[Laneco]

When I was very young (3 or 4) my grandfather was a pilot for Pan Am. He flew very regularly to Europe and purchased a Gullwing on one of the trips. No serious money involved, it was just a used car at the time. He drove it for a few years and then sold it when his health failed. I had no real recollection of the car, only the family story that he had owned one.

A couple of years ago I was cleaning out some family pictures at my parents house and came across a snapsnot of my grandfather and the Gullwing. It was an ivory white car with a dark red (oxblood?) interior. As soon as I held the photo in my hand it was like a key unlocking a long closed door. I remembered crawling over the big sills and sitting down in the seat. I couldn't see over the dash, but I can tell you exactly how it smelled, the masculine combination of leather, cigars and my grandfather's cologne. That car sounded so wonderful and it was in my child's mind as fast and foreign as a spaceship.

That is the only picture I have of my grandfather and the only picture I have of the car. Needless to say, the picture came home with me instead of being left at my parent's house.

They are truly magnificent cars and more than 4 decades after my last ride in one, I am still in love with them.
angela