The Bugati Royale is my favorite car of all time, next to or just above a 35' Auburn/Duesenberg 851 speedster's I think. The elegant flowing lines and engineering of it was truly inspirational to me in that quest for Simple Elegance and incredible cutting edge functionality. Back in the day my buddy and I would head off to Reno to see the Harrah's collection. I could stand in awe around it for 45 min. soaking in details like a sponge while all the other things he had paled in comparison. We must have made a dozen quick trips up there and got to know some of the people and actually got to go in a couple of the shops. My buddy had a Bug Eye Sprite and I had a 60' TR3 at the time and enjoyed working on them and a local rally now and then. It never got tiring seeing the craftsmen/artisans in clean white shop coats working on these beauties of the past with a clarity, patience, and passion I have respected since. We were bummed for weeks when he sold it and dispersed all of that to the 4 corners. It was like someone looting the library of Alexandria to me.

Also had the opportunity to work next door to the Pellenc when they first came to wine country. They are pretty marvelous machines with independent 4 wheel steering with hydraulic stanchions to adjust to the terrain and tasks needed for all the optional attachable equipment. An order of magnitude more complex in engineering compared to the IH combines and equipment my Grandpa used to sell at his dealership for 50 years. Yet the engineers there were a bit aloof for my taste but I got to know the head tech quite well because of our mutual passion for astronomy.