Mention Brumos Racing to anyone in motorsports and they’ll immediately think of Hurley Haywood and Peter Gregg’s dominating success in the Porsche 911 of the late 1960s and early ’70s, but the story starts long before they arrived on the scene, and continues to this day. Sean Cridland has catalogued the entire history of Brumos in a packaged set of three books – one can only call it a compendium – with amazing attention to detail and unparalleled access to company and personal records.                         

The salient thing to know about this set of books is that it’s almost 1,500 pages long, and there’s no fluff. This is a detailed history with no stone left unturned, supported by documents and photographs that could only come from the Brumos company archives and the people who lived this history.  
                       
Through it all, Cridland has an easy, conversational writing style that reflects his long career as an automotive journalist. Readers of Porsche Panorama and Excellence magazines will have seen his byline many times, and he is also the co-author of Haywood’s autobiography, “Hurley: From the Beginning.”

The story begins with the Brundage family history in the 20th century, their relationship with the Curtiss aviation enterprise, and how they moved to Florida and got involved in Volkswagen car dealerships. The genesis of the Brundage Motors (“Bru-Mos”) name is covered from the earliest usage, with documentary evidence. One new thing I learned was that Hubert Brundage was instrumental in the creation of SCCA’s popular Formula Vee class, which is based on early 1960s VW running gear.                         

The Brundage story fills the first 300 pages – a solid book in its own right. Page 290 transitions the story to Gregg, at the time a 25-year-old Navy lieutenant who took over the Brumos Porsche dealership in 1965. Cridland presents a detailed background biography of Gregg, including the naval origin of his preferred racing number, 59. (Spoiler: It was the identification number of the USS Forrestal CV-59, the world’s first supercarrier.) The rest of the first volume, through page 463, covers Gregg’s life and career through 1969, including his first racing efforts with another young military man, Haywood.

The second volume is where this work really hits its stride. Starting in 1970, the Brumos team was involved in IMSA, SCCA, Trans Am, and Can Am racing, with Gregg and Haywood leading the charge and turning a solid team into a legend. This epoch of the Brumos story fills almost 500 pages, ending with Gregg’s tragic suicide in 1980, following a debilitating crash. Again, Cridland has access to documents that illustrate the entire story, and he does not gloss over the hard parts; he presents the facts as they happened. 

The final 500 pages in Volume 3 track the Brumos legacy from 1980 to the present, through a variety of series, sponsorships, ownership changes, and a cast of drivers selected from racing’s top echelons. The information in this volume fleshes out just how important an organization Brumos has remained over the past 40 years. Cridland gives some background to Haywood’s emergence as an advocate for LGBT issues, and why he ultimately decided to come out publicly. He also follows the original Porsche dealership as it changed hands and names, and the establishment of the Brumos Collection museum.  

The three-volume hardbound set comes with its own slipcase decorated in Brumos livery with Gregg’s number on the outside. The books are printed on archival-quality gloss-finish paper, with each page measuring 11 inches square, which provides enough space for the photos to be printed in exquisite high resolution. Detail-oriented readers will appreciate the fact that the volumes are indexed, and the photos credited.                         

I must emphasize the photos and reproductions of letters and documents. There are thousands of each, and it’s rare to see a page without illustration. The documents are impressive, including telegrams, receipts, contracts, and personal letters.  
                       
The bottom line is that Cridland has compiled the definitive story of Brumos. This is the masterpiece of a lifetime devoted to automotive history. Anything further on the topic will be a shadow of this work. Fans of Porsche, Brumos, Gregg, Haywood, and racing in general should consider this book set a cornerstone of their motorsports library.  

The book set is expected to be available in November, through the Brumos Collection BrumosBook.com. “The Brumos Edition” three-volume set we reviewed retails for $559.59. That edition will be a one-time print run of 1,500 copies. Additionally, there is the “Numbered Collector’s Edition” of 348 copies, which includes a fourth book of reference data and is signed by many important people in the Brumos story. That set retails for $959.59. Finally, there will be an “Ultimate Artist’s Edition” of only 10 copies with hand-painted slipcases, and the Brumos Collection requests personal inquiries for interest in those copies.  Jeff Zurschmeide

Mar/Apr 2021 edition
Issue #15 AutoMobilia Resource Magazine
Jeff Zurschmeide

But if you had told me that someone could get enough information together to write almost 300 pages about Jaguar key fobs in the 25-year period from 1955 to 1980, I’d have been incredulous. Yet here it is, gloriously published by Dalton Watson Fine Books. This is more than a photo book; it’s a reference work of great value to Jaguar enthusiasts and automobilia collectors generally.

In all, there are three separate editions of this book available from the publisher. The basic edition (shown here) is an embossed black hardback with an image dust jacket, all housed in the image-wrapped slipcase for $95. There’s also a Deluxe edition, signed & numbered, limited to 100 copies, made in the same binding for $135. For the serious collector, just five copies are available leatherbound and embossed, housed in a leather-wrapped and embossed slipcase for $650. All three are available from Dalton Watson at DaltonWatson.com or 847-945-0568.

