By Wallace A. Wyss
[Read more…] about Ferrari 458 Italia Design Critique byWyss
Shell Ferrari Historics at Mt. Tremblant
By David Seibert
Photos by Bruce B. Miller
Facebook/MySpace: bruce@forza.cc – wtiger
(Mont Tremblant, PQ, Canada, July 27) A small field and a wet race track don’t sound like the ingredients for a fun weekend, but Shell Historics drivers at Mont Tremblant faced just those conditions last weekend–and yet it was a really enjoyable event. The small field removed some of the usual pressures, and the weather allowed drivers more time to relax and talk with other drivers and enthusiasts, making for a low key, fun weekend.
[Read more…] about Shell Ferrari Historics at Mt. Tremblant
Great Books for Free Online
Thinking about buying a new illustrated book on racing or your favorite car? Soon, in fact now, you can easily view the entire book online at no cost. Here’s one on Porsche.
By Pete Vack
There is a lot of buzz going on these days about the free economy–those services and products offered via the Internet for free. For example, Google is free. WikiPedia is free. Social networks like My Space and Twitter are free. Winding Road is free.
[Read more…] about Great Books for Free Online
Alfa Romeo P2 Part II
The first Grand Prix Alfa Romeo and the father of all modern Alfas.
The Great Ancestor Part II
Alfa Romeo P2, 1925-1930
By Nicholas Lancaster
Who is Nicholas Lancaster? Author of a new history of Brooklands for Shire Books, Nicholas Lancaster (UK) has been interested in motor racing history since the age of twelve. Recently he has contributed several articles on Alfa Romeo history to the AROC (UK) Magazine and has written two articles on Alfas for VeloceToday in the past.
Color Photography by Roberto Motta and thanks to the Automobilismo Storico Alfa Romeo Centro Documentazione (Arese, Milano).
The 1925 season began at the end of June with the Grand Prix of Europe, held that year at Spa. The only opposition came from Delage. The V12 engined cars were now fitted with superchargers and fully competitive. There were changes on the driver front as well. Ascari and Campari remained with Alfa Romeo, but Wagner had joined Delage alongside Divo and Benoist.
[Read more…] about Alfa Romeo P2 Part II
Hungarian Grand Prix
Hot Flash: Schumacher to Replace Massa
Michael Schumacher will be replacing the injured Felipe Massa at the European Grand Prix in Valencia. Ferrari confirmed the decision on Wednesday evening.
Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton, and Mark Webber
by Erik C. Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
The Formula One season so far seemed to be a shuffle of the teams at the top of the leader board. Brawn GP came out of the ashes of the old Honda effort to mop up the competition. Red Bull Racing played a strong second fiddle; German fans felt they had their next-generation boy wonder in Sebastian Vettel; and, the legions of tifosi were scared that Ferrari had decided on benchmarking their performance to the efforts of the Scuderia in the late 80s and early 90s. This weekend’s results showed more consistency with the pecking order being restored to last year’s table.
The major incident of the weekend was Filipe Massa’s incident when he was hit in the head by an errant spring from Rubens Barichello’s Brawn GP in qualifying. As of 12:17 GMT today, according to a report on Autosport.com, Massa’s doctor, Dino Altmann, said that Massa will be able to race again.
“I have no doubt Felipe will race again,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. [Read more…] about Hungarian Grand Prix
Alfa Romeo P2 Part I
Italian journalist Roberto Motta photographed the P2 on display at the Alfa Romeo Museum for this article.
The Great Ancestor Part I
Alfa Romeo P2, 1923-1924
History by Nicholas Lancaster
Who is Nicholas Lancaster? Author of a new history of Brooklands for Shire Books, Nicholas Lancaster (UK) has been interested in motor racing history since the age of twelve. Recently he has contributed several articles on Alfa Romeo history to the AROC (UK) Magazine and has written two articles on Alfas for VeloceToday in the past.
Color Photography by Roberto Motta
Prior to 1924 Alfa Romeo had made two attempts at entering Grand Prix racing, but both had proved abortive. In 1914 a car was built for the Grand Prix of France but wasn’t ready in time for the race at Lyons. In 1923 a second attempt, with a car designed by Giuseppe Merosi, was thwarted by the death of test driver Ugo Sivocci in practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
[Read more…] about Alfa Romeo P2 Part I
A Guide to the Monterey Historics 2009
Charlie Shalvoy, 1926 Bugatti T-39A s/n 4810.
Great in 2008, even better in 2009
By Wallace Wyss
To many enthusiasts on the West Coast, August means only one thin–Monterey car week. It has different titles, related to some specific events but the once weekend-only event has now mushroomed into a full week of activities, and even more if you count the pre-race event the weekend before which receives no publicity.
