Page 11 - Ferrari in America

avid Bu
1940–1944:
IMPROVISING IN
AMERICA
24 David Bull Publishing
1940
Despite the war, Chinetti was still traveling between France and Italy. He was issued a
Sauf-Conduit Provisoire (safe conduct pass) to travel through Monte Carlo on February 9,
©2024 David Bull Publishin
1940. His address was given as 24 rue Félicien-David, just a block and a half from his 8
rue des Pâtures Talbot showroom. Both were in the 16th arrondissement, among Paris’s
most prestigious, with the Trocadéro Gardens providing the finest views of the Eiffel Tower
and many museums to visit, including the Museum of Modern Art and the great collection
of Monets in the Marmottan.
Chinetti had a new client, Walter Watney. Watney was from an old English family with
lace-making interests in France. Watney chose the motor trade, and had a large showroom
in Paris where he was the distributor for Delage automobiles. When the company got into
trouble in the mid-1930s, he acquired the rights to the name, inventory, and manufacturing.
He then sold off most of the Delage assets and created a joint venture with Delahaye,
thus sparing him the expense of having a factory, while still keeping the Delage nameplate
alive. Watney also started a racing team running Delages, in association with Laury and
Lucy Schell, bringing Chinetti into the Schells’ orbit as well.
Despite the war that engulfed England, France, and Germany, the Italians held an
enfeebled version of their Mille Miglia road race in 1940. It was formerly a 1,000-mile lap
of Italy, running from Brescia to Rome, down the eastern side of the peninsula, and back
©2024 David Bull Pubto Brescia on the west side, through some mountain passes. With war winds blowing, the
1940 version was run over a Brescia–Cremona–Mantova–Brescia public roads course, the
55