VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

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Find VeloceToday’s Hidden Treasures

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How to Find Great Articles on Your Favorite Subject

Finding the hidden car is often easy. Finding the article, well, read on.

Over the past nine years (VeloceToday is beginning our tenth year of continuous weekly publication) we have posted almost 1200 feature articles on cars, events, people, news, and lifestyles. Looking for these archived treasures—and finding them—is not always easy, but can be if you know what buttons to press.

There are over 483 articles in the VeloceToday archives published just since February of 2008 alone (in WordPress) and 690 between 2002 and 2007. This article will help you find what you’re looking for or just make it easier to browse through the archives. After they appear on the homepage for generally two weeks, each article is then placed in the archives. If you missed VT for a week or two, or if you are new to VT, you won’t be aware of articles which may be of interest to you, now hidden in the archives, not to mention the thousands of photos also resident within those articles. [Read more…] about Find VeloceToday’s Hidden Treasures

This Week, of Interest

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Do you know the way to Monterey? Or are you on vacation in Europe? Either way, we here at VeloceToday are still we here at VeloceToday. And this week the July Goodwood Festival is featured, thanks to a new correspondent by the name of Robert Neary. We hope to bring you more of his work in the near future. Carl Goodwin’s work on racing the Alfa Giulietta in America first published in 2007 was so good we thought it was time for a mid-summer rerun.

Dan Schaefer out in Minneapolis would like you to contact him if interested in attending their yearly event. He’s at 612 385 3111 or Dan@wheelsofitaly.com.

The now twice-a-year contribution drive is over but we’ll continue to remind you to send in what you can when you can. We thank all those who have contributed so far and their dollars have ensured that VeloceToday will continue to be here for all of you.

To wit: Please take the time to contribute and keep VeloceToday coming to your inbox every week. It’s easy and safe. Simply click here for details.

Alfas Star at Goodwood, July 2-4, 2010

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Remarkable Alfa scultpure at Goodwood.

Story and photos by Robert Neary

With a theme of VIVA VELOCE and a celebration of 100 years of Alfa Romeo, this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed was a truly wonderful event for the Italian car enthusiast. [Read more…] about Alfas Star at Goodwood, July 2-4, 2010

Racing the Alfa Giulietta in America Part I

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There's carbon on this sparkplug, the Alfa lady seems to be saying. Dunkirk 1958. Photo: Alix Lafontant.

By Carl Goodwin

A slow beginning
The Alfa Giulietta did not come on the sports car scene as Porsche did, with dramatic wins and startling performance. Instead, it kind of slid into the U.S. market, and began to race two years after its introduction in Italy. [Read more…] about Racing the Alfa Giulietta in America Part I

Racing the Alfa Giulietta in America Part II

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Following close: Detroit's Harry Constant in Alfa #84 is hounded by Chuck Stoddard in the #25 Alfa, with the rest of the Put-in-Bay field in the distance. Photo: Joe Brown

By Carl Goodwin

Stoddard Racing
Chuck Stoddard won national SCCA championships in 1959, 1961 and 1965 in Alfas. “The Giulietta didn’t get interesting,” he says, “until the Veloce was introduced. Bob Grossman was one of the first to run one. Max Hoffman was behind it – he pitted Porsche against Alfa. He would go to Porsche and tell them ‘The Speedsters are nice but the Giulietta is nicer.’ [Read more…] about Racing the Alfa Giulietta in America Part II

The Allante: Ultimate Italian Cadillac

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Jet black is one of the colors that make an old Allante look new.

By Wallace A. Wyss
Captions by Wyss
All photos courtesy of
Norman Penfield, President Allante Atlanta Car Club

Like a lot of other trends in the auto industry, it started with all good intentions—the creation of an American car with the added glitz of Italian styling and coachwork.

I speak of the Cadillac Allante. The Allante has a name which Cadillac picked out of the air. It is not an Italian word like Avanti was for the Studebaker Avanti (which means “forward” in Italian.) I always thought it sort of hinted at the mythical undersea town of Atlantis. But the car, like the fabled city , sunk beneath the waves….

The two-seater was in production from 1987 through 1993.

Cadillac had seen the success of the Mercedes 450SL (introduced as the 350SL in 1971) and the Jaguar XJS and hungered for their own two seater sporty car. I say “sporty” not “sports.” There’s a difference.
[Read more…] about The Allante: Ultimate Italian Cadillac

French at Le Mans by Vanhoolandt

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Still looking for the Pink Panther.

Last week Hugues Vanhoolandt displayed the Italian effort at this year’s Le Mans Classic, which everyone is saying gets better and better every year. For the 5th time, Le Mans Classic celebrated the greatest long distance race in the world. With more than 420 cars on the track, ranging from 1923 to 1979, it was close action from Saturday at 4 pm to Sunday same hour.With 96,000 spectators, Le Mans Classic proved to be one of the world’s greatest historic racing car event.

Photos and captions by Hugues Vanhoolandt.
[Read more…] about French at Le Mans by Vanhoolandt

In the Alpes Maritimes with an Alpine-Renault

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The Alpine overlooking the Riviera. Photo by RentaCarClassic.

