1955 Healy 100 LeMans at Concorso Italiano 2019

Hobnobbing at the world’s largest luxury and exotic Italian Car show

Special Feature from Jon Rosner

Mike Flagiello

On the edges of the giant sea of red Ferraris there are always a few gems to be found. One of this year’s crowd favorites was the 1955 100 LeMans racer of Mike Flagiello of San Francisco and his daughter Marie, who lives most of the year in Paris.

Marie Flagiello

Sporting a four cylinder engine, completely aluminum body with the thickness of the heavy duty Reynolds Wrap, really early Dunlop brakes, a 25 gallon aluminum tank that took up most of the trunk and nothing that won’t help you win a race, the car was delightful.

In spite of the easily bent paper-thin aluminum panels that skin the hood, trunk, and doors, Mike and Marie let a few folks sit in the car to get a sense of the racing world of 1955. This is a real gem. The picture book sitting on a small table presented the years of loving restoration work. Meticulous work done at every step by father, but mostly by daughter, in this very professional restoration of her grandfather’s car.

Starting the LeMans was like unleashing a raucous beast that wanted nothing more than to be let out of it’s cage to run free. Fierce machine gun clatter that smoothed into a barely tolerated lumpy, throaty idle. Just a dab of throttle gave the rear end an invitation to swing around on the golf cart exit trail.

In a flash, all we could see was a bit of the red and black car body and Marie’s red hair flowing towards us in the wind. One more stunning car. Another one not owned by someone who has way too much money and hides their prize in desolation. This is one of the lovely mix of ingredients that makes going to Concorso Italiano such a great treat.