Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
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From the archives May 19,2015
Hugues Vanhoolandt
Belgian Hugues Vanhoolandt has been image-making for VeloceToday since 2007, and covered every major event from Monterey to Monaco. Below, he has gathered up 27 photos of what we call Etceterinis and a Formula Junior or two.
Ermini 357 Sport: Mille Miglia 2010, San Quirico
The term Etceterini may require some explanation. According to Andrea Curami in the indispensable La Sport e i suoi Artigiani (1937-1965), (The Sport and Its Artisans), there were at least 84 different constructors of small displacement racing cars to compete in the Italian National Championship races. There were many more that were simply listed as Fiat Specials, both in the 750 and 1100 cc classes. Etcetera, from which the word Etceterini is derived, means ‘and so on’ or ‘and the like’. Tacking on the ‘ini’ was a stroke of linguistic brilliance; not only were most of the artisan cars built from Fiat components and therefore somewhat like, all but seven of the 84 constructors had names that ended in a vowel such as “Stanguellini”; hence the ‘ini’. So fitting is the moniker that to try to categorize the cars by any other means seems hopeless. We believe the term was first used by an American enthusiast in California in the late 1980s. For more on this, read “The Essential Etceterini.”
In alphabetical order, with the event and year, Vanhoolandt’s Etceterinis:
Alfa Maserati Prete: Museo Mille Miglia, Brescia, 2011
Autocorse Gilco Panhard 750 Sport: Mille Miglia 2010, Urbino
Bandini 750 Siluro barchetta: Villa d\’Este 2013
Bandini 750 Sport saponetta: Museo Mille Miglia, Brescia, 2011
De Sanctis Formula Junior: RM Auction Monaco 2010
Ermini 1100 Sport: Mile Miglia 2011, Pieve Santo Stefano
Ermini sport siluro, Mille Miglia 2010, Brescia
Faccioli Formule Junior: Goodwood Revival 2010, Bonhams Sale
Giannini 750 Sport: Mille Miglia 2010, Urbino
Giaur Champion 750 (Motto): Villa Erba, Cernobbio, 2010
Gilco Fiat 1100: Mille Miglia 2011, Brescia
Monaci 8C Bimotore: Mille Miglia 2007, Buonconvento
Moretti 750: Rétromobile, Paris, 2012
Moretti 750 Grand Sport: Villa d\’Este 2012
Morettini Fiat 508 S: Mille Miglia 2011, Barberino di Mugello
Nardi Danese 1500 Sport: Mille Miglia 2007, Buonconvento
Nardi Danese Alfa Romeo: Rétromobile, Paris, 2010
Nardi-Danese 750 Boby Sport: Techno Classica Essen 2014
Patriarca 750 Sport: Mille Miglia 2010, Brescia
Stanga 750 Sport: Mille Miglia 2010, Urbino
Stanga 750 Sport: Mille Miglia 2007, Brescia
Stanguellini 1100 Bialbero Sport: Gooding Auction Monterey, 2010
Stanguellini 1100 Sport: Mille Miglia 2011, Brescia
Stanguellini Barchetta: Essen Motor Show, 2007
Taraschi Formule Junior: Monterey Reunion Laguna Seca, 2008
Taraschi-Fiat: Goodwood Revival, 2012
What, no Siata? Not even a Siata/Fiat coupe? No Nardi/Frua/Crosley?
Maybe it shows that I recently returned from the Mille Miglia Musem in Brescia? Some of these cars, and many differenet ones, were on display there. And some of these variants were seen in years past at the Monterey Historic, but that world seems to have changed and in some ways not for the better. We are all made more poor by lessening the opportunities to see and learn about some of these displays of “passion in metal” by those car-crazy Italians.
Wasn’t it Stanga who even was doing their own sand cast motors…all three or so of them?
Pete
Lest you get in trouble…the photo of the Taraschi FJ at Laguna in 2008 is mis-labeled. In 2008 it was still the “Monterey Historic Automobile Races.” It became the “Reunion” only after the change in management following the 2010 event.
Second Marty, back in the late seventies and when I was beating up on the over 2 liters cars in the first of the Siata 300BCs (and we started to use the term “etceterini”), examples of those 50 examples built were pretty much the only marque driven in anger in vintage. One of the two Nardi roadsters imported soon followed and of course the Stanguelini juniors were often still seen in SCCA. Not including Siata devalues the entire display. Jarl
Decent article,good pictures as ever by Hugues,but the title shows how tricky languages can be.Sport is lo sport in Italian,la Sport referring to the “sport” racing category in Italian postwar road racing.Etceterini is already a plural so there is no need for an “s” at the end.
I really must get together with Pete and a few IT buffs to put together an audio file with the correct pronunciation of all these wonderful names.You’d be amazed how few you get right.
Keep up the good work,
Michel Van Peel
It was not always easy to drive some of these two-seater cars, especially when your co driver had the point embon and it was necessary to play the steering Wheel in the winding parts as montain or other !!!
Thank you Hug for all your comments and photo reports 2017.
Enjoyable and informative story, Took me back to
my early racing events in SDo California with an
OSCA being so fast at 1952 Torrey Pines with
a mere 1100cc engine.!
That followed by Nardi with flat twin BMW motorcycle
engine, thenb Moretti as driven by their importer
Ernie Mc Afee,
He had prepared a Crosley powered SIATA for Briggs Cunningham
then introduced the lovely 208 roadster,
Jim sitz
Was this article numero uno of a series? Certainly incomplete with the missing cars such as SIATA!
I encourage article numero due, so as to correct the egregious errors of numero uno.
Sincerely,
Sylvia Oberti
22 Mille Miglia, 16 solo
1951 SIATA 300BC
P. S.
Your work is much appreciated and I enjoy photos and current stories….writing is not easy.
Hope to see more inclusive articles in the future.
Passion for historical cars and history is shared by many.
Thanks for the comments! We did not mean to present every small displacement Italian car every made…that is what Curami’s book is for. Rather, we gathered up a nice selection of color shots taken by Hugues Vanhoolandt.
But the idea of a second article is a good one and next time we’ll get a shot of the Siata!
Editor