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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Motorclassica, Melbourne Australia, 26-28 October 2012

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Ferrari 195 Ghia Aigle

David Rodd’s 1951 Ferrari 195 Ghia Aigle Coupe.

Story and Photos by Vince Johnson

For Auction results and more information go to Motorclassica 2012

A hundred years ago the first Victorian Motor Show was held in the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, Australia. To mark the centenary this year’s Motorclassica, sponsored by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria, featured a central display of antique, veteran and Edwardian vehicles that mirrored those present at the 1912 event.

1912 Victorian Motor Show centenary display.

Entries in the 2012 Australian International Concours d’ Elegance numbered 125 cars and 16 motorcycles in 14 categories, from the 1898 Thompson Steam Car to a 1986 Lotus Esprit S3. Things got under way on Thursday with the Tour Classica. Many of those entered took the opportunity to be flagged off from Pit Lane at the Albert Park Formula 1 circuit in the city’s south, for a drive through regular lunchtime traffic to take their place in the display. Built for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition, the 19th century Great Hall survives intact. Still in its original Carlton Gardens landscape, it continues to be used as a palace for industry. It was awarded World Heritage status in 2004.

Sir Jack Brabham (left) and Ron Tauranac reminisce on stage.

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Pinin Farina in the 1950s by Mark Stehrenberger

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Want a print of this poster? Click on the photo.

Artist Mark Stehrenberger is now offering prints of his famous series of Pininfarina posters. Pininfarina in 1950s, the 1960s and the 1970s are all represented by different posters. Below, Wallace Wyss and the Editor dissect the 1950s poster car by car, and comment accordingly.

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Re-Creating the Voisin Laboratoire

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Notice: Moch’s striking aluminum ‘Laboratoire’ will be one of the highlights of a special exhibition dedicated to Gabriel Voisin, that will run from November 10, 2012, for six months at the Mullin Museum in Oxnard, California.For more information see: http://www.mullinautomotivemuseum.com/

The rebirth of a 1923 Voisin ‘Laboratoire’ was inspired by a book.

What moves man to recreate a masterpiece that someone else has already created a long time ago? In the world of music this is quite common. We all love to listen to concerts in which conductors and orchestras recreate the music from scores that were penned down by famous composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Sibelius or Leonard Bernstein, to name a few.

In films and theaters we applaud when directors and actors recreate the scenes and words originally fashioned by writers such as Jane Austen, Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams or William Shakespeare.

Art students visit museums to find out how the old masters did it. Some of them then painstakingly recreate composition, lights and shadows, and sometimes colors and even brushstrokes. There’s nothing wrong with any of this…it is taken for granted.

However, in the world of visual arts, recreating is generally frowned upon by professionals. Not only because criminals have offered forgeries to unsuspecting buyers as being the original work of the well-known painters. Copying, or even painting in the style of an old master, is regarded as a lack of creativity and artistic imagination. [Read more…] about Re-Creating the Voisin Laboratoire

The Ultimate Alpine Recreation

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ultimate alpine

For passion and fun…Entent Cordiale

By Roy Smith
Photos © Roy Smith /John Wheeler/SAMCMOORE

At first glance you might think, “That’s a nicely restored A110 berlinette – Group 5 perhaps– certainly looks interesting.” Then you hear the figures from its owner; max power DIN HP 359.8, max torque DIN 325(441 Nms), weight 698Kg, and you’re forgiven for thinking, “WOW!” Then “Impossible! No berlinette A110 ever saw those figures!”

You would be right. It’s not an A110 berlinette, but unless you are a died-in-the-wool purist, unsettled by those who dare to look into the future of what might have been had Renault extended the life of the A110 model, you will find this fabulous recreation not only a true work of art and engineering perfection but, like its ancestors, one of the most beautiful shapes ever created for a motor car, and a worthy contender to extend the name of Alpine in the current world of the super-car aficionados.

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Richard Pietruska: Form Follows Fantasy

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Ferrari GTO and another familiar form. Photo courtesy Pietruska.

Interview by Wallace Wyss

RICHARD PIETRUSKA is a professor and an artist living in Venice, CA who has the distinction of having escaped the clutches of the auto industry to become an Internationally known sculptor. Contributor Wallace Wyss saw him at the FCA convention and asked for an update.

WYSS: I notice the patina on that one sculpture. Is that fiberglass, or have you gone to metal?

PIETRUSKA: That’s metal, bronze. The finish is a very unique silver nitrate patina that lends itself to that particular sculpture of the Ferrari 250/599 GTO.
[Read more…] about Richard Pietruska: Form Follows Fantasy

Indian Grand Prix 2012

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A second place for Alonso in India.

