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Mullin Automotive Museum Celebrates Citroën

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Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos courtesy the Mullin Automotive Museum

About six months ago I got a call from an old friend who is part of a members-only group at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Knowing that I have a Citroën DS and an SM, he announced that his group had a special invitation to attend the opening of a new exhibit at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, devoted entirely to the history of Citroën. It didn’t take me long to decide to make the trip, although it is a full day’s drive for me from Sonoma County, 2 hours north of San Francisco. He enticed me further by saying we would drive up there from L.A. in his 1962 Maserati 3500 coupe, which is a pretty brave undertaking considering the traffic there. [Read more…] about Mullin Automotive Museum Celebrates Citroën

Remembering Otto Linton

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Otto Linton passed away on January 3, and we have lost one of the true pioneers of sports car racing in America. He was born in Vienna, Austria on May 12, 1917. He studied engineering at the University of Vienna and immigrated to the United States in 1938. During the Second World War he worked as an engineer and machinist converting factories to war production in Philadelphia. As a youth he was attracted to cars and racing, and after he arrived in the US he was instrumental in the creation of post war racing, helping form the SCCA in the Philadelphia region.

Otto was a keen supporter of VeloceToday from the beginning, and over the years helped us on many stories, including his OSCA and experience with the ex-George Lymber BNC. Both Carl Goodwin and John Wright wrote about Linton’s racing experiences. For this article, we have taken excerpts from articles about Linton which previously appeared in VeloceToday, and in Carl Goodwin’s excellent book “They Started in MGs”. [Read more…] about Remembering Otto Linton

Ferrari 166 MM 0010 M

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Story and Photos by Alan Boe

All old Ferraris have a story to tell but most never get the words out. That, however, is not the case with the magnificent little 166 MM Touring-bodied barchetta, s/n 0010 M, which had its story told twice in Cavallino and in the September 1996 edition of Classic and Sports Cars. It’s worth another look because this one of the most important Ferraris of them all. Ferrari historian and Pebble Beach Judge Alan Boe relates the story.

You may be surprised to find out what it’s like driving an early Ferrari. But before we get into the cockpit, let’s review some pertinent statistics that shed light on the performance and handling characteristics. [Read more…] about Ferrari 166 MM 0010 M

Eisenstark Siata Part 2: The Big Ouch

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Story and photos by Sean Smith

Read Part 1

On June 4th, 2017, Walter and the SIATA won the “Vintage Rallies” award at the 2017 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance. But the car still was not running right—so off it went to Automotive Restorations in Stratford Connecticut.

They were chasing what they thought were some electrical gremlins. They got the SIATA running better, and technician Chip Webb took the car out for a road test.

On June 8th at 1:30 in the afternoon, Chip was waiting for a light at the corner of Stratford and Surf Avenues with his signal on, when a woman in a Toyota Camry came along doing something she shouldn’t have been doing… one hand on the wheel and the other on her ubiquitous cell phone… driving distracted.

BANG! [Read more…] about Eisenstark Siata Part 2: The Big Ouch

And How! The Eager Bearders Bugatti

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And How! features open and innovative formats for notices, articles and posts

By Bill Giltzow

Above and below are two wonderfully evocative photos from the archives of Bill Giltzow. But first, who is Bill Giltzow?

A long time VeloceToday reader, Bill has contributed a number of rare photos to illustrate a few of our articles, from

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VeloceToday Top Twelve of 2107

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We’ve looked at the stories that generated the greatest number of clicks and hits over the past year, read the comments, and then judged them on overall quality to come up with 12 articles that we feel are the best of 2017. Below are the selections, NOT in an particular order. Click on each banner icon to get right to the story.

Stunning Siata by Balbo, CS071

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Story by Sean Smith

In Part 1, Sean Smith relates the fascinating life of a Siata that has been in the same family for almost 60 years, a story that begins back in 1952 with a most unlikely car….Ed.

Dr. Julius Eisenstark had an eye for unique cars. In 1952 when everybody else was buying Fords and Chevys, he bought a Hudson.

Not just any Hudson, but a Teaguemobile.

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The Making of the Cannonball Run Part 3

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Dom DeLuise, the funnyman’s funny man, enjoys his Italian food along with Italian cars.

