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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

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Renault Muster Australia, 2021

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Saturday morning’s lovely display in a Yass Park.

Story and photos by John Waterhouse, National Coordinator, Renault 4CV Register of Australia

First Post-Covid (we hope) Australian 4CV Muster, Easter 2021

Every two years, the Renault 4CV Register of Australia meets over Easter in a country town in New South Wales at our “Muster”. They are delightful social events with no competitions! The Register welcomes all rear-engined Renault models that are derived from the post-war 4CV model and early R4s that used the same engine and transaxle. Naturally we are pleased to see other classic Renaults at our Musters and members often bring later front-drive cars from the 1970s and 1980s, and even younger cars.

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Ardea in Australia

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Upon reading of the Ardea adventures of Luc van Dobben, Australian John Pagan was prompted to tell us his own tales of purchasing an Ardea from Italy. He wrote, “The car is from 1951, I bought and imported it in 2017. The first outing was in 2018; the serious recommissioning and Castlemaine Rally were in 2019. Since then of course there’s been very little car club activity because of COVID, even here … I’m set to do Castlemaine again this coming October though!” Below is his Ardea story.

By John Pagan

One of the first things people ask me is, “Why an Ardea?” This is my fourth Lancia; like me, they’re getting older and slower. For those who don’t know, at 903cc the Ardea has the smallest-ever engine in a Lancia, developing only 30bhp or 22kW, and is flat out doing 110km/h under the most favorable conditions.

My previous Lancia, an Aurelia B10, was a very satisfactory touring car of endearing character. We did about 40,000 miles over ten years together, including trips to all the other States including Tasmania and Western Australia. Despite a deal of mechanical work done over that period to make it useable and keep it that way, however, it remained a well-used example, lacking that crispness of response that I’d loved in the Fulvias I owned before the Aurelia.

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Citroën Prototypes

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Citroën Quartet of Prototypes presented at Birmingham. C10, circa 1956.

Story and Photos by Simon Wright
From the VeloceToday Archives, April, 2010

To celebrate Citroën’s 90 years of car production, Citroën UK arranged for several rare prototypes to be shown at the Classic Motor show held at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England from the 13th to the 15th of November 2009.

Coming straight from the Citroën Conservatoire in Paris specifically for the show, three of the vehicles had never before been seen in the United Kingdom (UK), and needless to say, anywhere in the United States.

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Mercer Cobra

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Story and photos by Graham Gauld
From the VeloceToday Archives, December, 2017

Over the years I have attended scores of motor shows and seen many prototypes and oddities on display, some of which went on to have interesting histories and consequences.

Take, for example, the Mercer Cobra that halted me in my tracks at the 1966 Paris Automobile Salon because it looked different; very different indeed. However, it started ringing bells in the memory. [Read more…] about Mercer Cobra

Goodbye Ardea, Hello Appia

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A hint of what was to come.*

Story and photos by Luc van Dobben

Read The Search for the Perfect Ardea

The search is complete.

After two disastrous trips to Italy to find a correct Ardea, I came to the conclusion that an old Lancia for nice trips in the country should at least have some more legroom and sufficient power to move around. An Appia it had to be, but at least one with the lovely old type grille so I went for a second series. [Read more…] about Goodbye Ardea, Hello Appia

A Lancia Ardea on the California Mille

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Photo by Debbie Earle.

Given the rarity of the model, Lancia Ardea stories should not be plentiful, but this, after all, is VeloceToday where one would expect to find such treasures. Last week we published a story by Luc van Dobben who went in search of the ideal Ardea in Italy. Judy Stropus then reminded us of the article below, her being another ardent Ardea owner. In 2013, two tiny Ardeas (one owned by the late Martin Swig and driven by his sons) participated in the California Mille. The other Ardea was entered by Stropus, a legendary figure in the car community, and her co-driver Chuck Schoendorf who has previously written about Le Mitiche Sport in Italy for VeloceToday. Below, a brief introduction of both drivers, a report from the perspective of each one, and a photo story. [Ed.]

Judy Stropus* Reports
From the VeloceToday Archives, May 2013

When I purchased this quaint – call it funky – 1952 Lancia Ardea from Donald Osborne in Palm Springs last year, I really had no idea what I would do with it until it returned to my home in Ridgefield, Conn.

