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" The annual gathering at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is nothing short of magnificent\u2014filled with priceless and iconic cars spanning more than 100 years of auto racing history.   But tucked in between those record-setting and often priceless machines, an undercurrent of lesser-known gems can be found. Here are our top 10 paddock finds:                Bob Sharp Racing 1970 Datsun 240Z     Bob Sharp&amp;#039;s East Coast racing shop produced a number of interesting creates on behalf of Datsun, but this 1970 240Z served as the car that put his operation on the map. With an incredibly long lifespan\u2014through the 1979 season\u2014Sharp earned multiple SCCA championships in the C Production class and the car, Chassis No. HLS30-05836 even had one P.L. Newman behind the wheel before it was retired.   The car was resurrected in 1986 for sharp&amp;#039;s 17-year-old son Scott who would go on to follow in his father&amp;#039;s footsteps by winning an SCCA national championship in the car. Japanese cars had raced in America long before Sharp&amp;#039;s 1970 240Z, but his accomplishments with the car helped to set the stage for major onslaughts in everything from IndyCar racing to NASCAR decades later.         Bob Sharp Racing 1970 Datsun 240Z                  1925 Bugatti Type 35     Take one look at Nathaniel Greene&amp;#039;s car and it tells a story. Restoration? Not a chance.   Greene&amp;#039;s less-than-immaculate 1925 Bugatti Type 35 stands out for all the wrong reasons in a paddock that prizes itself in Concours-level presentation.   I might be in the minority, but stumbling across a priceless machine like Greene&amp;#039;s Type 35\u2014warts and all\u2014gives me a feeling for what the French race car looked like after a dirt-filled day at the track almost a century ago.         1925 Bugatti Type 35                  1976 March 76B     Fans of Canadian Formula One legend Gilles Villeneuve have seen plenty of his Ferraris from the late 1970s and early 1980s, but this car, one of his last Formula Atlantics, cemented his status as a future star.   In his hands, the March 76B twisted, contorted and squirmed under his heavy right foot, but with lightning reflexes honed from a youth spent driving\u2014and snowmobiling\u2014in Quebec. Villeneuve demonstrated the car control and attacking grit that was necessary to make it to the top in Grand Prix competition.   The 76B, owned by Jon Norman and driven by Dan Marvin\u2014who raced and won against Villeneuve in the wild days of the Atlantic series in the mid-70s, can be credited for propelling the late Villeneuve to the world stage and into the hearts of those who watched him redefine the outer limits of speed.         1976 March 76B                  1956 Fiat 306/2     In terms of cool and unique vehicles in the paddock, few can touch the presence and provenance this massive racing hauler has to offer.   Originally constructed by Fiat and transformed into a multi-car hauler by the Italian Bartoletti coachwork company to carry Maserati&amp;#039;s Grand Prix cars, the behemoth was sold to Revlon heir Lance Reventlow to carry his Scarabs before Carroll Shelby took possession of the transporter to shepherd his Cobras and Daytona Coupes around the European racing circuit.   After Shelby was done with it, the 306/2 spent time as the hauler for Lotus, John Wyer&amp;#039;s Gulf Porsche 917s and was also used in the movie Le Mans.   Restored to its Shelby-era state, the well-traveled Fiat is set to go under the hammer with an asking price in the seven-figure range.         1956 Fiat 306/2                  1911 National 40     Pure, unadulterated, jaw-dropping brilliance.   It`s not often that you get to see a car that competed in the very first Indianapolis 500, but thanks to Brian Blain, the 101-year-old beauty was brought to Monterey to give attendees a glimpse of the technology that helped America&amp;#039;s signature race get its start.   The National&amp;#039;s monstrous 460 cubic-inch 4-cylinder engine propelled Charlie Merz to seventh place in the first Indy 500, and was restored to its original glory to participate at the Indy 500&amp;#039;s centennial event in 2011.         