Supercars Across America

2009-10-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

My Automobile Magazine article on the Supercars Across America trip is now posted online!

Check it out, and let us know what you think. Or better yet, let the editors of the magazine know! :-)

http://bit.ly/SupercarsAutomobileArticle

Getcher copy of Automobile Magazine now!

2009-10-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

For the 3 of you that may care, the Automobile Magazine article on our Supercars Across America trip is now out! Subscribers should be receiving the November issue in their mailboxes any day (some have already gotten it), and it's available now on newsstands.

YouTube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oZpk_fIxpg

Tail of the Dragon, TN/NC. 318 Curves in 11 miles. This is a video of the Ferrari 16M tackling the road, with Dennis driving and Mark shooting from the passenger seat (and trying not to hurl). Drove it at "The Pace", a term motorcyclists use to mean going as fast as possible WITHOUT having to resort to braking, and using the whole road BUT without crossing the double yellow. Just balancing that throttle, baby!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrin-PQqJGs

Ferrari 612 Scaglietti climbing the mountain with Dan driving and Glenn feeling queasy in the passenger seat, shot by Justin Forte and friends on chase motorcycles. Shot while following the 16M in the video above.

Sidebar: Places of Interest to Eat and Sleep:

Dylan Hotel. We stayed at this newly reopened luxury boutique with surprisingly reasonable rates in midtown East. My suite had vaulted ceiling approximately 20’ high. 52 East 41st Street, New York, NY‎. (212) 338-0500‎. http://www.dylanhotel.com/

Alfredo of Rome, classic Italian restaurant at Rockefeller Center. Its progenitor in Rome has been in business for nearly a century, and lays claim to being the originator of Fettucini Alfredo. 4 W 49th St, New York, NY. (212) 397-0100. http://www.alfredo.com/

Trattoria Cinque, a brand new Italian joint in the heart of TriBeCa has an Italian motorsport design motif. 363 Greenwich Street., New York, NY 212.965.0555 http://www.trattoriacinquenyc.com/

The inspiring custom Bertone Manitde cake came from Sweet Results, Framingham, MA. Laura Kean Anes, the baker, does some “wicked awesome” stuff with sugarpaste. Check out photos of other masterpieces here: SweetResults.blogspot.com

Scruggs Real Pit Barbecue. Not the best of neighborhoods, but a smoked pork sandwich to die for (and depending on the time of night, you do run that risk). 1920 E Magnolia Ave, Knoxville, TN. (865) 524-4333

Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. Actually located in the upscale suburb of Clayton, this Ritz-Carlton offers a nice mélange of modern hospitality and old European style. The world’s most comfortable hotel bed added major points. 100 Carondelet Plaza, St. Louis, MO‎. (314) 863-6300‎. http://www.ritzcarlton.com/

Ritz-Carlton, Denver. Same attention to detail and hospitality as the other Ritz-Carlton, but with a distinctively different modern style. Very comfortable beds as well, and a kick-ass breakfast menu. 1881 Curtis St, Denver, CO. (303) 312-3800. http://www.ritzcarlton.com/

Gateway Canyons Resort. In the middle of nowhere, it’s where you really must go. Offering a full service spa, rock climbing, river sports, horseback riding, and most importantly, spectacular roads and exotic car rentals with which to enjoy them. You won’t regret it. 43200 Hwy 141, Gateway, CO. (970) 931-2458. http://www.gatewaycanyons.com/ and http://www.westernroadadventures.com/

Mi Rancherito Mexican Restaurant. If you find yourself touring along RT 50 in Utah, stop here for the best pork verde in a 100 mile radius. 540 Topaz Blvd, Delta, UT. (435) 864-4245‎.

Owl Club & Steak House. Full of character, this is a glorified diner with impressively good burgers and chili. The bar and “casino” next door has slots and some large hunting trophies.
61 S Main St, Eureka, NV. (775) 237-5280.

The Village at Squaw Valley. Pre-fab ski village North of Lake Tahoe, the Village caters to outdoor enthusiasts and families during the summer. Large 2 and 3 bedroom suites available at great prices, and interesting restaurants and shops in the adjacent village. 1750 Village East Road, Olympic Valley, CA. (866) 818-6963.

étoile at Domaine Chandon. Named one of the most romantic restaurants in the US, this is a true fine dining destination at a Napa winery. 1 California Dr, Yountville, CA. (707) 204-7529‎. http://www.chandon.com/

We had to professional photographers accompany us on portions of our trip. Daniel Byrne, of NYC, did the NY/NJ launch, and Brian Konoske of LA did the last day, from Squaw Valley through Tahoe, Napa and San Francisco. Both are great guys, very easy to work with, and highly talented!

