This fabulous super-car totally deserves all the high praise heaped upon it over the years. Mine is white with red leather upholstery, exactly as delivered from the factory. It is a rare European delivery model, so it lacks the U.S.A. bumper guards, giving a sleeker appearance. It also has the German instruments, and I especially like the little red line on the speedometer giving a recommended maximum of 120 mph for the fitted touring tires.

I bought the car in Los Angeles in 1968 and hung around with a gang of enthusiasts who pushed the cars to the limit at drag strips, and toured automobile museums as a club. We knew what we had, and I recal one colleage saying that "after all, these were always cars for princes."

I always found the car comfortable to drive, and it was always special anywhere I went. I could drive into a gas station and the guys had seen the Ferraris and Maseratis come and go all day, but when I popped that gullwing door, everybody stood back and took another look.

It was an unbelievably capable car. I drove it through Death Valley on the hottest summer day in 1968, with temperatures in the shade of 124, a record for the year. I shut it down after hard driving through the valleys with no speed limits, and the car would not vapor lock because of the auxiliary dash-mounted fuel pump (the car has three fuel pumps, including one for the direct cylinder injection system).

Because of the car's racing heritage it has amazing capacities. One day I was driving in remote mountains in West Virginia and needed gas, and pulled into a station where a teenage attendant was sitting around picking his nose. I told him "fill it" and started asking about availability of Pennzoil. We finally agreed on Quaker State, which he had, and I asked for 8 quarts. He started to put cans in the cabin, and I had to argue to get him to pour all 8 quarts in the engine reservoir tank. By then he noticed the gas was up to 16 gallons and he asked "you said fill it, right?" "Yeah, fill it." At 20 gallons he said "all the way, right?" "Yeah, fill it." At 25 gallons he is looking under the car to see if the stuff is leaking out. At 30 gallons he demands "how much does this car hold?" We were finally full at 32 gallons, but the car actually holds 34.7. And it delivers 22 miles/gallon in ordinary driving. I'm sure none of his friends believed the kid's story about the amazing white car.

So much has been written about this extraordinary car, that I have just shared a few anecdotes and personal stories about driving it in its hayday. Encourage me, and I'll recount some more.

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