Auto Design

Obviously, the American gentleman and car connoisseur Mr. Peter S. Kalikow loves cars and the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Two years ago he visited the Concorso with his brand new Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, subtly redesigned exclusively for him by Pininfarina.

Last year he returned to the Concorso with his stunning Ferrari 250 GT Serie 1, 1958 and went back home with a new trophy.

This year he is coming back again with a very intriguing car which story must be said.

When Mr. Kalikov visited the New York Auto Show in 1957, he became an instant fan of European cars. This passion led him to Alfred Momo of the New York Jaguar Garage, and a close friendship was to ensue. One day, some years later, Kalikov and Momo travelled to Italy, to drive cars and meet all the key personalities of the car world: Enzo Ferrari, Sergio Pininfarina, and the Orsi brothers. In 1967, Mr. Kalikow sought Momo’s opinion before deciding whether to order a new Aston Martin DBS and what emerged from their conversation was the happy idea of designing a sports car of their own. Against the advice of his family, Kalikow decided to build a four-seater GT for the American market to fill the gap between the spirited Ferrari and the luxurious and comfortable Rolls-Royce. In Pietro Frua he quickly found a designer and coachbuilder. The original plan to turn out 25 vehicles a year fell victim to high production costs and an ailing economic environment. And so just five cars were built, three of which remained in Peter S. Kalikow’s ownership. One of them will be participating at the Concorso on April 24 through 26.