The Monte Carlo not seen on SpeedTV
Photos copyright Mario Marchesini
Captions by Lorenzo Marchesini
“Me pay? No, give him the bill..” submitted by Michael Gordon.
A Car Life, by Larry Crane
Following Le Mans veteran Oliver Mathai, in the Aston Martin DBS, through the Ford chicanes in Aston’s 2009 V8 Vantage.
Aston Martin’s latest V8 Vantage benefits from 80 years of development for the 24 Hours of Le Man and we chase its history on the storied circuitton
Photos by Nick Dimbleby, Pete Robain and Ian Dawson
Cornering hard into the Ford Chicane–second gear–very tight. How do the LMP cars do this? We have entered from a back corner of the paddock and it is a curious place to begin a lap. Full power up the long hill past the pits, all the way to top gear; two quick clicks down to fourth at the top of the hill and into the new Dunlop curves surrounded by acres of gravel and quickly to the esses and the forest.
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Improbable, Impertinent, Imponderable
Photo by Mary Decker Vack.
Pete Vack on the Immortal Deux Chevaux
Deux Chevaux, Deux, meaning two, and Chevaux, (Cheval Vapeur, or steam horse) a terms which means horsepower and was the the basis for a sliding scale of ratings for taxation purposes.
The Citroën 2CV was one of France’s most popular cars and was in continuous production from 1948 to 199. It was iconic, but not the result of Andre Citroën’s vision–he died in 1935 just as the planning for the 2CV was started.
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A Car Life, by Larry Crane
Tracy (the only blonde in the picture) finds a bleacher seat to share with the locals to watch the Mille Miglia.
Entry not required.
Bob Tullius and I were pushing the D-type slowly toward the starting ramp. Light, misty rain had been continuous since nightfall. The umbrella covered the driver’s seat but Mark Miller’s navigator perch was slowly becoming a leather-lined puddle. The C-type half of the Jaguar team was already off on its soggy adventure with the early cars.
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Lancia Aurelia B20: An Appreciation PI
The clean, Gran Turismo lines of the early Series 2 B20 Aurelia. From coachwork to chassis, a complete classic. Note pronounced fins. Photo courtesy Geoffrey Goldberg.
By Pete Vack
Very special thanks to Geoff Goldberg and Nigel Trow
An article or three, about the Lancia Aurelia, one of the most significant and important cars of the twentieth century. This week, origins and engines.
“The Lancia B20: One of the most significant automobiles of the century of the automobile.”
Who said that?
Maybe it has been written or spoken at some time in the past, distant or otherwise.
Maybe it hasn’t.
So we’ll say it here, loud and clear. You can quote us: The Lancia Aurelia is one of the ten most significant automobiles of the twentieth century, and therefore of all time.
If a 1951 production car with a platform chassis, all independent suspension, four speed transaxle, inboard rear brakes, aluminum V-6 engine confined within the parameters of one of the most beautiful bodies ever envisioned doesn’t mean anything to you, you’re on the wrong website.
Let it also be known that the Aurelia B20, which is our focus here, is a most complex car, each one of the 3,871 coupes virtually hand built, and model lines are confusing. There is engineering excellence with constant changes and as you will see, nothing is as simple as it seems.
The Aurelia story begins with the untimely death at age 55 of the firm’s founder, Vincenzo Lancia, in February 1937. At his side at death, his capable and intelligent widow Adele took control of the firm and steered it through the war years. It is doubtful that this remarkable woman ever received the full credit due her. Mrs. Lancia kept the firm alive until she handed it over to her very able son Gianni.
The 1937-39 Series I Lusso Aprilia: 4WIRS, inboard rear brakes, unit frame body, V4 engine. Photo take at Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. Photo courtesy Geoffrey Goldberg.
Lancias Rule at Bristol
Story and Photos by Paul G. Hanmore
Bristol hosts an Italian spectacle.
The 7th Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival, held on April 25th, 2009, featured Lancia and we were enthusiastically supported by scores of Lancia enthusiasts who celebrated 30 years of the Integrale with many superb incarnations of the model on display. There were many delightful Fulvias, Appias, Montecarlos, and numerous other confections of the Marque.
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A Car Life, by Larry Crane
Chasing the bikes, we had no idea our direction from Salisbury and did not note the names of the tiny villages en route. This was simply a picturesque shot with an audience of one.
Italophiles in the Emerald Isles Too.
“Like old bikes?” Spoken in a thick brogue by an old gentleman in a well-worn tweed jacket fitted snugly over a much-loved cardigan sweater, checked shirt and necktie. He was standing next to an ancient, equally well-seasoned, open trailer containing a Clyno motorcycle.
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City of Turin
Captions Not Applicable
Photography by Simon Grand
Simon Grand has contributed to these pages in the past, and recently he sent us some of his artful images of the “automotive jewellery” that was on display at the Concorso D’eleganza in Turin. While VeloceToday, unlike many websites, does not simply publish scattered images without thought or identification, captions here seem superfluous.
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A Car Life, by Larry Crane
DRIVING BUGS
The Veyron, above is a modern interpretation of a pur sang Bugatti. The EB 110 below, while a brilliant engineering exercise, is not; all that went into Artioli’s factory.
EB 110
An Italian Interpretation
It’s clean and comfortable in here. The engine idles so smoothly it’s hard to know if you need the clutch to get into first. The seats are more Bentley than Bugatti, in fact, the dash is burl walnut not razor-edged, retro racer. In an effort to make the world’s fastest and most expensive commuter the “exotic” element has simply been eliminated.
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Ligier’s JS2: A Tribute to Jo Schlesser
Ligier JS2 1973 fitted with the V6 Maserati.
By Thierry Lesparre
Translation by Francois de Pouqueville
The Ligier JS2 is just like Guy Ligier himself, you may like it or you may not, but in any case it won’t leave you indifferent.
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A Car Life, by Larry Crane
Pro Drive
The Ferrari forecourt from reception.
The iron gate is in the distance. Could
that be the famous Crane Lancia B20,
right there in Maranello? A ride in a new
Testarossa awaits our Senior Editor.
The acrid smell of vaporized rubber wafted into the cockpit. Through its pale haze we watched the red Testarossa just ahead of us perform a slow pirouette. The driver had attempted a power-slide around an acute intersection and had been unable to catch it in time. In a moment of brilliance, he simply turned it into a great, smoking 180-degree spin and accelerated past us.
A Death Forgotten
Sheryl Greene is the driving force behind the Helle Nice Foundation.
Perhaps not, if the Helle Nice Foundation succeeds
By Pete Vack
As Renee Friderich’s lifeless body lay crumpled in the remains of the big Delage Sporte, (read Death by Delage) her friend and perhaps mentor, Helle Nice, went on to capture the fastest time of the Paris-to-Saint-Raphael rally that fateful day, February 22nd, 1932, in a car she knew well and drove better, a Bugatti T35C. But unlike Helle Nice, Friderich’s tragic death was never forgotten by her friends and family who mourned her.
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