Giugiaro Retires, Boomerang at Auction
Unique Giugiaro masterpiece to be sold at Chantilly, France
The Maserati Boomerang concept made its debut at the 1971 Turin motor show as a static design study. However, at the 1972 Geneva motor show it was presented as a fully operational road vehicle. (Photo credit: Bonhams)
Story by Gijsbert-Paul Berk
In the same week that 78 year-old Giorgetto Giugiaro sold the remaining 9.9% of his shares in the Italdesign Giugiaro SpA to the Volkswagen-Audi group, the international auction house Bonhams announced that they will auction off one of Giugiaro’s icons, the unique Maserati Boomerang concept car. This auction will be held on September 5 during the Concours d’Elegance at the Château de Chantilly, near Paris, France. The Boomerang has participated at many world-class Show events such as the Bagatelle in Paris, Villa d’Este, the Concours Italiano, and Pebble Beach. In 2005 it was sold at an auction by Christie’s for €781,250 (US$1,007,005). [Read more…] about Giugiaro Retires, Boomerang at Auction
Michael T. Lynch: Art of the Car Concours 2015
One of the concepts on the field that got a lot of attention was Scott Morris’ Rambler Palm Beach. This was a Pinin Farina creation built for American Motors Corporation. It was meant to be a replacement for Nash’s aging Nash-Healey and was first shown at the 1953 Turin Auto Show. The jet fighter-inspired design was a much more refined continuation of a theme Farina had begun with an open and closed version of the Lancia 200 earlier in 1953. Shortly thereafter, AMC cancelled both the Nash and Hudson nameplates so the car never reached production. It remained with AMC President, Roy Chapin for a while and is now with Mark Hyman. Both the colors and design are sublime and only the hubcaps reveal the chassis’ humble origins. The Rambler won Peterson Manufacturing’s Bright Ideas on the Move Award.
Story and Photos (unless otherwise noted) by Michael T. Lynch
The 2015 Edition of the Art of the Car Concours® presented by the Kansas City Mercedes-Benz Dealers broke all previous attendance records as well as having over 200 entrants on the campus of the Kansas City Art Institute. Most important was the fact that in the Art of the Car’s nine years of existence, it has now contributed well over $1 million to the Kansas City Art Institute Scholarship Fund. KCAI is a four-year, independent, fully accredited college of art and design offering the bachelor of fine arts degree in a variety of disciplines. [Read more…] about Michael T. Lynch: Art of the Car Concours 2015
Scuderia Portello’s Weekend at the Coppa Intereuropa
The Alfas that will run in the Parigi-Pechino Rally on the banks at Monza.
Story by Roberto Motta
As always, the cars and the drivers of the Scuderia del Portello attracted the attention of fans attending the Intereuropa Cup, an event that has returned to the calendar after the suspension of one year.
On the weekend of June 19 and 21, on the circuit and in the paddock at Monza, racing fans were able to see hundreds of racing cars that have left an indelible mark in the history of international sport. However, we believe that the most admired, engaging, and emotional were the Alfa Romeos of Scuderia del Portello. [Read more…] about Scuderia Portello’s Weekend at the Coppa Intereuropa
VeloceToday for July 7, 2015
Goodwood Festival of Speed 2015
Almost hundred years ago, this is what a Grand Prix car looked like! This Fiat S74 Grand Prix car, powered by a 14.2-liter 4-cylinder, almost won the 1911 U.S. Grand Prix but was thwarted by an oil leak.
Story and Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Click on photos to enlarge
Every year, the Festival of Speed attracts huge crowds of spectators who come to Goodwood for diverse reasons. Some want to see the latest supercar machinery in action, some come to see the stars of the ‘drift’, some wait for hours hoping to get the autograph of Raikkonen, Rosberg or Valentino Rossi, and some want to step back in time and touch the cars they dreamed about in their youth and to show these to their children. [Read more…] about Goodwood Festival of Speed 2015
The Car that Saved Maserati
The Maserati BiTurbo just may have saved Maserati from extinction.
By Wallace Alfred Wyss
In the late 1970s, Alejandro de Tomaso came to America to find out what kind of car Americans want. He had been building the Pantera since 1971 (continuing even after 1974 when Ford ceased importing it to the U.S.) and had bought Maserati, yet he wasn’t sure what kind of car Americans really desired.
