From Muscle to Mercedes
Written by Keith Fudge

Recently, Dennis Gage heard about one of the coolest and most eclectic collections around, so he gathered the crew and traveled north to Ontario, Canada to meet Fred Cini, the owner of this stellar group of classic cars.  Fred described his collection as cars that “look great and go fast.”  After he and Dennis spoke briefly, they went right to the heart of the matter.

First, Fred showed Dennis an awesome 1955 Chevy!  Painted in “Lemon Ice,” it was truly ironic because this car was no lemon!  Fred said that he had owned the car for four and one-half years and that he had made it the best of both worlds.  It has classic looks and modern automotive technology.  On the exterior, the body of the car is absolutely flawless.  On the inside is an interior of tan leather and more billet aluminum than you can imagine.  One really cool thing that Fred did was to carry the Chevy “Bow Tie” theme throughout the trim, even adorning the tops of the door locks!  Under the hood is a Chevy 350 that features a ton of chrome to get you home that was also complimented by the “Bow Tie” logo as well!  Coupled to a 700R4 tranny, this “resto-mod” is truly the cat’s meow!  Next, Fred showed Dennis one of the coolest street rods that we have ever seen in a 1934 Ford coupe.  Again, staying with old-school looks, coupled with modern technology, this understated beauty is drop-dead gorgeous.  All steel and covered with seven coats of black lacquer carefully and tastefully pinstriped, this car is truly elegant on the outside.  What we were about to see on the inside was just as impressive.  The interior is all Lincoln Mark V and covered in the finest leather.  There is also a custom billet dash featuring the legendary Ford Flathead V8 emblem.  However, we just had a sneaking suspicion that this beauty isn’t still equipped with the original engine, and we were correct.  Soon, Fred lifted the hood to reveal a balanced and blueprinted Chevy 350.  Featuring aluminum heads and a nifty Weber carburetor setup, this car is ready for more than a luxurious cruise if the challenge arises!  Another nice touch under the hood is the red firewall that truly makes the chrome come alive!  Stepping up into the Golden Age of Muscle Cars, the next classic that Fred showed to Dennis was a 1970 Chevelle SS.  Painted in silver with black racing stripes, this car features the original interior!  The four-speed shifter mans the power that goes into the M22 Rock Crusher tranny.  That is precisely what the car needs, because under the hood is the heart of a beast in Chevy’s popular and powerful 502 cubic-inch crate motor!  To better stop this cool Chevy after it had fried the tires, Fred has equipped it with four-wheel disc brakes.  To make it look even cooler, Boyd wheels cap the head-turning power of this classic car icon.  All chromed up and ready to go, this pristine Chevelle is a prime example of the car that everyone wanted some thirty years ago, and it is still a car that commands a premium today.  At this point Dennis noted that Fred had shown him cars from the 30s, the 50s, and the 70s.  Then he asked Fred what he had in the way of modern technology.  Fred smiled and told Dennis to follow along.  What awaited Dennis is one of the coolest cars that we have ever seen: a 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.  With an exterior painted in silver and a red and black leather interior that was made to custom fit the owner, this car is simply unbelievable!  Sporting an all carbon fiber body, Fred noted that this technology enabled the car, “to weigh next to nothing and yet be stronger than steel for impact.”  He went on to tell Dennis that the car weighs approximately 3,800 pounds.  Considering that it is powered by a 5.5 liter supercharged V-8, you can imagine the power to weight ratio!  The engine makes 612 horsepower, and Fred remarked that it would go from 0-100 km in 3.8 seconds!  Ranking the highest on the cool factor so far, it didn’t hurt that the doors open in a type of legendary Mercedes “gull-wing” style.  Finally, since it was such a beautiful day, you guessed it; Dennis asked Fred if they could take one of these beauties for a spin.  Fred graciously agreed that the SLR needed to get out and breathe for a while.  He even let Dennis start behind the wheel!  While they were on the road, Dennis remarked that the car was “downright scary” when he would accelerate.  Fred then told him that the car had reached the speed of 300 km/hr on a racetrack.  Okay, if that doesn’t leave a person speechless, we don’t know what would!  In any case, it was evident that the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren has successfully redefined the notion of what a Supercar should be!  Again, we would like to extend special thanks to Fred Cini for sharing his incredible collection with us.  That’s it from Ontario, Canada.  So until our next trip, “Honor the timeless classics.  Happy Motoring!”