Daniel Byrne, daniel@danielbyrnephoto.com, http://www.danielbyrnephoto.com/, http://www.autos.danielbyrnephoto.com/.

Brian Konoske, brian@konoske.com, http://www.konoske.com/.

Catching up....

2009-09-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

Still can't quite believe we did it. I submitted a 9,600 word masterpiece/giant stinkin' pile of rubbish to Automobile Magazine, about twice the length they had specified. Oops. The editors were kind enough to spend several days hacking away the useless bits with a chainsaw to get it down to something like 3,700 words, and with the photos they selected from the professional photographers, Mark and yours truly, it's an EIGHT PAGE spread. You'll be able to see it in the next (November) issue, and I'm pretty pleased.

After that comes out, I may post the funny bits that didn't meet their high standards (all of the rude jokes, the innuendo, idle gossip, and complete and utter lies) on this blog, so stay tuned.

And to catch everyone up: on the Monday after we arrive at Monterey, Glenn, Mark and Dennis finally sleep in and are ready to fly home. Except, to our utter shock and amazement, every single rental car, limo service and scooter in a 100 mile radius of Monterey has been reserved. How could this possibly happen? It's not like it's the BUSIEST WEEK OF THE YEAR ON THE PENINSULA or anything like that. Ooops.

So, finally we track down a black car service to take Mark to SFO to catch his flight, sucking cubic dollars out of his wallet. I was able to phone up old friend Leland and beg and plead for him to leave his adorable baby girl, hop in his Prius and drive down to Monterey to pick up Glenn and me. As we head up to catch our evening flight, I reflect on the ignominy of taking this last stage in a PRIUS, of all vehicles, with Leland extolling on its gas mileage virtues. Blech.

But we arrive home safe and sound, and I proceed to reintroduce myself to my 4 and 6 year old daughters, who I don't think quite realized I was gone for a week ("Oh, daddy, you're home. Did you bring us anything?"), kiss my understanding and patient wife, and collapse into a 2-day slumber. I love my bed.

Our full cross-country route depicted on Google Maps

2009-08-13T20:45:00.001-07:00

Interested in exactly what roads we took? Here's the complete route for Dan and Dennis, 4,643 miles. It includes the 953 miles that Dan and Dennis drove from Bayonne, NJ to St Louis, MO, after they flew from Nashville back to NY to pick up the Bertone Mantide after it was released by customs.

[EDIT: because I *am* that obsessive-compulsive, I added...]

Includes the route that Mark and Glenn took from Nashville to St Louis to meet us, and now also includes the excursion Mark took on Days 6-7 up to Salt Lake City from Arches National Park to drop off Nathaniel --- and drive the 612 Scaglietti on the Bonneville Salt Flats! Finally, this now also has the 250 miles I drove to get from the Boston area down to NYC for the kick-off dinner, including the stop in Framingham, MA to pick up the custom Bertone Mantide cake and dropping it off at Alfredo's of Rome.

But it still doesn't show the 22+ extra miles resulting from us doing the Tail of the Dragon three times over!

I strongly suggest that you click through to see it all in a full Google Maps page (note that the route is laid out on two pages in the frame on the left-side of the page). Enjoy!

View Supercars Across America - full route map in a larger map

Day 8 - to the goal line, from Tahoe to Monterey

2009-08-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Yup, this post is late, sorry. Day 8 was a great way to finish off our journey, as it captured the essence of the trip: scenic twisty mountain roads, highway sprints, gourmet dining and takeout pizza, broiling in the sun and hurrying to make up time. Bob Farrell, Glenn's equally crazy, fun and hilarious brother, joined us for the final day in his Ferrari Challenge Stradale, coming up from Del Mar for the fun.

The day started out with a leisurely cruise down the Eastern (Nevada) side of Lake Tahoe. We had Brian Konosoke, a photographer from LA, shooting us for Automobile magazine. He hopped from car to car, including his Audi S4 wagon driven by his assistant Eddie, but spent much of the day shooting from the passenger seat of the Ferrari 16M Scuderia convertible. It's fascinating how much the shoreline route around the lake can change in just a few miles. There are pristine mountain curves in the park area, preceded by expensive lake side mansions and followed by the pure American capitalism of the slightly-cheesy casinos.

Route 50 leading out of Tahoe was scenic and fun, allowing some good shots by Brian. I didn't take any photos that day, and Mark is still processing his shots, so pics to come later.

When we hit the flats, we proceeded to Sacramento in traffic. Dan decided that we should try a short-cut, picking up Rts 128 and 121 west of Sacramento. This added a few miles, but was a lot more fun. Especially once we made it past a convoy of three rented RVs slowly picking their way down the narrow mountain curves.

