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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

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Jack, John and the 750 OSCA at Le Mans, 1960

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The OSCA factory mechanic makes some last minute adjustments on the Gordon-Bentley rent-a-ride. Note the NART shield on the OSCA.

By Jack Gordon with Pete Vack
Photos courtesy of Jack Gordon
Originally published in VeloceToday on June 24, 2009

Forty-nine years ago, John Bentley and John “Jack” Gordon bought OSCA 750, chassis 769, and entered it at Sebring, where they placed 12th overall and won the Index of Performance. On a roll, they decided to go to Le Mans and try to duplicate their amazing success at Sebring. Jack Gordon picks up the narrative here in this exclusive for VeloceToday.

With Sebring packed away it was time to plan the next move.
It was now late March and we were informed that all the entries for Le Mans were closed and they wouldn’t give us a late entry. It would have been nice to repeat the dual Index wins of de Tomaso.

[In 1958 Alejandro de Tomaso won the Index at Sebring with his wife Elizabeth Haskell, driving OSCA chassis number 760. Then he won the Index at Le Mans a couple months later, driving OSCA 750 chassis 762 with Colin Davis]. But in any case there was too little time to tear down and recondition our car for a 24-hour event.
[Read more…] about Jack, John and the 750 OSCA at Le Mans, 1960

Raymond Loewy and the Lancia Loraymo: A Review

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Lancia Loraymo And The Loewy Logic of Industrial Design
By Brandes Elitch
ISBN-978-0-9909214-1-7
Fetherston Publishing, 2016
Hardbound, 11.5 by 9 inches, 128 pages
$59.95 USD plus shipping Order from www.loewylancia.com

Review by Pete Vack

Well, it finally arrived. I had asked the author, Brandes Elitch, if he would send me a finished copy of his book, not a spiral bound proof copy; the hands on, touchy-feely experience of the final hardbound product is important.

And indeed it was. Elitch’s long-awaited book on Raymond Loewy and the Loraymo came in a very elegant but simple white cardboard box. When that was opened, the cover stared at me and said, ‘Finally, here I am’; Lancia Loraymo And The Loewy Logic of Industrial Design with an artistically grainy color shot of the fabled and often misunderstood Loraymo beneath the title. Nice; impressive.

It had been a long road. [Read more…] about Raymond Loewy and the Lancia Loraymo: A Review

RM Auction at Milan’s Autoclassica 2016

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1959 Lancia Flaminia berlina series 1 estimate 4-6000 euro, sold 19040 euro

1959 Lancia Flaminia berlina series 1 estimate 4-6000 euros, sold for 19040 euros.

Story and photos by Alessandro Gerelli

RM Sotheby’s at Milano Auctoclassica, November 25-27 2016

An auction with 400 cars plus many motorbikes and bikes, plus few boats, engines, parts, signs, etc, is quite an event!

All the cars were presented without any reserve and with very reasonable estimates.(In fact the estimates must have been on the very conservative side). The success of the event was very great and everything was sold and, speaking about the cars, only around twenty have been sold below the maximum of the estimate. [Read more…] about RM Auction at Milan’s Autoclassica 2016

Adelaide Motorsport Festival, South Australia, 2016 Part 1

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Standen-Coles Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint, Corkscrew.

Standen-Coles Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint, Corkscrew.

Classic Adelaide Rally, 17-19 November

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

The four day Adelaide Motorsport Festival in the South Australian capital combines Classic Adelaide closed road rally stages in the hills with circuit sprints at the original Formula One pit lane section in the city’s Victoria Park.

First run in 1998 the Classic Adelaide Rally rapidly gained an enviable reputation, particularly with overseas crews, for its challenging road stages in the hills surrounding the South Australian capital. It now forms part of the annual four-day Adelaide Motorsport Festival, along with the Victoria Park Sprints that celebrate when Formula 1 cars raced on the city streets. [Read more…] about Adelaide Motorsport Festival, South Australia, 2016 Part 1

Renault’s Racing Heritage Part 3

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1951 Renault R 1063.

1951 Renault R 1063. (photo Renault Communication)

Story by Gijsbert-Paul Berk

There was more than just record cars at Montlhéry. Only a few people will still remember that, during the fifties, the small Renault Quatre (4CV) shown above was a very successful participant in a large number of European rallies and road races, and even won its class several times in the famous 24 hours’ endurance race at Le Mans.

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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

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 the 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.

We present this video at the beginning of this article, because you won’t believe how fast the Aardvark is, and you’ll want to know more about Don’s vintage racer after you see the Aardvark in action as it eats Porsches, Jags and Gullwings at Laguna Seca.

The Aardvark is a feisty little sports racer based on the French Panhard Junior sports car. If you were expecting a sleek, Italianesque creation, you would have been disappointed. [Read more…] about Don Racine and the Aardvark

Renault’s Racing Heritage Part 2

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1934 Nervasport des Records.

1934 Nervasport des Records.

By Gijsbert-Paul Berk
All photos courtesy Renault Communications

This week Berk looks at the 1934 Renault record car and the 1956 turbine-powered Renault called the Shooting Star.

1934 Nervasport des Records

The background story of the 1934 Nervasport des Records shows a similarity with that of its predecessor the 40 CV Type NM. During the early nineteen-thirties the sales of the Nervasport, then the top model of the Renault range, needed a boost. The French economy passed through a difficult time and demand for the more expensive models had drastically declined. Therefore, Louis Renault decided to repeat what he had done in 1925 /1926 by building a car that could establish new speed/endurance records and demonstrate the advanced technology of his company. [Read more…] about Renault’s Racing Heritage Part 2

Milan’s Autoclassica, Fall Edition

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Photos by Alessandro Gerelli

Milano AutoClassica has a format unique in its kind: according to the PR, it offers “a winning blend of historic brands, past glories with current models and future previews of all the best that automobile manufacturers have in store.”

In other words, as with most huge classic car shows today, there is something for everyone, including test drives. So much, in fact that the event takes place twice a year, once in spring and the other in autumn; we reported on the March event earlier this year. And it is growing; the event in March saw a 15 % increase in attendance, and figures for the 6th edition held on November 25-27 show indicate an 18% increase from March. Next year however, there will only be one event instead of two. [Read more…] about Milan’s Autoclassica, Fall Edition

London to Brighton 2016

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R. Stephens in Clevedon, Somerset made bicycles and between 1898 and 1900 built a few motor cars with the drive being transmitted by belts to a countershaft with chains to the rear wheels.

R. Stephens in Clevedon, Somerset made bicycles and between 1898 and 1900 built a few motor cars with the drive being transmitted by belts to a countershaft with chains to the rear wheels. Driver is urging it on.

Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp

November 6, 2016 – History dictates that the annual London to Brighton Veteran car run happens in November rather than a much warmer month, and this year it was very cold but sunny. [Read more…] about London to Brighton 2016

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