The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button
By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
We have mentioned the young Japanese driver Kobayashi before in these spaces; it is becoming clearer that this year he is gaining in status and experience while both learning from and taking the race to the former seven time World Champion Michael Schumacher. [Read more…] about Monaco Grand Prix
With the help of Doug Chadwick’s photo collection, Michael T. Lynch recalls the event and put captions to the photos below.
Not many single seaters were seen in early SCCA racing. This is Woodie Garber’s Alfa 308 at Lockbourne. Even then, it was well traveled, having participated in European Grands Prix, U.S. ARCA racing, the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak Hillclimb. It did not finish.
Lockbourne AFB, 1953. Here’s one of the great Italians of the 50s in U.S. racing. This is Fritz Koster’s Maserati A6GCS. It won its class in the main event that day and was later owned by historian/auto executive Karl Ludvigsen. It now is back in the Koster family and is still racing.
Michael T. Lynch recalls the past while on the One Lap of Marin.
By Michael T. Lynch
Every now and then I do something with cars that takes me back to the joys I encountered when I first became involved with foreign cars. By the time I was in my very early teens, I had a pretty good exposure to American racing, including midgets, sprints and what were then called big cars – Indianapolis machinery. Like most youths of my era, I had a romance with hot rods. Before my high school years, I had some experiences that changed my perspective. I saw a Jaguar XK-120 on the street in Cleveland and was blown away.
[Read more…] about An Affair (by which) to Remember
Below Photos and captions by Alessandro Gerelli
All sales prices include 12% buyer’s premium
The cars from the Bertone Museum
[Read more…] about Highlights of RM Auction at Villa d’Este
Panhard: the Dynamic was made from 1936-9. It was the largest unibody car made at that time, with the steering wheel in the center of the dashboard. Even today, the styling is very dramatic!
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos courtesy of the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum
At Retromobile, a few years ago, I picked up a copy of “Le Guide: Musees Automobiles de France,” published by the magazine “Auto Passion.” The guide covers 36 car museums. Some are well known: the museum at the LeMans circuit, the Schumpf (their equivalent of a National Motor Museum), Le Manoir, near Rennes, the Cadillac museum near Tours, the Henri Malartre museum, housed in an old mansion, near Lyon. I’ve seen all of these, and they are definitely worth seeing. But as it turns out, you can visit one of the most outstanding French car museums, without even leaving the US. That’s because it is located on the west coast of Florida – the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum. [Read more…] about French Cars at Florida’s Tampa Bay Museum
We always believe in eye catching lead photos. Don't we?
A brief look at Maserati at Indy
By Roberto Motta
Photos Courtesy Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
The American racing world has many famous and prestigious races and tracks, like the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. But while these venues are undoubtedly rich in history, nothing compares to the one whose name immediately reminds us of the American dream. For millions of Italians, the Indianapolis 500 is truly “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
[Read more…] about Maserati’s Indy Interludes
The start was the most exciting part of the race.
By Erik Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
McLaren challenges, but Vettel prevails; Welcome back, Bob
Sebastian Vettel did something different this weekend, for the first time in memory, the pole sitter did not win at Barcelona. He also needed to actually work for this win, holding off a hard charging Lewis Hamilton who was hot on the German’s rear wing for the closing laps. The Brit could not find a way around for the win. History will likely show that this was one more incremental step for the Red Bull driver’s 2011 championship, but those that watched the race know that this was closer racing than has been seen so far this season.
[Read more…] about Spanish Grand Prix
Alfa’s Giulietta Berlina
The Alfa Giulietta Berlina should have been the greatest sedan of the 1950s. We kick off a multi-part look at the semisweet success of Alfa’s first Giulietta, the Berlina, with a fascinating original brochure, reproduced as accurately as possible. This will be followed by a owners’ manual, full history of the 1300 Berlina, variants, competition history and much more. Giulietta Berlinas area actively raced by Scuderia del Portello also featured in this edition of VeloceToday.
Marco Cajani with the Alfa T33 and a variety of Alfas used by Scuderia Portello.
Story and Photos By Roberto Motta unless otherwise noted.
NEW! Scroll down for the Italian language version.
Most vintage car enthusiasts are aware of the famous Scuderia del Portello, named after the town near Milan where Alfa Romeo was born. Its distinctive shield has been seen all over the world on a great variety of Alfa Romeos. To learn more about the Scuderia del Portello and its president Marco Cajani, we had a meeting with him in the team headquarters in the town of Seregno. We found that Cajani is an inexhaustible source of ideas, a passionate collector and a good driver. During his life with cars, thanks to his organizational skills and an innate charisma, he was able to bring the world famous Scuderia del Portello to new levels of excellence. A graduate in architecture, Cajani is responsible for recovery and building restoration. But the Alfa Romeo is his great passion, a passion that binds him hand in glove with the Scuderia del Portello.
But who is Marco Cajani and what is his background? We’ll let him tell his story without interruption:
[Read more…] about Interview With Marco Cajani of Scuderia del Portello in Italian and English
A group of Alfa 1300 Berlinas waiting for their day in the sun.
Roberto Motta gets an exclusive look at the jewels in the Scuderia del Portello. All photos by Roberto Motta unless othewise noted.
Scuderia Portello has been at the forefront of Italian Vintage Racing since its creation in 1989. At first a small but enthusiastic group of Alfa owners began competing in European vintage car events, but as the sport grew the Scuderia was also entrusted by the company of Alfa Romeo to manage the appearances and transportation of the Arese Museums’ jewels. ( See Interview with Marco Cajani, President, Scuderia del Portello )
Below is the lair of the famous Scuderia, opened to our correspondent Roberto Motta. It is not open to the public and naturally discretion is always optimum.
[Read more…] about Inside Scuderia del Portello with Roberto Motta
One of our most outstanding long term contributors has been the Milanese Alessandro Gerelli who first came to these pages in 2002 with a story about his experiences at Monza: Monza, a Personal Look.
From then on Gerelli has never stopped filing excellent stories from all over Europe and the U.K, and even the United States. From 2004 on, Alessandro provided the color in blue and red for every single Mille Miglia event, rain or shine.
As we kickoff VeloceToday’s First Ten Years Celebration (yes, it’s been that long), we present the below urls from Gerelli’s coverage of this great event since 2004, and cap it off with the Mille Miglia of 2011.
We thank you again, Mr. Gerelli!
[Read more…] about Mille Miglia at Brescia with Alessandro Gerelli
Welcome to VeloceToday! Please scroll down to read: Rally Sardinia in Italian and English, The OSCA GT S/N 0094, Broadway Bugattis, and F1 in Turkey.
Morry Barmak sent us a brief description of a sign he just acquired that may be of interest to our readers. It’s pricey, but certainly caught our attention! If you are interested, drop us a line at pete@velocetoday.com.
Has anyone seen this car? This car was built by Andy Schwartz in the early 2000s. At the time he was an engineer with the Ford racing group but is currently not working there. He built this car in his home workshop from his own design using basically stock Cosworth Vega engine. We have not been able to locate Mr. Schwartz or the car. Can you help? Email pete@velocetoday.com.
We received an email from Bill Miller, who happened to purchase some items from the estate of the late John Bentley, who passed away on 10/26/98. Email pete@velocetoday if you are interested in purchasing these rare items. Omega watch engraved on the back as follows: 12 Hours Of Sebring 1st place Index of Performance 3/26/60. Helmet and software, SCCA driver’s license.