Simply Italian at Beaulieu National Motor Museum
A lovely pair
Story and photos by Gary Axon
Given the extreme summer heat enjoyed at the last Beaulieu ‘Simply’ event we reported on here back in June (exclusively for French cars), plus the dry, sunny and hugely successful International Autojumble – held just a fortnight before the 2026 edition of The National Motor Museum’s ‘Simply Italian’ meeting for vehicles hailing from Italy (September 27)- this year’s changeable weather put a little damper on things, although at least it didn’t pour down all day unlike the 2025 Simply Italian! [Read more…] about Simply Italian at Beaulieu National Motor Museum
Pegasos in New York
May 23, 1953. The new Pegaso, chassis 0121, poses for a photo at Bridgehampton. Can anyone identify the people? Photo by Robert F. Pauley.
By Pete Vack
From the VeloceToday Archives, February 2022
Not too much mystery about the Pegasos that appeared at Bridgehampton in May of 1953. Two photographers, Robert Pauley and Glen Glendenning were there and photographed two of the Pegasos. Perhaps a mystery was the chassis number of the Z102 model that accompanied the famed “Tea Rose.” That’s where our readers come in! [Read more…] about Pegasos in New York
Hampton Court Concours, French and Italian
This 1948 Simca 8 Sport Cabriolet prototype actually started life in Italy as a Fiat 1100S before being taken to France for use in the development of Simca’s new post war sports model. The coachwork was created in Italy by Stabilimenti Farina and differs from the later production version. The first private owner of the Simca was an American Army officer stationed at Friedberg in West Germany, which just happened to be the base where Elvis Presley served with the 3rd Armored Division. As he was also a friend of Elvis, the story goes that he deliberately chose a red cabriolet so as the red lipstick marks left by Elvis’s adoring fans would be less visible than they would have been on a white car!
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Another weekend, another country estate. This one actually a Palace, Hampton Court Palace, right on the Thames, and once the home of Cardinal Wolsey, an influential adviser to Henry VIII.
Whilst the main entrance to the Palace is from the Tudor period, the concours itself is held in the parkland in front of the Baroque part of the Palace built during the reign of William and Mary in the seventeenth century. It is a fantastic setting, not just because of the Baroque backdrop, but for the luxury of space to properly display the cars. [Read more…] about Hampton Court Concours, French and Italian
Hampton Court Concours, British and Other
Wilhelm Schmid’s 1956 AC Ace-Bristol chassis BEX 148 was shipped directly from the Thames Ditton factory to Venezuela for Dr Oscar Lupi and was one of the first group of five models sent to the country through the importer and racing driver Juan ‘Jack’ Fernandez. Lupi planned to race the Ace so entrusted it to Karl Pentz, a German garage owner based in Caracas, who modified it, together with two other examples, to improve their aerodynamics, each example differing slightly from the next with BEX 148 gaining a lower Ferrari-like nose with cowled headlights. Wearing the racing number 139, Lupi campaigned the Ace extensively over four seasons, finishing fourth in the under 2.0 litre class at the 1956 Estado Carabobo Trophy in Valencia and ninth at the La Montana hillclimb in 1957. In 1958 he finished seventh at the Trofeo Shell and second at the same event in 1959. In 1960 he retired BEX 148 from racing haveing purchased another AC Ace-Bristol.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
We continue the Hampton Court coverage with British and other makes. A complete list of winners follows the photo gallery. [Read more…] about Hampton Court Concours, British and Other
Chantilly Arts & Elegance 2026
Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Every two years in September, the Chantilly estate, its château and its gardens host the ‘Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille’ competition, showcasing exceptional vehicles divided into 14 classes. Around forty automobile clubs are also represented and compete for their own awards.
All of this takes place in an atmosphere of French elegance, with Paris, the capital of luxury, being only 60 kilometers from Chantilly. Two years after the competition’s creator, Patrick Peter, passed the torch to his successors, it seems the organization is in good hands. We’re already looking forward to two years from now.
But before then, let’s discover the highlights of the 2026 edition.
A Whimsical Goodwood Revival
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
It is the attention to detail that make the Revival so special. Not just getting the right cars and drivers together, or even the racing itself, which is always superb. It is the little things, like the massive display of Sicilian Oranges and Lemons complete with a donkey to make you feel like you are in Sicily; the one-man band strutting his stuff as you cross the bridge into the event site; all the signs written in Italian, the warning signs from the Targa Florio telling you how to behave, pasted along the tunnel under the track, in Italian of course; the pit garages decked out with period Italian advertising; the grass area to the left of the main entrance made to look like an outside Pizzeria; painting the buildings to resemble a Sicilian town.
French and Italian Classic Cars at the Goodwood Revival Car Show
Story and photos by Gary Axon
Following on from my colleague Jonathan Sharp’s excellent reports from the on-track action at this year’s Goodwood Revival, here is my take on an event Jonathan didn’t cover.
Always a personal favourite attraction from my full-on work duties at the annual Goodwood Revival are the exceptional vehicles in the dedicated Pre-1966 and Tax Free ‘Revival Car Show’ parking areas. The area is a short hop away over the road to the Revival Car Show from the enthralling wheel-to-wheel racing action at the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit and is worth every moment and the extra shoe leather.
And How! Murphys’ Concours d’ Elegance
Story and photos copyright Daniel De Gallo
Daniel De Gallo reports on a fab weekend (September 26-27) up in Murphys, California, at the Ironstone winery and amphitheater. In this short And How featurette, he tells us how he got there and what he saw. -Ed.
Happy Birthday Graham Gauld!
Innes Ireland* giving Gauld a lift back to the paddock in the factory Lotus 19 after winning the sports car race at the 1961 British Grand Prix at Aintree.
Last week while Graham Gauld was giving Toly Arutunoff a nice birthday greeting on September 22, we missed Graham’s 92nd birthday, which was on September 24. We can’t let that pass without notice! Below, we offer up a few memories from his new autobiography as well as a few thoughts from our own Graham Gauld archives.
Born in Edinburgh in 1934, Graham still can recall WWII. “My most vivid memory was about a week into the war, standing on the roof of our house in Edinburgh with my father hanging on to the chimney pots watching the Junkers Ju88s trying to bomb the Forth rail bridge** and the Spitfires trying to shoot them down.” Fortunately for us, young Graham’s attention soon turned to cars.
Even that wasn’t easy. “I was brought up in a family where ownership of a motor car was never considered for the simple reason that few of our family could ever afford to own a car far less tax, insure and run one,” recalls Gauld in his forthcoming autobiography. [Read more…] about Happy Birthday Graham Gauld!
Italian cars at the Goodwood Revival, Part 1
1954 Ferrari 750 Monza, entered and driven by Franco Valobra.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
The main theme for the 2026 Goodwood Revival was ‘La Dolce Vita,’ celebrating 100 years since the founding of Maserati’s motorsport division with a daily track parade of the company’s racing cars. In addition, the Lavant Cup on the Saturday featured a grid made up solely of 1950s Maserati and Ferrari sports cars.
