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11 minute read
GLICKENHAUS
from EQ. SUMMER 2021
by equicapmag
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, SCG, a producer of highquality automobiles, some fast, some rugged, and all designed with the car-enthusiast enduser in mind. See our exposé on the SCG Boot on Page 32.
LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION!
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TURNING A PASSION FOR CARS INTO A LEGENDARY BUSINESS
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WRITTEN BY DANIEL HILPERT
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MATT RABASSA
INTERVIEW FILMED AND EDITED BY DAN WAGNER
Daniel Hilpert speaks with Jim Glickenhaus in his showroom. Full interview on our website.
It’s a rainy day in the Hudson Valley when we pull up to the Glickenhaus factory tucked in between homes and small commercial buildings. The doors open and we stand in the midst of one of the most amazing collections of racing cars: the original 1967 Steve McQueen Baja Boot, a 1970 Dino Competizione by Pininfarina, 1966 LOLA T-70 SL 71-32, 2006 Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina and many more.
I sit down with Jim Glickenhaus—entrepreneur, fi lm director and producer, car manufacturer and philanthropist. As my crew sets up the stage, Jim checks the frame of the camera. My team is intimidated. We are in the presence of a great director.
Jim tells us how he got his career started in directing and producing fi lms. Profi ts from his pictures were prudently invested in his family’s Wall Street fi rm, Glickenhaus and Company. Excess cash fl ow was used to build a bespoke collection of vintage cars. One such car is a Ferrari 275 GTB. In 1971, Steve McQueen purchased the 275 GTB for $6,000 from Andy Warhol, now in Jim’s collection, today it’s valued at $2,500,000, a multiple of 415x. But, Jim says it still pales to what an early investor in Amazon
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or Facebook would have achieved. In 1960 you could have bought the entire IPO of Microsoft for $1,000,000. Of course, you’d need a certain time-travelling DeLorean in your collection to get those purchases made.
Jim retrofi tted the GTB with electric cooling fans to prevent overheating and softened the brake pads. And, in an act of civil disobedience to the looming national speed limit of 55mph in 1974 year, Jim and his 275 GTB hold the record, albeit unofficially, for driving from New York City to Boston in record time.
In the early 2000s, Jim turned that passion into a business. The Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003 is a homage to the great 1970s Ferrari racing cars that carried numerous 24 Hour of Le Mans and Daytona titles. Inspired by the Enzo, Ferrari’s 660 hp V12, Glickenhaus’ SCG 003 is powered by a 3.5-liter twin turbocharged V6 engine, tuned to deliver a maximum power output of 500 hp (373 kW).
I notice that Jim’s collection has the Ferrari P3/4 race car, the winner of the 24 hours of Daytona in 1967 and the legendary 1967 Ford MKIV J6, the last car made in the US to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Jim points out that it is the only car that fi nishes the race and it is currently in private hands. Jim has a great enthusiasm for fi lm and automobiles, so we shift to movies.
I know that Jim knew Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby, so I bring up Ford v Ferrari, one of my favorite racing movies. The plot follows a determined team of American and British engineers and designers, led by automotive designer Shelby and his British driver Miles, who are dispatched by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca with the mission of building the Ford GT40, a new racing car with the potential to fi nally defeat the perennially dominant Ferrari racing team at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France.
Jim says the movie is well done, but he goes on (as you’d expect from a combination automobile enthusiast, film director and producer) to point out that the movie was factually untrue. Dramatic tension was built up by having Miles screwed out of his win. But, in reality, Miles and Ford knew that Miles was a lap ahead and was not planning to make a tie. By asking Miles to slow down he was robbed, because no one looked at the timing sheet. Jim states that when you make a dramatic movie you have tremendous license, but also an obligation to be accurate.
I move the conversation along and ask about another of my favorite movies, Rush, a 2013 biographical sports film centered on the Hunt–Lauda rivalry between two Formula One drivers, the British James Hunt and
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2006 FERRARI P4/5 by Pininfarina
the Austrian Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula 1 motor-racing season. It was written by Peter Morgan, directed by Ron Howard and starred Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda.
Jim says this movie is very well done. Rush portrays the tension between the two rivals and is historically more accurate than Ford v Ferrari.
We turn our attention to the Steve McQueen boot; in my opinion, it’s the crown jewel of Jim’s collection. Jim tells us the original boot’s DNA is rooted in the Lunar Rover and was designed to race the Baja 1000. It derived its name from the ruggedness of its design. Steve McQueen purchased the boot in 1967. Jim says Steve was the real deal, when he did something, he was all in. He was a mechanic and he worked on his own car. He did his own stunts and raced the Baja.
Fifty years later, inspired by the Baja boot, Jim set his sights on designing a car that you can drive on the road as well as at the Baja 1000. He adds that Glickenhaus is known for manufacturing race cars that you can drive on the road. The Glickenhaus team pays tribute to the original Boot with a reversed engine north to south which gives it a lower center of gravity and balance.
I tell Jim I’ve seen the documentary Dust to Glory to brush up on Baja, but that I’d like firsthand opinion. Jim replies that Baja is the oldest, continuous off-road race in the world— and probably the most diffi cult test of a vehicle.
