By Neil Young
Neil Young and his wife, Ruth took a well-deserved vacation in a beautiful spot and guess what? They also got to drive some pretty nifty vehicles as well!
Debbie Travis Tuscan Rally: September 2025
One day in 2024, my wife Ruth came home from her garden club meeting with a thought. Might we like to do something a gardening friend had just done with her husband?
Would I be interested in going to Tuscany and driving a selection of curated vintage sports cars every day for a week? Hmmm… let me think about that. YES!
A quick Google search turned up this website: https://tuscangetaway.com/classic-car-rally-retreat/
OMG YESSSS!
We “applied” to book a week in September 2025.
The application asked all sorts of questions, as I am sure they were vetting the potential participants. Ruth suggested it may have been a “fatal” error to mention that I had a race license and a “Vintage” race license to boot! We did not hear back for several weeks, and I was starting to believe she may have been right! Then, finally, we got a confirmation that our application had been accepted (approved?), and we were in!
Debbie Travis, for those who may not know, is a former model turned designer and creator of content for her Reality TV shows, YouTube videos and numerous podcasts. She was also the Canadian Tire, “in-house” designer for years, lending her name to CTC paint and many other CTC decorating products. Her line is now offered exclusively through Giant Tiger stores.
Her YouTube mini-series, Dolce Debbie, is an interesting preface on how she got to where she is now. You can view it online.
Debbie, with the support of her German born, Canadian husband Hans, realized the vision of creating a Tuscan villa, Villa Reniella (trans: small kingdom), dedicated to being a place for women to spend quality time, (spa, yoga, meditation, massage, healthy nutrition and sisterhood). A place where women could be themselves for themselves, without the pressure of family, society and the world in general beating down on them.
After several years of hosting these “retreats” Debbie confided that the program was too consuming for her. Providing her guests with the level of service she wanted to, simply became overwhelming.
It was after Debbie and Hans had experienced a short vintage sports car tour, taken for their own enjoyment, they decided that doing a bespoke version of this for a week for “guests” might be something they could try. “Ladies’” weeks could alternate with “Rally” weeks, diluting the stress!
The last I heard, the Ladies’ weeks have been suspended for the most part, and the Rally weeks live on! Hooray!
Husband Hans does the heavy work in managing the guest logistics and rally bits and Debbie is a perfect host, bidding drivers and co-drivers adieu as they head out each morning and welcoming everyone back after our day on the roads. Debbie and her long time, best friend Jackie, regale guests with their many stories, I expect perfected after many telling’s!
I presume these activities must be way less taxing than working with large numbers of retreat guests.
Ruth and I agreed the week we spent with Debbie and Hans was as nice as we have experienced anywhere… and that is not counting the cars or the driving!
Debbie is an accomplished designer and a very fussy one at that. Our accommodations, very thoughtfully, lacked nothing. Meals, breakfast, lunch and supper, were amazing whether they were prepared in the house at the Villa or at a Tuscan restaurant. Lunch was usually at a Michelin-rated establishment and the “at home” meals were at least equal to them.
Understandably, lunch on the road was a non-alcoholic event, but we were always treated to some very special local vintages for our evening feast, usually gleaned from Hans’ personal cellar.
Hans accompanied us as the on every tour “clean-up man” in his beautiful 250SE Mercedes Benz convertible.
Our driving entourage included nine couples, one single guy, and over the course of the rally, eighteen vintage convertibles, to share. Six rally support crew plus Hans, managed the cars and drivers, the route and assisted elsewhere as required. The rally crew included a mechanic driving a flatbed with one vintage sports car on board, should either be needed.
The rally crew were a great bunch of guys, some French, some Italian, (Scuderia/Equippe Rally Support Team) who only spoke English to each other as neither nationality was fluent in both French and Italian. English worked for everyone!
The other guests included two American couples, the men owning MGBs, a single American guy who restores Detroit iron, a couple of couples from Montreal, Porsche owners, a couple of women from Kingston who really wanted to enjoy the Rolls and Big Benz’s, a couple from Toronto, hosting relatives from Scotland (Loch Ness even!) and finally there was a couple who live less than 5 minutes from our place near Acton, Ontario. They owned a car dealership in Milton!
