Paul Arzens and The Whale
They Don’t Get Much Bigger!
Story and photos by Graham Gauld unless othewise noted
Someday I might write a book about conventional industrial designers who also designed cars.
People like Giorgetto Giugiaro – who, apart from cars, designed Italy’s first high speed trains – or Raymond Lowey who designed the Studebaker Avanti but was best known for his industrial work.
Then there was Frenchman Paul Arzens whose major contribution to car design was his fabulous La Baleine, the whale, some eighty-eight years ago.
Arzens attended the famous Ecole dees Beaux Arts in Paris and was best known as a painter before becoming an industrial designer. One of his first creations was shown at the sensational 1938 Paris auto show where art-nouveau was truly reflected in cars as it also saw the public showing of Figoni et Falaschi’s remarkable Delahaye 165 Cabriolet. [Read more…] about Paul Arzens and The Whale
Selling a Classic? Here’s Help
Only 31 Pages, $27 and very worthwhile.
By the Editor
Between 1967 and 2000, I sold dozens of cars, almost all of which would be considered valuable classics today: Two Ferraris, 14 Alfas, numerous Lancias, Fiats and Abarths; French cars including a Renault Dauphine and R16, a rare Peugeot, MGs, Minis, Lotus Cortina, Mercedes, BMW, etc. Most were used for daily transportation. Each one was a great buy, a nice experience, and easy to sell in order to move on to the next confection. [Read more…] about Selling a Classic? Here’s Help
Shannons Adelaide Rally, 16-18 October 2026
Gavin Rich & Peter D’Orsi, McLaren Artura (EV), Porsche GT3, Ferrari 488GTB, Aston Martin Valhalla (EV), Stage 3 Knotts Hill
Story and photos by Vince Johnson
The roads in the hills around South Australia’s capital came alive a month earlier this year. The anticipated spring rains were nowhere to be seen and conditions were ideal throughout the three-day event. There were other changes too. Parc fermé moved into Victoria Park on the city’s eastern edge where preparations were underway for November’s V8 Supercar races on the street circuit. Saturday evening’s street party was relocated from the CBD’s Gouger Street, currently undergoing upgrades, to King William Road south of town, but the event’s Finale and podium celebrations repeated last year’s success in North Adelaide. [Read more…] about Shannons Adelaide Rally, 16-18 October 2026
The Louwman Museum with Hugues Vanhoolandt
Hugues Vanhoolandt takes us on tour of the Louwman Museum, also known as the Dutch National Motor Museum.
From the VeloceToday Archives, January 2013
The Dutch National Motor Museum is also called the Louwman Museum, due to the name of its founder, P.W. Louwman, who began to show his collection of cars in a museum in 1934. Mr. Louwman was Dodge and Chrysler importer in the Netherlands and his son, Evert, is now the Toyota and Lexus importer.
The Louwman collection is the oldest private collection of motor cars in the world. At the time of our visit, the museum housed a special exhibition of pre-war Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows, on loan from the Stuttgart Museum, but Italian and French cars are always well represented in the collection. [Read more…] about The Louwman Museum with Hugues Vanhoolandt
Two Bandinis for Your Pleasure
Photo by Dave DeBrul
Below is an article first published in the August 5, 1985 edition of AutoWeek as a Escape Road feature, written by the Editor and featuring the Bandini 750 Sports, then owned by Dave DeBrul. Having gotten the reader suitabley reved up, we follow that with a description of the famous Offy-Bandini. It was known to many of us as “The Offy That Ran”, and seen in the June, 1957 edition of Sports Cars Illustrated written by Karl Ludvigsen. This Bandini has been restored and is now for sale.
By Pete Vack
From the VeloceToday Archives, June, 2021
Ilario Bandini’s main source of income was derived from owning and operating a thriving Lancia dealership in Forli, a small town whose main claim to fame was 1) being the birthplace of Mussolini or 2) the site of Nuvolari’s first victory with a Ferrari, or 3) a town through which the Mille Miglia was routed, depending on what history one chooses to read. [Read more…] about Two Bandinis for Your Pleasure
Zoute Grand Prix 2026
Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Traditionally held in October, the Zoute Grand Prix, organized in the upscale seaside resort of Knokke-le-Zoute on the Belgian coast, marks the end of the outdoor event season. The sometimes damp weather didn’t deter a large crowd from celebrating classic cars, with the Concours d’Elegance, the classic rally, and the Bonhams and Broad Arrow auctions, as well as modern supercars, with the GT Tour and the exhibition of the latest luxury brands, shown from October 7–11.
Here, we will focus primarily on the Concours d’Elegance held on the Zoute golf course. [Read more…] about Zoute Grand Prix 2026
All Italian Day Car and Motorcycle Show
Alfa 6C 2500 Pinin Farina
Story by Brandes Elitch, photos by Kenyon Wills
This is the 39th year of the All Italian Day Car and Motorcycle Show in Alameda, California. It was held on October 11, 2026 and was sponsored by the Alfa Romeo Association (ARA), which is based in San Francisco. The club was founded way back in 1960. [Read more…] about All Italian Day Car and Motorcycle Show
Introducing Bob Goldberg
Bob Goldberg with Alfa T33. Photo by Brandes Elitch
Story by Brandes Elitch
The Alfa Romeo Association USA is “a SF Bay Area” club of about 500 members, most of whom live in the area. If you have an Alfa, this is an organization of people who can and will help you, and Bob Goldberg is the editor of Overhead Cams, a first-class magazine every month. Even if you cannot make local events, the magazine is worth the modest membership cost by itself. [Read more…] about Introducing Bob Goldberg
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