VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Ferrari Introduces the 458 Spider: In English and Italian

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Detail of the new Ferrari 458 Italia Spider....

By Roberto Motta
Photo media-Ferrari

On August 23, Ferrari officially released images of the new 458 Spider. The new car from Maranello, which will be presented at the next Frankfurt Motor Show (15-25 September), will enhance the range of Ferrari 8-cylinder rear-engined cars. Like the 458 Italia, the Spider is powered by a 4499 cc V8 engine that, thanks to direct injection power, is capable of delivering 570 hp. It was with this engine Ferrari won the International Engine of the Year Award of 2011, largely thanks to its drivability, performance and technical design choices.
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Brandes Elitch on Lancias at Concorso Italiano 2011

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The first of three featured cars selected from Concorso Italiano is this Lancia Flaminia Berlina. It was one of Batista Pininfarina's favorite designs; simple, elegant, refined and very attractive. Photo by Petya Elitch.

By Brandes Elitch
Photos by Petya Elitch

Last year I wrote a historical retrospective of the Concorso, which you can find at (click here). This is a large show – about 850 cars were displayed this year. Even in Italy, you wouldn’t get close to a thousand collector cars in one venue. If you are an Italian car collector (and if not, why are you reading this?) the Concorso should be on your list of things to do before you are permanently flagged off the course, so to speak. I would like to feature three cars which I found compelling, a purely arbitrary selection, and give you an overview of the event.

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Belgian Grand Prix 2011

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Back on track: Sebastian Vettel does it again for Red Bull. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

By Eric Davison
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt for VeloceToday

The event at Spa held no major surprises in that the Red Bull duo of Vettel and Webber made short shrift of the competition. Although Webber made what has become a normal start for him and faltered, losing about five positions while Nico Rosberg surprised everyone by rocketing past Vettel into a lead that didn’t last.
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Rally Germany 2011 In English and Italian

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Ogier on the way to winning the German WRC.

Ogier wins, Loeb re-ups and the Mini gets a Podium

Complete results and Italian version below

Additional photo story.

By Roberto Motta
Photos courtesy of Citroën Communication, Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, Ford Motor Company, BMW Press, ADAC Rallye Deutschland-Media

The Rally of Germany began with the news that Citroën fans were waiting for: the signing of the agreement between the Citroën and Sebastien Loeb for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The news was announced as Loeb is once again leading the standings with a chance to win his eighth consecutive title. But the Rally of Germany ended with a victory won not by Loeb but his teammate Sebastien Ogier.
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VeloceToday Contest Winners, Prizes, and Answers

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6/22 Barry Morgan:“McQueen’s Machines.” IMRRC Raffle Tickets
6/29 Virgil Taylor: Wyss Artwork. 1964 Series II Ferrari GTO
7/6 Paul Jewell: Wilson “Giulietta Book.” Mascherina is the grille.
7/13 Gérard Gaud:“Nardi, a fast life.” Car in photo was a 1936 Morettini.
7/20 Richard Diver: Pena Rhin art. Four French Ferrari drivers retired in the race.
7/27 Rick Stephenson:“Rendezvous 458 Italia” poster. Ideas to improve VT.
8/3 Robert Rose: Schumacher print. Linda Christian last kissed Portago and was in “Tarzan and the mermaid”.
8/10 Kevin O’Malley: “The Art of the Poster”. Hank Ketcham was a resident, designed posters and a judge.
8/17 Ted Sechowicz: “Ferrari 250 GTO” GTOs have four Dzus on the nose and one for the oil filler flap located in the passenger side c-pillar.”
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Below, a summer re-run. We hope to be back with much much more next week, weather and hurricane Irene permitting.

Ferrari GTO S/N 3987

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Stephen Mitchell recalls his youth in California during the 60s and his GTO.

Filmmaker Stephen Mitchell recently wrote “Rendezvous Redux” for VeloceToday. Below, for the first time, is the full story behind Stephen Mitchell, the amazing YouTube videos and GTO 3987. And whether you view the two film clips before or after reading the article make sure you do and watch them all the way through. You will be amazed. Trust me.

GTOs at Willow Springs

The Great Putdown

In early 1964, Car and Driver’s Editor David E. Davis thought it would be a great idea to compare the new Pontiac GTO with a real Ferrari GTO, and bet the March cover on it. Came the big day and a Ferrari GTO couldn’t be found. Uh-oh.
[Read more…] about Ferrari GTO S/N 3987

Driving the Ferrari GTO

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Aside from the videos (which you don't want to miss) there are few still shots of Mitchell actually driving his GTO. But here is Tom Price enjoying his GTO in 2009. Photo by Richard Prince.

By Stephen Mitchell

Seen in the context of its time, there was nothing quite like the GTO.

