VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Hampton Court Concours d’Elegance 2024

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The Jaques Family’s 1927 Bentley 3 Litre Boat Tail Speed Model. This is chassis TN1564 and features coachwork from Martin Walter.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Stately Home number two on my three part ‘Grand Homes’ tour is Hampton Court Palace, a location I feel to rival that of Ville d‘Este and Pebble Beach. (See Stately Home number 1)
This event is a bit unusual in that the best in show winner at the concours is chosen by the owners themselves. Each owner is granted one vote to choose the car (other than their own of course) which they believe to be the finest motor car entered into the Concours. I also understand that each owner is also asked to select a vehicle from each decade that they consider to be the finest motor car entered in the event from that decade.

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And How! McQueen at Salon Privé

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Chase McQueen by Jonathan Sharp

Photos and story by Jonathan Sharp

Before the Salon Privé show opened to the public I was invited to see the launch of the new Renauld/Steve McQueen Le Mans® sunglasses, an event that included Steve McQueen’s grandson Chase. The photos and captions following the press release below are mine from the launch.

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Salon Privé, the Italians, August 28, 2024

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Ferraris of the 50s and 60s class, 1953 166 MM Spider by Vignale.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

I joke that late August, early September is the time when I visit some of the great stately homes of England. Well, three actually. The first stately home of the trio, is actually a Palace.

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Salon Privé, the Non-Italians, August 28, 2024

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From the 120 Years of Rolls- Royce (Post war) 1965 Phantom V by Mulliner Park Ward, ex John Lennon.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Here are Jon’s favorites from his Non-Italian class this year at the Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace. And so goes the PR:

The 19th edition of Salon Privé, the UK’s leading luxury automotive and global Concours event, has been hailed a gargantuan success. On Saturday evening, the curtain fell on the most spectacular five days of new model debuts, stunning classic car rarities, a jaw-dropping Salon Privé Concours victor and the finest in world-class luxury lifestyle and entertainment.

Can’t argue with that!

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San Marino Car Show, August 25, 2024

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Jay Leno’s Monteverdi

Story and photos by Joe Duray

What Makes the San Marino Car Show Special?

Hopefully as a car enthusiast, you have many local car gatherings to attend. Southern California is particularly blessed with a plethora of such events. These can range from being held in a carnival to an informal setting (or anywhere in between) that contain a mixture of various time periods, design styles and manufacturers. Some events range from simply one-make to ‘bring-what-you-got gatherings.

The annual San Marino Car Show is special, as it is a bit of a mixture of the best of all above. It is well organized and impeccably managed. [Read more…] about San Marino Car Show, August 25, 2024

Donald Healey Goes Hollywood and More

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By Pete Vack and Jim Sitz

In their new book Nash-Healey, A Grand Alliance, authors John Nikas and Hervé Chevalier bring to light Donald Healey’s 5,000-mile ten-day cross-country journey through America in 1948, driving a new Healey Westland in every conceivable weather situation all the way to Los Angeles.

Hollywood welcomed Donald and Geoffrey Healey, who in turn never missed a photo op. Here is the well-traveled Westland with starlet Barbara Lawrence. Photo from Nash-Healey, A Grand Alliance

Healey and son Geoffrey were amazed at the enthusiasm and knew that he could succeed in selling his cars in the U.S. According to Nikas, “In his retirement in during the 1980s, he would ponder what might have happened had he built sports car in the United States rather than England.” He returned to the UK with many contacts and ideas, but left the appropriately named Westland in California. Jim Sitz picked up the trail from there.

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F1 Exhibition, London

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

As it says below, F1 comes to London but only as an exhibition, not as a race. Anyway I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the press launch a few days before the exhibition opened so was able to take in the show without the crowds which will no doubt come in droves. During the press event both Damon Hill and Tim Harvey were present to explain more about the ethos of the exhibition and why it came to London as part three of what will probably be a world tour.

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Concorso Italiano, 2024

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1956 Fiat 1100 TV Vignale from the collection of Marco Gastaldi

Story and photos by Brandes Elitch

Concorso Italiano was held on August 17th, 2024, the day before Pebble Beach. It is now a decades-old tradition and a mainstay of the Monterey Car Week. But this is how it began.

In 1984 my friend Joe Duray saw an ad in the San Francisco Chronicle for a 1962 Maserati 3500 GT coupe, located in a lockup in Vallejo. Joe was the only person to respond to the ad, and he got the car, which he has since fully restored. Around that time a gentleman named Francis Mandarano set up a business in Seattle called Maserati Information Exchange. [Read more…] about Concorso Italiano, 2024

The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering 2024

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Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Lon Price unless otherwise noted

The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, was started by Gordon McCall way back in 2003. I have said before in these columns, and it bears repeating, there are two people responsible for creating this wonderful week in August in Monterey: Gordon, for this show and for the Jet Center show, and Steve Earle, for creating the Monterey Historic Automobile Race since 1974, as a way for his friends to exercise their old racecars at Laguna Seca. Every car enthusiast who comes to Monterey in August owes a debt of gratitude to these two men whose genius (and luck) created this ecosystem. Gordon is still in charge of entrant selection for this show. [Read more…] about The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering 2024

Building BAT Better Part 6

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By Paul Wilson

The doors and body sides of my BAT were the last major areas to be built, and not an appealing job–lots of mechanical puzzles and fitting, no real design decisions. So all work and no play.

Well, almost. I did have some fun considering the addition of 300SL-like louvered vents behind the front wheels. They look great on the Mercedes, and would nicely fit that panel behind my car’s front wheels. Both BAT 7 and the 300SL appeared in 1954, so they’re just right for the period. [Read more…] about Building BAT Better Part 6

Pebble Beach Maserati 2024

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Rear shot of the 3500 GT Bertone

Story and photos by Brandes Elitch 

This year, at the Pebble Beach Concours d ‘Elegance held on August 18, Maserati was a featured class. Just imagine for a moment that you have somehow found yourself on the Selection Committee, and you are tasked with choosing which Maseratis will be accepted and on the field on show day. Historically, the ratio of applicants to cars actually accepted is somewhere around 10:1. You can get better odds at Vegas. [Read more…] about Pebble Beach Maserati 2024

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