Before our trip started, I figured out who was the car wrangler for the retreat was, by doing some internet sleuthing. Following communication with an enthusiastic Fabrice, I discovered the identities of some of the cars we would have available. This would include a Daimler SP 250 Dart!
I had to laugh because the Daimler that we were about to experience, seemed to me to be pretty rare and exotic, at least to my circle of friends. I wasn’t sure there would be anyone who even knew what that was.
It turned out the Toronto man and his Scottish brother-in-law, both, at 16 years old, learned to drive on an SP250, at home in Scotland, on their “Estate”! Wow… who would have thought?
Hans is a very cool guy, and we shared many really interesting conversations, mostly car and bike related, but he is also an astute businessman seemingly managing Debbie, and her affairs, perfectly! His current ambition is to set up a Canadian Tire-like business in Italy, as there is nothing comparable there now. I have no doubt he has the skills and energy to do this!
And then there’s the cars! Fabrice LeJoy manages his fleet personally for Debbie and Hans.
The centre of his operation is in Nice, but he now keeps a significant contingency of cars in Tuscany. He is a certifiable car nut, so we got on famously, sharing many life/car experiences! Each of his classics has a great story regarding its history and its subsequent acquisition by Fabrice. I believe he has close to 100 vintage cars in his stable between his two locations.
Our first full day at Villa Reniella was one of orientation, where we met the other guests, making friends instantly, sharing the same enthusiasms. We spent the afternoon exploring and then lunching in Montepulciano, 15 minutes away. We returned to the villa for pool time, liquid refreshments and then a welcome banquet, during which the intricacies and procedures of the upcoming driving were described.
The twelve drivers and co-pilots were given a selection of as many as seventeen vintage convertibles to choose from. The leftover cars were then driven by the rally crew. The twelve couples were split into two groups of six and then sent out with a few minutes separating the groups. The rally crew would drive a car at the lead and end of each group; the lead car giving directions and cautions via walkie-talkies. Co-pilots could give information on their walkie-talkies to the helpers about problems or concerns that might “pop” up.
Some of the more laughable call outs by Fabrice were: “Don’t let those other cars cut into our line, stay close, no eye contact, drive as if you were French!” or: “Go, go, go! Don’t stop! Red lights are only a recommendation here!”
The daily driving drill was: Get up, (not too early) have breakfast and choose your first car for the day. Drive about an hour and a half to a scenic venue for coffee. Swap cars after coffee then drive another hour and a half to lunch. We then enjoyed a wonderful lunch, usually Micheline Rated and often accompanied by a remarkable view. We would swap cars again and then enjoy driving back to the Villa. At the villa we were met by Debbie and staff with cool damp towels and refreshments to be consumed sitting around the infinity pool. There we exchanged stories and exaggerations about our day’s drive and our lives in general!
This tour included some of the nicest “driver’s roads” that I have ever experienced, probably because they were carefully curated for our driving pleasure. Many are shared by the annual Modern Mille Miglia. No straight stretch was more than 500 meters long, except for one very short stint on a four-lane highway. The curviness of the roads was matched by the undulant elevation changes, occasionally one needed to lift up in their seat to see where the road went. The views were magnificent! Often, we ran along ridges where we viewed thousands of acres of rolling fields of olive trees, sun flowers and freshly ploughed earth, with a beautiful stone villa or ancient village perched on almost every high point. The driver managed to capture just glimpses, as the driving truly occupied almost all their attention, with switchbacks being a featured dish on your driving menu.
Unbelievably the roads were for the most part deserted, with only occasional vehicles coming towards us. Apex-ing turns could be done safely when visibility allowed. When a modern car with a “faster” driver came up from behind they were usually waived by, or the convoy would pull over, but this didn’t happen very often.
By the way, our weather was perfect for the whole week! Oh, what fun!
Then, there’s the Cars!
My personal impressions…
1958 Porsche 356
Speedster 1600
Our First Drive of our “Rally” week.
It did not disappoint. This was no garage queen and had a lovely patina that has developed naturally in a car that’s obviously been enjoyed regularly over its 69-year life. This early, bare-bones, short wind-screened Porsche made all the right air-cooled noises. It was nimble in the corners and under braking… and it revved so easily. Because it wasn’t that powerful, you got to do lots of gear-changing and honestly, when you hustled through the gears, the gearbox behaved better than my modern 911.
