2010 Laguna Seca Monterey Historics paddock photos

You've seen the parking lot photos.  Here is a look at the inside.  On other sites, you'll find plenty of photos of cars on track and the featured marque this year, Bugatti.  I've put together a collection of odd cars that may have been neglected by mainstream coverage.

This BMW Isetta was deemed BMW Motorsport's mascot.

These Austin Mini Clubman/Travelers were parked next to all the Lotuses (Loti?).

This was Bruce McLaren's Cooper T62.

Vespa/Piaggio.

BMW 2002, right?

No!  It's an 1800.

A GMC Motorhome with Lotus livery.

A couple of 300SL Gullwings.

Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo dash wires.

Epifani Restorations truck.

Ford Mustang GT350H Hertz rental car.

Mini Moke.

Not sure if this is an Alfa Romeo van.

This Riley Elf (Mini with a boot) caused me to do a double take.

BMC technical support vehicle.

Edelbrock truck.

Carroll Shelby autograph on Cobra hood.

I came to Laguna Seca this year to see this, my friend's dad's 1965 Sunbeam Tiger.

Unfortunately, the teeth in the rear differential decided to catastrophically fail on Friday the 13th.  To make matters worse, the driver hired to drive the white Tiger in the background (photo above this one), John Morton, crashed a 1958 Scarab yesterday.  John is okay.  The Scarab, not so much.

Here are the two Tigers on a healthier, and luckier, day.  Turn up the sound!

Carspotting (35): Replica AC Cobra with 455 engine

I saw this replica being loaded onto a carrier today.  It's being shipped to Pennsylvania.  I know it says 427 on the engine.  The engine was bored out to 455 cubic inches.  I hung around to listen to the engine.  It was LOUD.

Visiting Vijay Mallya's Car Collection/Museum

Vijay Mallya is an Indian business tycoon. He is best known for owning Kingfisher beer and the Force India Formula One team. He is, among many things, a car buff and owns hundreds of classic cars in Europe, America, and India.

I was fortunate enough to visit his private American collection. The eclectic fleet was fantastic and all in running condition. A huge Thank You to Malcolm Page, the curator of the collection, who was a gracious host and generous with his time and knowledge.

Click here to see Rchen's uber-gallery.

A note about my photos. The great thing about this place is that there are no velvet ropes. I got pretty close to the cars and saw some minutiae that would otherwise never be noticed.

1955 Porsche 550 Spyder

This is the only Spyder with its original cloth top. I never knew these came with tops. Apparently, they were required for homologation purposes and owners detached them and threw them away as soon as they took delivery.

Porsche 550 Spyder interior. Notice lack of ubiquitous five-gauge instrument cluster.

Jaguar XJ220. You can just make out the gearbox.

From left to right: XJ220, Jag D Type, 427 Cobra

Ferrari 275 GTB rim

Ferrari 275 Pinifarina badge

Shelby insignia under 427 Cobra hood louvre

427 Cobra interior

Mercedes Gullwing rear view mirror (made by Talbot Berlin)

Mercedes gullwing doorhandle

Jaguar D Type interior

Ferrari 365 California Spyder Becker Mexico radio

Ferrari 365 California Spyder funky taillights

BMW M1

Mercedes 300SL roadster dash badge

Nine-star American flag on Jaguar XJR15

1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. The Spirit of Ecstasy had to be turned 90 degrees so that the hood would clear the wings when it opened.

Harley-Davidson Motorcyke bicycle with sidecar for child

The coolest part of the visit was that we helped push a few of the cars out of the museum. We also got to hear the engines of the 1913 Silver Ghost and this Alfa Romeo Bucci Special.

And we got to push this XJR15 also. What a great day.