I have just been told by someone in Modena that Lucciano Bonacini formerly of Neri & Bonacini passed away last week. In the fall when I interviewed Giorgio Neri another Modenese contact approached Bonacini for me and he had kindly responded that he would gladly help but that his memory was all gone...there goes another part of Modena's historic fabric... Below is a photo of their most famous creation, the first Nembo spyder 250GT #1777GT. RIP Signor Bonacini. Image Unavailable, Please Login
RIP Marc can you post anything from the Neri interview. It would be great to hear about Neri & Bonacini. Erik
Hello: That interview was centered on and specifically for the book on the Ferrari Breadvan which I am co authoring with the esteemed Keith Bluemel: the material is finalized since November 30, it now will be laid out and printed, due out in the summer. I did however research a two part story on Neri & Bonacini about 10 years ago in the Ferrari Market Letter, actually part one was in the April 25 1998 issue with P2 in the following issue. It was very rewarding to do as almost nothing had ever been published on the Nembos before or since. That is available through the FML. best regards, Marc
Perhaps someone has a portrait of him: I certainly don't... Here is a photo of the second Nembo spyder, built on a short wheel base and not as attractive. One nice anecdote: Giorgio Neri still has somewhere a telegram from someone who had seen the Nembo spyder in a magazine and wanted one. The sender was a certain Steve McQueen. He did get a Nart spyder later after the Thomas Crown affair, of course many argue Chinetti pushed ferrari to do the Nart spyders after seeing the Nembo so things went full circle... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Marc- Twenty-five years or so ago I went up to NYC to look at a 246GTS I was considering buying from Carriage House Motors, a Rolls dealer. Sitting forlornly off in a dark corner was a dusty Nembo Spyder. I recognized it immediately and asked if it might be for sale, in the hope that they didn't know what it was. Unfortunately they knew precisely what they had, and had already sold it on to a friend of the dealership's owner. That was the first and only time I've seen one, and it was quite striking. RIP, Signor Bonacini. Ira
Is it correct to assume that either or both Sig. Neri and Sig. Bonacini were responsible for the design of the cars as well as the fabrication? If not, who? momentary OT.... and today we have Chris Bungle......perhaps someday someone like Jason Castriota (sp?) will attain the same level of skill respect? Or are we too close to the end of the automobile as we have known it? .....back to the thread
Another Neri&Bonacini "creature" is this unique Lambo. A fabulous car. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Tritone, Tom Meade, an American then resident in Modena, has told the story many times that he designed the original Nembo (shown at the top of this thread in red, but preferred by me in the original color of dark blue) for a customer who wanted a "convertible 250GTO". There have been a few other versions, some by Meade and some knock-offs, but most feel that the original 1777GT was the most successful.
Ed, thanks for reminding me! side note: back in the late '90's I parked my GTC next to the Spyder at the Monterey jet center party, hoping some of that beauty would migrate over......never was sure if it happened.......
Hello Ira: so your 246 GT addiction is not a recent phenomena. That was 1777GT. The owner at the time was Mike Schudroff, who had it for about a decade and kept a very low profile with it: as he once told me he just liked to look at it and mostly kept it in the showroom. He did brave the horrible Manhattan traffic once in a while to take it to Connecticut on weekends.
Giotto: great photo, love that car saw it in the factory in Sant'Agata a couple of years ago. Napolis: there is your cue for your next special, a Nembo which does not take your left eyeball out Ed: hope you are well. Tritone: as Tom recalled this client was named Sergio Braidi and wanted specifically a GTO 64 spyder. Tom did consider cutting a real GTO, just an obsolete racing car at the time and he did in fact own the Peter Sachs GTO for a while. In the end, after sitting in a café with Braidi in Modena near the Autodromo and all the workshops they used up a large supply of paper napkins in drawing and redrawing what Braidi wanted and what Tom felt it should look like and came up with essentially the rendition you see. Tom however is very modest, even though the Nembo resembles the Thomassimas in a way, he says he does not consider he designed the Nembo: it is simply and essentially a roofless GTO 64. Braidi was very small, about 5 foot 3 which may explain why the windshield was so raked. He only kept it for about 3 months (or perhaps he did not pay) and then it went stateside to a certain...Ed Niles! The second Nembo shown here 3771 was made for Bill Dixon of the northeastern US on a shorter wheel base. It was essentially the same design barring some details. They tilted the entire windscreen upwards before finalizing its angle after the first car's rather excessively steep windshield angle. There was a coupe which is very handsome 1623GT and a third spyder which was not completed, just the shell. It was picked up by a dealer in Modena and shipped to Lebanon of all places, never to be seen again, as far as I know. best regards, Marc
Bruce Canepa in Califonia has it or one of them: http://www.canepa.com/inventory/racecar/1967%20Iso%20Daytona/index.html
In 1966, Giorgio Neri and Lucciano Bonacini build also several rear engined prototypes with small series production in mind. Unfortunatelly, it never happened. In 1989, one of those prototypes was sold at "Finarte" in Modena. The engine was a Lancia Flavia 1800. Looks like a little Miura from the rear... Where are those cars today? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I saw #1777GT in the flesh at Goodwood 2007 before ever hearing about Nembo or Tom Meade. Thanks again for your explanation at the time, Marc. A fabulous car - I was mesmerised by it. RIP Signor Bonacini, and heartfelt thanks for your contributions to the automotive world. Onno Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have never seen 1777GT other than in pics, but she has to rank right up there with the most beautiful and most desireable. Are there any more pics of the SWB spider? Looks may be deceiving, but with that short wheelbase and steeply raked screen, how far does the engine sit back in the chassis? Is there an access panel on the dash to get to the rear of the engine like in a Bizzarini 5300? Stunning cars, and the passing of one of its' creators is a loss ideed. RIP Mr Bonacini.
I have never seen even a picture of 1777GT before, this thread being the first time. That car is elegance personified, in fact I would go as far as to say it puts greats like the 250 California in the shade in my eyes as far as beauty is concerned. The memory of Mr Bonacini will live on in the cars he helped create.
In that case, here's another couple. Unfortunately it was very crowded so difficult to take decent shots. Onno Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks for the pics, much appreciated. That to me is one of the must beautiful cars of all time without a doubt, pure art on wheels.
