction house, May 10th saw me involved in an exciting auction of popular culture and motoring memorabilia. With that sale successfully completed it is now time to turn my attention to the next big task in hand – the 2015 Motorclassica Auction. We have been appointed to run this prestigious sale at the heritage Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne for the next three years after our successes of the last two years. I am now actively seeking the consignment of veteran, vintage and classic vehicles for this major event on October 24th.
I have already consigned some exciting cars, including the two beauties shown, but there is still plenty of room for other top quality international vehicles.
Interested? Please email me on james@marinamarini.com.au for further details.
New Section
If you have not already spotted it there is a new section for this website entitled Image Gallery. Please check out some of the images that I have taken over the last few months by clicking on the tab above. It is amazing what a modern camera can do when set to automatic! This shot is one of my recent favourites and has appeared in several magazines including the latest issue of the new magazine Volante, A Journal For The Gentleman Driver, published in the Middle East.
BEING A SPECTATOR
Being interested in cars and TV it was impossible not for me to contribute this piece to The Spectator Australia recently.
(click to zoom in)
