Italians, French at Brooklands
Everyone is familiar with the Le Mans 24 hour race, first run in 1923. Less well-known is the British equivalent, the Brooklands Double Twelve race. Vintage Alfa Romeo fans may recall the event, however, as the first running of the Double Twelve was in 1929, the winner being Giulio Ramponi driving a 1500cc Alfa Romeo at an average speed of 76 mph.
What the Double Twelve is all about: This is a 1930 Alfa 1750 6C Zagato parked near two of W.O. Bentley’s most famous cars. Similar cars competed in the famous 24 hour race in the early 1930s at Brooklands. Please note that most of the images in this story were taken at previous events at Brooklands.
So why was it called the Double Twelve, rather than the Brooklands 24 hour race? In an effort to appease the local residents of nearby Weybridge, nighttime racing was banned at Brooklands, so the race was run in two 12 hour heats on consecutive days.
Alex Hinch (Pilkington) and her Alfa Romeo 1750 Zagato at the bottom of the test hill.
The race had a short history of only three years. The winners of the Double Twelve in 1930 were Woolf Barnato and Frank Clement driving a 6.5 litre Bentley with Sammy Davis (the late OSCA pilot Colin Davis’s father) and Jack Dunfee finishing second, also driving a 6.5 litre Bentley. The winners of the final race in 1931 were The Earl of March and Mr. CS Staniland driving an MG Midget, their winning average being 65.62 MPH.
The story of the Double Twelve then jumps to 2007, Brooklands’ centenary year. The Brooklands museum organized a large event in celebration; in fact it was the largest motoring event to take place at the circuit since its demise in 1939. The weekend of events that year were run along the lines of the various forms of competition that took place in period including a concours and some very fiendish driving tests using what remains of the banked track and the test hill. Motor racing had at last returned to Brooklands, the birthplace of British motor sport.
Chris Williams storms the test hill in the Napier Lion-powered Bentley. The wording on the tail reads 'If driven responsibly report as stolen'.
Scuderia Portello at Milan Autoclassica
Story and photos by Roberto Motta
The second edition of Milan AutoClassica, held between February 22 and 24, is an event that is rapidly becoming a key venue for lovers of glorious cars of the past.
There were several legendary cars from the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese, whose exhibition kicked off the celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the Chiti Autodelta works. These include the TZ, the 1300 GTA, the 33/2 Daytona, the 33TT12 that won the World Sports Car Championship in ’75 and ’77, and the 179 F1 experimental.
[Read more…] about Scuderia Portello at Milan Autoclassica
Werner Pfister
“The Yellow Crayola Ferrari Enzo” was the last and one of the best articles submitted to VeloceToday by Werner Pfister, who died earlier this week after a lengthy battle with cancer. His story about a Crayon Ferrari crafted by a renowned artist for a Children’s hospital reminded us of Werner’s keen eye for an interesting story as well as his generosity and kindness.
Inset, Werner Pfister by Stanley Cohen.
[Read more…] about Werner Pfister
WE HAVE A WINNER! The correct answer was, Abarth OT1300/124 at the 1967 Turin Auto Show. Congratulations to Graham Earl.
Name the year, the show, and the yellow car. Win one of three prizes, your choice: MCarpedi postcard book, Abarth Buyer’s Guide, or a Watkins Glen CD. Send your guess to vack@cox.net. First come, first served so enter now.
Our Features This Week, March 21 2013
Phillip Island Classic, Australia
Story and Photos by Vince Johnson
Usually the scream of a high-revving V12 engine shouts “Italian”, but the best sounds from the track at this year’s Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport (March 8-10) were from a pair of Matra Simcas. Brought to the Classic by father and son team of Hall & Hall (UK), chassis #1 and #5 each had Le Mans credentials, third places at the 1973 and 1974 24-hour enduro, to go with the sound. They were up against some stiff opponents in the featured ‘International Sportscar Challenge’ races, giving away hundreds of cubic inches to the Can-Am opposition.
[Read more…] about Phillip Island Classic, Australia
A History of Concept Cars
Following our recent article on today’s concept cars and designers, Gijsbert-Paul Berk begins a new series of historical articles that will convey the history of dream and show cars and examine which concept cars or design studies influenced the shapes of our automobiles. Below, three interesting and legendary fashions that helped set styling trends.
Breaking Away
Concept cars, dream cars, or show cars by any name are not by any means new. Historically, dream cars are outrageous, crowd-pleasers and often trend-setters. The story of the dream car begins in 1896 as the French made a concentrated effort to make the new motor car look less like ‘horseless carriages’. In general, the design and construction of automobile bodies was the work of coachbuilders, who only a few years before, had built the horse-drawn carriages. This similarity sometimes caused confusion and irritated a number of people.
This was one of the reasons why the well-known Parisian department store “Le Louvre” organized a competition for ideas for the coachwork of ‘modern’ motor cars in 1896. The contest was open to all kinds of artists such as painters and sculptors but also to architects and coachbuilders. The prizewinning entry was a scale model made from wax, cardboard and glass by Pierre Selmersheim, an architect and furniture designer. As can be seen from the competition, the Selmersheim design was fairly radical and advanced for the era. A photo of it was widely publicized in the French newspapers and European motoring magazines. But none of the many French coachbuilders was interested in building it.
These drawings are additional entries in the competition. It is easy to see why the Selmersheim design in the lead photo above, won.
Geneva with Alessandro Gerelli
LaFerrari features a V12 6.3 liter, 800 bhp engine plus two electric engines. Only 499 will be built and sold for 1.2 million euros.
Photos and Story by Alessandro Gerelli
[Read more…] about Geneva with Alessandro Gerelli
Order NOW, we have only one signed photos left!
Our Features This Week, March 14, 2013
Making People Dream: Design Chiefs Discuss Concept Cars
2009-Renault-DeZir
Top Design Chiefs Discuss Concept Cars
Concept cars; one sees them today at every international Motor Show. Earlier this year there was even a special exhibition of both concept cars and concept motor bikes in Paris, as part of the 28th Festival International d’Automobile.
Over the years it has become a tradition that a number of leading car manufacturers and famous design studios show their vision for the future at major cars shows. Some of these concepts are far-fetched fantasies, with details – such as door constructions – that are impossible to realize in economical mass production, or use materials that are either too expensive or otherwise unsuitable. Others are more realistic reflections of how some models of the next generation will look.
During the 20th century, the construction and style of automobiles evolved quite dramatically. The dreamcars, or showcars certainly added interest and excitement to the various Exhibitions or Concourses d’Elegance. But in today’s world, is there a future for concept cars?
Today, however, the automobile is a fully mature consumer product. Creating concept cars is an expensive endeavor. And aside from the haute couture fashion houses, no other industry presents products which are not yet for sale. Cars are, after all, merely appliances. One wonders why the industry continues to spend huge amounts on concept cars that the visitors cannot buy. Why create demand for models that are not yet and indeed may never be in the showrooms?