Sports Car Digest Holiday Gift Guide 2010

By Will Silk

It’s that time of year again when the sound of unrestricted race engines at full song begins to grow faint as yet another year in the collector car hobby and vintage racing scene draws to a close. With it comes the holiday season, which is why we have compiled the 2010 Holiday Gift Guide to assist readers in getting a head start on the next great race, the shopping race that continues through December 24th.

What follows are some stunning gift ideas for those interested in the classic car scene, everything from posters and automotive art, to scale replicas and books for those long winter nights next to the fireplace. Happy Holidays!

Can-Am Cars in Detail Book
So let’s get things started with a bit of Can-Am thunder straight from our newest contributor, Pete Lyons. Pete joined with professional museum photographer (and 2x SCCA driving champ) Peter Harholdt and David Bull Publishing to offer a beautiful, high-quality book entitled “Can-Am Cars in Detail”. Pete provides the written accounts of the 22 featured big bangers, while Harholdt’s all-new studio photography captures them in full and captivating detail as they survive today. The high quality 11×11, 244-page, 159 photo masterpiece filled with these iconic fire breathing machines is available for just $99.95.

Copies personally signed by the author are available through www.petelyons.com, as are individual photos from Pete’s historic racing archive plus his out-of-print books and the Duke Video DVD “Can-Am Thunder.”

Paul Chenard Artwork
Artist Paul Chenard brings two of his spectacular works of art for the 2010 holiday season. The first is entitled “Scuderia Ferrari-French Gran Prix 1934” and is a wonderful rendition of a look back to that incredible moment in Ferrari history. The original is available in pen and ink, marker and pencil on archival stock in a 12”x 9” size and at a price of $450 plus shipping. Paul is also offering a limited edition run of 50 Giclee archival prints in a 14.5”x 11” size at $150 USD each, plus shipping.

Paul is also offering a limited edition of 100 Giclee archival prints in 22”x 11.5” size of “Solitude ’64 Formula 1”. This dazzling image captures the moment at full wet intensity and depicts four of the 1960s finest Formula 1 Champions cutting through the mist that day 46 years ago. At just $150 USD plus shipping, this selection will make a fine addition to any Formula 1 fans art collection. You can get yours by contacting Paul direct paul.chenard@hotmail.com or by visiting www.automobiliart.blogspot.com.

Dennis Gray Vintage Car Racing Calendar
Dennis Gray needs no introduction here as he is Sports Car Digest’s Senior Photographer. Dennis has dazzled us with some stellar pictures of our favorite events over the years and this year he once again has managed to find the time to assemble the Sports Car Digest 2011 Vintage Car Racing Calendars just in time for the holidays.

The calendars offer a look back to the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival and the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, with Dennis’s captivating photos capturing some of the brightest and most significant cars that were on track throughout the year. Priced at $39.99 (including shipping to U.S. and Canada), these large 13 x 10.5 inch calendars are printed on heavy, significant paper to produce crisp images with deep colors.

To order any Dennis Gray calendar, send payment via PayPal to dennisgray711@me.com or via cash/check to:

GrayInColor
903 Pine St., Ste. 30
San Francisco, CA. 94108

Please include your shipping address in the PayPal message field or with your check. Orders received and paid for by December 16th will be delivered by December 24th.

For more information, visit Dennis Gray Vintage Car Racing Calendar.

A2Z Racer Gear
While Tony Adamowicz can often be found driving the lines at tracks across North America, Tony also heads up an online vintage racing apparel business known as A2zracergear. Tony’s products range from the Gulf Team Jacket, a replica of the very jacket that was used by drivers and crew of the immortal Gulf-Wyer Team in sports car racing during the late 1960s and early 1970s; to a full line of casual shoes to be used while trekking about the paddock at you favorite track. Be sure to check out his website at www.a2zracergear.com.

BS Levy – 200 MPH Steamroller Book
For the sports car and vintage racing reader out there, BS Levy offers his newest book in the long-line of novels from The Last Open Road series. The “200mph Steamroller” is both the fifth novel in author/racer BS Levy’s cult-classic The Last Open Road series and also the first volume of a brand-new trilogy. The story picks up right where the last book, “Toly’s Ghost” ends; but takes off in a new, different and utterly hilarious direction. As in the other books in the series, the lives, antics and adventures of Levy’s fictional characters are woven into an accurate and well-researched re-creation of motorsports history. If you’ve read and enjoyed the other books in the series, you’ll surely want this one. If not, you really need to start at the beginning with “The Last Open Road”. You’ll be glad you did.

All of the books are available through book stores and online, but you can get signed and personalized copies (complete with those famous decals) from the website at www.lastopenroad.com or by phone order at (708) 383-7203.

True Scale Miniatures
For the toy and diecast collector, we recommend visiting True Scale Miniatures (www.truescalemini.com), a division of Sunrich Toy and Hobby, for some incredible diecast replicas. While still a young company, True Scale Miniatures has brought to market some incredibly significant replicas in both 1:43 scale, as well as 1:18 scale. Once you find something you like, contact Wesley Miller directly at wesley@truescalemini.com and tell him that Sports Car Digest sent you.

Vintage Auto Posters
Looking for a bit of nostalgia to hang on the walls this holiday season? Try Vintage Auto Poster for a great array of classic and original automotive posters from years gone by. Whether it’s an original ad for Dunlop Tires circa 1930s, or a race poster for the 1973 Targa Florio; the staff at Vintage Auto Poster promises the highest quality of distinctly original vintage auto posters on the planet.

For more information, visit www.vintageautoposters.com.

Louis Galanos Calendar
Louis Galanos is no stranger to the readers of Sports Car Digest. Lou’s epic articles have captivated all of us at some point or another with his innate ability to take us back in time to some of the most spectacular racing the world has ever seen. This year, Lou has taken some of his vintage photos and created a “limited edition” vintage racing calendar that covers the 24-Hours of Daytona and Sebring from 1969 to 1973. The calendar includes photos of Porsche 917s, Ferrari 512s, Matra-Simca MS670s, Mario Andretti in his 512 Ferrari, Steve McQueen and his Porsche 908, John Greenwood’s Corvette, Mark Donohue in his Penske Ferrari 512M, Alfa-Romeo T33/TT/3s and many more.

The calendar is in large format and is 20″ x 13″ open and each calendar photo page is 13″ x 10. Print quality is good with the pages suitable for framing.

Price for this limited edition vintage calendar is $40.00 USD and that includes shipping and handling in the U.S. To order a calendar, email Louis Galanos at louisgalanos@gmail.com.

Dana Forrester Artwork
Dana Forrester has a signature style that has become widely acclaimed in the automotive hobby. Dana’s work depicts a classic, iconic car parked sedately in front of some very scenic brick backgrounds. “The Red Jaguar” features a red Jaguar XKE roadster. I’ve captured the reflections of the Jaguar’s exotic shape and the wire wheels while parking the car before a brick wall advertising a distinctively British Gin.

The price structure of Dana’s work ranges from an unframed 11”x17” Giclee print for $100 (plus $14 shipping) all the way to a 26”x40” unframed gallery wrap canvas that sells for $600 (plus $50 shipping). More of Dana’s work can be found at www.danaforrester.com.

We hope this Holiday Gift Guide provides all of our readers with some much focused assistance in their holiday shopping. Happy Holidays!