The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Count Vittorio Zanon at the wheel of his 204A Cisitalia Abarth.
Story and photos by Graham Gauld
You would think that the Italians, of all people, would be avid collectors of cars but, generally speaking, this was not a popular hobby until the late 1960s. Nevertheless, there were such collectors, but often very private, usually old money individuals with a great taste for style. One of these was Count Vittorio Zanon di Valgiurata.
Collecting Ferraris in a Michigan suburb....Photo by Chris Cooper. Click to enlarge.
By Pete Vack
Photos by Chris Cooper
It is the juxtaposition of a lower middle class neighborhood and modest house with the millions of dollars of machinery in the driveway that makes the following photos so stunning, unreal and unworldly.
In addition, the photos are not Brownie snapshots or early Polaroids but taken with a then-expensive Leica 35mm in the hands of Chris Cooper, a man with a good eye and steady hand. This gives a professional appearance to the treasures, as if someone knew that this was a sight to behold.
0224AT in another driveway. Back in 1967 or 1968, this Ferrari Mexico 340 Vignale Coupe, s/n 0224AT, was sitting in Cal Gleason’s driveway in Detroit. Cal was not a rich man, merely a man with good taste, recalled Eric Davison, who took this photo. This weekend Cal would have also been a very rich man, had he kept the Ferrari. It rolled off the block for $4,290,000, according to RM Auctions in 2011.
Coming in VeloceToday in January
We are on a holiday break, but working to get these stories ready…
*Peter Larsen on Saoutchik Talbots found in the Baillon Collection
*Inside the Walls; Rare color photos from inside Autodelta
*France vs. Italy: The Coachbuilders
*Restoring a Saoutchik bodied Delahaye, wood and all
*Graham Gauld on Count Zanon
And that’s just for a start!
Once every quarter we gather up all the articles we’ve published to date that year. So here are all the articles we’ve published this year from January 1st 2014 to December 16th. Since there are 199 icons and articles, it is a long scroll. Click on each small photo to read the story.
*Please keep VeloceToday running with a small donation
Have a Happy New Year!
December
November
October
September
August
July
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May
April
March
February
January
This Week, 199 Feature Articles!
Once every quarter we gather up all the articles we’ve published to date that year. So here are all the articles we’ve published this year from January 1st 2014 to December 16th. Since there are 199 icons and articles, it is a long scroll.
*Use that scroll function to see all; we begin with January and if you scroll down far enough you will get to December.
*Click on each small photo to read the story.
*Please keep VeloceToday running with a small donation
Have a Happy Holiday!
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Today, please give VeloceToday a present for the Holidays. It won’t cost a cent: SIMPLY TELL TWO FRIENDS ABOUT VELOCETODAY. We know you like what we do and we bet that your friends will agree. Of course, if you would like to use the Donate button (credit cards and Paypal) instead, that’s OK too! We wish all a Happy Holiday season!
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Limited Edition, numbered Stanguellini prints available now from Graham Gauld. Email directly for prices and shipping; several numbered copies of the below art still available. Shipping location is Southern France. Click on photo to see all selections.
Contact:Grahamgauld@Gmail.com
FINE ART T-Shirts
Classic car portraitist offering fine art tees of his favorite paintings. All have caption pertaining to art services. Available now, L,S,2XL, and M.Other sizes require two weeks wait. $50 each.
Contact Photojournalistpro@gmail.com
Rent a Race Car to drive in the 2015 Mille Miglia, Bassano, and other Italian Vintage events! Drive this rare Siata Daina Coupe, an A.C. Ace, or a Colli barchetta or others. This is an opportunity of a lifetime.
Don’t wait, these cars are rented out quickly for 2015!
Contact vack@cox.net for further details.
All five of Burt Levy's fantastic racing novels now available as eBooks. Clic pic for more.
*$25 Ads for anyone who has something to sell, to giveaway, or to holler about. Ad will be placed above the fold and run for one month. Contact vack@cox.net .
By Wallace Wyss
One of the most colorful characters I ever met in the classic car circles was Dr. Norbert McNamara.
When I met him I was in the newly formed Iso-Bizzarrini club. Colonel McNamara owned at least two Bizzarrinis at one time. He joined the US Army as a medical doctor in the hopes he would get assigned to Europe and he got his wish. At the time I met him he was based in the Presidio, a base right in San Francisco overlooking the sea. He spent all his free time searching for exotic cars, parking them all over the base.
Owing to the fact that he was an officer, he got away with it.
He had a very devoted wife, Sabra, who fully indulged his hobby, I remember at one point I drove into a racetrack in some little Italian car and she came running up wanting to know what it was in case Norbert would be interested. (I wish I had a wife like that. All my wives hated all my cars.) Anyway I heard the other day that Norbert passed away in 2010 with complications from Altzheimers and that made me sad–he was a car enthusiast who really lived life to its fullest for the longest time.
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Note: We are doing a Beta Test of our new Premium Subscription Service and we need your help! If you would like to subscribe, follow the pages after clicking on the Subscribe button below. We would like to know if you have any problems or suggestions about our new service. Please contact me directly at vack@cox.net. And thanks!
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This week, a very special edition of VeloceToday featuring the Alfa Giulietta Sprint. We previously published Part 1 of Graham Earl’s Mille Miglia adventures but now present all three parts in one edition. Graham’s writing is superb, and he shares his experiences and many trials with a tremendous sense of humor and honesty. In addition to that, fellow Brit Nicholas Lancaster gives us a brief history of the Sprint Veloce. Please enjoy!