When entering the cockpit, I never got used to the fact that the pedals were so close. I’m 5’10″ and my knees were splayed around the steering wheel in an effort to fit into the car. Anyone who has ever made this complaint about a Lusso (which I also owned at the time) or GTE never sat in a GTO! This lack of legroom was probably a result of the rearward placement of the engine for better weight distribution. The bulkhead behind the seat limited aft seat travel, so there was no way to adjust for comfort. I always had it in mind to have the pedals moved forward, but never did. You adapt to the GTO, it doesn’t adapt to you. I’ve heard similar remarks made about the Old Man.

Headroom was fine and the seat was comfortably wide. One of my favorite things about the car was the position of the gear lever in relation to the steering wheel. Visually, that marvelous aluminum gear knob looked as though it would be too high for comfort. One is accustomed to having to reach down for the lever to shift. With the GTO, the knob was only inches away from the wheel, so shifts could be made very quickly with a short lateral move of the hand. In front of you, the tachometer had a telltale that would move to…and remain at…the highest revs attained. I never exceeded 7500 rpm.

GTO shift lever and knob was more than prominent but well placed. This is the interior of chassis 4399 as photographed by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

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This Week of Interest: Win a Pebble Beach Poster Book

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This week we have another great prize, and just in time for Pebble Beach. Written by Robert T. Devlin, “Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance: The Art of the Poster” has 58 color plates of the Pebble Beach posters from 1950 to 2003. From the start, posters have been created to promote the Concours, and over time, these posters have become treasured works of art in themselves. Created by prominent artists, these posters not only document the history of the Pebble Beach Concours, they dramatically depict the importance of the automobile in our society and in our lives. Devlin discusses the art, the subject the times and the artists involved. We thank Dalton Watson for their contribution to our contest.

This week’s question: Name three reasons the creator of Dennis the Menace was important to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Email answers to pete@velocetoday.com by Friday Noon EDT August 12th.


Author and artist Wallace Wyss will be manning a booth at Concorso Italiano to introduce his new novel, “Ferrari Hunters.” We like our fiction to be fast and furious, and that’s what Wyss has achieved here. Michael Steadman, a part time detective and Ferrari hunter, an ex-Navy SEAL hired to investigate a murder and the theft of a $2 million prototype sports car. A great summer read and yes, we’ve read and it and couldn’t put it down. Wyss can be contacted at photojournalistpro@hotmail.com to place an order before August 19th. If you visit Wyss at his booth at Concorso, be sure to tell him VeloceToday sent you.


Our friend Dino Brunori, author of “Enrico Nardi, A fast life”, is helping to organize another event in Italy this September 24th and 25th. Called “Aido 2011” for short, it’s open to 80 red, white, green cars to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italy. The event will take place in the region of Brescia, 220 km across hills, vineyards, Lake Iseo and two Alpine passes. Click here for a report on last year’s event. Get your entries in now and send an email to Dino at dbrunori@gmail.com.
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Last week’s contest was won by Bob Rose, who was one of many who correctly named Linda Christian as the woman who last kissed Portago at Rome during the 1957 Mille Miglia. Christian had a role in “Tarzan and the Mermaids” in 1948.

Lynch on the Collier Collection and Revs Institute

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Dr. Clifford Nass is seen at the wheel of an automobile simulator in the Communications at the Humans and Interactive Media Lab at Stanford. He is the Director of the Revs Program at Stanford.

Lynch explains goals of the Collier Collection and the new Revs Institute at Stanford

By Michael T. Lynch

As an enthusiast, I’ve often wondered over the years where the automobile went wrong with Academia. Although the automobile has had a huge impact on many intellectual disciplines, little scholarly work has been written about it that wasn’t negative. Certainly cars have had deleterious effects on society – pollution, urban sprawl and fatal accidents among them — there have been positive aspects as well. When I left the Midwest to go to school in the Northeast, it occurred to me that in centers of intellectual inquiry like New York, Boston, New Haven and Philadelphia, these cities all had working mass transportation systems. Many people didn’t even own cars, simply renting them for occasional weekend excursions. Intellectuals operating in these public transportation hothouses could only see the evil in the automobile, not considering what a miniscule portion of our population is served by even minimally-effective public transportation. Certainly the automobile is positive in that a huge percentage of American workers could not get to their jobs without one and would have no ability to start a new job, if they lost one.
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Rolex Reunion Features Jag XK-Es and GTOs on Track

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Ferrari GTO fans, and who isn’t, will see the cars in action during the GTO race at Mazda Raceway. The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is known for its special displays, and one of them this year will also feature Ferrari 250 GTOs. Photo by Dennis Gray.

Lynch previews key activities during this year’s Holy Week

By Michael T. Lynch

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion continues to refine its format in its second year. Maintaining the tradition of an honored marque, Jaguar will be the honoree. The focus will be on the 50th Anniversary of the E-Type but there will be an incredible range of other Jaguar models both on the race course and on the property.

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