There are many places to drive your classic car and many people to drive it with, but, really, could there be a better place and better people than at the annual Colorado Grand?
“I think the Colorado Grand is one of the greatest car rallies and tours there is,” said auctioneer David Gooding, who drove a Ferrari 250 GT PF Cabriolet Series I this year. “It’s just the scenery, and the open roads, and, of course, the great people who come… it’s a combination of those. With Colorado as a backdrop, it’s just wonderful.”
Yes, Colorado, particularly the western half of Colorado where the Grand takes place, where the western plains turn into the mighty Rockies. If you dropped a marble in Denver, it would roll unimpeded all the way to New Orleans and plop with a sploosh into the Gulf of Mexico. But if you looked west of Denver, you’d see the towering edifices of the Rocky Mountains, folded up from the dry, hot, crunchy plains like a rug pushed up against the wall by an overexcited dog, its crumples and folds forming jagged peaks carpeted with fall colors.
The cars are cool, too. For 33 years the Colorado Grand, founded by the late Bob Sutherland, has brought together some of the most beautiful sports cars the world has ever made. If you look at the entries to the Mille Miglia or the earlier Targa Florios you might recognize these cars. Historically there have been some real standout entries at The Grand.
“The most unusual Grand cars include Bill Evans’ 1903 Mercedes, Richard Procter's Squire, Dr. Williamson’s Bugatti Atlantique, Bruce McCaw’s 300SLR, and a six-pack of (Ferrari) GTOs a few years back,” said Frank Barrett, the Grand's retired route planner, and former editor of The Star, the Mercedes-Benz club magazine. “Somehow it seems we've always had at least one Cunningham—road or race—on the Grand.”
This year there were more post-war cars than pre-war. Here are some highlights:
Alfa Romeo: 1931 6C 1750 GS, 1940 SC Touring Berlinetta, 1943 6C 2500 SS Spider, and more Giuliettas than you could shake a camshaft at.
Aston Martin: 1959 DB Mk III, 1959 DB4GT, 1964 DB 4GT Zagato.
Bentley: 4 ½ liters to the horizon, eight of them in all, two 8-Litres and a few custom bodies.
Ferrari: a total of six 250 GTs of various models, two 400 Superamericas, a 212, and a 750 Monza Spider Corsa.
Jaguar: Four XK120s, one XK140, a C-Type, a D-Type and an XKSS.
Lancia: Two beautiful B24 Spiders.
Maserati: a 1956 A6GCS, two 200S, one 250S, and two 300S.
Mercedes-Benz: Eight 300 SL Roadsters, two Gullwings, and a 1969 280 SL that somehow snuck in.
Porsche: No fewer than 21 356s and a single 1961 Abarth Carrera GT/L.
If you wanted to whine, what would you whine about? Too many 356s? Too many Jag XKs? Come on, man, this year there was a 1955 Kurtis SS500, a 1951 Cunningham C2R, and an OSCA 372 FS, none of which you’re going to see at a Cars ’n Coffee.
How do they pick the cars?
“It’s 1960 or older,” said Tom Horan, chairman of the Grand and the man whose 150-watt smile keeps all the wheels rolling.
There are exceptions.
“The caveat is that if they were built in 1960, like a 300 SL, and continued mostly unchanged for a couple of years, they can still come. But the cutoff is typically 1960.”
And they always try for a good mix, even if sometimes things get out of whack. Take the 356s this year.
“This year, we had a lot of 356s, but I think we only accept seven or eight a year and there's probably 19 here (there were 21). Some people go, ‘Okay, what would you like, my Alfa 8C, my 300 SL, or my 356?’ And so we'll say, ‘Bring the Alfa 8C.’ And then a month before the Grand they go, ‘You know, the transmission isn't working so well. So I'm gonna bring the 356 instead.’”
Into each life a little rain must fall. But if you drive fast enough the rain flies over the top of the car anyway.
The Grand is open to all and not impossible to get into.
“This year we had 175 (applications) for 95 spots. And so it's kind of about the people and the car and getting some new people in… It’s turned into a big family. I try and have at least 12 to 15 new people every year, I don’t want it to be known as a clique and, ‘Don't bother applying.’”
So apply! You’ll have fun!
“It’s absolutely my favorite, there’s no if, ands or buts about it,” said Tom Gloy, yes, that Tom Gloy, racer and championship-winning Trans-Am team owner.
“Oh, it’s fabulous,” said collector Rick Rawlins, who has done the Italian Mille Miglia and is driving one of those 21 356s this year with his son Grant. “I’ve done the Mille three times. This was a lot lower, low-key. A lot less pressure.”
“We have these really unique cars, and it gives us the chance to use them in a manner other than just sitting in the garage. We can actually get them out, drive them on the road, and enjoy the cars for ourselves,” said David Duthu, a Houston collector who has been on the Grand since 2001. “But more importantly, we create this excitement for the communities we drive through. These kids have never seen these kinds of cars—a lot of older people never get to see them. And when they're out on the road, it creates a tremendous amount of excitement in the fact that we’re able to do that and raise money for charity.”
While many of these tour programs are run as for-profit enterprises, the Grand is purely for charity. Rather than just cut a check to United Way, the Grand gives the money raised to the small towns through which it goes.
“We ask the towns, ‘What do you need?’ And they come up with different things,” chairman Horan said.
Over the years the Grand has purchased or helped purchase everything from ambulances to the jaws of life for local fire departments. Sometimes it’s a much-needed medical device, or night-vision goggles for medevac helicopter pilots.
“Walden, Colorado, a couple of years ago, had the only medical clinic within 100 miles of anywhere. So we bought them a new mammogram machine for $25,000,” Horan said. “At every lunch stop, we give a $9000 scholarship to a high school senior that’s going to a Colorado college. We’ve had them (the scholarship recipients) come back after graduating from college and come to our lunch stop in the town four or five years later and walk around and thank the Granders. For many of them it’s the first family member that’s gone to college from some of these smaller towns.”
Much of the money goes to a fund for the state troopers who escort the Grand.
“It’s called the Colorado State Patrol Family Foundation and it supports the families of officers who have been hurt or killed in the line of duty. The kids of the officer all get college scholarships. I think about $3 million of the $8 million raised so far has gone to the State Patrol Family Foundation.”
Some entrants donate to the charity even in the years they can’t attend the Grand in person. It’s enough to make you lose some of your cynicism about “rich guys in Ferraris.”
Check it out at co1000.com. And drag the Type 57 Atlantique out of the barn.
“It’s very unique and it’s, one, fun, but number two is the satisfaction that you gain out of being part of giving,” said Duthu. “That’s what is the most important thing that matters, sharing your time to give.”
Do you have any stories to share from the Colorado Grand? Please comment below.
