The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Almost a race car. After the brakeless Hillman, Sader decided to build his own racecar, powered by a Jowett Javelin engine. Sadler photo.
Story by John Wright
As we read last week, a young Bill Sadler had bought himself a Hillman convertible but the car had an anemic four cylinder engine. It just wasn’t fast enough. He surveyed the engine compartment and determined that a 2.5 liter Ford V-8 “60” engine would fit. [Read more…] about Bill Sadler’s Jowett Powered Mark I
Schlumpf was fascinated by both Ettore and Jean Bugatti, as well as the cars they created. Here, a prewar picture showing Jean Bugatti with the Royale roadster he designed for Armand Esders gives a good idea of the elegance and the size this Type 41. Fin (Photo Collection Bugatti family).
Auto biographie – Pour l’amour de Fritz Broché – 10 avril 2009
de Arlette Schlumpf (Auteur), Bernard Reumaux (Collaborateur)
• Broché: 352 pages
• Editeur : La Nuée Bleue (10 avril 2009)
• Langue : Français
• ISBN-10: 2716507473
• ISBN-13: 978-2716507479
• Dimensions:24 x 2.6 x 15 cm
A summary and review by Gijsbert-Paul Berk
Part 2
The time of happiness
Soon after they started courting, Fritz began teaching Arlette to enjoy the thrills and pleasures of fast driving and to discover the ideal lines for taking – in the shortest possible time but with a minimum of risk – the many curves on the roads in the Vosges area. They often competed, each in a separate car, just for the fun of it.
[Read more…] about For the Love of Fritz Part 2
What is it and where is it? All part of the legend of “The Racers”.
Zealous car hunters and restorers have long ago discovered the chassis numbers, whereabouts, and current fate of the Maseratis, Ferraris and HWM that were the stars of the legendary 1954 classic movie “The Racers”.
But there was one car that had a small role in the movie and was perhaps as beautiful as the female lead in the movie, Bella Darvi. And now, that too, has been discovered.
Or so we think. Find out next week and perhaps our readers can help us determine if it’s the real thing. In the meantime, with image artist, writer and photographer Peter Darnall’s help we offer up this story about the book and the movie to provide some background to the recent find. [Read more…] about Cars and Stars of The Racers
[On May 31st VeloceToday presented Alessandro Gerelli’s report on the event held on Sunday, May 22 at Villa d’Erba. The previous day Hugues Vanhoolandt covered the Concorso d’Elegance which was held at the nearby Villa d’Este. Both events fall under the same heading at Villa d’Este however. This week, Vanhoolandt assembled his photos and comments from the concours and included some newer models seen at the show. See a short video above and the rest of the story below. Ed.]
Story and Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Just a typical day at Lake Como.
Founded in 1568 in Cernobbio, on the shores of Lake Como, the Renaissance palace was commissioned by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio. After passing through the hands of several aristocratic owners, the name of Villa d’Este was given to the Villa in 1815.
All is not always what it seems at Maranello. Enzo would have been proud…
By Gijsbert-Paul Berk
Spy photo ! April 2016, an unidentified Ferrari sneaking out of a gate of the workshops in Maranello…a striking ‘one off’ Ferrari that fooled some ambitious journalists.
In mid-April a number of serious European car media organizations published ‘spy photos’ of a prototype caught in and around Maranello, the fiefdom of Ferrari.
Speculation was that it could be the new Ferrari 489, successor of the present 488 models. Last week Ferrari unveiled the secret at their private testing track Fiorano near Maranello. But the ‘scoop’ turned out not to be what the journalist had imagined.
Auto biographie – Pour l’amour de Fritz Broché – 10 avril 2009
de Arlette Schlumpf (Auteur), Bernard Reumaux (Collaborateur)
• Broché: 352 pages
• Editeur : La Nuée Bleue (10 avril 2009)
• Langue : Français
• ISBN-10: 2716507473
• ISBN-13: 978-2716507479
• Dimensions:24 x 2.6 x 15 cm
• Find on Amazon.com
In 2009 the French publishing house La Nuée Bleue (The Blue Cloud) brought out a book with the title For the love of Fritz. It was the posthumous autobiography of Arlette Schlumpf, the lifelong companion and later widow of Fritz Schlumpf. Gijsbert-Paul Berk’s incisive three part article is the first time the book has been reviewed in English.
A summary and review by Gijsbert-Paul Berk
At the time of publication, Arlette Schlumpf’s book attracted little attention and it was never translated. A pity but understandable; by 2005 there were several excellent books in French, English and German about the collection. In addition, the Schlumpf ‘affair’ belonged to a previous century, while the fierce juridical battles with the French authorities over the ownership of the car collection and the museum at Mulhouse had ended in a compromise. It was old news. However, Arlette’s book sheds a great deal of light on the Schlumpf Obsession, which is perhaps the most fascinating car collecting story of the 20th century.
Wright and Bill Sadler in the Sadler Mk II, ready for a lap of Laguna in 2015.
Story and photos by John Wright
John Wright has been around the bend several times now and has written widely for a number of magazines including Vintage RaceCar. He also contributed the recent article in VeloceToday about the Campion Lancia S4.
Bill Sadler is like the proverbial iceberg, nine tenths of him lies below the surface. Although many old time racers and enthusiasts remember him from his fearsome Sadler Mark II, Mark III and Formula Libre racers and the revolutionary mid-engined Sadler Mark V race cars, not many know that this man took his engineering degree in 2 ½ years and won a full scholarship to MIT. He graduated from that prestigious school with a Masters in Electronic Engineering and went to work for General Dynamics in the msyterious Area 51. He went on to design and fly a light ground attack aircraft for the Turkish Airforce (cancelled after a change in government) and he retired to Oregon. [Read more…] about Bill Sadler Meets John Wright
FREE! Sign up for a $5 subscription to VeloceToday and receive this numbered and signed 8 x 10 Paul Chenard poster, commissioned by VeloceToday to commemorate John Shakespeare’s sale of 30 Bugattis and based on the stunning photography of David Gulick.
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Please take a minute to view our VeloceToday video this week.
Our thanks to Hugues Vanhoolandt for his images and clips!
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There have been many articles about the day John Shakespeare loaded up 30 Bugattis to have them shipped to the Fritz Schlumpf in 1964. But none like our exclusive story below, told by David Gulick, who took the now famous photos. We asked artist Paul Chenard to create a painting commemorating the sale and we’ll send free poster to anyone who
Steven Gentry lights up the rear tires of his Bugatti T35B.
Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp
“In point 2 of a mile turn left”, said my Sat Nav. I had arrived at the Prescott Hill Climb, deep in the heart of the Cotswolds. A quick glance in my rear view mirror; oh where did they come from? An Alfa 6C and a Type 35 Bugatti are following me in. I have been following a Lamborghini Espada for a mile or so; it looks like it is going to be a good day and at last the sun is shining. Or maybe like Camelot, the sun always shines on this shrine to Bugattis.