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BMW’s Italian Designers, Part 1

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By Jackie Jouret
Photos courtesy The BMW Archive

To be successful at Le Mans, or in any high-speed competition, you need more than just a powerful motor. You also need effective aerodynamics. With low drag combined with stability at speed, power becomes less important overall, and even a relatively underpowered car can win races.

BMW’s 328 had been winning races since its 1936 debut at the Nürburgring, but it did so largely thanks to exquisitely balanced performance and responsive handling rather than outright power. (Which is not to say that the M328 six-cylinder engine was anything short of a masterpiece; it remains a superb engine, with hemispherical combustion chambers and an innovative valvetrain.) Those traits had allowed the BMW roadster to sweep the podium for 2.0-liter sports car class in the 1938 Mille Miglia, for instance, where the mountainous course played perfectly to the car’s strengths.

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And How! Closing the Roundel

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By Pete Vack

This week we begin a multi-part series on Italian designers and BMW, researched and written by BMW Roundel columnist Jackie Jouret. These exclusive articles for VeloceToday are the result of some interesting connections and coincidences.

Although I’ve owned a lot of Alfas, my first new car was not an Alfa but a 1971 BMW 2002, chosen over an Alfa Berlina 1750. It will long be remembered, perhaps mostly because we kept the window sticker. It was in the days before the great inflationary spiral of the 1970s, and the cost off the showroom floor was only $3706. That’s three thousand, seven hundred six dollars. [Read more…] about And How! Closing the Roundel

Gauld Visits the Malaga Museum

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The Museo del Automovil y La Moda in Malaga, southern Spain.

Story by Graham Gauld
Photos by Graham Gauld unless otherwise noted

For me a visit to any motor museum not only exposes to you cars and models you have heard about but never seen in the metal, so to speak, but demonstrates the sheer variety of marques the world has produced in the 130 year history of the automobile.

Recently I took a short trip to Malaga in the south of Spain.

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Nick Soprano’s Dream Car

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Story and photos by Sean Smith
From the Archives, December 2018

Well before Nick Soprano climbed behind the wheels of some of the world’s greatest sports cars, he was drawing his version of the perfect high performance machine. Every young car lover does this, but Nick never grew out of it.

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Classic Memories: Gauld at Silverstone

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Peter Fenichel with his interesting Stanguellini.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

As regular readers know, I always look forward to the Silverstone Classic in late August, but for me this year was a rush as I had to get back fast before going on a brief visit to Malaga in Spain (coming up), so only now can I sit back and reflect on an event which always churns up interesting cars and people.

Take Peter Fenichel, for example, who was racing a Stanguellini Formula Junior that interested me, as anything to do with Stanguellini does since I have known the family for over sixty years. Peter is an American retired financial man with a passion for racing and a cheerful demeanor.

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Chantilly Art and Elegance Concours 2024

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Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Every two years, the château and grounds of Chantilly hosts a new edition of the Chantilly Arts & Elegance Concours. It is difficult to find a more beautiful setting to house the most beautiful automobiles of the past and present, especially when the sun is out. This edition already marked the tenth anniversary of the creation of this event which revives the tradition of the elegance concours of the 30s and 50s, when coachbuilders unveiled their latest creations.

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So Long Goodwood, Until We Meet Again

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1939 Parnell Challenger, Goodwood Trophy, entered and driven by Duncan Ricketts.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

I hope you dear readers will forgive me for one final photographic visit to this years Goodwood Revival; after all it is going to be a long winter without a Goodwood fix.

I seem to have spent a fair amount of time in the Goodwood estate this year, starting with various Sunday morning free breakfast club meetings at the circuit, members’ only test days prior to the 81st members’ meeting in April, The Festival of Speed in July, a family club day in the August sun (sun was a rare occurrence this year) also at the house, and of course the amazing Revival in September, and amazing it was, even though I got soaked far too often. So here’s to next year starting with the 82nd Members’ Meeting in April. Roll on spring.

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And How! Allen R. Kuhn at the Petersen

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Big car, big pic…

Story and photos courtesy Allen R. Kuhn

The yearlong tribute to the Corvette that was at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles came to an end in September, 2024. It was in 2023 that Jonathan Eisen, an Associate Curator at the Petersen Automotive Museum, contacted me to see what I had in the way of vintage Corvette photographs. Here is what he wrote:

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Goodwood Revival 2024, Sharp Part 1

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Boy did it rain. At one point I was thinking maybe I could do a feature on ‘Umbrellas at the Revival’ but this is Britain and rain does not usually stop play, or if it does then it is not for long.

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Goodwood Revival 2024, Vanhoolandt Part 1

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At the start of Saturday’s race reserved for professional drivers, Frank Stippler took the lead straight away in his 1965 Sprint GTA.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Having attended the Goodwood Revival many times over the years, one wonders each time how Lord March and his team will be able to surprise us again. But the quality of the demonstrations (Meyers Manx buggies, Jaguar XKs, D-Day parade, John Surtees Tribute) and the races mean that we come back for more each year, even if this one was greatly disrupted on Friday and Sunday morning by terrible weather. We will limit ourselves here to the tribute to John Surtees and the most emblematic races.

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Goodwood Revival 2024, Sharp Part 2

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We endured most types of weather over the weekend but thankfully the snow that carpeted the drivers club was fake!

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

As the Revival is so much more than an historic car race meeting I thought I would start with shots that do not actual include a racing car or race. But following the atmosphere shots below, we’ll present a few photos of some of the drivers at Goodwood this year.

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Goodwood Revival 2024, Vanhoolandt Part 2

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For Friday practice, the track conditions were atrocious, as seen with John Spiers’ Maserati 250F, which would finish third in the Richmond & Gordon Trophies race.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

We continue with the race by race on track coverage of the Goodwood Revival.

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