VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Classic Aircraft at Goodwood

By

Hurricane

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

If you have been with us for the past few years and have read my ramblings you are probably already aware of my love for old cars and historic racing. Well I have also inherited my father’s love of old aeroplanes, so the Goodwood Revival each year is a double whammy for me. Not just fantastic and rare old racing cars, but fantastic and rare old aeroplanes courtesy of the annual Freddy March Spirit of Aviation Concours for Aeroplanes built before 1966 held as part of the Revival meeting. [Read more…] about Classic Aircraft at Goodwood

Joe Marchetti by Burt Levy

By

The essential Joe Marchetti.

By Burt Levy

The huge annual “International Challenge” vintage race at Road America is one of the must-do events on the vintage calendar—and I was privileged to be there, sometimes on the sidelines, sometimes covering it for magazines and judging in the concours and sometimes right in the thick of the on-track action as the event became what it is today. It all started for me back in the early 1980s, when my longed-for “racing career” was going exactly nowhere. I’d begun racing in 1971 in a series—maybe more like a plague?—of self-wrenched, under-funded, nickel-rocket and borderline lethal Triumph TR3s that rarely finished a race. Then I met Joe Marchetti. [Read more…] about Joe Marchetti by Burt Levy

A Walk in the Paddock with Jon

By

1958 Ferrari 250TR, chassis 0732TR, known as Lucybelle and raced as a private entry at the Le Mans 24 hour race by Ed Hugues and Ernie Erickson, finishing fourth in class and seventh overall. Later returned to the US and raced extensively in SCCA events.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is now held over four days, plenty of time to cover all the action and maybe spend some time just enjoying the show. Unable to attend day one (Thursday) due to a family commitment was no problem I thought, as it still leaves three days, more than enough time. Friday dawns cloudy and grey, weather forecast not so good. Leave the house a 5:40am as lots to do and I do not like to queue.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

The 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps 2023

By

If the BMW M4 GT3 is only in its second year of competition, the German manufacturer has long been faithful to the 24 Hours of Francorchamps. Thanks to the #98, entered by the German team Rowe Racing and driven by the trio Philipp Eng/Marco Wittmann/Nick Yelloly, the Munich manufacturer won the race for the 25th time in 75 editions.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Each year, the 24 Hours of Francorchamps is the biggest race in the world reserved for GT class cars. 2023 was the 75th edition of the race, held on July 1-2. Next year it will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Formerly reserved for touring cars, GTs have been on the grid since 2001 and since then their success has been undeniable, the grid comprising no less than 70 cars this year, representing 8 different manufacturers. This represents no less than 251 drivers entered, the cars of the PRO class having only three drivers while, in the other classes, the crews have four drivers.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Festival of Speed with Hugues Vanhoolandt

By

In order to celebrate Porsche’s 75th anniversary with dignity, the monumental sculpture located in front of Goodwood House was dedicated to the Stuttgart brand. Here, in the foreground, the 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 in Brumos colors used at the time by the young Mexican Hector Rebaque before his move to Formula 1 in the late 70s.

Photos and story by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Coming from Belgium, I was back at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 16th for the first time in 4 years. Since then Covid 19 and Brexit have happened. However, I was not too out of place because the Festival of Speed is still as successful (and causes as many traffic jams!) and still arouse as much enthusiasm among fans. The British weather is also always equal to itself, with heavy rain punctuating Friday afternoon while Saturday was completely canceled due to storms (a first in 30 years of Festival of Speed)! Finally, there was only Sunday left to enjoy the various themes prepared by Lord March and his team such as the 75th anniversaries of Porsche, Lotus and the first race at Goodwood as well as the 60th anniversary of McLaren and the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, among other celebrations. But let’s rather see in pictures a brief overview of the festivities.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Meeting Elly Beinhorn

By

Elly Beinhorn, 29, in the pilot seat of her Messerschmit Me-108 Taifun, code D-IMXA. With this she flew, among others, to Capetown and back together with husband Bernd Rosemeyer, who was due to drive in the early 1937 South African races. The Taifun was then the top of European touring planes. Can you image flying from Berlin above the whole length of Africa and back single-engined and navigating with the compass only? Elly Beinhorn was a master of that, and in the meantime she gave flying lessons to Bernd.