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Limited Edition, numbered Stanguellini prints available now from Graham Gauld. Email directly for prices and shipping; several numbered copies of the below art still available. Shipping location is Southern France. Click on photo to see all selections.
Contact:Grahamgauld@Gmail.com
FINE ART T-Shirts
Classic car portraitist offering fine art tees of his favorite paintings. All have caption pertaining to art services. Available now, L,S,2XL, and M.Other sizes require two weeks wait. $50 each.
CONTACT Photojournalistpro@gmail.com
Rent a Race Car to drive in the 2015 Mille Miglia, Bassano, and other Italian Vintage events! Drive this rare Siata Daina Coupe, an A.C. Ace, or a Colli barchetta or others. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. Contact me at vack@cox.net for further details.
All five of Burt Levy's fantastic racing novels now available as eBooks. Clic pic for more.
There are few good books on the Fiat Dino available. Now, Mike Morris’s great book on the Fiat Dino, “Ferrari by Another Name” is offered for sale. Like new condition, perfect dust jacket, a classic on a classic. Asking $300 USD plus shipping. Buy now to beat the XMAS postal rush.
Contact Will Grant,willgrant@yahoo.co.uk
*$25 Ads for anyone who has something to sell, to giveaway, or to holler about. Ad will be placed above the fold and run for one month. Contact vack@cox.net .
La Mille Miglia, Part 1 UK to Brescia
A longtime contributor to VeloceToday, Graham Earl entered this year’s Mille Miglia with one of our favorite cars, an Alfa Giulietta Sprint. Earl is a veteran of three Mille Miglias, and in no respect a novice. This three part article is an absolute must-read and like the Alfa and the Mille Miglia, itself a classic. Remember Henry Manney’s account for Road & Track? This one is better! Ever wanted to run the Mille Miglia? Read it! Owned an Alfa? Delight in it! Earl writes the truth while composing one of the most maddeningly humorous and interesting series of articles to appear in VeloceToday. Ever. We’ll also make it available as a pdf so you can read it at your leisure. Ed.
Story by Graham Earl
Photos by author and Hugues Vanhoolandt
Before its demise in 1957, the Mille Miglia had been one of the most important rounds of the world championship for sports cars, and became the happy hunting ground for Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, with 11 and eight wins respectively, out of the 24 events run. Other manufacturers also took it very seriously, with works entries from Porsche, Maserati, Lancia (winner in 1954), Jaguar, Bentley and BMW (who won the event in 1940) to name just a few. The first race, in 1927 was won, appropriately enough, by local brand O.M. (
La Mille Miglia, Part 2 Brescia to Rome
Story by Graham Earl
Photography by
Hugues Vanhoolandt
© 2014 Rene’ collection Cars Official Photographer 1000 miglia
© 2014 Giorgio Borgonovo – Ag. Archimede
The day the transporter came the rear lights went out. The new wiring loom which I had had fitted sometime earlier had lost a couple of the crimped-on terminals, so a quick work-around with crimping pliers was necessary. I gladly loaded the car onto the transporter before I could find anything else wrong.
La Mille Miglia, Part 3 Rome to Brescia
By Graham Earl
Photography by
Hugues Vanhoolandt
© 2014 Rene’ collection Cars Official Photographer 1000 miglia
© 2014 Giorgio Borgonovo – Ag. Archimede
When we arrived in Rome, we were marshaled into a car park, from where we were led in convoy by a Police escort to our hotel on the far side of the city. This was another 3.30am arrival, met with chaos and confusion while the hotel staff attempted to place all the crews in the correct rooms. By now tempers were frayed and the odd altercation broke out between staff and competitors. We had covered half of the route, driving in very difficult conditions for very long periods and we were all very tired, so it’s no surprise that some people were not in the best of spirits when told they were in the wrong hotel.
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce Bertone
Story by Nicholas Lancaster
Photos by Paul Gregory
Historic photo courtesy Automobili Storico Alfa Romeo
Shortly after the introduction of the totally new Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint in 1954, the directors at Portello took the decision to develop the Sprint as a competition car. It was certainly a good place to start. The basic Giulietta Sprint had been designed by the same technicians responsible for the racing program, and it showed. [Read more…] about A Brief History of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce
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FINE ART T-Shirts
Classic car portraitist offering fine art tee shirts of his favorite paintings. All have caption pertaining to art services. Available now,in L,S,2XL, and M.
Other sizes require two weeks wait. $50 each.
Order now in time for XMAS.
CONTACT Photojournalistpro@gmail.com
There are few good books on the Fiat Dino available. Now, Mike Morris’s great book on the Fiat Dino, “Ferrari by Another Name” is offered for sale. Like new condition, perfect dust jacket, a classic on a classic. Asking $300 USD plus shipping. Buy now to beat the XMAS postal rush.
Contact Will Grant,willgrant@yahoo.co.uk
Rent a Race Car to drive in the 2015 Mille Miglia, Bassano, and other Italian Vintage events! Drive this rare Siata Daina Coupe, an A.C. Ace, or a Colli barchetta or others. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. Contact me at vack@cox.net for further details.
All five of Burt Levy's fantastic racing novels now available as eBooks. Clic pic for more.
*$25 Ads for anyone who has something to sell, to giveaway, or to holler about. Ad will be placed above the fold and run for one month. Contact vack@cox.net .