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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

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Gauld at Silverstone

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Jim Clark at the wheel of UUL 442 at a small MG Car Club Sprint in 1958 winning the sports car class with the 356 Super. Photo by Graham Gauld.

It doesn’t seem like a year since the last Silverstone Classic event, and with the rain-soaked British Grand Prix just two weeks before, I was prepared for rain. It came on Friday but throughout the rest of the weekend the weather was good. There was an enormous entry this year split into both the old traditional Silverstone Paddock and the new “Wing” Paddock which is the site of the Grand Prix start and finish line.

I had various reasons to be there, but mainly to do research for a book. Thus, I had less time to go on the wander than in the past, but still I am always amazed at the surprise meetings and coincidences that just happen.

Jim Clark’s Porsche
Take for example the ex-Jim Clark Porsche 356 Super; well, it was his after he bought the car from Ian Scott Watson who was his entrant.

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Smith at Silverstone

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Right before I left for Silverstone, your kindly Editor asked me to keep an eye out for any French oddities which might appear. At the auction, I found these two, both of which definitely fit the bill. Color photos by Roy Smith.

Claude in the Ferry during the 1950 Le Mans.

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Our Features This Week, July 18th 2012

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We sadly note the loss of L. Scott Bailey, founder of the influential “Automobile Quarterly”.
An obit can be found on the New York Times website.

Something that L. Scott Bailey would have appreciated is our landmark series by Gijsbert-Paul Berk on the 1923 Grand Prix of Tours…the famous race of the “Tanks”. Berk takes a different approach, and in doing so completely describes every detail of the event, accompanied by many historic photos. We’ll publish this in Internet-size bites over the next few weeks.

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Goodwood’s Tribute to the Queen

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

A very special event at Goodwood was a motoring tribute to compliment Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. You won’t find an Italian or French car in the lot, but we think you’ll like this at any rate. Congratulations to the Earl of March for this historic and timely display. Also, thanks to that new guy we introduced last week, Jonathan Sharp for coming up with the most interesting and comprehensive explanation of the very special entries. [Ed.]

This being Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, the theme chosen for this year’s Cartier “Style et Luxe” display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was “Transport fit for a Queen”. The display featured cars that were either owned by or used by the Queen or other members of the Royal Family. The display also featured a Royal Train Carriage, children’s electric ride in toy cars and even an aeroplane. The displays, in five classes, were arranged on the grass in front of the stable yard of Goodwood House.
[Read more…] about Goodwood’s Tribute to the Queen

1000 Cars for the Silverstone Classic

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Photography by Jonathan Sharp

In the United Kingdom, there is only one event which can be mentioned in the same sentence usually only reserved for the Goodwood Revival Meeting…the Silverstone Classic which is being held this year on the weekend of July 20. This event can trace its history way back to 1990 when it was known as the Coys Historic Festival. Until a few years ago it had somewhat lost its way but now it is back up there with the best.
[Read more…] about 1000 Cars for the Silverstone Classic

Our Features This Week, July 11th 2012

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A tribute to the late Martin Swig, Eric Davison rides with Bobby Unser, the Alfa T183T, Hugues Vanhoolandt at Goodwood and the Grand Prix of Great Britain.

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McCahill and the Bugatti

Bill Giltzow remembered he had this slide while reading Brandes Elitch’s ” The Constant Search“. This picture of Tom McCahill has never been published, taken at Linden Airport Races in 1949. Original Agfachrome slide by William G Giltzow (1914-1979) scan & copyright William A Giltzow.

Tom is in the white ball cap. But who is the driver and whose Bugatti is the centerpiece of this rare photo? Our thanks to Bill Giltzow.

Peak Experience

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Bobby Unser in his heyday. IMS Photo.

Eric Davison has had many interesting experiences in the automotive field; his epic eight-part memoirs of Watkins Glen appeared last year in VeloceToday and more recently his recollections of Le Mans in the 1970s brought a lot of appreciative comments. The other day, noting the sad news in Colorado, he sat down and wrote about his adventures at Pikes Peak with a guy named Bobby Unser. Enjoy, we did! Ed.

Story by Eric Davison

The devastating fires that have ravaged the Colorado Springs area of Colorado have caused the delay of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, originally scheduled for last weekend, until August 12. Both events are cause for sadness. Colorado is considered one of the most majestic of states and to think of it in ashes is heartbreaking.

Anything goes at Pikes Peak...the diversity is astounding.


