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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

The Complete Saga of the Caswell/Lymber BNC

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BNC in garage-under-cardboard

French Charm seeing the light of day after forty years. Photo by George Lymber.


Part 1 French Charm

By Eric Davison

In 2012 Eric Davison wrote a three part article about a BNC that had appeared at Watkins Glen in 1948. Below, we have combined all three parts into one for a unique, total account of this rare car. Sadly, the owner of the BNC at the time, George Lymber II. died on Oct 3 2013.

Getting involved in writing about old cars is something like a disease that is incurable. The symptoms keep on recurring. Case in point: Last year I was involved in helping my friend Phillipe Defechereux with the latest edition of his book about Watkins Glen in the period from 1948 to 1952. (Watkins Glen, The Street Years. 1948 – 1952. Dalton Watson)

The intention was to try to locate some of the cars that appeared at the Glen during those years and to tell where they are today. Unfortunately I had only a few months in which to work. To do a comprehensive job would take years and would make a pretty good book all by itself.

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Phillip Island Classic March 11-13, 2016, Australia

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Mick Stupka 1954 Citroën 11D, Rod Wood 1953 Holden 48/215, turn 4.

Mick Stupka 1954 Citroën 11D, Rod Wood 1953 Holden 48/215, turn 4.

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

Cubic inches certainly had the headlines at the 27th Phillip Island Classic, south of Melbourne, recently. Not only were there more than two dozen Formula 5000 open wheelers racing during the three day meeting, the Group Q & R ‘big banger’ sports car grids included five McLarens, (three of them 8 liter Chev-powered), several Lolas, a six liter E-Type Jaguar and a pair of V8 Elfins. [Read more…] about Phillip Island Classic March 11-13, 2016, Australia

As Found Classic: Talbot-Lago Pourtout

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Car as found at Elkhart Lake. Pure beauty here. But was it Figoni?

As Found Classic Number Twenty-Two

This photo was taken by my father Don Vack on June 18, 1960 at Road America near Elkhart Lake Wisconsin. At a time when American cars could be called many things but rarely beautiful, my father made an effort to show me, and later my brother Greg, that there were in fact cars that were beautiful, stunning, and well-proportioned; most did not hail from Detroit. This Talbot Lago was one of them. For over a half century, we wondered who the coachbuilder was, for lack of other ideas, assumed that it was a Figoni et Falaschi creation. Now, thanks to Peter Larsen, Bruno Martin and current owner Steve Hamilton, we can answer that question.

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Abarths and Wine at Avignon

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Focusing on Wine and Abarths...

Photos and story by Graham Gauld

Avignon in the south of France is a medieval city famous for the fact that Pope Clement VI actually bought the town in 1348 from its Italian owner, Joanna the first of Naples. Clement then made Avignon the home of the next six Popes of the Roman Catholic Church.

OK that’s your ancient history lesson is over for the day. Now onto more recent history. Avignon also hosted its annual Historic Car festival which is an impressive event that covers no fewer than 13 individual halls on the Exhibition site. It makes Retromobile with its two halls almost look small! Mind you, most of the halls contain small stands selling everything from head gaskets for 1952 Simcas to every known 1/43rd scale motor truck car or racing car ever built. It is a kind of fans-fest on steroids.

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Goodwood Member’s Meeting 2016 Part 1

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The Tony Brooks Trophy grid is almost a perfect reflection of the 1959-60 season. Barry Cannell’s 1959 Cooper Climax T51 leads this pack away at the start.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Read Part 2

The weather forecast for the 74th Goodwood members meeting kept getting worse as the event approached. By Saturday morning, March 19, it was on with the walking boots, two pairs of socks, thick corduroy trousers, a vest, thick country style shirt, a tie (there is a dress code you know) tweed jacket and a very worn old wax jacket and off to Goodwood where at least the racing would be hot even if the weather was going to be cold.