​The result is a book that can take you to the next level of period correctness and authenticity in the complete presentation of your Jag. Beyond that, the information on production techniques and fob design will surely help any collector match a given fob of any brand to its proper era. ​

A thorough reading of this book may inspire any automobilia collector to take a closer look through the piles of old keyrings one occasionally encounters at a swap meet. Once you’ve seen Marston’s light, you’ll be looking for more than your preferred brand logo on a fob you like. You’ll be better able to recognize the true collectibles from the knock-offs. For Jag collectors, this is a must-have reference. For everyone else, it’s a useful treatise that will have you digging through your own box of old keys to take a fresh look at your stash.
​
Jeff Zurschmeide

The day Niki Lauda passed away, I went to my bookshelf and pulled down his treatise, The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving. It’s part memoir and part explication. That book got me thinking about the value of enjoying a good read, even if the story may be a little self-aggrandizing or jejune here and there. With that in mind, here are two books I believe have a place on any racing enthusiast’s shelf. 

Yet there’s much more to this story than mechanics. Lauda can’t help but bring himself to the project, bluntly stating his beliefs on every topic. Further, his prose occasionally tends toward the purple: “We Ferrari men belong body and soul to our engines – we devote every ounce of our energy and emotions to these artefacts of aluminium, magnesium, and steel.”  If that quote just made you smile, go get a copy of this book. 

From a collector’s perspective, you can take your pick of any number of printings. A first edition of the English-language version of this book sold on eBay for $118.75 in Feb. 2019. That was before Lauda’s death, and now there are some wild-eyed fantasy prices in the wake of his passing. Some asking prices are topping $500. However, with a little searching you can find a worn copy in the $40 range, but expect to pay about double for one in excellent condition

At least seven editions have been printed. It is available in paperback, though the hardback editions are much more common owing to their greater durability. There are at least four versions of the cover art, but the most common hardbound edition shows a young Moss looking out from a silver Mercedes-Benz W196 grand prix car circa 1955. 
​

Moss told his story to legendary journalist Ken Purdy, and Purdy created a narrative using quotes to denote Moss’ actual words. The book is really Purdy’s biography of Moss, but with more input from Moss than is typical. Purdy delves deeply into the mindset of the racing driver of the era, when none truly expected to survive to the ripe old age Sir Stirling enjoys today. The book also panders to the aristocratic playboy image that Moss and many drivers of his day cultivated. 

One of the attractive things about this book is the number of excellent vintage photos included. Noted racing photojournalist Jesse Alexander provided most of them. Finally, a complete table of Moss’ career racing results is included as an appendix. 

There are some silly prices asked online for this book, but it’s easy to find a hardcover copy for $10-$20 in good condition, and less for the paperback. One thing––don’t rely on the photo of the cover art to get the edition you want. Some carry a disclaimer that the photo is illustration only and the actual cover, binding, and edition may vary.      

Jeff Zurschmeide

My art collection started in the basement of a stranger’s home. I dropped into an estate sale because the man whose stuff was being sold had owned a British car parts business, and I figured (correctly) there would be some treasures in the mix. I didn’t expect to start an art collection.   

​Down in that basement, among innumerable racing and concours event posters, was a painting by British artist Dion Pears. The work depicts Captain George Eyston and Count Johnny Lurani driving the No. 39 MG Magnette K3 in the 1933 Mille Miglia. The asking price was well out of my budget, but the sale manager encouraged me to place a bid because no one else had expressed interest in the piece. I wrote down a figure I could afford and placed it in the bid box. At the conclusion of the sale, after a bit of negotiation, I purchased the painting. 

Who was Dion Pears? 

I had no idea who Dion Pears was when I bought that painting. Five more paintings and many more prints and posters later, I still don’t know much about him. According to the Motoringart.info website, he lived from 1929 to 1985 in Worthing, UK. He came from a family of ship painters, and is said to have suffered from agoraphobia. 

Pears is best known for his many works covering motorsports and the golden age of British motoring. He was prolific, painting every kind of car in every sort of venue. Most of his paintings are oils on canvas, but he was also known for watercolors and charcoal sketches, and did occasional work on board surfaces. He also painted sailing boats and ships, military air and naval scenes from the world wars, and English landscapes. 

Posters and Commercial Art
​
A few of Pears’ paintings were printed as posters in a series called “My Favorite Race.” Notably, there are posters of Stirling Moss at Monaco, John Surtees at the 1966 Belgian GP, and Mike Hawthorn at the 1955 Le Mans. Signed and numbered copies of these posters are easy to find and quite affordable. In addition, some of Pears art found its way onto event posters, magazine covers, and even promotional posters by Ford Motor Company and others. 

Who’s the Other Guy?  

Pears tended to depict specific moments in racing—the pass that won the race, or a notable corner. The primary subject is front and center, but often there’s another car in the background. Those background cars have their own stories. 

In the painting of Eyston in the MG, the car in the background is an Alfa Romeo, and Nuvolari won that race overall in the Alfa 8C 2300. The painting of Briggs Cunningham driving the E-Type Jaguar in the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, shows Phil Hill’s race-winning Ferrari 330 TRI/LM in the background. The poster of Surtees in Belgium has second-place Jochen Rindt chasing Surtees through the rain. The poster of Moss at Monaco shows second-place Richie Ginther following Moss through Massenet corner past the opera house. These details give depth to the art, or at least I think they do. 

Collecting Dion Pears

Most of Pears’ body of work remains in Britain. However, paintings come through auction houses frequently, averaging 1–2 pieces per month. Auction resources such as Invaluable.com and The-Saleroom.com aggregate many small auctioneers, and you can create a persistent search to notify you when pieces are listed. The same is true at eBay. 

Prices vary, but it’s rare to see a Pears painting go for more than $1,000. Typical prices for a 30”x39” oil painting are about $400-$500. Posters and prints typically trade well under $100. Famous drivers and scenes command higher prices. Landscapes and other-than-motorsports pieces tend to be less expensive.  JZ