VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

PBS, Kuhn and Paramount Ranch: Showtime!

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On January 6th, catch Allen on PBS SoCal. Photo courtesy PBS.

By Allen R. Kuhn

I was interviewed for a show on the PBS SoCal station for a show called Lost LA. I spoke about my experience photographing races at Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica mountains in the 1950s.

The episode I’m in is going to air this week. It’s Season 8 of Lost LA, Episode 1 and called “The Fast and Forgotten.” You can watch it on LA PBS station KOCE this Tuesday, January 6, at 7:30 PM if you’re local, search for it on your local PBS station website, or watch the full episode directly on Youtube at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEgE7qBT1kw&list=PLWu5ajp6Zk8c22IbTTF49HITJLuOM8HMv

Here is a description of the episode. [Read more…] about PBS, Kuhn and Paramount Ranch: Showtime!

VeloceToday: In the Beginning

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VelocePress (also still in business) preceded VeloceToday and by 2002 was reprinting books from Dick Merritt, Hilary Raab, as well as the Abarth Buyer’s Guide.

Story by Pete Vack

VeloceToday.com was born in a time of massive change and turmoil as the publishing industry came to terms with the digital age. The motoring website, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, was the result of a phone call in 1999 from out of the blue. “Hi, I’m Stephen Glenn calling from Reno Nevada. My partner Allison Reed and I are establishing a business and a website called VelocePress. We’ll scan out of print books and reprint these and sell them online via print on demand. We liked your Illustrated Abarth Buyer’s Guide, and wondered if you’d like to see that republished.” [Read more…] about VeloceToday: In the Beginning

And the Winner is…

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Watkins Glen, September 15, 1955. Bob Pauley in white hat, no doubt wondering what kind of car this was. Photo by Robert F. Pauley

Going through the Robert F. Pauley collection, we found a car we didn’t quite recognize. On the slide were the words, “Facel Vega” and noted that Bob was in the white hat. The location was also noted as Watkins Glen, 9-17 1955, the shot probably taken by Bob’s brother Phil.

Bob Pauley rarely got his cars wrong. In over one hundred slides taken in the fifties and sixties, no car, no matter how rare or exotic, was misidentified. But on a closer look, though this had the lines of an early Facel Vega, the grille was not right. Nor did it have wire wheels. The badge on the front, although not clear, did not match up with the typical Facel badge. And then there was the crazy “Z” on the side of the badge itself. But it was not a Zagato Z. Finally, there appeared to be a coachbuilder insignia on the side of the body, but totally out of focus. We were stumped. We didn’t even know where to begin to look or for what.

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Goldberg’s Tribute to Gordon Barrett

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The late Gordon Barrett with the 1914 Grand Prix Sunbeam engine. It was a copy of the 1913 DOHC Peugeot Grand Prix engine that revolutionized the racing engine.

Story and photos by Geoffrey Goldberg

From the VeloceToday Archives, April 2025

A good friend and a great car guy passed away in September 2020. There was little notice, but he was well known to a number of people as a very special person. The following is a memorial story about Gordon Barrett, one that was written back in 2021 but got sidetracked, and is now being published. May Gordon, and other good folks like him, not be forgotten.

Gordon and I first met in 1990. I had driven a Jaguar E type to the races at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and was busy retorquing the head on its fresh motor.

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Shuttleworth in the Air

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A formation display made up of a DH88 Comet Racer, a Spitfire Vc, and the Aircraft Restoration Company’s Spitfire XI.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

The Shuttleworth flying display was scheduled to start at 2 pm but the tail end of storm Amy was still causing problems, with a very stiff breeze blowing across the Old Warden Aerodrome. Intermingled with the occasional stronger gust, it looked likely that many of the aircraft scheduled to display would not be able to get airborne, but soon the flying display commenced with a mock air race with the collections Polikarkov Po 2, Blackburn B2 and Parnall Elf.

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Shuttleworth On the Ground

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Ian Morgan’s 1915 Ford Model T Speedster (right).

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Shuttleworth is an event I have been meaning to attend for some years but never seem to get around to it, the Shuttleworth Collection’s ‘Race Day Air Show’ which this year was held on Sunday the 5th October. Early start for me as it is about 100 plus miles from my home to Old Warden in Bedfordshire, the home of the Shuttleworth Collection. I had not been to Old Warden for at least 15 years, and it dawned on me whilst driving to the event that I had not actually attended an airshow since witnessing the tragic events at the Shoreham Air Show in 2015 when a Hawker Hunter T7 warbird crashed onto a main road during an aerial display killing 11 people and injuring 16 others.

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Reunion at Saratoga

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Among Peter Sachs’ tasty collection was the perfect car to bring to the NART Reunion, held at Saratoga, New York on September 10-12. This Ferrari 365 P2 was sold new to Luigi Chinetti and entered under the NART banner. It won the Reims 12 Hours in 1965 for Pedro Rodriguez and Jean Guichet, was 2nd at the Bridgehampton 500 Kilometers (Pedro again) and had top-10 placings at Le Mans and Daytona in 1965 and 1966 respectively. It is shown in its Le Mans livery.

By Michael T. Lynch

Photos by Michael T. Lynch unless otherwise noted

From the VeloceToday Archives, September 2009

Saratoga, New York is a beautifully restored city that thrives on horse racing (both thoroughbreds and harness racing) and the performing arts.  It became a spa in the 19th Century because of its mineral waters and gambling also became part of its attraction. [Read more…] about Reunion at Saratoga

Shannons Adelaide Rally, 21-23 November 2025

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Theodore Athanasiadis & Sabe Hatami, 1986 Ferrari Testarossa, Zagame Tour, Beaumont

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

South Australia’s summer weather usually arrives anytime after October but this year was running late. Spring rain had kept the country in the Adelaide hills green and the forecast for the three-day tarmac rally was patchy. Not that this mattered to the crews and spectators.

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Behind the Fence, OSCAs in Florida

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OSCA S750 Morelli Spyder (Chassis number 760), Sebring 12 Hours, March 20-21, 1959-jeff-allison

Story by Jeff Allison

Noted author Karl Ludvigsen (Classic Racing Engines, 2001) described OSCAs as “…brilliant small-displacement screamers…” Certainly they were an effective combination of chassis, engine and aerodynamic bodywork, most often fashioned by Bologna metal bender Morelli. Some say they were built to the standards of a grand prix racer. For sure, they were consistent and prolific class winners almost everywhere – from small regional Italian races and hill climbs to Sports Car Club of America races to major international venues. A 1452CC, 130HP OSCA MT4 (chassis 1137) was the surprise upset overall winner of the 1954 Twelve Hours of Sebring, outlasting bigger and more powerful cars from Allard, Cunningham, Ferrari, Jaguar and Lancia.

Here are the OSCAs I saw and photographed from 1959-1963. Enjoy!

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Francisco Giordano’s Great Little Maserati Book

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Story by Graham Gauld

Six years ago Francisco Giordano published a little soft cover booklet on Maserati that opened my eyes to many interesting elements in the history of one of Italy’s most famous companies. Most of the general history of Maserati is well known and it is to his credit that Giordano has dug deeper into the brothers Maserati, who founded the company in the 1920s.

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Pegaso Models and Books

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By Pete Vack

From the Archives November 202o

It was just the other day, as I was sitting here minding my own business when the doorbell rang. I turned to see the postman run away as fast as possible, leaving a mysterious, unexpected package on the porch.

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