The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
The Pininfarina lines of a Fiat Dino Spyder contrast nicely with the starkness of the Brooklands memorial erected to commemorate the home of motor racing 1907 - 1939.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Judging by the three lines of cars, all of which were made in Italy, waiting to pass through the Campbell gate of the Brooklands Motor Circuit in Surrey, the Italian car community is alive and thriving. [Read more…] about Brooklands Italian Car Day
Lingotto's Lancia Loraymo in the lobby
Story and color photos by Jonathan Sharp
You may not be that familiar with Lingotto but if you have seen the original (and by far the best version) of The Italian Job, you may recall the scene in the film where the three Mini Coopers containing the stolen gold are pursued by the Police in their Alfas around a banked test track. That test track is on the roof of Lingotto, the Fiat factory which is located in a suburb of Turin. [Read more…] about A Visit to Fiat’s Remarkable Lingotto
The neatest, prettiest, most Italianate small displacement pre-war coupe ever made.
In one sense, the paltry 998 cc 36 hp Fiat Balilla Mille Miglia Berlinetta Coupe is much ado about very little. In another sense, it is the quintessential example of prewar Italian design in miniature and very nearly takes your breath away. And the name is no auction house hype; Mille Miglia Berlinetta it was from the day it rolled out of the factory in 1935.
If looks aren’t enough, consider that the ultra-rare MM Berlinetta may be one of the first true Grand Touring cars ever conceived, and most certainly one of the first small displacement GT cars ever built.
[Read more…] about Fiat 508 Balilla Mille Miglia Berlinetta
We sped through the darkness with the knowledge that things were going to get quite a bit warmer as soon as that sun finally rose.
By Andrew Coles
The 49th annual Fiat Nationals took place at Benalla, Victoria on 20-21 January. In what has become an annual pilgrimage for us, we made the 900km (560 mile) trek over in our 1987 Alfa Romeo Sprint and 1979 Fiat X1/9. Yes, that is correct. Every year we drive old Italian cars halfway across the country in the middle of an Aussie summer. Crazy.
That’s how I found myself behind the wheel of the Alfa the other Friday, chasing one of the most amazing dawn sunrises I’ve seen into the distance. It was forecast to be a hot day and the early morning air was refreshingly balmy as it kissed and caressed the skin. Lights on, windows down, we sped through the darkness with the knowledge that things were going to get quite a bit warmer as soon as that sun finally rose. We were right.
An immaculate turbocharged Fiat 125 finds its way to the Fiat Nationals.
Mystery car no more.
So of course he sent it to us. After doing a bit of searching, we could find nothing definite. It was time to call in the real experts. We turned to Dino Brunori, author of “Enrico Nardi, a Fast Life”, who replied:
The car is a Fiat 1100 body by Carrozzeria Ala d’Oro from Reggio Emilia, built in 1948. Carrozzeria Ala d’Oro was founded in 1946 by Franco Bertani, a gentleman driver italian champion in 1938 1100cc class, and Officine Reggiane in Reggio Emilia.
Officine Reggiane was a small factory that grow up during the war, manufacturing parts for airplanes, mainly wings and cockpits, and therefor had nothing to do at the end of the war.
The workforce was rescued by Bertani with the set up of Carrozzeria Ala d’Oro. The Ala d’Oro bodied most part of the first Stanguellini production cars and several sports models, plus artisans cars and trucks. This 1100 was originally fitted with an hard top very similar to an airplane cockpit (see picture). The design was an in-house work. The car still exist in the hands of an italian collector.
Our thanks to Bill Spear for the question and Dino Brunori for the answer!
Photo courtesy Dino Brunori.
Renault has come a long way since the post-war days of the Shooting Star and the Dauphine. The 1977 Renault RS01 was Renault’s first attempt in Formula 1, using turbo technology. Nicknamed ‘the yellow teapot’, Renault became a winner only two years after their difficult debut in F1.
Hugues Vanhoolandt brings us the best of France and Italy, Goodwood Style.
Every year since 1993, the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Southern England attracts the best of the cars and drivers from past and present and even provides a look at the future of the automobile.
One of the themes of this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed was “Giant steps in motor racing history”, and to illustrate the theme, some French cars in attendance were really appropriate. To mention a few, a 1930 Bugatti Type 53 four-wheel drive, the 1964 CD-Panhard with its aerodynamic shape to suit the straights of Le Mans, the four-wheel steering Peugeot 405 T 16 ‘Pikes Peak’, the 1977 Renault Turbo that revolutionized F1 and the 2010 electric powered Citroën Survolt. French cars have been on the leading edge of technological changes since the invention of the automobile.
Only the Festival of Speed can bring together so many different cars to give an instant view of more than a century of automotive history and this year Ferrari and Fiat were in showing cars that covered the span of that century. Chris Evans’ collection alone was worth the trip!
