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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Ludvigsen Drives the Andrey Birdcage

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Photo by Irv Dolin

What was it like to drive a Birdcage in 1961? Below, Karl Ludvigsen graphically describes the feel, the noise, and the technique of driving the Magnificent Front Engined Birdcage. This article, originally published in the April 1961 issue of “Car and Driver”, has been republished here with his express permission. Originally published in VeloceToday November 2014.

By Karl Ludvigsen

When you click home the ignition key on the sketchy dash of a Birdcage, a strong red light burns deep within the broad, thumb-sized starter button. To me that light became a symbol of the vast power lurking with this apparently ramshackle piece of machinery, like glowing coals in the crater of a slumbering volcano.
[Read more…] about Ludvigsen Drives the Andrey Birdcage

Gus Andrey, Part 1

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The cars raced by Gaston Andrey were painted in the white and red national colors of his native Switzerland, which included his personal logo—a white cross on a red background. He’s pictured here in the Ferrari 500 Mondial (0430 MD) he raced in 1957.www.gastonandreymotorsports.com

By Jeff Allison

Few drivers are more representative of sports car racing in the U.S. than Gaston “Gus” Andrey, who won five SCCA national class championships and one SCCA Trans-American Series title.

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An Interview with Jackie Ickx

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Left is Jacky Ickx, here with Uwe Meissner, head of Modena Motorsport.

Interview and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
From the VeloceToday Archives, July, 2009

Jacques-Bernard Ickx was born into motor racing. His father was a famous Belgian motoring journalist and his brother was a successful motorcycle racer. Fathers, take heart; despite, or because of, being surrounded by cars and racing, young Ickx found it boring. [Read more…] about An Interview with Jackie Ickx

Got Shots? Visit the Tampa Bay Museum

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Story by Eric Davison
Photos courtesy Tampa Bay Automobile Museum

Website Opens June 1st, 2021

From the VeloceToday Archives, June 2017

Usually I am a sucker for any car museum therefore I can’t imagine how I missed the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum. But, I did. Inexcusable on my part.

But, a few months ago my friend Dale Powers asked if I wanted to go to Pinellas Park, about 35 miles north of my home in Anna Maria, Florida. He was looking for a home for his DB Le Mans and there was a French car museum in Pinellas Park that we might both enjoy

Off we went and, indeed there is The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum located in Pinellas Park and, yes, it is primarily French cars. And, yes, the pretty little DB eventually found a new home and is now on display amid some pretty wonderful and beautifully restored cars. [Read more…] about Got Shots? Visit the Tampa Bay Museum

Renault Muster Australia, 2021

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Saturday morning’s lovely display in a Yass Park.

Story and photos by John Waterhouse, National Coordinator, Renault 4CV Register of Australia

First Post-Covid (we hope) Australian 4CV Muster, Easter 2021

Every two years, the Renault 4CV Register of Australia meets over Easter in a country town in New South Wales at our “Muster”. They are delightful social events with no competitions! The Register welcomes all rear-engined Renault models that are derived from the post-war 4CV model and early R4s that used the same engine and transaxle. Naturally we are pleased to see other classic Renaults at our Musters and members often bring later front-drive cars from the 1970s and 1980s, and even younger cars.

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Ardea in Australia

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Upon reading of the Ardea adventures of Luc van Dobben, Australian John Pagan was prompted to tell us his own tales of purchasing an Ardea from Italy. He wrote, “The car is from 1951, I bought and imported it in 2017. The first outing was in 2018; the serious recommissioning and Castlemaine Rally were in 2019. Since then of course there’s been very little car club activity because of COVID, even here … I’m set to do Castlemaine again this coming October though!” Below is his Ardea story.

By John Pagan

One of the first things people ask me is, “Why an Ardea?” This is my fourth Lancia; like me, they’re getting older and slower. For those who don’t know, at 903cc the Ardea has the smallest-ever engine in a Lancia, developing only 30bhp or 22kW, and is flat out doing 110km/h under the most favorable conditions.

My previous Lancia, an Aurelia B10, was a very satisfactory touring car of endearing character. We did about 40,000 miles over ten years together, including trips to all the other States including Tasmania and Western Australia. Despite a deal of mechanical work done over that period to make it useable and keep it that way, however, it remained a well-used example, lacking that crispness of response that I’d loved in the Fulvias I owned before the Aurelia.

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Citroën Prototypes

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Citroën Quartet of Prototypes presented at Birmingham. C10, circa 1956.

Story and Photos by Simon Wright
From the VeloceToday Archives, April, 2010

To celebrate Citroën’s 90 years of car production, Citroën UK arranged for several rare prototypes to be shown at the Classic Motor show held at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England from the 13th to the 15th of November 2009.

Coming straight from the Citroën Conservatoire in Paris specifically for the show, three of the vehicles had never before been seen in the United Kingdom (UK), and needless to say, anywhere in the United States.

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Mercer Cobra

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Story and photos by Graham Gauld
From the VeloceToday Archives, December, 2017

Over the years I have attended scores of motor shows and seen many prototypes and oddities on display, some of which went on to have interesting histories and consequences.

Take, for example, the Mercer Cobra that halted me in my tracks at the 1966 Paris Automobile Salon because it looked different; very different indeed. However, it started ringing bells in the memory. [Read more…] about Mercer Cobra

Goodbye Ardea, Hello Appia

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A hint of what was to come.*

Story and photos by Luc van Dobben

Read The Search for the Perfect Ardea

The search is complete.

After two disastrous trips to Italy to find a correct Ardea, I came to the conclusion that an old Lancia for nice trips in the country should at least have some more legroom and sufficient power to move around. An Appia it had to be, but at least one with the lovely old type grille so I went for a second series. [Read more…] about Goodbye Ardea, Hello Appia

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

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