VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Jonathan Sharp photo

Trackside a the Festival of Speed

By

1938 Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Some thoughts on this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (July 10-13). Very very hot. It is said that over the four days of the event over 200,000 attended and yet it did not seem as crowded as in previous years. Easy to get into (but then I arrive very early each morning), and not so bad getting out again (but I do leave very very late). Plenty to see, especially if you like F1, as this year’s event focused on celebrating the 75th anniversary of the first official points scoring F1 Grand Prix.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Fuori the Bountiful

By

Alfa 159

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

This was the fourth edition of the Fuori Concorso, held on the glittering shores of Lake Como on May 24. The theme chosen by the event creator Guglielmo Miani and his chief curator Andrea Luzardi was ‘Velocissimo’ a celebration of Italian motor racing. Spread across the gardens of Villa Grumello and Villa Sucato the event was certainly a sight for sore eyes. Beautiful cars, a gorgeous backdrop and beautiful weather… what more could an Italian car fan wish for. Part 1 below informs the readers via captions, Part 2, Fuori the Beautiful, is a non captioned gallery of our favorites.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Italian Air Force Museum Part 3

By

The Fiat G46 whether in single or two-seater form, was an all-metal aeroplane with good flying characteristics that first flew on the 25th June 1947. Argentina immediately ordered 12 examples before buying a further 36 airframes. Similar in concept to the G55 but powered by the much less powerful 225hp de Havilland Gipsy Queen engine produced under license by Alfa Romeo as the AR.115 ter, the G46 is considered to be Fiat’s first major achievement since the war. The example on display was first operated out of the Flying Department of the General Staff before being passed onto the Aero Club of Ferrara.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Facts from Museum placards, website and internet; occasional typos or incorrect spelling may occur!

Skema Hangar

We now present this third and final part of the Italian Air Force Museum. We now enter the Skema Hangar which covers the period from the end of World War II until approximately 2012. The Skema hangar is the fourth and largest of the hangars, designed by aeronautical engineers and constructed from steel reinforced concrete by the Skema Company.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Italian Air Force Museum, Part 2

By

Following the outbreak of the war the company did produce a further 8 catapult examples, the prototype of which was tested by Lieutenant Giulio Reiner who took off from the seaplane carrier RN (Royal Ship) Giuseppe Miraglia on the 9th May 1942. Catapult RE2000s were then embarked on the battleships Vittorio Veneto, Littorio and Roma and also equipped the 1st Naval Forces Squadron. This example is the prototype flown by Warrant Officer Luigi Guerrieri who was forced to ditch due to engine failure off Porto Venere (La Spezia) on the 16th April 1943. Recovered from the seabed on the 4th December 2013 the remains have only undergone cleaning and consolidation work.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Facts from Museum placards, website and internet; occasional typos or incorrect spelling may occur!

Having toured the Troster and Velo Hangars we now enter the Badoni Hangar, which covers the period from the 1930s until the late 1940s. The 60 meter by 60 meter metal hangar was constructed in 1930 by the Badoni Company to provide maintenance space and shelter for the large seaplanes then operating out of the base.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

The Treasures of the Italian Air Force Museum

By

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

For an enthusiast of old aeroplanes, the view from the excellent, and rather well priced, cafe at the Italian Air Force Museum can’t be beat. You can look out over the tranquil waters of Lake Bracciano and wonder what it must have looked like back in the 1920s, when it was buzzing with seaplane activity, as Vigna di Valle was a seaplane base for the Regia Aeronautica.

Or you could look into the museum and admire what I consider to be the crown jewels of the collection, namely the bright red racing seaplanes that once competed for the coveted Schneider Trophy in the 1920s and 30s.

Last week it was the turn of the Lancias of the Lancia Club Italia to steal the limelight, this week it is the turn of the first two of five hangers. Just hang in there with us…

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

When in Rome….

By

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

This piece should have had the title “The Anantara Concorso Rome” which we were to cover for VeloceToday on April 25, but following the death of the Pope the event was rightly cancelled out of respect. Still, flights had been booked and accommodations reserved, so we were still going, if feeling a bit sad. Little did we know that we’d have a very pleasant surprise just north of Rome.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Goodwood Members Meeting Part 1

By

Freddies, as in Freddie March, located just in front of the Members Market at the event, the Members market being a food hall selling street food, all very Goodwood!

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

We begin with shots from the ever-interesting Paddock, then move on to what we call the ‘Centenarian’ events. The only other time you see 100-year-old plus cars racing is at VSCC (Vintage Sports Car Club) events and Hill Climbs so racing these is probably a British thing. In fact, while some events in Europe and the U.S. have pre-WWII cars on their grids, it is much more common in the U.K. and pre-WWI cars are almost impossible to see elsewhere.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Goodwood Members Meeting Part 2

By

Star of the weekend, Frank Stippler and the Ferrari 206 Dino.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

There was lovely weather on Saturday at the Goodwood circuit for the 82nd Members Meeting, (April 12-13). Sunday was not as nice but no rain so one cannot complain. Nor can one complain about the superb races held at the Goodwood venue, and I would urge everyone to try to attend at least one Goodwood event.

This year, I witnessed what was perhaps the best race I have ever seen at Goodwood. It was the Gurney Cup (a 45 minute two-driver race for Sports Prototypes of a type that raced between 1963 and 1966) which started early on the Saturday evening.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Practical Classics Magazine Classic Car and Restoration Show, Runners

By

Owned by Dean Harley and featured as part of the ‘Restorer of the year’ display this once humble Fiat 128 CL now propelled by a Kawasaki Z12R Motorbike engine producing 178 bhp at 10,500 rpm.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

After the somewhat exotic excesses of Paris and Retromobile in February, in late March I caught the train to Birmingham (avoiding the shutdown of Heathrow), to the somewhat grey and soulless halls of the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) for the Practical Classics Magazine Classic Car and Restoration Show.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Lingotto: Art, Flora and Fiat

By

See below for more information about this exhibit.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Prior to planning our trip to the Lake Como Concours last May, I read that Fiat had transformed the roof top of the old Lingotto site into a garden. We decided to travel from the UK to the concours events via Turin, staying at the Lingotto Hotel for a chance to view the art and garden displays.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Ferrari at Retro

By

A very popular exhibit on the ‘Le Man Classic’ stand, the Ferrari 312P chassis 0872.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Pilgrimage to Paris

This year my pals and I thought we would attend Retromobile much earlier in the week as we are all mostly retired. Whilst the first full day of the show is on Wednesday, we decided it would be nice to also attend the preview Tuesday evening, assuming that it would be nice and quiet.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe
MENU