**A Visit to the Marconi Automotive Museum**

The Marconi Automotive Museum is an awe-inspiring place to visit, especially for car enthusiasts. As I stepped inside, I was greeted by a vast collection of iconic Italian cars that are sure to leave anyone's face agog. One of the first exhibits that caught my attention was the Ferrari 355, which had undergone significant modifications, showcasing its unique style and features.

As I made my way through the museum, I came across another notable exhibit - the contact. What struck me about this particular car was its various bumper styles available for different years, particularly in the US market. The distinct differences in design were a fascinating aspect to explore. One of these cars was indeed a Ferrari, but not just any model - it was the 550 Maranello, exuding elegance and sophistication with its sleek design.

Another exhibit that caught my eye was the Dino 246 GTS Daytona Spider. What immediately struck me about this car was the vibrant color scheme - red leather interior paired with yellow exterior paintwork. This unique combination added to the car's overall charm, making it a standout in the collection. As I continued my tour, I noticed another interesting display: the Ferrari 365 Daytona.

However, there was one car that truly stole the show for me - the Ferrari F50. With its powerful 4.7-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine, manual gated shifter, and removable roof panel, this car represented ultimate perfection in my book. The unique features of this model, such as the clear view through the deck lid and carbon weave bodywork, only added to its allure.

But Ferrari wasn't the only Italian car on display - I also had the opportunity to explore a beautiful collection of Ducatis, including the iconic late 90s Senna model. What struck me about this bike was its striking resemblance to another object that held significant meaning for me: my McLaren Center's Double S graphic logo. It was a delightful surprise and a testament to the close ties between Italian cars and racing heritage.

As I explored further into the museum, I came across other notable exhibits, including some impressive Harleys. The display also extended up in this direction, showcasing various models that were sure to captivate any enthusiast. As someone with more experience in the realm of four-wheeled vehicles, I was eager to explore and learn more about these exhibits.

One particular aspect of the museum's setup caught my attention - the way it had been designed to facilitate hosting events and raising money for charity through various means, such as toy runs, coffee gatherings, and car meetups. The fact that Vince, one of the organizers, was able to share his passion with me only added to the experience.

Additionally, I was fortunate enough to speak with Vince's sister Monique, who provided valuable insights into the museum's collection and the efforts being made to raise funds for local charities. As we chatted, it became clear that this was more than just a car show - it was an opportunity to bring people together through their shared love of cars.

Finally, I had the chance to explore one of the museum's lesser-known exhibits: a pen and Farina creation based on the 512M from the 90s. As someone interested in the technological side of this era, I was fascinated by the development of automatic clutch systems, such as dual-clutch transmissions (DCTs). It was astounding to learn about the challenges that had to be overcome in order to bring these innovations to life.

With only one person in the world at that time able to make such advancements happen, it's no wonder that this exhibit stood out as a testament to human ingenuity and determination. As I concluded my visit to the Marconi Automotive Museum, I left with a newfound appreciation for the dedication of Vince and his team to creating an immersive experience for car enthusiasts.

**The Ultimate Ferrari Experience**

If you're ever in the area, make sure to stop by the Marconi Automotive Museum. With its vast collection of iconic Italian cars and charitable events, this museum is a must-visit destination for any car enthusiast. Be sure to follow the museum's social media accounts to stay up-to-date on upcoming events and new exhibits.

**A Unique Display of Ducati Bikes**

One exhibit that caught my eye was the late 90s Senna Ducati model, which bore an uncanny resemblance to another object I hold dear - my McLaren Center's Double S graphic logo. It was a delightful surprise and a testament to the close ties between Italian cars and racing heritage.

**The Museum's Setup**

As someone with more experience in the realm of four-wheeled vehicles, I was eager to explore and learn more about the museum's setup. One aspect that caught my attention was the way it had been designed to facilitate hosting events and raising money for charity through various means, such as toy runs, coffee gatherings, and car meetups. The fact that Vince, one of the organizers, was able to share his passion with me only added to the experience.

**Car Enthusiast Heaven**

The Marconi Automotive Museum is a true haven for car enthusiasts. With its vast collection of iconic Italian cars and charitable events, this museum is a must-visit destination for anyone who shares my passion for vehicles. Whether you're a seasoned enthusiast or just starting your journey, the museum's exhibits are sure to captivate and inspire.