In need of a slightly more upscale repast, we stopped at E'toile at Domaine Chandon. A magnum of champagne for the table, and we feasted on everything from oysters to foie gras, tea-smoked duck to steak tartare. We slowly rolled our way back to the cars in the 95+ degree heat, and made our way to the coast, where the temps dropped by nearly 30 degrees.

Route 1 in California never fails to impress, whether slightly inland at Point Reyes National Seashore or right on the edge of the ocean at Mt Tamalpais. We bogged down a bit at Stinson Beach, due to the returning beachgoers, but our amusement was heightened by a middle-aged idiot in an early Porsche 911 Turbo. As we were approaching Stinson Beach, he was driving in the opposite direction. He saw our convoy and waved, and we returned the salute. But then as we came to a stop in the bumper-to-bumper traffic at Stinson, the Porsche came FLYING down past us - in the ONCOMING TRAFFIC LANE. Clearly, he turned around to get a better look. As he blew by us, an oncoming car forced him to lock up his wheels braking and diving into our stopped-traffic. When he realized that our line wasn't moving, he decides to make a u-turn (running his Porsche through the brush at the edge of the road), and then trying to impress us by spinning his wheels in 1st and 2nd gear. Surprisingly, this was the most idiotic thing that anyone had done in our presence in the 5000+ miles we drove, and it was a middle-aged guy in a Porsche 930, and not some teenager in a rice-mobile. Shows you what our prejudices are worth....

Once we made our way past Muir Woods, we dove towards the Golden Gate bridge. Alas, traffic from everyone trying to get back to SF on Sunday evening. Still, as we rolled through the big tunnel just North of the bridge, everyone wanted to hear the brutal sounds coming out of the 16M. Gleeful waves, thumbs-up and short horn beeps from nearby cars all called out for encores of the ripping canvas noise. Crossing the bridge, Brian shot the cars circling the 16M - suspect they'll turn out great.

In San Francisco, we debated whether to take the cars down the curvy section of Lombard street. Dan was game for it - I had done it in a Lamborghini Gallardo last year, so we knew it was possible (though it's intimidating as heck to pull up to the intersection and see nothing but sky out the windshield - no road beneath you, no pedestrians in front, nothing!).

But as we got to the 101/Lombard fork, the long line of cars awaiting their turn up then down the street dissuaded us, particularly as it was now evening and we had to make our way down to Monterey to meet up with the transporter with the McLaren, and pick up the keys for the rented house in Pebble Beach.

So we started bogeying down the 101, keenly aware of the CHP patrols and thinking about the distance covered thus far without a single police stop, much less a ticket. Coming down Rt 17, it felt like one last great run to us, with curves seemingly banked more than Daytona Speedway - folks here commute on this daily?!?

We rolled into Monterey late into the evening. We pulled the McLaren out of the truck, and all four supercars loped into the exclusive enclave that is Pebble Beach. The guard at the checkpoint just waved us through, and we finally parked at the end of our journey. Well, since it was nearly 11pm and we still didn't eat, we took the 612 out again for some take-out pizza and a 12 pack of beer. Sitting around the kitchen, eating, drinking and making toasts, we were exuberant, content and exhausted. 5000+ miles, no accidents, one minor fatality, and zero tickets. Woo-hoo!

The last post tomorrow will summarize the trip and our feelings towards it - as well as the potential major problem that faced us on Monday, and we ultimately resolved it. So stay tuned!

Day 7 - Delta, UT to Lake Tahoe, via Rt 50: "The Loneliest Road in America"

2009-08-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

Another gorgeous day. We ended the night last night with some great Mexican food, and crashed at the Days Inn, Delta, a little town at the eastern end of where Rt 50 becomes a straight shot across Utah and Nevada. Mark had kindly offered to take Nathaniel to Salt Lake City in the 612 so that Nat could catch a flight home. This left Dan, Glenn and Dennis with the Mantide and the 16M, as the McLaren was back on the transporter, suffering from a bit of hesitation (we think it had to do with the elevation and bad gas in Colorado).

Today started a bit chilly, to our utter surprise. It was mostly in the 50s and lower 60s all day, until we got into Western Nevada. Rt 50 is celebrated as "The Loneliest Road in America", and in a sense it is. Laser straight for miles and miles and miles, it's interrupted only every few dozen miles from climbs through hills and mountains. On the long straights, you can go for 10 miles without spotting another vehicle.