The only downside was that some of the detents that held the seat in the fore/aft position seemed to be missing. I could only lock the seat in the furthest back position where I couldn’t depress the clutch properly, or in the closest front position where the steering wheel was in my chest, NASCAR-style. The NASCAR-style worked best for me and with such a large diameter wheel no significant muscular effort was needed. Oh, what fun!
1962 Rolls Royce
Corniche II Cabriolet:
So elegant, so period!
Gracious, comfortable, bespoke interior, Connolly hides and burled walnut. Old school British luxury at its best.
Having the “Spirit of Ecstasy” lady perched on the top of the very upright rad facia, gave one the sensation this car was even longer ahead of the windscreen than it actually was.
It was very important that you perfected your queen like vertical rotating wrist wave, shown to the masses, who assumed you were someone important!
1967 Mercedes Benz 250 SL: A true “grand tourer”, and one of my favourite cars!
This elegant “pagoda-roofed” two-seater was civilized, comfortable and had adequate power.
I used mostly only 3rd gear, because it had lots of torque and pulled effortlessly
It featured pure sixties dash, instruments and controls with a huge, skinny steering wheel. What’s not to like?
1958 Mercedes Benz 190 SL:
A real sports car! Surprisingly!
This car had a great sound and reasonable suspension but fairly vague steering. It had the typical huge, skinny Mercedes steering wheel of the period along with a notchy stick shift, and a very responsive throttle tip-in.
A beautiful car and very popular with onlookers. (I had to keep saying: “No, it is not a 300SL!”) I believe this is exactly the same car that Grace Kelly is famously associated with when she drove with Frank Sinatra in the movie High Society. Very cool, eh?
1969 Jaguar XKE 4.2:
Yes, to all the questions!
This E-Type had lots of power, a nice sound and all the right looks, although the shocks seemed a bit tired and some worn bushings in the rear suspension caused some power on/power off rear steering issues. There was, however, that lovely view out over the hood and fender bulges! The car felt smaller than it was when cornering and of course it had that presence! “The world’s best crumpet collector!” Indeed!
1967 Citroën DS21 Cabriolet with “Henri Chapron” Coachwork:
Regrettably, we didn’t drive this odd gem.
My observations were: this car is very French… and very, very different!
It is intensely complicated with a sophisticated hydraulic suspension system. In fact, everything on this car runs off the hydraulic system! It was delightful to watch it move up and down when it is started or turned off. When accelerating from rest, it would seem to leap up and forward, like a crouching cat starting to run. So very cool!
Purportedly, it had the smoothest ride over the many very bumpy roads we encountered
It is not very powerful, but certainly adequate in that department. It had Citroën’s semi-automatic (B.V.H.—Boîte de Vitesses Hydraulique) transmission that has no clutch. It’s peculiar in that it isn’t an automatic transmission, it is a true manual ‘box with an automatic, hydraulically actuated clutch, so no pedal to push, you just shift the gearlever. Weird, eh? Everyone who drove it enjoyed it!
1961 Daimler SP250 Dart: Another real sports car!
The Daimler has tons of power from its small displacement hemi V8. The curiously Chrysler-like 2.5 litre engine mounted in this British glass-fibre bodied rarity provides more than adequate oomph and lots of conversations.
The car has some pretty odd styling, but it is lively in the corners and lots of fun on the straights, especially when you could hang back a bit and then give it a squirt.
Ruth liked the bottom-feeding fishy look about it!
1978 Aston Martin V8 Volante Convertible:
A big RHD Brit!
One of only ten Volante V8s. It was created, post-production by a Middle Eastern company who would take your new AM-V8 and then cut off the roof to transform it into a convertible, for the same bucks you paid for the car! The company collapsed after making only 10!
When getting ready to drive it, I found it had an automatic and was RHD. No problem, I was looking forward to trying it out, but I ended up doing so under difficult circumstances. When I was due to take it over, the Rally Support Crew driver who had been piloting it, complained to Fabrice that the brakes didn’t seem to be up to snuff. After a short investigation it was determined that the brakes were good, but the car was idling at 3500 rpm due to a mal-adjusted carburetor! I guess because it was an automatic, the driver never put two and two together.
