Kidston Motorcars

Kidston Motorcars Join us behind the scenes to see what we're up to: sneak previews of great cars, how they come to look as good as they do, and the fun we have with them!

27/08/2026

“My father never let me drive it again”
 
Here’s the son of its long-term French owner with a funny story about the 1962 Ferrari 250GT Cabriolet his father bought some 50 years ago which we recently pulled out of the family garage on the Cote d’Azur.
 
It won’t be restored, just ‘gone through’ mechanically and tidied up cosmetically so it’s ready for new adventures. You could never duplicate the character of that 64-year old Connolly leather which has aged gracefully despite the outside world being very different now compared to when visitors first admired the car at the 1962 Geneva Motor Show.

‘Garage finds’ are always exciting: you need patience, diplomacy and luck. We were tipped off about this car two and a h...
26/08/2026

‘Garage finds’ are always exciting: you need patience, diplomacy and luck. We were tipped off about this car two and a half years ago via the curator of a famous US collection, who had a French friend who owned a restaurant in the US, who knew a family in the south of France with an old Ferrari owned for decades…

Many months later we eventually met the family, slowly found out more about the car from them, did our own research in parallel, and were excited by what we found. This summer we reached an agreement with the various family members to buy the car. The remote garage where it had spent the past 50 years was rarely attended, administrative paperwork in France isn’t always quick, and everyone involved had a job which didn’t always allow them to take time off. Finally late in June we met at the garage, the doors were opened and with local help the car was hauled out into the sunshine. The family couldn’t have been nicer.

It’s a 1962 Ferrari 250GT Cabriolet Series 2, the only one delivered in this colour (Bianco 18934 Italver) and still has its original red leather interior and factory hard top. It was built for the 1962 Geneva Motor Show and sold soon afterwards to Mrs Solange Garcia Darwin, living between Geneva and the chic Neuilly suburb of Paris. She wrote to Enzo Ferrari in 1968 about servicing and sold the car in the mid-1970s to the French family from whom we acquired it. Pininfarina’s archive and historians Marcel Massini, Emiliano Torkar and Keith Bluemel have been invaluable.

The Ferrari arrived back in its native Italy soon afterwards, where Carlo and Renato Bonini checked the mechanical elements and the Cremonini team studied the bodywork. They are now bringing it slowly back to life, although we’ve already had our first test drive. Apart from a slipping clutch, everything works as it should and all the numbers match, including Pininfarina’s hidden body markings. These are the finds we enjoy, cars with stories to tell which have been loved and enjoyed and survived through the decades when many were modified or lost their character.

Stay tuned for the next chapters of its story…

After over a decade of combined years of restoration, we flew these sixties legends all the way to California for Pebble...
21/08/2026

After over a decade of combined years of restoration, we flew these sixties legends all the way to California for Pebble Beach.
 
As we often experience, cars have souls, and the ISO A3/C is one that clearly has a sense of humour. The gearbox behaved perfectly throughout the tour but didn’t appreciate waking up at dawn on Sunday, as every gear was still asleep except reverse, and that’s how it stayed. The rules never specify which direction a car must be driven to collect a prize, so thinking outside the (gear)box was required. We made a rather surprising appearance to collect second in our category.
 
Davide from our Top Motors team was thrilled all the same: the Miura SV that won the class (driving forwards) was restored by him, his father and his late grandfather Orazio Salvioli.
 
Lots of attention also for the two Astons, the DB4 GT Lightweight, a factory left-hand drive, one of only three LHD examples among the nine Lightweights built. Prepared for competition and intended for the 1961 Sebring 12 Hours (although it never made it, probably due to a payment not arriving on time), it wears a hand-formed aluminium body over a steel tubular frame, with a drilled and lightened chassis underneath, and the DB4 GT Zagato: the ultimate original-specification Zagato, with its triple bonnet bulges and lightweight seats. First owner Edy Corthésy raced it at the 1961 RAC de Spa Grand Prix; it then appeared at the 1961 Geneva Show and on the cover of Car and Driver in 1962.

13/08/2026

Jeweller, designer, businessman and racer: Gianni Bulgari has certainly led a full and glamorous life.

He was heir to a family firm that counted movie stars and aristocracy among its clients – Richard Burton once said that the only Italian word Elizabeth Taylor knew was ‘Bulgari’. It gave Gianni the means to indulge his passion for motor racing, and in 1964 he bought a new Porsche 904 directly from the factory.

With its stiff chassis, lightweight glassfibre body, and rear-mounted four-cam engine, the 904 was the German marque’s latest contender in the ultra-competitive world of GT racing.

Bulgari’s first outing with chassis ‘904 080’ came at the 1964 Targa Florio. His new car was perfectly suited to the 44-mile Piccolo Madonie circuit, which twisted and turned through the Sicilian countryside. This was road-racing in its most traditional form.

