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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Road America 1956 NASCAR and SCCA events

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Paul Goldsmith took the Jag MK VII to victory in the under 3.5 liter race. Photo courtesy of Bernie Silverberg Collection,

Story by Bob Birmingham
Photos by Glen Glendenning unless otherwise noted

NASCAR at Road America

On the weekend of August 11-12, 1956 a NASCAR group of mostly good ‘ol southern boys took to Road America in two events. On Saturday a 100 mile race for European and American cars under 3.5 liters and Sunday the 250 mile feature for American made stock cars. Saturday’s grid had a mixture of small European sedans, an American Studebaker and one Jaguar VII Saloon, the latter driven to victory by NASCAR’s Paul Goldsmith.

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Frank Harrison’s Maseratis P1

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By Willem Oosthoek

The above title quote is how a Maserati-loving bottling magnate always ended his correspondence.* The bottling magnate was J. Frank Harrison Jr., whose father was a nephew of John T. Lupton, one of the Coca-Cola pioneers.

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Frank Harrison’s Maseratis P3

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By Willem Oosthoek

The Harrison team brought all three Maseratis to the next event, the Road America 500 miler in September. Each car was practiced and the 450S was fast but considered too much of a handful in a long-distance race. With the new red Birdcage offering even better handling than the Streamliner, it became Jeffords’ preferred car.

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The Birth of Road America, 1955

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Glen Glendenning captured the first cars on the new track, probably in June of 1955.

Robert Birmingham tells us about Road America’s first event
With photos by Glen Glendenning unless otherwise noted

During the late 1800s, and decades beyond, was a small, calm pastoral village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin serving the farming community. Times were good, America was entering an industrial period and the village became a popular vacation destination. Available via the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) the village served many wealthy Chicago and Milwaukee families who sought to enjoy what was offered.

Quality resorts served visitors, the Schwartz Hotel, Siebkins, Pine Point, Sharps and Osthoffs, each overlooking a deep, blue lake where stately trees lined the shore. Business ebbed during World War I, picked up after but during the mid-thirties Great Depression returned to hard times. World War II continued the demise until signs of recovery in the late forties. To put it bluntly the town was not growing, business continued to laze and then something changed. The town was Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

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1939 Tripoli Grand Prix: The Race

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Lang makes a rocketing start and leads Caracciola and Farina whilst Villoresi’s streamliner falters. (Mercedes-Benz Classic)

Story by Robert Young
Photos courtesy Mercedes-Benz Classic

Read Part 1

The race

The 30-lap race started in searing temperatures and one wonders how Luigi Villoresi was coping in the cramped confines of the streamliner’s cockpit. The track temperature was reported to be some 50 degrees and it was up to 40 degrees in the shade.

The race was to be started by ‘lights’ and by Marshall Balbo waving a flag, and this caused some confusion as the lights flashed before Balbo dropped the flag, and Lang, watching the lights, streaked away. For the Officine A. Maserati it was a disaster – Trossi’s car broke a piston and failed to complete a lap, the streamliner had a gearbox fault and Cortese retired on lap 4.

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AutoWorld Brussel’s Lancia Exhibition

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Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

The Autoworld Brussels museum is currently presenting an exhibition retracing the epic story of the Lancia brand through a dozen vehicles entitled “Lancia 120 Years – Innovation through Italian Design”.

From the very first models, Lancia cars distinguished themselves by their lightness, functionality and originality of design.

These are the characteristics illustrated by the models displayed here. [Read more…] about AutoWorld Brussel’s Lancia Exhibition

Ferrari 750 Monza: Beauty Saved

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By Peter Darnall
From the Archives, February 2021

Déjà vu: a feeling that one has seen or heard something before . . .

I came across an old friend at Thunderhill recently. I had not seen her in more than fifty years—and she had not changed a bit. She was drawing quite a bit of attention in the paddock, which was just the way I remembered our last meeting in the Del Monte Forest in the spring of 1956.

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Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival, 2026

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Esperienza Giro Lamborghini, display paddock

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

The heavens chose to wait until the last day of summer to finally bring South Australia some much-needed rain this year. In the state capital on the Victoria Park circuit, crews had obviously done their homework and on Saturday morning, in the paddock and pits, slicks were nowhere to be seen. With fifteen categories, ranging from Formula 1 to Historic Sports and Racing, including Motorbikes, the track was live from 8:30 to 5:30 each day.

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Never Out of Date: Cartier’s Concours from 2025

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Winner of best in show, Mr Sascha Baggli’s 1951 Bentley Mark VI Cresta II by Facel Metallon. This unique vehicle was commissioned by Jean Daninos as a gift for his wife.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

In the lull between Retromobile and the proper start of the 2026 season I thought you might indulge me by allowing me to show you an event that we did not have a chance to publish in 2025 – the Cartier Style et Luxe concours which is an integral part of the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed.

You can always rely on the Cartier team to come up with a great selection of classes and last year was no exception.

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Baby Bugatti by Marshall Buck

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British Speed King Donald Campbell practices his craft in his Baby Bugatti. Campbell would set many speed records both on land and water but died in a speed boat record attempt in 1967. His father Malcolm, also a Land Speed Record holder, assists. Photo courtesy the Bugatti Trust.

From the VeloceToday Archives, March, 2011

By Marshall Buck

I can’t believe that the answer has been in front of me all these years. The answer to what you ask? The answer to the question I often ask myself: How am I ever going to afford a genuine vintage Bugatti? Simple answer…buy a ‘Baby’ Bugatti; a child’s car to be precise. I’m not talking about one of those cheapy Toys R Us plastic jobs. No sir, the one I have in mind is very special….one of the authentic half scale renditions of a Type 35.

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A Brief History of Disappearing Hardtops

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The French make Peugeot pioneered the retractable hardtop in the early 1930 ties by selling Éclipse bodies, made by coachbuilder Marcel Pourtout, on their 301 and 601 chassis. The concept of the Peugeot 402 Éclipse was also based on Georges Paulin’s patent. But this model, introduced in October 1935, was built in Peugeot’s own factory. Between 1936 and 1940 some 580 units were produced.

From the VeloceToday archives, March, 2015

Three important Frenchman who had a tremendous influence on automobile design: Georges Paulin, Marcel Pourtout and Emile Darl’mat, the three Musketeers. Much of their combined work evolved around the development of the disappearing hardtop as conceived by Georges Paulin. To give us a further insight into how clever kinematics conquered the auto industry, Gijsbert-Paul sent us this history.

By Gijsbert-Paul Berk

In the previous decades nearly all the major car manufacturers have introduced retractable hardtops in their popular or premium convertible models.

Opel had them on the Tigra TwinTop, Ford on their Fiesta and Focus models, Renault provided a glass paneled ‘see through’ hard top on the Megane CC, Volvo on the C 70 and BMW on the type 4 cabriolet. There even exist Ferrari California and Ferrari 458 Italia Spider versions with a retractable top.

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