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From Horses to Smart Cars

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By Pete Vack

There is no doubt that all of us have some connection to the distant automotive past through friends, relatives or experiences. But consider 91-year-old Frank Shaffer, whose great uncle Doctor Carlos Booth had a car constructed to his design at the dawn of the automobile in the 19th century; 125 years later, Frank drives a Smart Car and is witnessing the demise of what we have traditionally known as the automobile. What’s more, in a remarkable set of coincidences, we found that Frank’s great uncle Booth and his remarkable machine was documented by car collector and VeloceToday contributor Paul Wilson.

This incredible story began when I met Frank at a local auto parts store in 2006. He was younger then, zooming around Williamsburg, Virginia, in his three-wheeled motorcycle, having recently and regretfully sold his pontoon Mercedes 190 sedan. [Read more…] about From Horses to Smart Cars

Dr. Carlos Booth and his Horseless Carriage

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As we have seen (read The Frank Shaffer Story), the chance connection between Dr. Carlos Booth’s great nephew Frank Shaffer and Paul Wilson occurred via comments in VeloceToday. This prompted Paul to pay Frank a personal visit. Thanks to Frank, images from his family photo album illustrated Paul’s yet unpublished story about Dr. Booth and his horseless carriage. A complete, nicely published genealogy gave Paul the ability to trace the connections to the Shaffer family resulting in the final product you see below. [Ed.]

Story by Paul Wilson
Photos from the Shaffer collection

Dr. Carlos Booth had never liked horses. He was an energetic, restless man, who had found that obstacles encountered in most aspects of life yielded quickly to the application of energy and impatience. [Read more…] about Dr. Carlos Booth and his Horseless Carriage

The Royal Ferraris of Belgium

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Story and Photos of 0488 AM by Alan Boe

Three Kings met, with historic results: King Leopold requested it, Enzo Ferrari built it, Pinin Farina styled it.

Royalty and expensive motor cars just seem to go together. You know the types…Park Ward Rolls-Royces, Grosser Mercedes, and stretched limousines of various manufacture. They’re a normal part of any royal retinue. And why not? We’ve come to expect it.

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Goodwood Revival, 2018: A Gallery

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

We present, a bit late perhaps, Jonathan Sharp’s view of this year’s Goodwood Revival. While his cohort Hugues Vanhoolandt did trackside photos, Jonathan concentrated on the people and the paddock area. Always so much to photograph, yet so little time and space. But enjoy, everyone below did!-Ed.

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Don Racine and the Aardvark

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A Conversation with Don Racine: The story of his H-Modified Class Aardvark

By Peter Darnall
Photos courtesy Don Racine Collection

From the Archives, October 2016

Don Racine has been involved with sports car racing for many years. He has developed an affinity for small-bore front engine/front wheel drive machinery and is an acknowledged master of the Mini Cooper’s unique handling characteristics. Don founded Mini Mania in 1974. The firm, which is now located in California’s picturesque Gold Country, has grown to become the largest United States based supplier of parts for the Classic Mini.

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with Don at Mini Mania headquarters. The subject or our discussion was not the ubiquitous Mini, but his amazing Aardvark.

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Lamborghini SVR Restoration

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Story by Roberto Motta
Photos courtesy Lamborghini

Lamborghini Polo Storico has completed restoration of one of the most famous Miuras ever built: the SVR. Upon delivery last summer, the car was exhibited at Japan’s Nakayama Circuit. [Read more…] about Lamborghini SVR Restoration

Ferrari Art, Concept Cars and Facebook

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Story by Pete Vack
Images by Richard Bartholomew

My first reaction was a huge, shit-eating grin, chuckles, and guffaws. There was a photo of a Dino 246GT embossed with all sorts of geegaws and looking totally weird. Then, a Ferrari PF 250GT, now featuring a chopped top and outside exhausts. To cap it off, my favorite Ferrari of all time, the 166 barchetta (little boat), was turned into a jacuzzi. “Ferrari at Spa”, said the artist. It was as if the ghosts of Dean Jeffries, von Dutch, and George Barris had gone berserk and inhabited the computer of Rick Bartholomew. [Read more…] about Ferrari Art, Concept Cars and Facebook

Talbot Lago Grand Prix Cars

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Story by Pete Vack

From the Archives, March 28, 2012


Lead image: Peter Giddings drives his first Talbot Lago, #110007, ex-Chiron. Courtesy Peter Giddings.

Hindsight is a good remedy for perceived mediocrity. Looking back on the 20-odd year run of the French Talbot Lago, it is easy to see that the cars of Anthony “Tony” Lago (born in Venice in 1893) were not only were winners on the concours circuit, but significant winners on the Grand Prix tracks in the post war era. After five major Grand Prix wins, nine lesser ones and victory at Le Mans in 1950, Cyril Posthumus would write, “Lago, in his retirement years could look back on a remarkable chapter of accomplishment.”

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Ford’s Italian Shooting Brake

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Story by Wallace Wyss

In 1964, it seemed like the entire world loved the Ford Mustang. Even the Italians welcomed Iacocca’s baby, and when Canadian Frank Reisner, who ran Intermeccanica in Turin, heard that an American ad agency wanted him to rebody a Mustang, he leapt at the chance. Reisner was already a Mustang fan and owner, having ordered a green 289 convertible for his wife Paula to drive in Italy. “It was my first car ever,” she said. The couple used it to drive from their new apartment in Coazze to Turin, where Frank was engaged in constructing a new Scaglione-designed coupe called the Veltro Titiana.

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Ferraris in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s

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In this article author Barry Farr describes the background to his book “Ferraris in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s” which is a comprehensive written and pictorial history of all the Ferraris that entered the land down under during the 1950s and 1960s. [Ed.]

By Barry Farr

Whilst the likes of Jose Froilan Gonzales and Luigi Chinetti helped establish the Ferrari marque internationally, Ferrari’s presence in Australia was fostered by Englishman Peter Whitehead, Melbournian Bill Lowe and Sydney-sider David McKay. The common factor among these three gentlemen was that each was an esteemed racer in his own field – Whitehead in F1, Lowe in hill climbs and McKay in touring and sports cars. As well, McKay was a respected motoring journalist and thus spread the word about his Ferrari exploits. [Read more…] about Ferraris in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s

Vignale’s Fiat 8V, Castagna’s Alfa

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Story by Graham Gauld

From time to time I go through photographs that have been taken years ago, printed up and then forgotten in boxes. Obviously, some get ditched as they are unlikely to be relevant to anything I intend to write in the future, but others come as interesting surprises. As VeloceToday seems to attract people who appreciate and admire coachbuilding I set aside one or two which I thought might be worth mentioning. These are two such examples.

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Lagonda at Le Mans

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Story by Peter Darnall

“Please don’t call this car a replica. It’s a Lagonda!”

‘Lagonda Joe’ Harding was describing his 1939 red Lagonda Le Mans sports racing machine recently. Joe earned the nickname ‘Lagonda Joe’ years ago for his involvement with both the creation and the racing of these unique Lagonda machines in England. He makes an interesting point: The word “replica” conjures up mental images of shoddy fiberglass contraptions or of clandestine attempts to convert an automotive sow’s ear into a silk purse. These Le Mans Specials are, as Joe stressed, Lagondas to the core. They were built on a production chassis and used period-correct Lagonda components—which is exactly what the Lagonda factory did when they made the original Le Mans specials in 1939.

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