VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

This Week, of Interest

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Phyllis Devine,
The long time editor of The Alternate: A Chronicle of 20th
Century Motor Racing, Phyllis Devine of Grantville Pennsylvania, passed away Tuesday, December 1, 2009 in the Select Specialty Hospital, Harrisburg.

Phyllis was a remarkable woman and a true friend. She shied, however, from accepting the public credit she deserved. One major service to racing history she performed was publishing the recollections of various American race car drivers of the early years before their stories were lost. She was brave, too, often printing articles in the little homespun “journal” she founded and edited for 21 years that rankled some readers who seemed less interested in racing history than in their version of racing history. She published racers and historians alike. I was delighted to see VT’s Michael Lynch writing for her a few months ago. Although The Alternate dealt only with American racing history through 1970, Phyllis was happy to print my article on the French Bugatti/Alfa racer Helle Nice’s American tour in 1930.

She was implacable, however, when it came to the visuals I sent, one of which was a photo of the dancer-turned-racer in her tutu. That image, Phyllis said, was inappropriate! She printed the others.

Surviving are: her husband, Joseph Devine, racing enthusiast and race car builder; a son, Thomas M. Gutzler and his wife, Grace Lynn, of New Oxford; 2 grandchildren, Jessica and Joseph Gutzler of Florida. She was preceded in death by son Wallace Gutzler.

We will sincerely miss Phyllis–and The Alternate, truly a part of motorsports publishing history–and our condolences go out to Joe and family.

Patricia Lee Yongue

Bill Scott
We are sorry to hear that Bill Scott, 71, the owner of Summit Point Raceway, passed away on Dec. 7, 2009. He had been in the hospital since Thanksgiving. Bill was instrumental in developing Summit Point since he purchased the West Virginia racetrack in 1980. As Summit Point was less than two hours from Washington D.C., Scott enhanced the facility by adding courses in accident avoidance and counter terrorism techniques in addition to sports car and motocycle events. He will be sorely missed.

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The National Geographic Channel will be broadcasting a show on Thurday, December 10th called “Ultimate Factories”. It is a one hour tour of the Ferrari factory and follows the building and testing of a 599. Our thanks to Dick Irish for this note.

Bi-Turbo: The Car that Saved Maserati

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The Maserati BiTurbo just may have saved Maserati from extinction.

By Wallace Alfred Wyss

In the late 1970s, Alejandro de Tomaso came to America to find out what kind of car Americans want. He had been building the Pantera since 1971 (continuing even after 1974 when Ford ceased importing it to the U.S.) and bought Maserati yet he wasn’t sure what kind of car Americans really desired.

It was by happenstance he dropped by Dick Guldstrand’s shop and Guldstrand invited me over to talk to Alejandro about what I thought he needed to build. I mentioned the BMW 2002 to the Italian car builder and told him what a great car it was in its time. He left and not long after I heard about the Maserati Bi-turbo. [Read more…] about Bi-Turbo: The Car that Saved Maserati

From the Archives: A Look at the Citroen SM

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The SM; Advance, French, Italian and totally unique.

Story and Photos by Stephen Glenn

The reputation of the Citroen SM precedes most of our actual knowledge of the car itself. Frighteningly complex hydraulics, rusty uni-bodies, electrical gremlins and unobtanium parts all immediately come to mind when considering the car. While these descriptors can apply to many cars, they are particularly associated with Citroens here in the States.

It is only upon careful consideration of the SM, its historical place and technological sophistication that one begins to truly appreciate its qualities. [Read more…] about From the Archives: A Look at the Citroen SM

F1: The Inter-Seasonal Sounds of Fury

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By Philippe Defechereux

The 2009 season has been over for more than a month, and yet a staccato of shock announcements keeps crossing the wires and two or three major developments are still pending:

The inter-season started early, hailed by a thundering and Wagnerian blast of organ pipes. It came from Stuttgart to announce the refounding of the famed Mercedes-Benz GP team of yore. M-B AG boldly absorbed the victorious and Mercedes-powered Brawn GP team and renamed it as its own. The cars will again be called “Silver Arrows” while Ross Brawn will stay at the helm and report to Norbert Haug. A strong relationship with McLaren will be maintained, especially as concerns engine supply. Enzo Ferrari shivered in his grave. [Read more…] about F1: The Inter-Seasonal Sounds of Fury

This Week, of Interest

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In 1905, wealthy British landowner Hugh Locke King and his wife drove to Italy, reaching Brescia in time for the Coppa Florio road race. Locke King noticed the lack of British entrants, and realized that “…a British car would stand no chance against those from France and Italy.”

Upon returning to Surrey, Lock King began the construction of a modern banked racing facility on his property and called it Brooklands. The rest is history and in this case, a very interesting and concise history as written by VeloceToday correspondent, Nicholas Lancaster. His new book is now available for only $12.95 plus shipping at www.shirebooks.co.uk.
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2010 Calendar
A new 2010 calendar is a joint project between Jamie Doyle, SportcarDigest.com and Dennis Gray. It can be purchased and sample images seen by going to www.sportscardigest.com

Size: 13 x 10.5 inches

Details: 13 months (January 2010 through January 2011)

Price: $39.99, which includes shipping within the United States and Canada.

