The Peruvian Connection
Shelby R-Models and Group 2 Racers in Peru

© Benito Lores, Bratzo Vicich, Wolfgang Kohrn - April 2006, last updated on April 24th., 2010

 


Genuine People speak out ....on Ponysite.de

"Hello Wolfgang,

Searching some information on my doings a long time ago, I just happened upon your page with my name and the 1966 Mustang # 8 listed. Just to provide some input, I  ordered this car back in 1966 and brought it down to Lima, Peru, besides some five R GT350s and two Cobras, one road and one street. 

 
I ordered and imported two other notchbacks during 1967 built for two local drivers: Arnaldo Alvarado and Emilio Fort. The 1966 I used for some six months and sold it to Renzo Matellini. 

The person I dealt with at Shelby was mainly Lew Spencer. I have some pictures of the 1967 cars you could use.
I‘ve been back here in the States since 1999.

Such e-mails often initiate a new unexpected Mustang-story for Ponysite and it happened again. We invited Benito to move a bit closer and lean over this "engine room".  

Who is Benito Lores and how did he get his hands on all those treasures?
Well according to SAAC archive notes, some very healthy peruvian families wanted to have fun in racing and were looking for some umbeatable racing cars of that time suitable for their needs. 
Benito Lores was in touch with Lew Spencer of Shelby American and a deal was struck soon after some negotiations.

I compiled a few questions for Benito based on what I was aware of:
a) What was your main business back then regarding Performance cars. 
b) I read you imported the R- Shelbys for some Peruanian that wanted to race
in similar cars against each others.  Any more background on this and some info on the road courses or the few race courses?
c) The R-models we know off were 5R211 (destroyed 67), 5R213 (later owned by driver Bratzo Vicich), 5R530 (Bratzo Vicich) and 5R535 (Bratzo Vicich) 5R540 (destroyed?)
d) Can you tell me the individual stories, what happened to them, damages and destruction of some?

"Well,
quite a few of the characters involved have departed planet Earth and it is nearly impossible to gather lost information. But I will travel more often to Peru and see what I can find. Please find attached some pics I have found in my files. Some were shot by Bratzo Vicich himself.

Personally I left Peru February 10th, 1971, when it seemed the country was heading the same direction of what Cuba still is. Except for the two Cobras, my black 1966 GT350 outfitted with a Paxton Supercharger and probably a couple of the GT350 Hertz, all other Shelbys passed through various owners including repeated ocassions Bratzo. There is a Class A car collector named Jorge N., I know he owns a fully restored GT350, besides a newer Shelby GT 500 I imported for him. 

After the Shelby era, I turned first to Lotus Cortinas and next Escorts TC. Along the way Stuart Turner Ford's Competition Director asked me to set all service logistics for the Ford Team during the World Cup Rallye, which I did from Rio all around South and Central America ending in Puebla or Oaxaca, Mexico. I will list details at a later date.
 
After leaving Peru and residing some 10 months in California ( where my son was born) I headed for Madrid, Spain. In Spain I programmed, developed and built a small re-assembly plant on the road to Valencia (Arganda del Rey) this venture was my version of what the Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO) was to Ford. This lasted through 1975, when SEAT realized they could the same at their Barcelona installations. It was totally self-contained including two Schenk Dynos (U1-16H and probably  a 280 Chassis)





Two 1967 Shelby Hardtops were brought to Peru by Benito for drivers Arnaldo Alvarado and Emilio Fort.

One of the 1967 Shelby Hardtops was entered in the 1967 Inka Rallye.


One of the R-Shelby models (probably 5R211) in front of the "LB&F" signed  dealership together with one of the 67 Shelby Group II racer. Note the Taunus 12M promotion in the shop window. 5R211 and 5R540 were delivered to Callo Motors acc. to SAAC files. 

Bratzo poses with all his treasures (his kids and his R-Shelbys) in the early 80ies 

All Pictures appear courtesy Benito Lores/Bratzo Vicich.

The interview was done some time in 2005 and appeared in our german club mag first.

The story is based partially around an  early R-model Scoop letter from Howard Pardee. We'd like to thank Howard as well for keeping Ponysite informed and we have shared all the details in return as usual... with the SAAC.


We'd like to thank Benito Lores for his honour to open his photobook for our club mag first and now on this website.

Anybody inviting him for a ride in a Shelby racecar is actually welcome to get more  first-hand stories. SAAC has been put in touch with Benito and further research effort has been taken by some to find the remainders of one of the cars and find the others in good hands down there in Peru.



Where are these cars today?
Trust us you aren't the first one who would like to get your hands on one of them. Still there is some mystery about some of the cars, but all efforts seem to be made to find tidbits of missing information

5R530 is today (2006) owned by Mike Friedlander, who owns as well the Ex-Martin Birrane T/A Mustang. We put him in touch with Benito to find out more about the history of his car. Mike bought it from classicdreamcars.com some years ago. Value above 225.000 Dollar. Not bad for a 6.000 Dollar car back then.  

Bratzo Vicich drove the R-Shelbys he owned until the early 80ies. He was a Top Driver in Peru and the R-Shelbys were mostly leading the herd. In the early 80ies he offered them for sale and people were moaning about the asking prices of about 20.000 Dollar. Well, at that time, this was quite high, but seen as of today a marginal amount. Shipping costs were 1200 Dollar extra, which caused additional comments even from SAAC representatives - cars unseen. 

The R-model Scoop went on, that 5 rich business men had ordered through Benito the R-models. Racing took place between the cities and villages of Peru on simple roads. A mix between of what we know as Pikes Peak and Baja California. 
Since the Shelby R-model parts were not really available after 1968, these peruvian Shelbys were substantially repaired after the hard races with normal Mustang parts. So investments for a proper restoration seemed to be high even in the early 80ies, something to consider for the interested buyers.
2 R-models were wrecked, one definitely scrapped, while the other went up in flames (5R540)

Picture courtesy M.Bruns, who lived in Peru back then and watched most of the races as a kid.

The other 3 cars were called "restored" by Bratzo in 1984 with fresh paint and blue stripes and a few available R-model parts. SAAC had serious doubts in that fact, when the offer got known.

When Cobra Automotives Curt Voigt gets his hands on a R-Model, there is little doubt, that it will come out almost like original, with "almost" being a matter of discussion amongst the more philosophic Shelbians.  

5R213, that was owned initially by F. Marti & Co. in Lima/Peru has been dismantled to the few remaining body structure elements and is resurrected and revitalized with R-Model parts for Jay Bentley. 

With the finding of several R-Model parts list, which obviously differed from R-model batch to R-Model batch,  the correct revitalization is in professional hands of Cobra Automotive. Whatever is original in this car finally, you'll be the judge. The Shelby tag definitely will be.

5R535 came "home" to the US from Peru as well in 1984. It was shown at the biggest R-Model reunion at the SAAC 18 in Watkings Glen, then owned by Richard Morrison. It looks much better today.

The NVSAAC has pics of all 3 cars on its website.

Leaves us with the 2 Shelby 1967 Hardtops and some remaining news, we are hiding for your next visit.


Bratzo in his heydays racing in Peru. 
Picture courtesy A.Vicich.

More on the Peru Mustangs and Shelbys from Luis Lamas as of Feb. 2011 - Click here

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