**A Museum Worthy of Attention**

In conclusion, the Marconi Automotive Museum is an awe-inspiring place that showcases some of the most iconic Italian cars in history. With its charitable events and charity-driven initiatives, this museum stands out as more than just a car show - it's an opportunity to bring people together through their shared love of cars.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi guys I'm shmee hello and welcome back to the channel will you joining me today here in Orange County California at the Marconi Automotive Museum we're in an extraordinary room filled with Incredible cars that we're going to be taking a look through today including sitting right center stage a Ferrari that you probably never even knew existed in fact one of three cars here that were formerly part of the royal family of brunei's collection that we're going to be able to take in but we've got everything from my favorite car in the world the Ferrari F50 threw plenty of Italian Exotica we've got American muscle cars race cars of all sorts including some Formula One cars plus as I mentioned right there a car that we're going to spend a bit of time checking out today on our visit here to the Marconi Automotive Museum foreign yet mentioned the other cars like the TWR xj220s the 300 SL Gullwing some of the movie Cars like the Batmobile and kit but we shall get to those along with this Trio Center Stage which have me truly intrigued the more that I've been finding out about some of that story but here we are the Marconi Automotive Museum founded by dick Marconi and his son John it is now run along with the foundation by John and both his son Vince and also daughter Monique they host different events it's an event space as well also being open as a museum and supporting charity as well through all of this preserving it for the future and let's go for a Whistle Stop tour really this is a lovely Ferrari F12 Berlinetta the color is Rosso Marinello livrea it looks magnificent of course next to that is an icon and a half the Ferrari F40 an absolute Legend distinct wedge shape you can see the weave through the paintwork it's a lovely lovely thing we then continue through this way the boxer the 512 BBI now next to that quite an intriguing pair of testarossas which will tie us through to where we're headed shortly firstly the 512 TR which was effectively the facelift the refresh of its predecessor the Testarossa there was also the 512m now this car was actually driven quite extensively and would at the time have had the single mirror style it was actually changed to have the Dual mirror because that was preferred the reason for the cars and the choice behind the Cars is down to what appealed at the time what was interesting loads of racing and in fact we'll get to some cool racing cars as well up top we have an f355 there are a few of those about I think that kind of era really cool screaming V8 in that thing but then look at this race cars mounted up high on the walls such an awesome display in fact cars that are all driven and have been run I think this bright pink chevron has even set some lap records around a Willow Springs button Willow some of the circuits in the California area if we keep coming through though this is a highlight for me I love my 1960s Mustang we've got a 65 Shelby GT350 one of those at some point in the future would be amazing next to that the Morris mini Miner as well we're going to head through also to the race shop very shortly where things are even in progress and happening over that away to quickly draw attention to these two Batmobile this is crazy to see this is one of the original cars that was actually used and it's here as part of the display along with Knight Rider kit right alongside also if we come this way probably my favorite classic of all time Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing sitting over the top of a data maso Pantera but that paint color is gorgeous that is a really nice shade we've then got another database Pantera that's a GTS over the top of one of its wedge-shaped siblings we could say the quickly rising in popularity BMW M1 love to see that to keep coming up in conversation at the moment which is really quite nice we've then got a 1930s fire truck as you do I love that diversity of cars we've gone from Batmobile to 300 SL to data Marcos M1 and a fire truck the display continues here as you can see with plenty of other cars I don't think we have time today to go through absolutely everything but the beauty is that the Marconi Automotive Museum are sharing things as well about all of these cars if you'd like to find out more let's skip through over this way though to come to this the Jaguar xj220s by TWR they only made six of these there were three done retrospectively a few years after delivery one of which belongs to my friend Max Cooper which is actually sitting in my garage right at this time but this is one of the original six in the bright red paintwork it's crazy to think super lightweight 1100 kilos or so that's in pounds two and a half thousand pounds but still with nearly 700 horsepower incredible to think about through the middle here a Bondurant Driving School Corvette Hemi cudas Plymouth Prowler this 348 is actually quite fun this is the very car and part of the inspiration really behind the collection that won the first year of the Ferrari Challenge Series here in the US of course with the marconis it's here as part of the collection and opened up the opportunity to purchase some of the other cars that are around as well if we squeeze on over this way Mustang Mach 1 from 1970 more Mustangs but I want to come down here because there's so much cool memorabilia as well above the DMC DeLorean have a look up on the wall some of the artwork there art by Dano alongside the race suits as well and different bits of clothing and memorabilia and that's a big part of the museum and an opportunity to take all of the sin this however is a special area F1 cars 1996 Ferrari car driven by Schumacher and Irvine from that year one of the seven cars this car is a mansible car from 1985 Williams fw10 but sat right here and then up on the wall is a center 1988 car which is amazing and the Marlboro Livery some indie cars as well there's an Isetta tucked in at the end beyond the Ferrari I believe that's a 195 s yes that's the one all the checkered flags up on the wall here at the top those are all from the race wins back at the time that horse is actually made out of the bumper parts of cars which is also really quite awesome but this is as you can imagine a space that can turn into an event venue that's what it's used for often here in Orange County here just beneath south of Los Angeles a few more cars to point out General Lee I think many know that back on the movie car theme Dukes of Hazard the Lamborghini Espada purple is definitely a theme here with the colors the Ferrari 348 just here and also that car mounted up on the wall a Lotus single seat car we've then got