VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

As Found Classic Number Nine

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Ferrari-

As Found Number Nine

Reader Dave Rex submitted these photos and here is his story:

In 1961 I bought a very nice 1956 Corvette from the original owner. It had dual quads, been bored to 283 cu in and a 1957 four-speed added by the dealer. My dream car!

I had a real interest in road racing after attending some of the races at Road America and was excited about getting a sports car that I could enter in some rallies and autocrosses.

A few weeks after I bought the Corvette there was an ad in the local paper for a Ferrari located a couple of miles from my house in Wilmette, Illinois. I answered the ad and went to look at the car. They were asking $1,800 for the car which is exactly what I had paid for the Corvette. The car needed some bodywork on the left front fender but that was not a deal-breaker. [Read more…] about As Found Classic Number Nine

Classic Cars, Vintage Planes: The Bonhams RAF Auction

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Ferrari 308GTB Fiberglass, 1974. $152,360. Maybe I am getting cynical in my old age but isn’t it strange than when early 308GTBs were worth about £25k they were simply known as fiberglass 308s. Now that they are over £100k they have become 308 GT Berlinetta Vetroresina’s! Madison Avenue at it’s very best! This rare right hand drive 1976 example had been on static display at the Shikoku Automobile Museum since 1991. On the wall behind the 308 is the order of battle and operational availability board covering 7 RAF/RCAF bomb groups as of the 26th April 1945. But that is a mere hint as to the rest of the displays of cars with aircraft, such as the Spitfire, B24, and P51 as you will see in this article.

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From the Editor: I can’t imagine this happening at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museums. But somehow,on December 8th, Bonhams was again able to pull enough strings to be able to hold classic or auction at the RAF Museum in Hendon, U.K. and position the cars to be sold next to significant historical aircraft.

And of course, our intrepid Jonathan Sharp, who is as much of a car nut (he owns four Alfas) as a vintage aircraft enthusiast, surely wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to see and photograph both of his passions. (He comes by his love of aircraft honestly…his father witnessed the birth of the Spitfire in 1936).

But he didn’t just take great shots of the cars and planes. First, he lists the car information as provided by Bonhams. But then, he describes the aircraft in the background of each photo, carefully editing (for your convenience) the RAF’s history of each plane. While the descriptions might be a bit long, it is interesting to note that the lives of vintage aircraft often reflect those of vintage cars, including some of the same people who collected and or piloted both cars and aircraft (like Bob Tullius of Group 44 who owned the P51 Mustang photographed with the VW Microbus below). Some are barn finds, some bitsas, some are totally original, but all have great histories; if you like old cars, we guarantee you’ll enjoy old aircraft.

There is no correlation between the cars and the aircraft, although some seem to fit together quite nicely. Perhaps that could be the subject of another show or even auction—placing a Mercedes 540 with a German bomber, a Rolls with a Spitfire, a Lincoln Mark I with a Hellcat, Bugatti with a Bugatti aircraft engine, the possibilities are intriguing as the logistics are formidable.

Our sincere thanks to Jonathan Sharp, who put a lot of time and enthusiasm into this series of photos. We put the sales prices in USD next to the cars and they include buyer’s premiums.

Auction results can be found on the Bonhams site.

RAF Museum History

By Jonathan Sharp

sdfsdaf Alfa Romeo TI Super, $59,946. This 1964 Alfa Giulia TI is generally accepted as being one of the three cars prepared by Autodelta for the 1965 Sebring 12 hour race and driven by works driver Tedoro Zeccoli to 6th place overall and third in class behind the winning Lotus Cortina of Jim Clark. [Read more…] about Classic Cars, Vintage Planes: The Bonhams RAF Auction

Giugiaro’s Mystery Car

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Randy Leffingwell photographed the lost Porsche in ....Copyright Randy Leffingwell.

By Wallace Wyss

Of course, it is not really “lost.” Someone out there has it and my basis for thinking that is that I’ve seen pictures of it restored and resplendent in a recent Randy Leffingwell book.

I speak of the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Porsche 911 roadster, a one-off car that was built by Carrozzeria Bertone back in the first half of the sixties when Giugiaro was the main man on the boards at Bertone.

[Read more…] about Giugiaro’s Mystery Car

Voiturettes Part 2: ERA to Talbot

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ERA (English Racing Automobiles Limited, Bourne, U.K.)

Competitive years: 1934-1938 Horsepower Range: 180-225

While the MG, Alta, Riley and Austin 750 did remarkably well for Great Britain, the Raymond Mays/Peter Berthon ERA combined a production based supercharged Riley engine with a solid conventional chassis and to launch the best known British upright of all time. It was fast, mostly reliable, and attracted top notch drivers from the U.K. and one from Thailand. Prince B. Bira (for short) was a grandson of King Mongkut, the hero of the book and musical, “The King and I”.

Bira was encouraged and financed by his cousin, Prince Chula Chakrabongse, and the pair bought three ERAs, naming them Romulus, Remus and Hanuman under the White Mouse Stable.

