1949 Nardi ND750
Nardi of Torino, Italy, did not manufacture only steering wheels. They also built wonderful automobiles for use on both the street and the racetrack. I could go on for words numbering in the tens-of-thousands, but Dino Brunori has already done that in his seminal work, Enrico Nardi: A Fast Life. If you’re into Italian machinery, this book is a must-have. Furthermore, if you can afford it, why not add one of Enrico’s astounding racecars to your collection?
I will admit, I’ve been on the hunt for a particular Nardi racer since I first learned about it in 2007. The car is the ex-Paul Gougelman Nardi ND750 that he purchased from Tony Pompeo in 1952. I learned about this particular car during a visit with the Chicago “Lunch Bunch” while researching the history of the car that Gougelman campaigned after he retired the Nardi. Gougelman raced out of Wilmette, Illinois, and by all “Lunch Bunch” accounts, was an interesting guy and one heck of a driver. Since I own one ex-Gougelman racecar, I figured owning a second one made perfect sense (in some alternative universe devoid of wives and psychiatrists). So I’ve been hunting for this one for more than six years without a single lead.
