The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
By Pete Vack
It took fifty seven years for Jose Fernandez to see his dream come true. But unlike most of us who share similar dreams, he had the staying power, tenacity and the money to see it through. The result is this devastatingly beautiful rebirth of one of Giovanni Michelotti’s greatest Ferraris.
The car that started it all. Roland Bugatti in the first Baby Bugatti next to bigger brother Jean in a Type 43. The photo appeared in many newspapers and created a demand for the Baby Bugatti. Courtesy Bugatti Trust
Read Part I.
In Part II, the mystery of “The Type That Never Was” deepens. Our intrepid model builder also tells us about chassis numbers, specs, and how to buy a Baby Bugatti.
By Marshall Buck
The very first Baby Bugatti was built for Roland Bugatti, Ettore’s five year old son. Proof again that it’s good to be born with a “silver spoon” or in Roland’s case, more like a silver steering wheel. The Baby made its public debut at the 1927 Milan Automobile show, and was priced at 3,900 FF, which seems to be the price most were sold for, though some were delivered at higher prices.
(Photo copyright Merrick Morton, 20th Century Fox)
Ford v Ferrari is a fantastic old fashion movie movie, well written, well directed and cut, wonderful cast, nice relationships and just enough “truth” to suggest the major themes. You want great entertainment in a movie, do not miss FvF. It’s no documentary, but it’s a great ride – for anyone. You want history, the real rather than reel story? Read a book. I could make a suggestion? (Twice Around the Clock, Yanks at Le Mans https://www.yanksatlemans.com/about.html, per the Editor)
Tim Considine
That was an excellent review for which, thanks. I think I agree in large or small part with each of the comments too. Overall, I enjoyed it as a movie (it’s arrived here in Australia), but wearied of so many clank/bang downshifts and malevolent Bandini portrayal. Pity the Shelby character wasn’t half a foot taller but he did the job well. An era of great style and bravery, wasn’t it!
John Waterhouse [Read more…] about Recent Comments from our Readers
Carroll Shelby takes the Lubin 250F out for a couple of laps at Riverside before the 1960 Times Grand Prix for sports cars. [photo; Willem Oosthoek Collection]
Story by Willem Oosthoek
The Birdcage sale left Lubin with one other competition car, the “piccolo” Maserati 250F. He had acquired the car at the factory in late 1959 with his friend Bruno Ferrari, 12 years older and the owner of Latrobe Construction in Pennsylvania. They bought it with the November 1960 U.S. Grand Prix at Riverside in mind, the season-ending Formula One event. It was chassis 2533, previously owned by U.S. privateer Temple Buell.
How to keep an OSCA MT1500 TN on the road…
Story and photos by Sean Smith
Steven Dibdin had been working flat out for a startup company in Brooklyn and was rather burned out; he wasn’t sure if he wanted to work for someone else, and anyway he had an idea for a new company. He went over to White Plains, NY, and asked Santo Spadaro of Dominick’s European car repair https://dominick-european-car-repair.business.site/ if he thought the idea was viable. Santo thought for a minute and came back with “Do you think you can make one of these?” It was a twin spark rotor arm for an OSCA. The honest reply was “I think so.” And behold, a 3D printed OSCA distributor rotor became the first project for Steven’s new company,
British Speed King Donald Campbell practices his craft in his Baby Bugatti. Campbell would set many speed records both on land and water but died in a speed boat record attempt in 1967. His father Malcolm, also a Land Speed Record holder, assists. Photo courtesy the Bugatti Trust.
From the VeloceToday Archives, March, 2011
Part I
By Marshall Buck
I can’t believe that the answer has been in front of me all these years. The answer to what you ask? The answer to the question I often ask myself: How am I ever going to afford a genuine vintage Bugatti? Simple answer…buy a ‘Baby’ Bugatti; a child’s car to be precise. I’m not talking about one of those cheapy Toys R Us plastic jobs. No sir, the one I have in mind is very special….one of the authentic half scale renditions of a Type 35.