The Glickenhaus team has finished the Baja in under 20 hours. I ask Jim for his secret sauce and he confides that it’s the slightly larger wheel (39–40 inches) and that the Glickenhaus boot runs full time in four-wheel drive. If it holds up mechanically, the result is signifi cantly improved speed.
Next we turn to the unavoidable question of electrifi cation. Jim agrees that electric cars will be a major mode of transportation in the future. He says, “At Glickenhaus we make sailboats.” It’s a throw back vehicle to a different time in history when pure mechanical objects mattered and powered the experience whether during a Sunday drive on a winding road or out on the race track. For the time being, Glickenhaus cars will be powered by combustion engines.
Jim acknowledges that electric cars have an enormous acceleration, but he thinks they’re inferior to traditional combustion engines due to the fact that electric cars are significantly heavier. Electric cars underperform on the Nürburgring both in lap time and agility in the turns.
1966 FERRARI P3/4 0846
All with provenance and a story behind them, the collection is a magnificent snapshot of automobile history.
1966 LOLA T-70 SL 71-32
1967 Ford MKIV J6
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2010 SCG P4/5 Competizione
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1931 Duesenberg Chassis J446
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Jim has a somewhat critical view of the EV industry and its dirty little secret: it takes far fewer people to assemble an electric car than a mechanical car; and big companies would love it if they were able to get rid of one third of the workforce. No one talks about this or the energy used. Where is electricity generated world wide? Coal and repressive places in the world to produce batteries. There are issues with the treatment of the labor force in lithium mines. He acknowledges that Musk is paying attention and trying to source his parts in an ethical way.
Before we wrap up our conversation I want to better understand the vision behind the business model. Jim explains that his son Jesse joined the business and is a driving force behind building up the brand and ramping up production—especially for the street level Glickenhaus boot—to 200–300 cars annually. The company has sold 30 next generation sports cars in the $400,000 to $600,000 price range, a comparable price tag to Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin.
Jim describes Glickenhaus customers as car aficionados who love mechanical objects and want to be part of a company that builds and races cars. The new Glickenhaus boot will appeal to lifestyle buyers very much like myself. You throw a surf board on top and a dirt bike in the back. Driving the boot through sand is like skiing in deep powder. The luxury version boasts leather seats and a sound system. Yes, I can defi nitely see myself at Ditch Plains. EQ.
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The cockpit of the 1966 FERRARI P3 converted to a P4 engine, on chassis 0846.
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THE CLASSIC, JIM’S 1957 CHEVROLET BELAIR CONVERTIBLE, PERFECT FOR DRIVING WITH THE TOP DOWN TO PICK UP BURGERS AND SHAKES.
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THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME
410 OX PASTURE ROAD
SOUTHAMPTON
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AD LOCATED IN SOUTHAMPTON’S
HISTORIC ESTATE SECTION
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A gorgeous 1.8 acre parcel with incredibly manicured grounds designed by renowned Landscape Architect Dean Gomolka. Perfectly positioned along Ox Pasture Road makes an ideal setting for this immaculate 15,352 sq ft home. The entry foyer opens into the formal living room with coffered ceilings and an oversized brick hearth fireplace. Entertaining is made seamless with smart technology that is embedded throughout the home coupled with the grand chefs eat in kitchen, which comes complete with custom marble countertops, prep areas and high end appliances from Wolf, Subzero and Miele. The rest of the first floor is comprised of a generous family room, a custom ebony paneled library with a wet bar and built in floor to ceiling bookshelves, plus a junior master suite with custom walk in closets and a soaking tub. Guests have their rooms of choosing as the second floor is outfitted with four additional en-suite bedrooms, a 2 room guest suite and a generous master suite which features his/her bathrooms, separate walk in closets and a private covered balcony. The magic continues as we head down to the lower level which boasts a massive 22 seat movie theater! Perfect for those rainy days. There also is a full size gym with a sauna and steam shower to enjoy plus an additional oversized media room with a full marble bar and custom sliding doors that open to a 17x23ft lower level terrace. Additional features include a wine closet, laundry room, an oversized cedar closet for storage, and staff quarters. For those enjoyable summer days there is an sunken har-tru tennis court and a heated gunite pool surrounded by beautiful bluestone patio. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own one of Southampton’s treasured estate properties. properties. WebID 1329428 $21,500,000
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AD 37 GEORGICA ROAD EAST HAMPTON EAST HAMPTON ELEGANCE
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Located in the Georgica Estate section of East Hampton Village, this luxurious gated 9,312 sqft estate offers so much more than just it’s prime location. With 9 bedrooms, 8 full, and 2 half bathrooms- this new construction easily surpasses everyday expectations. The open layout of the main level combined with double-height ceilings, an abundance of oversized windows and sliding glass doors enables the natural light to flow throughout. The large gourmet chef’s kitchen, with integrated appliances and a waterfalledge countertop island, presents a modernized sophistication without compromising capability. The breakfast area, kitchen island seating, and formal dining room with the connected 99-bottle wine room allows functionality for all occasions. Additionally, the main level features a junior master suite fully equipped with a walk-in closet, and a generous full bathroom. The upper level features the master suite, with a private terrace and outdoor wood-burning fireplace, an additional junior master suite, three guest suites, and laundry room. The fully finished lower level presents a media room, wet bar/concession area, gym, guest suite, two staff bedrooms and two full bathrooms. WebID 1780628 $14,495,000