Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Steve Burton
August 19, 2022. This was a remarkable day. It has been described thusly:
-Car Week’s crown jewel in a whirlwind of events [Read more…] about The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, 2022
The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
By pete
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Steve Burton
August 19, 2022. This was a remarkable day. It has been described thusly:
-Car Week’s crown jewel in a whirlwind of events [Read more…] about The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, 2022
By pete
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Captions from Judge’s Handbook
The Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance took place at Blenheim Palace in the heart of the Cotswolds from 31 August – 4 September 2022
Writing this on Saturday the 10th September, I am just beginning to come to terms with the fact that just over a week ago I was admiring the lineup of Platinum and Silver cars on display in front of Blenheim Palace in celebration of our beloved Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and now, suddenly, the second Elizabethan age is at an end and we are entering the second Carolean age with a new Monarch on the throne, and a new resident in Number 10 Downing Street.
By pete
Story and Photos by Brandes Elitch
This year the Pebble Beach Concours celebrated One Hundred Years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. There were 29 cars on display of which fully 14 were outright winners! [Read more…] about Le Mans Class at Pebble Beach
By pete
Story by Jim Sitz
Photos by Jim Sitz unless otherwise noted
You have already read (we hope) Allen R. Kuhn’s photo essay on Richie Ginther, which looks at a few of his racing efforts from 1956 to 1965. In this article, we asked Jim Sitz to provide a few of his Ginther photos and even more importantly, recall his friendship with Ginther. These two articles constitute a small part of Richie’s life. For a much more complete look at Richie’s life, we highly recommend “Richie Ginther, Motor Racing’s Free Thinker” by Richard Jenkins. Both Kuhn and Sitz contributed to this effort. Here, Sitz provides his recollections of his times with Richie, and is by no means meant to be a biography. Some of Jim’s thoughts below can also be found in Jenkins’s book. Ed.
My own intro to Richie was after he and Phil Hill drove in the Mexican Road Race in 1954. I introduced myself, and told him he must be very brave to ride at such high speeds through Mexico. He replied, “Oh, no. I’ve known Phil for a long time, and we did a lot of cross-country trips together.” In July of 1950, Richie had left his day job at Douglas Aircraft to join Phil at Roger Barlow’s International Motors. Seems that the pair would deliver and or collect cars. For example, they would drive a new Rolls Silver Wraith to Memphis, go on to Texas and pick up a new Simca from Bob Evans and drive that back to Barlow’s.
By pete
Story and photos by Graham Gauld
Normally the BRDC Silverstone Classic is my special three-day event, but this year I could only spend one day there and so did not see half of the cars that turned up. However, I did meet up with two old pals who each had a story to tell.
By pete
Story and photos by Brandes Elitch
The history of the “Contest of Elegance” dates back to 17th century France, when aristocrats paraded their horse-drawn carriages in Parisian parks during summer weekends and holidays. Today the oldest Concours is the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, first held in 1929. The first Concours in North America was in 1950 at Pebble Beach. [Read more…] about Pebble Beach and the Grand Sports
By pete
Review by Pete Vack
From the Archives, March, 2013
The “Talbot-Lago Grand Sport” arrived in a very heavy box, and like a Russian matryoshka doll, this was opened to find a luxurious 14.5 x 9.5 x 3.5 inch carrying case with handle, profusely illustrated with the cover material printed in full color. That in turn opened to reveal an even more luxurious 13 x 9 x 3 inch slipcover, which in turn harbored a slick, high quality two-volume set of the “Talbot-Lago Grand Sport”.
By pete
Photos by Brandes Elitch
Last week we brought you a report from Concorso Italiano, but only published half of the photos supplied by Brandes Elitch. This week we present photos of the Fiats through OSCA and beyond.
And like last week there are a few that are either not identified or incorrectly identified. As Elitch wrote last week, “Because of the informal nature of this show, the cars on display do not have placards that show who the owner is or where they live. This is why we are not able to show the owner’s name in the accompanying pictures.” And which is why we need your help. [Read more…] about Fiat through OSCA at Concorso
By pete
This is the first of two articles about Richie Ginther, a great driver who never quite got the press he deserved. Below is Allen Kuhn’s portrait of the driver, and we’ll follow that up with personal recollections from Jim Sitz, who knew Ginther very well. These are fleeting bios; for a really good look at Richie, we urge you to get a copy of Richard Jenkins’ “Richie Ginther, Motor Racing’s Free Thinker”. Both Kuhn and Sitz also contributed to Jenkins’ book. Ed.
A Pictorial Essay By Allen R. Kuhn
My pictorial essay for this week actually began as I searched my negatives for a particular car. I found out that the auction house RM Sotheby’s is offering the John Edgar Ferrari 410S s/n 0598 at the Monterey Car Week this month. Was there a story for VeloceToday.com here? [Read more…] about Richie Ginther Tribute Part 1
By pete
Story and photos by Brandes Elitch
Scroll down for Alfa to Ferrari photo gallery
The third week in August is known on the California Monterey Peninsula as “Car Week.” The population of the small town (1.06 square miles) of Carmel-by-the Sea has about 4000 residents, but during car week they will see an additional 85,000 visitors, according to the Monterey County Visitors Bureau. This is primarily a four-day event, but there is even a “Pre-Historics” the week before at the Laguna Seca racetrack. Car week now spans ten days and stretches from Seaside to Carmel Valley to Big Sur. Aside from the three major shows, there are another dozen or so smaller events, spread out all over the Monterey Peninsula. The pandemic put the brakes on some Car Week events for the last two years, but now, “It’s all right here!” [Read more…] about Concorso Italiano 2022
By pete
Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
In Mid-August, the 49th Oldtimer Grand Prix took place, an event that has been held for nearly fifty years at the famous Nürburgring track. After two years of absence, the greatest classic car race meeting of Germany was back, with races for all tastes.
Races for F1 cars were of course eagerly awaited by the public as well as the new DTM Classic Cup; the DTM Touring cars were always very popular in Germany.
Here are a few selections from the event.
By pete
Story by Sean Smith
All photos copyright Sean Smith unless otherwise noted
From the VeloceToday Archives October 2017
Bradley Price became aware of automobiles at eye level. His father was an enthusiast, and when Bradley was young his dad had an Austin Healey 100-6. That went away and was replaced by an XK140 Jaguar that his father still owns. Being a young boy, these machines were looming entities. Bradley would examine them closely, looking at all the details. A piece of chrome, a tail-light, a shiny set of spokes. Cars resonated with him. He responded to their call where his older brother did not. Bradley was hooked.