Story by Guy Anderson
Photos copyright Guy Anderson
Warning: It is a violation of US copyright law to use these photos including use on Pinterest without express permission of copyright holder.

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

Hal Needham, the director of The Cannonball Run, was a stunt man by trade turned actor/director. Needham had many years under his belt perfecting these types of dangerous stunts and was famous for his ability to place the film-goer on the edge of their seat. He went to great lengths to get his audience involved with some amazing stunts that his productions devised and executed.

This was a time when stunts were actually made by real people; there were no computers to generate these stunts. Just imagine riding in the Smokey and The Bandit Trans Am when it jumped the Mulberry Bridge in 1977 at the Jonesboro, Georgia location. This was an insane stunt that is now made famous in the Smokey and the Bandit franchise. The Trans Am was a real car with real stunt men with a very real and extremely dangerous 150-foot jump over a real rotted-out bridge. Needham made that insanely dangerous and scary sequence happen with precision in its execution.

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And How! Alfa and Maserati Back in F1?

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And How! features open and innovative formats for notices, articles and posts

Photo by Roberto Motta

Photos by Roberto Motta and Alfa Romeo

Roberto Motta recently attended the introduction of the new Alfa-sponsored F1 team and sent us photos and PR blurbs. We tend to dismiss most factory PR, but in many ways, this does look promising, despite the fact that Alfa is sponsoring an F1 effort that uses the Sauber F1 chassis and a Ferrari engine. Not a bad combination at all, given the records of each. But then what does Alfa really provide in for new F1 team? Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA, says this in the PR release: [Read more…] about And How! Alfa and Maserati Back in F1?

A Porsche Christmas Story

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By Pete Vack
From the Archives, 2009

The following true story is based on the recollections of John Wiech, who bent my ear for a few hours at a car meet last year. We originally published this in 2009 and it was one of our reader’s favorites. [Ed.]

The subject had started another family argument. Johnny had become enamored with a rare foreign car but it seemed no one knew exactly how to pronounce the name. It was German, or was it. “…It’s Austrian,” said his Dad. “But made in Stuttgart,” said Johnny, being careful to put the “sch” in. He reasoned that the sch in the car’s name might sound the same and the vowel at the end be pronounced. His older sister said otherwise. “It’s Porch, as in front porch or back porch, without the ‘e’.”

She always thought she was so smart.
[Read more…] about A Porsche Christmas Story

Making of the Cannonball Run, Part 2

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Rodger Moore standing still for the camera shot with Adrienne Barbeau.

Story by Guy Anderson
Photos copyright Guy Anderson
Warning: It is a violation of US copyright law to use these photos including use on Pinterest without express permission of copyright holder.

In Part 1 of the Making of the Cannonball Run, Anderson left our readers with a description of a special lighting prop used in the night scenes:

The crane was positioned before the overhang outside of the double row of cars used in the movie. The hydraulic expanding arms were extended outward and lowered to plant the crane firmly on concrete while the boom was extended. However, the rear arm was extended and its pad was placed on the ground, which was still damp from rain the day before.

As the moonlight crane sat for hours, no one noticed that the soft ground had given way for the crane to tilt ever so slightly. Then someone yelled out that the crane was sinking – just moments before gravity took its toll. The loud crash was heard by all and the film set was filled with screaming that echoed from the walls of the English Inn. Smoke as thick as a London fog filled the area where the crane fell as the bulbs exploded and smoke covered the complete area.

The smoke started to clear around the fallen crane and it was obvious there was something wrong. Initially no one could see what happened, and then as the air cleared, the extent of the destruction was confirmed. An all original, white-with-black leather 1965 AC Cobra 289 roadster was sitting under the crane.

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The Italian American Copper Cobra

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Story and photos by Graham Gauld

Over the years I have attended scores of motor shows and seen many prototypes and oddities on display, some of which went on to have interesting histories and consequences.

Take, for example, the Mercer Cobra that halted me in my tracks at the 1966 Paris Automobile Salon because it looked different; very different indeed. However, it started ringing bells in the memory. [Read more…] about The Italian American Copper Cobra

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