Augie Pabst, at the wheel of the Scarab, during the 1959 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside. Pabst went on to finish 9th behind eventual winner Phil Hill in a Ferrari. Photo: Bob Tronolone
Legends Speak

Racing the Scarab

SportsCarDigest

Harry Heuer, whose father was the CEO of the Peter Hand Brewing Company, decided in the late ’50s to go racing. So he bought a BOCAR from Bob Carnes. And after winning his first race at Meadowdale, I think he decided to start a full team. Harry had heard that Lance Reventlow was selling the front-engine Scarabs, of which they built one left-hand drive version and two right-hand drive. I think the price was $17,500. So he talked the directors of the company into buying it.

Augie Pabst
Augie Pabst

I got a call from Harry one day asking if he could speak with Paul O’Shea—who was working for me at the time, in my foreign car agency—because he wanted him to drive the Scarab. Paul wasn’t there but I knew that he had a commitment to drive for somebody else and, while I don’t know what got into me, I said, “Well, I know somebody who would be happy to drive it for you.”

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Steve Natale has been playing with cars ever since he was old enough to first hold a matchbox car in his hand. A lifelong enthusiast of anything old with an engine in it or wheels on it, Steve has been active in the hobby for over 35 years. Currently he owns a successful marketing company with his wife Mary, is an automotive photographer, blogger and writer for several automotive magazines and regular contributor to various automotive websites. Steve has attended vintage car events and visited car museums and collections around the world.
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