Photo by Lisa Cummings
This article appeared in “Next Door Neighbor” magazine, published in Williamsburg, Virginia. Perhaps our readers would like to know a little about VeloceToday’s Editor.
Story by Narielle Living
“To do what you love doing while making people happy is extremely gratifying.” – Pete Vack
For Pete Vack, publisher of VeloceToday, an online magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts, the above quote embodies his approach to life and business. Pete’s unique skill set and experience with both cars and publishing made him the perfect choice to manage the magazine. “Since 1970, I was involved in the purchase, restoration and racing of classic cars, even working for Ferrari of Washington for a while as a mechanic. My experience with classic cars, racing and mechanics plus my knowledge of the Digital revolution, computers, writing and publishing, gave me the tools I needed to publish and edit VeloceToday,” he says. [Read more…] about A Bit About VeloceToday’s Editor
Los Angeles, November 1959. The spanking new, just arrived Lubin Tipo 61 on display in Los Angeles. No, that is not actress Barbara Eden, but JoAnne Pickens, mother of Greg Wood, who supplied the photo. The others are unidentified. [Photo: Greg Wood Collection]
Story by Willem Oosthoek
It is doubtful that Alfieri would have made the commitment to Lubin for a larger Birdcage engine so quickly if he had not already been in the process of enlarging the 2-liter unit into the 3-liter range. As a result, Lubin received the first Tipo 61 ever built, the 2.9-liter chassis 2452.
Hollywood or Bust for Ford v Ferrari…(Photo copyright Merrick Morton, 20th Century Fox)
Our intrepid reporter, having been invited to a sneak preview of Ford v Ferrari shown on November 6th, filed this review. The movie opens in a theater near you on November 15th.
By Wallace Wyss
Photos copyright Merrick Morton, 20th Century Fox
Movies about racing cost a lot of money to produce, and it is likely that the audience could end up just being hard core race car nuts watching it over and over. McQueen had his film Le Mans yanked away from him for going over budget; RUSH didn’t do that well, (I feel it’s partly because the driver’s faces were covered and you couldn’t read their expressions) and it seems that most racing movies seem to have a robot-like interaction between the characters. [Read more…] about Movie Review: Ford v Ferrari
This Fiat, an 1899 2 cyl 3.5 hp Vis a vis, is owned by FCA but displayed at the National Motor Museum Beaulieu and driven by Doug Hill and Ian Staplefield. This is believed to be one of the first Fiats produced and is one of only three known to survive.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
What a difference a day makes. The weather on Saturday had been terrible, with gale force winds and torrential rain for most of the day. It did not bode well for the London to Brighton Veteran car run taking place the next day.
This week we have a review of the movie Ford v Ferrari, and the story of a totally different movie, Genevieve.
From the VeloceToday Archives, November, 2015
By Pete Vack
Perhaps it is the lack of events and publicity that tends to keep the Veterans in the museums (ok, they are not very practical or streetable, but that applies to a lot of later cars as well). The ongoing successful Brighton run proves that enough people are interested to both participate and watch such events even in the usually cold early November dates. Without actually being there, another way to experience the excitement (of which there is plenty) of Veteran cars is to watch one of the best racing movies ever made, Genevieve. [Read more…] about The Joys of Genevieve
A 1957 publicity photo, showing Bob Drake in Joe Lubin’s 1.5-liter Bobtail Cooper/Climax next to his wife Mary Davis. Mary is at the wheel of Bruce Kessler’s 2-liter Ferrari 500TR, a former Johnny von Neumann car. [photo: Joe Playan collection, courtesy Jerry Entin]
Story by Willem Oosthoek
Today only a few surviving California motorracing enthusiasts seem to remember the name of Joe Lubin. Yet, Lubin’s activities were a major part of the West Coast sports car scene from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. After all these years it is pertinent to go back in time and revisit his contributions to the sports.