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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

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A Life of Lancias, Part 1

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Lancia racing mechanics with a Flavia on the 1970 Tulip Rally. Lucas is in the middle.

By Pete Vack and Lucas van Dobben

Of all the weird and wonderful marque enthusiasts, Lancisti are among our favorites. They are technically astute, very intelligent, well-spoken and articulate and yet have a burning passion usually reserved for Irish soccer fans. Recently when a reader wanted to know if one of our archived Lancia stories was still available (yes, they are), he attached a photo of his daily transportation in the sixties with his young son in the car. It was an ultra-rare Appia Zagato Sport. Are we on this? You bet. A correspondence began and became the story of one Lucas van Dobben and his life of Lancias.

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A Lancia Sport Zagato for daily transportation, and van Dobben’s son seems to enjoy it too.

[Read more…] about A Life of Lancias, Part 1

And How! 4-11: Pegaso in New York

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And How! is a new regular feature in VeloceToday, just right for those stories which are too short or too little or news items that don’t qualify as full length articles.

Mystery of the New York Auto Shows

If looks could kill. An unhappy model decorates the Trujillo Pegaso. Photo by Jerry Lehrer.

[Read more…] about And How! 4-11: Pegaso in New York

Phillip Island Classic, 17-19 March 2017, Australia

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Karanfilovski Alfa Romeo, turn 2.

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

Drivers from the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Belgium, Germany and New Zealand joined the Aussies at the 28th Phillip Island Classic on the weekend before the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. Attracted by the sweeping island circuit south of Melbourne, they enjoyed three days of racing across nineteen categories.

Following practice and qualifying, the oldest of them all, (car not driver) Alan Telfer’s 1926 Bugatti 37/37B was the most consistent of the forty-one competitors in the first Regularity matched-lap-times event on Friday afternoon. During the weekend, second places were earned by Gerard Knapp’s 1974 Alfa Romeo 1600 GT Junior and Bob Pinkerton’s 1955 Peugeot Belchamp GP. Others to do well were Trevor McPherson’s 3rd in his 1968 Alfa Romeo 1750 GT Veloce, Ernst Luthi’s 4th in his 1971 Alpine Renault A110 and Peter Axford’s 1970 Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato. Richard Longes’ 1927 Bugatti 35B almost matched Telfer’s in the age stakes. [Read more…] about Phillip Island Classic, 17-19 March 2017, Australia

VeloceToday for April 4, 2017

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Below, a tribute to the late Kyle Fleming; And How! Features Ferrari at Indy, 1956; the rest of the scene at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting, and Graham Gauld at the Maserati factory in the fifties. We need your help; please don’t forget to subscribe!

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Graham Gauld at Maseratil, 1957-1960

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From the Archives: VeloceToday contributor Graham Gauld takes us back to the Maserati factory in 1957, 1958, and 1960. Says Gauld “Little was I to realize it at the time but in three of my earliest visits to Maserati I was actually witnessing the slow rundown of the business which led to administration and then to reformation. These were hectic days at Maserati but also days of great enthusiasm to build racing cars and develop the road cars that temporarily saved the company.” We present these great photos by year. Enjoy!

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And How! April 4: A Bad Day for Ferrari

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And How! is a new regular feature in VeloceToday, just right for those stories which are too short or too little or news items that don’t qualify as full length articles.

Ferrari’s Bad Day at Indy
Photos courtesy of Dale LaFollette

Motor Racing June 1956: “The two most interesting entries for Indianapolis in 1956 are the Ferraris. Bardahl’s six cylinder experimental car, entered by Bardhal Lubricants, Florence, Italy, with Farina driving, and the 12 cylinder-engined Ferrari Special, entered by Mrs. Marion Chinetti, of New York, the driver of which has not been nominated.”

Farina must qualify and have to pass his Novice Driver’s test and his car will have to carry three stripes on its tail until he has successfully passed the test. Here Farina is seen in the old V12.