And while the pavement isn't perfect, Rt 50 is otherwise a great place to go fast and enjoy the scenery. Given a choice, I'd must rather drive Rt 50 than, say, I-80. So given the opportunity, we exercised the 16M and the Mantide. One could see all the way to the horizon on much of Rt 50, so one had a 1+ minute warning as to oncoming traffic. And with virtually no cross streets or, for that matter, any signs of human life, one can easily reach some impressive speeds. Over the last two days, I've shattered at least three if not 5-6 personal records.

Rt 50 also cuts through some small towns in Nevada, many of which are faded relics of their glorious, bygone eras. We stopped for a surprisingly good burger with onion rings and chili in Eureka. Overall, we did 400+ miles on Rt 50, and every single mile of it was enjoyable (especially the part where the sheriff shot us with radar while we had managed to slow to about 80 mph, in a 70 mph zone). The sheriff hit his flashing lights, but didn't even slow down - it was just a warning to us to play nice. Another sheriff gave both cars a nice wave as we passed through his town. Ah, Nevada is most excellent!

Later in the afternoon, we went through Carson City and arrived at Lake Tahoe. While we've seen plenty of beautiful scenery on this trip, Tahoe added a big water feature to our panoramic memory gallery. We're spending the night in suites at the Village at Squaw Valley, a ski development very similar to Tremblant and Whistler.

That's all for now. We're leaving Tahoe in the morning, going down the west side of the lake to pick up Rt 50 again, then go through Sacramento to Napa for lunch. Time permitting, we'll cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway, then go over the Golden Gate bridge and arrive finally at Monterey.

Wish us luck!

Day 6, from Gateway Canyon Resort through Arches National Park

2009-08-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

Great day of scenic driving. Gateway Canyon resort down the best road in America, into the Utah flats, lunch in Moab, tour through Arches National Park, and across Utah, staying the night in Delta. More words to come, but here's a slideshow of the best scenery we've seen all trip.

Click thru to see the pics in higher-res.

2009-08-06T23:21:00.000-07:00

Another long day. Fantastic, though. As it turns out, you CAN'T drive all day, get blown away by one of the most beautiful, impressive natural settings you've ever seen. blasted down perhaps the best road you've ever driven, enjoy a great dinner with friends (instead of fast food, finally), AND write intelligibly on your blog postings. So, tomorrow morning. I *swear* this time....

Meanwhile, our Facebook "Supercars Across America" page has a bunch of new photos. Check it out.

Heaven (continued)

2009-08-06T23:05:00.001-07:00

More pics. More words later.

Heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven.

2009-08-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

We arrive at Gateway Canyon Resort. I will be writing MUCH more about this later, but suffice it to say for now that it is an undiscovered gem in the fast car community. You have no excuses; if you like cars and driving and natural beauty, come here NOW.

Finally, a drink for Nathaniel! Nat flew out to Denver to join us for a two days.

This is my favorite picture of the trip to date.

Finally moving faster than 23 mph

2009-08-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

After sitting and waiting in a line for 20 minutes for work crews to let us by, we finally made it out of the park. More stunning scenery.

On the road towards Grand Junction. Remind me to tell you later about the state trooper waving, the crazy motorcyclist towing a trailer, and the mini-Grand-Canyon that I-70 runs through.

Almost to the best road we've found on this trip. Keep reading....

In Rocky Mountains National Park (continued)

2009-08-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

Stopped at an overlook. Causing another scene, of course, but folks were nice enough to let us get some decent shots.

I was so lightheaded and dehydrated, I didn't want to get from behind the wheel!

In Rocky Mountains National Park

2009-08-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

Above the tree line. The altitude was definitely getting to us all, as well as the McLaren F1. Not liking the bad gas or the altitude.

Much better pictures coming, really!

Denver at the Ritz-Carlton

2009-08-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Denver at 12:40 am on Thursday morning. Another great Ritz-Carlton property, though very different in atmosphere from the Ritz in St Louis. Same great comfy bed, though. I got FIVE hours of sleep that night, woo-hoo!

Mike McPhee of the Denver Post interviewed us.

Leaving the Ritz, we headed up towards Boulder and Rocky Mountains National Park. A few shots from inside the Mantide. Lousy roads on the way up; tons of loose gravel, RVs, paving work. But the view, ah, the views!

Almost at the top.

Order is all screwed up

2009-08-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, just made 13 new posts, with plenty of pictures. BUT, the chronological order is all screwed up, sorry. Go ahead and keep reading the whole thing, as there is lots of stuff in here now. Sorry! [EDIT - fixed the order of the posts. Thanks for the tip, Jonathan!]

And for more timely updates, please do check out our Facebook fan page.

Starship at night

2009-08-05T09:21:00.002-07:00

At dusk. The Mantide really does look like an alien starship. Particularly when it passes you at a slightly elevated rate of speed.

