The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
The ups and downs of the sleeve valve engine
By Pete Vack
For the 1923 French GP, French car builder Gabriel Voisin and his ‘spiritual son’ André Lefebvre, entered four highly advanced race cars equipped with a 2 liter six cylinder Knight sleeve valve engine, which was a mainstay of his fabulous line of luxury cars. But what is a sleeve valve engine, who was Knight and why did Voisin choose such a layout, straight from the American heartland?
[Read more…] about Knight and Day
Would you pay one dollar USD for your edition of VeloceToday? We’d like to think it was worth at least that. VeloceToday is delivered to your PC every week. If you donated $25 USD right now you’d cover that cost for the rest of 2010. And we could cover ours.
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This week we introduce you to a relatively new service called Speedreaders.info. Note the dotinfo, not dotcom. Sabu Advani, the editor of the US Rolls-Royce/Bentley magazine started this review site for books on cars and transportation. We write for him occasionally and he does for us as well. See our latest, a review on the Bentley Great Eight by Karl Ludvisgen on Speedreaders.
Someone else to introduce are the twin sites Prewar and Postwar classics. Both sites are filled with not only cars for sale but project cars, mystery quizzes, and articles.
Joris Bergsma offers free ads with large images for both pre and post war car sellers, and he owns both a 1928 Amilcar CGSs and a 1930 Fiat 514 Berlina. Right up our alley, and located in Amsterdam. We’ll see how we can share content from time to time. Click on Postwarclassics.com
Finally, we have some new analytical tools and we are experimenting with the mail out newsletter for increased effectiveness. Please bear with us and let us know your thoughts.
For our readers: This is a review of last year’s Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano.
For information about the 2011 event which will take place from 16 to 19 June and is open to 100 sport cars:
Click here for the Bassano website.
Click here for direct contact withe the organizers.
For information about renting a classic sportscar for the 2011 event, please contact the editor at pete@velocetoday.com.
A wonderland of Italian toys surrounds the Nardi of Dino Brunori, number 72.
Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano 2010, 17 – 20 June
By Dino Brunori and Chuck Schoendorf
Photo by Brunori unless otherwise noted.
When Italian journalist and race driver Count Giovanni Lurani coined the nickname “barchetta” after seeing the new Touring-bodied 166 Ferrari Spider, I’m sure he didn’t have in mind Bassano 2010.
[Read more…] about Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano 2010
Professor Andrea Curami, surrounded by some of his famous books.
From the archives: A Tribute by Dino Brunori
Last Thursday, June 24th 2010, the author of so many of the books we cherish, Andrea Curami died suddenly of a stroke. He was only 63 years old. Our condolences to his wife Maria Cristina, his daughter Marianna and a beloved nephew, Ginevra.
“Tschao Dino”, “Ciao Andrea”, was a typical beginning of conversations with my late friend Andrea Curami. His way of saying ‘ciao’ had a small inflection of ‘s’ in front of the word and always sounded, well, like Andrea. The first time we met was about fifteen years ago at the Mille Miglia scrutineering in Piazza Vittoria in Brescia. I had heard of the well-known historian but never met him. So it was that I was introduced to a tall man with white hair and a cigar in one hand. For some reason I immediately associated him with Yogi the Bear from the TV cartoon series. I wasn’t the only one. Later I discovered that ‘little bear’ was a nickname often used by his friends.
[Read more…] about Andrea Curami
Fred Simeone in the Alfa Monza s/n 221112 which placed second in the 1933 Mille Miglia, is followed by Curator Kevin Kelly in the 8C 2900B MM Spyder s/n 412031 which won the Mille Miglia in 1938.
A hands on approach brings ancient Alfas to life at the Simeone Foundation
By Pete Vack
Photos by Harry Hurst
Thomas Hoving assumed the directorship of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967 and began a number of building projects and renovations. He brought new life to the aging Museum and was often said to be “making the mummies dance”, a phrase he used to title his best selling memoirs.
[Read more…] about Making the Mummies Dance
The fascinating history of the Alfa Romeo RLSS MUG 412. Upper left, letter from Tom Goodman; upper right, the Hull and Slater book; original registration from 1927; MUG 412 plate and the RLSS at the Simeone.
