VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Hot Laps with Phil Hill

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Phil Hill and Dale LaFollette returning to pits in the 1902 D50 Napier.

By Dale LaFollette
Photos from the collection of Dale LaFollette

From the VeloceToday Archives, October, 2019

In 1980 Road & Track scheduled a day at the Portland race track where I worked so Phil Hill could test some vintage cars for articles he would be writing. On the appointed day several important old cars arrived including my favorite, a 1902 D50 Napier Gordon-Bennett racer that had been assembled from parts of the actual winner of the race. At the time the car was owned by the Harrah Collection.

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Sam Caronia, Abarth Dealer Part 1

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Sam Caronia. Obituary photo, photographer unknown

By Pete Vack and Tom Gonnella

Sam Caronia was not famous and more irascible than most. But he was an unforgettable person, the owner of a foreign car repair shop and sometime race driver, who helped and encouraged a younger generation to maintain and race the Italian cars we all loved. And though he died many years ago, he is still remembered.

A Navy Veteran, an Abarth Dealer, a Race Driver

Tom Gonnella, a fellow Ferrari owner and Tidewater, Virginia, resident, worked for Sam as a teenager, and was a long-time friend. Recently Tom sent me his well-written reflections on Sam which provided the basis for a belated biography, and allowed us to make use of an interview I had with Sam in 2014 and never published. I too, had known Sam for many years, and Tom’s recollections mirrored my own.

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Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta

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Dr Martin Halusa’s very early Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta at Monaco in 2018.( Photo (Gauld)

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

On a web site such as VeloceToday our stories tend to paint with a broad brush. It is clear, however, our reports on concours-style events always attract attention because through these events we can observe the changes made over the decades in the actual shape of the car, in other words: styling.

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Radiator Mascots: Come Fly with Us

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1907 Renault radiator cap ornament, but not up front, as the radiator was back on the firewall between the engine and the driver’s cockpit.

Story and photos by Charley Seavey

Time was when almost all cars had some representational statuary of some kind on the hood (bonnet) of the car. Some were famous: the Rolls Royce “Spirit of Ecstasy,” and the Jaguar “Leaper” Spirit…is now a tiny vestigial remnant of its former self. The Leaper is no more. Bentley’s Winged B is now a flat representation. The three-pointed star of Mercedes Benz is mostly flat, although there may be a pop-up version. Ornaments on lesser cars rarely attracted attention, although many were quite lovely, and some (Pontiac’s illuminated Chief) were quite clever. While seemingly superfluous I remember using them as a nice way of keeping track of where the off side of the car was in any tight situation.

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Finding a Lost Cisitalia D46 Part 2

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By Pete Vack
Read Part 1

As Sam Caronia and I approached the tomb of what promised to be the long lost Cisitalia D46 (oh, well, there may be more lost D46s, but nevertheless, this one was truly long lost) we wondered if it was really possible that one of the rarest and most treasured Italian race cars ever built had been hidden from sight for over 40 years, and was only one hour from VeloceToday Headquarters?

“Howard Carter and King Tut’s tomb had nothing on us..”

After talking with owner Betty Peters at her home in Suffolk, Virginia, we were led out to a corner of a very large lot. Her grandson Bruce pointed to the shed, and said, “Go, see for yourself.”

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The 74th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

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1965 Bugatti original type 101 chassis and motor, Exner body. The last ‘new’ Bugatti 101 chassis was purchased by Exner, who had Ghia body it per his Revival Car designs, then appeared at the Turin Auto Show in 1965.

Story and photos by Brandes Elitch

When you attend a world class car show, you should expect some drama and excitement. But I am pretty sure that nothing will ever match the excitement when the show cars come through the entrance in back of the Lodge and start to drive on the field at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. You stand there, just a few hundred feet from the Bay, waiting anxiously until about 6:30 when it warms up and sunrise is about to begin, and they start their run. [Read more…] about The 74th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

Concorso Italiano and The Paddock 2025

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Ed Godshalk in his Cisitalia D46 Monoposto “barn find” condition. Ex-factory team car, 5th place in 1946 Coppa Brezzi race, 1st place 1947 Mt. Ventoux Hill Climb, Ex-Harry Schell. Renowned Cisitalia restorer, Geert Kistermaker is at right.