Gianni arrived a week early in order to practice, and said of the 904 that ‘it represented an enormous step forward’ – quite a compliment from a man who’d previously owned and raced a 250 GTO.

The practice paid off: Gianni led the great race at half-distance before being forced to retire with suspension damage. After that, he campaigned the 904 in hillclimbs and race meetings alike, winning at the challenging old Mugello road circuit.

Today, the 904 evokes that golden period of dual-purpose GT cars that were equally at home on the road as they were on the track – and it can still make every journey feel like a lap of the Piccolo Madonie.

#1964

An up-and-coming American collector was recently introduced to us by a mutual friend: “I’ve done the modern supercar thi...
12/08/2026

An up-and-coming American collector was recently introduced to us by a mutual friend: “I’ve done the modern supercar thing and now I’m discovering the classic world. I realise they’re hard to find, but I just love the Miura SV…”

Timing, as they say, is everything. We’d known this one for almost 30 years, but it seemed like its long-term owner would never let go. It’s an SV delivered new to David Kirby, co-owner of West Chester Honda in Pennsylvania, late in 1971, with split sump lubrication and air conditioning. Amusing period correspondence we’ve unearthed between him and the factory shows he didn’t want to deal with the US importer but eventually had no choice, although he collected the new car in Sant’ Agata and sent it back there for servicing until late 1973. The biggest mystery was the original colour: ‘Verde Uc***lo di Mare’ is unique for any Miura. The Eureka moment came doing research on late 1960s Ferraris: they offered a rare colour called Verde Seabird (Pininfarina named them after famous race horses) and sure enough, it was the same dark green. Kirby paired this with Pelle Moro (dark brown Connolly leather, matching the dashboard and steering wheel) and gold wheels and sills. As specs go, it’s hard to beat: he paid $22,000.

By 1980 the car was in Pacific Palisades with a Barry Brown: his correspondence says he was the second owner but doesn’t reveal his occupation, although his notes are scribbled on the back of a movie script. He had it repainted red and Bob Wallace carried out various upgrades. Finally in 1989 the car left the USA destined for Monte Carlo and the collector who would keep it until now, painted Verde Miura and used enthusiastically.

Our man Davide Salvioli drove to Monaco, inspected it and reported back: a great basis but expect to restore everything. That’s exactly what the team will now do, but the end result will be unique and good enough to last another 50+ years. Equally rewarding is the history we keep finding, like the 3rd picture taken outside the factory late in 1973 by a South African client: we’re confident this is the SV parked second right next to Simon’s. One by one the pieces of the jigsaw fall into place!

Patience sometimes pays off. It took over 25 years to research the Miura Book, a passion project which gave us insight i...
24/07/2026

Patience sometimes pays off. It took over 25 years to research the Miura Book, a passion project which gave us insight into which were the most interesting survivors and, usually, where they were hidden. This old photo turned up in an online forum in 2017, taken by a tourist in Piazza del Popolo in Rome and amusingly captioned at a time when many people hadn’t heard of a Lamborghini. But which Miura was it? Black is a rare colour but none of the candidates were likely to have been in Rome at the time.
 
A few years later Italian historian Lorenzo Guglielmone gifted us his archive and among the 1990s images was a red Miura registered in Catania. From there we tracked back and found it had first been registered in Rome, and the plate ended in the same digits as the mystery car. But it had been ordered in blue. Ex-factory employee Enzo Moruzzi shared with us his period Miura delivery records, which showed blue crossed out in favour of black. Cars were sometimes repainted at the factory after arriving from Bertone when a client changed their mind or the sales director decided to prioritise one client over another.
 
The search led us to the long-term owner still in Rome. Would they sell? No, but a few months ago the car surfaced with a dealer in northern Italy, tired and painted yellow. A price was hard to pin down so we bided our time until, a couple of months ago, a very serious young collector made contact: “Could you find me a really interesting Miura S?”
 
It needs everything, although the beautiful Testa di Moro (brown) dashboard is still original with its distinctive double stitching, and all the numbers match. An exciting moment was sanding to reveal layers of old paint under the Bertone sill plate: yellow, red...finally black and blue beneath. We’re gradually tracking down old owners thanks to Italian contacts: a self-styled Roman prince socialite and photographer; an underworld figure with some colourful press coverage; the owner of an opticians in Catania “whose pride and joy for years was a black Miura S”; a veteran car dealer on Lake Maggiore who kept it alongside his Ferrari 250 SWB...
 
Stay tuned for what should be a really rewarding project.

Before…and after! What does it take to properly restore a Lamborghini Countach? In this case, over three years: we start...
15/07/2026

Before…and after!

