Mick Walsh From the cockpit
‘The Tuesday before Goodwood a scratch was spotted, so that night Mullan resprayed the panel before retiring’
To see the Goodwood Festival of Speed Cartier Style et Luxe Best of Show trophy on my pal Colin Mullan’s kitchen table last month was one of the highlights of my summer. It had just returned from Cartier’s engravers, with Mullan’s name and Monteverdi 375L listed alongside an illustrious group of mostly billionaire collectors and famous owners. To read my favourite mechanic’s name with HRH Prince Charles, Ralph Lauren and serial concours-winner Peter Mullin will keep me smiling for the next 12 months.
Mullan has been on a high since receiving the invitation from Goodwood to enter his superstylish Monteverdi for the prestigious contest. The Swiss exotic has been the 69 year old’s pride and joy since 1972. Only the second owner, he’s restored the car himself and has driven it regularly to events ever since. Highlights include a road trip across Europe with his wife, Bev, and last year it served as his son Jim’s wedding car.
The 375L has always looked very smart but, ever the perfectionist, Mullan set about detailing the coupé for Goodwood. As well as preparing the engine bay and restitching sections of the original upholstery, he resprayed the bonnet. On the Tuesday before, a previously unseen scratch was spotted on the rear wing, so that night he resprayed the complete panel before retiring.
It was appropriate that this car was in the ‘Playboys’ Toys’ class because its first owner, George Bell, was a larger-than-life Chicagoan who headed to Europe in the late ’60s to indulge in various high-octane, alcohol-fuelled pursuits. His passion for speed first led to sponsoring German sidecar-racing ace Helmut Fath through his business involvement with Friedi Münch. Always attired in his signature black suit with sneakers and striped shirt, Bell had a very distinctive style. His road cars were as loud as his voice, including a black Iso Grifo and a Bristol 411 prior to the Monteverdi – and he always upgraded his exotic transport.
“Many of my customers came through recommendations from John Wolfe Racing,” Mullan says. “George first arrived in this big blue Bristol fitted with a Keith Black racing engine, front air dam, rear wing and Minilites. He wanted a pair of oil coolers fitted, and after that first encounter my life took a dramatic turn. George was totally off the wall but we got on really well.”
Already a successful drag racer with his selfbuilt, factory-sponsored Vauxhall Funny Cars all christened Invader, Mullan teamed up with Bell to run a pair of Pro-stock racers, a Dodge Challenger and a Plymouth Duster.
The spectacular imports wiped the board, winning the European championships for two years, and Bell arrived at events in his new Monteverdi with special 8.2-litre racing motor. “From the first time I saw the car, I thought the styling was amazing,” recalls Mullan. “The shape was much better than any Ferrari. And with that modified engine, the performance was mind-blowing. Fuel rationing was a challenge, so George had GP Metalcraft make a special tank and we’d go to Blackbushe for 45-gallon aviation gas drums, which he kept in his basement in Belgravia. His neighbours had no idea.”
After UK rivals complained about his cars’ Lenko transmissions and demanded handicaps, Bell lost interest in drag racing: “George gave me the Monteverdi and headed back to America where he seems to have vanished. The Cartier win would have really tickled him.” And Mullan is still on a high from it, too: “I’ll never forget seeing Darcey Bussell running her hand along the Monteverdi’s low swage line.”
Back to reality, and back home, the restoration of a Triumph Spitfire for his daughter and a Ford Model T Doctor’s Coupe await his attention. “I can’t help thinking about a US road trip in the Monteverdi – doing the Amelia Island Concours would be a dream,” he says. Knowing Mullan’s enthusiasm, I wouldn’t put it past him.