We are here and well. Not so for many of our friends in the Northeast U.S.; our thoughts are with you. For our report on the Grand Prix of India, scroll down.
Pinin Farina in the 1950s by Mark Stehrenberger
Want a print of this poster? Click on the photo.
Artist Mark Stehrenberger is now offering prints of his famous series of Pininfarina posters. Pininfarina in 1950s, the 1960s and the 1970s are all represented by different posters. Below, Wallace Wyss and the Editor dissect the 1950s poster car by car, and comment accordingly.
Re-Creating the Voisin Laboratoire
Notice: Moch’s striking aluminum ‘Laboratoire’ will be one of the highlights of a special exhibition dedicated to Gabriel Voisin, that will run from November 10, 2012, for six months at the Mullin Museum in Oxnard, California.For more information see: http://www.mullinautomotivemuseum.com/
The rebirth of a 1923 Voisin ‘Laboratoire’ was inspired by a book.
What moves man to recreate a masterpiece that someone else has already created a long time ago? In the world of music this is quite common. We all love to listen to concerts in which conductors and orchestras recreate the music from scores that were penned down by famous composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Sibelius or Leonard Bernstein, to name a few.
In films and theaters we applaud when directors and actors recreate the scenes and words originally fashioned by writers such as Jane Austen, Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams or William Shakespeare.
Art students visit museums to find out how the old masters did it. Some of them then painstakingly recreate composition, lights and shadows, and sometimes colors and even brushstrokes. There’s nothing wrong with any of this…it is taken for granted.
However, in the world of visual arts, recreating is generally frowned upon by professionals. Not only because criminals have offered forgeries to unsuspecting buyers as being the original work of the well-known painters. Copying, or even painting in the style of an old master, is regarded as a lack of creativity and artistic imagination. [Read more…] about Re-Creating the Voisin Laboratoire
The Ultimate Alpine Recreation
For passion and fun…Entent Cordiale
By Roy Smith
Photos © Roy Smith /John Wheeler/SAMCMOORE
At first glance you might think, “That’s a nicely restored A110 berlinette – Group 5 perhaps– certainly looks interesting.” Then you hear the figures from its owner; max power DIN HP 359.8, max torque DIN 325(441 Nms), weight 698Kg, and you’re forgiven for thinking, “WOW!” Then “Impossible! No berlinette A110 ever saw those figures!”
You would be right. It’s not an A110 berlinette, but unless you are a died-in-the-wool purist, unsettled by those who dare to look into the future of what might have been had Renault extended the life of the A110 model, you will find this fabulous recreation not only a true work of art and engineering perfection but, like its ancestors, one of the most beautiful shapes ever created for a motor car, and a worthy contender to extend the name of Alpine in the current world of the super-car aficionados.
Our Features This Week, October 24th, 2012
HURRICANE SANDY: The offices of VeloceToday were spared any damage or power losses from Hurricane Sandy. However, our thoughts go out to our many friends in the Northeast who have suffered due to this immense storm. We’ll have a slight delay in mailing this week; VeloceToday will be sent out on Thursday, November 1st, at 11 am Eastern Time so watch for it!
Congratulations, Carl Goodwin!
Veloce Today Correspondent Carl Goodwin Wins the Carl Benz Award
HERSHEY, PA., October 14, 2012…Carl Goodwin, longtime VeloceToday correspondent, has won the prestigious 2012 Carl Benz Award of the Society of Automotive Historians for a three-part article titled “Flying Low,” published in Vintage Motorsport magazine. The articles chronicled the era of airport races for sports cars from 1948 to the present, including the famous SAC Base races and featured original racing stories from 27 early drivers and 39 photographs of the era.
The award was presented at the Society’s annual awards banquet at the Hershey Golf and Country Club at Hershey, PA. Additional details can be obtained on the web site www.autohistory.org. In presenting the award, Douglas Leighton, President of Society of Automotive Historians said, “this award is given annually to an article which represents outstanding writing and original research, published in the previous calendar year.”
Vintage Motorsport, the magazine that published the Benz Award winning article, is a leader in the coverage of the golden era of sports car racing as well as other periods of the sport. The website is www.vintagemotorsport.com.
Carl Goodwin began writing about sports car racing in 1964. He raced a Fiat-Abarth Zagato and an Alexis 18B Formula Ford for a combined five years, at eleven road courses and one airport course in the East and Midwest. In addition to writing for Vintage Motorsport, he has a book out titled “They Started in MGs,” published by McFarland & Company. He is currently working on a book about the Put-in-Bay road races.