the Maserati Bora we've got a 964 we've got the uh Mondial yes Ferrari Mondial a few other cars around but you know what I think we need to explain the three right here the chazetta the Ferrari FX and the Ferrari 456 spider this is a trio the gisetta marota v16t the Ferrari FX and the 456 spider now I have previously seen in London one of the 456 venices the estate the wagon the shooting break that were made and I don't know the full story but I'm sure many of you are aware of the Brunei collection of cars and in fact how much time and money was spent with bespoke Builds on Ferrari platforms particularly back in the 80s the 90s creating one-off cars in partnership with pin and Farina in fact spending tens of millions to create things that were really advanced in terms of Technology but also bespoke machines and sat right here is one of those the Ferrari FX based on the Testarossa Platform One of only six and the only one to quote the phrase that escaped from the jungle that is out there a car that in so many ways was ahead of its time and we're going to explore that in just a moment next to it is one of the 456 spiders the 456 was Ferrari's four-seat car the predecessor to the FF the GTC 4 lasso and now the poorer sanguay but this is with a difference this went to pin and Farina to be completely converted and to run you through what I mean by that it normally had a roof and in fact it still has a roof it's been re-engineered for the folding roof mechanism of the Mercedes SL that's in there but also that required a gearbox change so it's been re-engineered mechanically to have the sl's gearbox as the standard Ferrari gearbox at the back wouldn't allow space for the roof mechanism to actually fit as you come have a look inside as well to show you a little bit more of this the seats are effectively from the 7 Series even the seat controls that you have here are from the 7er at the time that you have on the doorway with pin and Farina pulling this all together making this completely bespoke vehicle and come and have a look at the back and before you do no jokes about the Fiat barketta the design is definitely slightly resembling that but totally new look totally new design totally new style created for the Brunei royal family this is one of these three cars which escape the jungle at one point in time and have been part of the Marconi collection for an extended period next to it though is this the FX this is based on a Testarossa it's actually a really cool looking thing we're talking a long time ago but with a particular bit of engineering which wouldn't even find its way into later Ferrari models for a couple more years and if you come through and take a look at that it's the gearbox this went to Williams Grand Prix who engineered a paddle shift gearbox with a shifter reminiscent of that found in the 992 Porsche 911s but with paddles on the back of the steering wheel a couple of years before Ferrari made their own F1 box now this car is powered by the testarossa's 4.9 liter flat 12. in fact I can very delicately open this up because this car is extremely valuable as you can imagine but inside here you can see that engine it's going to put this into place to hold it purely opened but this has all had to be completely reworked you can see various elements of the Hydraulics inside here but all done afresh everything from the mechanical side of it all of the engineering to do with that gearbox to the carbon fiber that you have here around the intakes of course critical for getting the airflow through considering the movements of different coolers and the change of the Bodywork on the outside but obviously based around the Ferrari engine and badged at the time as a Ferrari because I think we all know the company back then created these projects there were always stories about the left-hand drive to right-hand Drive conversions of f40s and 288 GTOs and the different one-off colors the cars that were outside of the official build numbers but so much of it is shrouded in mystery out there in the warehouses in Brunei with these cars it's amazing to be able to see this and to see the full exposed carbon fiber of the Bodywork and you know we're talking decades ago with the creation of this but presented so beautifully as well going to close this back down carefully as I possibly can conscious of what it is what it represents and how careful I need to be with it making sure that's in place but normally on the tester also you have all of those sliding horizontal lines obviously for the cooling so that's had to be redirected and remanaged as it goes through the car but it's such an unusual thing to look at and to see and again bespoke paint colors back at the time the duct here obviously again managing the cooling through full body work and carbon fiber everything underneath in carbon fiber as well and prior to learning about this specifically here at the Marconi Automotive Museum I didn't know that that car existed I didn't know about the Ferrari FX we know the FXX we know the FXX k but that's the FX which was part of this huge project that the Brunei family had with pin and Farina to go ahead and make these and I've seen a 456 Venice in London in fact many of the car spotters in central London have seen it over the years driving around but the majority of these cars remain unknown the stories aren't out there we don't know the details it would be the ultimate dream to head and have a look through some of those warehouses a few cars have circulated like the 288 GTO that is painted in black with red pinstriping around the outside completely different to any of the other cars recently with DK Engineering in the UK but let's move to this the chisetta they're only 11 in total in the world I think eight original cars three that followed originally with v16s this car was supposed to be number five of the eight it was actually changed away from the V16 to a Ferrari V12 unfortunately owing to some travel damage that it sustained but again a very unusual car very Diablo esque in its design and its styling and its shape but one that you don't find out very much about from an era of Motoring that was just so wild these cars are just so I don't know unbelievable to be standing here to be around this thing it's really quite cool isn't it I should say it's based on the 512m the 512m was the latest derivative of the Testarossa platform the original testoster the 512 TR and then the 512m just amazing honestly just amazing but there's even more to go and see a fun thing right here given I just mentioned that Max the founder of Gumball has an xj220s a Very regular face on the Gumball 3000 is David Hasselhoff and of course kit Knight Rider was driven by David throughout the 90 episodes in the early 80s in all of the series and this is the number one car the car that featured throughout there have been so many replicas and different cars used but that's the original and talking number one cars so is this from Batman driven by Michael Keaton directed by Tim