Giulio Borsari has just passed away, at age 87.
During the 2007 Ferrari 60th anniversary event I was walking down Via Emilia in Modena and I passed a little garage. Looking inside, I could see photos of the Scuderia Ferrari building that used to be around the corner. There was an old gentleman alone in the garage reading a newspaper. I entered the shop and indicated I was interested in a closer look at the photos. The old man folded his paper and began speaking Italian. My Italian was worse than his English and we ended up talking about the photos in broken English and Italian and lamenting that the Scuderia Ferrari building had been torn down. The old gentleman was Borsari. What a thrill it was for me. Borsari was one of Phil Hill’s favorite Ferrari mechanics. When I mentioned Hill, Borsari’s face lighted up and he started telling stories. I wish I had had more time and much better Italian. The funeral will be this Friday.–David Seielstad
Archives for March 2013
All of our Features Articles for the 1st Quarter 2013
The Maserati A6G 2000 Zagato: Book Review
By Pete Vack
All images courtesy Walter Bäumer and Dalton Watson unless otherwise noted.
The Maserati A6G 2000 Zagato by Walter Bäumer
ISBN 978-1-85443-249-0 Published by Dalton Watson Fine Books
290 mm x 295 mm 288 pages, 227 Black and White and Color photos
US $155 ON SALE NOW!!
Maserati history is just as significant, interesting and eventful as that of Ferrari. But as Michael Lynch noted, it would have been better if Maserati historians had begun their quest at the same time as Ferrari historians – back in the 1960s. By now a lot of history has gone by the wayside, few of the principles are left alive and remembering, and already many facts have been distorted for the prospect of a higher auction price or more prestige.
We applaud Bäumer’s decision to get as many facts down before they too, are muddled. I’d hate to have to wait for another 10 years before getting a chance too see the wonderful photos and findings now available in this book.
Anyone and everyone with even the slightest interest in Maserati, Italian cars, Italian coachbuilders, Italian competition events, and Zagato will buy this book and be thankful. I would suspect they will be tripping over themselves to get a copy, because one quick look through the pages will remind one that almost all of the Maserati Zagatos were as close to beautiful as Zagato ever came.
[Read more…] about The Maserati A6G 2000 Zagato: Book Review
Italians, French at Brooklands
Everyone is familiar with the Le Mans 24 hour race, first run in 1923. Less well-known is the British equivalent, the Brooklands Double Twelve race. Vintage Alfa Romeo fans may recall the event, however, as the first running of the Double Twelve was in 1929, the winner being Giulio Ramponi driving a 1500cc Alfa Romeo at an average speed of 76 mph.
So why was it called the Double Twelve, rather than the Brooklands 24 hour race? In an effort to appease the local residents of nearby Weybridge, nighttime racing was banned at Brooklands, so the race was run in two 12 hour heats on consecutive days.
The race had a short history of only three years. The winners of the Double Twelve in 1930 were Woolf Barnato and Frank Clement driving a 6.5 litre Bentley with Sammy Davis (the late OSCA pilot Colin Davis’s father) and Jack Dunfee finishing second, also driving a 6.5 litre Bentley. The winners of the final race in 1931 were The Earl of March and Mr. CS Staniland driving an MG Midget, their winning average being 65.62 MPH.
The story of the Double Twelve then jumps to 2007, Brooklands’ centenary year. The Brooklands museum organized a large event in celebration; in fact it was the largest motoring event to take place at the circuit since its demise in 1939. The weekend of events that year were run along the lines of the various forms of competition that took place in period including a concours and some very fiendish driving tests using what remains of the banked track and the test hill. Motor racing had at last returned to Brooklands, the birthplace of British motor sport.
Scuderia Portello at Milan Autoclassica
Story and photos by Roberto Motta
The second edition of Milan AutoClassica, held between February 22 and 24, is an event that is rapidly becoming a key venue for lovers of glorious cars of the past.
There were several legendary cars from the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese, whose exhibition kicked off the celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the Chiti Autodelta works. These include the TZ, the 1300 GTA, the 33/2 Daytona, the 33TT12 that won the World Sports Car Championship in ’75 and ’77, and the 179 F1 experimental.
