stirling moss

An extremely rare alloy-bodied 1963 Aston Martin DB4 GT (above), one of only 75 built, is expected to fetch up to $1 million at RM Auctions' Automobiles of Arizona event at the Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix on January 21. The exclusive competition variant of Aston's famed DB4, the model was formally introduced in September 1959 at the London Motor Show and was based on the race winning prototype driven to victory at Silverstone in May 1959 by the great Stirling Moss. The example on offer is the last DB4 GT built and underwent a complete restoration during 1994-95. The car has a luxurious Connolly leather interior with Wilton wool carpets, handles like a race car and does 150 mph.

High-tech houses full of computerized everything and robotized everything else are all the rage these days, but back in the 60's most people hadn't even dreamed of having remote-operated bathtubs and automatic dumbwaiters. Sir Stirling Moss did, however. Renowned as the "greatest driver never to win the world championship", Sir Stirling retired as one of the most distinguished racing drivers in the world. Having retired after a crash put him into a coma, Moss built himself a swanky townhouse in Mayfair, London, and packed it with all the gadgets and gizmos he could shake a titanium rod at. The best feature could very well be the one-of-a-kind carbon fiber elevator which was built especially for him by the Williams F1 team.

Seem a bit much? Moss certainly doesn't think so: the octogenarian is building himself a new house on a 2,300 square-foot plot along the river in the the retirement community of Deerfield Beach, Florida, complete with all the environmentally-friend credentials you'd expect. Click on the link below to view The Sunday Times video tour of the Moss residence in Mayfair.

Given all the depressing news out of Detroit these days, it might seem an odd time to promote a collection of housewares that evokes the golden age of the automobile. But Sid Ramnarace, a former designer for the Ford Motor Co., has created a stylish line of shiny metallic bowls and coasters that deserves more than a passing look. Each piece is hand-crafted out of recycled aluminum.

Ramnarace, whose own name sounds like it was made for the race-car industry, has named each of his pieces after a famous driver. The Mika Bowl ($160), honoring Finnish Formula One champ Mika Hakkinen, consists of a series of curved spokes that resemble wheel rims on a hot rod. The similarly shaped Moss Bowl ($150), after English legend Stirling Moss, has wider spokes that connote motion and cresting waves. A more minimalist design, which can perhaps best be described as looking like a plastic spike on a golf shoe, defines the Emerson Bowl ($300), an homage to Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi. And, finally, there are the hubcap-like Tazio Coasters ($65), named for Tazio Nuvolari, the Italian Grand Prix star of the 1920s and '30s.

Ramnarace spent 10 years with Ford, helping design, among other cars, the fifth generation Mustang. He earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art, where he studied under the celebrated industrial designer Viktor Schreckengost, who died last year at the age of 101. To view the Ramnarace Metalcraft Collection or to purchase a piece, visit www.ramnarace.com.