Burton my namesake as it happens but imagine driving in this imagine if you go somewhere in that car it's going to be an absolute show stopper again the number one car used from the movies and if you come and have a look inside here the whole canopy slides forwards to reveal the interior imagine driving in that it makes the bonus of an SLS the hood of an SLS look tiny I mean how long this thing is all the way back to the fins that has up the side the kind of turbine setup what a crazy thing absolute show stopper anywhere that could possibly go let's continue through moving onwards then to the race shot we're joined by Vince hash me how's it going it's good thanks for having me today we're here in the race shop this is where I do all of the service pretty much on the vehicles other than a handful of cars that need special equipment but we do the clutches engine out Services everything you can think of in here so right now I'm doing the 355 needed a clutch and a throwout bearing so I'm doing that right now over on the other bench we have our Dino semi apart I'm still going through and cleaning Parts the 246 the first Ferrari in our collection um is going through a rebuild it lost a head gasket and does a little damage to the engine so it was being rebuilt by Rod at Fai down in Costa Mesa right now and it should be done here hopefully in somewhat you know probably February April well let's see how it goes really cool because this is a bit behind the scenes cars being worked on some more cars in storage I know that tester this Testarossa is absolutely incredible it is a all original uh documented 171 mile uh 1990 car it's just it's beyond uh anything you could ever expect it every service has been taken care of and well maintained even though it has ultra low miles but seeing it as it was basically from when it left the factory is insane it's just it's spectacular all the undercoating and and how Ferrari did it back then where it was very very simple and everything wasn't perfect so it's really neat to see the differences how Ferrari was back then but you also have a dragster yeah we have one at Bernstein's uh top fuel dragsters 300 plus miles an hour it's quite ridiculous When You See It Up close on the side like that and uh you know hard to Fathom that they can go that fast but you know with 10 000 I think they're upwards of 18 000 horsepower now uh it's it's pretty insane you know but they only last you know three to four seconds so then the engine needs a full rebuild you know you only keep a handful of parts in the engine so that's quite ridiculous to think about it's built for a few seconds maximum attack that's it yeah each cylinder is well over two thousand horsepower and you know the Pistons are massive absolutely amazing but then even a Lamborghini tractor yeah this was my grandfather's I originally bought it at auction years ago and it's been out uh in his garden so we've gone and taken it back uh out of there and going through and doing a pretty pretty extensive restoration at some point on it right now I'm just taking it a piece at a time uh wheels are powder coated obviously not the right color but I needed to put some kind of coating on there and put tubes in the in the wheels because they were so damaged so new tires rears are coming wheels will be all re-powder coated to the correct color and just slowly go through and get pieces they're they're relatively difficult to get pieces here because of how rare they are so it'll uh it'll be a project but I'm looking forward to it for sure I mean completely different yeah um it's fun just being here and seeing the 355 opened up at the back yeah I mean it's it's the whole point of it is to show people what we do and what service goes on behind the scenes because that Ferrari you can't see that stuff normally so when I had the F40 was completely apart all the way down the intake manifold everything was out of it uh people get to see it and I do I do the service right here they're able to see it the the turbo seals went out so I was showing them that and upgrading the turbos to 488 turbos with with adapted housings from Pure turbo and them understanding it and showing them or rerouting water lines and stuff so we get to do all this stuff and show people what goes on and try and be as educational as as possible because that's what we do I want to I want to be able to show people what goes on behind the scenes that you don't normally get to see for sure I absolutely love that you're working on this yourself but you're doing this yeah yeah I've I've had a real um privilege working with some of the most incredible Ferrari mechanics over time Larry engelhardt he did all of or not all of them but most of the gray market like 288 GTOs he did 20 of them 15 20 of them boxer bb512s everything you can think of that that they did back in the gray Market to get the cars in here he was a part of so understanding it learning it and doing service was a big factor and then I went on to work with Bill joykoff Enzo Motors he does nothing but Restorations and Pebble Beach Concord winning cars so working on 10 you know 20 30 million dollar cards it's it's been a real privilege real privilege trained with the best yeah now keeping the The Collection alive and yeah all the routine servicing yeah for the most part we all have you know older cars here there are a handful of newer stuff but I stick to the old stuff that I know how to work on yeah I guess when it's something like a an F12 or something like that yeah the F12 it take that over to Ferrari and and have them deal with it because it's just too much too many computers too many things to go wrong I can't go through and do basic Diagnostics like you could where you know the the 355 it's basically two four cylinders it's got one EC for here one ECU for there so it's really simple you go through and you can do a quickie diagnostic on it you know air fuel and Spark that's it that's all it takes so look at what's up with it and yeah back up and running yeah I absolutely love the mix of cars love that you're working on them here full Hands-On it's amazing it's great it's great and the biggest thing is everybody's faces when they get to see it under the skin on what's going on so it's really cool back to the other side we haven't spoken yet about some of the Italian cars here I was about to say Ferraris but there is one non-ferrari we start with a 355 which I believe is a visiting car at the moment that's quite modified next to it is a contact and I always find it so interesting the different bumpers that were available on the different years particularly in the US the different styles that they had that's a very strange look but obviously the car was just too low and too pointed at the front too much of a wedge for the U.S regulations back then one of the few U.S cars we've then got a 550 Maranello we've got a another Dino here another Dino 246 GTS Daytona spider but check the color scheme the red leather interior against the yellow exterior