The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Alfa 1750 Quattroruote is one of the best examples of a factory conceived and built replicar.
By Wallace Wyss
Photos by Richard Bartholomew
San Marino is a toney area of town near Pasadena but redolent of gentler times where there are no loud noises and no graffiti; a town that presents a kind of isolated feeling like nearby Santa Anita racetrack which makes you feel like you are back in the 1930s.
A Special Announcement from the Fiat Club of America
Fiat Club America cordially invites all Italian Car enthusiasts attend to the 30th Annual Fiat FreakOut national convention in Long Island, July 18-22nd at the Hyatt Regency, Hauppauge, NY.
Celebrate our great tradition of Italian Motoring with us this summer! Hundreds of vintage Italian cars will be there! All Italian cars welcome, including the concorso and drives. Join us for a weekend of activities and register your car today! Sponsored by Fiat. See and drive the new Fiat 500L 4 door, Abarth Cabrio and learn more about Alfa Romeo’s triumphant return to North America! Fiat/Alfa dealers will be on hand to answer questions about the Alfa 4C and upcoming Alfa models.
The Convention will be held at the Hyatt Regency, 1717 Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, NY 11788 USA. Call 631-784-1234 to reserve a room at Fiat Club America rates! Mention “Fiat” and get a special $119 per night! Pricing ends June 29.
Sir Stirling got his, Gonzales got his, and you could be next…
Left, Roy P. Smith gives Sir Stirling Moss his copy of AmédéeGordini-a true racing legend. Photo by Pete Austin. In a few weeks, we will have a drawing to see who will win this book (retails for £55, $85.41 USD).
To get your name in the hat to win, you MUST be a Premium Subscriber before the contest begins. Subscribe now for one year at only $4.95 per month to become eligible to win this book when the contest begins.
Free shipping worldwide for our contest only!
Change indeed. Bernard Asset's art. McLaren at Eau Rouge on the Spa circuit. F1 photography would never be the same again. Copyright Bernard Asset. All rights reserved.
By Graham Gauld
At a recent race meeting I met up with an old friend of over 25 years, the famed French Formula 1 photographer Bernard Asset. You may not have heard of him, but he completely changed the style of motor racing photography back in the 1970s.
Bernard Asset today. Photo by Graham Gauld.
Born in 1955 Bernard Asset was brought up in Paris; his father was a keen and talented amateur photographer. From the age of 14 young Asset wanted to be a photographer, and as a young teenager at the photography school the teacher asked him what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to be a sports photographer and cover the Olympics. The teacher told him to forget it as they were training commercial photographers. the Olympics, including the 1992 Summer and Winter Olympics at Barcelona and Albertville. “You know, ski photography is very similar to photographing Formula 1,” he remarks. [Read more…] about Bernard Asset: The Man Who Changed the Pictures
By Ed McDonough
Photos by Mike Jiggle
As it happened, I test drove the Gordini at Silverstone on the same day as I had driven an F2 Ferrari 500, both cars having been raced by some of the most charismatic drivers ever to get behind the wheel of any racing car. Both cars had Maurice Trintignant connections, but the Gordini had led Le Mans with Jean Behra in this very seat…can you get your head around that?!
Bugattis line up for Prescott, home of the Bugatti Owner's Club. George Davidson all the way from Kentucky heads the queue in his 1930 T35B. Photo by Jonathan Sharp.
Text by Jonathan Sharp, Photos by Jonathan Sharp and Roy P. Smith
Just back from a long day (June 2) at the Bugatti Owners Club’s Prescott Hill climb for their La Vie en Bleu event where there were 32 Bugatti’s entered. The annual International Bugatti rally was being held in the UK at that time with Prescott being one of the ports of call. A very impressive lineup they made, especially Jim Hulls Type 57 SC Electron reconstruction which he had brought from California.
Prescott is all about atmosphere. The location is as it must have felt in the 1930s, and to add to the atmosphere this year the local Steam Preservation railway was running great steam-driven trains. The sounds of the various Bugattis, blown and unblown, were mixed in with the sound of steam whistles and chuffing trains that enhanced the nostalgia.
As usual the French make car clubs put on a fantastic display. A rare favorite was the Peugeot 504 Pininfarina Coupe, just imported from the South of France. It had been owned by the proprietor of a Peugeot garage who had used the car during the summer, but had kept it in a heated garage in the winter. Its new custodian was justifiably proud of it. At various times during the day the works Bugatti test driver powered the 1200 BHP Veyron Vittesse up the hill and one lucky ticket winner got a ride up the hill with him at the end of the day.
Also demonstrated was the 1990 Benetton B190 F1 of John Reaks. This car was driven to victory at Suzuka, Japan in 1990 by Nelson Piquet. The first time I saw the car in the paddock after one of its runs it was without a nose cone. I understandably thought it had been involved in an accident but no, the cars mechanics had to remove the nose cone and then man- handle the car at the top of the hill to allow it to return to the paddock using the return road. Such dedication just to allow the spectators the chance to witness a 650 BHP Grand Prix car being driven up the hill in anger is worthy of praise. I do think it was a bit of a handful around the wonderfully named ‘Pardon Bend’ though.
