Passion
Growing Fast
Everyone can appreciate the friend who drives you around their favourite city, shows you the hot spots, maybe even takes you to dinner. If that city is Austin, Texas, and the car is a near-mythical Ferrari Monza SP2, that insider’s tour becomes notably fast-paced.
In the run-up to this year’s Formula One United States Grand Prix – which took place on October 20th and saw Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz securing first and second place respectively – Ferrari collector Grant Shaw served as our guide to the host city and its rollicking Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
Above: the Texas State Capitol building offers a ‘classic’ backdrop to the sculpted aerodynamic lines of the Monza SP2
Shaw, 53, grew up in Texas and moved to Austin in 2000, years before buying his first Ferrari, a California. Since then, this once-sleepy college town, home to 52,000 students at the University of Texas, has become a tech megalopolis and America’s 11th-largest city. But “Keep Austin Weird” remains the city’s mantra. Shaw says residents remain fiercely protective of that eclectic, freewheeling vibe. “I saw people who were young at heart, a unique energy you have to experience to believe, and I fell in love.”
Shaw helps buck conformity by parking four Prancing Horse cars at his skyscraper condo downtown and taking high-revving trips to COTA. On these urban streets, the Monza’s otherworldly style elicits euphoric smiles and smartphone photos from the citizenry. “It has such a presence,” Shaw says of the Nero Daytona beauty with Grigio Alloy livery.
America’s first purpose-built F1 circuit, COTA added high-octane fuel to Austin’s boom times when it was completed in 2012. And Shaw, the red-bearded entrepreneur and owner of The Range at Austin – a shooting gallery and gun shop – figures half his Monza’s 1,500 miles have been logged on the 3.4-mile circuit. “It’s incredible to be able to run on the same track that F1 runs on,” he says.
Above: Shaw cruises across the ‘Butterfly Bridge’ on 2nd Street in downtown Austin. The bridge is a recent addition to the rapidly evolving cityscape
But it’s not just racing that Austin is now known for. The city and music go together like Waylon and Willie, with Nelson famously relocating here from Nashville in 1972. His concert at cannabis-scented Armadillo World Headquarters that year was the Big Bang that put Austin on the countercultural map.
Since then, SXSW (“South by Southwest”) has come to symbolize Austin’s creative ferment. SXSW has grown from a scrappy indie festival in 1987, to a colossus of music, film, television and tech. More than 1,200 artists performed on 65 stages this year, alongside 91 movie premieres, hundreds of conference speakers and a Who’s Who of Hollywood stars.
Shaw detours to Old 6th Street, or “Dirty 6”. Here, college students, locals and tourists wander past restaurants, bars and music venues, their doors and windows thrown open to lure patrons inside. West 6th Street is Dirty 6th’s upscale cousin, with go-tos including Ranch 616 and Waterloo Records and Video. “Old 6th street is more collegiate, and West 6th is “Hey, you’ve got a job now, you can spend a little more money,” Shaw says.
Above, from left: attendees of South by Southwest on 6th Street; a mural adorns the side of a 6th Street building; Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on the podium following their 2024 US Grand Prix 1-2 Ferrari victory at the Circuit of the Americas; Shaw stepping into his Monza SP2 outside Austin’s iconic The Austonian
But it wouldn’t be a trip to Austin without BBQ, cooked low-and-slow over Post Oak smoke, synonymous with Texas ‘cue for over 100 years. A dizzying selection runs from brick-and-mortar stalwarts to mouth-watering food trucks. The latter includes KG BBQ, the Egyptian-Texan smoked meats from pitmaster and James Beard Award semi-finalist Kareem El-Ghayesh. “It’s a great staple of our diet here, and something pretty unique to Texas,” Shaw says.
Some people assume all of Texas is flat and bone-dry; Shaw is happy to prove otherwise. Lady Bird Lake sits smack in Austin. A fast getaway to lovely Texas Hill Country puts the Monza in its natural habitat. Seasonal wildflowers and challenging curves await, with movie-Western names like the Twisted Sisters and Devil’s Backbone. It’s the perfect place to experience this sleek barchetta in action, and admire its achingly romantic shape. The glass-free design pummels passengers with all the sensation a 799-horsepower, 8,500-rpm V12 can muster.
Above: Shaw ‘buzzes’ the tower of the Circuit of the Americas, at turn 18, in his Ferrari Monza SP2
Shaw is well-versed in al fresco tire cookouts. His collection includes an SF90 Spider, 812 Competizione A and 458 Speciale A, a 296 GTB and Purosangue, and a Daytona SP3 on order. But back within city limits, Shaw allows that traffic is becoming less forgiving for supercars. When Shaw moved here, rules still forbade any building taller than the state Capitol. Today he lives in a 56-story tower, fortunately with room for his Ferrari cars.
“The state bird of Texas is the construction crane,” he says. But while Austin has grown up, its personality remains. “This city is very accepting of whatever your eccentricity is, whether it’s cars or music. Austin accepts all, and I love it for that.”
Cover image: Ferrari collector Grant Shaw enjoying an open-air drive with his Monza SP2 along Auditorium Shores backdropped by the Austin downtown skyline