It was by happenstance he dropped by Dick Guldstrand’s shop and Guldstrand invited me over to talk to Alejandro about what I thought he needed to build. I mentioned the BMW 2002 to the Italian car builder and told him what a great car it was in its time. He left and not long after I heard about the Maserati Bi-turbo. [Read more…] about The Car that Saved Maserati
VeloceToday for June 30, 2015
This week, Jonathan Sharp focuses on the Vernasca Hillclimb in the Province of Piacenza, and we present all three parts in the same issue. And please help identify the mysterious As Found Classic Number 10!
Ah, Vernasca, Saturday in the Paddock
Lovely Vernasca
Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp
The Silver Flag Hillclimb is a relatively new classic racing venue, held in the small and charming town of Vernasca, in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna. The affair sounded like our kind of event, so on the weekend of June 19-21, we flew from London to Milan, rented a car from Malpensa, a Skoda Yeti which of course quickly got the nickname “Spaghetti Yeti.”
We drove about 120km south down the Autostrada Del Sole and we stayed at an Agriturismo place called Casa Dell Abbondanza (the house of abundance) which was about a mile and a half from the main road. The farm was about 6kms from the event but there was no sound of humanity, just deafening bird songs and dozens of fireflies at night. Organic breakfast was served with products made on the farm each day.
In town we ate at the local Trattoria Da Liugi which served good hearty local fair at very reasonable prices. Lunch of freshly sliced salami, Gnocchi for dinner, and Gutturnio Classico Superiore red wine to wash it down – ah, Vernasca.
Saturday morning we walked the paddocks. Abarths, GTs, GTAMs, TZ1s and 2s, 8Vs, Oscas, Morettis, Gianni, Giaur, Griffo, Oselli plus of course Alfa, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati and a smattering of Ferrari for good measure. We spent the afternoon up on the hill enjoying the feeling that this could be the Targa Florio or the Mille Miglia.
This was just a warmup for the main events which took place on Sunday. In the next two segments, we’ve arranged the cars as photographed in action at the hillclimb by alphabetical order.
For more on this event:
Abarth to Ferrari
Lancia to Serenissima
Abarth Monomille GT.
Vernasca, Abarth to Ferrari
Rappi-designed Fiat 8V running the hill at the Vernasca Silver Flag Hillclimb.
Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp
Sunday morning we went back to the hill to view a different corner. Sunday lunch was a Pannini stuffed with freshly sliced prosciutto and a birra alla spina in the village square of Vernasca, surrounded by the competitor’s cars. While we ate, we contemplated the near perfectly circle front wheel arches on the Pininfarina-penned P4/5 in front of us.
One off PF Ferrari P 4/5.
The current event at Vernasca is based on a series of 17 hillclimbs sponsored by the Automobile Club of Piancenza, held between 1953 and 1972. This means the event is open to cars built up to 1972, so the turnout is more varied than that of the Mille Miglia. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to accept or deny an application, but here are the qualifiers for entry: 1) Racing history of the car in its heyday 2) Rarity 3) Race results in historic cars events 4) Arrival date of entry form.
In this segment we present the cars in alphabetical order from Alfa to Ferrari. Note that not all the cars entered were photographed and owner’s names are not always supplied or known.
For more on this event:
Vernasca overview
Lancia to Serenissima
Philip Van Looy’s 1966 Abarth OT 1300 Periscopio.
Vernasca: Lancia through Serenissima
Kai Desinger’s 1960 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato.
Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp
A little about the history of this fascinating event: The Vernasca Hillclimb was originally sanctioned by the Automobile Club Piacenza between 1953 and 1972. The 1953 event attracted 40 entries, and was won by Alfa factory driver Consalvo Sanesi with a 3000CM. The race continued to grow, with 90 cars entered by 1955, when Massimo Leto de Priolo took first overall.
A Stanguellini Formula Junior achieved the fastest time in 1960, and by 1961 Odoarado Govoni took a Birdcage Maserati to win. The cars were getting bigger and faster as Govoni’s competition was Nando Pagliarini with a Ferrari SWB. Pagliarini returned in 1962 with the Ferrari to win. Abarth 1000s, Porsche 904s and Alfa TZs were popular entries in the 1960s, followed by the bigger, faster Abarth 2000s. In the early 1970s Lualdi brought the Ferrari 212 E hillclimb car to compete with the Porsche 908s. The last edition of Castell’Arquato-Vernasca was held May 14, 1972.
This segment reflects the cars at the event from Giannini to the one-off Serenissima. All in all, the 20th Vernasca Silver Flag Hill Climb was my sort of weekend. If you go next year, and as we understand, the event is already approved, you won’t be disappointed.
Vernasca overview
Abarth to Ferrari
John Skibiki’s original Group 2 650 Giannini.
VeloceToday for June 23, 2015
