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French Cars at Techno Classica Essen

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In 1950, French rally driver Jean Trevoux commissioned this Delahaye 175 to Carrozzeria Motto. Fitted with an ex-Le Mans racing engine, Trevoux with co-driver Roger Crovetto went on to win the 1951 Monte-Carlo rally. Later that year, the car was entered at the Carrera Panamericana driven by Louis Chiron.

Story and Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

French Cars at Essen will follow this brief letter:

April 7, 2008

Dear Mr. Vack,

Established in Belgium, I am a long time reader of Veloce Today and occasionally a photographer of Italian classics. I enjoyed the pictures of Techno Classica Essen that I visited myself last Saturday. It would be a great pleasure for me if I could help you in identifying some cars.

The Cisitalia is a 1947 202 SMM s/n 005 SMM with a 1.4 litre Gordini engine.
The Maserati coupé is a A6 1500 with a Pinin-Farina body. The s/n is 068.
The “Etceterini” is an Ermini based on a Fiat 1100 with a Motto body. The
s/n is 1301.

You will find attached some of my pictures of other Italian cars of great interest (see below). I really hope it can help.

Best regards,

Hugues Vanhoolandt

And that, dear readers, was almost exactly 14 years ago and it appeared in the pages of VeloceToday in an article titled “Much Less Guessin’ at Essen”. Hugues Vanhoolandt is still here, and there, at Essen, reporting with his complete and alway accurate captions under perfect photography. Below, more French treasures that appeared at this year’s Essen. Thank you, Hugues for all you have done.

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Ferrari Pinin Farina Berlinetta, s/n 0322

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What is a nice car like you doing in a ditch like this?

Story by Pete Vack

Photos by Glen Glendenning Courtesy Dave Rex

As we have seen, Dick Irish made good use of the hairy, scary yet beautiful beast that is Ferrari 340/375 Comp Berlinetta, s/n 0322.

He entered four events in 1954, and finished well against the toughest competition money could buy; at the Glen he was fourth overall, behind the Cunningham of Phil Walters, the Ferrari of Jim Kimberly and the Cunningham of Sherwood Johnston. Even owner Marty Christensen did well with it in the two events he entered.

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Hugues Vanhoolandt at Rétromobile 2022

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Rétromobile does not only consist of static displays. A distant ancestor of the car, the 1770 Fardier de Cugnot was conducting some demonstrations. This is of course a reconstruction of the steam-powered three-wheeled cart intended to replace horse-drawn vehicles and transporting heavy cannons. Needless to say that the walls shake when this vehicle is in motion.

Story and Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

The world has changed quite a lot since the last edition of Rétromobile in 2020, but one thing has not changed; the inimitable atmosphere that emanates from this show, even if it was smaller, with less spectacular displays and less international dealers and their expensive cars.

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Hans Herrmann by Graham Gauld

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By Graham Gauld
From the VeloceToday Archives, September 2017

Bearing in mind the tremendous success of German drivers in Grand Prix racing before WW2, it is baffling that since the inception of the World Championship in 1950, it took 44 years before Germany could claim its first Formula 1 Champion, Michael Schumacher in 1994.

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Artcurial Auction by Hugues Vanhoolandt

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Sold at $702,080. See one that sold for $900. ***

Story and Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Two years after the last edition of Rétromobile, Artcurial Motorcars was also back in the business on March 18-19 2022 with some 170 cars going on sale, including a collection of Bandini cars, gathered over the years by Dino Bandini, the nephew of Ilario who founded the make in 1947.

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Retromobile by Jonathan Sharp

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Taking centre stage, and a crowd favourite, George Harrison’s McLaren F1 chassis 025.

Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp

Some may say that Retromobile 2022 was not a vintage year. Yes, it was a bit smaller, many of the big dealers were absent, there was less participation from the manufacturers, but it was still Retromobile ! You just had to dig a little bit deeper to find the gems.

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Retromobile Gordinis by Jonathan Sharp

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Photos by Jonathan Sharp

It’s nice to see that Retromobile is back (March 16-20). As usual, it is so big, so fascinating, and with so many cars of interest for VeloceToday readers, we offer three or more stories from the event.

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Twenty Shots From the Schlumpf Collection

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Photos by Jonathan Sharp

From the VeloceToday Archives, May 2018

In 2016, Jonathan Sharp made an intensive visit to the Schlumpf Museum, and returned with thousands of photos. This week we’ve selected just a few of our favorites taken from the several articles showing the treasures of the Schlumpf. [Read more…] about Twenty Shots From the Schlumpf Collection

Bob Wallace by Graham Gauld

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Bob Wallace photographed with an Alfa Romeo at the Moroso circuit, Florida.

Story and Photos by Graham Gauld

Race mechanics have something of a maverick streak about them which usually leads to an interesting and exciting life. Such was the case with Bob Wallace, a New Zealander who left his native country in 1960 and arrived in Modena looking for a job.

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The Dick Irish Story, Part 2

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Rare color photo of the Ferrari Comp Berlinetta sn 0322 at Watkins Glen in 1954. Robert Pauley photo.

By Pete Vack

Read Part 1

We left Dick Irish in 1953, pushing the Excalibur for 3.5 miles at Sebring earning the Shell Sportsmanship Trophy, but the rest of the year was a wash. He managed to stay Stateside during the Korean War, and ended up teaching aviation maintenance at the Transportation Corps school at Ft. Eustis, VA. “During 1954, I got leave to race at Tampa, FL MacDill driving Gordon C. “Tippy” Lipe’s Porsche, Brooks Stevens Excalibur (at Sebring again) and best of all, Marty Christensen’s Ferrari 340/375 “Competizione” Berlinetta.”

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Phillip Island Classic, Australia, 11-13 March

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1971 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV Geoffrey Burgess, 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA Corsa, Steven Byrnes

Story and Photos by Vince Johnson

After last year’s restrictions, spectators were back at the Victorian Historic Racing Register’s Phillip Island Classic, held on the sweeping circuit south of Melbourne. The perfect weather and long weekend holiday also saw over 400 entries, but shipping issues meant they were an all-Australian affair, although several overseas drivers had made the journey down to the sun.

Thursday was for free practice, the extra track time valuable to those who had missed last year’s competitor-only meeting. On Friday morning further practice and qualifying was followed by the first of the Regularity events and racing categories. [Read more…] about Phillip Island Classic, Australia, 11-13 March

Bob Temple Photography

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Charles Chayne’s Cabriolet La Royale chassis 41121 at the end of the Press on Regardless Rally on August 6, 1950.

From the VeloceToday Archives, May, 2017

VeloceToday presents photographs by Bob Temple, coming to us via the collection of Vintage Motorphoto’s Dale LaFollette.

The photos are remarkable in themselves, portraits of cars and events that shaped the sports car movement in the U.S. during the post war years which include the Bugatti La Royale convertible when owned by Chayne. But they were particularly interesting for us, for the photos brought together an equally remarkable set of VeloceToday Contributors who each had story behind some of the images.

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