Shown below are a few pictures of Tom Matano's Vallelunga car at the 1997 Concours Italiano in Carmel Valley, CA (a few miles south of Monterey.) This is an elegant (and expensive) yearly showing of Italian cars. It is part of the Monterey Weekend held each year in the month of August. 1997 featured the works of DeTomaso. Use above link for info on the next show.
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I guess Tom was a bit surprised to find that some people are actually named Vallelunga. He apparently did not believe me. I had to show him my drivers license to prove who I was! The photo on the left is me pulling out my wallet to prove this.
On the right is my son Daniel sitting in the car. He doesn't look too happy. This is probably just because he is a teenager but it could also be related to the fact that it was not easy to get inside this car. Comfort did not seem to be one of its strong points. Also note that I am only 5'8" tall. Tom is even shorter. This car is not made for tall people!
In the photo to the left, Tom is showing off the internal workings of the car. On the right is a closeup of the license plate and the Vallelunga & DeTomaso nameplate. I must say it was a bit strange seeing my name on a car. Of course, I guess if I had a name like Ford, Lincoln, or Mercedes it would be no big deal. However, when you go through life with such a difficult name that constantly gets mangled (at least in the US), it is nice to see some other application of the name. The fact that it is an interesting, cool, and somewhat "sexy" usage is that much more enjoyable and impressive...at least to me!