The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
By Graham Gauld
I lost a good friend back in October when the 20th Earl of Moray, from one of Scotland’s older noble families, died at the age of 83. Though born in Africa he lived for most of his life at the family’s Scottish estates in Perthshire and Moray. So why am I talking about this man? Well, back in the 1970s when he was still Lord Doune, Douglas John Moray Stuart decided to collect motor cars that fascinated him. [Read more…] about BTW: The Lord’s Bugatti
Story and photos by Vince Johnson
Australia 18-20 March 2011
Maserati 250Fs haven’t been thick on the ground at race meetings since the fifties, but there were three of them at the Phillip Island Classic in March. During Sunday’s lunchtime demonstration they ran together for several laps. Peter Giddings in 2501/2523, Tom Price in #2525 and Jeffrey O’Neill in #2527 were obviously enjoying the moment. They’d filled the podium in their first race on Saturday morning in that order, proving they weren’t there just to circulate, and the sound of these three Italian classics had grown men misty eyed.
[Read more…] about Phillip Island Classic, Australia, 2011
1925 Bugatti Type 22 Brescia Roadster Chassis No. 2461. On July 12, 2009, in front of an assembled crowd of more than 2000 people, this Bugatti was lifted from Lake Maggiore where it lay submerged for nearly 75 years. The full story is on display with the vehicle in the Mullin Automotive Museum. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt, insert from the Internet
Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
A clear picture of the passion of Peter Mullin
[Read more…] about An Exclusive Look at the Mullin Automotive Museum
Abarth Simca 2000 (1973), entrant Hocking Straw (UK). Photo by Gerelli
Photos and Captions by Alessandro Gerelli
What they were doing at the Ring while you were in Monterey.
[Read more…] about Abarth, Alfa, Ferrari and Fiat at Oldtimers, August 13-15
Still looking for the Pink Panther.
Last week Hugues Vanhoolandt displayed the Italian effort at this year’s Le Mans Classic, which everyone is saying gets better and better every year. For the 5th time, Le Mans Classic celebrated the greatest long distance race in the world. With more than 420 cars on the track, ranging from 1923 to 1979, it was close action from Saturday at 4 pm to Sunday same hour.With 96,000 spectators, Le Mans Classic proved to be one of the world’s greatest historic racing car event.
Photos and captions by Hugues Vanhoolandt.
[Read more…] about French at Le Mans by Vanhoolandt
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Hellé Nice to R.I.P.
Foundation Will Position Grave Marker during September 4th Ceremony in Ste Mesme
Artwork by Larry Crane
The Hellé Nice Foundation has announced a ceremony to be held in Ste Mesme, France on September 4, 2010 honoring French female racecar driver Hellé Nice. “For 26 years, Nice has rested in an unmarked grave and our foundation’s first project has been to raise funds and place a marker on her grave”, said Sheryl Greene. A Service of Commemoration will be held at the Ste Mesme church and in the adjoining cemetery where the marker will be placed. Speakers will include Miranda Seymour, author of “The Bugatti Queen”, essayist, lecturer and author of the Hellé Nice biography; VeloceToday correspondent and motorsports historian Dr. Patricia Lee Yongue and Sheryl Greene, originator and founder of the Hellé Nice Foundation.
Additional ceremony guests include: Annie Soisbault, Triumph works driver famous for her performances in races and rallies and Jean-Pierre Beltoise, who restored hope to French motor sport and won the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix. Club Bugatti France will bring several examples of Bugattis similar to the ones Nice drove on the track. Those attending are invited to bring their own classic and vintage cars along with flowers to place on the grave. “We invite lovers and devotees of the car in general, and of motor sport in particular, to join us in restoring the memory of one of automobile history’s great women racers”, said Greene. The ceremony begins at the church in Ste-Mesme located at Chemin de l’Eglise, 78739 Sainte-Mesme, France, on September 04, 2010 at 11:00AM (Paris time)
For more information contact Sheryl Greene at Sherylgreene@gmail.com or 404 429-9600 in Atlanta, GA, USA.
Photos and captions by Alessandro Gerelli
Bugatti Type 35A of 1926
Photos and captions by Alessandro Gerelli
SAM C25 F of 1925.
An opening in grand style for the Mullin Automotive Museum.
Oxnard, Calif. (April 16, 2010) – In an ambiance of stylish luxury, priceless treasures that glowed in soft light and live jazz music, the Mullin Automotive Museum celebrated its grand opening in great style. The evening, like the museum, was a commemoration of the art deco design era when exquisite art and magnificent automobiles were elements of an artful, futurist culture. The museum displayed both in a luminous Grand Salon worthy of that extravagant time
[Read more…] about Mullin Automotive Museum Celebrates its Grand Opening
Hellé Nice died in 1984, impoverished and alone. When she was interred, not even a headstone marked the site. Twenty six years after her death, Sheryl Greene is intent upon making sure the world does not forget this daring French woman who raced Alfas and Bugattis before WWII. Inspired by Miranda Seymour’s book “Bugatti Queen,” Greene, a car enthusiast from Atlanta, established the Hellé Nice Foundation to provide financial aid for young women with a passion to race. The Foundation’s inaugural project is raising money for the purchase of that missing gravestone or marker for Nice, whose real name was Hélène Delangle. After Greene visited the gravesite in France earlier this year, we asked her to update us on her efforts to secure a headstone for Nice.
Story by Sheryl Greene
Art by Larry Crane
From time to time I get messages from the author of “Bugatti Queen” Miranda Seymour; she passes along some bit of information or a contact I may find helpful for the Hellé Nice Foundation. In January, she sent an email that was a treasure. It began, “The last living relative of Hellé Nice, just surfaced …” [Read more…] about Friends and Family Pay Homage to Hellé Nice
1939 Delahaye 165 is part of the permanent display a the Mullin Museum.
Photos by Michael Furman Photography
Oxnard, Calif. (February 22, 2010) The Mullin Automotive Museum, a facility that will pay homage to the art deco and machine age design eras (1918-1941) that produced exquisite art and magnificent automobiles, will officially open its doors for the first time in the beach community of Oxnard, Calif., Spring 2010. [Read more…] about Classic French Car Museum to Open in Oxnard California
In the 1954 Mille Miglia, a 4CV Renault was driven by the team of Redele/Pons to victory in the Special Touring class, followed by two other Renaults.
All Photos by Alessandro Gerelli
A small selection of the French at the Mille Miglia this year. No matter how many times we cover the Mille Miglia, we are always amazed at the delightful variations on the theme of the automobile.
[Read more…] about Mille Miglia 2009 in French