SCARAB ROADSTER: DID YOU KNOW?
Lance Reventlow’s mother, Barbara Hutton, was one of the wealthiest women in the world thanks to her Woolworth fortune, while his aristocratic father was the Danish Count Kurt von Haugwitz Reventlow. Born in London, Lance soon relocated to America for prep school in Phoenix after his mother secured custody following an acrimonious divorce. Reports state that on his 21st birthday his inheritance was $25million, which provided major funding for the Scarab team.
As well as his racing pursuits – which started in 1955, aged just 19, with a Mercedes 300SL ‘Gullwing’ – Reventlow’s playboy lifestyle included polo, skiing, a spectacular Modernist home in the Hollywood Hills and a succession of gorgeous celebrity girlfriends, among them Natalie Wood, Jill St John and Cheryl Holdridge. After the closure of RAI, he had the first Scarab (chassis 001) converted for street use.
Reventlow died in 1972, at 36, in a Cessna 206 flown by a student pilot, after crash-landing in a box canyon en route to buying property in Aspen.
The Scarab’s spectacular colour scheme is credited to the offbeat hot-rod artisan Kenneth Robert Howard, better known as Von Dutch, who also detailed James Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder and Steve Mcqueen’s Jaguar XKSS. When the body styling was finally resolved, Von Dutch was enlisted to mix up the signature blue metallic paint, which he set off with bold white scallops and distinctive pinstriping. Working after hours, he would arrive with beers and paint through the night. When the crew arrived the next morning, the shop would be a mess but when they peeled back the masking, the body finish looked stunning. Each Scarab was individually painted and the details, particularly the striping, varied from car to car.
Reventlow had a unique sense of humour, which the distinctive team badge highlights. Designed by Von Dutch, the logo centres around an Egyptian dung beetle known as the Scarab, encircled by two sinister-looking snakes. Theories for the choice vary from the beetle’s symbolism for immortality to, more likely, an in-joke mocking the stallions, big cats and tridents of European marques. The team was also known as ‘Ecurie Flat Cat.’
The sensational styling of the Scarab roadster is credited to Chuck Pelly, an 18-year-old automotive design student at the Artcenter College of Design in Pasadena. Pelly had taken summer jobs at Kurtis-kraft, and was suggested by the specialist. Just one sketch was drawn before plywood formers were made for Emil Deidt to hammer out the body panels. Influences ranged from the Aston Martin DBR1 to Bonneville streamliners, claimed Pelly. After Kessler crashed the first Scarab at Riverside, Reventlow – who had never liked the original shape – got the chance to revise the styling with a leaner nose, head fairing, and more muscular tail. Pelly went on to become a respected industrial designer, with credits including the Porsche 910, Cattiva catamaran, Disney monorail, Samsonite furniture and various BMWS with his company Designworksusa.
The longest owner of a Scarab roadster was Milwaukee racing legend Augie Pabst. After joining the Meister Brauser team in 1959, he raced the Scarab successfully through to its final victory at Continental Divide Raceways in 1963. Pabst always loved driving the Scarab and eventually bought chassis 002 in 1977, competing regularly in historic events for the next 40 years before selling it to John Mozart.