The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Read last week’s article by Graham Gauld; this had Dino Brunori stumped…for a while.
As Found Classic Number Twenty One
In early 2013 I was asked to inspect a car in Turin that was abandoned in a garage in the 70s and had never seen the light until our inspection. The car had a BMW 750 twin engine and a tubular chassis, so someone suggested the owner that it could be a Nardi.
Story by Gijsbert-Paul Berk
To commemorate the fact that the Milanese coach building company was founded 90 years ago by the unforgettable ‘Judge’ Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni, Carrozzeria Touring unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show their ‘Blu Ceruleo’ 2016 Disco Volante Spider. The name is of course a wink to the famous super aerodynamic Alfa Romeo Disco Volante concept cars from the fifties. And in a certain way, its styling resembles these iconic sports cars. [Read more…] about Touring Goes Retro
The mystery BMW Special. Note the two hoods, the front holding the engine and the top one holding the spare wheel.
Story and photos by Graham Gauld
Last week I talked about the car that truly stopped the show at Retromobile, the Ferrari 335S, so now I will go from the sublime to the ridiculous.
A tale of two? Nardis
I happened by the stand of Christophe Pund who runs La Galerie Des Damiers and has a habit of digging up remarkable cars that no one has ever heard of. This year he went better and put on show a car he told me he had found as a wreck – and by the time of Retromobile it was little more than that – but did not know exactly what it was. I mention it because some reader in Italy may remember something about it and be able to help out.
Fundamentally it is a two-seater sports car with a lightweight body and powered by a 750cc BMW motorcycle engine mounted in its own compartment at the front of the car. There is a second hood under which is the spare wheel so the driver sits in one of two sketchy seats holding what appears to be a Nardi steering wheel. [Read more…] about Graham Gauld “I Knew Them When”…Nardi
A superbly restored Alfa Duetto.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
This year’s London Classic Car Show,now in its second year, has to my mind two unusual selling points. Firstly it is the only indoor show that I know of where some of the cars are actually driven during the event. [Read more…] about A Moving Experience in London
As Found Classic Number Twenty
Carl Goodwin on a Siata find that needs your help
Somewhere south of the border, a Siata waits for someone.
I have written this article for the art and design enthusiast. As a car designer, I will explain the look of the Mangusta and how it is inexplicably tied to its function. My observations are based on my professional career experiences as an automobile designer for over forty years as well as my experiences with my own Mangusta 8MA-670, seen here. Photo Dick Ruzzin
Introduction
Much has been written about Alessandro deTomaso and his automotive trials and successes, including racing and production cars. One of those cars is the Mangusta, a car designed singularly by Giorgetto Giugiaro who did the prototype and the production version, interior and exterior.
I have written a small book using my design experience to give insight into the Mangusta design and why it is so special. Pete Vack and VeloceToday have graciously offered to present part of it on their site in three parts. Below is Part 1. My goal is to present the book at the fiftieth anniversary of the Mangusta at Concourso Italiano in 2016.
Dick Ruzzin, General Motors Design Staff, retired.
Story by Roberto Motta
Photos courtesy Scuderia Portello
Arese (Milan), February 6, 2016 – Each year, the Scuderia del Portello Alfa Romeo rewards its drivers during a meeting in the multipurpose room of the renovated Museo Storico Alfa Romeo. For the first time since it was renovated, the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese hosted the traditional awarding of the Portello Scuderia Champions. More than 300 guests from Japan, Portugal, England, Belgium, Germany, Mexico and Australia came together to celebrate with great enthusiasm and emotion their common passion for the brand Alfa Romeo. [Read more…] about Portello Awards at the Alfa Arese Museum
As we have seen in Part 2, about 156 Vignale Ferrari bodies were built, and after 1954 Vignale gradually stopped producing bodies for Ferrari and instead concentrated on the new Maserati 3500 as Ferrari teamed up with Pinin Farina for a new line of Ferraris.
Vignale would quickly win over the Orsis at Maserati, helping establish the 3500 as a serious contender to the Pinin Farina designed Ferrari 250GT series. And by the time it was over, Vignale produced over 2,400 bodies for Maserati. Despite the loss of Ferrari, Vignale had some very good years to come before his untimely death.
By Pete Vack
Heads Up! Be the first to identify the ultra-rare Vignale in the photo below by make and serial number and win a signed Paul Chenard 8×10 poster!
The Good Years
In some respects, Alfredo Vignale was much like Ferrari. He had humble beginnings and like Ferrari relished in having total control of his growing enterprise. He traveled rarely, and according to his brother, never set foot in Maranello.
What is this? Click to enlarge to see details. If you are the first to properly identify this car by make AND serial number, we’ll send you a free 8×10 art poster by artist Paul Chenard. Send your guess to me at vack@cox.net. Photo by Jonathan Sharp.
*This is a Special Edition of VeloceToday with our exclusive Rétromobile coverage. All six articles are free to all readers, but please, subscribe to VeloceToday (for only $5 a month) so we can continue to bring you exclusive articles from around the world.
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