VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Racing a Maserati 300S

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In this archived article, Peter LeSaffre discusses driving the ex-Musy Maserati 300S back in the good days of the Ferrari Shell Historics.

By Pete Vack
Color photos by Richard Prince Photography

In his epic book, Maserati 300S, Walter Bäumer tells us a fascinating story about a little-known race driver by the name of Benoit Musy.
He was the son of a President of Switzerland and “a brave man, who saved the lives of many German Jews in the last months of WWII.” Musy purchased a Maserati 300S, chassis 3057 new from the factory in June of 1955. He bought a truck to haul the car, his beautiful wife Consuela and young son Edouard. In 1955 and 1956, he entered seventeen events throughout Europe, winning six outright. But at Montlhléry in late 1956, Musy entered a Maserati 200S Maserati as the 300S was being overhauled. Tragically, Musy was killed driving the 200S, and his grief stricken wife sold the 300S immediately.
[Read more…] about Racing a Maserati 300S

Bitsa Number One

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wyss

The Author.

We at VeloceToday.com attempt to keep up with current world news concerning French and Italian cars but let’s face it, it’s a big job. So it is that we welcome occasional columnist Wallace Wyss in a new column called “Bitsa” where he mentions news stories and his take on their significance, or insignificance.

FORZA ITALIAN STYLE

File this under “It had to happen eventually.” In Japan on Dec. 4th there was a convoy of Japanese Ferrari enthusiasts proceeding at an average of 90 mph toward a car event. The track, er, highway, was the Chugoku highway in western Japan. Some ace driver changed lanes and there was a dispute over whose lane it was. The driver spun out and the result was a 14-vehicle pile-up. When the smoke cleared, there were eight Ferraris, two Mercedes and a Lamborghini and a couple lowly Toyotas severely wrinkled. The miracle was that 10 people were taken to hospitals but none were seriously injured.
[Read more…] about Bitsa Number One

Amilcar: The Poor Man’s Bugatti

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khkhlkjh

Vintage Motorphoto’s Dale LaFollette recently found this remarkable, captivating photo of the Indy Delage. Click to enlarge.

All photos in this reveiw are from the book “Amilcar”

Book Review:
Amilcar by Gilles Fournier, Translated by David Burgess-Wise
Dalton Watson, 2006
300 pages 84 page French supplement
500 black and white photos, diagrams, and advertisements
Two volumes, hardbound with dust jackets and slip case

Review by Pete Vack


“Once an Amilcar, always an Amilcar!” declared Gilles Fournier, the author of the only serious book on the subject. Amilcar—its name reputedly an anagram of founders Emile Akar and Joseph Lamay–was a small displacement “cyclecar” built in France between the wars that according to Stan Grayson in Automobile Quarterly “…possessed undeniable charm and a healthy dose of that intangible quality that makes some cars stand out.”
[Read more…] about Amilcar: The Poor Man’s Bugatti

Bertone Museum Becomes a National Historic Site: In English and Italian

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By Roberto Motta
Photo courtesy of the Archives Bertone

On November 2 the Italian Ministry of Heritage and Culture announced that the “Bertone Collection” kept at the company headquarters in Caprie, is now part of the national artistic heritage of Italy. Unfortunately, the Collection is missing some jewelry, but the majority of the collection now is safe.
[Read more…] about Bertone Museum Becomes a National Historic Site: In English and Italian

Shelby’s TdF

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Art by Wallace Wyss

By Wallace Wyss

In 1959 Carroll Shelby won the biggest race there was in sports car racing, and that was the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He quit driving shortly after that, and just in time, because a heart condition he had managed to hide from the SCCA medical techs was threatening to take him out if he didn’t quit. He wasn’t worried about what he would do next; he was already was working on a plan to build his own sports car.

Although he was known for winning most of his victories in Ferraris and Maseratis, if you search deep down in the racing records you find that, among the fifty different marques of cars he drove was a Buick-powered special called “Ol’ Yaller”.

