The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Fiat 508 C Ala d’Oro, Mille Miglia 2017. More on this in our mini feature below.
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt unless otherwise noted
For our second edition of Etceterini Corner, we present another series of images by Hugues Vanhoolandt taken over a period of years. Although seven of the eight images are of different Erminis, we focus on the Ala d’Oro, a fascinating car meant more for the street than the track. How many were made is a good question.
Bill Giltzow quickly identified the contest car as a 1955 357 Ermini. Below, Dino Brunori tells us how many were made and by whom.
The fascinating story of the 357 Ermini
By Dino Brunori
Photos courtesy Dino Brunori
Pasquale Ermini (1905-1958) aka ‘Pasquino’ was a former driver and pre-war racing mechanic of great experience. He started his career when he was 21 years old in Emilio Materassi’s workshop in Florence. Materassi was running his own racing team, Scuderia Materassi, using Talbot and Bugatti GP cars and soon Pasquino became chief mechanic of the team. In 1932, with the death of Emilio, the team was liquidated and Pasquino set up his garage in Via Campo d’Arrigo in central Florence devoted to tuning and preparing racing cars for the great racing events of the period. [Read more…] about Devin’s Father: The Ermini 357