paintwork on the 365 Daytona more time goes by the more I'm a fan of those but I am a very very big fan of this the Ferrari F50 4.7 liter naturally aspirated V12 this is quite an early car so there are some interesting elements of it it's got the buckets inside the Clear View through here on the deck lid through towards the engine different style with some of the elements of this you can see if you come close to the Bodywork as well the carbon weave that you have through that Rosso Corsa paint work but for me the F50 has always stood out massively because of a couple of things the ultimate recipe for me naturally aspirated engine a 12-cylinder engine mounted in the middle a gated manual shifter and the removable roof panel you have a hard top roof as well as a fabric foldable contraption that can tuck away into the small storage space that you have behind the seats or you just drive it with the roof open which is a pure Symphony absolute perfection now it's not just cars we're going to come and squeeze through here as well this is not so much my forte an area of expertise but there are some two-wheeled elements of the collection the display of Ducatis here that's certainly a very special bike one of only a couple if we come up something that certainly Drew my attention is the late 90s Senna Ducati the first generation of these came out in the I think in the year probably of Santa's passing 1994 this was the second generation that came a few years later but limited edition special bike and with the exact same logo and Double S graphic that is even found on my McLaren Center which is quite fun and this is just half of the collection there are plenty more here some of the Harleys as well and it extends up in this direction but like I say I know more about the four-wheeled stuff than the two-wheeled stuff what I can say about this though visiting the Marconi Automotive Museum is that this is an awesome place to be for the different cars that are here for the setup I mean imagine hosting an event in this area when everything's tucked off towards the side from the middle surrounded by this but also the things they do to raise money for charity to support different kids charities in the Orange County area through the cars through a passion for cars through toy runs through Carson coffee style Gatherings through hosting events and to have the opportunity as well to visit the museum so super cool to speak with Vince to find out more of what's going on there as well and also his sister Monique to just see what they're doing with the collection and of course also to discover this to discover the affects the pen and Farina creation based on the 512m from the 90s which I could probably spend a lot more time looking over especially in terms of the technology side of this to develop a system to automatically control the clutch back then and yes we're familiar now with DCT Transmissions dual clutches Etc it's all much easier if we can say now but this was really let's make it happen and there's probably only one car collector in the world at that time who could make things like that happen and therefore it's amazing to be able to see this now so today has been epic a huge thanks to the team at the Marconi Automotive Museum for the opportunity to visit and to be able to share this with you as well take a look around at everything that's going on so if you're in the area do stop by well worth a visit check out the opening times but also do follow the Marconi Automotive Museum on their social Pages as well if you'd like to find out even more about the cars and what's happening in the future that's it for now though thank you very much for watching and I'll see you very soon cheershi guys I'm shmee hello and welcome back to the channel will you joining me today here in Orange County California at the Marconi Automotive Museum we're in an extraordinary room filled with Incredible cars that we're going to be taking a look through today including sitting right center stage a Ferrari that you probably never even knew existed in fact one of three cars here that were formerly part of the royal family of brunei's collection that we're going to be able to take in but we've got everything from my favorite car in the world the Ferrari F50 threw plenty of Italian Exotica we've got American muscle cars race cars of all sorts including some Formula One cars plus as I mentioned right there a car that we're going to spend a bit of time checking out today on our visit here to the Marconi Automotive Museum foreign yet mentioned the other cars like the TWR xj220s the 300 SL Gullwing some of the movie Cars like the Batmobile and kit but we shall get to those along with this Trio Center Stage which have me truly intrigued the more that I've been finding out about some of that story but here we are the Marconi Automotive Museum founded by dick Marconi and his son John it is now run along with the foundation by John and both his son Vince and also daughter Monique they host different events it's an event space as well also being open as a museum and supporting charity as well through all of this preserving it for the future and let's go for a Whistle Stop tour really this is a lovely Ferrari F12 Berlinetta the color is Rosso Marinello livrea it looks magnificent of course next to that is an icon and a half the Ferrari F40 an absolute Legend distinct wedge shape you can see the weave through the paintwork it's a lovely lovely thing we then continue through this way the boxer the 512 BBI now next to that quite an intriguing pair of testarossas which will tie us through to where we're headed shortly firstly the 512 TR which was effectively the facelift the refresh of its predecessor the Testarossa there was also the 512m now this car was actually driven quite extensively and would at the time have had the single mirror style it was actually changed to have the Dual mirror because that was preferred the reason for the cars and the choice behind the Cars is down to what appealed at the time what was interesting loads of racing and in fact we'll get to some cool racing cars as well up top we have an f355 there are a few of those about I think that kind of era really cool screaming V8 in that thing but then look at this race cars mounted up high on the walls such an awesome display in fact cars that are all driven and have been run I think this bright pink chevron has even set some lap records around a Willow Springs button Willow some of the circuits in the California area if we keep coming through though this is a highlight for me I love my 1960s Mustang we've got a 65 Shelby GT350 one of those at some point in the future would be amazing next to that the Morris mini Miner as well we're going to head through also to the race shop very shortly where things are even in progress and happening over that away to quickly draw attention to these two Batmobile this is crazy to see this is one of the original cars that was actually used and it's here as part of the display