Did you ever get on answer to this question? I see a few auto Espadas on the market and if you could get out that old 3-spd and put a more modern transmission in it that could be a game changer. We know the market for new cars have spoken that the auto is the winner.
F dudes; We are back from Heaven ! Car Heaven that is . What a blast forget cars for a moment but what could be better than spending a weekend at the Ritz and the Omni with four stand up, Hillarious, i got your back kinda guys. true friends and car guys of the highest order . Silicone Cougar count was off the charts as well!! The Lira Pit was honoured with 3 awards . a youth choice award presented to me by McKeel Haggerty 2 Second place in the Lamborghini Class (beat most appropriately by a freshly done 350GT) Kinda cool knowing I beat a Muira SV . Bob Varsha From Speedchannel was one of my judges that was neat. And get this ... a peoples choice award! Driving to the podium twice was a totally surreal experience.They Cap attendance at 20 thou and Spectators line up behind ropes along the lanes 6 deep for the length of the award feild high fiving you (So not like pebble beach from when i was there last) think back When Dale Sr. won his only Daytona for those that might remember . I also high fived the honouree Sam Posey as he cheered on those who participated in Fridays Island tour of which i was one. If you do the tour and then are judged in a tie the tour would allow you the extra take a win if that happened . The RM boys took good care of me all weekend long and whipped into high gear when small scratches were discovered on the bonnet from the shippers gloves . All was removed and driving onto that lawn at 6am in the dark down a narrow treelined golf path was most challenging. It was pretty humbling experience to park in the garage overnight sharing the concrete with the only 2 time lemans winning car ever ... THE GULF GT40 #6 .(Google this achivement) Another cool thing was Valentino showed with the one and only Muira Spyder (formerly the Zinc ZN75 roadster now back to it former Bertone showcar glory) and then later in the day spend 30 mins going over my car with great enthusiasm and some critisizm ( carpet snaps and hight of wire looms). Oh and I met a very gracious elderly gent and his wife an who took the time to accept my praise of his achivements ... Sir Stirling Moss. I was kinda busy all day and didnt take very many pics but will post a few asap. Gary Espada 8394 Etype 887465 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Where ever did you get that shirt Gary? Stirling in the yellow shirt has much better taste ... Sounds like one of those lifetime experiences for you Gary so congratulations.
I attended Amelia again this year, and I will attest that Gary's car looked fantastic on the lawn. Really beautiful. Congrats on your awards, Gary -- well-deserved! For those of you who have not gone to this event, it really has become one of the best events in the country. I highly recommend it. They have attracted a world class field for the concours. Kirk
Great Idea guys. They're both such interesting and lovely examples. I know I'd like to see them both in the flesh. Gary, has anyone done a really good set of hi-res photos of your car yet? I haven't seen many photo layouts from Amelia as yet, maybe in a few more days? edit: here we go Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance 2013 - Picture Gallery I like the composition but the lighting and exposure ain't so great. Hey is that Flip Wilson? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
My car and the corvette ( ist time he drove it BTW and with 40 year old tyres !!!) were photographed very early friday morning awaiting the start of the road tour . for me knowing how early it was i like the light levels in that pic! thats not Flip wilson its "Geraldine" ....... man are we old to remember that . Gary Espada 8394
The exposure and focus are the problem I think. The Espada holds it's own quite well next to that one-off don't you think? It simply exudes exotic! That was a Cadillac with Geraldine right? It looked cool. What was her(?) story I wonder?
bob in the flesh the corvette looked a little unsettled from a styling point of view but being a prototype it automatically gets vaulted to legend status. I think a production 63 split window is pure art all these years later . If the one you see here was a production car people would say it didnt age well in spite of its PF coachwork . I didnt see any models except for the one who handed me the trophy LOL Gary Espada 8394
This was taken on streets of Amelia Island on the Friday before the Concours event. Several beautiful cars were parked together. I believe this is Gary's car. Although I think a combination of bright sunlight or my questionable photography skills made the car look a bit brighter than it truly is. I remember the color looking darker in person? Stunning car! Saw a silver Espada drive past the entrance to the Ritz on Saturday, but I never saw that car at any of the shows. BTW...I liked the license plate "Lira Pit." Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
for some reason my car always looks brighter in bright sunlight ? And if it were not for the bright florida sun it would not have seen anysunlight for a couple of months. What a thrill it was to have a very liberal police esport on Friday and blast over those Jacksonville skyway bridges when my car mates back home were still shoveling snow. Gary Espada 8394
Car's getting famous: Front page of Yahoo. Rare Cars of Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance - a gallery on Flickr
Finally a decent quality shot of your car! Looks fabulous. Mine will be staying home for Pocono ... LOL.
Bob You have to bring at least one Italian Beauty to Pocono ............ so get the Bora ready or something but ......................why not bring your espada ! No one cares about condition comparisons they just car about cars !! Gary Espada 8394 P.S and no excuses from you either Phillipe its the 50th anniv for cryin' out loud . When will these three cars be together again ever???????
I have a little throw up im my mouth ! How I long for the days when men used to talk about really illusive things like T and A LOL Gary Espada 8394