We last engaged Skip Cook as Philippe Defechereux described the Deutsch-Bonnet at Sebring, and Cook’s adventures running a DB coupe at the Le Mans Classic. Cook recently returned to France to drive an Alpine Renault in the California Classic Rallye event, this year held in the French Riviera. Below is his report.

PARTICIPANT’S DIARY
By Skip Cook
Photos by the author unless otherwise noted

The California Classic Rallye has been held for many years throughout California, but in the last two years has expanded its reach to Europe, first in Tuscany in 2009, and this year in the French Riviera. [Read more…] about In the Alpes Maritimes with an Alpine-Renault

This Week, of Interest

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Contribution Drive News

Don’t have Paypal? Not really necessary, but it’s a nice service, particularly for international payments. We are finding that many of our readers want to send in a contribution but don’t have Paypal. You can, however, send a donation via Paypal with a credit card and not have a Paypal account. Or send a check the old fashioned snail mail way to VeloceToday, 2858 Lake Powell Road, Williamsburg VA, 23185.

Become a supporter of VeloceToday. A $25 dollar gift contribution will get you VeloceToday every week for the rest of the year. But you get it anyway? Of course you do, but it will mean more if you contribute! Please take the time to contribute $25 or whatever you wish, and keep VeloceToday coming to your inbox every week. It’s easy and safe. Simply click here for details.

Hellé Nice to R.I.P.

Foundation Will Position Grave Marker during September 4th Ceremony in Ste Mesme

Artwork by Larry Crane
The Hellé Nice Foundation has announced a ceremony to be held in Ste Mesme, France on September 4, 2010 honoring French female racecar driver Hellé Nice. “For 26 years, Nice has rested in an unmarked grave and our foundation’s first project has been to raise funds and place a marker on her grave”, said Sheryl Greene. A Service of Commemoration will be held at the Ste Mesme church and in the adjoining cemetery where the marker will be placed. Speakers will include Miranda Seymour, author of “The Bugatti Queen”, essayist, lecturer and author of the Hellé Nice biography; VeloceToday correspondent and motorsports historian Dr. Patricia Lee Yongue and Sheryl Greene, originator and founder of the Hellé Nice Foundation.

Additional ceremony guests include: Annie Soisbault, Triumph works driver famous for her performances in races and rallies and Jean-Pierre Beltoise, who restored hope to French motor sport and won the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix. Club Bugatti France will bring several examples of Bugattis similar to the ones Nice drove on the track. Those attending are invited to bring their own classic and vintage cars along with flowers to place on the grave. “We invite lovers and devotees of the car in general, and of motor sport in particular, to join us in restoring the memory of one of automobile history’s great women racers”, said Greene. The ceremony begins at the church in Ste-Mesme located at Chemin de l’Eglise, 78739 Sainte-Mesme, France, on September 04, 2010 at 11:00AM (Paris time)
For more information contact Sheryl Greene at Sherylgreene@gmail.com or 404 429-9600 in Atlanta, GA, USA.

Roy Smith: A Good Go

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Alpine Renault author Roy Smith has had a go at all the fine and fun things in life

The Alpine that launched a series of books. Roy Smith gets drive in a ex-works Tour de Corse car in 1983.

By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy Roy Smith

Roy Smith has given the motoring world three very special, often brilliant, and thoroughly delightful books about Alpine and Renault in the space of the same number of years. That’s an amazing feat, his works are well researched, with hundreds of photos, first person interviews, diagrams, and fresh new information about a rare subject. There is no doubt they are landmark books on the subject of Alpine Renault. And if that’s not enough, his latest work on Gordini is due out in 2011. [Read more…] about Roy Smith: A Good Go

This Week, of Interest

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Lancias Meet the Fokkers at the 2010 ALC Reunion in Rhinebeck NY

The 2010 AMERICAN LANCIA CLUB reunion will be held at the historic village of Rhinebeck, New York on 10-11-12 September. Rhinebeck is 1.5 hours from any New York airport and 45 minutes drive from Stewart Newburgh airport. The club welcomes ALL Lancia enthusiasts, even non members.

On Friday night there will be a wine and cheese party, followed by a rally on Saturday morning, ending with lunch and an exhibition of Lancias. On Saturday afternoon you’ll be treated to an airshow at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, the only place in the world where real WWI-era fighter aircraft perform mock dogfights, including Fokker Tri-Planes. The Aerodrome also has an extensive airplane and car museum. We have booked accommodations in the Delamater House of the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, the oldest operational Inn in the United States, where our banquet will also be held on Saturday night. On Sunday morning we have our traditional concours before departing in early afternoon.

The reunion fee is $100 per adult, including party, lunch and the banquet. Anyone interested in attending please contact ALC East Coast Vice President Walt Spak (b20swalt@city-net.com), and/or reunion coordinator James Steerman (aureliaspider@yahoo.com) or on his cellphone 845-216-0461. Hotel bookings MUST be made before 10 August to qualify for our special club rate.

Scroll on. Five articles this week: Karl Ludvigsen (Disconcerting Barchetta), Roberto Motta (Alfa Museum Saved), Editor’s bio, British GP, and Barchetta Lite.

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