Editor-in-Chief's Note: I will return next week with a report on the current state of sports car racing - from the 12 Hours of Sebring - but this week WordGirl and I thought our readers would enjoy a report from John Thawley, AE's frequent photographic contributor. We've had the pleasure of offering our readers a glimpse of John's extraordinary talent for many years now, and his report from The Revs Institute, in Naples, Florida, is definitely worth the look, and read. We're sure you'll find it to be very enjoyable. We certainly did. - PMD

THE REVS INSTITUTE.

By John Thawley

Naples. Located in Naples, Florida, The Revs Institute is a mind-boggling tribute to the automobile. It exists, in their words, for "Elevating the study of the auto." And elevate they do. The 80,000-square-foot facility was purpose-built and again, in their words, "dedicated to achieving world-class excellence." Mission accomplished.

While visitors will certainly be blown away by The Collier Collection… over 100 influential cars… the facility also includes a private archive and research library comprised of over a million original documents and 20,000 book titles. All available to serious researchers both on-site and online. This includes books, periodicals, over 700,000 photographic images and ephemera.

And if that weren’t enough, there is a Revs program at Stanford University. The program is an academic interdisciplinary project that focuses on the automobile as a technical, industrial and aesthetic human achievement, as well as a social change agent and powerful historical force. You can learn more about the Revs Stanford program at revs.stanford.edu.

But lets get down to the most visual feature of Revs, The Collier Collection. This was my mission for today’s outing… and the only disappointment was I hadn’t allotted enough time.

I had heard about the Collier Collection when I first moved to the area, but getting access seemed to be a well-kept secret. Every lead ultimately fizzled out. Then just recently, a friend who runs a local photo club invited a few of us to visit The Revs Institute… all of a sudden, everything fell into place. Finally, The Collier Collection had found a home and a safe and secure way to present itself to the public.

For obvious reasons, the collection takes up a large portion of the 80,000-square-foot facility. It’s on three floors and is divided into four group exhibits:

AUTOMOBILITY: The Car. The Road and Modern Life
VITESSE: Sports Motoring and Motoring Sports
PORSCHE: Designed to Excel
REVS: Racing Cars and Racing Men

Trust me… while every important car might not be represented, every car represented is important. The New York Times recently declared this the finest sports car collection in a America. You can view quite a few of the cars on the Revs’ website at http://http://revsinstitute.org/the-collection/

Every detail of Revs raises the bar. The lighting, the displays and, most importantly, the access is a feast for the senses. There are no barriers to prevent you from standing toe to tire with the very first Porche 550-01, Clark Gable’s short-chassis 1935 Duesenberg SSJ or the very first Ferrari race car to be imported to the United States. The experience is like no other.

I arrived armed with two Leica rangefinders, an M (240) and an M9… one mounted with a 35mm and the other with a 90mm. I had originally planned on shooting only in black and white…. that was until I came face-to-face with the #23 Martini Racing 1971 Porsche 917… and the best part, it was unrestored. Oh my. For three hours I roamed around. There were times I didn’t know where to look first. The word incredible falls short.

I’ll definitely be going back. I think I could easily spend an hour photographing each car. 

Visiting hours are 10am-4pm, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. All visitors must reserve tickets for specific dates and times in advance. Regrettably, walk-up visitors cannot be accommodated. Reserve tickets online, or call (239) 687-REVS

For now, here is a humble offering of what I saw today. Enjoy.

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Dan Gurney's fabulous 1967 Eagle-Weslake Formula 1 car, part of the Collier Collection. As Peter says: "It's still the most beautiful F1 car of all time."

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Photo by Dave Friedman courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Sebring, Florida, March 26, 1966. The No. 1 Shelby American-entered Ford GT-X1 "roadster" driven by Ken Miles/Lloyd Ruby makes a scheduled night pit stop on its way to the win in the 12 Hours of Sebring Grand Prix of Endurance that year. The duo qualified fifth but went on to win by twelve laps. Walt Hansgen/Mark Donohue (No. 3 Holman & Moody Ford Mk II) finished second and Skip Scott/Peter Revson (No. 19 Essex Wire Corporation Ford GT) finished third. The pole-sitting No. 2 Shelby American Ford Mk II driven by Dan Gurney/Jerry Grant (Gurney couldn't get it started for the Le Mans start and had to charge from the back of the field) took over the lead of the race two hours after the start. Gurney and Miles put on a show of speed battling each other, until Carroll Shelby warned them to settle down. The Gurney/Grant machine led until the last lap, when the engine broke. Gurney pushed the machine - in the dark - across the finish line but the car was disqualified because it was illegal to do so. Watch a video of the race here.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD