Gallery: Ferrari Intake and Exhaust
[Read more…] about Ferrari Art by Alessandro Gerelli Part 2Voiturettes Part 2: ERA to Talbot
ERA (English Racing Automobiles Limited, Bourne, U.K.)
Competitive years: 1934-1938 Horsepower Range: 180-225
While the MG, Alta, Riley and Austin 750 did remarkably well for Great Britain, the Raymond Mays/Peter Berthon ERA combined a production based supercharged Riley engine with a solid conventional chassis and to launch the best known British upright of all time. It was fast, mostly reliable, and attracted top notch drivers from the U.K. and one from Thailand. Prince B. Bira (for short) was a grandson of King Mongkut, the hero of the book and musical, “The King and I”.
Bira was encouraged and financed by his cousin, Prince Chula Chakrabongse, and the pair bought three ERAs, naming them Romulus, Remus and Hanuman under the White Mouse Stable.
Book Review: Virgil Exner – Visioneer
Virgil Exner – Visioneer: The official biography of Virgil M. Exner, designer extraordinaire
By Peter Grist
Veloce Publishing Limited
Parkway Farm Business Park
Middle Farm Way Poundbury
Dorchester DT1 3AR England
Telephone – +44 (0)1305 260068
Facsimile – +44 (0)1305 250479
E-mail – info@veloce.co.uk
25×20.7cm • 176 pages
ISBN: 978-1-845848-63-7
$39 plus shipping
Order here
Review by Brandes Elitch
“I worked for those guys (Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell, and Elwood Engle), but Ex was unique, he was an artist who loved cars, but the others were sons of bitches that loved cars. They were all tough bozos that drove their designers really hard, but Ex was a great guy to work for.” – Dana Waterman
“His relationship with you was like a colleague, not like you were talking to a Vice President; it was two designers getting together and that’s a very unique relationship to have. He would talk design with you and wouldn’t put you down or put pressure on you…He had a great deal of respect for his designers but he was a perfectionist and he wanted that control, but he was the most creative designer I ever worked with.” – Bill Robinson [Read more…] about Book Review: Virgil Exner – Visioneer
Peugeot Museum, Part 3: Rally, Racing and then some
Photos and captions by Jonathan Sharp
In Part One and Part Two of the Peugeot Museum, Jonathan Sharp took us through the production car history of the long lived French automaker Peugeot. While it was not totally complete, it offered a good view of why this collection is both important and impressive.
This week, we wrap up Jonathan Sharp’s French excursion to Peugeot with odds and ends, trophies, rally cars, race cars, and a work called art that only the French can explain. For a conservative manufacturer, we are reminded that Peugeot has been enormously successful in many branches of racing and rallying. So, if, as Sharp suggests, you have some extra time while visiting the old Schlumpf museum, take in the Peugeot Adventure. Here is the website: http://www.museepeugeot.com/en/home.html
[Read more…] about Peugeot Museum, Part 3: Rally, Racing and then someVeloceToday for December 9, 2015
The Lee T150C SS Talbot, aka “Stinky”
Story by Brandes Elitch
Back in 2008 at the Quail Lodge, what I was looking for was a truly unique car, that neither I, nor anyone else, had seen before, at least not in my lifetime, a car that would blow you away when you saw it. I found what I wanted, and here is the story:
Don Lee started selling Cadillacs in 1906, and was awarded the West Coast distribution in 1919. In 1926, Lee bought KFRC radio in San Francisco, and the next year bought KHJ in Los Angeles. In 1929 he paid for LA’s first television broadcast, and in 1932 broadcast the first motion picture. Eventually, Lee owned twelve stations and became a CBS, and later, Mutual Broadcasting affiliate. To this day the ridge above the famous Hollywood sign, where he put his transmitter, is called Mount Lee. But in 1934, Lee succumbed to a heart attack, at only 54 years of age. His son, Thomas (Tommy) Lee inherited the empire, but left business management to CEO Willet Brown, to pursue, as author Lou Brooks has succinctly put it, “…his other interests, namely race cars and women.” [Read more…] about The Lee T150C SS Talbot, aka “Stinky”
Peugeot’s Time Machine Museum Part 2, 1945 to present
Photos by Jonathan Sharp