Now the long run to Denver from St Louis

2009-08-05T09:21:00.001-07:00

The gang is back together!

After the high-speed tests at Nardo, Bertone added these small lexan aerodynamic devices right in front of the front wheels. Helps with aerodynamics above 200 mph. Alas, they are also VERY low. Thanks to Glenn and his ever-ready duct tape, we're ready to go! Yes, we're fixing a unique $2 million show car with duct tape outside of the hotel. First class all the way, baby.

The top of the Bertone Mantide is all clear plastic and glass; great for seeing the sights, and less great crossing Kansas. Glenn of Arabia was the lucky driver for this stint.

I cannot believe that these guys have never had the world's best fried chicken. So we stopped for dinner in Topeka, KS. Nom nom nom.

Headed for sleep, blessed sleep. Then press interviews...

2009-08-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Dan and Dennis crossed the Missippi at 5:27 am local, and arrived at the Ritz-Carlton St Louis. Very, very nice hotel. The best hotel bed I've experienced; alas, only got about 2 hours of sleep. Some TV stations and the Post-Dispatch came over to do some stories, so we lost some time chatting at the Ritz. But worthwhile, as it's all great fun.

Parked at the entrance of the Ritz-Carlton. We had sent the McLaren F1 and the transporter ahead, as we expected that we might be crossing MO and KS a bit, uh, faster than them.

Dan the man.

Full open. Wow.

Finally getting on the road! Long cannonball run to St Louis

2009-08-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

We left Bayonne NJ at 4:30 pm, just in time to catch the start of rush hour. Grrr. We averaged 45 mph for NJ and the first part of PA, not great.

The interestate in Western PA had some interesting roads cutting through the mountains, but then we hit Ohio and it became flaaaaaaat. Given Ohio's reputation, our average speed, uh, dropped.

We each did a 300+ mph stint, then the stints got shorter. 973 miles between the warehouse and the Ritz Carlton, St Louis.

The heads-up-display projects the speed (and engine RPM, lateral G's, etc.) onto the windshield, so it appears to be floating on the road above you. The dash contains a Magnetti Marelli race car dash display (used in the Ferrari FXX).

Gourmet dinner at 4:00 am somewhere in Indiana.

The uncrating, continued

2009-08-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Almost done. It was REALLY well strapped in.

Dan the happy owner, delighted that the Bertone Mantide is now on American soil, as part of its Corvette ZR1 heritage.

Thoroughly stylish, with design elements everywhere you look. But a bit short on knee room for us taller folks.

This is representative of every gas stop we've made. Everyone in a half-mile radius comes over to gawk. We've had to start making up different explanations to everyone, to not sound like a broken record. We are very glad to show people the car though. It's a thrill.

Flying BACK east. Huh?

2009-08-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, trying to catch up. Sorry, this will be quick, as we've got driving to do!

Tuesday morning, Dan and I got onto a private plane for Teterboro airport outside of NY, so we could pick up the Mantide. It had been in Italy for high speed tests at the Nardo racetrack. It was supposed to be shipped from Luxembourg to NY by last week, but the shipper lost the paperwork and it didn't arrive until this past Sunday.

Should we delay our trip? Of course not! Revised plan - leave as scheduled, then Dan and I would return to NY to retrieve the Mantide, then blast across the country to meet up with Glenn and Mark in St Louis.

The car was shipped in a custom built crate. So well protected, I think it could have been flipped over without any damage to the car.

In beautiful, scenic Bayonne NJ.

The uncrating process was started by three guys and a forklift; by the end of the 2.5 hour task, the entire warehouse staff was working on it. Clock is ticking, boys!

Almost there! It's like the best Christmas present ever....

Late post later

2009-08-05T04:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry, all - Dan and I just rolled into St Louis after a long day. Will post details later. Summary: woke up in Nashville, private plane took us back to NY, went to warehouse to collect Mantide, waited 2.5 hours for it to be uncrated, then just started driving West. 14 hours total, including 1+ hour for dinner and gas stops and rush hour traffic in NJ. Arrived here at Ritz Carlton St Louis at 645 am EDT. Bed now, and doing some press in two hours. Argh. Pics of uncrating are on FB. Tweets from the road below. Full post later:

box is finally unwrapped. Almost ready to hit the road again.

This thing is gobsmacking to behold in person.

Everyone and I mean EVERYONE is staring at this thing. More attention than a naked Megan Fox in a pink caddy convertible

Avg 45 mph In traffic. Glenn: "is that thing a Mantide or a Mopede?"

# of cell phone shots of us in 2.5 hours: 1786 and counting n

Did 308.7 miles of 309 in 6th gear. Enough torque for 35 mph to 128 mph.

