VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

pete

Three Alfa Romeo 2.9s in America

By

Win a Premium Subscription to VeloceToday if you can who can tell us exactly when and where this photo was taken, and prove it. Photo by Jerry Lehrer.

By Pete Vack

Alfa Romeo 2.9 S/N 412014 Halley’s Comet

Frank Cantanzariti, he of the above placard, was reportedly in the electronics business and lived on Partridge Rd, Cornwall-On-Hudson, Newburgh, New York, about 40 miles north of New York City. Very little is known about him today, and though his business and life may have been exemplary, his main claim to fame via the internet may be that for one shining year circa 1952, Mr. Cantanazariti owned this fabulous Alfa 2.9. Furthermore, he had it on display at the 1952 or 1953 New York Auto show, where it was photographed by Jerry Lehrer. Mr. Cantanzariti put about a 1000 miles on the car, making a grand total of 16000 miles before selling it to Mike Garber via Zumbachs’ in New York.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

A Sonnett by Gauld

By

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

It was back in 1966, having visited and written about the famous Monte Carlo Rally for a few years, that I decided I would try the Swedish Rally. This was another World Rally Championship event held in February approximately 1677 miles North of Monte Carlo and in the middle of the Swedish region of Värmland.

After a few telephone calls to Paris, I finally managed to persuade our old friend Henry Manney III to come North to Sweden for an adventure. He agreed it would certainly be something different. We met in Gothenburg airport where Volvo had delivered a Volvo Amazon for us to use on the event and equipped with fully studded tires. [Read more…] about A Sonnett by Gauld

The Fiat Vignale and the Movie, “The Racers”

By

trwert

By Pete Vack

From the VeloceToday Archives, August, 2016

The last automotive star of the movie The Racers has been found and is now under restoration and being readied for Pebble Beach 2017. The Vignale-bodied 1400 Fiat had a very brief role in the movie. It was difficult for even the hard core among us to determine exactly what make and model it was.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Road & Track, the Bond Years

By

The Bonds in front of the R&T offices with their Ferrari 330GT, 1964.* Courtesy Marilee (Lee) Bond Nudo

By Pete Vack with Jim Sitz, John R. Bond, Jr. and Marilee (Lee) Bond Nudo

John Bond took over a distressed Road and Track in the fall of 1952, but always admitted that Elaine was the brains of the outfit. David E. Davis wrote (C&D Nov 1990) that she “…was the ramrod that turned R&T into the magazine it was in the Sixties and Seventies.”

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Shannons Adelaide Rally, South Australia

By

Shannons Adelaide Rally, South Australia, 24-27 March 2021

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

Originally planned for the second half of 2020, the Shannons Adelaide Rally, like many worldwide, was another casualty of the pandemic. Towards the end of the year, when the lights at the end of the tunnel were shining again in South Australia, late summer seemed an ideal time to run the postponed event. Over fifty entrants came from interstate, braving the uncertainty of lockdowns or quarantine. As it turned out, not all the roads were dry during the four-day meeting, but this didn’t deter competitors and results were in doubt until the final stages on Saturday.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Brock, Kas Kastner and the K Car

By

Montage by Peter Darnall.

“Kas” Kaster passed away on April 11, 2021. As a tribute, we republish Peter Darnall’s article about the Triumph K car, designed by Peter Brock and engineered and built by Kastner. From the VeloceToday Archives, August 2016

Story by Peter Darnall
Black and White photos courtesy Peter Brock

The K-car has always been one of my favorite designs – Peter Brock

High praise indeed! Peter Brock can include the Corvette Stingray, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, and the Hino Samurai in the portfolio of exciting cars he has been involved with. I first saw the Triumph TR-250K in person at the David Love Memorial event at Sonoma earlier this year. The sophisticated wedge-shaped profile of the car was simply elegant. The K-Car, on its looks alone, might have saved Triumph from oblivion, but it was never put into production.

And therein lies a tale…

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

The Early Years of Road and Track

By

The story of the early years of Road and Track, thanks to Jim Sitz.

Off to a great start: Bonneville, 1951. Road and Track, Hop Up, and Motor Trend staff members gather for the Bonneville Speed Week. Jerry Cheseborough is on the far left, that might be Oliver Billingsley on the other side of the MG. Motor Trend photographer unknown. Courtesy Jim Sitz.