[Read more…] about Scuderia Portello at Milan Autoclassica
Werner Pfister
“The Yellow Crayola Ferrari Enzo” was the last and one of the best articles submitted to VeloceToday by Werner Pfister, who died earlier this week after a lengthy battle with cancer. His story about a Crayon Ferrari crafted by a renowned artist for a Children’s hospital reminded us of Werner’s keen eye for an interesting story as well as his generosity and kindness.
[Read more…] about Werner Pfister
WE HAVE A WINNER! The correct answer was, Abarth OT1300/124 at the 1967 Turin Auto Show. Congratulations to Graham Earl.
Name the year, the show, and the yellow car. Win one of three prizes, your choice: MCarpedi postcard book, Abarth Buyer’s Guide, or a Watkins Glen CD. Send your guess to vack@cox.net. First come, first served so enter now.
Our Features This Week, March 21 2013
Caribbean Capers Book Review
Review by Pete Vack
Photos courtesdy Racemaker Press
Caribbean Capers: The Cuban Grand Prix Races of 1957-1958 & 1960
Joel Finn, Racemaker Press, 2010
12 x 9 inches, 368 pages, over 500 mostly black and white photos
$199.95
FREE US SHIPPING for VeloceToday customers!
Send all inquiries to Maria@racemaker.com
Dear Joel,
Well, you did good this time. We might add that you almost always do good. I am constantly referring to your Testa Rossa book and the ARCA history, and I don’t even have copy of your most appreciated book, American Road Racing 1948-1950 but there is no doubt I’ll be getting one soon.
This time even Willem Oosthoek calls your latest book like it is. “Joel Finn’s Caribbean Capers is comprehensive, mostly well-researched and full of many interesting images of the Cuban races. I doubt another book on the subject of the Cuban Grand Prix will ever be written, since there just isn’t anything more to report than is in this book.”
[Read more…] about Caribbean Capers Book Review
Phillip Island Classic, Australia
Story and Photos by Vince Johnson
Usually the scream of a high-revving V12 engine shouts “Italian”, but the best sounds from the track at this year’s Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport (March 8-10) were from a pair of Matra Simcas. Brought to the Classic by father and son team of Hall & Hall (UK), chassis #1 and #5 each had Le Mans credentials, third places at the 1973 and 1974 24-hour enduro, to go with the sound. They were up against some stiff opponents in the featured ‘International Sportscar Challenge’ races, giving away hundreds of cubic inches to the Can-Am opposition.
[Read more…] about Phillip Island Classic, Australia
A History of Concept Cars
Following our recent article on today’s concept cars and designers, Gijsbert-Paul Berk begins a new series of historical articles that will convey the history of dream and show cars and examine which concept cars or design studies influenced the shapes of our automobiles. Below, three interesting and legendary fashions that helped set styling trends.
Breaking Away
Concept cars, dream cars, or show cars by any name are not by any means new. Historically, dream cars are outrageous, crowd-pleasers and often trend-setters. The story of the dream car begins in 1896 as the French made a concentrated effort to make the new motor car look less like ‘horseless carriages’. In general, the design and construction of automobile bodies was the work of coachbuilders, who only a few years before, had built the horse-drawn carriages. This similarity sometimes caused confusion and irritated a number of people.
This was one of the reasons why the well-known Parisian department store “Le Louvre” organized a competition for ideas for the coachwork of ‘modern’ motor cars in 1896. The contest was open to all kinds of artists such as painters and sculptors but also to architects and coachbuilders. The prizewinning entry was a scale model made from wax, cardboard and glass by Pierre Selmersheim, an architect and furniture designer. As can be seen from the competition, the Selmersheim design was fairly radical and advanced for the era. A photo of it was widely publicized in the French newspapers and European motoring magazines. But none of the many French coachbuilders was interested in building it.
These drawings are additional entries in the competition. It is easy to see why the Selmersheim design in the lead photo above, won.
Geneva with Alessandro Gerelli
Photos and Story by Alessandro Gerelli
[Read more…] about Geneva with Alessandro Gerelli