Peugeot won three times Indy 500, in 1913, 1916 (this car) and 1919.
Bugatti was a pioneer of four-wheel drive and tried it in the Bugatti T53.
Bugatti T54 of 1931 won on the Avus circuit, near Berlin, with Achille Varzi at the wheel.
The CD-Panhard (1964), propelled by a little .85 litre 2 cylinder engine, was build to win the Index of Performance at Le Mans. With its drag coefficient of 0.12, it topped out at 140 mph in the Hunaudières.
With the V12 MS670 of 1972, Matra became the first French marque to win at Le Mans since 1950. Here is the MS670B model of 1973.
The Peugeot 905, with carbon fibre monocoque and F1-style engine, succeeded Matra on the Le Mans winner’s list in 1992 and 1993.
Peugeot not only won Indy on American soil, but also Pikes Peak with the four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering 405 Turbo 16 in 1988 with Ari Vatanen driving.
After retiring from F1 in 1985, Renault became engine supplier for Williams with whom they won nine F1 world championships between 1989 and 1997. Renault recently announced that they will again provide engines to the Williams team next year.
Is the future electric ? Citroën seems to think so but electric is not necessarily dull and boring as demonstrate the Survolt.
Italians
A hundred years ago, engines with huge capacity were common on the racing scene as this Fiat S74 Grand Prix of 1911 using a 14.2 Litre 4-cylinder engine.
Originally a Grand Prix racer, this Fiat was rebuilt as a record-breaker in 1923 by Ernest Eldridge, using a 21.7 Litre aero engine. Called the ‘Mefistofele’, it reached 146 mph top speed in 1924.
Ferrari 340 America Touring coupé s/n 0122 A of David Cottingham of DK Engineering took Best of Show in the Cartier Style and Luxe Concours d’Elégance.
This Ferrari 375 MM spyder Pinin Farina s/n 0382 AM has been raced extensively in the US by Bill Spear and Duncan Black between 1954 an 1958.
250 GTL, 275 GTB, 365 GTC, 288 GTO, F40, all part of the collection of BBC Radio & TV presenter Chris Evans ...
as is this 250 GTO s/n 4675 GT that Evans acquired last year from the Matsuda Collection.
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason brought his 365 GTB/4 Daytona Group 4 with 1972 Le Mans Ecurie Francorchamps livery.
In 1952, Ferrari sent some 375 Grand Prix cars to Indianapolis in order to conquer the brickyard, but without success. This car is now part of the Louwman Collection, in the Netherlands.
Lancia D50 had fuel tanks placed in the pontoons for a better weight distribution. This example is an exact replica of the 1954 model.
The Ferrari 312 B3, due to Mauro Forghieri, brought three wins to the Cavallino Rampante in 1974.
Every year, most of the F1 teams are present at Goodwood and Ferrari is no exception, with the F10 model of last year, driven by test driver Marc Gene.
Ferrari 500 Mondial s/n 0528 MD in Piazza della Loggia.
Captions and Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
[Read more…] about Italians at the Mille Miglia 2011 by Vanhoolandt
One of our most outstanding long term contributors has been the Milanese Alessandro Gerelli who first came to these pages in 2002 with a story about his experiences at Monza: Monza, a Personal Look.
From then on Gerelli has never stopped filing excellent stories from all over Europe and the U.K, and even the United States. From 2004 on, Alessandro provided the color in blue and red for every single Mille Miglia event, rain or shine.
As we kickoff VeloceToday’s First Ten Years Celebration (yes, it’s been that long), we present the below urls from Gerelli’s coverage of this great event since 2004, and cap it off with the Mille Miglia of 2011.
We thank you again, Mr. Gerelli!
[Read more…] about Mille Miglia at Brescia with Alessandro Gerelli
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
A half scale Ferrari 312T for children with a 2-stroke 50cc engine sold for 6900 pounds (11,238 USD).
Story and photos by Alessandro Gerelli
The Bonhams London auction on December 7th included about 80 cars and a great deal of memorabilia, with many books and magazines coming from the collection of George Horne. The cars were mostly English but there were a few Italian and three very rare French cars on the block.
[Read more…] about The Cost of our Passion at Bonhams
Hot on the tail of Alfa, Ferrari and Lancia, Fiat did their berlinetta act on the 1100, culminating in the 1947 1100S Mille Miglia model. It in turn was preceded by the absolutely berlinetta 1935 Balilla 508S.
Photos by Alessandro Gerelli
Story by staff
In this part, Alessandro Gerelli brings us the Mille Miglia berlinettas from Fiat to Siata. As we have related in Part I, Enzo Ferrari was implicated in the birth of the term berlinetta. But was this so, and if so, how?
[Read more…] about Bountiful Berlinettas: Mille Miglia 2009 PII
