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BMW’s Italian Designers, Part 9

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By Jackie Jouret
Photos courtesy The BMW Archive

With his designs for the 700 and 1500, Giovanni Michelotti made an invaluable contribution to BMW’s survival at the start of the 1960s. The success of those cars put BMW on firm financial footing, which allowed the company to expand its product lineup to include a small coupe, a full-size sedan, and a larger but still sporty coupe—cars with the same kind of mass-market appeal as the 1500 sedan that also filled important niches in the marketplace. As the 1500 sedan had given BMW a recognizable brand identity, each of those cars would bear Michelotti’s imprint, to a greater or lesser degree.

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And How! CBS does the MM, Evan Wilson

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Making the Big Time…

Hot on the heels of Allen R. Kuhn’s announcement that he’ll be appearing on a California PBS special on Paramount Ranch comes a note from Joe Hurwich, who told us that he had just appeared on CBS Sunday Morning on February 2 in a segment about the Mille Miglia. [Read more…] about And How! CBS does the MM, Evan Wilson

Jonathan Sharp’s Car of the Year

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Advance and retard

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

So the ex-King Leopold Bugatti Type 59 was named car of the year at this year’s International Historic Motoring Awards (a public vote and a good choice, it got my vote). But this got me thinking. Of all the fantastic cars I have seen and photographed this year what would be my ‘Car of the Year’? That is a hard one, but the 1907 130HP Fiat that took part in this year’s London to Brighton Veteran car run would be very near, if not on top of my list.

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Joe Hurwich on the 2014 Mille Miglia

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In Tuscany, Joe Hurwich and co-driver Mike Ingegno. Photo by @1000Miglia

Story by Joe Hurwich

From the Archives, July 2024

The Mille Miglia (1000 Miglia) is or should be a bucket list item for all car guys. I have been fortunate to participate 5 times now, including June 2024. This year the event was held from June 11 to June 15, and joining me as my co-driver was a good friend and avid Alfa Romeo driver, Mike Ingegno. We made a good team and switched often between driving and navigating. For those who don’t know, navigating is probably harder than driving. [Read more…] about Joe Hurwich on the 2014 Mille Miglia

The Banaszak Stanguellini Sport P1

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At Thompson Raceway on September 5 1954 with the PBX in first and the Stanguellini CS04080 driven by John Gordon Benett in second. Here, Benett still has the lead.

By Howard Banaszak

One year ago, we presented the story of Candy Poole’s amazing PBX, which seemed to have no rivals in the east coast’s H Modified class. This month we tell the story of one of the few cars to give the PBX a run for its money, the Stanguellini 750 SN CS04080. Ironically, it found its greatest success after the installation of the all American Mercury outboard motor. It is a remarkable story in many ways.

After owning several Porsches, I decided to focus on the Italian sports racers and of course met Tim Ritter; Tim contacted me around 1985-86. He had found an interesting project car. It had a Devin body, but was mounted on an Italian chassis. Neither of us knew what it was, however, it sounded interesting. I purchased the car and it was shipped back to Florida. I removed the Devin body and gave it to Judge Parker for a project he was working on. [Read more…] about The Banaszak Stanguellini Sport P1

Gauld Meets the Nardi-Monaco Chichibio

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Enrico Nardi at the wheel of the Nardi-Monaco at the Parma hill climb in 1937. Note the tires! ( Photo Veloce Today archives)

By Graham Gauld

Not many racing cars are named after dogs, but in 1932 Augusto Monaco designed what was a remarkably forward-thinking racing car with Enrico Nardi.

It was called the Chichibio which just happened to be the name of Monaco’s dachshund!

I say forward-thinking because the racing car not only had an air-cooled engine, but also front wheel drive and was a true featherweight.

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A French Charmer by Bertone

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By Greg Glassner

As a newly minted 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Transportation Corps stationed at Ft. Eustis, Virginia, in 1967, I shared an apartment in Newport News with two other lieutenants. I regularly drove by a local Chevy dealer on the way to the base. A new or used Corvette usually sat on an elevated pedestal in the center of the used car lineup. Being a car nut, I’d scan this arrangement of automotive temptations as I drove by. One day I did a double-take when I spied a pretty little coupe decked out in a pale metallic version of French racing blue.

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The Stanga Brothers and Their Cars

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Story by Dino Brunori
Historic photos are Copyright protected from the Andrea Curami Collection

From the Archives, December 2018

In the years between 1930 and 1960 every Italian car enthusiast had only one dream: racing in the Mille Miglia. And in the years after the war, when the sporting regulations allowed it, one might enter the 1000 mile race with a self-built car derived from or built with Fiat components. They could be rewarded with large sums of money if they won the category with Fiat parts.

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Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family Part 4

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Santino and Giovanni.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photographer unknown).

By James Lanoway

Of all the drivers who raced with Balduzzi-prepared cars, it appears that Duilio Ghislotti of Italy and Sead Alihodzic of Yugoslavia were the most successful, with the most victories and podiums achieved. Duilio Ghislotti had his most successful season in Italy in 1974 finishing second in the Campionato Italiano di Turismo (the national championship) and received Alfa Romeo’s coveted Targa d’Oro for his efforts. [Read more…] about Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family Part 4

And How! Paul Wilson, Team Roosevelt

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Paul Wilson explains the Regal.

Paul Wilson on Video

In the pages of VeloceToday, Paul Wilson has written and photographed the design and construction of his two Alfa 6C 2500 Alfas and a B.A.T. recreation as a step-by-step process that works well with text and photos. But there is no better medium than a good video when presenting a single collector car on and off the road. [Read more…] about And How! Paul Wilson, Team Roosevelt

BMW’s Italian Designers, Part 8

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By Jackie Jouret
Photos courtesy The BMW Archive

The success of the Giovanni Michelotti-designed 700 microcar ensured BMW’s survival, and with it his continued collaboration with the Munich automaker. The Turin-based designer already been under contract with BMW for two years by the time the 700 premiered at the Frankfurt auto show in September 1959, and he’d created a pair of forward-looking prototypes—the 505 limousine and the 3200 CS roadster—while sketching a number of design proposals for future automobiles.

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Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family P3

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Autolodi-sponsored Balduzzi cars.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photo by Dario Gaggiani).

By James Lanoway

Santino Balduzzi possessed several personality characteristics that ultimately led to his success as a tuner. He was innately curious about all things, and he loved to experiment in his search for solutions to a mechanical problem, often trying out many iterations in the search for an answer. Documenting his failures and solutions was a routine part of his experiments, and he truly practiced the maxim “Living is learning, and learning is living.”

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