Ferrari - Maserati - Alfa Romeo >> Barchetta - The Classic and Sports Car Channel .... Updated News as It Happens.

�La Macchina del tempo � Museo Storico Alfa Romeo� is the heart of a genuine �brand center�, with a bookshop, café, Documentation Center, test drive track, events venues and a show-room with a customer delivery area: it is the perfect bond between past, present and future. In Arese, next to Milan city center and the Expo area.

�It seems incredible to think that Enzo Ferrari was born in the 19th century,� says Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne. �His lesson is more relevant than ever and his modernity unquestionable. He was a man with extraordinary vision and ability to manage people and resources as well as a strong entrepreneurial spirit and exceptional courage. One wonders what he could have achieved if he had had access to today�s technical resources and knowledge. The mark that he left on the world remains a source of pride for all of us at Ferrari and for the whole of Italy.�

Hans Herrmann, one of the most successful and popular racing drivers to join the Porsche AG works team, will be celebrating his 90th birthday this year on February 23. The endurance and Monoposto specialist, born in Stuttgart in 1928, is regarded as one of the most reliable and consistent race drivers of all time. In the course of his motor sport career, Hans Herrmann won more than 80 overall and best of class victories, most of them for Porsche.

First a little history revision on the Caramulo museum - it is situated in the spa town of the same name, high in the hills of the Caramulo mountain range, about 120kms south east of Porto in Portugal. The art and car museum was the brainchild of the brothers Abel and Joao Lacerda, who loved their town and wanted to give it something that would attract visitors, and keep it alive, after the sanatorium that had been its main source of employment and income closed in the early fifties.

The Museo Lamborghini is situated to the right of the main entrance of the factory in Sant�Agata Bolognese, which is a historic small town in the countryside, approximately mid way between Bologna and Modena. A bonus of its location right on the factory premises is that one will see cars being taken out on test, and maybe even spot the odd prototype. The factory is on the main SP 255, Via Modena, on the outskirts of the town, but within walking distance of the historic centre, and is still the site on which Ferruccio Lamborghini established the original factory in 1963.

Dave Nicholas has taken many shots of Ferrari's from Sebring 59-50-61-62 and some 64-65 and other major races in the North America. Latest updates ... "Results updates include complete nat'l races from Lime Rock and Marlboro 1957 to 1962. Bud Hofer donated some great shots from the Glen GP in 1961. Don Cooke gave us hundreds of shots and the first posted are a great glance at the very last Sunday race at Lime Rock in April 1959. These shots include the notorious Paul Richards trying to dry out the main straight in his Cessna ! A whole new look at Bridgehampton with shots from 1951, 1957, 1966, 1968."

This time of the year, at the end of the season with the next one just around the corner it is time to look back over the year and the events one did attend. It is also the time to see what did not make it online in time due to a packed schedule but could well serve to get over the cold days until the classic cars are back on the road for new adventures.

Avec 450 exposants dont 135 clubs et 50 000 m2 d'exposition de véhicules autos, avions, bateaux, motos, utilitaires, AVIGNON MOTOR FESTIVAL est un festival entièrement dédié à la passion des locomotions, d�hier et d�aujourd�hui. Fascinants, insolites ou merveilleux, plus de 2 600 véhicules d�époque déclinent un siècle de culture mécanique. Cette rencontre incontournable du calendrier des grands événements automobiles français ne cesse depuis sa création en 2003 de conquérir un public toujours plus large. AMF qui a enregistré 52 000 visiteurs en 2018 rentre aujourd�hui dans le club fermé des grands événements européens de ce secteur.

The Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena unveils a new exhibition, �Timeless Masterpieces�, with some of the most elegant cars in the history of the marque on display. When selecting the models, the curators of this collection focused on gran turismo and sports models, both for their iconic value and for the important role they played in the stylistic revolution of the Ferrari brand, giving shape to the aesthetic vision of their respective eras and leaving their mark on the automotive industry and beyond.

