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Mike Sparken, Part 1 by Graham Gauld

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Mike Sparken, winning at Oulton Park in the rain with his trusty 750 Monza.

First published by VeloceToday in 2012.
In the 1950s, if you had talent and the necessary finances, you could become a successful racing driver as a private entrant. This is the story of one of them, a French-born racing driver by the name of Mike Sparken. We were working on this article when on September 21, 2012. Sparken died at his home in the South of France at the age of eighty-two.

By Graham Gauld

Mike Sparken, or Michael Poberejsky, to cite his proper name, was born in Paris in 1930 to a wealthy Russian family that had left Russia for Paris at the time of the 1917 Revolution.

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Triumph Italia/Italia 2000 GT

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By L. Tyrone Stoner
All photos courtesy Tyrone Stoner

Lead photo: L. Tyrone Stoner’s Italia, number 195, one of three Italias owned by the Author. Photo courtesy of Collectible Automobile magazine. From the archives, March, 2009

What “Wacky” Arnott and Bertone did for Bristol and MG, and what Zagato would do for Aston Martin, Italian entrepreneur Salvatore Ruffino figured he could do for the Triumph TR3; modernize and Italianize.

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Vignale’s Fiat 8V, Castagna’s Alfa

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Story by Graham Gauld

From time to time I go through photographs that have been taken years ago, printed up and then forgotten in boxes. Obviously, some get ditched as they are unlikely to be relevant to anything I intend to write in the future, but others come as interesting surprises. As VeloceToday seems to attract people who appreciate and admire coachbuilding I set aside one or two which I thought might be worth mentioning. These are two such examples.

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Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Spider by Michelotti

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By Wallace Wyss
Photos courtesy RM Sotheby

One of the pains of being a car historian is that there’s a lot of Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda that comes with the job.

Take this white (and red and blue) Daytona targa-topped car.

I saw it on a used car lot in West Los Angeles around ’78, when it was painted red and gave no hint of its competition DNA. I won’t name the car lot but I remember meeting a boxer there – not a Ferrari Boxer, a real boxer – who asked me if there was anybody I wanted beat up—but, alas, I am so peace-loving I couldn’t think of a single person! [Not even your editor?]

Anyway, this car was a genuine, built-in-Modena 1972 Ferrari 365GTB/4, but it had a different body shape. I liked the shape from the side and back but it had an unfortunate resemblance to the Corvette body style introduced in ’68. Does anyone really want to drive a Ferrari that would easily be mistaken for a ‘Vette?

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Steve McQueen’s Siata

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McQueen’s 208-S. Photo by Tony Singer.

Surprised that Steve McQueen owned a Siata? That is interesting enough, but discovering that the young actor affixed a Ferrari badge to the 208S he bought might be even more surprising, and at the same time perhaps tells us about another side of the man himself. We must give thanks to Matt Stone for this information and presenting it in his book, “McQueen’s Machines”, and current owner Tony Singer, whose words constitute the bulk of the story below. In addition, collector Christophe Pund was kind enough to allow us to publish Michelotti’s original drawing of the Siata 208S, which is also supplied with the two volume Otto Vu set, authored by Tony Adriaensens. (read review). If you’d like to know more about Tony Singer, read about him here. Ed.

[Read more…] about Steve McQueen’s Siata

Graham Gauld: Bosley versus Michelotti

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The Bosley GT, a superb, stylish design that predated cars like the Berlinetta Lusso by a number of years, yet designed in America. Gauld photo.

Richard Bosley and Giovanni Michelotti: A styling dichotomy.

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The 1957 Vignale-bodied Triumph TR3 parked in a Modena street, built as a styling exercise by Michelotti to help persuade Triumph to hire him as a consultant: it worked. Gauld photo.

By Graham Gauld

A couple of stories this month which bring up the matter of style and coachbuilding. (see last week’s Michelotti Corvette article) If you read the two stories you could be forgiven for thinking the photos showing the first car described was designed in Italy and the second in the United States.

But it was the other way around.

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Vignale History, Part 1 The Early Years

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bagde-finalAlfredo Vignale, who at one time didn’t drive or even like to ride in cars, died in an automobile accident in November of 1969. According to his brother Giuseppe, interviewed in 1956, “Alfredo’s passion for automobiles begins and ends with his coachwork. He doesn’t own a car, won’t drive a car, and only rides in one with great reluctance.” It is perhaps ironic, but the man who was Vignale and Company was responsible for some of the finest and fastest automotive sculptures of our the twentieth century.

By Pete Vack

From 1946 to 1969, the workshop of Alfredo Vignale of Turin, Italy, was among the vanguard of a number of illustrious and creative Italian carrozzeria which included Allemano, Bertone, Ghia, Motto, Pininfarina, Touring, Viotti and others. In 1947 he created the amazing and advanced Cisitalia MM from the drawings of Giovanni Savonuzzi and by 1950 became Enzo Ferrari’s primary coachbuilder, usurping Touring for the honor.

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Mike Sparken: Private Entrant Part I

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Mike Sparken, winning at Oulton Park in the rain with his trusty 750 Monza.

In the 1950s, if you had talent and the necessary finances, you could become a successful racing driver as a private entrant. This is the story of one of them, a French-born racing driver by the name of Mike Sparken. We were working on this article when on September 21, Sparken died at his home in the South of France at the age of eighty two. Our sincere condolences to his family; we wish he could have lived to read the following story.

By Graham Gauld

Mike Sparken, or Michael Poberejsky, to cite his proper name, was born in Paris in 1930 to a wealthy Russian family that had left Russia for Paris at the time of the 1917 Revolution.

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Italia’s Triumph

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L. Tyrone Stoner’s Italia, number 195, one of three Italias owned by the Author. Photo courtesy of Collectible Automobile magazine.

The Triumph Italia is one of the best looking Anglo-Italian creations ever, and they are extremely rare. If you’d like to see them in person, the 50th Anniversary celebration will be held at the Shelton Vineyard, Dobson, North Carolina, April 17-19. Contact L. Tyrone Stoner at tstoner@mac.com. Below, three time owner Stoner tells all about this fascinating beauty. For Italia Literature, click here.

Triumph Italia/Italia 2000 GT

By L. Tyrone Stoner
All photos courtesy Tyrone Stoner

What “Wacky” Arnott and Bertone did for Bristol and MG, and what Zagato would do for Aston Martin, Italian entrepreneur Salvatore Ruffino figured he could do for the Triumph TR3; modernize and Italianize.
[Read more…] about Italia’s Triumph

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