Made In Asia

The Ault Park Concours d'Elegance always has a section of cars made in Asia. Today these cars are everywhere, from Toyota and Honda to Kia and Hyundai. But it wasn't that long ago that seeing a car from the Far East was rare. That's why the selection committee brought in a combination of old and new cars from that continent. This 2000 Honda S2000 Roadster is fairly new but was made to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary.

Also being shown was a 1992 Acura NSX, a 1979 Datsun 280ZX Coupe, a 2005 Acura NSX-T, a 2014 Nissan GTR, a 1972 Mazda Cosmo Sport, and a 1968 Toyota Sports 800.

The Tirdent Turns 100

When a company uses the symbol that represents a Roman god as its logo their product had better be enduring. For the automotive company bearing the sign of Neptune's trident, it has.

In 1914 five Italian brothers named Maserati began building custom Grand Prix cars. The first cars were contracted out to the firm Diatto. But by 1926 Diatto had stopped producing race cars and so the Maserati brothers decided to start marketing their creations under their own marque.During those early days the brothers focused all of their energies on building race cars, highly successful race cars. Many of their cars won races.

By 1937, after one of the brothers, Alfieri, had died, the brothers sold their stake in the company to the Orsi family who continued the highly successful racing legacy, including back-to-back wins at the 1939 and 1940 Indianapolis 500. Orsi took the company through World War II, concentrating on manufacturing components for the Italian military.

Following the war Maserati once again became one of the leading race car manufacturers. All of that would change in 1957, though. That year, at the famous Mille Miglia, a 24 hour endurance race similar to that held at Le Mans, a car went out of control in the village of Guidizzolo killing the driver, his navigator and nine spectators. Among the dead spectators were five children. The race was suspended, never to return in the same form.

The tragedy in Guidizzolo prompted Maserati to leave the factory racing game and turn their attention to passenger cars. The first was the 3500, a 2+2 coupe with an aluminum body. A convertible model soon followed. The car was a masterwork, even though it was their first attempt at making a tourer for the general public. With beautiful body work an a powerful 3500 cc straight six that churned out 220 horse power, the 3500 set the standard for all Maseratis that followed.

More cars followed into the 1960s. First was the V-8 5000, then in 1962 the Mistral coupe followed the next year by the Mistral spider. That decade also saw the introduction of the company's first four door model, the Quattroporte as well as the sporty Ghibli, a car that actually outsold the famed Ferrari Daytona and the Lamborghini Miura in its initial year of release.

In 1968 the French car maker Citroen took over Maserati. This was a time of huge change for Maserati. A lot of new models were launched by both marques as Citroen took advantage of Maserati's engineers to help upgrade their cars. In addition, Maserati began using some of Citroen's technology, including hydraulics.

Perhaps the two most famous cars, other than the relaunch of the Quattraporte, from this time were the mid-engine super car Bora, probably the most famous Maserati road car of all time, and the V-6 Merak. These, along with the Indy and the Khamsin provided Maserati with a peak in sales and status around the world.

Former Argentinian race car driver turned business man Alejandro De Tomaso took over the reins at Maserati. In short order new models appeared, including the luxury sports car Kyalami and the third incarnation of the Quattraporte.It was during De Tomaso's leadership that Maserati began working loosely with Chrysler which eventually bought a portion of the the Italian car maker.

Eventually in 1993 Maserati became part of the powerful Fiat group where it was first successfully partnered with Ferrari and more recently with Alfa Romeo where it openly shared technologies.

In this, the 100th anniversary of Maserati, the Ault Park Concours d'Elegance had a special display of Maserati. All of the cars seen in this post were part of that display which managed to lightly touch on this great automobile company. The trident of Neptune continues to onward.

Last of the Ault Park Foreign Collector Cars

Today I wrap up the pictures of all of those great foreign collector cars that were on display at this year's Ault Park Concours d'Elegance. Let's start off with this 1973 Porsche 911 S.

Also showing that day were a 1965 Jaguar E Type OTS (that brings back so many memories), a 1975 Ferrari 308 GT 4, a 1984 Ferrari 512 BBI, a 1972 De Tomaso Pantera, a 1965 Alpha Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale, and a 1968 Lamborghini Islero.

Foreign Beauties at Ault Park

Today I am posting even more foreign beauties that were on display at this year's Ault Park Concours d'Elegance. This year my friend Pete Scalia had his 1967 Fiat Dino Coupe on display. He has only owned the car for a short while and this is his first Concours event and he managed to win a category award. Now, when are you going to let me drive it, Pete?

Also on display were a 1960 Jaguar Mark IX, a 1972 BMW 3.0 CSi Coupe, a 1965 Triumph 2000 Saloon, a 1968 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 (that I drooled over), a 1965 Iso Rivolta, a 1974 Porsche 914 2.0, and a 1968 Porsche 912 Coupe.

More Foreign Classics at Ault Park

Here are some more of the great foreign cars that were on display at this year's Ault Park Concours d'Elegance. There was a beautiful 1938 MG TA Tickford Drophead Coupe on display.

Also shown were a 1953 Jaguar XK 120 OTS, a 1936 MG PB Roadster, a 1961 Porsche 356, a 1965 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III, a 1971 Mercedes Benz 280 SE 3.5 Coupe, a 1967 Mercedes Benz 250 SE Cabriolet, and a 1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead.

Foreign Collectors at Ault Park

This year's Ault Park Concours d'Elegance featured a number of great foreign models that ranged from before World War II into the 1970s. For much of this week I'm going to be posting pictures of these great cars, such as this 1956 Austin-Healey 100 BN2.

Also shown were a 1953 Fiat V8 Coupe, a 1958 Jaguar XK150 Roadster, a 1953 Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe FHC, a 1959 Porsche 356A Carrera GS Coupe, a 1956 Jaguar XK140 MC, a 1965 Porsche 356 SC, and a 1963 Porsche 356B.

Mustang At 40

To honor the 40th birthday of the iconic Ford Mustang, this year's Ault Park Concours d'Elegance featured a special exhibit of the original pony car. With examples from all throughout the marque's history, including one of the prototypes from 1963 (above), there were models from each generation and for every taste. Here is a selection of the many Mustangs that were on display that day.