Actually, I’m not sure I even knew what I would do with it once it arrived there, but I couldn’t resist. Who wouldn’t want a right-hand- drive car that is kind of a cross between a PT Cruiser and a Citroen 2CV (Deux Chevaux) with a left-hand, non-synchro five-speed gearbox, a 903cc, V4 engine and a whopping 28.8 horsepower? [Read more…] about A Lancia Ardea on the California Mille

The Brief but Upper Crust History of the Farman

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Farman autos: Better than the Rolls-Royce?

Last week we brought you Farman, Part 1, the aeronautical side of the French Farman firm. This week, Gijsbert-Paul Berk tells us the brief but upper crust history of the Farman automobile.

Story by Gijsbert-Paul Berk
From the VeloceToday Archives, May, 2017

In October 1919 at the Salon de l’Automobile in Paris the Farman company presented its first motor cars; a landaulet bodied by Kellner and a bare chassis. Their objective was “to build an automobile “that was absolutely perfect in every detail”. The A6 prototypes on their exhibition stand were indeed magnificently finished.

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In Search of the Perfect Lancia Ardea

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Fancy an Ardea?

Story and photos by Luc van Dobben

Luc van Dobben is no stranger to Lancias or VeloceToday. To read more about his adventures with Lancias, click here.

In 2019, after selling my last race car project, there was room for something else. But what? Due to my age, I didn’t want another project. So it had to be good restored car, and the only brand for me was Lancia, so the search began.

I preferred a model with the old Lancia grille shape and in a reasonable price range. I began searching for an Ardea, a lovely model, and several were offered for sale in Italy, from projects to fully restored examples. After a lot of Internet visits, I found one to my liking near Pisa. I was contacted by the daughter of the seller, who was helping facilitate the sale. She was familiar with our country, as she had studied in nearby Leiden’s University. She sent extra information, pictures and promised a chrome Ardea sign on the grille as well. All technical questions were correctly answered, and I made arrangements to collect the car ourselves. [Read more…] about In Search of the Perfect Lancia Ardea

Discovering a Bugatti Atlantic

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Young Man With Bugatti We couldn’t identify the young man but the Bugatti is the Atlantic S/N 57374. But only Jim Sitz could come up with a location and date of the photo. Read on.

From the VeloceToday Archives, July 2017

In 1949 Strother MacMinn took these photos of the Bugatti Atlantic/Aérolithe (S/N 57374) when owned by Bob Oliver. The photos were supplied by Dale LaFollette at Vintage Motorphoto and published here with the permission of Bob Ames. Below, comments from Jim Sitz.

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Luc van Dobben and a Life of Lancias

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Lancia racing mechanics with a Flavia on the 1970 Tulip Rally. Lucas is in the middle.

By Pete Vack and Lucas van Dobben

From the VeloceToday Archives, April 2017

Of all the weird and wonderful marque enthusiasts, Lancisti are among our favorites. They are technically astute, very intelligent, well-spoken and articulate and yet have a burning passion usually reserved for Irish soccer fans. Recently when a reader wanted to know if one of our archived Lancia stories was still available (yes, they are), he attached a photo of his daily transportation in the sixties with his young son in the car. It was an ultra-rare Appia Zagato Sport. Are we on this? You bet. A correspondence began and became the story of one Lucas van Dobben and his life of Lancias.

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Paul Wilson’s 6C2500 Roadster Part 5

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Story by Paul Wilson

My “one-man band” system of designing and building a custom body has obvious defects. The lone worker is going to get overwhelmed. And at best, he’s slow. But with many people involved, how does the designer explain what he has in mind? With just a few drawings, how does the builder know what to make? And if what emerges doesn’t look right, how can mistakes be corrected? Without seeing the full-sized car, in the flesh, how could any designer anticipate what it will look like from every angle? [Read more…] about Paul Wilson’s 6C2500 Roadster Part 5

Monaco Historics amid the Pandemic

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American David Graus arrived with this Frazer-Nash Targa Florio an ex-factory car.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

The fact the Automobile Club of Monaco actually ran their Grand Prix Historique last weekend was a brave and expensive effort. The Covid 19 precautions meant that they only allowed a limited number of Monaco residents to fill up some of the places in the otherwise empty stands.

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