The Boston Cup 2015 classic car show just passed on September 20 and this year I had the great honor of covering the event. The show was on the Boston Common in the bandstand area. It was a great day to have such a show and a great place too.
This show, the fourth so far, drew quite a lot of people out to enjoy the gathering of automotive splendor. The Boston Cup website, thebostoncup.com, confirms that it was the largest crowd they have had so far.
The Boston Cup was started by one Rich Doucette, a lover of all things automotive. He and his team put together a spectacular group of classic cars and motorcycles not just for the sake of their being old and rare, but for their essential beauty and elegance.
Herb Chambers “presented” the event and, really, if you want your event to be sponsored properly, you should have a big car guy like Herb on your side. Well, actually, he’s a bit more than just a “car guy.” He sells a lot of cars, which is what half of the show felt like. Chambers was displaying many of the exotic luxury cars that he has to sell. So, half of the show was devoted to looking at beautiful old cars and the other was to ogle the cars you never thought in a hundred years you would be standing next to. Herb brought the big guns and he wasn’t playing around one bit. There were Rolls-Royces, Lamborghinis, and Bentleys (including the new 2016 Bentley Mulsanne). He brought over the new Mercedes AMG GT, and there was a BMW i8, a really innovative car. Actually, the BMW i8 might have been the only hybrid there, but I might be mistaken on that.
Oh, and there was an Alfa Romeo 4C. I didn’t think I would see one in person until I was in my late forties looking online, (or whatever it is that we are using then) to purchase an old beaten down one with engine parts that are near impossible to find.
Herb not only brought the highlights of his dealerships, he brought over his McLaren F1, the coolest center-seated supercar I have ever seen. Did I not mention CENTER SEATING? It’s mind boggling. The driver sits in the car like an F1 racer, but the car around him is a McLaren supercar.
Next to Herb Chambers’ McLaren F1 was in fact another McLaren, the 12C in McLaren racing orange. That car is actually owned by a former McLaren team driver.
So, as you can tell, I had loads of fun, but I may have spent more time staring at “shiny and new” than I should have. I really do like and appreciate old cars, like a 90’s 911, or the beautiful Mercedes Benz 300SL with all its gull-winged glory.
I loved seeing cars that I never thought I would see in person, like a De Tomaso Pantera, or a 1937 Rolls Royce. I especially love finding a car that I have never heard of or seen like the MG F1 Magna from 1932, a beautiful car with metallic blue and beige cream to compliment it.
Yet, at the end of the day I’m a young guy who, at this moment, likes “shiny and new.” Rather than a glass of aged wine, for the moment, I’d rather take a shot from a new bottle of Jack Daniels and walk by that Alfa Romeo 4C another half-dozen times.