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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

A Car Life, by Larry Crane

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Following Le Mans veteran Oliver Mathai, in the Aston Martin DBS, through the Ford chicanes in Aston’s 2009 V8 Vantage.

Aston Martin’s latest V8 Vantage benefits from 80 years of development for the 24 Hours of Le Man and we chase its history on the storied circuitton

Photos by Nick Dimbleby, Pete Robain and Ian Dawson

Cornering hard into the Ford Chicane–second gear–very tight. How do the LMP cars do this? We have entered from a back corner of the paddock and it is a curious place to begin a lap. Full power up the long hill past the pits, all the way to top gear; two quick clicks down to fourth at the top of the hill and into the new Dunlop curves surrounded by acres of gravel and quickly to the esses and the forest.
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Improbable, Impertinent, Imponderable

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2CV
Photo by Mary Decker Vack.

Pete Vack on the Immortal Deux Chevaux

Deux Chevaux, Deux, meaning two, and Chevaux, (Cheval Vapeur, or steam horse) a terms which means horsepower and was the the basis for a sliding scale of ratings for taxation purposes.

The Citroën 2CV was one of France’s most popular cars and was in continuous production from 1948 to 199. It was iconic, but not the result of Andre Citroën’s vision–he died in 1935 just as the planning for the 2CV was started.
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A Car Life, by Larry Crane

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Tracy (the only blonde in the picture) finds a bleacher seat to share with the locals to watch the Mille Miglia.

Entry not required.

Bob Tullius and I were pushing the D-type slowly toward the starting ramp. Light, misty rain had been continuous since nightfall. The umbrella covered the driver’s seat but Mark Miller’s navigator perch was slowly becoming a leather-lined puddle. The C-type half of the Jaguar team was already off on its soggy adventure with the early cars.
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Lancia Aurelia B20: An Appreciation PI

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The clean, Gran Turismo lines of the early Series 2 B20 Aurelia. From coachwork to chassis, a complete classic. Note pronounced fins. Photo courtesy Geoffrey Goldberg.

By Pete Vack
Very special thanks to Geoff Goldberg and Nigel Trow

An article or three, about the Lancia Aurelia, one of the most significant and important cars of the twentieth century. This week, origins and engines.

“The Lancia B20: One of the most significant automobiles of the century of the automobile.”
Who said that?
Maybe it has been written or spoken at some time in the past, distant or otherwise.
Maybe it hasn’t.
So we’ll say it here, loud and clear. You can quote us: The Lancia Aurelia is one of the ten most significant automobiles of the twentieth century, and therefore of all time.

If a 1951 production car with a platform chassis, all independent suspension, four speed transaxle, inboard rear brakes, aluminum V-6 engine confined within the parameters of one of the most beautiful bodies ever envisioned doesn’t mean anything to you, you’re on the wrong website.

Let it also be known that the Aurelia B20, which is our focus here, is a most complex car, each one of the 3,871 coupes virtually hand built, and model lines are confusing. There is engineering excellence with constant changes and as you will see, nothing is as simple as it seems.

The Aurelia story begins with the untimely death at age 55 of the firm’s founder, Vincenzo Lancia, in February 1937. At his side at death, his capable and intelligent widow Adele took control of the firm and steered it through the war years. It is doubtful that this remarkable woman ever received the full credit due her. Mrs. Lancia kept the firm alive until she handed it over to her very able son Gianni.

The 1937-39 Series I Lusso Aprilia: 4WIRS, inboard rear brakes, unit frame body, V4 engine. Photo take at Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. Photo courtesy Geoffrey Goldberg.

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Lancias Rule at Bristol

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Story and Photos by Paul G. Hanmore

Bristol hosts an Italian spectacle.

The 7th Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival, held on April 25th, 2009, featured Lancia and we were enthusiastically supported by scores of Lancia enthusiasts who celebrated 30 years of the Integrale with many superb incarnations of the model on display. There were many delightful Fulvias, Appias, Montecarlos, and numerous other confections of the Marque.
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Grand Prix of Turkey

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Kimi Pit Lane
Kimi Raikkonen and the grand stand. Not a good race for Ferrari; Kimi finished 10th.

by Erik Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media

Where are the fans?

