Ferrari Mailing List: Re: [NPR] Rendezvous Confession

[Dennis Liu (BigHeadDennis]

Todd wrote:

>I recall that the film "Rendezvous" has been discussed on this list.  Below
is an article about a recent confession by the director.  Enjoy.

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One of the most storied automotive films ever, er, filmed, Claude Lelouch's
C'etait un Rendezvous has been cloaked in mystery since the moment it was
released.  Was it one of Lelouch's F1 racing pals behind the wheel of what
often was assumed to be a Ferrari 275GTB?  Was it Lelouch himself?  No, no
and yes.  No, it wasn't a racing driver, the car was a Mercedes 6.9 that the
director still owns (the Ferrari was dubbed in to add to the thrill factor),
and yes, it was Lelouch behind the wheel.

What's more, the girl at the end is Claude's babymomma, and he did in fact
have one spotter, when he exits the second tunnel near the Louvre.  The
spotter was supposed to radio the driver in case there was traffic after a
blind turn.  Lelouch got no signal, so he hammered it.  It turns out later
that the walkie-talkie was broken.

The Ferrari was dubbed in after the 6.9's own score was deemed to be
not-so-exciting (although, due to the Merc's air suspension, it made an
ideal camera car for the touchy gyroscopically-balanced camera), and as
Lelouch posits, the run really did happen, but the Ferrari noises make it
more exciting.  What's more, as Herr Roy -- our tipster and translator on
this one -- points out, yes, there are a few glitches in terms of shift
timing in the film (he counts three), but the fact that 98% of them are
right-on is frankly pretty amazing.

How'd they do it?  Our guess is a chassis dyno on a soundstage, but that's a
card that Lelouch has yet to reveal.

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And for those of you who STILL don't believe that it was a 6.9 Merc instead
of a Ferrari:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwKhd_KzwHA 


Enjoy.

Vty,

--Dennis