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James Lanoway

Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family Part 4

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Santino and Giovanni.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photographer unknown).

By James Lanoway

Of all the drivers who raced with Balduzzi-prepared cars, it appears that Duilio Ghislotti of Italy and Sead Alihodzic of Yugoslavia were the most successful, with the most victories and podiums achieved. Duilio Ghislotti had his most successful season in Italy in 1974 finishing second in the Campionato Italiano di Turismo (the national championship) and received Alfa Romeo’s coveted Targa d’Oro for his efforts. [Read more…] about Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family Part 4

Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family P3

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Autolodi-sponsored Balduzzi cars.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photo by Dario Gaggiani).

By James Lanoway

Santino Balduzzi possessed several personality characteristics that ultimately led to his success as a tuner. He was innately curious about all things, and he loved to experiment in his search for solutions to a mechanical problem, often trying out many iterations in the search for an answer. Documenting his failures and solutions was a routine part of his experiments, and he truly practiced the maxim “Living is learning, and learning is living.”

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Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family, Part 2

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GT Am at Balocco October 1970. Photo courtesy Centro Documentazione Alfa Romeo-Arese.

By James Lanoway

Balduzzi S.N.C. was involved heavily in motorsport from 1971 to 1975, and yet there is paradoxically very little organized information about Balduzzi cars and drivers either in print or on the internet. To help fill in some of the many voids about Balduzzi and his cars, it would be best to first look at the Alfa Romeo GTA to better understand Balduzzi’s GTA Juniors and GT Ams.

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Balduzzi, Alfa’s Fast Family P1

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Santino and Balduzzi workshop sign.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photographer unknown).

By James Lanoway

Two men with different last names, both sharing March 6th as a birthday, one unknowingly looking for a son, the other not looking for another father, came together in Lodi, in the Lombardy region of Italy, in 1958, some say by fate and many say by good fortune. Before the next two decades were out, the older would adopt the younger and give him his last name. With hard work, long hours, and a touch of genius, the younger would make that name one of the most revered in the mystic, esoteric world of Alfa Romeo tuners: Balduzzi.

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And How! VeloceToday’s Most Valuable Assets

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In addition to our comments section below each article, VeloceToday often gets very nice compliments, sent via email or included in a note with a subscription check. These comments rarely get published, but are meant as recognition of the work done by our contributors, who create the content that makes VeloceToday what it is. Magazines are nothing without good content, and therefore contributors are our greatest and most valuable assets.

They are historians, authors, editors, photographers, columnists, journalists, judges, drivers, restorers, artisans, collectors and constructors. They hail from the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy. Here are the names of thirty-three whose contributions made the year 2024 one to remember.

Jeff Allison, Gary Axon, Giles Chapman, Bob Cullinan, Rodney Diggens, Joseph Duray, Brandes Elitch, Graham Gauld, Greg Glassner, Bob Harrington, Joe Hurwich, Stefan Ivanov, Vince Johnson, Jackie Jouret, Allen R. Kuhn, Dale LaFollette, James Lanoway, Frederic Levaux, Bernard Linck, Roberto Motta, Herb Miska, Chris Nugent, Willem Oosthoek, Paul Sable, Charley Seavey, Jonathan Sharp, Jim Sitz, Roy Smith, Sean Smith, Pete Vack, Hugues Vanhoolandt, Paul Wilson, Robert Young

Alfa’s Exclusive Swiss Facility Part 3

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Passing the torch. Peter’s son Dino at Hockenheim with Peter’s Alfa. Photo Peter Zahnd

By James Lanoway

Regarding the many exotic Alfas that Peter Zahnd saw and worked on at the Agno facility:

“The rare cars like the TZ, TI Super, GTA 1.6 and 1.3, went to wealthy customers or the sports drivers. Prominent Swiss drivers well-known on the TZ 1 included Clay Regazzoni, [Read more…] about Alfa’s Exclusive Swiss Facility Part 3

Alfa’s Exclusive Swiss Facility Part 2

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This photo was taken by the late Steve McKelvie at the Lime Rock Historic Festival in 2012. Steve had a blog called SteveMcKelvie.com where he posted the article “More Car Transporters And Service Vehicles.” It is published here with permission of the copyrightholders.

By James Lanoway

As his grandfather owned an Alfa Romeo sales outlet and his father owned an Alfa service outlet, it was natural for Peter Zahnd to grow up surrounded by the fruits of Portello’s production. His grandfather’s dealership, Garage Metropol Ernest Zahnd on Bahnhofstrasse in the heart of Zurich, sold at first 6C 2300s, then 6C 2500 Touring Villa d’Este’s, and later the “modern” 1900 models. Peter’s father took over this family business and evolved it into an Alfa Romeo service center, Garage Hans Zahnd, keeping the same location. Since Peter’s busy father did not have the time to train his son, he sent Peter to a nearby Alfa Romeo dealership, Garage Werner Brüngger, to gain experience. Peter takes up the story:

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Alfa’s Exclusive Swiss Facility P1

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AR Agno building. Centro Documentazione Alfa Romeo – Arese.

By James Lanoway

An Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, considered by many the most beautiful automobile of all time, pulls into the parking lot of a low, brown brick building against an Alpen lakeside backdrop in the late 1960s. Wearing Italian plates, its scintillating sound cuts out, and its “scissors” doors tilt open upwards and forward to reveal a large German Shepard sitting in the passenger seat. Soon, a draw will be held inside the building to see who will get to try out this automotive sensation on the neighbouring test track, leaving the lucky winner with memories to last well into the winter of life.

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