Gordini author Roy Smith was there too, and caught the magic of Prescott. Photo by Roy P. Smith
Pure elegance: Bugatti Type 55 chassis 55221. Le Mans car of 1932, rebodied in 1933 by Figoni in 1933 besides the Bugatti Trust Library. Sharp photo.
Prescott has taken on the circus-like surroundings made famous by Goodwood. Jury is still out on that. Smith photo.
Circus or not, racing is still dangerous. Prescott nearly had a tragedy on its hands when Edmund Burgess lost his T13 Brescia coming into the esse's. Luckily he walked into the ambulance. The T13 had buckled front wheels and a serious misshapen steering wheel. Sharp photo.
Ari Vatanen takes the 405 T16 up the Peak to victory in 1988.
By Roberto Motta
Photo courtesy by Peugeot Sport
It’s been over 100 years since the epic victory at the Indy 500, and 25 years after the first victory at Pikes Peak. Now Peugeot returns to Colorado with only one goal: to win the famous Pikes Peak event once again. Previously, we described the new Mountain car. Here, we will put this in perspective and review the previous two wins at Pikes Peak.
[Read more…] about Lion in the Clouds; Peugeot at Pikes Peak, 1988-89
A National Convention of Alfa Romeo Owners Converges on Northern California in July
By Mary Ann Dickinson and Steve Davis
[Read more…] about Alfa National Convention, July 8th-12th, Sign up NOW!
Is there a better parking place for your California?
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013
Story and Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Every spring, Lake Como and the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este form a unique backdrop to the most beautiful automobiles taking part in the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
This year was no exception, despite autumn-like weather instead of pleasant temperatures usually experienced at this period.
[Read more…] about Villa d’Este as seen by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Chassis 19GCS made its first racing appearance at the 1950 Le Mans as a 1.5-liter car, driven by Andre Simon (here) and the boss's son, Aldo. They retired after 6 hours.
Ed McDonough continues with the history of chassis 19GCS
Color Photos by Mike Jiggle
Historical photos from the collection of Eddie McGuire
The car you see here, chassis19GCS made its first public appearance on the Gordini stand at the 1949 Paris Motor Show. It was originally intended that all the new cars would appear at the 1949 Le Mans race, but single-seater events had taken priority. Maurice Trintignant and Robert Manzon drove 18GCS but retired, and 19GCS made a gentle entry at the Paris Show with its ohv 1.5 engine, a four-speed gearbox, and the light alloy body helped it to weigh in at only 650 kgs. The engine was known as the T15.
1950
Though it had an easy start in the racing world, 19GCS would have a reasonably hard…and long…life. It ran at Le Mans for the first time on 25-26 June, 1950 with Andre Simon and Gordini’s son Aldo driving with car number 34, but it was forced to retire. Andre Simon joined the Gordini team at the beginning of the year. The car was quick at Le Mans but the gearbox broke after six hours. It then was raced, still in 1.5-liter format, three times in July at the Mont Ventoux Hillclimb, the 12 Hours of Paris and the Rouen Sports Car Grand Prix, driven by the various members of the Gordini team. At the end of August it appeared in the rather obscure Coupe Rhineland. It must be remembered that there were an unusually large number of monoposto races going on in this period and the Gordini resources were stretched to the limit.
The 1951 Le Mans Simca-Gordini team; Pictured is #37, chassis 19GCS, driven by Pierre Veyron and Georges Monneret. It retired with engine failure.
The OSCA Formula Junior was provided by Briggs Cunningham. The Fiat powered OSCA Jr. was too late and too slow, but arguably the most beautiful Jr. every made. Here Denise is at the wheel of the OSCA at Watkins Glen in 1960. McCluggage first met Cunningham while covering the regattas on Long Island Sound in 1955 for the New York Herald Tribune. Cunningham also owned the Porsche RS550 co driven at Caracas 1957 by Denise and her famous rival Ruth Levy. The team brought the Porsche to a fourth in class. The Levy-McCluggage rivalry garnered a lot of press, but Levy realized that McCluggage was the better driver. Photo courtesy Denise McCluggage.
Hey, Denise McCluggage Fans – (and we KNOW there are MANY)!
Mark Reinwald is working with the Santa Fe Concorso’s “Tribute to Denise McCluggage” on September 27-29 to create a celebration of Denise McCluggage and the cars she raced.
As you probably know, Denise began with the classic MG and continued her racing career throughout a good part of her life. She drove everything in sight, and she drove everything well. She had some great competitors, but in general McCluggage is regarded as the best in class throughout the 1950s and 60s.
[Read more…] about Help Find Denise McCLuggage’s Race Cars