along with Knight Rider kit right alongside also if we come this way probably my favorite classic of all time Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing sitting over the top of a data maso Pantera but that paint color is gorgeous that is a really nice shade we've then got another database Pantera that's a GTS over the top of one of its wedge-shaped siblings we could say the quickly rising in popularity BMW M1 love to see that to keep coming up in conversation at the moment which is really quite nice we've then got a 1930s fire truck as you do I love that diversity of cars we've gone from Batmobile to 300 SL to data Marcos M1 and a fire truck the display continues here as you can see with plenty of other cars I don't think we have time today to go through absolutely everything but the beauty is that the Marconi Automotive Museum are sharing things as well about all of these cars if you'd like to find out more let's skip through over this way though to come to this the Jaguar xj220s by TWR they only made six of these there were three done retrospectively a few years after delivery one of which belongs to my friend Max Cooper which is actually sitting in my garage right at this time but this is one of the original six in the bright red paintwork it's crazy to think super lightweight 1100 kilos or so that's in pounds two and a half thousand pounds but still with nearly 700 horsepower incredible to think about through the middle here a Bondurant Driving School Corvette Hemi cudas Plymouth Prowler this 348 is actually quite fun this is the very car and part of the inspiration really behind the collection that won the first year of the Ferrari Challenge Series here in the US of course with the marconis it's here as part of the collection and opened up the opportunity to purchase some of the other cars that are around as well if we squeeze on over this way Mustang Mach 1 from 1970 more Mustangs but I want to come down here because there's so much cool memorabilia as well above the DMC DeLorean have a look up on the wall some of the artwork there art by Dano alongside the race suits as well and different bits of clothing and memorabilia and that's a big part of the museum and an opportunity to take all of the sin this however is a special area F1 cars 1996 Ferrari car driven by Schumacher and Irvine from that year one of the seven cars this car is a mansible car from 1985 Williams fw10 but sat right here and then up on the wall is a center 1988 car which is amazing and the Marlboro Livery some indie cars as well there's an Isetta tucked in at the end beyond the Ferrari I believe that's a 195 s yes that's the one all the checkered flags up on the wall here at the top those are all from the race wins back at the time that horse is actually made out of the bumper parts of cars which is also really quite awesome but this is as you can imagine a space that can turn into an event venue that's what it's used for often here in Orange County here just beneath south of Los Angeles a few more cars to point out General Lee I think many know that back on the movie car theme Dukes of Hazard the Lamborghini Espada purple is definitely a theme here with the colors the Ferrari 348 just here and also that car mounted up on the wall a Lotus single seat car we've then got the Maserati Bora we've got a 964 we've got the uh Mondial yes Ferrari Mondial a few other cars around but you know what I think we need to explain the three right here the chazetta the Ferrari FX and the Ferrari 456 spider this is a trio the gisetta marota v16t the Ferrari FX and the 456 spider now I have previously seen in London one of the 456 venices the estate the wagon the shooting break that were made and I don't know the full story but I'm sure many of you are aware of the Brunei collection of cars and in fact how much time and money was spent with bespoke Builds on Ferrari platforms particularly back in the 80s the 90s creating one-off cars in partnership with pin and Farina in fact spending tens of millions to create things that were really advanced in terms of Technology but also bespoke machines and sat right here is one of those the Ferrari FX based on the Testarossa Platform One of only six and the only one to quote the phrase that escaped from the jungle that is out there a car that in so many ways was ahead of its time and we're going to explore that in just a moment next to it is one of the 456 spiders the 456 was Ferrari's four-seat car the predecessor to the FF the GTC 4 lasso and now the poorer sanguay but this is with a difference this went to pin and Farina to be completely converted and to run you through what I mean by that it normally had a roof and in fact it still has a roof it's been re-engineered for the folding roof mechanism of the Mercedes SL that's in there but also that required a gearbox change so it's been re-engineered mechanically to have the sl's gearbox as the standard Ferrari gearbox at the back wouldn't allow space for the roof mechanism to actually fit as you come have a look inside as well to show you a little bit more of this the seats are effectively from the 7 Series even the seat controls that you have here are from the 7er at the time that you have on the doorway with pin and Farina pulling this all together making this completely bespoke vehicle and come and have a look at the back and before you do no jokes about the Fiat barketta the design is definitely slightly resembling that but totally new look totally new design totally new style created for the Brunei royal family this is one of these three cars which escape the jungle at one point in time and have been part of the Marconi collection for an extended period next to it though is this the FX this is based on a Testarossa it's actually a really cool looking thing we're talking a long time ago but with a particular bit of engineering which wouldn't even find its way into later Ferrari models for a couple more years and if you come through and take a look at that it's the gearbox this went to Williams Grand Prix who engineered a paddle shift gearbox with a shifter reminiscent of that found in the 992 Porsche 911s but with paddles on the back of the steering wheel a couple of years before Ferrari made their own F1 box now this car is powered by the testarossa's 4.9 liter flat 12. in fact I can very delicately open this up because this car is extremely valuable as you can imagine but inside here you can see that engine it's going to put this into place to hold it purely opened but this has all had to be completely reworked you can see various elements of the Hydraulics inside here but all done afresh everything from the mechanical side of it all of the engineering to do with that gearbox to the carbon fiber that you have here around the intakes of course critical for getting the airflow through considering the movements of different coolers and the change of the Bodywork on the outside but obviously based around the Ferrari engine and badged at the time as a Ferrari