Worthy of Note

Fiat has reported that Chrysler will build and sell four versions of the Fiat 500 in the U. S. starting in 2011. They will include a hatchback, convertible, station wagon and a sporty hatchback.

A long time reader of VeloceToday has asked us if we could mention a recent theft. “At some point between March and April 2009, the Ferrari 275 GTB motor with engine number 07587 was stolen from a locked storage facility in an underground car park in Dusseldorf, Germany.”
If anyone can help please contact Andreas Birner at:
Mobile: +49 / 177 / 792 52 92
Email: abi@andreasbirner.de

Our friends at La Dolce Vita announced that the Shriners Hospitals will benefit from a portion of ticket sales. For details click here: Montereybayconcours.com

Coming up in VeloceToday; Jack Gordon and Karl Ludvigsen on the OSCA 750 at Sebring, Lancia Aurelia racing, the Qvale Mangusta and much more.

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The Lancia Aurelia B20: An Appreciation PII

Part II
Read Part I

By Pete Vack
Very special thanks to Geoff Goldberg and Nigel Trow

An article or three, about the Lancia Aurelia, one of the most significant and important cars of the twentieth century. This week, Lancia’s famous independent suspension systems.

There is no doubt that the Lancia Aurelia B20 was technically advanced when it was introduced in 1951. As we will see, the B20 Aurelias–production-based Grand Turismos– won the Targa Florio outright and nearly won the Mille Miglia, largely due to the successful implementation of its four wheel suspension and transaxle.

As successful as it was, however, when reviewing the Lancia B20 suspension, two questions arise. Why did the Series 4-6 B20s series use de Dion type rear suspension, why with leaf springs, and secondly, why did Jano continue to use the somewhat antiquated sliding pillar front suspension?
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Monte Carlo Confidential

The Monte Carlo not seen on SpeedTV

Photos copyright Mario Marchesini
Captions by Lorenzo Marchesini

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Le Mans 1960: Jack, John and the 750 OSCA

By Jack Gordon with Pete Vack
Photos courtesy of Jack Gordon

Forty-nine years ago, John Bentley and John “Jack” Gordon bought OSCA 750, chassis 769, and entered it at Sebring, where they placed 12th overall and won the Index of Performance. On a roll, they decided to go to Le Mans and try to duplicate their amazing success at Sebring. Jack Gordon picks up the narrative here in this exclusive for VeloceToday.

With Sebring packed away it was time to plan the next move.
It was now late March and we were informed that all the entries for Le Mans were closed and they wouldn’t give us a late entry. It would have been nice to repeat the dual Index wins of de Tomaso.
Continue reading the article » » »

Legends at Le Mans

Photos and captions by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Colorful legends at Le Mans this year featured 79-year-old Sir Stirling Moss and his OSCA FS 372. Moss is no stranger to OSCAs; he won at Sebring with an OSCA MT4 in 1954.
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Peugeot at Le Mans 2009

Photos and captions by Hugues Vanhoolandt

French cars win the iconic French event; our man at Le Mans, Hugues Vanhoolandt, focuses on the winning Peugeot team.
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British Grand Prix

by Erik C. Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media

Red Bull’s second

Sebastian Vettel made the most of his pole position and dominated this week’s British Grand Prix. The young German blew away the competition and brought his Red Bull Racing car home to finish 1-2, setting Brawn GP on notice that the performance gap has been closed.
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A Car Life, by Larry Crane

Aston Martin’s latest V8 Vantage benefits from 80 years of development for the 24 Hours of Le Man and we chase its history on the storied circuitton

Photos by Nick Dimbleby, Pete Robain and Ian Dawson

Cornering hard into the Ford Chicane–second gear–very tight. How do the LMP cars do this? We have entered from a back corner of the paddock and it is a curious place to begin a lap. Full power up the long hill past the pits, all the way to top gear; two quick clicks down to fourth at the top of the hill and into the new Dunlop curves surrounded by acres of gravel and quickly to the esses and the forest.
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Improbable, Impertinent, Imponderable

Pete Vack on the Immortal Deux Chevaux

Deux Chevaux, Deux, meaning two, and Chevaux, (Cheval Vapeur, or steam horse) a terms which means horsepower and was the the basis for a sliding scale of ratings for taxation purposes.

The Citroën 2CV was one of France’s most popular cars and was in continuous production from 1948 to 199. It was iconic, but not the result of Andre Citroën’s vision–he died in 1935 just as the planning for the 2CV was started.
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Book Review: Citroën 2CV Buyer’s Guide

The Essential Buyer’s Guide: Citroën 2CV by Mark Paxton Published by Veloce Publishing Ltd. 33 Trinity Street Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1TT, England.
ISBN 978-184584099-0 64 color pages, $19.95 USD.
Click here to order

By Staff

If ever there was a need for one of these “Essential” buyer’s guides, it was for the Citroën 2CV, the beloved “Deux Chevaux” which so typified the postwar French recovery.
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