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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

A Lancia Ardea on the California Mille

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Photo by Debbie Earle.

Given the rarity of the model, Lancia Ardea stories should not be plentiful, but this, after all, is VeloceToday where one would expect to find such treasures. Last week we published a story by Luc van Dobben who went in search of the ideal Ardea in Italy. Judy Stropus then reminded us of the article below, her being another ardent Ardea owner. In 2013, two tiny Ardeas (one owned by the late Martin Swig and driven by his sons) participated in the California Mille. The other Ardea was entered by Stropus, a legendary figure in the car community, and her co-driver Chuck Schoendorf who has previously written about Le Mitiche Sport in Italy for VeloceToday. Below, a brief introduction of both drivers, a report from the perspective of each one, and a photo story. [Ed.]

Judy Stropus* Reports
From the VeloceToday Archives, May 2013

When I purchased this quaint – call it funky – 1952 Lancia Ardea from Donald Osborne in Palm Springs last year, I really had no idea what I would do with it until it returned to my home in Ridgefield, Conn.

Actually, I’m not sure I even knew what I would do with it once it arrived there, but I couldn’t resist. Who wouldn’t want a right-hand- drive car that is kind of a cross between a PT Cruiser and a Citroen 2CV (Deux Chevaux) with a left-hand, non-synchro five-speed gearbox, a 903cc, V4 engine and a whopping 28.8 horsepower? [Read more…] about A Lancia Ardea on the California Mille

The Brief but Upper Crust History of the Farman

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Farman autos: Better than the Rolls-Royce?

Last week we brought you Farman, Part 1, the aeronautical side of the French Farman firm. This week, Gijsbert-Paul Berk tells us the brief but upper crust history of the Farman automobile.

Story by Gijsbert-Paul Berk
From the VeloceToday Archives, May, 2017

In October 1919 at the Salon de l’Automobile in Paris the Farman company presented its first motor cars; a landaulet bodied by Kellner and a bare chassis. Their objective was “to build an automobile “that was absolutely perfect in every detail”. The A6 prototypes on their exhibition stand were indeed magnificently finished.

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In Search of the Perfect Lancia Ardea

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Fancy an Ardea?

Story and photos by Luc van Dobben

Luc van Dobben is no stranger to Lancias or VeloceToday. To read more about his adventures with Lancias, click here.

In 2019, after selling my last race car project, there was room for something else. But what? Due to my age, I didn’t want another project. So it had to be good restored car, and the only brand for me was Lancia, so the search began.

I preferred a model with the old Lancia grille shape and in a reasonable price range. I began searching for an Ardea, a lovely model, and several were offered for sale in Italy, from projects to fully restored examples. After a lot of Internet visits, I found one to my liking near Pisa. I was contacted by the daughter of the seller, who was helping facilitate the sale. She was familiar with our country, as she had studied in nearby Leiden’s University. She sent extra information, pictures and promised a chrome Ardea sign on the grille as well. All technical questions were correctly answered, and I made arrangements to collect the car ourselves. [Read more…] about In Search of the Perfect Lancia Ardea

Discovering a Bugatti Atlantic

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Young Man With Bugatti We couldn’t identify the young man but the Bugatti is the Atlantic S/N 57374. But only Jim Sitz could come up with a location and date of the photo. Read on.

From the VeloceToday Archives, July 2017

In 1949 Strother MacMinn took these photos of the Bugatti Atlantic/Aérolithe (S/N 57374) when owned by Bob Oliver. The photos were supplied by Dale LaFollette at Vintage Motorphoto and published here with the permission of Bob Ames. Below, comments from Jim Sitz.

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Luc van Dobben and a Life of Lancias

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Lancia racing mechanics with a Flavia on the 1970 Tulip Rally. Lucas is in the middle.

By Pete Vack and Lucas van Dobben

From the VeloceToday Archives, April 2017

Of all the weird and wonderful marque enthusiasts, Lancisti are among our favorites. They are technically astute, very intelligent, well-spoken and articulate and yet have a burning passion usually reserved for Irish soccer fans. Recently when a reader wanted to know if one of our archived Lancia stories was still available (yes, they are), he attached a photo of his daily transportation in the sixties with his young son in the car. It was an ultra-rare Appia Zagato Sport. Are we on this? You bet. A correspondence began and became the story of one Lucas van Dobben and his life of Lancias.

