We received a number of nice comments last week along with a few images relevant to the articles on the Ferrari 312P and the Serenissima F1 by Roberto Motta, and thought it might be a good idea to add a few of them to an And How! feature…
count volpi
Count Volpi and the Serenissima GTs
Interview by Serge Cordey for Artcurial as edited by Wallace Wyss
Note: Three Serenissima automobiles will be part of the Artcurial Auction on February 8th at Salon Retromobile in Paris, see details below. We thank Serge Cordey and Artcurial for allowing us to publish portions of this rare intereview with Count Volpi.
Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata was born 1938 in Venice, where his family was very well established. He inherited a fortune at the age of 24 from his father, Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, a politician financier and founder of the renowned Venice Film Festival.
Serenissima McLaren F1
From the archives, December 12th, 2007
Story and photography by Roberto Motta
In the early 1960s, Scuderia Serenissima, founded by the Venetian Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata, was very active in motor racing, entering major events with Porsches, a Lotus-Cooper, Maseratis, and Ferraris driven by Nino Vaccarella, Graham Hill, Umberto Maglioli, Joakim Bonnier, Jo Siffert, Lodovico Scarfiotti and Giancarlo Baghetti.
Scuderia Serenissima entered Formula 1 events in 1961 with a Cooper-Maserati driven by Maurice Trintignant. For the French GP, the team used a De Tomaso chassis powered by an OSCA engine, which was shared by Giorgio Scarlatti and Nino Vaccarella. However, the De Tomaso OSCAs were not competitive.
Book Review: Rebel Rebel
Hardback, 160 pages, color and b&w photos
$80 USD, plus $20 Shipping
By Marc Sonnery and Keith Bluemel
Parker House, 2010
Order here
Review by Pete Vack
The cover: A tall young man in horn-rimmed glasses has a beer while taking a break. He must be tall, for the coupe he is working on appears to be about groin high. Behind this doorless, bare-aluminum Ferrari is a 1956 Chevy and what appears to be an apartment complex. The photo looks to have been taken in the 1960s.
The faded, poorly-focused color snapshot stimulates synapses: This is either something I’ve done or something I have dreamed of doing. Or both.
[Read more…] about Book Review: Rebel Rebel
The Count’s Revenge
Mr. Wyss wrote this for us some time ago but it still passes muster even with the revelations of the new book “Rebel Rebel”. And a nice way to introduce one to the subject of the incredible Ferrari Breadvan. Ed.
By Wallace Alfred Wyss
Yes, there are Ferrari racers with a sense of humor. The Ferrari 250GT ‘Breadvan’ is a result of one such owner’s sense of humor. It was based on a 1961 competition 250 GT SWB modified by Ing. Giotto Bizzarrini.
[Read more…] about The Count’s Revenge