Please take a minute to view our VeloceToday video this week.
Our thanks to Hugues Vanhoolandt for his images and clips!
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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
By pete
By pete
There have been many articles about the day John Shakespeare loaded up 30 Bugattis to have them shipped to the Fritz Schlumpf in 1964. But none like our exclusive story below, told by David Gulick, who took the now famous photos. We asked artist Paul Chenard to create a painting commemorating the sale and we’ll send free poster to anyone who subscribes to VeloceToday.
By Pete Vack, with the help of David Gulick, Sandy Leith and Tom Clifford
Gulick and John Shakespeare
As photographer David Gulick scurried around trying to take photos of each and every Bugatti that was being loaded onto the railcars, he still managed to catch several telling portraits of this enigmatic collector. We asked Gulick about Shakespeare. “I only had conversations with him twice, at a hillclimb and then at Hoffman. He was a pleasant, ‘down to earth’ kind of person who never flaunted his family background & wealth.”
Gulick remember that Shakespeare also loved Ferraris. “Some members of our SCCA Southern Illinois Region had a certain social status & knew the County Road Commissioner and succeeded in having a little-used hilly road closed for the day. John brought a beautiful little Ferrari over to the hill climb and completely awed all the members as well as winning a blue ribbon. I also remember seeing him run at Lawrenceville, where the SCCA held races on the old WW2 airfield.” Shakespeare had also competed with a Ferrari as far back as 1954, when he drove a Ferrari 375 MM, S/N 0376 at Nassau. [Read more…] about John Shakespeare and the 30 Bugattis Part 2
By pete
Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp
“In point 2 of a mile turn left”, said my Sat Nav. I had arrived at the Prescott Hill Climb, deep in the heart of the Cotswolds. A quick glance in my rear view mirror; oh where did they come from? An Alfa 6C and a Type 35 Bugatti are following me in. I have been following a Lamborghini Espada for a mile or so; it looks like it is going to be a good day and at last the sun is shining. Or maybe like Camelot, the sun always shines on this shrine to Bugattis.
By pete
Story and Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
2016 Mille Miglia May 19-22
A few days after the Monaco Historic Grand Prix another important event on the classic car calendar, the glorious Mille Miglia takes place, snf that is immediately followed by the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como, near Milano.
By pete
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By pete
By pete
First run in 1929, the Monaco Grand Prix for Grand Prix cars has been accompanied by the Historic Grand Prix since 1997. The Historics are held every two years, and two weeks before the F1 event.
This year was the 10th edition, held on May 14-15 and some 250 cars were entered in the various classes, ranging from the Prewar Grand Prix cars from 1929 to 1939 to the F1 cars of the 1973-1976 period.
It must be noted that for the first time, the Prewar cars were only demonstrated, not raced, certainly due to the rarity of these cars and the difficulty to repair them. Needless to say that there are not many run off areas in Monaco; even a slight error can have costly consequences, and it is worse when rain occurs, making the track extremely slippery as on Saturday afternoon. But the rain was limited and the races on Sunday were held under a sunny sky.
Now let’s see the on-track action:
By pete
Richard Bosley and Giovanni Michelotti: A styling dichotomy.
By Graham Gauld
A couple of stories this month which bring up the matter of style and coachbuilding. (see last week’s Michelotti Corvette article) If you read the two stories you could be forgiven for thinking the photos showing the first car described was designed in Italy and the second in the United States.
But it was the other way around.
By pete
Story and photos by Alessandro Gerelli
The Concorso Villa d’Este was held on May 20-22. Saturday’s competitive event is held at the Villa d’Este, and on Sunday, all the cars are shown in the nearby Villa Erba; this day is open to the public.
While often confusing, the official definition is Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, while Villa Erba is a location within the show.
The Concorso Villa d’Este has a very long history since 1929, but only recently a new class “Concept Cars and Prototypes” was included in the show.
This year I looked at the new creations of a make or of a coachbuilder, and compared them with their original or older cars in the same show.
Of course there are the pictures of the many other jewels shown in the crowded court of Villa Erba, where I took the following images on Sunday. [Read more…] about Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, 2016
By pete
By Brandes Elitch
Color photos by Petya Elitch
From the Archives, September 2011
“The early fifties were a magical time for all Italian coachbuilding, one of those magical moments when, for no particular reason…a series of favorable conjunctures determine the success…of an entire category. These were the years in which the Italian bodywork line was born…Mario Boano participated in Italian coachbuilding’s moment of grace with the Lancia Aurelia B20 and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint. A third model worth remembering is the 1953 Alfa Romeo 1900 C coupe. This is a model which is understandably influenced by Ghia’s contemporary work with the Chrysler stylists.”
From “Ghia, Catalog Raisonne, by Valerio Moretti, Automobilia, 1991, Milan
By pete
By pete
By Wallace Wyss
On eBay, you gotta figure that everything comes up one time or another. Even Corvettes bodied in Italy by famous carrozzeria. We found it on eBay, but the car is still available at McLaren of Philadelphia, who kindly allowed us to use these photos.
You take a name like Giovanni Michelotti and you think, whatever chassis he designs coachwork for, it’s gonna be wonderful, right? Especially when the actual coachbuilder is Ghia.
Uh, no.