The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
A Fiat 500 Chrysler, in your future?
January 20th, 2009. According to an article in Forbes.com, the Fiat Group will acquire a 35 percent stake in ailing Chrysler from Cerberus Capital Management, but will not pay anything for it and will not commit to funding Chrysler in the future.
[Read more…] about Fiat to Acquire 35 % of Ailing Chrysler
Photo by Brandy Elitch.
When Terry Cook was the Editor of HOT ROD in the early 1970s, he had always been more passionate about how cars look than how fast they can accelerate, brake or go around corners. To Cook, styling was everything. He became interested in the French and German coachbuilders who, during the 1930s and 1940s pushed the envelope with bold, fresh, risky styling. [Read more…] about French Dressing
Vittorio Brambilla Monza in 1979 with the all-Italian Alfa Romeo 177. Archive photography by Automobilismo Storico Alfa Romeo Centro Documentazione (Arese, Milano).
Story by Roberto Motta
Even though many people have not heard of it, the Alfa Romeo 177 is one of the most important cars in the long racing history of Alfa Romeo.
[Read more…] about Alfa Romeo 177-001: All-Italian Alfa F1
1936 Alfa 2.9A Coupe, S/N 412004 began life with a ‘botticello’ body (meaning cask or barrel-like), and won the 1936 Mille Miglia. In 1939 it was rebodied as a striking convertible by Pininfarina, and after the war converted into a coupe by a coachbuilder named Martin.
Photos by Lorenzo Marchesini
Text and captions by Staff
With the little Fiat 500L, our Editor at Large Lorenzo Marchesini traveled to the The Schlumpf Collection at the National Motor Museum. (Read Introduction to the Schlumpf) With the permission of Director Monsieur Emmanuel Bacquet, Marchesini wandered the museum and took enough photos for us to separate the visit into Italian, French and Bugattis at the Schlumpf. Here is a tiny portion of the Italian cars at the Museum. We encourage you to visit and see the rest.
[Read more…] about Italians at the Schlumpf
We look back at the 2008 season, follow that with the schedule for the 2009 Historic events, then include the entry list for the first race of the season which will begin on January 20th at Palm Beach International Raceway.
All Photos by Richard Prince Photography
A T57S at the Schlumpf Collection in France, similar to the Bugatti found in Newcastle. Note the low cut grille and the low profile of the car itself, made possible by a redesigned frame. Photo by Lorenzo Marchesini.
The full story of the Newcastle Bugatti
By Pete Vack and Staff
We first heard of the latest barnyard Bugatti on January 1st, in a blurb published by the newspaper website Telegraph co.uk. [Read more…] about Barnyard Bugatti Well Known by Collectors
Interview with Don Williams of the Blackhawk Collection
VT: Perhaps you can address some of our reader’s comments from last week. One reader stated that a collector car has to have something unique, style, power, handling, innovative design and implied the Red Flag did not meet those standards.
DW: How much more unique can you be than to have the first Red Flag exchanged in the United States with China, one of the first cars built by China, and the car which exemplifies the start of cultural sharing and automotive exchange between the United States and China if not the world.
[Read more…] about A Case for Classics in China
VeloceToday went from strength to strength with a brand new format, a storefront, and best of all, the formal inclusion of French classics. The articles kept coming in, better and bigger with more new contributors.
Below are our twelve favorite articles of the 165 articles and news features we published over the year. Click on the titles to read the article.
[Read more…] about VeloceToday’s 2008 Twelve Best
The Hon Qi, or Red Flag, now proudly stands next to the Nardi Blue Ray I in the Blackhawk Museum.
By Pete Vack and Staff
Egads! Why is a Chinese car featured in our French and Italian classic car magazine?
First of all, it is a fascinating and important collectible. Second, it is the first classic legally imported to the U.S. from China. Third, Don Williams of the Blackhawk Collection has spent years making this event happen. Lastly, and most important to our readers with classic cars, Williams thinks that by cultivating such trades with the vast and still growing Chinese market, there may be potential for increased sales of classic cars to China.
[Read more…] about Red Flag Added to The Blackhawk Collection
1967 Bizzarini 5300 GT America with chassis number 1A30271.
By Wallace A. Wyss
If ever I had a defining moment it was when I was a young lad. Not a defining moment of the caliber of those little girls in Mexico who saw the Virgin Mary, but it was defining enough that it changed my focus in life. [Read more…] about Bizzarrini by Wyss
The symbol of the exhibition –100 yeas of Abarth–was designed by the famous Italian artist Ugo Nespolo.
Story and Photos by Alessandro Gerelli
The 0-100 Abarth exhibition was held in the same location as the recent Concept Car show and was organized by Fiat to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Karl Abarth (November 15th 1908).
[Read more…] about Abarths at Turin
Photos and Story by Alessandro Gerelli
Automotive history in the Turin area has developed in two directions: the first is production and the second is the creativity, craftsmanship and technology in body design which has resulted in a wide variety of important prototypes and concept cars that very often have anticipated the series production.
[Read more…] about Dream On, Turin