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Paul Wilson’s 6C2500 Roadster Part 5

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Story by Paul Wilson

My “one-man band” system of designing and building a custom body has obvious defects. The lone worker is going to get overwhelmed. And at best, he’s slow. But with many people involved, how does the designer explain what he has in mind? With just a few drawings, how does the builder know what to make? And if what emerges doesn’t look right, how can mistakes be corrected? Without seeing the full-sized car, in the flesh, how could any designer anticipate what it will look like from every angle? [Read more…] about Paul Wilson’s 6C2500 Roadster Part 5

Monaco Historics amid the Pandemic

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American David Graus arrived with this Frazer-Nash Targa Florio an ex-factory car.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

The fact the Automobile Club of Monaco actually ran their Grand Prix Historique last weekend was a brave and expensive effort. The Covid 19 precautions meant that they only allowed a limited number of Monaco residents to fill up some of the places in the otherwise empty stands.

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A Momentous Mille Miglia, Part 1

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Kling’s 300SLR shortly after his crash. Photo by John Bradshaw courtesy Dale LaFollette.

Story by Pete Vack
From the VeloceToday Archives, October 2017

Before the 1955 Mille Miglia, Enzo Ferrari was worried about the entry of the Mercedes-Benz 300SLRs so he opted to install a 4.4 liter engine in place of the regular 3.7 liter six into a lengthened Monza chassis.

Which was fine, except that he didn’t tell anyone, even the drivers.

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A Momentous Mille Miglia, Part 2

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Fangio on the Mille Miglia. Note the Spica injection. Photo by John Bradshaw courtesy of Dale LaFollette.

Story by Pete Vack
From the VeloceToday Archives, October 2017

Part 1 addressed the two main teams that participated in the 1955 Mille Miglia, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari. No one else was even in the game for overall victory and with at least four entries each, one of the two was going to win the event.

Before we proceed, last week we noted that there were many 300SL Gullwings that were used for practice weeks before the event itself, which would be a victory for the Germans in all classes, including our own late John Fitch, who placed 5th overall with a Gullwing and won his class, a remarkable achievement.

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Three Alfa Romeo 2.9s in America

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Win a Premium Subscription to VeloceToday if you can who can tell us exactly when and where this photo was taken, and prove it. Photo by Jerry Lehrer.

By Pete Vack

Alfa Romeo 2.9 S/N 412014 Halley’s Comet

Frank Cantanzariti, he of the above placard, was reportedly in the electronics business and lived on Partridge Rd, Cornwall-On-Hudson, Newburgh, New York, about 40 miles north of New York City. Very little is known about him today, and though his business and life may have been exemplary, his main claim to fame via the internet may be that for one shining year circa 1952, Mr. Cantanazariti owned this fabulous Alfa 2.9. Furthermore, he had it on display at the 1952 or 1953 New York Auto show, where it was photographed by Jerry Lehrer. Mr. Cantanzariti put about a 1000 miles on the car, making a grand total of 16000 miles before selling it to Mike Garber via Zumbachs’ in New York.

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A Sonnett by Gauld

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Story and photos by Graham Gauld

It was back in 1966, having visited and written about the famous Monte Carlo Rally for a few years, that I decided I would try the Swedish Rally. This was another World Rally Championship event held in February approximately 1677 miles North of Monte Carlo and in the middle of the Swedish region of Värmland.

After a few telephone calls to Paris, I finally managed to persuade our old friend Henry Manney III to come North to Sweden for an adventure. He agreed it would certainly be something different. We met in Gothenburg airport where Volvo had delivered a Volvo Amazon for us to use on the event and equipped with fully studded tires. [Read more…] about A Sonnett by Gauld

The Fiat Vignale and the Movie, “The Racers”

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By Pete Vack

From the VeloceToday Archives, August, 2016

The last automotive star of the movie The Racers has been found and is now under restoration and being readied for Pebble Beach 2017. The Vignale-bodied 1400 Fiat had a very brief role in the movie. It was difficult for even the hard core among us to determine exactly what make and model it was.

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