Shelby knew that the biggest expense in developing a new car was designing and engineering the chassis, the engine and transmission. If he could find a ready-made chassis that already had an existing engine and transmission, well then the problem was considerably smaller– only clothing it in an appropriately Italian sexy style and promoting it. He had spent too much time in Italy not to know that there were great designers and coachbuilders there. He also knew there was a snob appeal to having a car bodied in Italy. He probably had it in for Enzo Ferrari [according to historian Willem Oosthoek, when Shelby boasted of all his victories in the U.S., an unimpressed Enzo asked him: “But what was your competition?” Ed.]
so he thought why not stick it to the old man by having Ferrari’s own body builder build it?

His first idea was to use the All American Corvette. Hence the Corvette Italia.
[Read more…] about Shelby’s TdF

Post Season Rally News: In English and Italian

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(Photos courtesy of Autodromo Nazionale Monza)

By Roberto Motta

Photos courtesy of Roberto Motta, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Citroën Communication, Abu Dhabi World Rally Team and VW-media

Sebastien Loeb: Another win at Monza

On 25 and 27 November, Sebastien Loeb, assisted by his wife Severin as co-pilot, dominated the Monza Rally Show. The Alsatian and his Citroen DS3 WRC won seven of the nine special stages, finishing the event with 24 minute, 2-second lead over motorcycleman Valentino Rossi driving a Ford Focus WRC.
[Read more…] about Post Season Rally News: In English and Italian

Graham Gauld: By The Way

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Dino-206

This Dino 206S was seen again at the Algarve Historic Festival in Portugal. Here it is in 1965 at the Cesana-Torinese hill climb, its first outing as a hill climb car. Driver Ludovico Scarfiotti has his back to the camera and team manager Eugenio Dragoni.

Four from Portugal, by Graham Gauld

I have been humbled by the response to the first column and only hope I can keep you entertained for a few more months. I think one of the problems is that each chance meeting or race meeting provides an opportunity to dig out even more stories to flesh out information we have on some of the odder pieces of motor sport history. They might otherwise disappear when boring old farts like me arrive at the eventual pit stop hopefully in the sky.

This opportunity to flesh out more information was underlined for me a couple of weeks ago at the final big International European historic meeting, the Algarve Historic Festival in Portugal.
[Read more…] about Graham Gauld: By The Way

1957 Ferrari Transporter in 1/18 Scale

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Ferrari transporter

Ferrari's means of getting to the track in the 1960s.

Story and photos by Marshall Buck

I’m not sure exactly what it is, but there is something hypnotically attractive about vintage racing car transporters. I’m talking about the kind from the 1930s through the 1960s. Just like the rare competition cars they carry, old race transporters draw crowds anywhere they park. Especially the vintage European kind, of which there have been so very many types, configurations, and manufacturers of. Numerous magazine articles have been written, and even a couple of books have been published on them.

Ferrari Transporter

Big pencil, even bigger model!

Old race transporters appear to be one of the next phases of collector vehicles within the Vintage race car community. They are the “in” thing, and they are very cool. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someday in the future, you find a special showing of these at one of the premier concours. Stranger things have happened.

Imposing rear view, and gives just a hint of extensive and complete underside detail.

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The World’s Most Successful Driver: In English and Italian

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By Roberto Motta

Photos courtesy of Citroën Communication

With the conquest of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, Sébastien Loeb won his eighth straight title, and became the most successful driver in the history of motorsport.
[Read more…] about The World’s Most Successful Driver: In English and Italian

The Most Successful Series in the 10 years of VeloceToday

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Eric Davison’s stirring memoirs of his family and the early years at Watkins Glen evoked many great comments from young and old alike. The series is over, but PDFs of each chapter and the CD of the Davison/Lance photos are still available for Premium Subscribers.

If you are NOT a member, subscribe to our Premium Service now at receive a Free Watkins Glen CD while supplies last! Click below for details.

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