Archives for February 2012
Nardi at Le Mans, Part 2: The Bisiluro
By Roberto Motta
Photos courtesty of Roberto Motta, Dino Brunori and Alessandro Nassiri © Archivio Museo Scienza
As we have seen, (Read Nardi at Le Mans Part I) despite the early retirement of his car in 1954, Damonte was still eager to compete with a Nardi at Le Mans. At some point in 1954, the engineer-architect, pilot and aircraft enthusiast Carlo Mollino was taken by the lines of Damonte Le Mans OSCA. Mollino had been hired by Damonte to redesign his personal apartment and the two shared an interest in cars. Using a photo of the OSCA as it appeared in a magazine, Mollino began to sketch out an idea for an aerodynamic body that would not cover a racing car chassis, but instead, a chassis would be constructed to conform to the streamlined body. Mollino became part of a new project to create a new car for the 1955 Le Mans. It would become known as the DaMolNar (Damonte/Mollino/Nardi Bisiluro.)
Mollino first designed a car with an aerodynamic nose, no radiator, modeling it like a thin airfoil and then began to add essential elements. The final design was a totally asymmetric car, consisting of two separate nacelles.* The left side contained the engine and transmission; the right side was dedicated and designed for a driver of small stature (less than 5 foot 7 inches).
[Read more…] about Nardi at Le Mans, Part 2: The BisiluroItalians at Retro
Hugues Vanhoolandt on some of the Italian cars that appeared at Retromobile this year.
By Hugues Vanhoolandt
Rally Sweden 2012 In English and Italian
By Roberto Motta
Photos courtesy of Citroën Communication, Ford World Rally Team, Ford Motor Co.
After a real thriller, Jari Matti Latvala and his Ford Fiesta WRC won the Swedish Rally, his first of the season. Latvala hit a rock during the special stages but managed to recover and beat his ex-teammate Mikko Hirvonen, now driving for Citroen.
[Read more…] about Rally Sweden 2012 In English and Italian
Cavallino by Gerelli
Story and Photos by Alessandro Gerelli
Cavallino Classic celebrated its 21st birthday this year along with the 50th birthday of the Ferrari GTO, together with a Vignale celebration.
As usual the event was held in Palm Beach and after two days of track time at the Palm Beach International Raceway, Saturday was spent at the Breakers hotel with the judges at work to evaluate the many Ferraris attending the event.
[Read more…] about Cavallino by Gerelli
Graham Gauld at RetroMobile
There is no doubt that the legendary Retromobile historic car show in Paris kicks off the season with a lot of fun, a lot of surprises, and just about every known dealer in expensive automobiles is prowling the stands with anguished looks at cars they might have sold if offered.
The show was bigger than ever this year taking in two halls and there was something for everyone. If you want a throttle cable for a 1929 Salmson and amidst barrels of what one would otherwise call junk, you will find one. As for cars, well, Retromobile always brings surprises. For a start, stroll with me to Christophe Pund’s stand. Christian is a jolly smiling Frenchman who manages to dig up the oddest cars from the oddest places and this year was no exception. Restored, but thankfully not to Pebble Beach standard, was a fascinating little Moretti 750 dating from 1955 that was bought by a dealer called Lino Fayen who was kind of French/Venezuelan. Shortly after he bought it he exported it to Venezuela which was just as well because the French tax men wanted to chat with him about tax and customs duty. He fled.
In Caracas the car went through various hands and thanks to Christophe you see here a picture of Edward Speluvela racing the Moretti in Venezuela. It was a twin cam producing 70 bhp and the odd bodywork was by Aperta. You will note it has a head rest and this is the only thing missing from it today. It is very original and no doubt will be snapped up and let’s hope we see it out racing again.
Australian Fiat Nationals
By Andrew Coles
The 49th annual Fiat Nationals took place at Benalla, Victoria on 20-21 January. In what has become an annual pilgrimage for us, we made the 900km (560 mile) trek over in our 1987 Alfa Romeo Sprint and 1979 Fiat X1/9. Yes, that is correct. Every year we drive old Italian cars halfway across the country in the middle of an Aussie summer. Crazy.
