VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

pete

Vignales and Ferraris at Pebble Beach

By

1955 Alfa 1900 Super Sprint Cabriolet by Vignale, Michelle and Steve Wolf

Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Bob Goldberg

Here we will focus on Vignale, which was a feature in the 2026 Pebble Beach Concours d ‘Elegance, but include photos of Ferraris from other classes at the event.

I consider the pinnacle of Italian custom coachbuilding to be from the period of roughly 1950-1965 and there was a lot to see here. Vignale has an interesting history, starting his career at age 12 as an apprentice panel beater. At age 17 he was hired by Farina, and at age 32 he started Carrozzeria Vignale, which lasted for 22 years. He was not a designer, but he could look at a design drawing and build it in metal, delegating the actual designing to Michelotti. The styling of each car is remarkably different, and you must study it for a while to see the details. Each one is more beautiful than the one before.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Classics of Classics: Prewar Cars at Pebble Beach

By

1931 Bugatti T 41 Royale Weinberger Cabriolet

Photos by Bob Goldberg

These are the cars that stirred men’s souls, and continue to do so 76 year after the first concours at Pebble Beach. While the first few years of the show awarded best of show to contemporary cars, since 1955 when Phil Hill won with his 1931 Pierce Arrow Le Baron, the focus and best of show awards went to pre war classics. In 1968 a 1964 Maserati Mistral took home the bacon, and once more in 2014 when the Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe of Jon Shirley won, but these two outliers remain the only post war cars to capture the coveted Best of Show. The winner this year was another pre war car, a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ owned by Harry Yeaggy, congratulations! And, btw, a Bugatti has won BOS more times than any other make.

Pre War cars are the mainstays, the classics of classics, the cars that will always be at the top. Here, Bob Goldberg has selected just a few of the pre war cars that were on display in 2026.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Gauld Reviews Motorsports Mavericks

By

Review by Graham Gauld

Purchase here: https://www.quarto.com/books/9780760399057/motorsports-mavericks

At first glance of the cover, above, it looks as though this is yet another book on the Can-Am series in the United States; but it is not.

Author of Motorsports Mavericks George Levy has covered automobile racing during its most dangerous period of the 1960s and ’70s through the eyes of one of America’s greatest motor sport photographers, his friend, Pete Biro. However, this is not a picture and caption book but a solid piece of motor sport history from Formula 1 and Indy car racing, to sports car racing.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Shuttleworth Festival of Flight Airshow

By

Lockheed P38L-5 SN 44-53254 Lightning. Pure poetry in motion, such grace, such poise, the elegant sound of the twin Allison V12s and definitely my highlight of the show. In fact I would go so far as to say it was one of the best displays I have seen for a long time, and I have been watching planes for many a year.

Story and Fantastic Photos by Jonathan Sharp

The final part of the jigsaw that is my month of visiting the stately homes of England was a visit to the Shuttleworth Estate in Bedfordshire for their Festival of Flight Airshow held over two days the same time as the Heveningham Hall Concours (June 26-28) so it meant another night in a hotel, which this time did have air conditioning as per the British summer of 2026 it was blooming hot. Unlike the October ‘Race Day’ event, the Festival of Flight is just an air show, but Shuttleworth being Shuttleworth meant there were still some interesting non aviation things to see before the flying commenced in the afternoon, as you will see from the following photographs.

As to the flying! What a show, hats off to the team that booked the aircraft. The start for many being an original Messerschmitt bf109 flown over from Germany and making its first appearance at a UK air show. My highlight however, has to be the aircraft from the Flying Bulls’ collection of Salzburg, Austria. It was a shame that the Grumman Bearcat could not make this trip, and their Corsair went tech (broke down) at their temporary base at Duxford on the Sunday, but never mind, we still had their P51, P38 and B25 to enjoy. I hope the following photos give you a taste of what was a great event.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Fiats & Friends at the British Motor Museum

By

Chris Bangle-designed Fiat Coupe

Story and photos by Gary Axon

First held in 2024 by the Fiat Motor Club (GB) to celebrate Fiat’s 125th anniversary, this year’s edition of the now annual ‘Fiats & Friends’ event was once again held at the popular British Motor Museum at Gaydon in central England on August 1st. As its name suggests, Fiats & Friends caters for all Italian vehicles, whether made by Fiat or one of its many associated brands (Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati, etc.), as well as other non-Fiat/Stellantis marques.

A healthy turn out of Fiat models from all eras and varieties made the trip to Gaydon for the day, along with a good spread of Alfa Romeos, Lancias, Abarths and Autobianchis, plus a few more exotic Ferraris, Maseratis and a sole De Tomaso.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Hail the Testadoro, again

By

Story by Gary Axon
Images courtesy of Dario Pasquali

At last month’s sell-out 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed (FoS), in among the multitude of major and important new car launches the revival of an obscure Italian marque at the event went largely unnoticed. Virtually unknown, even to Italians and most motoring enthusiasts, the long forgotten Italian Testadoro sports car brand made its international revival at FoS, 80 years after the Torinese marque was originally founded in 1946 by car loving motor racing participant Giorgio Giusti under the ‘Case dell’Auto’ heading.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

The Swift Life of Archie Scott-Brown

By

By Pete Vack
Photos by Graham Gauld

The story of Archie Scott Brown is incredible, unbelievable, astonishing, inspiring, heart rendering and finally, tragic; and in today’s world, such accomplishments would be totally impossible.

