Story and photos by Dale LaFollette
From the VeloceToday Archives, June, 2018
Pete asked me for photos of the Disco Volante so I had to go back to the Mille Miglia Retrospective of 1986. Wow, what wonderful memories that dislodged!
The Disco Volante was being piloted by Phil Hill and John Lamm and I was in a C-Type Jaguar that was owned by my good friend Steve Earle. Our numbers were close to each other so we seemed to be in contact for at least the first full day of the three-day event. Phil and John told me that the Disco belonged to the Alfa Romeo Museum and they seemed a little concerned about the mechanical preparation if memory serves.
I remember that the exhaust note of the Disco did not inspire and the acceleration was not blinding but I am sure that Phil was driving it conservatively to make it last.
That first day John Lamm was wearing a red hat from Steve Earle’s 1985 Historic Auto Races at Laguna Seca. We were maybe a hundred yards behind the Disco when John’s hat took off never to be seen again. Some ways down the road both cars stopped and Steve reached down by his seat, pulled out an identical hat, handed it to John and told him, “We saw your hat fly off and Dale scooped it up when we went by.” That was almost believed until John tried to put in on and it was obviously in need of adjustment!
While it may sound like I was not impressed with the Disco Volante, however after the event I found I had a need for a red roadster of some sort. To satisfy that need I bought an Alfa Romeo Duetto within a month of returning home which was as close design-wise to a Disco as I could afford. I drove it for the next 14 years.
Here is the Disco Volante with Phil Hill leaning into the cockpit at the beginning of the Mille Miglia Retrospective in 1986.
…and just about ready to get underway.
Steve Earle and I in a C-Type Jaguar come upon the Disco Volante of Phil Hill and John Lamm.
The C-Type goes gliding by.
Phil Hill and John Lamm in the Disco Volante pulling away from a stop, notice the hat that Lamm is wearing.
We must have stopped for whatever reason guys would stop out in the woods and the Hill/Lamm combo goes streaking by.
The first evening Phil Hill and John Lamm wanted their photo taken to show the hair styling done by both the speed and the dirt as they were both hatless. They both look fast just standing there.
A “rally” control to get our book stamped, the Disco Volante ahead of us
Another stop, our C-Type Jaguar at center, the Disco Volante behind, no idea where or when but since we are not in the cars there must have been food involved!
The last photo is at Sinigallia.
Great story! If memory serves there were…maybe three versions of the Disco Volante. The first, for some mysterious reason, had transparent front fenders. Why anybody thought that was a good idea escapes me. Needless to say none of the succeeding versions repeated the error.
charley
Hi Dale, Chris Current and I were chase car (rented Alfa 75) for Paul Tavilla’s 54 Ferrari 500 Mondial PF roadster in 87. I think Phil was back in the Disco roadster again that year. That was an event of a lifetime for (met Enzo in Modena 🙂 Followed Bob Bodine in the 57 250GT Td’F 0677GT that was 3rdOA 1stGT in the 57 MM while we could keep up. Your pictures capture a car person’s perspective….BIG Thanks for arousing the memory. Cheers, sam