Story and photos by Paul Wilson
Photos courtesy the author
My Alfa 6C roadster still awaits its engine, but I found a few more jobs I could do on what’s here. The biggest one was the top.
The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
By pete
By pete
Story and photos by Paul Wilson
Lest we forget, over the past few years, Paul Wilson has designed and created three distinct cars on Alfa Romeo chassis; a beautiful coupe and sister roadster on 6C 2500 chassis, and a B.A.T. recreation on a 1900 chassis. He has chronicled each in the pages of VeloceToday. Below is an update on the status of his 6C2500 coupe, which is now roadworthy. Click here to read a previous story about the adventures of building the coupe.
When Pete first suggested that I write about my projects, I told him I couldn’t because they weren’t finished. What kind of story has no ending? Just write, he said. So I did, and it’s been fun.
But the problem didn’t go away, and now I’ve reached the mess that I foresaw. Supplier delays and unexpected problems have continually postponed the happy endings I was so eager to write. The 6C2500 coupe, nearly done seven years ago, is now truly done. But the final stages were agony. The roadster still awaits its engine, though there was still some work I could do on it. Only the BAT, seemingly the most farfetched of them all, has made steady progress.
By pete
Story by Paul Wilson
From the Archives, April, 2023
I’ve decided to build an Alfa BAT. Yes, I know it’s a crazy idea. The Men in White Coats, always worried about my sanity, will come for me if they find out. I hope they don’t read VeloceToday.
We’re all familiar with BAT 5, BAT 7, and BAT 9, experimental cars built on Alfa 1900 chassis in the ‘50s. Of course they were presented as studies in aerodynamics; the air flow theme dominates the designs. But this was just an excuse for making the wildest, most extravagant sculpture ever put on four wheels. It’s their function as expressive forms, not their drag reduction features, that gives them their status today.
Everybody agrees that they’re exciting, original, and eye-catching. But are they beautiful?
By pete
As you probably know (or at least we hope you do) Paul Wilson will be formally introducing his Alfa 6C 2500 coupe at the Larz Auto Museum in Brookline, Massachusetts on November 30 – only 9 days away! He will not only present the car itself but provide a very interesting show about how the design developed and the techniques of construction. Click here for more information on Paul’s presentation at Larz Museum. This week we asked Paul tell us about the latest status on both the coupe and roadster. In addition, we have some photos taken by Paul’s friend, Mark Bennett. So take it away, Paul….
Story by Paul Wilson [Read more…] about 6C 2500 Alfa Coupe and Roadster updates
By pete
Larz and Isabelle Anderson
Diplomat and ambassador Larz Anderson and his wife, Isabelle Weld Perkins, were fascinating people. Both were wealthy, but Isabelle was by far the richer.* [Read more…] about Paul Wilson and the Larz Anderson Museum
By pete
Paul Wilson at the Larz Anderson Museum
For all of you who have followed the adventures of Paul Wilson as he designs and constructs his own coachwork on the Alfa 6C 2500 chassis, we’ve got some great news for you! On November 30, 7 p.m.- 8:30 p.m., Wilson will formally present his coupe at the prestigious Larz Anderson Automobile Museum in Brookline, Massachusetts.
As we all know and can readily see via the VeloceToday articles, Wilson is a master craftsman, who learned his art as he went along, thinking about each process while limiting his tools and materials to those available to coachbuilders of the 1930s. How he worked through the problems of doors, interiors, trunks, hood and fenders is a fascinating process and reveals his unique genius. Why he used steel instead of aluminum is also interesting as it altered the final form, as he was able to literally design the car as he created it. [Read more…] about Paul Wilson, Karl Ludvigsen, Dalton Watson
By pete
By Pete Vack
From the Archives, November 2016
The way to gain entrance into the realm of the Dallara/Gandini masterpiece that is the Miura is to gently push the door latch button from the Fiat 850 and pull a bit on the chrome fin at the bottom of the row of black fins to the rear of the door window.
“Be careful getting in. Here’s how you have to do it. Get your butt over the seat and gently lower it straight down. Don’t wiggle. Don’t squirm. The reason is because the seats are original cloth inserts and any heavy lateral movement stresses out the material,” said Paul Wilson.
By pete
Story and photos by Paul Wilson
Those breaking-wave fins are the feature that I love best about BAT 7, and with just minor changes, I wanted similar ones on my BAT. For better side vision, mine would rise from slightly further back. I don’t think that large slot in the tall areas has enough thematic connection with the overall design. And on the sides, did I want the crease extending back from the top fender line to fully disappear, as it does on BAT 7, or continue all the way to the rear? Yet again, I had the rare advantage of being both the designer and fabricator. I could make up something, see if I liked it, and change it if I thought it could be improved.
By pete
Story and photos by Paul Wilson
To have any hope of finishing my BAT, I needed to take as many shortcuts as possible. An obvious one was to use parts from other cars if they were near-duplicates of the vision in my mind. The roof of a VW Karmann-Ghia, for example, was all but perfect. I couldn’t improve on the side window profile, and it was the right height and width. A windshield with more slope, and a rounded base at the cowl, would have been ideal. But making a custom roof, getting glass to fit, finding seals, just for minor improvements? It didn’t make sense. I got a K-G roof, which looks just fine.
By pete
Story and photos (except as noted) by Paul Wilson
When designing and building my BAT, I started with the front fenders. I liked BAT 7’s fender profile, but not the enclosed wheels. So, what would it look like with full wheel openings? Starting with a photo of the original, I got to work with Photoshop. The result was an improvement, I thought, but a bit bland. A BAT should be radical. How about borrowing the Lotus Mark 9’s sweeping line, with an air exit behind the wheel for brake cooling?
By pete
By Paul Wilson
Enclosed wheels, fins, and teardrop shapes, the defining elements of the BATs, were the height of fashion in the early ‘50s. Even then, all were controversial, and no other cars took them to such extremes. We need to look at this design environment to appreciate how the BATs expressed their times.
By pete
Story by Paul Wilson
I’ve decided to build an Alfa BAT. Yes, I know it’s a crazy idea. The Men in White Coats, always worried about my sanity, will come for me if they find out. I hope they don’t read VeloceToday.
We’re all familiar with BAT 5, BAT 7, and BAT 9, experimental cars built on Alfa 1900 chassis in the ‘50s. Of course they were presented as studies in aerodynamics; the air flow theme dominates the designs. But this was just an excuse for making the wildest, most extravagant sculpture ever put on four wheels. It’s their function as expressive forms, not their drag reduction features, that gives them their status today.
Everybody agrees that they’re exciting, original, and eye-catching. But are they beautiful?