What does it take to properly restore a Lamborghini Countach? In this case, over three years: we started with a 1975 LP400 ‘Periscopica’ which had been acquired from a US auction house (“this Countach can today be readily enjoyed, shown, or simply cherished”) and looked in the same condition as most others for sale. It had been delivered new to Saudi Arabia in ‘Blu Metallizzato’ over to***co, surfaced in 1980s Germany painted black, then headed to America in 2015 where a dealer described it as “thoroughly serviced and ready to be enjoyed on the road or as the centerpiece of your collection.”

We were tasked in 2024 by a new client to find a Countach LP400 in great original colours that could be driven fast and reliably. We had already sourced this one for a major American collector and it was part way through total restoration in Italy. Would he consider selling? A deal was done and the new client took over the project.

The dream team of Countach restorers consisted of veteran experts Bacchelli & Villa for the bodywork, original builders Marchesi for the chassis, Interni Auto (ex-factory Countach trimmers) for the interior, Gatti for the electrics and Top Motors Salvioli for the mechanicals. These are complicated cars with large fiberglass sections acting as bulkheads including a single central cradle where the gearbox sits in the cabin, which can only be removed or installed without the roof on. Corrosion is an issue when water gets between the fiberglass and chassis. Door alignment is critical- when open they are just millimeters away from the front wings- as are the rear lids which need perfect adjustment. “It’s much more angular than the Miura” says senior panel be**er Samuele at Bacchelli & Villa, “but both this and a Miura are ‘belle battaglie’ (big battles) to restore.”

Here’s the finished the result, and the video shows it finally arriving at the owners home. His first test was a rally. His verdict? “It was the most admired car of the event. The team did a fantastic job on the engine! With 30 degrees and lots of altitude, conditions were tough. Again, a huge thank you to everyone involved in the restoration. A masterpiece!”

SOLD: 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB chassis 08349 GT, delivered new to Rome in rare Bleu Ferrari.Whichever version you prefer- sh...
23/06/2026

SOLD: 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB chassis 08349 GT, delivered new to Rome in rare Bleu Ferrari.

Whichever version you prefer- short or long nose, two cam engine or four- the 275 GTB is often considered one of the greatest and most beautiful Ferraris of all time.

It was the company’s sportiest road car during its 1964-1968 reign, and tended to attract an interesting clientele. When the very nice owner of this car entrusted it to us to sell, he knew the basics of its history but neither he nor the dealer from whom he had acquired it several years earlier had drilled down into the details. That’s what we love and although it may not add financial value it brings a cars story to life. If nothing else, it excites and motivates us.

We trawled through 1960s newspaper archives, visited the factory and reached out to contacts. Finally the first owner’s name emerged: Avvocato (later Cavaliere) Raffaello ‘Dante’ Straziota. The Roman lawyer and financier had major interests in real estate and a lifestyle worthy of a prince: more than 1,500 of the capital’s ‘Who’s Who’ were invited to his daughter’s 18th birthday party at the family’s sprawling estate, complete with a swimming pool featuring underwater music and even an atomic bunker.

We tracked down Straziota’s daughter, a very entertaining lady who shared memories of wild times with the dark blue Ferrari, including driving it around the grounds of her parents’ house without either a licence or permission.

Like so many Ferraris, the 275 GTB spent its later years in North America before returning to Europe. While in our care we enjoyed producing some fun video content with it, and also took it to Paris, where we photographed it in some of the most beautiful settings the French capital has to offer. It’s now gone to a new home and we hope it’ll be enjoyed by the owners enthusiastic daughters as well!

Just launched for sale: the ex-Gianni Bulgari 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, chassis 080. “Enzo Ferrari was kind enough t...
15/06/2026

Just launched for sale: the ex-Gianni Bulgari 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, chassis 080.
 
“Enzo Ferrari was kind enough to say in an interview that I was the most promising gentleman driver. I was actually normally talented, but average by today’s standards.”
 
A typically modest reflection from Roman jeweller and racing driver Gianni Bulgari.
 
His final competition car in a succession of great machines that included a Ferrari 250 GTO, this Porsche 904 was delivered new to Bulgari in Rome and driven on the streets of the Italian capital before heading to the 1964 Targa Florio. He led the race before suspension damage forced retirement.
 
Just weeks later, Bulgari drove chassis 080 to outright victory at Mugello against three Ferrari 250 GTOs, including two 1964-specification cars.
 
Sold in 1965 as Bulgari retired from racing, the 904 passed to American driver Sam Posey, who campaigned it successfully at Daytona and Bridgehampton before selling it on. Acquired by a European collector in 1988, it has remained in single ownership for the past 38 years.
 
A famous Porsche with exceptional history, wonderful usability and eligibility for many of the world’s greatest historic events.
 
Available now.

20/05/2026

In the latest episode of The Gstaad Guy’s series, Simon joins the conversation on cars, authenticity and the rare privilege of making a life out of what one genuinely loves.

Watch the full episode on YouTube, Spotify or ApplePodcasts: https://linktr.ee/gstaadguypodcast



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