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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

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Helping Sam Caronia

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Lancia Scorpion, waiting.

Story by Tom Gonnella
Photos taken by the Editor circa 2004 unless otherwise noted

In the 1970s, Sam Caronia had some interesting cars in the shop on 38th Street in Norfolk, Va. In addition to the three Allemanos, the Intermeccanica and the 300SC, he also had a couple of OTR or OTS 1000s, a Simca and a Porsche Abarth Carrera. In addition to the usual Fiat’s, MG’s, Healey’s, VW’s and old Porsches, behind the shop there was a Ferrari 250, a Buick another Simca, several Series 2 Alfa Spiders and a GT Junior.

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The Fate of the Intermeccanica Formula Junior

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The one, the only, Intermeccanica F Jr.

By Pete Vack

From the VeloceToday Archives, 2010

Guys are incredibly insensitive sometimes, cruelly defining even friends not by who he or she is, but by what cars they own, as if the vehicle was more important than the owner. Contact begins with not “Hey Sam, how have you been,” but with “Hey Sam, you still have the Intermeccanica?” We are as guilty of this sin as anyone, and we all do it from time to time, I would guess.

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Cisitalia, The Brand That Altered Porsche’s Destiny, Reviewed

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Review by Pete Vack

Books on Cisitalia are rare. We have found three important books on the subject:

A Dream Called Cisitalia 202 (Un Sogno Chiamato Cisitalia) The True Story of the Most Beautiful Car in the World by Mario Simoni, published in 2004, relates the Cisitalia story in 225 pages, and almost 500 photos. The text is in Italian, but worth every cent of the $100 or so that is being asked for a copy on eBay. [Read more…] about Cisitalia, The Brand That Altered Porsche’s Destiny, Reviewed

Alfa Romeo Parade at Goodwood was Super!

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Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

This year we found Goodwood celebrating a remarkable 50-year period of motorsport success for Alfa Romeo with a selection of machinery that begins with pre-war successes and ends with World Championship win in 1975. To celebrate this, a fantastic parade of iconic Alfa Romeo racing cars was organized. The parade brought together everything from the earliest racing models, such as the RL Targa Florio’s of the 1920s, to the 33/TT/3 sports prototypes of the early 1970s.

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Working with Sam Caronia

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Sam in his Intermeccanica Formula Jr. Photographer unknown, courtesy Same Caronia collection.

By Tom Gonnella

After my mother impressed Sam, anything she wanted he gave her, including a job for me. I worked for Sam for three summers and he was a great friend for the rest of his life.

I had discovered road racing at 14 through a friend whose father ran a Triumph Spitfire in the SCCA and we were his ‘crew.’ I also told Sam I had now started autocrossing my Alfa and asked Sam if I could get his rare Intermeccanica Formula Junior running to drive as I thought it would be more competitive.

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Drivers at the Goodwood Revival, 2025

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Tony Kanaaan, Dario Franchitti, Marino Franchitti and Scott Dixon.

Photos by Jonathan Sharp

Goodwood Revival, September 12-14 2025

As Jonathan Sharp’s photos began to arrive here, we noticed something different; the smiles that were so dominant at previous Goodwood Festivals and the Revival were not as abundant. There were many, to be sure, like the group shot above, exuding good cheer, but many not.

We asked Sharp why this might be, or was it just coincidence? Probably the weather, he said. “On Saturday and Sunday and I was in the pits for the driver’s shots during the pouring rain during the RAC TT Celebration on Sunday afternoon, after all, wouldn’t you feel just a bit stressed if you had to driver a 400 bhp Cobra flat out in a monsoon? Because at the Revival, boy do they race!” [Read more…] about Drivers at the Goodwood Revival, 2025

Global Resource for the Lancia Aurelia

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Centro Aurelia Launched as Global Resource for Lancia Aurelia Enthusiasts
LONDON, UK – September 18th, 2025

On the 75th anniversary of the iconic Lancia Aurelia’s debut in 1950 a new global resource is
announced to support the preservation of this landmark 1950s Italian automobile: Centro
Aurelia. [Read more…] about Global Resource for the Lancia Aurelia

The Ferrari that Won Twice at Le Mans

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Ed McDonough is back! Driving the 275 P on an Essex duel carriageway. Photo Peter Collins

Review by Ed McDonough

The photos in this article are not included in the book reviewed

Ferrari 275 P Chassis 0816: the only Ferrari to have won Le Mans twice
Author Keith Bluemel
Order here:
Publisher Porter Press International
240 pages
260images
Price £125 (UK)

Any Ferrari book by Keith Bluemel is always welcome. He is by far the best of current Ferrari historians, his research is amazing and he always manages to capture the ‘feel’ of any Ferrari he writes about.

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We Review “The Yanks at Le Mans, 1980-1999”

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The Yanks at Le Mans, Take two. Photo by Christian Vignon

Review by Pete Vack

A Tragic Death and a New Beginning

After completing his landmark three volume “Twice Around the Clock, The Yanks at Le Mans,” covering the years 1923 to 1979, Tim Considine was well into writing and researching Volumes IV and V, creating a history of Le Mans up to the year 1999 when he suddenly died on March 3, 2022. But the last two volumes lay unfinished. While Considine was a one-man band, a writer, historian, publisher, photographer, project manager, interviewer and fact checker, he was gone. Who could possibly replace him and help complete his magnum opus? [Read more…] about We Review “The Yanks at Le Mans, 1980-1999”

Best of Alan Boe: Ferrari s/n 0628 M

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Story and photos by Alan Boe
From the VeloceToday Archives, November 2018

In the mid-1950s Ferrari was deeply immersed in the business of building, selling, and racing an impressive array of sports cars; four, six and twelve cylinder engines were employed in spyders and berlinettas bodied by Touring, Vignale, Scaglietti, and Pinin Farina on chassis of varying wheelbases. The ability to manufacture such an amazing variety of sporting machinery did not seem particularly out of the ordinary…for Ferrari. It was accepted practice then, but it would be impossible today! And none of Ferrari’s competition of the time was ever able to produce anywhere near the range of sports racing cars that Ferrari did.

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Mail from Ernie: Time Spent is a Gift of Time

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From the receptacle that is euphemistically called a ‘mail’ box but now holds only advertisements and bills, out jumps this envelope. Receiving a real letter today is rare enough, one like this is heretofore unknown.

Story by Pete Vack, art by Ernie Nagamatsu

The envelope immediately evokes wonderment, surprise, and smiles and makes risking one’s life to fetch mail from the mailbox near the road worthwhile. It is from vintage racing’s famous ambassador, “Ernie” Nagamatsu and is known as “Mail Art.” We shall let the interested reader Google the subject. Suffice to say Mail Art is a “Pop Art” phenomenon and has been around since the 1960s and is now international in scope.

So, what could possibly be inside? [Read more…] about Mail from Ernie: Time Spent is a Gift of Time

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