Part 2 of Jonathan Sharp’s journey through Peugeot’s time machine museum begins during WII when despite Nazi occupation, Peugeot’s engineers planned the first postwar car, the 203. Peugeot had been building cars for over 50 years by that time and wasn’t going to give up; in fact they survived despite the many changes that eliminated many French manufacturers during the 1950s and 60s, and are now the second largest auto manufacturer in Europe. Sharp’s photos reminded the editor that Peugeot decided to pull out of the American market in 1991, at about the same time as did Alfa and Fiat…and we have not seen any new (and very few old!) Peugeots in the U.S. since then. Peugeot, who now owns Citroen, has stated that they are considering a comeback to the U.S. perhaps by 2018. Time will tell. [Read more…] about Peugeot’s Time Machine Museum Part 2, 1945 to present
Voiturette Racing Cars: Part 1 Alfa through Delage
By Pete Vack
The voiturette (750cc, 1100 cc and 1500cc) races which took place between 1931 and 1940 were magic; technically interesting cars, around the house race venues, truly international with multi-make participation, a cast of characters from a Siamese Prince to Enzo Ferrari, Dick Seaman’s drives with the ERA, MG and Delage, and a devastating secret weapon unleashed by Mercedes Benz which defeated and demoralized the opposition. There was never a dull moment on or off the track. The venues were largely ‘around the houses’ circuits such as Pau and San Remo, the drivers were semi-professional or talented amateurs, and interestingly, there were no points or championships for manufacturers or drivers. In fact the formula was so good it became the official Grand Prix class in 1945, which lasted until 1952.
Below, we present the first six of twelve short stories about the primary voiturette racers of the 1930s, covering Alfa, Alta, Amilcar, Austin, Bugatti and Delage. Part 2 will cover ERA, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, MG, Salmson and Talbot.
Alfa Romeo (S.A. Alfa Romeo, Milan, Italy)
Competitive years: 1938-1940 Horsepower Range: 195-225
The voiturette class was eventually dominated by the 158 Alfetta in 1939 and 1940. However, it is not clear why Alfa did not choose to participate in the voiturette races of the early 1930s. Many of their customers, such as Count Gianni Lurani however, did so using the 6C 1750 reduced to 1500cc and equipped with a lightweight open-wheeled body. They won class victories at the Nurburgring in 1932 and a third place in the 1500cc in the 1933 Czech Grand Prix.
The Detailed World of Alessandro Gerelli
By Pete Vack
Photography by Alessandro Gerelli
Alessandro Gerelli: 140 articles, 3000 photos and 14 years with VeloceToday
In the summer of 1967, September 8th, to be exact, a 19 year-old college student by the name of Alessandro Gerelli was lucky enough to have obtained a pit pass to the Italian Grand Prix. Like today, pit passes were extremely difficult to obtain. But Gerelli was determined. He would not listen to the sound of Amon’s Ferrari from far behind the fences; he wanted desperately to be where the action was. In what must have been a passionately good letter, he wrote to the organizers and asked them if a student could obtain a pit pass. He would do no damage, he wrote, wouldn’t create problems, and maybe if he could just get a pass for the official test day, he could then take some photos. “The process worked,” says Alessandro, “and a very kind lady from the Monza organization called me, and said she had been touched by my letter.” The young Gerelli went to the Monza practice on Friday with a pit pass. He had to access a certain gate and mention the name of the lady who responded to his letter. “The miracle had been done,” recalled Gerelli.
His patience and fortitude resulted in catching a rare photo of Enzo Ferrari in the pits. Ferrari rarely attended races, even at Monza. Gerelli knew that Ferrari would often show up during practice for the Grand Prix so it was not a surprise. “But of course he was Ferrari and in any case the opportunity to see him and to take a picture of him was something exceptional for a young Ferrari lover like me,” said Gerelli. [Read more…] about The Detailed World of Alessandro Gerelli
Alessandro Gerelli’s Ferrari Art Gallery One, Rooms 1 and 2
Gallery Room 1: Badges and Shields
[Read more…] about Alessandro Gerelli’s Ferrari Art Gallery One, Rooms 1 and 2Adelaide Motorsports Festival, South Australia 2015
Story and Photos by Vince Johnson
It’s been 30 years since Keke Rosberg won the first Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix held on the streets of Adelaide. To commemorate the anniversary, the Sporting Car Club of South Australia assembled an impressive line-up of F1 cars of the era to headline a 200-strong field of race and road cars for a weekend of sprints in the city’s Victoria Park.