That’s how I found myself behind the wheel of the Alfa the other Friday, chasing one of the most amazing dawn sunrises I’ve seen into the distance. It was forecast to be a hot day and the early morning air was refreshingly balmy as it kissed and caressed the skin. Lights on, windows down, we sped through the darkness with the knowledge that things were going to get quite a bit warmer as soon as that sun finally rose. We were right.
Hugues Vanhoolandt at Retromobile
Ferrari at Daytona, New F1: In English and Italian
By Roberto Motta
Photos courtesy of Media-Ferrari and Grand-Am Media
Daytona celebrated the 50th anniversary of the legendary International Speedway track in Florida with the Rolex 24 hour race held during the last weekend of January. The Grand Am Series kickoff saw the debut of the new Ferrari 458 Grand Am, the car is designed specifically for the Grand Am GT class. Based on Ferrari’s European GT3 racer, the new car turned its very first laps at the famous Daytona International Speedway in July of this year under the watchful and experienced eyes of both the manufacturer and its pre-eminent North American racing team, Risi Competizione.
[Read more…] about Ferrari at Daytona, New F1: In English and Italian
Our Features This Week, February 1st 2012
Nardi at Le Mans Part I, In English and Italian
By Roberto Motta and Pete Vack
Photos courtesy of Roberto Motta, Dino Brunori and Alessandro Nassiri © Archivio Museo Scienza
Nardi
Enrico Nardi was always ahead of his time, even as a youth; take a close look at his very first car, constructed in 1932 with his good friend Augusto Monaco. With more imagination than money, the 25 year old engineering student put together a ladder chassis (designed by Monaco) with a 65 hp V twin JAP engine upfront and a five speed transmission driving the front wheels. It featured inboard front brakes; the lack of a driveshaft allowed the single seat to be positioned very low and it sits very low. Even if it weighed in at only 672 pounds, it was no lightweight contender, winning many hillclimbs in Italian National events from 1933 to 1937.
[Read more…] about Nardi at Le Mans Part I, In English and Italian
Borrani and Ferrari, a Winning Combination
By Pete Vack
For over fifty years the cars Enzo Ferrari drove, prepared and later constructed were equipped with the beautiful, functional and strong wire wheels made by Carlo Borrani’s company in Milan. From Grand Prix cars to Le Mans endurance racers to cars for kings, Borrani wheels were a highly visible part of the overall design. Wheels are one of the rare components of a car that must be constructed with beauty, function, safety and performance; Borrani did it best.
Ferrari was a faithful Borrani customer; according to Borrani the alliance began in 1924 when Enzo Ferrari won the Acerbo Cup in Pescara with an Alfa Romeo RL TF equipped with Rudge-Whitworth Milano wheels. Although Ferrrari began racing in 1918, Borrani, founded in only 1922, was probably not the wheel of choice for Alfa Romeo until 1924.
We can be fairly certain that Ferrari won two events of some significance, both with Giulio Ramponi as a co driver. The first was at the Circuito del Savio on June 17th 1923, at Ravenna. It was here that as Ferrari recalls, he met Count Enrico Baracca, the father of the WWI ace. The meeting led to the use of the Baracca shield on his Scuderia cars.
The other victory as mentioned by Borrani, came a year later at the Coppa Acerbo, again with an RL TF. Hull and Slater have the car listed as an RLSS, but Ramponi himself listed it as an RL TF as does Valerio Moretti’s “Enzo Ferrari Pilota”. (What’s it like to drive an RL Alfa? Find out here.)
Most of the races in the early and mid twenties were on rough, dirt roads, while the cars employed stiff cart like suspension. Yet wire wheel failures were relatively rare. The overall reliability and ease of repair of the wire wheel may be a prime reason why the Bugatti cast aluminum wheel failed to catch on when introduced in 1924.
Borrani Historical Stampings