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The Revenge of the Trident

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By Willem Oosthoek

Ferrari arrived loaded for bear at the Nürburgring in May 1956. The Scuderia was leading the five-race World Sports Car Championship at that point, with overwhelming victories to its name in the 12 Hours of Sebring [Juan Manuel Fangio/Eugenio Castellotti in a 3.5-liter, 4-cylinder 860 Monza] and the Mille Miglia [Castellotti again, in a 3.5-liter V12 290MM]. Only the season opener, the 1000 KM of Buenos Aires, had been captured by archrival Maserati, with their 3-liter, 6-cylinder 300S. The Trident’s 300S model was underpowered compared to the big Ferraris but it handled better, and the superb driving skills of Stirling Moss, ably assisted by local driver Carlos Menditeguy, had made all the difference in Argentina. [Read more…] about The Revenge of the Trident

Etceterini Corner Number Four

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Patriarca Fiat 750 S Siluro, Mille Miglia 2016

By Hugues Vanhoolandt and Dino Brunori

In this installment of Etceterini Corner, Hugues Vanhoolandt shows us another set of six cars, and thanks to Dino Brunori, we focus on the Patriarca family, whose mission was the Mille Miglia.

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Flajole was a Jag

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So that’s a Jaguar?

Story by Graham Gauld

I have often mentioned in the past the power of coincidence, and the other day I happened to be going through my Jaguar notes for a possible book, and was amazed to find that I seem to have bumped into all sorts of Jaguars fitted with special bodies in a variety of places.

What makes this slightly different from normal is that Jaguar were not well known as cars attractive to specialist coachbuilders, yet it is surprising just how many well-known companies have built special bodies on Jaguars in period. Amongst them are Pinin Farina, Ghia, Michelotti and Zagato.

Two Jaguars I wanted to talk about were one clothed in the style of Ghia in Turin and the other in the style of Bill Flajole of Detroit.

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Fred Simeone: The Founder

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Jay Leno, left, discusses the virtues of the Squire with Fred Simeone.

By Pete Vack
All photos courtesy Simeone Foundation

In the 1970s, when such things were in vogue, a neurosurgeon from Philadelphia made up magnetized labels with names of classic cars. “Mercedes Benz SSK”, one read; “BMW 328” read another. He placed them all on his refrigerator door. [Read more…] about Fred Simeone: The Founder

The Renault 4CV Part 5: Offspring

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Late R10 (R1192) in Australia (note rectangular headlamps). This car is one of 1200 ‘R10S’ models, unique to Australia and marking the end of rear-engined car assembly there.

Story and photos by John Waterhouse*

After the new Renault 4CV was exhibited at the October, 1947 Paris Motor show, the car went into series production. The new model’s success matched the economic recovery of Europe after World War II, half a million examples being built by 1955. A successor offering better performance and comfort and larger boot (trunk) space was the obvious next step for Renault and design work began in the early 1950s.

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Rally Across America Helps Local Communities

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The ever-smiling Charles Spiegel and his Alfa line up for the first Rally Across America event.

Story and Photos by Sean Smith

Jim Petty and his wife Wendy had been watching the news for two weeks straight. They saw what the pandemic was doing to some of the more challenged communities as the lock-down and quarantine occurred. He knew there was a stimulus package, but it would dry up pretty quickly. It was going to get tougher before it got better.

He wanted to help. [Read more…] about Rally Across America Helps Local Communities

To Paris with Portfolio: Gijsbert-Paul Berk

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I was great a fan of Bugattis. This was one of the reasons why I designed this Coupé de Ville body for a Type 57 chassis. Of course I was inspired by the prewar designs of Jean Bugatti but tried to give the car a more modern appearance. I used the horse- shoe symbol not only as a fake radiator for the cooling intake but also as headlight covers. I did send a photocopy of these drawings to Monsieur Pierre Marco, then the Managing Director of Bugatti. However I never got a reply. [Note that the headlight arrangement bore a striking resemblance to the last Saoutchik to be produced, the Pegaso SIII. Ed.]

By Gijsbert-Paul Berk
Photos and drawings courtesy Author unless otherwise noted

From the Archives, November 2014

Read Part 1

As related in Part 1, I wanted to work as am automotive designer, and became very interested in Bugattis. In fact I had the chance to restore such a car. In 1949 one of my friends discovered in the port of Rotterdam a Bugatti type 40 roadster with a Bordino type or boat tail factory body. [Read more…] about To Paris with Portfolio: Gijsbert-Paul Berk

BS Levy Part 2, Alfa Amore

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Alfa Amore? The reader who submits the funniest caption gets a free copy of The Last Open Road. Please send caption to vack@cox.net.

Story by Burt Levy

Read Part 1

Hello again!

As you may recall, we last left our story of “Burt Levy, Racing Driver Semi-Extraordinaire” somewhere in the dusty, paint fume-infused interior of Loeber Motors third-floor body shop on Chicago’s trendy/money-spendy near north side. That’s where I found my soon-to-be-beloved and not-so-nearly totaled (no matter what the insurance company was led to believe) 1974 Alfa Spider racecar. [Read more…] about BS Levy Part 2, Alfa Amore

The Renault 4CV Part 4: Special Bodied Cars

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R1064 “usines” with its streamlined body before the 1953 24 Heures du Mans © Renault Communication

Story by John Waterhouse*

The new Renault 4CV was soon used as the basis for what the author refers to here as “specials”, mostly lightweight coupés of one type or another, which began to appear by the late-1940s and early 1950s.

These “specials” ranged from an unknown number of both professionally-built cars that were made in very small numbers and home-made cars that are not the subject of this article. A few coupés were made by professional organizations in numbers that ranged from very few (like the V-P coupes discussed below) to many hundreds, like the Autobleu and Brissoneaux et Lotz coupés. Some of these cars were extremely stylish and those few that were made commercially were far more expensive than the standard saloons.

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Etceterini Corner Number Three

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Fiat Roselli Colli 1100 Sport, Mille Miglia 2013

Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

In this segment, Vanhoolandt gathers up eight more Etceterinis, and includes the Fiat Roselli Colli, seen above. Then we call in Dino Brunori to to us a bit about the Colli firm.

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