By Pete Vack and Jim Sitz

Ed. note: Most of the information below was provided by historian Jim Sitz, who was a witness to the early years at the magazine, via emails to me over a period of weeks in 2020. He also was in the possession of the rare photos taken at the Road & Track offices in 1951, obtained from the Billingsley collection in the early 1990s. We have not been able to determine who took these photos or under what circumstances. Any questions regarding these photos can be sent to the Editor at vack@cox.net.

You Bet Your Life

In 1952, while Groucho Marx was gambling his future on the new-fangled TV with a show called “You Bet Your Life”, a thirty-nine-year-old engineer in California with a bright, enthusiastic wife, a new son and a MGTC was betting that the sports car fad was here to stay. In fact he was betting his family’s entire future on a sports car magazine that was deeply in hock. It had been offered to other magazine publishers but turned down, and one wouldn’t even take Road and Track (no ampersand in the early days; the “&” in the title was introduced in 1954) for just the bills. But staff members John and Elaine Bond were determined to save the magazine and were fully aware of its potential of a magazine devoted to the growing sports car movement. They decided to take a huge risk. [Read more…] about The Early Years of Road and Track

Dennis Gray: A Master of Auto Racing Photography

By

Charles Nearburg – 1954 Lancia D50A the 2019 HMSA Spring Club Event run at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Nikon 200mm f/11 at 160 second for speed motion blur.


Interview by Brandes Elitch

Dennis Gray grew up in Turlock, California, back then a tiny ranching community of perhaps 10,000 people. In 1959, when Dennis was in 10th grade, his father gave him a Nikon camera. From that auspicious beginning, today Dennis is recognized as one a handful of the most important auto race photographers in the United States, with a body of work stretching over sixty years, and he is still shooting. [Read more…] about Dennis Gray: A Master of Auto Racing Photography

Dennis Gray Photo Gallery

By

Jonathan Feiber – 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 in Group 3A – 1955-1961 Sports Racing Cars over 2000cc at the 2017 Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion, Nikon 300mm f/13 at 1/250 second.

Intro by Brandes Elitch
All Photos copyright Dennis Gray

Read the Interview with Dennis Gray

In my last column, I interviewed noted photographer Dennis Gray in Modesto last month. Dennis discussed some of his techniques for race photography based on fifty plus years of work. Afterwards, we realized that we needed to show more of his output, hence this second column. The photos speak for themselves and do not require additional commentary. However, I thought I would say a few words about this subject in general to put things in perspective for our readers. [Read more…] about Dennis Gray Photo Gallery

Michael Lynch’s OSCA Pocket History

By

Story By Michael T. Lynch

From the VeloceToday Archives, September 2018

When the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance decides to have a Special Class, they leave no stone unturned, and the result is always spectacular. This year featured a marque dear to VeloceToday readers’ hearts, OSCA, the Maserati Brothers jewel-like masterpieces that dominated smaller displacement classes on both sides of the Atlantic in the immediate post-WWII period. Pebble’s foraging led to entries from Canada, Germany, Israel and Japan, as well as examples resident in the U.S. [Read more…] about Michael Lynch’s OSCA Pocket History

Marking the End of an Era: Alfa Junior Zagato

By

Photo from the book, Alfa Romeo Junior Z.

By Pete Vack

The Alfa Junior Zagato was a landmark car for the coachbuilder, and marked the final transition from the hand-built aluminum bodies to a far less expensive pressed steel body.

For a number of reasons, the handcrafted panel beaten aluminum confections could no longer offer a viable and cost-effective way to produce a body in any kind of production run, no matter how small. Zagato, being in Milan and not Turin, was one of the last holdouts. Everyone else had seen the future and adopted accordingly, led by the wise old Battista Pininfarina who was as good a businessman as he was a designer.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Paul Wilson’s Alfa 6C 2500 Roadster Part 4

By

Story by Paul Wilson

For my 6C roadster body, I made two important improvements in my technique. I used steel instead of aluminum. And with a few changes, I made my wire-form buck much better.

The Lotus and the Amilcar were originally made with aluminum bodies, so I had no choice of material. Aluminum is light and easily worked. So why would anyone use steel? Experience suggested some answers. First, it’s hard to get good welds in aluminum without much better (more expensive) equipment than I have. More skill, too, maybe. But I still don’t have it after twenty years of effort and instruction from many experts (none of whom could do fast, tidy welds with my welder). If practice would do the trick, I’d have it by now. [Read more…] about Paul Wilson’s Alfa 6C 2500 Roadster Part 4

MENU