This year possibly the most prominent racing car in Porsche motor racing history is celebrating its 50th birthday: the Porsche 917. The Porsche Museum is honouring the 50th anniversary of the racing sport icon from 14 May to 15 September 2019 as part of a comprehensive special exhibition entitled �50 Years of the Porsche 917 � Colours of Speed�. A total of 14 exhibits � including ten 917 models alone with a total of 7,490 PS � will be on show.

During a test drive the ex-Eddie Irvine Ferrari 288 GTO s/n 53307 was stolen ... who will let a "potential prospect" test drive a Classic Ferrari ?

Was this smart ?

What do you think ?

The Duesseldorf Police is looking for this suspect ... the 288 GTO was discovered in a single car storage rented by a person dealing cars, the starage was NOT manipulated.

A Puzzle to solve.

Niki Lauda (22.02.1949 � 20.05.2019)
The world of motorsport has lost one of its most revered characters with the passing of Niki Lauda. Although he came from a wealthy background, his family were totally against him becoming a racing driver, so he had to do it without any financial help from them, and took out personal loans to get on the ladder to F1. His big break came in 1973 when he was driving for BRM, a team then on a downward spiral, as his then team mate Clay Regazzoni was leaving to drive for Ferrari in 1974. Apparently Enzo Ferrari asked Regazzoni what he thought of Lauda�s driving abilities, and he was complimentary, thus he also signed to drive for Ferrari in the 1974 season, finishing 2nd in his first race for the team, and scoring his first Grand Prix win in Spain. Although he achieved six consecutive pole positions that year there was only one more win in the Dutch Grand Prix, mainly due to reliability problems.

Giovanni Moceri and Daniele Bonetti of the Team Alfa Romeo won the 1000 Miglia 2019. The duo in a 1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 SS - owned by the Alfa Romeo Museum of Arese - won the 37th historical re-enactment, with 74752 points. Moceri, a doctor from Palermo, and Bonetti, a journalist from Brescia, beat the Villa Trasqua team, composed by two Brescians, Andrea Vesco and Andrea Guerini who, in a 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS Zagato, gained 73611 points.

Perfect harmony between the public and the Jury of experts enabled the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B to gain a one-two victory at the Concorso d�Eleganza Villa d�Este 2019. The stylishly captivating and technically sophisticated two-door coupé from the year 1937 was crowned overall winner of the world�s most traditional heritage beauty contest for historic vehicles, just one day after its success in the Public Referendum. The event held under the motto �The Symphony of Engines � 90 Years of the Concorso d�Eleganza Villa d�Este & BMW Automobiles� therefore became a solo for the rare gem from Milan

The London Motor & Tech Show presented by leasing.com in association with Drivetribe was held at the Excel Exhibition Centre between 16-19 May. The show occupied three halls of the exhibition centre, two being the province of static displays, whilst the third featured live action which encompassed electric go-karts, a wall of death, Caterham Drift Taxis and renowned stunt driver Paul Swift performing some amazing feats. If you wanted to take the wheel yourself, there was also the opportunity for test drives in a variety of vehicles, or if you wanted to drive remotely then there was the Theo Racing Bugs remote control race track

In the classic car calendar the May usually is packed with numerous events ranging from international rallies and concours to more local events. With the late edition of this year�s Tour Auto there was literally an event every weekend and sometimes one had to choose. After chasing cars through France and Italy and watching the line-up of masterpieces at the Lago di Como the month ended in Austria with the Gaisbergrennen. Although not having the same international reputation as the Mille Miglia or the Villa d´Este Concours the race up the hill at Salzburg can look back at a long tradition.

110 years ago Ettore Bugatti founded the famous sports and touring car company under his own name after working as constructor at companies like de Dietrich and Deutz Motorenwerke. Within just a few years the name Bugatti was very well known on the race tracks as no other company before the war was winning as many races all over the world. Over the years Bugatti did not only construct the famous GP racers but also a vary of touring cars but apart from the famous Royale all of them were intended as drivers rather than chauffeurs cars.