It turned out that on a few occasions over the weekend the racing was rather too hot for comfort. The first race of the Sunday program was for 1960s single seaters. The ex-Innes Ireland Lotus of Steven Bond was hit in the side by another car. The Lotus then hit the tire wall which turned the car on its side. It then proceeded to tumble end-over-end before plunging head long into the pedestrian foot tunnel under the track. [Read more…] about Goodwood Member’s Meeting 2016 Part 1

Alfa Romeo Berlinetta Stradale Giro d’Italia: “Il Mostro” Part 2

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The 33TT Stradale at Monza for the Coppa Intereuropa in 2001. Photo by Roberto Motta.

Story by Roberto Motta

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Joe Nastasi on the 33TT Stradale Giro d’Italia

As we have previously recounted, Joe Nastasi was born in Messina Sicily in 1948, migrated to the U.S. and worked his way up to becoming the U.S. Lamborghini importer. Nastasi also did well in a variety of other endeavors, allowing him to become an active collector and vintage racer. He became interested in Alfas after purchasing his first T33, s/n 11572.006. Over the years Nastasi managed to acquire other Alfa T33s from Autodelta; the 33/2 ‘periscope’ of 1967, and the 1977 33 SC12. Nastasi, as well as being a businessman, is also a great mechanic, and always personally oversees the maintenance of its cars with which he participates in the most important events reserved for classic cars. [Read more…] about Alfa Romeo Berlinetta Stradale Giro d’Italia: “Il Mostro” Part 2

An Ode to Three Bugattis

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Correspondent and mentor Gijsbert-Paul Berk with his restored Bugatti T40 Grand Sport.

By Pete Vack, Gijsbert-Paul Berk, and Sandy Leith

It was Burt Bacharach/Hal David who wrote the popular song I’ll Never Fall in Love Again. After the last Ferrari I too vowed never to fall in love again, being too old for such nonsense anyway.

But I kept catching the Bugatti virus. It re-occurs every few years and like the plague, eventually it just dissipates, primarily because any Bugatti has been out of our price range for the past 50 years or so. I’d been through a torrid but platonic love affair with the T35, the T55, the T57 and even the Brescia Bugattis, and so it was recently when the charms of the lowly T40 attracted my attention. We then found three interesting T40s with three great stories all in some way related to the cast of characters at VeloceToday. We begin with the Correspondent’s Bugatti….

Correspondent’s Bugatti

Our most senior correspondent, Gijsbert-Paul Berk, once owned and restored a delightful Type 40 Grand Sport and wrote to tell me all about it and sent photos:

Thanks for your photos of that attractive Bugatti Type 40 cabriolet. (see below) They brought tears in my eyes. So here are a few photos of my Type 40. It had a body identical to the one in the 1928 Bugatti advertisement. Someone told me that the man next to the car is Louis Chiron. Who the woman was is not known. [Read more…] about An Ode to Three Bugattis

Alfa Romeo Berlinetta Stradale Giro d’Italia: “Il Mostro” Part 1

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We all know about the beautiful T33 Stradale coupe*. Here is the story about the other T33 Stradale…the one you have never heard of.

Text by Roberto Motta
Photos by Roberto Motta, Actualfoto, Archivio Gambi, Archivio Nastasi e Automobilismo Storico Alfa Romeo, Centro Documentazione (Arese, Milano)

Businessman, importer, mechanic and vintage car collector Joe Nastasi has owned many great cars, but perhaps the most interesting and certainly the rarest, is a T33TT V8 Stradale, a car that is not what it seems and was destined to compete in only one event. Roberto Motta brings us this story about the Alfa T33 “Mostro”, based on an article he wrote in 2007.

Only one example of the Type 33TT Stradale was constructed and is one of the most beautiful cars produced by Alfa Romeo. Little known to the public, this car holds a fascination for two main reasons: it is an Alfa Romeo and participated in a single race, the Tour of Italy Automotive in 1975. Its proper name, according to Joe Nastasi who still owns it, is the “Alfa Romeo Berlinetta Stradale Giro d’Italia”, whatever we might call it below. [Read more…] about Alfa Romeo Berlinetta Stradale Giro d’Italia: “Il Mostro” Part 1

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