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Peugeot Museum, Part 3: Rally, Racing and then some

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Photos and captions by Jonathan Sharp

In Part One and Part Two of the Peugeot Museum, Jonathan Sharp took us through the production car history of the long lived French automaker Peugeot. While it was not totally complete, it offered a good view of why this collection is both important and impressive.

This week, we wrap up Jonathan Sharp’s French excursion to Peugeot with odds and ends, trophies, rally cars, race cars, and a work called art that only the French can explain. For a conservative manufacturer, we are reminded that Peugeot has been enormously successful in many branches of racing and rallying. So, if, as Sharp suggests, you have some extra time while visiting the old Schlumpf museum, take in the Peugeot Adventure. Here is the website: http://www.museepeugeot.com/en/home.html

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This Targa Florio trophy has an interesting history but too long to relate here. Suffice to say that in 1907 on April 29th, Jules Goux won the Voiturette single cylinder race with a Lion Peugeot. But look at this trophy compared to the 1985-86 World Rally Championship affairs.

[Read more…] about Peugeot Museum, Part 3: Rally, Racing and then some

The Lee T150C SS Talbot, aka “Stinky”

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An unrestored classic among the finest restored classics on one of the world's most prestigious golf courses.

An unrestored classic among the finest restored classics on one of the world’s most prestigious golf courses. Elitch photo

Story by Brandes Elitch

Back in 2008 at the Quail Lodge, what I was looking for was a truly unique car, that neither I, nor anyone else, had seen before, at least not in my lifetime, a car that would blow you away when you saw it. I found what I wanted, and here is the story:

Don Lee started selling Cadillacs in 1906, and was awarded the West Coast distribution in 1919. In 1926, Lee bought KFRC radio in San Francisco, and the next year bought KHJ in Los Angeles. In 1929 he paid for LA’s first television broadcast, and in 1932 broadcast the first motion picture. Eventually, Lee owned twelve stations and became a CBS, and later, Mutual Broadcasting affiliate. To this day the ridge above the famous Hollywood sign, where he put his transmitter, is called Mount Lee. But in 1934, Lee succumbed to a heart attack, at only 54 years of age. His son, Thomas (Tommy) Lee inherited the empire, but left business management to CEO Willet Brown, to pursue, as author Lou Brooks has succinctly put it, “…his other interests, namely race cars and women.” [Read more…] about The Lee T150C SS Talbot, aka “Stinky”

Peugeot’s Time Machine Museum Part 2, 1945 to present

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Probably remembered best, especially by me, from watching Peter Falk in Columbo on wet Saturday afternoons, this 403 Cabriolet dates from 1960. Only 1814 Cabriolets were made.

Probably remembered best (especially by me) as detective Columbo’s means of transportation, this 403 Cabriolet dates from 1960. Only 1814 Cabriolets were made.

Photos by Jonathan Sharp

Read Part 1

Part 2 of Jonathan Sharp’s journey through Peugeot’s time machine museum begins during WII when despite Nazi occupation, Peugeot’s engineers planned the first postwar car, the 203. Peugeot had been building cars for over 50 years by that time and wasn’t going to give up; in fact they survived despite the many changes that eliminated many French manufacturers during the 1950s and 60s, and are now the second largest auto manufacturer in Europe. Sharp’s photos reminded the editor that Peugeot decided to pull out of the American market in 1991, at about the same time as did Alfa and Fiat…and we have not seen any new (and very few old!) Peugeots in the U.S. since then. Peugeot, who now owns Citroen, has stated that they are considering a comeback to the U.S. perhaps by 2018. Time will tell. [Read more…] about Peugeot’s Time Machine Museum Part 2, 1945 to present

Voiturette Racing Cars: Part 1 Alfa through Delage

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By Pete Vack

The voiturette (750cc, 1100 cc and 1500cc) races which took place between 1931 and 1940 were magic; technically interesting cars, around the house race venues, truly international with multi-make participation, a cast of characters from a Siamese Prince to Enzo Ferrari, Dick Seaman’s drives with the ERA, MG and Delage, and a devastating secret weapon unleashed by Mercedes Benz which defeated and demoralized the opposition. There was never a dull moment on or off the track. The venues were largely ‘around the houses’ circuits such as Pau and San Remo, the drivers were semi-professional or talented amateurs, and interestingly, there were no points or championships for manufacturers or drivers. In fact the formula was so good it became the official Grand Prix class in 1945, which lasted until 1952.

Below, we present the first six of twelve short stories about the primary voiturette racers of the 1930s, covering Alfa, Alta, Amilcar, Austin, Bugatti and Delage. Part 2 will cover ERA, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, MG, Salmson and Talbot.

Alfa Romeo (S.A. Alfa Romeo, Milan, Italy)

Competitive years: 1938-1940 Horsepower Range: 195-225

The voiturette class was eventually dominated by the 158 Alfetta in 1939 and 1940. However, it is not clear why Alfa did not choose to participate in the voiturette races of the early 1930s. Many of their customers, such as Count Gianni Lurani however, did so using the 6C 1750 reduced to 1500cc and equipped with a lightweight open-wheeled body. They won class victories at the Nurburgring in 1932 and a third place in the 1500cc in the 1933 Czech Grand Prix.

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