by Mike Gulett –
Frequent My Car Quest contributor Wallace Wyss has announced that, at his Art & Books booth at Concorso Italiano August 19th in Seaside, just North of Monterey, he has chosen the theme of “Ferrari vs. Ford.”
Prototype Ferrari – art by Wallace Wyss
Each print will be of one of his paintings of his favorite cars from the epic battles of Ferrari vs. Ford that took place at LeMans in the mid-and-late 1960s.
Gulf sponsored GT40, LeMans winner – art by Wallace Wyss
“My enthusiasm was sparked by the front engined cars that led up to the ultimate confrontation,” he says, “when the Ferrari 250GTOs ran against the Cobra Daytona coupes, so I am heavy on those models, including the rarely depicted Series 2 GTO.”
“But as we all know, by 1964 as far as the possibility of taking first overall, ” says Wyss, “the weapon of choice for both Ford and Ferrari was the mid-engined cars like the Ferrari 250LM and later P3 and P3/4 going up against the Ford GT40 Mk.I, II and IV…
Shelby 289 Cobra Team Car – art by Wallace Wyss
“I’m not depicting any specific cars by SN, hence some have no racing numbers in the roundels. My goal is to try to capture the overall essence of the car.”
Starting in 1966, Ford won the battle at the Sarthe for four years in a row, the last two years–1968 and 1969–bankrolled by Gulf Oil, and not involving Shelby. Ford’s contribution was loaning an engine or two.
First 427 Cobra with small block grille – art by Wallace Wyss
Wyss, wearing his writer hat, has authored three books on Shelby, Cobras and GT40s. One of the books was optioned by a Hollywood TV producer but they didn’t buy it, opting to do a sci-fi series instead. Nevertheless he supports Hollywood’s new interest in the battle.
DISNEY NEW FEATURE DUE NOV. 15, 2019
“I am betting that the new Disney feature film, directed by James Mangold, tentatively called “Ford v. Ferrari”, and due out in the theaters Nov. 15th, will be a blockbuster, recovering maybe half of its $80 million cost the first weekend,” says Wyss.
“If that happens, I predict that it will spawn a whole new generation of fans for Sixties endurance racing and, at old car events, there will be a lot more interest in the cars like Shelbys, Cobras and GT40s and in the ’60s racers of Enzo Ferrari,” says Wyss. “I can even see the original combatants lined up for future vintage races at Monterey or Goodwood in 2020. That’s what fans who weren’t even born in the ’60s will want to see.”
Competition 289 Cobra – art by Wallace Wyss
With only four months to go until Monterey, Wyss is torn over which cars to paint portraits of: “I could depict more modern Ferraris of the ’70s through the ‘oughts, but since the ’60s racers were the cars that lit my fire so to speak, I am drawn to covering the Americans trouncing the European automakers on their own turf. It’s worth mentioning now that, in the fifty plus plus years since 1966, Ferrari has not won a first overall again at LeMans. They were that bad.”
1965 Cobra Coupe at LeMans – art by Wallace Wyss
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
THE ARTIST: For an advance peek at Wyss’ art work being prepared for Monterey, write mendoart7@gmail.com
Ferrari 250 GTO Series 2 – art by Wallace Wyss
Donate to My Car Quest – Click Here
Speak Your Mind