He was born on Friday the 13th of May, 1927 in Glasgow, Scotland, with no proper right forearm, “merely and elementary thumb and palm, which started below the elbow.” His tiny legs lacked a shinbone, and the legs were “radically twisted and bowed, and the club-feet were tiny, with no discernible toes.” The right foot was twisted outwards about 90 degrees, the left foot almost 180 degrees. Of the limbs, only the left arm and hand were normal. His mother had the German measles (rubella) during her pregnancy.* [Read more…] about The Swift Life of Archie Scott-Brown

Concorso Italiano returns to Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course on Saturday, August 15

By

Concorso Italiano Returns August 15th with duPont REGISTRY Partnership, Duetto Day, Ducati Centennial, and Italian Automotive Excellence

SEASIDE, Calif. — The 41st annual Concorso Italiano returns to Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course on Saturday, August 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., bringing together collectors, enthusiasts, industry leaders, and families for Monterey Car Week’s premier celebrations of Italian automotive excellence.

Set against sweeping views of Monterey Bay, guests will experience an unforgettable day inspired by La Dolce Vita, featuring extraordinary automobiles, authentic Italian cuisine, live music, fashion, art, and exclusive hospitality.

This year’s event brings together many of the automotive world’s most influential organizations and personalities.”I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve assembled for this year’s Concorso Italiano,” said Tanya Kosta, Chairman of Concorso Italiano.”Bringing together so many respected leaders, brands, and innovators from across the automotive world reflects the passion and collaboration that have defined this event for 41 years.”

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Goodwood Festival of Speed Part 2

By

1998 Ferrari F300, the first Ferrari designed by Rory Byrne, in which Michael Schumacher took six wins during the season.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Whilst the main theme for this year’s Festival was ‘Rivals Epic Racing Duels’ you will, by the end of this piece, be thinking ‘There was a lot of Americana on show’ and you would be correct. Firstly, the Duke loves all things Americana, it runs in the family. The 3rd Duke of Richmond (1735-1806), known as the radical Duke, was a firm supporter of American independence and it is believed that a large scale handwritten ceremonial parchment of the Declaration of Independence found in a small West Sussex record office had once belonged to the 3rd Duke, and was possibly gifted to him by the radical intellectual Thomas Paine, who had migrated to America in 1774. So with 2026 being America’s 250th birthday, why not celebrate the fact and also at the same time announce the formation of the new Goodwood Road Racing Club of America. So what follows is a fair bit of Americana, plus a liberal sprinkling of other stuff, and of course some Ferraris.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Heroes of the Forest Reviewed

By

by Ken Gross

You’d expect a masterpiece from Dr. Mark Brinker, after his superb, multi-volume books on “Japan’s Most Astonishing Automobiles” and “The Amazing Denzel Sports Car.” And you won’t be disappointed with his latest effort — “Heroes of the Forest.”

The historic Pebble Beach Road Races, contested on the twisty backroads of the scenic Del Monte Forest, in Monterey, California, for seven remarkable years, from 1950 to 1956, attracted the top drivers and the best sports cars in the country. The grids included production models, many of which were modified, and clever homebuilt specials. More than a racing odyssey, this was a fabulous social event, set in a gorgeous location, with posh patrons hobnobbing among a host of drivers, both amateurs and professionals. The course was wickedly fast. With towering pines and glacial boulders located scarily adjacent to the impossibly narrow road, it could be deadly. Hundreds of cars competed until (spoiler alert) Ernie McAfee’s fatal crash in Bill Doheny’s Ferrari 121LM led to the establishment of the Laguna Seca Race Track. [Read more…] about Heroes of the Forest Reviewed

An Artist at Road America

By

Eagle IV Bardahl: Color, repetition of shapes, contrast of form.

Photos by Scott Callan

Here’s what Scott Callan sees, what his camera sees, what we see…
and what do you see?

We’ve covered Scott Callan’s illustrious work from time to time in the past. Last week he dropped us an email; when he sends along a few new links to his already impressive website, we feel compelled to take a look. Then taken aback.

For whatever it is that makes an artist, he’s got it in spades, to paraphrase Katherine Hepburn. Callan describes his work as ‘an art director with a camera.’ The camera in this case is a fully manual Nikon D810, described as “ a professional-grade, 36.3-megapixel full-frame digital SLR camera built with a durable magnesium alloy body, weather-sealing, and high-end imaging capabilities tailored for working experts.” [Read more…] about An Artist at Road America

Classics at Royal Highland Showground

By

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

Every year there is a large classic car show held at the Royal Highland Showgrounds here in Wadebridge and I dutifully attend to bring home to Veloce readers any interesting finds. Despite many hundreds of cars arriving, I must say most of them are standard issue British classics, Austin Healeys and Triumphs of every shape and colour, and by far the more interesting are the odd pre-war cars that were classics of their day.

Take, for example, this Riley 9 of around 1932 vintage in concours condition but a very rare model, the “Plus Ultra Monaco”.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe
MENU