By Pete Vack
Fred Simeone became the owner of this rare Alfa Romeo RLSS, chassis number 69013, because he rarely forgets a mug. “I was at Goodwood in 2002 and noticed the Bonhams’ catalog had an RLSS for sale with a British license plate which read ‘MUG 412‘. It struck me as being very familiar, and I then remembered I had read about this car in the Alfa history by Peter Hull and Roy Slater some forty years earlier.” And sure enough on page 63 of the first edition, was a description of this particular Alfa and how it was built for a relative of actor Michael Rennie. Simeone didn’t need to know too much more to bid successfully on the RLSS. (Read Driving the RLSS) It wasn’t the first time the unusual tag was the object of attention.
[Read more…] about MUG 412 and the story of an Alfa Romeo RLSS
Merosi's Masterpiece, the RLSS. Photo by Harry Hurst.
Part I covered the Merosi cars designed from the beginning of ALFA in 1910 to the introduction of the RL in 1921, which would be the mainstay of the company until production of the Jano-designed 6C 1500 was underway in 1927. Part II features the details of the RLS, RLSS and the RLTF cars.
For 1926 several improvements were made as the RLN became the RLT (for Touring) and the RLS became the RLSS (Super Sports) The latter had dry sump lubrication, while the RLT now also had an engine capacity of 2994cc (and in the UK became known as the 22/70); power improved to 61bhp at 3200rpm, while the RLSS now revved to 3600 and produced 83bhp providing a maximum speed of just over 80mph. [Read more…] about Giuseppe Merosi and the Alfa Romeo RL series Part II
By Pete Vack
Color photos by Harry Hurst
Thanks to the kind offices of the Simeone Foundation, VeloceToday was recently given the opportunity to drive two rare pre-war Alfa Romeos. While driving the “Legendary” 2.3 Castagna was a dream come true, it was perhaps even more fortunate to have been able to sample an even rarer Alfa–a 1925 RLSS, “Merosi’s Masterpiece” as some have called the breed. Rare, did we say? How about 392 ever produced, of which perhaps a dozen are left, scattered across the globe. To see one is an event; to drive one is to experience motoring’s Shangri-La. Here is our report:
Being able to drive both the 8C 2300 and the RLSS meant that we were given the even rarer opportunity to drive the work of both Giuseppe Merosi and Vittorio Jano. We’ll tell you which was more fun an bit down. [Read more…] about VeloceToday Drives the Alfa Romeo RLSS
ACTIVITIES AT THE SIMEONE
NICE BUGATTI ART ON EBAY
BANDINI DOHC FOR SALE
ABARTH DOUBLE BUBBLE SELLS FOR $91,260
LANCIA MYSTERY CAR STILL THAT
ALFA SPRINT NORMALE GOES FOR $39,780
At the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum Saturday, June 19th - Sunday, June 27th A special exhibit: Cent Anni, Alfa Romeo, Honoring this famous marque on its 100th anniversary.
Legendary mechanic Jim McGee works on the Bugatti while Charles Addams looks on. Watermill, NY., 1978. Photo by H.R.Krause. Used with permission from the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation.
By Pete Vack
Read Part I, Charles Addams and His Cars, 1948-1960
In 1960, Charles Addams was about to embark upon the most lucrative years of his career as a cartoonist, even having enough spare cash to renew car insurance.” By 1964 his income had almost tripled and the “Addams Family” was just making its debut on nation-wide TV. Like never before, Addams, an otherwise “normal boy” from New Jersey, would be able to enjoy both his cars and his freedom.
After two years of racing the Alfa 8C2300 (see Driving the 8C2300) around eastern Long Island, Addams began looking for a Bugatti. Already well known by Vintage Sports Car Club of America (VSCCA) members, Addams was an active member in the nascent club, and even though he rarely sallied forth to events at Lime Rock or Thompson, Connecticut, he seldom missed a vintage meet at
Addams, left with Ken Purdy (glasses and white hair) at the annual meeting of the American Bugatti Club at Le Chanteclair, circa 1960. Photo from the collection of Ralph Gross and first published in My Two Lives.
©Charles Addams With permission of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation
By Pete Vack
From the VeloceToday Archives, June, 2010
A deep interest in classic cars was bound to reveal itself in the art of Charles Addams. When the Tee and Charles Foundation began to collect and identify the Addams cartoons, they found over 70 related to the automobile. [Read more…] about Charles Addams and his CAR Toons
Side view indicates an attractive but not Italianate design. But the mechanicals are all Lancia.
Ok, we give up. As so often happens, a reader will send us some images of a car that no one can identify. Usually we can find the answer without a great deal of research.
But this one left us stumped.
Despite its short wheelbase, the car is quite attractive. Think Denzel with a front engine.