Story and photos by Brandes Elitch

Looking back, I have to say that some of the best memories are of the original Concours Italiano (later changed to Concorso Italiano).

At the time I was interviewing for a job with a bank in San Francisco, and my interviewers were my friend Joe and his associate, Willem Oosthoek, now perhaps the pre-eminent Maserati expert in the world.

Joe had just bought a very clean and original Maserati 3500 coupe (Willem has one too, of course) and wanted to get started on the restoration. At that time there was an organization called the Maserati Information Exchange (MIE) outside of Seattle, run by Francis Mandarano. Back then, forty years ago, (the event is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year) there were only two events, the races at Laguna Seca, and the Pebble Beach Concours. [Read more…] about Concorso Italiano and The Paddock 2025

Rolex Motorsports Reunion 2025

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1959 Cooper T51 F1. This car changed the layout of the racing car and set the template for the modern GP class.

Story and photos by Brandes Elitch

Someone once asked Audrey Hepburn if they should go to Paris. Her response was “It is always a good idea.”

Like going to Paris, going to Laguna Seca racetrack for the Rolex Motorsports Reunion is always a good idea. If you are interested in historic racecars, it is mandatory. It is certainly one of most important tracks in the world, along with Monza, Monaco, Nurburgring, and Silverstone, and has been in operation for sixty years.

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Finding a Lost Cisitalia D46

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By Pete Vack

Was it even remotely possible, that one of the rarest and most treasured Italian race cars ever built had been hidden from sight for over 40 years, and was only one hour from VeloceToday Headquarters? Since moving to Williamsburg, we’d helped rediscover an Iso Marlboro Lele built for Howden Ganley, found a rare TVR whose owner had no idea what kind of a car it was, the only true Intermeccanica Formula Junior in the world, and a few odds and ends.

But this mystery car would top everything we had ever dreamed of finding.

In January 2007, the phone rang and I heard a familiar voice. “A friend of mine says she has a Cisitalia D46 in need of restoration. I was wondering if you could come with me to check it out.”

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In the Paddock and on the Track: Goodwood

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Photos by Jonathan Sharp

The Festival of Speed (this year July 10-13) creates many photo opportunities, and so we are very glad that Jonathan Sharp is able to allow us to enjoy it, without the heat, travel, and crowds. This year the presentation of 75 years of Formula 1 is an event probably not duplicated anywhere else in the world. But at Goodwood, we take such feats for granted.

Pardon the Red Sea

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Ercole Spada: One Step Beyond

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1963 Lancia Flavia Sport Zagato. Ercole Spada: “I felt a real necessity to design something completely different.”

By Pete Vack

All quotes attributed to Ercole Spada are from Spada by Bart Lenaerts, Lies de Mol with Ercole and Paolo Spada.

As we reflect on the life of the late Ercole Spada, I realized that for a good part of my life, my primary automotive focus was on the cars built by Zagato. I wanted a Zagato because they were race cars, lightweight, didn’t rust, and often are Alfa-based and just as often, beautiful. They were in a class of their own, and stylistically a step beyond the normal.

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Outrageous car, Outrageous article

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By Pete Vack

From the Archives, August 2011.
Scroll down to read the comments!!!

The brothers Zagato didn’t have a great deal of luck with Lancias.

The Appia Zagato was always too long and too little. Although somewhat successful in the Italian 1100cc events, the street version was underpowered and overwheelbased, and the 1100cc engine strained at anything like racing speeds. From the front it was attractive, but the side view and rear view failed to delight. From the same era, the Abarth, Alfa and the Bandini Zagatos (only one built), were far more pleasing to the eye.
[Read more…] about Outrageous car, Outrageous article

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