The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
GT Am at Balocco October 1970. Photo courtesy Centro Documentazione Alfa Romeo-Arese.
By James Lanoway
Balduzzi S.N.C. was involved heavily in motorsport from 1971 to 1975, and yet there is paradoxically very little organized information about Balduzzi cars and drivers either in print or on the internet. To help fill in some of the many voids about Balduzzi and his cars, it would be best to first look at the Alfa Romeo GTA to better understand Balduzzi’s GTA Juniors and GT Ams.
1933 Duesenberg Single Seater
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
I have just bought a new camera! Not that there was anything wrong with my old one, it’s just that technology has moved on in the 10 plus years I have been using it, and when shooting indoors, unless the room is well lit, is was, to put in mildly, a bit of a pain in the butt. So a new camera, but it is early January, and I have nothing to point it at! But wait, how about The Brooklands Museum New Years Day Classic car gathering? Ideal!
By Pete Vack and David Beare
From the Archives: It is fitting that exactly five years ago we published this interesting bio about David Beare just as his latest book, The Simca Story, 51 years of cars 1933-1984, is now in print and available. This great little history of Simca will be reviewed shortly.-Ed.
First the name; we have to explain the name for those of us unfamiliar with British jargon. “The name Stinkwheel derives from 1930’s slang amongst motorcyclists for small-capacity, feeble two-stoke powered cyclemotors and autocycles which buzzed noisily but slowly around in a cloud of blue oily smoke- a stinkwheel,” writes Beare. His first two books were histories of such cyclemotors- “The Stinkwheel Sagas.” Thus came the name of the publishing company, which is at the very least, unforgettable. How Stinkwheel went from cyclemotors to Hispano Suiza is another good question. [Read more…] about Fiats, Panhards, Pegaso, now Simca: The Stinkwheel Story
Santino and Balduzzi workshop sign.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photographer unknown).
By James Lanoway
Two men with different last names, both sharing March 6th as a birthday, one unknowingly looking for a son, the other not looking for another father, came together in Lodi, in the Lombardy region of Italy, in 1958, some say by fate and many say by good fortune. Before the next two decades were out, the older would adopt the younger and give him his last name. With hard work, long hours, and a touch of genius, the younger would make that name one of the most revered in the mystic, esoteric world of Alfa Romeo tuners: Balduzzi.
A young Pedro Rodriguez sits nervously in the Kjell Qvale #166 Genie MK VIII wondering what the chica joven voluptuosa de pelo grande quiere.*?
Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn
October 13, 1963, Riverside Races. When I first met Lori Campbell I thought, now here is someone I would like to photograph. With the upcoming Riverside races that would be a great place to showcase Lori, who was a budding actress and model with a small uncredited, role in the John Wayne classic, McClintock. I would have her pose as, “Miss California Sports Car Magazines,” with some of our American and a few European drivers. It made a great story then, as it does now. And there was a kicker which occurred when a few of these photos were shown at Goodwood some 43 years later. Do read on.
Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Established since 1986 in one of the palaces of the Cinquantenaire complex in Brussels, where the first motor shows were held at the beginning of the 20th century, the Autoworld museum is the most important automobile museum in Belgium. Each year, the end and beginning of the year period hosts a major temporary exhibition.
In addition to our comments section below each article, VeloceToday often gets very nice compliments, sent via email or included in a note with a subscription check. These comments rarely get published, but are meant as recognition of the work done by our contributors, who create the content that makes VeloceToday what it is. Magazines are nothing without good content, and therefore contributors are our greatest and most valuable assets.
They are historians, authors, editors, photographers, columnists, journalists, judges, drivers, restorers, artisans, collectors and constructors. They hail from the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy. Here are the names of thirty-three whose contributions made the year 2024 one to remember.