[Read more…] about A Guide to the Monterey Historics 2009
Just for Fun–Bubble Gum Cards
Courtesy of Robert Hanninen
Qvale’s Mangusta
“And here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into…”
A tale of intrigue from the 1990s
By Wallace Alfred Wyss
Back in the 1960s, when mid-engined was becoming all the rage, Giorgetto Giugiaro, then a designer at Ghia, penned such a car for Iso Rivolta.
Not that Iso, a car builder making sports cars with Chevrolet and Ford V8s, wanted the car. The owner of Iso, Renzo Rivolta, liked front-engined cars. He had no intention of making a mid-engined car.
But his two top engineers, Dallara and Bizzarrini, did like mid-engined cars and hoped they would talk Renzo into it once he was knocked over by its beauty. It used styling elements from the Iso Fidia, a four seat, front-engined car that Giugiaro had already designed. But Rivolta said “no” in a way they could understand and Alejandro de Tomaso, at the time owner of Ghia Carrozzeria, picked up the design himself to use as a Ghia show car. He put it on a backbone chassis he had designed for a race car he was building with Carroll Shelby until Der Snakemeister dropped out of the project.
The car, if it was really styled by Gandini, will not be remembered as much as his Countach and other Lamborghinis.
The result was the mid-engined Mangusta, which soon went into production. While the 302-cu. in. Ford powered version that came to the US was anemic compared to the car’s potent looks, the car is still revered for its purity of design. Few production cars look so much like the prototype.
Flash forwards a few decades to 1996. De Tomaso rolls out the Bigua prototype, a front-engined car using more than a little Ford Mustang input including the engine and transmission. The chassis was a box section steel chassis and the suspension independent all the way around.
Independent rear suspension and a steel box section chassis made the Qvale handle.
The designer credited is Marcello Gandini, famous in Italy for doing the Miura (although Giugiaro hints he designed that at Bertone) the Countach, and many other Lamborghinis.
It is a blunt car, somewhat reminiscent in general shape of the Trumph TR7/TR8 and its only claim to uniqueness is a unique top that rolls up out of a well, similar to the top in a roll top desk.
The best thing about the DeTomaso/Qvale Mangusta is that you can obtain engine parts at any auto parts store in America–a similar advantage by those who own Jenson Interceptors, Isos, and Monteverdis.
The engine was a 4.6 liter Ford V8 a quad cam version also used in the Mustang Cobra. It was a lot more powerful, at 320 hp than the 230-hp the 302 used in the original mid-engined US spec Mangusta. (Another source lists the Ford 4-cam as having only 305 hp.) The Mustang engine had 314 ft-lbs. of torque. Transmission choices were a Borg Warner 5-speed manual or a computer controlled 4-speed automatic. Gas mileage was 17 mpg in the city and as high as 28 mpg on the highway.
German Grand Prix
A podium finish for Massa and Ferrari, but is that all there is?
by Erik C. Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
Tides are Turning
Grand Prix of Germany
The one constant in F1 is change. At each and every race, every team brings new improvements to their cars. Most of the changes are aerodynamic with super computer simulations and thousands of hours of wind tunnel testing to have this element exactly this shape, this size and this angle to maximize performance and fit within the rules.
[Read more…] about German Grand Prix
French and Italians at Gooding Auction
This beautiful Lamborghini will be auctioned by Gooding & Co.
By David Seielstad
The August Monterey automobile extravaganza is fast approaching. What has now become a weeklong event of shows, vintage racing and parties will have five different classic and sports car auctions this year comprising nine days of sales.
[Read more…] about French and Italians at Gooding Auction
Sponsor a Ferrari SpeedTV Program
CORPORATE SP0NSORS NEEDED FOR FERRARI SHELL DOCUMENTARY
A very few sponsors are needed for the broadcast of the 2009 Ferrari Shell Historic Challenge on the SPEED network.
The “Shell Historics,” as the series is known, was created by Ferrari North America, and is limited to authentic Ferrari and Maserati competition cars built prior to 1980, plus pre-war Alfa Romeos raced by the Scuderia Ferrari in the 1930s. In this series you’ll see 250 GTOs, 512 BB/LMs and 512 Ms, 250 Competition SWB Berlinettas, as well as earlier cars: 250 TRs, 212s, Alfa Romeo Tipo Bs, Monzas, and the 8C/35, and Maseratis: the 200 SI, 300 S, and the 250 F Grand Prix car.
Drive Digital Media, the company producing the SPEED broadcasts of the 2009 Ferrari F430 Challenge, is producing a one-hour television documentary on the series, with limited sponsorship opportunities available for the national broadcast.
Corporate sponsors will receive two 30-second advertisements and a mention of and display of the company’s logo at the beginning and end of the broadcast. These sponsors will also receive custom DVDs of the show along with other benefits. All of this branding will also be in place for all digital and Internet rebroadcasts.
Please contact Matthew Barksdale, President, Drive Digital Media, at 913-647-6110 ext. 682, or email Matthew at mbarksdale@DriveDigitalMedia.com to discuss specific opportunities and pricing.
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