Stopping for gas in Indiana. Dan just did 154 mi at 74.7 mph. Getting a wee bit tired.

Just finished my first stint. 309 miles in 3.8 hours, 80.5 mph avg. Pretty damn good consid bulk was Ohio.Making up for rush hour jam start

Crossed the Mississippi at 6:27 am EDT. Whew. Did my last stint, averaged 77.7 mph for 216 miles. Wee bit tired.

Arrived at Ritz Carlton STL. VERY nice. We're all in club rooms. Sweet. Good cookies. Off to bed (after posting pics, natch).

Sheer and Utter Violence

2009-08-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

Another long yet wholly satisfying day. We enjoyed our overnight in Lexington, VA, and hightailed it for Tennessee. As an aside, a shout-down to AT&T, which provide virtually no coverage at all today. Sure, it's understandable in the mountains and national parks, but we were in not tiny Tennessee cities and town which *showed* AT&T coverage, but zero data actually received or phone calls made. Grrrr.

Made it to Knoxville ("How 'bout dem Vols?"), where we were desperate for lunch. A google search turned up what was promised to be the best BBQ in Knoxville. Was it good? Yes. Dan said that it was the best smoked pork sandwich he'd ever eaten (the pork was thinly sliced, not pulled). The atmosphere was, uh, untraditional. There were padlocks on the soda refrigerators, the money Glenn put into the tip jar was immediately emptied, and all of the coin-op games had "not working" signs on them, as did the bathroom. When I walked in, the counter worker eyed me suspiciously, and asked me why I came in. I thought it was because of the cars we arrived in. No, she was just surprised because, as she put it, "no Chinese folks like BBQ. Never seen one come in to order before." Ah, back in the South!

While we were eating our sandwiches, fried okra, mac salad, baked beans and giant plate of rib bones, the owner rushed into the place. The cook had called him and said that a pair of Ferraris had pulled up. The owner didn't believe it, and came down to see for himself. "Now, I'm delighted you came, but what the heck are you doing in the ghetto?" "Sorry, did you say ghetto?" "Yup. This is the ghetto of Knoxville!" We told him that the food was fantastic, and we were glad that we braved the visit (we had no clue as to the neighborhood). The owner brought us a round of "Ghetto Tea, Sweet" on the house.

Scruggs Real Pit Barbecue, 1920 E Magnolia Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917-8024, (865) 524-4333

Unfortunately, the transporter with the McLaren was caught for longer in yesterday's torrential downpours, so couldn't catch up to us, which meant no unleashing of the McLaren F1 on the Tail of the Dragon. Undaunted, we proceeded to the Tail from the TN side. This is one of the most famous motorcycling roads in the Eastern US, with a campground/gas station at the base on the NC side. Hundreds of motorcycles, from sportbikes to touring rigs to fully chromed Harley Davidson beasts.

We ended up doing the Tail of the Dragon THREE TIMES, swapping seats. We met some great motorcyclists who followed us and shot some great videos on their hero cam, promising to post them here later. Read the upcoming magazine article for more details of this afternoon, including impressions of the cars, why there was smoke, and the impressions of the gathered motorcyclists. I will hint that the most dramatic impression that the Scuderia gives is that of sheer and utter violence. One simply cannot turn away from the shrieking sound, the blow of the mace the transmission makes on a full-demand upshift, and inhuman stopping power of the carbon brakes. Violence, indeed.

From there, we took the Cherahola Skyway west. 36 miles long (over 50 if you add in the bits at the start and end that are equally impressive), this will undoubtedly join the pantheon of great American roads.

As the clock was ticking, we were making a run for Nashville, when we passed a roadhouse bar. Seeking dinner and a beer, we slammed on the brakes, pulled a u-turn, and went in. We wanted to be as unobtrusive as possible, just eat and get out and back on the road, but it was not too be (shocking). Still, the wings and cheesesteaks were more than passable, longnecks were $1 on special today, and the locals were incredibly friendly - I shook hands with over a dozen of them, and we felt quite welcome, for such an odd collection of Northerners.

Dark now, we put the hammer down, cruising up Route 68 and flying west on I-40, doing 102 miles in an hour and 18 minutes. We're spending the night in Nashville.

What's up for tomorrow? Well, the mystery of the Bertone is revealed - really! And Dan and I are getting on a private jet back to New York in the morning.

-------------

Video shot from Ferrari 16M Scuderia convertible as it climbs Tail of the Dragon. Moron shooting it (me) can't find where mic is on little digital camera, so can't cover it up. So you hear a fair bit of wind noise, sorry. But it does give you a small taste of what the road is like. Stay tuned later in the week for full length, HD versions shot from the trailing 612 Scaglietti.