Jeff Allison, Gary Axon, Giles Chapman, Bob Cullinan, Rodney Diggens, Joseph Duray, Brandes Elitch, Graham Gauld, Greg Glassner, Bob Harrington, Joe Hurwich, Stefan Ivanov, Vince Johnson, Jackie Jouret, Allen R. Kuhn, Dale LaFollette, James Lanoway, Frederic Levaux, Bernard Linck, Roberto Motta, Herb Miska, Chris Nugent, Willem Oosthoek, Paul Sable, Charley Seavey, Jonathan Sharp, Jim Sitz, Roy Smith, Sean Smith, Pete Vack, Hugues Vanhoolandt, Paul Wilson, Robert Young
Is VeloceToday (VT) a blog or a magazine? Good question. A blog is usually informal, with one main writer, and more opinion than fact. An online magazine has many contributors, is published on a regular basis, and in general much like a paper magazine. Since 2002 VT has published well researched, concise, accurate, interesting, and exclusive articles every week, written by experts and edited, vetted, and proofed by our editors. And, like print magazines we respect all copyrights and copyright laws for both text and photos
Why no pop up ads, why no Cookies? As you may know, VT has only two paid ads, which can be seen at the top of the homepage. They are long time supporters and we are very thankful for both. However, we are primarily funded by premium subscriptions and donations, which allows us to forgo the dreaded cookies, pop up ads, and general clutter and to focus on our content. We can thank the old Automobile Quarterly for that inspiration. And, of course, thanks to our loyal subscribers.
Why is our homepage so old fashioned? Aside from video, all content consists of text and still photos, i.e., a box for text and another for photos. One can spend thousands of dollars to redesign the homepage but in the end, one comes up with only a different style and place to put the same text and photos. It’s new for about five minutes. For us, clarity and readability are more important than style. Let’s save the money and keep subscription prices low.
Why is the subscription rate still only $5 per month? What, you want us to charge more? Most of our readers are on a fixed income and we see no need to contribute to the terrible inflation that consumes us. However, if you feel that the price is a bit low, you can always contribute any amount at any time via check or PayPal.
What about AI? It’s here but not here. VT does not use AI but we are sure that other VT wannabes will use AI for both photo art and text in the near future if they don’t already. Hopefully, that is for another generation to deal with (and no doubt profit from). In the meantime, we’ll still accept hand written manuscripts sent via USPS (seriously)!
What is VT’s focus now? Twenty three years ago it was on Italian cars, then a few years later we added French cars. More recently, we like to say that we publish Exclusive Articles about Extraordinary Automobiles, People and Places.
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Questions? Just send them to me at pete@velocetoday.com.
By Jackie Jouret
Photos courtesy The BMW Archive
When it emerged from the destruction of World War II, BMW got back into business, first with motorcycles (in 1948), and then with high-end automobiles (in 1951). That was a logical strategy given BMW’s particular circumstances, but it began to fail by the mid-1950s. Even as the German economy was improving, BMW’s full-size sedans remained too expensive for most buyers. Worse, the motorcycle market was tanking, as riders abandoned two-wheelers in favor of motorcycle-engined microcars, which kept their occupants dry and warm regardless of the weather. [Read more…] about BMW’s Italian Designers Part 6
Story and photos by Bob Cullinan
You take the train from Copenhagen Central Station to the small suburban town of Lyngby, Denmark. From there, it’s a short walk to an automobile collection that’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
Allen being interrogated by the PBS crew and showing one of his prize photos of Paramount Ranch circa 1957. We’ll let you know more about when and where this feature will be run.
What is going on here? Well let us (Vack and Kuhn) tell you.
36 photos by Jonathan Sharp
Stop: Forget rivet counts and restoration details.
Stop: Enlarge each photo by clicking on it to double the size. Slow it down.
Stop: Enjoy the ambiance for there is nothing else quite like it in the world.
Stop: Look at the faces, feel the tension, imagine the noise, thrill with the excitement.
For this is Goodwood at its most glorious, and how great it would be there to see and hear and feel what Jonathan Sharp did on that wonderful September day in 2019.
