VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Gauld Meets the Nardi-Monaco Chichibio

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Enrico Nardi at the wheel of the Nardi-Monaco at the Parma hill climb in 1937. Note the tires! ( Photo Veloce Today archives)

By Graham Gauld

Not many racing cars are named after dogs, but in 1932 Augusto Monaco designed what was a remarkably forward-thinking racing car with Enrico Nardi.

It was called the Chichibio which just happened to be the name of Monaco’s dachshund!

I say forward-thinking because the racing car not only had an air-cooled engine, but also front wheel drive and was a true featherweight.

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A French Charmer by Bertone

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By Greg Glassner

As a newly minted 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Transportation Corps stationed at Ft. Eustis, Virginia, in 1967, I shared an apartment in Newport News with two other lieutenants. I regularly drove by a local Chevy dealer on the way to the base. A new or used Corvette usually sat on an elevated pedestal in the center of the used car lineup. Being a car nut, I’d scan this arrangement of automotive temptations as I drove by. One day I did a double-take when I spied a pretty little coupe decked out in a pale metallic version of French racing blue.

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The Stanga Brothers and Their Cars

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Story by Dino Brunori
Historic photos are Copyright protected from the Andrea Curami Collection

From the Archives, December 2018

In the years between 1930 and 1960 every Italian car enthusiast had only one dream: racing in the Mille Miglia. And in the years after the war, when the sporting regulations allowed it, one might enter the 1000 mile race with a self-built car derived from or built with Fiat components. They could be rewarded with large sums of money if they won the category with Fiat parts.

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Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family Part 4

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Santino and Giovanni.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photographer unknown).

By James Lanoway

Of all the drivers who raced with Balduzzi-prepared cars, it appears that Duilio Ghislotti of Italy and Sead Alihodzic of Yugoslavia were the most successful, with the most victories and podiums achieved. Duilio Ghislotti had his most successful season in Italy in 1974 finishing second in the Campionato Italiano di Turismo (the national championship) and received Alfa Romeo’s coveted Targa d’Oro for his efforts. [Read more…] about Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family Part 4

And How! Paul Wilson, Team Roosevelt

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Paul Wilson explains the Regal.

Paul Wilson on Video

In the pages of VeloceToday, Paul Wilson has written and photographed the design and construction of his two Alfa 6C 2500 Alfas and a B.A.T. recreation as a step-by-step process that works well with text and photos. But there is no better medium than a good video when presenting a single collector car on and off the road. [Read more…] about And How! Paul Wilson, Team Roosevelt

BMW’s Italian Designers, Part 8

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By Jackie Jouret
Photos courtesy The BMW Archive

The success of the Giovanni Michelotti-designed 700 microcar ensured BMW’s survival, and with it his continued collaboration with the Munich automaker. The Turin-based designer already been under contract with BMW for two years by the time the 700 premiered at the Frankfurt auto show in September 1959, and he’d created a pair of forward-looking prototypes—the 505 limousine and the 3200 CS roadster—while sketching a number of design proposals for future automobiles.

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Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family P3

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Autolodi-sponsored Balduzzi cars.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photo by Dario Gaggiani).

By James Lanoway

Santino Balduzzi possessed several personality characteristics that ultimately led to his success as a tuner. He was innately curious about all things, and he loved to experiment in his search for solutions to a mechanical problem, often trying out many iterations in the search for an answer. Documenting his failures and solutions was a routine part of his experiments, and he truly practiced the maxim “Living is learning, and learning is living.”

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Alfa Romeo 2600 Zagato

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A Zagato for the Autobahn. Stefanie Schmidt photo

Story by Ralph Mantel
Photos by Stefanie Schmidt
From the Archives, October 2019

Zagato cars always had and still have the potential to provoke strong opinions amongst car enthusiasts. Feelings vary between ugly to extremely beautiful. There is no such thing as common opinion or mainstream point of view on Zagato cars. You hate it, you love it, you might find them interesting or unusual, exciting or disturbing; there are many adjectives you could use. Some people just don’t know what to think when they see a Zagato. The mixture of lightweight and streamline, born from the race track, combines with a strong and striking design philosophy. The link between technical and aerodynamic needs and individual aesthetic character gave birth to cars with Zagato bodies.

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BMW’s Italian Designers Part 7

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By Jackie Jouret
Photos courtesy The BMW Archive

As mentioned in our previous installment, the independent Turin-based Giovanni Michelotti began working for BMW in 1953, albeit indirectly. That year, working for coachbuilder Ghia-Aigle, he drafted the prototype for the 505 Diplomat sedan. In May of 1957, the BMW board offered him a contract for design consultation, and he began working directly for BMW that June, sketching the front of the 600 microcar.

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Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family, Part 2

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GT Am at Balocco October 1970. Photo courtesy Centro Documentazione Alfa Romeo-Arese.

By James Lanoway

Balduzzi S.N.C. was involved heavily in motorsport from 1971 to 1975, and yet there is paradoxically very little organized information about Balduzzi cars and drivers either in print or on the internet. To help fill in some of the many voids about Balduzzi and his cars, it would be best to first look at the Alfa Romeo GTA to better understand Balduzzi’s GTA Juniors and GT Ams.

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Brooklands New Years Day Classic Car Show

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1933 Duesenberg Single Seater

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

I have just bought a new camera! Not that there was anything wrong with my old one, it’s just that technology has moved on in the 10 plus years I have been using it, and when shooting indoors, unless the room is well lit, is was, to put in mildly, a bit of a pain in the butt. So a new camera, but it is early January, and I have nothing to point it at! But wait, how about The Brooklands Museum New Years Day Classic car gathering? Ideal!

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