Recent articles written by Carl Goodwin for VeloceToday can be found below:
Carroll Shelby and the OSCA
Otto Linton, from “They Started in MGs”
Boniface Picnic
Racing the Alfa Giulietta
Daniele Audetto by Graham Gauld
Chrysler, Lamborghini, Iaccoca, left, Audetto right.
Story and Photos by Graham Gauld
You can’t help but like Daniele Audetto, the tall, urbane Italian who has been involved in international motor sport all of his life. Earlier this year when I saw him at his villa in Bordighera on the Italian Riviera, he and his wife were about to head off for Spain where he has been working with Hispania Racing in Formula 1. He was not sure what his role would be this year following the take-over of the team by Thesan Capital, a Madrid based investment Group, but he didn’t appear too concerned about it.
Dreyfus at Scuderia Ferrari
By Pete Vack
Photos by Vintage Motorphoto
Above: July 21st, 1935. Dreyfus wins the Grand Prix of Dieppe with the Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo. His wife Chou-Chou presents the flowers; chief mechanic Attilio Marinoni is leaning over the car.
This photo, sent to us by Dale LaFollette of Vintage Motorphoto, was taken on July 21st, 1935 by an unknown photographer doing work for the French Bureau of the New York Times. Dale has also included the notes on the back which we also reproduce here. We’ll credit this one to the New York Times. The original print of this photo is available from Vintage Motorphoto.com; Dale is constantly updating his stock so be sure to check it out.
Most of our readers will be somewhat familiar with the interesting life of René Dreyfus, whose career included winning the Monte Carlo Grand Prix in a Bugatti, the first of many race victories. Dreyfus drove for Maserati, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Talbot Lago, Delage, Renault and others before and after WWII.
Our Features This Week, October 17th, 2012
Fast Tracking the New Fiat Abarth
By Brian Winer
A VT contributor recently drove a Fiat 500c but admitted later that the speed was lackluster because he failed to press the “Sport” button. Recently, I rectified that by not only driving a 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth hatchback, but driving the diminutive car on a race track at the limits of the tires, the car, and the driver.
The occasion was the annual Track Days sponsored by the Motor Press Guild. These track tests are a little like speed dating—five minutes to get to know each gal. You tend to like the last one you were with, until the next one. During the busy day, we also were able to test drive the Fiat Abarth’s competition so were able to get some idea of where the new Fiat stood with its peers.
[Read more…] about Fast Tracking the New Fiat Abarth
Our Features This Week, October 10th 2012
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Our report on the Japanese Grand Prix is below, so please scroll down!
Prescott: The Climb and the Cars
Bugattis enjoy a rare moment of sun. David Hand's 1925 T39 sits next to the 1924 Brescia T13 of Charles Knill-Jones.
By Jonathan Sharp
The Cotswolds: bucolic golden-hued thatched cottages, rolling farm land, wheat fields swaying in a warm summer breeze, antique shops, old English country inns selling fine English ales. All this and more, for it is also the home of the Bugatti Owners Club of Great Britain and the famous Prescott Hill climb.
Cheltenham is near Gloucester, Prescott Hill 5 miles northwest.
Let’s put this place on the map: Prescott Hill Climb, based five miles northwest of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire consist of 60 partly wooded acres, with a beautiful private drive of about 1127 yards (.64 mile) in length.
Overhead shot of Prescott, wouldn't it be lovely. and it is.
The course rises over 200 feet with a combination of short straights, fast and slow corners and a breathtaking hairpin. Today’s supermachines get up the hill in about 36 seconds. The old ones take a lot longer but are more fun to watch. Each year Prescott hosts a variety of annual events ranging from the “Le Vie en Bleu,” a celebration of French cars, to the Autumn Classic, open to American automobiles.
Track Diagram corresponds well with the overhead photo.
Sunshine and Great Cars at Paul Ricard
His dad Pierre took third place at Le Mans in the 60s with a Ferrari SWB; now Gregory Noblet races this 275GTB. Noblet is a VeloceToday reader, of course!
Story and photos by Graham Gauld
Probably most people reading this have never heard of Patrick Peter, but he is one of those race organizers who always comes up with some good ideas. He tried out one of them last weekend at his huge Dix Mille Tours historic meeting in the sunshine of Paul Ricard in the South of France.
[Read more…] about Sunshine and Great Cars at Paul Ricard