It was Jonathan Sharp’s photo of the Me-108 in last week’s VeloceToday that prompted long time reader and contributor Aldo Zana to send us this compelling and revealing 2003 interview with Elly Beinhorn, answering the question “Who was Elly Beinhorn?” Thanks to Jonathan for his interest in aeroplanes and to Aldo for this interview- Ed.


By Aldo Zana
Photos from author’s collection

She sits at a coffee table, opposite the door. White shirt and a black skirt. Her snow white hair perfectly trimmed and combed. Bernd, her son, enters first: “Hello, Mom. How do you feel, today? Good? Good, for we’ve visitors.”

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Kuhn’s Maserati P2, 1960-1963

By

I feel a need to start this dissertation with a true icon of the sport. He is, of course, Carroll Hall Shelby. We were both at the Examiner GP Riverside on April 3, 1960 where Shelby won driving this Maserati Birdcage Tipo 61 RHD s/n 2458, entered by Camoradi U.S.A.

Photography and Story by Allen R. Kuhn

My Humble Contribution to the Legacy of Maserati from 1957 thru 1963

Almost everything I read about Shelby states that he was a great car designer. I find it hard to accept the fact that he was a car designer. My feelings are he was great at getting the right people on his team to get things done, and knowing what was available to make it happen. Nothing wrong with that.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Goodwood Festival of Speed: Drivers

By

Derek Bell helps celebrate the 60 years of McLaren.

Photos by Jonathan Sharp

Familiar faces, new faces, young faces, and certainly some old faces. With this years Goodwood Festival of Speed (July 14-18) not just celebrating 75 years of Motor Racing at Goodwood but also the 60th anniversary of McLaren, 75 years of Porsche and the 100th anniversary of Le Mans. The bike guys from Moto GP were there and certainly plenty of well known and some not so well known (to me) faces to spot during what, unfortunately due to the weather, became a somewhat truncated and shortened weekend. Due to an inability to be at two places at once the following are those stars I managed to catch, for the ones I missed, sorry! We remind you that if you are in need of more information about any of the drivers below, highlight the name, go to Google, paste.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

In the Shadow of Checkpoint Charlie

By

Greetings from Berlin: Ralph Mantel and Stefanie Schmidt with the Sestriere.

Story by Ralph Mantel
Photos by Blazej Zulawski at Classic Driver

July 8th, 2023, a hot summer night in Berlin, one of those nights you don’t want to go to bed but rather go out and enjoy the temperatures with cold drinks and wonderful people, perhaps attending the Berlin Flitzer Club and Classic Driver Meeting. The Club is gathering together and inviting their people for an privately held event called “Gran Futurismo.“

It is happening inside an Industrial Power Substation built in 1924, located in the former East Berlin, just around the corner from Checkpoint Charlie. Have you ever heard about CPC? During the cold war CPC was a guarded gate inside the Wall of Berlin. The gate connected Berlin’s American sector to the Russian district. Numerous spy movies play around Checkpoint Charlie. Now, after the German reunion the area is right in the heart of Berlin (Berlin Mitte) and hip and cool.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Heveningham Concours 2023

By

1960 Bristol 406 Sports Saloon by Zagato. This example is chassis 5299, one of six constructed, that was sold by Tony Crook to Richard Robinson, a well-known Bristol owners club member, who retained the car for three decades. Compared to a standard 406, the Zagato Sports Saloon is shorter, lower, and lighter to the tune of 260kg giving the car a top speed in the order of 120 mph. Between 2002 and 2005, 5299 was restored as to how it appeared at the 1960 Earls Court Motor Show.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Information provided by event organizers

I am writing this intro to the Heveningham show on what has for me become a free Saturday (July 15) as day three of the Festival of Speed at Goodwood has just been cancelled, meaning I can stay home. The sun is shining but it is very windy, not kind to tents and other temporary structures built on the Goodwood Estate. What a change to last Saturday (July 8th) when I was in Suffolk at Heveningham Hall for the Country Fair and Concours where the sun shone down but the heat and humidity were to put mildly…yuk!. So here is our report from that somewhat better weekend.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Allen R. Kuhn: Maserati 150S, 200S, 450S

By

Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn

It’s time to dust off the old negs, with a camel hair brush, I might add. The ones that seem to want attention are from my Maserati archives. That’s good because they were some of my favorites. What drew me to them was their beautiful lines and stunning sounds. Another thing that drew them to me happened in 2007 at the Automobilia Monterey event during the August Car Week.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe
MENU