1911 National 40              1983 March 83G-Chevrolet     Long before the IMSA GTP series reached its zenith with auto manufacturers waging sports car wars with 240 mph prototypes, customer cars like David Andrews&amp;#039; Chevy V-8-powered March 83G were the norm.   The March was a good chassis during a transitional time for the unlimited GTP category, but in the case of the 83G driven by Dave Cowart and Kenper Miller, few cared about its competitive abilities.   Then, like now, the No. 25 car will always be known as the &amp;quot;Red Lobster&amp;quot; car due to its unforgettable lobster claw livery. Forget the chassis&amp;#039; history and most of the other things vintage racing enthusiasts tend to care about\u2014this car is here because of its looks rather than its accomplishments.        1983 March 83G-Chevrolet                  1965 Shelby Cobra 427 SC     Meet the Cobra that liked to get in bar fights. And lost. Repeatedly.   And clearly needs a shot of penicillin..and..the owner wouldn&amp;#039;t have it any other way.   Shelby Cobra CSX 3047 isn&amp;#039;t here to race, but owns a unique place among the dozens of Cobras in attendance. There are a few &amp;quot;barn finds&amp;quot; here, and this is the most unrepentant of the lot.   Its owner loves the fact that it was one of two 1965 SCs to come from the factory with Hertz Gold paint, and has no intention of altering its current visuals.   I&amp;#039;d want a tetanus shot and a Hazmat suit before sitting in the thing, and that alone puts this Reunion entry in a category of its own.        1965 Shelby Cobra 427 SC                  1970 Mustang Boss 302     This IMSA GT car started life as a Boss 302 and was transformed into a racing machine by privateer Rainer Neumann. With more ambition than dollars, Neumann went as far with the car as his budget would allow, developing it constantly until pulling the plug on the barely recognizable Mustang project in 1979.   Compared to the svelte Porsches it raced against back in the day, Neumann&amp;#039;s freak-mobile was never going to vie for wins and championships, but now, and in the hands of owner John Watkins, the home-built creation is giving those turbocharged 934s and 935s absolute fits on the vintage racing circuit.        1970 Mustang Boss 302                  1986 March 86G-BMW     Yes, this is the second March IMSA GTP on our Top 10 list, but this one&amp;#039;s here for a specific reason\u2014it&amp;#039;s authenticity.   BMW&amp;#039;s factory IMSA GTP prototypes were the fastest cars on the track in 1986..and also the most fragile. Its 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder was borrowed from BMW&amp;#039;s Formula One program, stroked up from 1.5 liters and sent to go endurance racing.   Unfortunately for its drivers, and mechanics, and BMW North America, the F1-derived hand grenade powerplants exploded with frightening regularity, and held together long enough to score a single win before the program was shuttered.   In an ode to its true history, this March belongs on our Top 10 for being the most period-correct car in the paddock, thanks to its only engine going BOOM before it could take part in Sunday&amp;#039;s race. Everything about the recently restored car is perfect, and now, with a big hole in the engine, the job is complete..        1986 March 86G-BMW                  1917 Hall-Scott The Four     The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion tends to have at least one &amp;quot;I can&amp;#039;t believe it&amp;#039;s real&amp;quot; car on the entry list, and the Hall-Scott The Four holds that honor.   Produced in the Bay Area, company co-owner Colonel Hall intended for The Four to compete in the Vanderbilt Cup, but World War I soon put those plans on hold.   Using the company&amp;#039;s original plans for the car and a small amount of creative license, its owner, Dick DeLuna, had The Four fashioned from aluminum and fitted it with one of Hall-Scott&amp;#039;s 9.9-liter 4-cylinder airplane engines and uses a 1917 Reo Model M chassis to hold the 405-pound engine.   DeLuna deserves credit for completing a project that, based on its looks, would have gone down as one of the best-looking race cars of all time had it hit the track in 1917.        1917 Hall-Scott The Four    "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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