The fourth Concours d�Élégance Suisse(CES) award ceremony � held on Sunday June 23rdin Coppet, near Geneva � saw an international multi-disciplinary Jury award 42 prizes including its highest distinction, the Best of Show prize. The latter went to the 1953 Ferrari 250 GT Europa de 1953, chassis No. 0295EU with coachwork by Vignale, which also won the Jury The President�s Choice Award (Prize of Exception)

For four days, this prestigious event brought together the most beautiful cars in the world, offering an amazing journey through time to automobile enthusiasts. On Thursday, June 27th the first of the 47 cars arrived at 2 PM on the Terrasses du Soleil in Monte-Carlo. A remarkable location enjoyed by a swelling crowd of spectators. The next day, Friday, offered a pleasant ride into the countryside on the winding roads of the Côte d�Azur. Mid way, attendees enjoyed a picnic at the Domaine du Mont Leuz. Early in the afternoon the drivers made their way back to the Principality for the meeting with the jury, giving them an opportunity to share details about their cars.

�Pininfarina is recognized as one of the world�s premiere coachbuilders,� says President and Founder of Gooding & Company, David Gooding. �Their designs have been hailed as groundbreaking, incredibly influential, and always stunningly beautiful. We are proud to be offering some of Pininfarina�s most famous work when the celebrated firm from Torino was at the pinnacle of its power.�

Bonhams will be returning to Geneva on Sunday 29 September, for a very special sale, featuring a private collection of 25 supercars, hypercars and luxury motor cars � all to be offered without reserve � to be presented at the prestigious Bonmont Golf & Country Club. The sale will take place in a 12th century abbey, which is next to the Clubhouse, a former chateau overlooking Lake Geneva.

Since the London motor show closed its doors some years ago the interest of the international brands turned towards Goodwood and not only do they built huge temporary show rooms at the infield but also choose Goodwood for the unveiling of new offerings, so not few cars celebrated their global debut at the FoS as the re-introduction of the De Tomaso brand on one end but also the unveiling of the new Porsche 911 RSR right on the starting line.

Leading the group is a 1962 Ferrari 250 SWB California Spider, chassis no. 4131GT, the second to last of all examples built and the only remaining unrestored SWB Cal Spider. Undoubtedly the most original, well-preserved example in the world, the Cal Spider is presented in its original colors and with its original interior. Delivered new to Switzerland, in 1971 the car passed to Canadian George Carrick, who used the car as the inspiration for his book The Spyder California, one of the first Ferrari books ever published on a particular model, which would go on to become the go-to resource for the car. Having had just four owners in the last 50 years, the SWB California Spider is offered in Monterey from more than 25 years of single ownership, in fully numbers-matching, Ferrari Classiche Certified condition (Est. $10,500,000 - $13,000,000).

H.R. Owen�s new flagship London Ferrari Atelier Showroom in Berkeley Square, in the heart of Mayfair, had its official opening ceremony during the evening of Thursday 11 July. As a prelude, over the three days leading up to the opening ceremony they had a four car display in the gardens of Berkeley Square opposite the showroom. This comprised of a 750 Monza, a 250 GT SWB California Spider, a 250 GTO and the current limited edition Monza SP1, which was housed in a glass sided box, which was illuminated at intervals to reveal the car. On the opening evening there were five further Ferraris displayed on red carpets outside and across the street on the square side opposite the showroom, including a LaFerrari and a 488 GTE EVO from the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hour Race.

�In the world of vintage Ferraris, most would agree that the 250 GT California Spider is in a class of its own,� states David Gooding, President and Founder of Gooding & Company. �It is the quintessential open Ferrari, and this example exhibits highly desirable features including covered headlights, Classiche certification, numerous awards, and a unique and stunning color scheme.