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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Graham Gauld

Medardo Fantuzzi by Graham Gauld

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Photographed together at a dinner in Sant Agata Bolognese in the late 1950s. Standing at the back are young Fiorenzo Fantuzzi and his father Medardo. Front row Jean-Paul Behra and his father Jean Behra, Maserati chassis builder Caiani and Omer Orsi of Maserati. ( Photo: Adolfo Orsi, Historica Selecta)

Story by Graham Gauld

One outstanding element in the rise of Modena as a center for high performance road cars and racing cars in the 1950s was the proliferation of specialist artisans each of whom contributed something unique to the picture. As a result, there were numerous coachbuilders, many of whom were linked to companies like Stanguellini, Maserati, OSCA and Ferrari, so it was normal that at one time or another they would intermingle.

A typical example would be Carrozzeria Fantuzzi founded by Medardo Fantuzzi, who was born in 1906 in Bologna and trained as an engineer. In 1927 he and his brother Gino joined Maserati as apprentices shortly after the Maserati brothers started building their own racing cars. [Read more…] about Medardo Fantuzzi by Graham Gauld

Gauld Visits Aladdin’s Motor Sport Cave

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Story and photos by Graham Gauld

Most of the finest motor sport collections and museums are well known, but this is one I first heard about a few years ago now thanks to the late Adrian Hamilton who, with his father Duncan Hamilton, ran a successful garage business which specialized in buying and selling racing and sports cars in Hampshire, England.

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Gauld and the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally

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Story and photos by Graham Gauld

During the 1960s there was an increased interest in International rallying to boost production car sales. Consequently, we saw a number of interesting race cars appearing from time to time in the bigger events. I was reminded of this recently when someone raised the question of Ferraris taking part in International Rallies but for me one of the most spectacular and successful performances came in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally when Porsche entered one of their successful Porsche 904 Carrera GTS cars that had been raced for the first time a year earlier at the Sebring 12 Hour race.

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Gauld Drives a 1958 Fiat 500 Abarth

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One of Carlo Abarth’s first production modified Fiats, the Fiat 500 Sport.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

The scene was the Albergo Della Rocca, a small hotel in Bazzano near Modena in 1958.

Vittorio Rocchi, whose father owned the hotel, told me that a friend of his had just taken on the Abarth distributorship for the area and was going to bring one of the brand-new production Fiat Abarth 500 Sports to the hotel for me to try out.

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Graham Gauld talks to Bernard Asset

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Change indeed. Bernard Asset’s art. McLaren at Eau Rouge on the Spa circuit. F1 photography would never be the same again. Copyright Bernard Asset. All rights reserved.

By Graham Gauld
From the VeloceToday archives June 2013

At a recent race meeting I met up with an old friend of over 25 years, the famed French Formula 1 photographer Bernard Asset. You may not have heard of him, but he completely changed the style of motor racing photography back in the 1970s.

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Gauld: Sleuthing around Silverstone

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The prettiest Maserati, the 1936 4CM as driven by Goffredo Zehender in period.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

As is my wont I embarked on a five-hour drive from my new home in isolated Cornwall to Silverstone for the Classic. Last year I could leave the house in the south of France, drive an hour to Nice airport, wait an hour, fly to Luton airport, rent a car and drive to Silverstone in less time than my drive from Cornwall!

As usual my idea was to prowl the paddock, chat to people and come up with one or two interesting snippets for VeloceToday.

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Andrea Fraschetti, Ferrari Engineer

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The original 2.1 liter Ferrari Dino on its debut at the Modena Autodrome a few weeks after Andrea Fraschetti’s death. Graham Gauld photo

By Graham Gauld

When it comes to words and books, no marque in motoring history has been over-written and over-published than Ferrari. Through the years it has led to some weird publications, such as the book that featured only the different ways in which Ferrari race cars were numbered. Not the actual numbers, you understand, but the graphic style of numbering on the side of the cars. Esoteric, you bet!

And yet there are still many stories to be told, and one of them concerns a young engineer and designer who was with Ferrari for less than two years before he was killed testing a Ferrari Dino prototype at the Modena Autodrome in 1957. What made this poignant for me was that he died just three weeks before I arrived in Modena for the first time and from that day little or nothing has been written about him. His name was Andrea Fraschetti.

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Maserati’s Last Stand

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The Larry Shinoda sculpted Weismann-Maserati heading of for qualifying before the engine destroyed itself. (Unser Archives, Indy 500 Museum)

Story by Graham Gauld

In my last column I talked about the first Maseratis to visit Indianapolis; but how about the last one?

Yes, it puzzled me too so I started to go through the records. I will not bore you with the various Grand Prix Maseratis from the pre-WWII era that came, saw, but did not quite conquer the Indianapolis 500 but I can tell you many of those cars stayed in action long into the 1950s with different owners and sponsors. [Read more…] about Maserati’s Last Stand

Maserati’s First Indianapolis Entry

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Baconin Borzacchini with the V4 Maserati: note the exhaust system for one of the two 8 cylinder engines. (Courtesy Donald Davidson Indianapolis Speedway)

Story by Graham Gauld

Everyone knows about the Ferraris or Ferrari-engined cars that have raced at Indianapolis but the history of Maserati at Indianapolis goes back far longer.

It all started in 1930, just four years after Maserati had produced their first racing car when not one, but two Maseratis raced at that year’s Indianapolis 500. One of them was a normal 26B Grand Prix car, but the second car was a new model known as the V4, of which only two were built and only one, chassis 4001, as a racing car.

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Gauld on the Ecurie Ecosse Tour, 2023

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Some of the Tour cars outside Ardross Castle where the TV Series “The Traitors” was filmed.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

Scotland has been famous for producing some great racing drivers but one must not forget the most successful Scottish racing team, Ecurie Ecosse.

This small private team surprised everyone back in 1956 when they were allowed to enter one Jaguar D-type for the famous Le Mans 24 Hour Race and won it outright ahead of the much more fancied factory teams of Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin, Porsche and even the Jaguar team. Then they went back the following year and finished first and second at Le Mans to add to their glory.

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Alfas and Alpines in a French Junkyard

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The Alfa Montreal bought by Gerard Gombert for junk and now steadily sinking into the undergrowth fetched $13,000 at the Osenat Auction on November 9-11.

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

From the VeloceToday Archives, November, 2016

Nothing much happens around this part of the South of France. The hot spots of Nice, Cannes and Monaco lie on the sunny Coast of the French Riviera but here, inland about twenty miles away, village life is about the same as it has always been. But on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week all that changed with one of the oddest auction sales I have ever attended. Here is the story.

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Antoine Prunet, Susan Dixon

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Antoine Prunet, seen facing the camera in this picture with former Renault Formula 1 Team Manager Jean Sage, was the author of many books on the history of Ferrari.

Text and photo by Graham Gauld

I was very sad to hear that the much-respected Ferrari historian Antoine Prunet died last week of cancer. He had been ill for some time and only a few weeks ago his wife passed away, so the end of his life was very tragic.

I knew Antoine for about fifty years as we often met at one event or another and emailed frequently. Those of us who knew him will testify that he was always approachable, and appreciative of any assistance and information one could bring to his massive archives. [Read more…] about Antoine Prunet, Susan Dixon

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