because I think we all know the company back then created these projects there were always stories about the left-hand drive to right-hand Drive conversions of f40s and 288 GTOs and the different one-off colors the cars that were outside of the official build numbers but so much of it is shrouded in mystery out there in the warehouses in Brunei with these cars it's amazing to be able to see this and to see the full exposed carbon fiber of the Bodywork and you know we're talking decades ago with the creation of this but presented so beautifully as well going to close this back down carefully as I possibly can conscious of what it is what it represents and how careful I need to be with it making sure that's in place but normally on the tester also you have all of those sliding horizontal lines obviously for the cooling so that's had to be redirected and remanaged as it goes through the car but it's such an unusual thing to look at and to see and again bespoke paint colors back at the time the duct here obviously again managing the cooling through full body work and carbon fiber everything underneath in carbon fiber as well and prior to learning about this specifically here at the Marconi Automotive Museum I didn't know that that car existed I didn't know about the Ferrari FX we know the FXX we know the FXX k but that's the FX which was part of this huge project that the Brunei family had with pin and Farina to go ahead and make these and I've seen a 456 Venice in London in fact many of the car spotters in central London have seen it over the years driving around but the majority of these cars remain unknown the stories aren't out there we don't know the details it would be the ultimate dream to head and have a look through some of those warehouses a few cars have circulated like the 288 GTO that is painted in black with red pinstriping around the outside completely different to any of the other cars recently with DK Engineering in the UK but let's move to this the chisetta they're only 11 in total in the world I think eight original cars three that followed originally with v16s this car was supposed to be number five of the eight it was actually changed away from the V16 to a Ferrari V12 unfortunately owing to some travel damage that it sustained but again a very unusual car very Diablo esque in its design and its styling and its shape but one that you don't find out very much about from an era of Motoring that was just so wild these cars are just so I don't know unbelievable to be standing here to be around this thing it's really quite cool isn't it I should say it's based on the 512m the 512m was the latest derivative of the Testarossa platform the original testoster the 512 TR and then the 512m just amazing honestly just amazing but there's even more to go and see a fun thing right here given I just mentioned that Max the founder of Gumball has an xj220s a Very regular face on the Gumball 3000 is David Hasselhoff and of course kit Knight Rider was driven by David throughout the 90 episodes in the early 80s in all of the series and this is the number one car the car that featured throughout there have been so many replicas and different cars used but that's the original and talking number one cars so is this from Batman driven by Michael Keaton directed by Tim Burton my namesake as it happens but imagine driving in this imagine if you go somewhere in that car it's going to be an absolute show stopper again the number one car used from the movies and if you come and have a look inside here the whole canopy slides forwards to reveal the interior imagine driving in that it makes the bonus of an SLS the hood of an SLS look tiny I mean how long this thing is all the way back to the fins that has up the side the kind of turbine setup what a crazy thing absolute show stopper anywhere that could possibly go let's continue through moving onwards then to the race shot we're joined by Vince hash me how's it going it's good thanks for having me today we're here in the race shop this is where I do all of the service pretty much on the vehicles other than a handful of cars that need special equipment but we do the clutches engine out Services everything you can think of in here so right now I'm doing the 355 needed a clutch and a throwout bearing so I'm doing that right now over on the other bench we have our Dino semi apart I'm still going through and cleaning Parts the 246 the first Ferrari in our collection um is going through a rebuild it lost a head gasket and does a little damage to the engine so it was being rebuilt by Rod at Fai down in Costa Mesa right now and it should be done here hopefully in somewhat you know probably February April well let's see how it goes really cool because this is a bit behind the scenes cars being worked on some more cars in storage I know that tester this Testarossa is absolutely incredible it is a all original uh documented 171 mile uh 1990 car it's just it's beyond uh anything you could ever expect it every service has been taken care of and well maintained even though it has ultra low miles but seeing it as it was basically from when it left the factory is insane it's just it's spectacular all the undercoating and and how Ferrari did it back then where it was very very simple and everything wasn't perfect so it's really neat to see the differences how Ferrari was back then but you also have a dragster yeah we have one at Bernstein's uh top fuel dragsters 300 plus miles an hour it's quite ridiculous When You See It Up close on the side like that and uh you know hard to Fathom that they can go that fast but you know with 10 000 I think they're upwards of 18 000 horsepower now uh it's it's pretty insane you know but they only last you know three to four seconds so then the engine needs a full rebuild you know you only keep a handful of parts in the engine so that's quite ridiculous to think about it's built for a few seconds maximum attack that's it yeah each cylinder is well over two thousand horsepower and you know the Pistons are massive absolutely amazing but then even a Lamborghini tractor yeah this was my grandfather's I originally bought it at auction years ago and it's been out uh in his garden so we've gone and taken it back uh out of there and going through and doing a pretty pretty extensive restoration at some point on it right now I'm just taking it a piece at a time uh wheels are powder coated obviously not the right color but I needed to put some kind of coating on there and put tubes in the in the wheels because they were so damaged so new tires rears are coming wheels will be all re-powder coated to the correct color and just slowly go through and get pieces they're they're relatively difficult to get pieces here because of how rare they are so it'll uh it'll be a project but I'm looking forward to it for sure I mean completely different yeah um it's fun just being here and seeing the 355 opened up at the back yeah I mean it's it's the whole point of it is to show people what we do