Hey, Nirvana on Day 2. Who'da thunk it?

2009-08-02T21:37:00.001-07:00

[yeah, I'm new to this blogging game. Couldn't get Picasa to export more than four photos per blog post, so I broke up today's recounting into multiple posts. Read all of today's posts if you want the full scoop....]

As expected, Skyline was stunning. Vistas opened up on either side of the road, and we stopped at plenty of overlooks for photos and just to gape. Our average speed to Skyline was great, and now it was plummeting, but we didn't care.

At the 60 mile marker, a ranger pulled out right behind us. Doh! Speed limits are strictly enforced here, and while we were being very, very cognizant of traffic and tourists (e.g., no passing), on deserted sections we did hit 60-65 mph for a few straight stretches.

The ranger then proceeded to follow us for THIRTY MILES, at 25-30 mph. Ouch. Still, he never did pull us over, so we're counting our lucky stars. And even at this slower pace, we were able to enjoy the sun setting over our right and the moon rising to our left.

After exiting Skyline Drive, we decided to continue South on the Blue Ridge Parkway. No longer monitered by the rangers (we thought), and well into deep dusk, it was time to pick up the pace.
As Dan said later, it was transcendent. I thought it was nirvana; we spotted all of 4 oncoming cars, bi-xenon headlights cutting through the rising gloom, top and windows down, the ripping sounds of Italian engines, and a winding, rolling ribbon of pavement ahead. Nirvana.

After making it back to the highway, our intrepid gourmands end up having an admittedly delicious dinner at Burger King while gassing up the cars. We felt we were the "kings" of the road today (ouch).

Oh, and where IS that Bertone? It's still in a box, though it's kicking to get out. And it's getting sick of Gromper keeschelche. Stay tuned.

2009-08-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

The full effect was breath taking. The misty gloom settled down upon the valley, while we looked from on high.

2009-08-02T21:36:00.001-07:00

More pics. Wish I were better at this blog thing. See our FB fans page, Supercars Across America for a video too.

2009-08-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Some more pics....

2009-08-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Day 2: Manhattan to Lexington, Virginia

Ah, quiet Sunday mornings in NYC. Daniel, the photographer shooting the magazine article, met us at the Dylan early. We pulled the cars out, and went around the city shooting in various spots. He radioed us from his car (drive by assistant Reese), while he shot from footbridges, building roofs, street corners and even while sitting in the back of his hatchback. Started raining while we cruised up Third Ave and around the Plaza. Even did laps of the Columbus Circle roundabout.

Had to fill up ($3.55!!!) in Manhattan, before heading off to NJ through the Holland Tunnel. The sounds of the cars in the tunnel were PROFOUND. In a surprisingly pastoral part of NJ (looking more like Virginia horse country, Daniel shot us while standing up and facing backwards in the 16M.

Then torrential downpours hit, as bad a rainstorm as I've ever seen. Cars were pulled over on the side of I-78. The 612 Scaglietti was supremely stable and confident even in these conditions; the 16M slightly less so. The McLaren was scary. And the downforce it generates was literally vacuuming the water off the road, making it impossible for anyone behind it to see.

So we decided to call in the cavalry. Reader Rich H wrote, "What definitely has me concerned about this adventure is that they're doing it with no support vehicle. My guess is that outside direct visual contact with an ocean, there are no tires in sizes suitable for any of those cars available 'off the rack.'"

True. So we decided to bring support - indeed, as we later joked, if you're crazy enough to drive four supercars across the country, all with differing needs for replacement tire (and wonky Italian electrics), you need support. So Dan arranged for his Ferrari Challenge race team transporter to accompany us. Yes, over the top. But it's hauling spare tires, and can take two cars if need be.

And in this rain, the need was real. The truck had spent the night in NJ waiting for us, so we arranged to meet it, and loaded the McLaren. We sent the truck directly down to Roanoke to meet us, so we could take the McLaren for the special roads tomorrow, while we continued our plan for the day.

After stopping for lunch in a traditional Jersey diner, we finally crossed into PA after 2 pm - about 4 hours behind schedule, due to the photo shoot requirements. Could we make it up?

We entered cruise-mode. Carefully picking our way through the 2-lane traffic down I-78 and I-81, we made up a lot of the deficit, arriving in Front Royal in the late afternoon. We set off for Skyline Drive, acccepting the fact that the drive would be slow, but we wanted to see the scenery.

Sadly, a small bird did a kamikaze into the front grill of the 612. Foreshadowing? We hope not.