To me, the Pikes Peak event represents what is perhaps the most inclusive and unusual of motorsports events. In many respects it is the opposite from the other famous American race venue, Indianapolis. The lack of creativity and individuality on the Indy car circuit is the obverse of the technical variety seen and promoted at Pikes Peak. The organizers have a competitive category for just about anyone. If someone showed up with a motorized uni-cycle I feel pretty sure that he would have a chance for a trophy. Run what ‘ya brung seems to be the byword and what’s more, local residents are as likely to be as competitive as the international stars.

The Unser Experience
While I have only attended the actual hill climb once I have had a Pikes Peak experience that many could only dream of. I had a ride part way up the hill with Bobby Unser at the wheel. For those who don’t follow Pikes Peak, there was a time beginning in 1934 that the name Unser was synonymous with first place at the event and Bobby Unser could surely be labeled ‘king of the hill.’ The Unsers, from the local area, literally owned the hill beginning with Uncle Louie. Bobby Unser still holds the all time win record at the mountain and his son Rob won the event driving a Peugeot 405 in 1989.

Which reminds us that there is often a French flavor to rustic Colorado hillclimb. French star Michèle Mouton won with the Audi Quattro in 1985 (watch video ) …. And of course there was the famed Milliken Bugatti that placed 6th overall in 1947.

Bill Milliken (with tie) at Pikes Peak with his team. Yep, that's a Bugatti.

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A Tribute To Martin Swig

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Martin Swig

Martin Swig in 2003.

Story and photos by Shivu Rao
We sadly note the passing of 78 year old Martin Swig, who passed away on July 3, 2012. Swig was a San Francisco Bay Area-based car collector, vintage racer, founder and chief organizer of the California Mille, La Carrera Nevada, and other notable U.S. vintage car rallies and events. Nine years ago, we sent budding reporter Shivu Rao out to interview the iconic Alfa collector. Shivu had the pleasure of sitting down with Mr. Swig to talk about a wide-ranging set of subjects; from the foundations of the Italian car business in America in the 1950s, to the development of the car industry in general, to vintage rallies, to vintage cars, and last but not least, Swig himself. We re-publish this interesting and informative article today as a fitting tribute to Martin Swig.[Ed.]

Having spent some time with the man, we at VeloceToday can state without compunction that he is a true blue (or Rosso) Italian car enthusiast and holds much knowledge about our collective passion. His enthusiasm is real, palpable and infectious. The two Maxims of Swig we took away from this encounter were – “the cars choose the people, not the other way around” and “it’s all about having fun”. The second phrase was in evidence as we had a good time creating the content for this piece.

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Our Features This Week, July 5th, 2012

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For this holiday week we present four very short but exciting features. We’d like to hear your opinions on the current round of “Concept Cars” that are aimed directly at our line of interests. Did Renault get it right and Alfa/Fiat Zagato fail, or was it the other way around? Or, is it necessary to create new cars with old themes at all?

Also, we note with sadness the death of Sergio Pininfarina on July 3, 2012 at age 85. W’ell have more on Pininfarina in a future issue of VT.

We have a very French Summer coming up with outstanding features from some of our best writers including Eric Davison, Roy Smith, and Ed McDonough. In addition, we are proud to welcome the esteemed author of the biography “André Lefebvre”, Gijsbert-Paul Berk to our electronic pages.

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The TZ3 Stradale: The First American Alfa Romeo?

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Story and photos by Mary Ann Dickinson unless otherwise noted

At the annual convention of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club held in Toronto, the TZ3 Stradale was lovingly presented by Andrea Zagato, third generation CEO of the renowned Italian car design company, Zagato. [Read more…] about The TZ3 Stradale: The First American Alfa Romeo?

Gauld at the Blancpain GT Endurance

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McLaren-MP4-12C

Jack Clark's McLaren MP4 12C holds off the Ferrari 458 Italia of Patrice Groueslard.

Story and Photos by Graham Gauld

I took myself off to the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France last weekend for the round of the Blancpain Endurance Series which brought together an enormous 56 car entry of top quality GT cars. The rise in GT racing has been steady over the past two or three years and it is now not only attracting some top drivers but also some of the leading manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, McLaren, Audi etc. [Read more…] about Gauld at the Blancpain GT Endurance

Presenting Jonathan Sharp

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The reason I have chosen this shot is because I like the symbolism. You could not pick a more British make than Lotus but Lotus has always relied on the co-operation of others for success whether that be Ford of Britain, Coventry Climax, Renault or as it is now, Toyota.

Photos and captions by Jonathan Sharp

Jonathan caught our attention..not an easy task these days…when he sent along a few B&W images of the Bugattis at Prescott. [Read more…] about Presenting Jonathan Sharp

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