Our Favorite Fiats
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
In this feature, we’ll focus on the Fiats at Italian Car Day at Brooklands.
Pininfarina vs Cadillac Part 1
This small sketch was created for the introduction of the 1992 Seville one year early at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January of 1991. It represents the spirit of the design that was created by the Cadillac Studio team at General Motors Design Staff.
By Dick Ruzzin
Photos courtesy GM Design Archives
The 1992 Cadillac Eldorado and Seville were a turning point for the American automobile industry. The new Cadillacs clearly showed for the first time that their light weight and fuel-efficient luxury cars could match those of the European manufacturers. The Seville won the 1992 Car of The Year Awards from the four major American automotive magazines as well as the 1992 Industrial Design Excellence Award from the Industrial Design Society of America. The aerodynamic, sporty and elegant designs with internationally recognized performance and appearance represented a new Cadillac culture that inspired them again to seek to become the Standard of the World. No automobile had ever won every leading magazine award until Cadillac did in 1992. But getting to that point meant an intense competition with the most prestigious design offices in the world, Pininfarina. This is the story as told by the leader of the design team at Cadillac, a contributor to VeloceToday we all know, Dick Ruzzin.
My father had long promised to give a new Cadillac to my mother, and in 1986 he bought her one of the new small Sevilles. They lived in a country town outside of Detroit where Cadillac was a highly respected brand. [Read more…] about Pininfarina vs Cadillac Part 1
Salon Prive London, 2023
Details below
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
I doubt if you will ever see a for sale notice on any entrant at the Pebble Beach Concours, but every entrant at Salon Prive London, held again in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea on April 22-23, had one. Agreed it was a much more discreet QR code on a board in front of the car rather than a hand written note blue tacked to the rear screen, but they are for sale never the less.
New Ferrari Roma Spider
Text by Wallace Wyss
Ferrari Photos courtesy Ferrari SpA
When Ferrari brought out the Roma coupe awhile back it was a refreshing new direction–for it was not festooned with race-like accoutrements like hood scoops, side vents, spoilers on stilts, and other “boy racer” stuff that would be almost embarrassing on a car meant 100% for the street. The car is almost Jaguar-like, but of course much more lithe than Jaguar’s F-type sports car. [Read more…] about New Ferrari Roma Spider
Alfas and Alpines in a French Junkyard
The Alfa Montreal bought by Gerard Gombert for junk and now steadily sinking into the undergrowth fetched $13,000 at the Osenat Auction on November 9-11.
Story and photos by Graham Gauld
From the VeloceToday Archives, November, 2016
Nothing much happens around this part of the South of France. The hot spots of Nice, Cannes and Monaco lie on the sunny Coast of the French Riviera but here, inland about twenty miles away, village life is about the same as it has always been. But on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week all that changed with one of the oddest auction sales I have ever attended. Here is the story.
Building BAT Better Part 4
Story and photos by Paul Wilson
To have any hope of finishing my BAT, I needed to take as many shortcuts as possible. An obvious one was to use parts from other cars if they were near-duplicates of the vision in my mind. The roof of a VW Karmann-Ghia, for example, was all but perfect. I couldn’t improve on the side window profile, and it was the right height and width. A windshield with more slope, and a rounded base at the cowl, would have been ideal. But making a custom roof, getting glass to fit, finding seals, just for minor improvements? It didn’t make sense. I got a K-G roof, which looks just fine. [Read more…] about Building BAT Better Part 4
Techno Essen 2023
The German Fiat club exhibited this 1957 Fiat 1200 Granluce Wonderful, first shown by Vignale at the Turin Motor Show. It should be noted that it presents a Targa roof, seven years before Porsche invented it. Three to five cars of this type were built.
Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
The 33rd edition of the Techno-Classica motor show, held in Essen, Germany, was once again the focal point of the international classic car scene with more than 1,100 exhibitors.
If the manufacturers’ stands are less grandiose than before, the quality of the vehicles exhibited by the many dealers and brand clubs allows the visitor to get his money’s worth. It also seems that some prices charged in the past have returned to more reasonable values, although there are many exceptions of course.
