VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Up Close with the Classics at the ICE St. Moritz

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The Lopresto Alfa was honored as the top auto in the “Concept Cars & One Off” category.

Story and photos by Bob Cullinan

In 1947 LIFE magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt visited St. Moritz and captured iconic images of the Swiss paradise, calling it “the most fashionable village in Europe.” This playground of the rich and famous has changed little over the ensuing decades, and once a year, mere mortals are invited to bask in the alpine glow and the distinctive sight, sound…and even the smell…of some of the world’s most enviable autos.

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Eugenio Castellotti by Graham Gauld

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Story and photos by Graham Gauld

From the VeloceToday archives, 2019. Lead image: A close-up of Castellotti at Dundrod in 1955, concentrating hard while accelerating away from the hairpin in the Ferrari 850 Monza.

There are times when we can all be rather pretentious. I fell into that trap thirty years ago when I had the idea of writing a subjective book on the psychology of the racing driver. I have always had an interest in the variety of people who come into motor sport and what makes them tick. I had read a lot about psychology in general, then dropped the idea when I realized what a fool I might have made of myself. However, if Central Casting in Hollywood were ever asked for a “racing driver type” back in the 1950s, they would have to have chosen Eugenio Castellotti.

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Lingotto: Art, Flora and Fiat

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See below for more information about this exhibit.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Prior to planning our trip to the Lake Como Concours last May, I read that Fiat had transformed the roof top of the old Lingotto site into a garden. We decided to travel from the UK to the concours events via Turin, staying at the Lingotto Hotel for a chance to view the art and garden displays.

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Bob Hanna, Pioneer Canadian Racer and Builder

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Bob Hanna in the 1960s. Hanna Collection

By John R. Wright

Bob Hanna is one of those quiet and unassuming people who do things unobtrusively so that unless you look closely you miss the important achievements they have accomplished. Not only was he an effective race driver, but he was also a builder of the sport in Canada and one of his crowning achievements was the first Canadian Formula One Grand Prix at Mosport in 1967.

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Les Leston, Wheeler, Dealer

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Les Leston

By Giles Chapman, from his book, “Three Million Miles in a Volvo and Other Curious Car Stories“

When we received Giles Chapman’s latest book we thoroughly enjoyed the short bios and interesting stories that comprised “Three Million Miles in a Volvo and other Curious Car Stories”. These are just perfect for the VeloceToday format, and here is the fourth in a series.

Sergeant Les Leston flew 30 Second World War raids over Germany, usually as a mid-turret gunner in Lancaster bombers. For one raid he was too poorly to go; the plane was shot down, its whole crew lost. On another he wrote “With love from Archer Street” on a 4000lb “cookie” bomb before it plummeted thousands of feet towards a Nazi target; Archer Street was the Soho home to the Musicians’ Union, and the London hangout of Les and his fellow jazzmen.

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The Mario Righini Collection

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By Alain Raymond

From the Archives, May 2019

Italy, 2012

“The Mario Righini automobile collection is one of the finest private collections in Italy. Would you like to visit?” asks Signora Adriana Zini, Director of Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, in Modena.

How do you say “of course,” in Italian? Admittedly, I had never heard of the Righini Collection, but here I was the next morning, entering the 15th century castle of Panzano at Castelfranco Emilia, near Modena. Waiting in the inner court, a tall distinguished looking gentleman greets us with a smile. “Io sono Mario Righini. Benvenuti in Italia” says the charming host in a soft voice to the travelling journalist and his two friends. Luckily one of those friends is Salvatore Montana, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, ex-Ferrari master race mechanic, who also serves as our interpreter.

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The Banaszak Stanguellini Sport P2

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Story by Pete Vack and Howard Banaszak
Read Part 1

Our lead appears whimsical but in fact, Banaszak’s Stanguellini (CS04080), called a “Mercollini” by the wags at Kiekhaefer, did set the Class H land speed record at Daytona Beach on February 28, 1956, at 102.1 mph, driven by Herm Behm. The combination of the Mercury 55 outboard and the tiny, lightweight but sturdy Stanguellini was a winner out of the box.

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BMW’s Italian Designers Part 10

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By Jackie Jouret
Photos courtesy The BMW Archive

Following its near-death experience at the end of 1959, BMW announced its renaissance at the Frankfurt auto show of September 1961. The Giovanni Michelotti-designed 1500 drew huge crowds, and the all-new midsize sedan tended to overshadow the other cars on the BMW stand. That’s a shame, because two of those cars were also making their debut: a convertible version of the popular 700 microcar—another Michelotti design—and the 3200 CS coupe wearing stylish bodywork designed by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone.

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Geoffrey Goldberg and Lancia in Paris

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Gilena’s impressive stand.

We’ll Always Have Paris…Like Art Buchwald, the Goldbergs will always have Paris. Geoff and his wife Lynne Remington traveled from Chicago to Paris with 130 lbs of Lancia books for the book dealers at Retro. “After the show, we did some non-car stuff in Paris – a number of museums, saw a wonderful show on the history of department stores, another one on magnificent hats (truly) that blew us away, backstage at the Opera, and exotic bakeries, after eating falafel in the Marais. It was enough to make one want to do it all over again.” Here are a few reflections.

By Geoffrey Goldberg

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Paul Wilson at Garage Steutel

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Garage Steutel, photos from the website.

A Movable Feast…After a delightful time at Retromobile in Paris, Paul Wilson and Mark Bennett traveled to Belgium with Alfa doyen Frank Rameckers, then to the Netherlands, where Paul had been invited to give a presentation about the design and construction of his three amazing Alfas. Here is Paul’s story….

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Retro on the French Side

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Presented at the 1962 Paris Motor Show, this DS19 with its fully faired underbody presented the new front of the DS with its faired headlights. The DS Totem symbolized the avant-gardism of the Citroën brand and delighted photographers, thus helping to establish the model’s reputation.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Retro thoughts

Every year, at the same time, the world of classic and collector cars comes out of its lethargy for the event that opens the season. I am talking about the unmissable Rétromobile show in Paris.

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Ferrari at Retro

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A very popular exhibit on the ‘Le Man Classic’ stand, the Ferrari 312P chassis 0872.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Pilgrimage to Paris

This year my pals and I thought we would attend Retromobile much earlier in the week as we are all mostly retired. Whilst the first full day of the show is on Wednesday, we decided it would be nice to also attend the preview Tuesday evening, assuming that it would be nice and quiet.

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