Letters From Readers - de Cadenet's 375 Plus, May 2000

Sir,

I very much enjoyed the March issue and have one or two comments to make. On the subject of 375 Plus Ferraris, when I was a kid racing in the Argentine I bought a 375 Plus that Gonzales told me he’d purchased from the factory after winning the Le Mans race with it in 1954. It was a tatty old dog owned by the Sommonte brothers. I happily paid up $4000 for this thing but never got it out of the country. This was in 1970 or thereabouts. Subsequently I was told the teal LM-winning machine was in France and the one I’d bought was owned by Ralph Lauren and was the wet Silverstone winning car from 1954. I did however finally drive Lauren’s car at Laguna Seca and confirm all you say about the model. Gonzales was truly one of the bravest drivers of all time and happily still very much with us today. His biceps, by the way, measured the same as my thighs!

The technofile article on Armco barrier was well written and researched — for a minute I thought the accompanying colour photo was of some unseen German record breaking machine from pre-WWII. Incidentally Bonnier didn’t die because of Armco. He hit a Ferrari 365GTB/4 racer on his way to the Indianapolis bend in his Lola DFV Group 6 machine and took off well over the barrier and flew into the pine trees. You could see his trajectory as the pines had been scythed off for quite some distance.

Boddy’s stuff is quite superb. Thank goodness you’re downloading his phenomenal memory whilst you can — although he does look rather startled in his mug-shot.

I am, yours, etc.
Alain de Cadenet, via e-mail.