Fabrice, having realized that I was the most car-savvy guy on the guest list (LOL), asked if I would drive it anyway, perhaps turning the motor off if I needed to slow more urgently. I agreed somewhat reluctantly, but our mechanic resolved the difficulty of the proposed solution by basically shutting down the guilty carburetor. Needless to say, the subsequent performance was not stunning, but it was fun to drive anyway, even from the right side of the passengers’ compartment.
1981 Ferrari 308 GTS:
An amazing looking car!
Yep, it’s RED! RED! RED! This was a low car with a mid-engine, great campo wheels, a beautiful, gated shifter… you’d think it had it all, but the driving experience… meh!
This must be the most unresponsive Ferrari ever. It was low on power, had vague steering, and an uninspiring sound.
Apparently, this car was a North American export model, with emissions-compliant fuel injection.
I was told by Fabrice that he also had a Euro-spec carbureted model, which would run circles around this one. Unfortunately, it was in Nice.
1986 Mercedes Benz 560 SL: Really?? A sports car??
This large, cumbersome car reminded me totally of my mom’s 2-speed 1966 283 Chevelle, except the Chevelle was ’way quicker and handled better! All I can say is that if you only used 1st and 2nd gear in the automatic tranny, it would make a noise, mind you not a pleasant one, and gather speed faster than if you left it in drive. I did get the feeling that this Merc did not like me doing that!
1983 Lamborghini
Jalpa 3.5:
Crazy looks, best off-throttle noise!
This car definitely has the “Super Car” look and feel about it and was fun to drive! It went and handled ’way better than the Ferrari, but its best feature was the off-throttle backfiring that lent a sportiness to it that is only matched by the same “blat, blat, blat” produced by my Caterham Seven.
1956 Porsche 550 RS Spyder: No, it’s not a real one!
Are you crazy?
But this is an excellent Beck replica, manufactured in the 80’s to exacting specifications, so it has some bona fide vintage creds. It was light, nimble and turned into corners so easily and it was a delight to drive!
It was like the Speedster, making all the right noises. You looked so good in it, James Dean-y even!
It just felt like you were driving a multimillion-dollar car! Ha! Ha!
1993 Porsche 911:
The most modern feeling
of all the cars.
This was the first “real” Porsche model to have a full drop-top since the 356 model. (if you don’t count the 944 Cab LOL) It was the least surprising car of the bunch! It’s a modern 911, so no complaints whatsoever! It was an absolute blast! Enough said!
1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider 1600: Beautiful!
Another Italian car that was so beautiful, but alas, we didn’t get to drive it!
Due to a slipping clutch, it was withdrawn from the selection and ended up riding back on the flatbed as a “lame-duck” back-up after day one.
I was really sad to have missed out on this one.
Some taller drivers noted that the arms out straight, knees very bent “Correct Italian Style” was very present here. A car you would definitely greet with a “Ciao Bella”!
1967 Mercedes Benz
250 SE Cabriolet:
Elegant!
This car was very similar to Hans’ darker car, but unfortunately, we never got to drive this either. However, I must say that everyone who did drive it looked content and very, very “successful”!
A classic beauty!
1952 Jaguar XK 120:
Another gem!
…that I didn’t get to drive. Very disappointing.
It only lasted one day before it had a breakdown and more unfortunately, it happened before we got to experience it. A very beautiful car in the classic Jaguar style, however, very sadly, a significant caliper failure relegated it to the flatbed.
In a final goodbye to our Tuscan adventure, here we are thanking the Villa staff along with Fabrice, Mirko and the rest of the Scuderia/Equippe Rally Support Team. Thanks for your amazing race/rally logistics and repair efforts to keep us paesanos on course. What a remarkable week!
I truly credit Fabrice for his passion and keeping his collection on the road and available for us to experience and enjoy. He believes a car must be exercised to be preserved! Carry on!
We have kept in contact, and I am hoping to meet up with him again, either here, at home or back in Europe.
Also, to credit Hans and Debbie for making their wonderful place available for the perfect “Motorhead” experience!
Finally, thanks to those legendary designers and constructors, most long gone, who created these remarkable vehicles that can still stir one’s mechanical and visceral soul!
Cheers!
Neil