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We are back, just in time to help celebrate Bill Milliken’s birthday. Last week, many asked us where the new stories were in VeloceToday. We were on an all-too short break, but it also serves to remind us that if our readers don’t either contribute or become a Premium Subscriber, VeloceToday will not be there at all. We need your help to continue to bring you these aticles each week!
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There is much more to the Milliken Bugatti Type 35A than just an incident at Watkins Glen.
By Pete Vack
According to Bill Milliken, the acquisition of his first sports car was simply elementary. While visiting New York City in 1946, he happened upon a shiny black MGTB, asked the owner if he’d like to sell, wired home for the $1500 necessary to title it in his name and drove it up to Albany.
At a time when the average price of a new American car was about $1200, the TB was a bit pricey, being a 1940 model and right hand drive. It was very similar to the later TC, with the same snazzy wire wheels, upright chromed radiator grille, and the same 54 hp engine, but only 379 TBs were made before the War stopped production at Abingdon.
Milliken was in seventh heaven; his previous transportation was a secondhand Chevy that was “…little more exciting than a grocery cart.” His thoughts of the early Duesenbergs and Millers of his boyhood returned to him and he found himself in a “machine that turned on all my senses and made driving a delightful experience….my childhood euphoria of driving had returned, and I was to never lose it.”
[Read more…] about The Milliken Bugatti T35A
Story and photos by John Wiley
Now in its 8th year, the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance returned to the theme of the first show by featuring Italian cars for the 2012 event, held on April 1st. Held in Scripps Park which draws its name from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the ocean front location provided a beautiful backdrop for a variety of Italy’s automotive creations. The weekend featured activities in and around La Jolla starting with a book signing Friday evening, a tour Saturday, a party Saturday night in Scripps Park, and the concours on Sunday.
The 1956 Maserati A6G-2000 Allemano s/n 2125 owned by Jonathan Segal, was awarded Reserve Best in Show next to the Best in Show 1925 Hispano-Suiza H6B Kellner Landaulet. The Maserati also collected Most Elegant Post War Car. Residing in Italy most of its life, s/n 2125 came to the U.S. in 2007 and was recently refinished in the correct original color. Before appearing at La Jolla, the car won Best in Class at Pebble Beach in 2011.
Malcolm Barksdale’s1966 Lamborghini 350 GT Touring participated in Saturday’s tour and won its class for Italian Sports 1966 – 1985. Found in a small body shop in Marseille France, the car had sat for 25 years while it was debated how best to repair a small dent in the nose of the aluminum Touring Superleggera body. Restored by the Bobileff Motorcar Company of San Diego, the 350 GT now gets exercised regularly on driving events and shown in concours.
Stirling Moss at Monaco, 1955 with the Mercedes-Benz W196. With Fangio, the Mercedes team would win every Grand Prix that year aside from Monaco, where they retired with mechanical problems. Photo from author’s collection.
Chinese Grand Prix by Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media, unless otherwise noted
Mercedes-Benz won their first F1 race since 1955. That in itself is surprising, but the most significant aspect of their victory was the long struggle to achieve a true Mercedes-Benz win. The difficulties in succeeding in F1 today (already noted with great loss of dollars by Toyota, Jaguar, Honda, Porsche and others), demolished the tradition of German engineering supremacy, a shock and awe technique which once caused fear and loathing in its competitors.
[Read more…] about Chinese Grand Prix 2012
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VeloceToday has offered our readers eighty-eight feature articles since the beginning of 2012 ranging from personal memoirs to Formula One coverage to original articles of historic interest. To read any of the articles click on the article button below.
Gijsbert-Paul Berk, who wrote the biography of the French engineer André Lefebvre and the cars he created at Voisin and Citroën, is now preparing a new book. (Read our review)
The new book will be about André Dubonnet (1897-1980), another Frenchman who devoted his life to automobiles.
To complete his research Gijsbert wishes to contact Dubonnet’s family and / or descendants. Some of them could live in the USA. Because André Dubonnet’s second wife, Mrs. Xenia Howard Johnston (they were married on 9 march 1932, in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, France) and his last wife Mrs. Elise Curtis (they were married on 28 June 1966, in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, France) were both American.
André Dubonnet flew in WWI a Hispano-Suiza powered SPAD S.VII fighter plane, and was part of the famous Escadron des ‘Cigognes’ (Storks). During the early twenties he raced quite successfully with Hispano-Suizas, Bugattis and Duesenberg. Later he became inventor and entrepreneur and was actively involved in the concepts of a number of rather fascinating prototype cars.Together with the French engineer Gustave Emile Chédru he developed the suspension system (covered by US Patent No. 2,054,063, filed on March 8, 1933), that was used from 1934 to 1939 by General Motors for the independent front suspension of their Chevrolet cars. He also sold the manufacturing rights of the Dubonnet suspension to Fiat, Simca and Alfa Romeo.
Between 1938 and 1944 Dubonnet created the impressive Hispano-Suiza engined and Saoutchik bodied Xenia II streamline coupé (with Dubonnet independent suspension on all four wheels). It is now part of the collection in the Mullin Automotive Museum at Oxnard, California.
If you can be of any help to Mr. Gijsbert-Paul Berk, please contact me at vack@cox.net. I will forward all correspondence.
In the early fifties, the Ruggeri brothers from northern Italy, embarked on the construction of a Grand Prix car, due to Professor Speluzzi. The car had a transverse rear mounted engine, similar to the Bugatti 251. Because of the lack of funds, the project remained unfinished.
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Has it been that long…We first met Hugues Vanhoolandt four years ago in April of 2012 as he offered to help us indentify some cars at the 2008 Essen show.
1952 Ferrari Tipo 500 Rick Hall, Turn 6 Phillip Island.
Story and Photos by Vince Johnson
It has been sixty years since Alberto Ascari won not only his first Formula 1 World Championship, but Ferrari’s as well. It was fitting that the car which gave him nine straight victories during 1952-53 should fire up in Australia a week before the start of the 2012 F1 season. This was not the first time this car had run down under.
After earning Ascari his second championship, chassis number 5 (0480) was sold to Australia’s first F1 driver, ex-WW2 Spitfire Squadron Leader Tony Gaze. Gaze’s debut in the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa on 22 June had also been the first outing for this very car. The factory fitted it with a new 3-liter 750 Monza engine for Gaze and it won races in South Africa and New Zealand. In 1956 Gaze sold it to Australian Lex Davison. The Ferrari continued its winning ways with six major victories, including consecutive Australian Grand Prix successes in 1957-58 before leaving Australia in the 60’s. Its return after five decades created a hive of interest in the pits and on the track at this year’s Phillip Island Classic held in March.
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
This year our European Photographer traveled to Florida for the Sebring 12 hours, and the officials at Sebring including Ken Breslauer made sure he had press credentials. Our thanks to the staff for making his journey from Belgium to Florida worthwhile.
[Read more…] about Vanhoolandt’s Sebring 2012
Visible evidence of one of the most popular sports in the world. Where is the WRC Rally U.S.A.?
By Roberto Motta
Photos courtesy of Citroën Communication, Ford World Rally Team and Rally de Portugal
After an endless series of twists and turns, the “Vodafone Rally de Portugal” was turned upside down. Sebastian Leob nearly destroyed his car on an early special stage and retired. Many stages had to be cancelled for safety reasons. The Citroen DS3 of Hirvonen appeared to be a clear winner…until post race scrutineering excluded the Citroen from the results due to technical irregularities.
[Read more…] about Rally Portugal Surprises: In English and Italian