and what service goes on behind the scenes because that Ferrari you can't see that stuff normally so when I had the F40 was completely apart all the way down the intake manifold everything was out of it uh people get to see it and I do I do the service right here they're able to see it the the turbo seals went out so I was showing them that and upgrading the turbos to 488 turbos with with adapted housings from Pure turbo and them understanding it and showing them or rerouting water lines and stuff so we get to do all this stuff and show people what goes on and try and be as educational as as possible because that's what we do I want to I want to be able to show people what goes on behind the scenes that you don't normally get to see for sure I absolutely love that you're working on this yourself but you're doing this yeah yeah I've I've had a real um privilege working with some of the most incredible Ferrari mechanics over time Larry engelhardt he did all of or not all of them but most of the gray market like 288 GTOs he did 20 of them 15 20 of them boxer bb512s everything you can think of that that they did back in the gray Market to get the cars in here he was a part of so understanding it learning it and doing service was a big factor and then I went on to work with Bill joykoff Enzo Motors he does nothing but Restorations and Pebble Beach Concord winning cars so working on 10 you know 20 30 million dollar cards it's it's been a real privilege real privilege trained with the best yeah now keeping the The Collection alive and yeah all the routine servicing yeah for the most part we all have you know older cars here there are a handful of newer stuff but I stick to the old stuff that I know how to work on yeah I guess when it's something like a an F12 or something like that yeah the F12 it take that over to Ferrari and and have them deal with it because it's just too much too many computers too many things to go wrong I can't go through and do basic Diagnostics like you could where you know the the 355 it's basically two four cylinders it's got one EC for here one ECU for there so it's really simple you go through and you can do a quickie diagnostic on it you know air fuel and Spark that's it that's all it takes so look at what's up with it and yeah back up and running yeah I absolutely love the mix of cars love that you're working on them here full Hands-On it's amazing it's great it's great and the biggest thing is everybody's faces when they get to see it under the skin on what's going on so it's really cool back to the other side we haven't spoken yet about some of the Italian cars here I was about to say Ferraris but there is one non-ferrari we start with a 355 which I believe is a visiting car at the moment that's quite modified next to it is a contact and I always find it so interesting the different bumpers that were available on the different years particularly in the US the different styles that they had that's a very strange look but obviously the car was just too low and too pointed at the front too much of a wedge for the U.S regulations back then one of the few U.S cars we've then got a 550 Maranello we've got a another Dino here another Dino 246 GTS Daytona spider but check the color scheme the red leather interior against the yellow exterior paintwork on the 365 Daytona more time goes by the more I'm a fan of those but I am a very very big fan of this the Ferrari F50 4.7 liter naturally aspirated V12 this is quite an early car so there are some interesting elements of it it's got the buckets inside the Clear View through here on the deck lid through towards the engine different style with some of the elements of this you can see if you come close to the Bodywork as well the carbon weave that you have through that Rosso Corsa paint work but for me the F50 has always stood out massively because of a couple of things the ultimate recipe for me naturally aspirated engine a 12-cylinder engine mounted in the middle a gated manual shifter and the removable roof panel you have a hard top roof as well as a fabric foldable contraption that can tuck away into the small storage space that you have behind the seats or you just drive it with the roof open which is a pure Symphony absolute perfection now it's not just cars we're going to come and squeeze through here as well this is not so much my forte an area of expertise but there are some two-wheeled elements of the collection the display of Ducatis here that's certainly a very special bike one of only a couple if we come up something that certainly Drew my attention is the late 90s Senna Ducati the first generation of these came out in the I think in the year probably of Santa's passing 1994 this was the second generation that came a few years later but limited edition special bike and with the exact same logo and Double S graphic that is even found on my McLaren Center which is quite fun and this is just half of the collection there are plenty more here some of the Harleys as well and it extends up in this direction but like I say I know more about the four-wheeled stuff than the two-wheeled stuff what I can say about this though visiting the Marconi Automotive Museum is that this is an awesome place to be for the different cars that are here for the setup I mean imagine hosting an event in this area when everything's tucked off towards the side from the middle surrounded by this but also the things they do to raise money for charity to support different kids charities in the Orange County area through the cars through a passion for cars through toy runs through Carson coffee style Gatherings through hosting events and to have the opportunity as well to visit the museum so super cool to speak with Vince to find out more of what's going on there as well and also his sister Monique to just see what they're doing with the collection and of course also to discover this to discover the affects the pen and Farina creation based on the 512m from the 90s which I could probably spend a lot more time looking over especially in terms of the technology side of this to develop a system to automatically control the clutch back then and yes we're familiar now with DCT Transmissions dual clutches Etc it's all much easier if we can say now but this was really let's make it happen and there's probably only one car collector in the world at that time who could make things like that happen and therefore it's amazing to be able to see this now so today has been epic a huge thanks to the team at the Marconi Automotive Museum for the opportunity to visit and to be able to share this with you as well take a look around at everything that's going on so if you're in the area do stop by well worth a visit check out the opening times but also do follow the Marconi Automotive Museum on their social Pages as well if you'd like to find out even more about the cars and what's happening in the future that's it for now though thank you very much for watching and I'll see you very soon cheers\n"