Don’t miss Peter Darnall’s exclusive interview with Peter Brock; Michael Lynch does Monterey, Brandes Elitch gets a sneak preview of a great new museum in Carmel and Jonathan Sharp contemplates cheap classics.
Archives for August 2016
Michael T. Lynch at Monterey, 2016
Story and photos by Michael T. Lynch
Another Holy Week has passed on the Monterey Peninsula, and once again, the aging historian and Vicki enjoyed an abbreviated schedule. It consisted only of the Pebble Beach Tour lunch stop in Carmel, The Quail, the Rolex Reunion and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. [Read more…] about Michael T. Lynch at Monterey, 2016
Peter Brock and the Amazing Triumph K Car
Story by Peter Darnall
Black and White photos courtesy Peter Brock
The K-car has always been one of my favorite designs – Peter Brock
High praise indeed! Peter Brock can include the Corvette Stingray, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, and the Hino Samurai in the portfolio of exciting cars he has been involved with. I first saw the Triumph TR-250K in person at the David Love Memorial event at Sonoma earlier this year. The sophisticated wedge-shaped profile of the car was simply elegant. The K-Car, on its looks alone, might have saved Triumph from oblivion, but it was never put into production.
And therein lies a tale… [Read more…] about Peter Brock and the Amazing Triumph K Car
The Last Refuge of the Enthusiast
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Let us make no mistake: the upper end of the classic car hobby has always been for the very wealthy. But at one time there was a discrete middle class who could afford to own the lower end of the upper end, perhaps a Dino 246 GT or a Maserati 3500 or a Lancia Aurelia in good shape. But eventually even the lower end sports cars became ultra-expensive, out of the reach of the normal enthusiast. Those days are gone and probably gone forever. So what is left for the real car enthusiast who has a family, a mortgage and a moderate income?
Between his coverage of Goodwood, Salon Prive and Windsor Castle, Jonathan Sharp took the time to attend a down- to-earth-event at a golf course near Silverstone. Ed. [Read more…] about The Last Refuge of the Enthusiast
Brandes Elitch: True Believers and Monterey
Story by Brandes Elich
Photos by Bill Green unless otherwise noted
The “Historics” is a catch-all phrase given to the multiple events occurring during “Car Week” on the Monterey Peninsula, including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Historic Car Racing at Laguna Seca, the Quail Lodge extravaganza, and the Concorso Italiano, among others. [Read more…] about Brandes Elitch: True Believers and Monterey
VeloceToday for August 23, 2016
Next week we will be inundated with stories from Monterey by Michael T. Lynch, Brandes Elitch and super shooter Hugues Vanhoolandt. This week, catch the Oldtimer Grand Prix by Alessandro Gerelli, plan to see the Lancia D50 at Radnor Hunt in September, and, we present again the amazing adventures of Robert Little as he goes inside the walls of Autodelta.
Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, 2016 Part 1
Photostory by Alessandro Gerelli
The Oldtimers Grand Prix at the Nurburgring has been covered by Alessandro Gerelli since 2002 and is always a refreshing contract to the Monterey Car Week. What is remarkable is that so many of the great Grand Prix and sports racing cars keep returning to the Ring, always in the best of condition and often with new owners. The old never gets old and is newly appreciated by succeeding generations of owners and enthusiasts. Ed. [Read more…] about Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, 2016 Part 1
Oldtimer Grand Prix 2016 Part 2
Photostory by Alessandro Gerelli
In previous reports, Gerelli has usually made a split between the Ferraris and Maseratis at the Ring and does so this year as well. “If many of the old cars are the same, the photos are always different,” says Gerelli. The annual event was held on August 12-14. [Read more…] about Oldtimer Grand Prix 2016 Part 2
Lancia to be a Featured Marque at Radnor Hunt
This year’s concours is the 20th anniversary and is featuring Lancia, Mercedes Benz 300 SL coupe and roadster and Previous Best of Show winners and class winners from the past 19 years to celebrate the 20th anniversary event. The featured motorcycle classes are Fast from the Past, Land of the Rising Sun and Mid-Century Motorcycles. The event is also unique in that it features horse-drawn coaches and carriages which illustrate the evolution of wheeled transportation. [Read more…] about Lancia to be a Featured Marque at Radnor Hunt
VeloceToday for August 16, 2016
Silverstone and the Alfa Giulietta production line, circa 1961
This week we present a Silverstone extravaganza courtesy of Jonathan Sharp and a complete scan in high resolution of the 1961 photographic tour of the Alfa Romeo manufacturing and production line; 25 pages with 78 individual photos. Clicking on each page will result in a very large image. And, please help us continue our work by subscribing.
Birth of a Giulietta Part 1
A decade ago we published a few images from this 1961 Alfa advertising supplement, probably from an insert in Quattroruote.
This time, with improved scanning techniques, we present the entire 25 pages, consisting of 78 photographs which illustrate the complete assembly of an Alfa Romeo from raw materials to a ready for the road product. Actually, there are 79, but we do not have the very first page, which had photo number one. We don’t know what that photo was.
I can’t recall or confirm where I came upon this fascinating look at the Portello works and we apologize if we can’t give credit to the photographer, or even the source of these photos. No doubt the rights lie with Alfa Romeo, though, and if so, thank you Alfa Romeo.
But not only have we scanned each page for you, but when clicked each page will expand to 1200 pixels in hi res. That’s a pretty large file so have patience, and we have split the supplement up into two parts, pages 2-14 and 15-26 for easier downloading.
The following is the process from casting to the completion of those fantastic finned brake drums.
Bearing in mind that this was a photo-op and the workers and foreman knew to clean up their act beforehand, nevertheless one must be impressed by the overall cleanliness, and the pleasant appearance of the assembly line workers. And there were many workers, as in the days before robotics, almost everything needed to be hand assembled, welded, cast, adjusted and tested. The employees seem to be carrying out a useful and somewhat technical task, and knew that they were putting together a car which was respected around the world.
Silverstone Classic Part 1
Photos and Story by Jonathan Sharp
Back from a very long day (July 30th) at this year’s Silverstone Classic. It’s funny I had looked at the few entry lists that I could find on line and was not that fired up about attending, especially at 5am on Saturday morning when my alarm went off. Yet I had a great day and I wish I could have attended for more than just the Saturday.
[Read more…] about Silverstone Classic Part 1