[Read more…] about And How! April 4: A Bad Day for Ferrari

Goodwood Members’ Meeting Part 2

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This 1965 Lola T70 chassis SL70/1 was first driven by John Surtees in 1965. John was reunited with the car when he drove it during the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Entered in the Surtees Trophy by Grant Reid and was driven by Tony Sinclair.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Last week, Jonathan Sharp showed us all the neat Italians and French cars at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting, held on a cold March 18-19. This week, the rest of the cast.

It is hard to believe, but the 75th Members’ Meeting was the 47th motor sport event held at Goodwood since the first Festival of Speed It was also the first event to be held since the death of John Surtees who had been a staunch supporter of the Goodwood events since the first event back in 1993. With the Members’ Meeting being held just nine days after John’s death it did not allow the event team enough time to organize a more formal tribute to John; but just before the start of the Surtees trophy race on Sunday afternoon, a minute of noise, in which as many cars as possible in the paddock was started an rev’d, was held in John’s honor. Below are many of the non-French and Italian entries which deserve to be highlighted in VeloceToday. [Read more…] about Goodwood Members’ Meeting Part 2

Remembering Kyle Fleming

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Kyle Fleming photo by Mary Decker Vack.

Story by Pete Vack
Color photos by Jim Salerno

After a brief illness, Kyle Fleming passed away on March 26th,2017. This article originally appeared in “Viale Ciro Menotti” in 2010 but we think serves well as a tribute.

757-499-5170: Anyone who has dealt with Kyle Fleming knows this number by heart. There is no second line and 5170 is always busy. There is no type of recording device. After forty years the number is still the same and still only one incoming line. As a nod toward modernity there are now three phones, one on the wall and two remotes.

Fleming once joked that getting in touch with him is like standing in line for a buffet; everybody’s in a hurry until they get there. “This way everyone has the same opportunity to contact me. I tried the leave a message routine but things got messed up and some people weren’t called back and that caused more problems.”

If you get through to this number you will quickly memorize, odds are Pat will answer. “I’m sorry but Kyle is on a run to the Post office, can I have him call you when he returns?” The voice is cultivated, polite, but firm. Pat has been Kyle’s companion since, well, she won’t say how long but a good while now. A good while. And when he broke his back—twice now, carrying unusually heavy Maserati parts—Pat, a Certified Nursing Assistant, was there for him, taking care of him, keeping the business going. Kyle is indispensable when it comes to Maserati owners; Pat is indispensable to Kyle. [Read more…] about Remembering Kyle Fleming

VeloceToday for March 28, 2017

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This week we welcome Sean Smith to the ranks of our contributors. Sean writes about the life, family and shop of Lancia and Alfa mechanic Domenico Spadaro. Jonathan Sharp freezes frames and fingers at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting; we have a new mini feature, “And How!” Don’t forget to subscribe, do it for a year!

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Domenico’s Legacy

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Domenico Spadaro rebuilding a Ferrari 275 GT transaxle. Photo courtesy Spadaro family.

Story by Sean Smith

Domenico Spadaro began his apprenticeship as a mechanic at twelve years old. Initially, his father wanted his son to be a cabinet maker. However, after spending only one day in a woodworking factory, he decided that he’d become a mechanic. The very next day, he strolled into the only garage in town and asked to be made an apprentice.

He went on to open his own shop in his father’s barn in 1936 at the tender age of sixteen. At the time, the only vehicles seen on the rugged roads of pre-war Sicily were motor bikes and the occasional Fiat. If you were wealthy, the car to have was a Lancia or an Alfa Romeo. These affluent landowners came to learn of Domenico’s talents and hired him to come and repair their autos at their estates. One interesting client owned an Alfa Romeo 8C that was occasionally used as an ambulance to ferry rich patients to hospital. Domenico worked hard at mastering how components of an engine worked with one another to make an engine sing. The war came and he served in the Italian army, returning to formally open his own garage on the “small” main street of Roccalumera, Sicily. [Read more…] about Domenico’s Legacy

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