For those forum members in Southern California, this Sunday is the Best of France and Italy Car Show at Woodley Park in Van Nuys in the Sepulveda Dam basin. It is one of the best shows in So Cal all year with hundreds of cars from Italy and France. Obviously you have a contingent from Ferrari, Lamborghini, De Tomaso (including my Pantera), Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia as well as Peugeot, Renault, and many, many others. It is a great way to spend a Sunday morning. Hopefully, I will see some of you car lovers out there, and if you've got an Italian or French car sitting in the garage, by all means bring it out and park with the rest of us. Otherwise, just stroll through the park and enjoy the many dozens of interesting cars. Jay Leno always shows up in something extraordinary and outrageous. There is food and coffee trucks as well as restrooms, and the show is FREE to attend as a viewer, and I think $20.00 to display a car. Come on out!

 

Great picture. One of De Tomaso's nephews lives in MA and brings his De Tomaso Longchamp to cars and coffee. He has a lot of interesting stories of working at Maserati during their tenure over the summers. Such a different era of automotive manufacturing.

 

Longchamps are certainly a rarity, especially in this country. Now that the De Tomaso brand is being revived, it will be interesting to see what they bring forth. That picture of my Pantera was taken at last year's show a couple of days after I got it back from restoration. For a fifty year old design, I still think it looks as fresh and contemporary as anything being produced today.

 

I wish I would be there with my low mileage 08 612 HGTC, but I am a bit too far from 😎

 

Make it a long weekend trip. Beautiful car, by the way.

 

How do you like that car? It was a consideration for me when l bought the Rapide. Never got a chance to drive a 612. I am in love with the F12, but it would be a few years before I am affording one of those.

 

The best car I have ever driven. Here a couple sound clips.....

 

Try again, please. Video failed.




UPDATED: Both work now. Sounds great!

 

I was at a cars and coffee event with 2 612's next to my Rapide and neither sounds as raucous on start up as the Aston, but I did not get to hear them take off. I find the Aston to have a more event like start up be it in V8 or V12 over the Ferrari. The on the road sound, I don't know at that point, but are probably similarly cool and loud?

 

Stockearly 612 exhaust were quite, later ones with sports exaust came with HGTC / HGTS were louder. HGT2 sports exhausts from MY08 were best sounded. Mine has custom made 6-1 FI style headers, high flow cats and Capristo remote valves control. It'svery, very loud valves open and @8Krpm sound is really high pitch like Formula F1s from 90s... Measured 126db . About 600hp.

 

Those are a work of art! Capristo is top shelf; wow. Your videos sounds more fierce than the ones I see at the local car shows. The local service manager at AM (use to be at Ferrari) was on the fence about the 599. He likes it a lot, but the Enzo derived engine and shocks are gamble. Is that your impression?

 

That exhaust system is gorgeous and I'm sure sounds every bit as good as it looks. When I went through the modification/restoration of my Pantera, I had some decisions to make. A frequent change to the exhaust in Panteras is the installation of 180* headers with the "bundle of snakes" over the top of the engine and exiting through a vent designed for the air conditioning blower on a Pantera. I chose to replace the headers and exhaust with the more conventional under engine layout because the menacing look of those upturned angled exhaust tips is a legendary part of the Pantera's agrressive stance. And also because you lose the generous luggage compartment that sits on top of the transaxle. I was not willing to do that. My car is exceptionally loud and aggressive, much more so than any Aston, Ferrari, Lambo or the like. Today, when I started the car to leave the show, one young boy was so startled that he ran away from the car scared and unsuspecting of the calamity. One of these days I'll get my son to record its ferociousness and post it. Nevertheless, there are many great sounding vehicles that arrive at that sound in different ways, all good. I left my camera in my friend's car which i'll pick up in the morning. Tomorrow I'll post pictures from the show today..