It never fails. The race that immediately follows the glitz and glamour of Monaco never seems to live up to the same standard or reputation. Turkey had the honor this year and it seemed like Jenson Button had a good time, but all is not well in F1 right now. Rumors abounded up and down the pit lane that the powers that be actually requested a couple of cameras be turned off during the race, lest someone actually realize that the stands were as empty as they are in Daytona at 2 AM during the 24 hour race, in the rain.
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A Car Life, by Larry Crane

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Chasing the bikes, we had no idea our direction from Salisbury and did not note the names of the tiny villages en route. This was simply a picturesque shot with an audience of one.

Italophiles in the Emerald Isles Too.

“Like old bikes?” Spoken in a thick brogue by an old gentleman in a well-worn tweed jacket fitted snugly over a much-loved cardigan sweater, checked shirt and necktie. He was standing next to an ancient, equally well-seasoned, open trailer containing a Clyno motorcycle.
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Bountiful Berlinettas: Mille Miglia 2009 PI

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Did Ferrari coin the term “berlinetta”? If not, he certainly created many cars that defined the word. Here is perhaps the greatest berlinetta of all, 0026M, a 195 MM Ferrari driven to victory in the 1950 Mille Miglia.

All photos by Alessandro Gerelli
Story by staff.

This year, our photographer thought it might be interesting to concentrate his efforts on the Italian berlinettas which are so prevalent at this event. We thought so too, and decided write an etymology of the term “berlinetta” as applied to Italian two position coupes.

Part I will cover Alfa through Ferrari, Part II, Fiat through Siata.

In 1987, in an introduction to the book “Berlinettas: Classic coupes of yesterday and today”, Sergio Pininfarina wrote: “When Enzo Ferrari invented the word ‘Berlinetta’ to designate his Coupes, he meant to emphasize a particular set of qualities.” [sic]
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Bountiful Berlinettas: Mille Miglia 2009 PII

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Hot on the tail of Alfa, Ferrari and Lancia, Fiat did their berlinetta act on the 1100, culminating in the 1947 1100S Mille Miglia model. It in turn was preceded by the absolutely berlinetta 1935 Balilla 508S.

Photos by Alessandro Gerelli
Story by staff

In this part, Alessandro Gerelli brings us the Mille Miglia berlinettas from Fiat to Siata. As we have related in Part I, Enzo Ferrari was implicated in the birth of the term berlinetta. But was this so, and if so, how?
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Mille Miglia 2009 in French

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In the 1954 Mille Miglia, a 4CV Renault was driven by the team of Redele/Pons to victory in the Special Touring class, followed by two other Renaults.

All Photos by Alessandro Gerelli

A small selection of the French at the Mille Miglia this year. No matter how many times we cover the Mille Miglia, we are always amazed at the delightful variations on the theme of the automobile.
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City of Turin

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Captions Not Applicable

Photography by Simon Grand

Simon Grand has contributed to these pages in the past, and recently he sent us some of his artful images of the “automotive jewellery” that was on display at the Concorso D’eleganza in Turin. While VeloceToday, unlike many websites, does not simply publish scattered images without thought or identification, captions here seem superfluous.
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A Car Life, by Larry Crane

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Rounding Creg-ny-Baa en route to famous Kate’s Cottage (in reverse direction from the TT) with the roar of 16 tiny Bugatti cylinders. During the Manx TT super bikes round the Cottage corner with knee-down and descend this hill at 160 mph+.

Italophiles in the Emerald Isles

This is the Cranes we’re talking about here. When we did a tour if England and Tracy’s ancestral home on the Isle of Man, we borrowed an Alfa Romeo 164 for the trip. We started with a run up to Liverpool and took the Steam Packet (four-hour, deep water ferry) to the Island.
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