Below, Classic Adelaide, Famous Cars and Their Badges, Via Flaminia Tour.

Classic Adelaide Rally 2009

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Story and Photos by Vince Johnson

November 18-22 2009

South Australia’s Classic Adelaide Rally celebrated its 13th anniversary with the tried and true formula of four days of loops into the hills and surrounding country on closed public roads. Home base was once again the Hilton Hotel in the center of the city. [Read more…] about Classic Adelaide Rally 2009

Just for Fun–Famous Cars, circa 1954

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You probably know someone who keeps old newspapers; yellowed, full of mold, faded to brown at the edges and decaying with both alacrity and odor…

The headlines are usually “Pearl Harbor Bombed”, or “Kennedy Assassinated”, or “Long Live the Queen”. The ones lying about the office of VeloceToday are old and yellowed enough, but the headlines are “Famous Cars and Their Badges”. We all have our quirks.

All three pages seen at left are from “The Topper”, an English tabloid-sized comic book which was published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd and ran from 1953 to 1990. The “Famous Cars and Their Badges” page may be familiar to our British readers. These date from December 1953 and January 1954, and were shipped (literally) from England to the U.S. some fifty-six years ago.


In those days, schools encouraged their students be a “pen pal”, and write to students overseas, thus learning about others in strange and distant lands. My late sister was one such avid letter writer, and when she was about ten years old began a pen pal relationship with a student about her age living in England by the name of Mary Ellerby. Back in the USofA, from Mary we learned about Queen Elizabeth, Cadbury’s chocolates, and a bit of the history of Great Britain. The Queen was pretty, the Cadburys sweet, but please send me something about the cars, said I through my older sister. And so she did, sending these clippings which now lie dormant and decomposing.

Take a look at the Ferrari, no doubt an artist’s conception of a Vignale bodied 212 and based on S/N 0090 E, which had been tested by “Autocar” magazine in June of 1951. Even though already two years old, the Ferrari made other designs seem hopelessly outdated, as if they were hastily drawn up to be outfitted on some pre-war chassis. This was also very obvious to even a seven-year old, probably sowing the seeds of a passion for Italian cars that has yet to subside, which is probably why these crumbling English comics are still hanging about the office. Now that we’ve had them this long, no use in throwing them away now, is there? So we thought we’d share them with our readers. Did the pen pals separated by the big waters ever meet each other? Nope.

And there you have it, just for fun, on this day of December 2nd, 2009.

This Week, of Interest

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This week, a little light, a little early due to the Thanksgiving holidays. We review Bruce Taylor’s second Montreal book, present a rare Fiat 500 brochure from 1960, and from our Archives, the birth of a Giulietta.

Be sure to order your favorite books in time for the holidays. Check our the VeloceToday bookstore for new titles; more are added on a weekly basis.

This Week, of Interest

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Simon Grand is one of those guys with an eye. Either one has it or one doesn’t, and Grand is definitely one who does.

He also has contributed several photo stories to VeloceToday. Recently, he began his own blog, the streets of Turin, “a personal outlook on the fascinating world surrounding intriguing and historic vehicles.” You’ll be pleased with his unique and eye-opening perspectives, so do pay him a visit.

Before presenting our American theme, we offer a short article on the Maranello Rosso Museum in the republic of San Marino. They have a great collection of Abarths and Ferraris, and are celebrating their 20th anniversary next month. Following that, Brandes Elitch goes to Hershey, Toly Arutunoff’s new book is reviewed, and a bit about building American Ferraris in the fifties.

The Delage article last week prompted a nice email from from Australia. Wrote Pamela Congdon, “After reading this article I could not resist the temptation to send you a copy of the ‘real beauties of the day’ otherwise known as the ‘Delightfully Delicious Delage Dolls’!” From left to right: Fritha Borland, Tricia Thomas, Karen Holland, Gilly Swinnerton, Jane Gaunt, Sally McKaige. All traveled about 800 kms from Victoria to Barossa in Delages–save the McKaiges, who did the same trek in their Bentley.

Maranello Rosso, San Marino’s Abarth and Ferrari Museum, Celebrates 20 years

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Abarths abound at Maranello Rosso

Fabrizio Violati founded Maranello Rosso in 1989 as the first Ferrari Museum open to the public.

By Pete Vack

Time flies when having fun–in December Maranello Rosso will celebrate its twentieth year of keeping the legend alive. Maranello Rosso is really two museums, one featuring Abarths and the other signficant Ferraris. There is also a study center and art gallery, and all of this is located in the tiny Republic of San Marino close to the Imola racetrack. Among the main themes of Maranello Rosso are History, Style, Technologic Evolution and The Men behind a century of motorsport achievements and Italian art. [Read more…] about Maranello Rosso, San Marino’s Abarth and Ferrari Museum, Celebrates 20 years

Hershey: An American Tradition

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The French and Italians at Hershey…

Story and Photos by Brandes Elitch

For many years, I have attended the Antique Automobile Club of America’s (AACA) Annual Fall Meet, also known as “Hershey,” its actual location. By some happy coincidence, my birthday usually falls during the Hershey swap meet. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate it than walking through the flea market that has attracted car collectors worldwide since 1955. [Read more…] about Hershey: An American Tradition

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