By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media

For a season that offered so much hope and competition just a few months ago, 2012 F1 has suddenly degenerated into another Red Bull Route with Vettel in charge. He’s on a roll now, the earlier problems with reliability seem to have faded, the speed has returned, and it is unlikely that even Alonso will catch Vettel for the Championship. After India, Alonso is now thirteen points behind Vettel for the Championship, and that has never been a lucky number in racing.
[Read more…] about Indian Grand Prix 2012

Our Features This Week, October 24th, 2012

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HURRICANE SANDY: The offices of VeloceToday were spared any damage or power losses from Hurricane Sandy. However, our thoughts go out to our many friends in the Northeast who have suffered due to this immense storm. We’ll have a slight delay in mailing this week; VeloceToday will be sent out on Thursday, November 1st, at 11 am Eastern Time so watch for it!

Congratulations, Carl Goodwin!

Veloce Today Correspondent Carl Goodwin Wins the Carl Benz Award

HERSHEY, PA., October 14, 2012…Carl Goodwin, longtime VeloceToday correspondent, has won the prestigious 2012 Carl Benz Award of the Society of Automotive Historians for a three-part article titled “Flying Low,” published in Vintage Motorsport magazine. The articles chronicled the era of airport races for sports cars from 1948 to the present, including the famous SAC Base races and featured original racing stories from 27 early drivers and 39 photographs of the era.

The award was presented at the Society’s annual awards banquet at the Hershey Golf and Country Club at Hershey, PA. Additional details can be obtained on the web site www.autohistory.org. In presenting the award, Douglas Leighton, President of Society of Automotive Historians said, “this award is given annually to an article which represents outstanding writing and original research, published in the previous calendar year.”

Vintage Motorsport, the magazine that published the Benz Award winning article, is a leader in the coverage of the golden era of sports car racing as well as other periods of the sport. The website is www.vintagemotorsport.com.

Carl Goodwin began writing about sports car racing in 1964. He raced a Fiat-Abarth Zagato and an Alexis 18B Formula Ford for a combined five years, at eleven road courses and one airport course in the East and Midwest. In addition to writing for Vintage Motorsport, he has a book out titled “They Started in MGs,” published by McFarland & Company. He is currently working on a book about the Put-in-Bay road races.

Recent articles written by Carl Goodwin for VeloceToday can be found below:
Carroll Shelby and the OSCA
Otto Linton, from “They Started in MGs”
Boniface Picnic
Racing the Alfa Giulietta

Daniele Audetto by Graham Gauld

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Chrysler, Lamborghini, Iaccoca, left, Audetto right.

Story and Photos by Graham Gauld

You can’t help but like Daniele Audetto, the tall, urbane Italian who has been involved in international motor sport all of his life. Earlier this year when I saw him at his villa in Bordighera on the Italian Riviera, he and his wife were about to head off for Spain where he has been working with Hispania Racing in Formula 1. He was not sure what his role would be this year following the take-over of the team by Thesan Capital, a Madrid based investment Group, but he didn’t appear too concerned about it.

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Rambo’s Lambos

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Just your basic Lamborghini off-road LM 002.

By Wallace Wyss

If the movie hero “Rambo” were real and John Rambo ever bought an Italian sports car..this would be it.

If ever there was a totally useless car…on the other hand, think if you were an Arab Sheik, with nothing but sand in the distance in all directions and you hear that a hostile army is coming your way, then you would want a Lamborghini LM002.

After all, it can cruise at 120 mph.

Over sand.

No wonder it got the nickname “Lambo Rambo.”
[Read more…] about Rambo’s Lambos

Dreyfus at Scuderia Ferrari

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Rene Dreyfus, 1935

By Pete Vack
Photos by Vintage Motorphoto

Above: July 21st, 1935. Dreyfus wins the Grand Prix of Dieppe with the Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo. His wife Chou-Chou presents the flowers; chief mechanic Attilio Marinoni is leaning over the car.

This photo, sent to us by Dale LaFollette of Vintage Motorphoto, was taken on July 21st, 1935 by an unknown photographer doing work for the French Bureau of the New York Times. Dale has also included the notes on the back which we also reproduce here. We’ll credit this one to the New York Times. The original print of this photo is available from Vintage Motorphoto.com; Dale is constantly updating his stock so be sure to check it out.

Most of our readers will be somewhat familiar with the interesting life of René Dreyfus, whose career included winning the Monte Carlo Grand Prix in a Bugatti, the first of many race victories. Dreyfus drove for Maserati, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Talbot Lago, Delage, Renault and others before and after WWII.

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