Finally, it seems that the German public is always fond of little Italians, which allows you to see rarities in this show that you don’t see anywhere else except perhaps in Italy itself. This is what I invite you to discover now. [Read more…] about Techno Essen 2023
Goodwood Members’ Meeting 2023
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
The weather prior to the event had been dire, March being a particularly wet month, and April was proving to be not much better. But on Saturday the 15th of April the sun was shining as we took up our various vantage points on what turned out to be probably one of the best Members’ Meetings yet. What a fine way to kick off the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of motor racing at Goodwood: Fifteen fantastic races from Pre WW1 monsters to 1980s Group 1 saloons with two Motor Bike races for good measure, high speed demonstrations by GT1 racers from the late 1990s- early 2000s, the 2003 Le Mans wining Bentley Speed 8, a fantastic selection of Porsche 911 racers, and a highlight for many, two Brabham BMW BT52s to celebrate the rumored sub 1 minute lap of the track during testing in period by Nelson Piquet. [Read more…] about Goodwood Members’ Meeting 2023
Antoine Prunet, Susan Dixon
Antoine Prunet, seen facing the camera in this picture with former Renault Formula 1 Team Manager Jean Sage, was the author of many books on the history of Ferrari.
Text and photo by Graham Gauld
I was very sad to hear that the much-respected Ferrari historian Antoine Prunet died last week of cancer. He had been ill for some time and only a few weeks ago his wife passed away, so the end of his life was very tragic.
I knew Antoine for about fifty years as we often met at one event or another and emailed frequently. Those of us who knew him will testify that he was always approachable, and appreciative of any assistance and information one could bring to his massive archives. [Read more…] about Antoine Prunet, Susan Dixon
Sue Dixon and the Barn Find Alfa
We recently learned that Sue Dixon passed away on February 20 of this year. With our sincere condolences to her friends and family, we republish the below story written by Sue Dixon and Keith Goring in 2013. It was part two of a three part series on the life of this Alfa Sprint.
The Alfa According to Sue Dixon
[Around 1977, the Editor found an Alfa Veloce in an old barn in Tidewater Virginia, and called Alfas Unlimited in Connecticut to ask if they wanted it. Sue Dixon picks up the story as they trade a Lancia for the Barn Find Alfa. -Ed.]
We had met Pete Vack in the mid-seventies when he and a bunch of his buddies were part of an informal car club in the Virginia Beach area. They had bought the leftovers of an old Alfa dealership and advertised the parts in Hemmings, as it was about the only places to sell anything sportscar related in those days.
We met Kyle Fleming, Bill Jones, John Sheally, and several others down there who managed to do stuff with cars, even though there were no major tracks close by. It was surprising how many Alfas, Lancias, Ferraris and other interesting cars could be found in Tidewater, no doubt because of all the military people who had brought cars over from Europe for next to nothing. [Read more…] about Sue Dixon and the Barn Find Alfa
Building BAT Better Part 3
Story and photos (except as noted) by Paul Wilson
When designing and building my BAT, I started with the front fenders. I liked BAT 7’s fender profile, but not the enclosed wheels. So, what would it look like with full wheel openings? Starting with a photo of the original, I got to work with Photoshop. The result was an improvement, I thought, but a bit bland. A BAT should be radical. How about borrowing the Lotus Mark 9’s sweeping line, with an air exit behind the wheel for brake cooling? [Read more…] about Building BAT Better Part 3
The Magician of Rue Ettore Bugatti
The plaque outside the workshop.
Story and photos by Graham Gauld
The village of Carpentras lies in northern Provence ten miles from Avignon and close to the river Gard that flows below that city’s famous bridge. It is like many French Provencal villages, with a history going back centuries. As a market town it was even visited by the Greeks and the Phoenicians and is famous for its sheep and honey. But there is one citizen there who is well known to Bugatti enthusiasts: Laurent Rondoni.