Why? Because driving is better than... not driving

2009-08-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

First day of the trip was a success, though not without stress. The team made it to Manhattan!

Dramatis Personae: Glenn, an ever-congenial, laid-back builder from Maine. Glenn is who we're depending on to sweet-talk us out of difficult situations. Mark, a Brit, just flew in and will be serving as the voice of reason and science, as well as using his considerable amateur photography skills. Dennis, the self-aggrandizing, obsessive-compulsive who's attempting to keep up with all of this new-fangled technology and serving as scribe for the trip.

And Dan, our favorite ex-pat from England, now a successful software executive and Ferrari Challenge racer. Dan is the happy owner of all four cars. He needed to get them to Monterey for the concours next week, and rather than ship them out in a transporter, decided that the PROPER way to do it was to invite some good friends to make the trip behind the wheel(s).

An article on this journey will appear in an issue of a major automotive magazine later this year, in which we'll discuss our opinions of the cars, how they compare, how they worked, amidst the background of a hopefully-humorous travelogue. So we won't get into that here (or on the social networks). Rather, this blog is intended to update our family and friends of our travels, as well as the challenges we'll inevitably face. The regular Twitter and FB posts will consist mostly of the daily/hourly ephemera that those darn kids today seem to lap up.

So, how was Day 1?

Mark flew in from London and, despite having to come the longest way, made it to the hotel first. Dan and Glenn put the top down on the Ferrari 16M and cruised to Long Island, where they picked up the McLaren F1 (shop manager: "wait... you're taking the F1 into the city?!?"). Dennis had a thousand things still left to do, but made it down in time to rendezvous in TriBeCa.

We had an impromptu car show outside the future home of Trattoria Cinque, an Italian speed and style-themed eatery to open late summer in this surprisingly large former stable space. We met up with friend Roberto Tata in his black Ferrari 430 Scuderia, and traversed the city up to Alfredo's of Rome in midtown, sister restaurant to the original in Rome (and where Fettucini Alfredo was invented in 1914).

We had permits to park the cars in front of the restaurant, where waves upon waves of tourists visiting Rockefeller Plaza next door washed over the cars. Inside, we enjoyed a proper kick-off to our journey, with wine, pasta and a surprise dessert.

Dennis had picked up a custom-made cake in Framingham, MA. It was a recreation of the Bertone Mantide, made by Laura Kean Anes. Spectacular, as you can see, and quite tasty too. It even survived the drive down to Manhattan in the 612 with Dennis doing his best to make dinner on time. http://www.sweetresults.blogspot.com/.

We're staying at the Dylan hotel on E 41st, a new luxury boutique with surprisingly reasonable rates. My suite has, literally, vaulted ceiling approximately 20' high. I feel like I'm sleeping in the back of St. Joseph's.

Our biggest challenge of the day was to find overnight parking. Multiple garages turned us down, as we needed to park the cars ourselves and keep the keys. So we drove around midtown, until we found the giant Hyatt at Grand Central Station, where after security looked underneath the cars for bombs, we were able to tuck them in securely for the night.

We're meeting Daniel, the photographer shooting the start of this journey for the magazine, in the morning at 7am, for some hero shots around the city and on our way out. Tomorrow will be a long one, as we are aiming for Virginia and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The stretch goal is to make it to Tennessee... we'll see...

Oh, and where's the Mantide? Ah, good question. It's in a box. How are we getting it out of the box? Stay tuned...

We start our journey in the morning

2009-07-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

Thus it begins....

Four guys, four cars, from Manhattan to Monterey, via the Blue Ridge Parkway, Tail of the Dragon, Graceland, St Louis, Grand Junction, Moab, Zion, Tahoe, Napa and the Pacific Coast Highway.

We're taking a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, a 533 hp V-12 grand touring beast.

We're taking a Ferrari 16M Scuderia, a brand new, limited edition convertible with 510 horsepower.

We're taking a McLaren F1, the apogee of supercar stardom since its debut. The one that decorates posters on bedroom walls. 627 horsepower. Very limited production, held the top speed record for over a decade (241 mph), and has three seats (the driver sits in the middle, the blonde to the left, the redhead to the right). If you can find one for sale, it trades today for about $2.5mm.

And one more . . . we're also taking a one-off show car, the Bertone Mantide.

This is a styling exercise built by Bertone, the legendary Italian designhouse that has designed cars for everyone from Alfa Romeo to Lamborghini, Ferrari to Maserati. It is, literally, the only one in the world. Built on the Corvette ZR1 chassis and drivetrain, with a supercharged V8 putting out 638 horsepower. Worth about $2mm, if you could buy one, which you can't, because, again, it's the only one in the world....

Why? Stay tuned.