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When the Chapman family finally stepped down from control of Team Lotus at the end of 1990 they carried with them a huge legacy. It was, and remains, one of the most successful racing teams of all time, winning seven Formula One Constructors’ titles, six Drivers’ Championships, and the Indianapolis...
The HSR Spring Fling, held at Sebring International Raceway, is a premier event for historic and vintage motorsport, featuring a record entry of nearly 120 cars for 2024. This event showcases a wide range of historic endurance and sprint races, including four feature races and a packed schedule of WeatherTech...
If I asked you to pick a brand associated with high performance and motorsport, chances are good the name Volkswagen would not be one of the first names to pop into your head. Known as the “People’s car”—and forever linked to the bulbous but iconic “Bug” nee Beetle—by the 1960s,...
Heaven or Hell, Jekyll or Hyde, Beauty or Beast, whichever you choose there is no doubt that Parque Montjuich provided us with one of the greatest circuits of all time. Unlike many of its disused airfield contemporaries Montjuich with its historic Palace and ornamental gardens clung to the side of...
I couldn’t quite pinpoint why, during the research and writing of this profile, that I kept hearing the Lennon/McCartney hit “Come Together” somewhere in the back of my head. I have often used the metaphor of how some of the most interesting motor racing tales are based on an almost...
Very few machines are more engaging than an Italian automobile built during the post war era. Literally every Italian manufacturer from this booming period was raising the bar on exceptional design, engineering, and braving new marketing territory – unafraid to risk, leading with passion and vigor. And it wasn’t just...
The author enjoyed slipping snugly into 2617 and giving it a proper run during an HGPCA test day at Silverstone. Photo: Pete Austin In 1966, the rain in Spain didn’t stay mainly on the plain. It blew eastward to the Ardennes Mountains of Belgium, and hurled itself down onto the Belgian Grand...
You will never know the feeling of a driver when winning a race. The helmet hides feelings that cannot be understood. – Ayrton Senna Sebring International Raceway is the spiritual home of SVRA, where the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association was founded over 40 years ago. Become a Member & Get...
The Targa 66 event, conceived by motorsport legend Brian Redman, serves as a tribute to the golden era of sports car racing, drawing inspiration from the iconic Targa Florio race in Sicily. This event is a haven for aficionados of both classic and contemporary sports cars, offering them the rare...
All right, I suppose I should start off with a confession. I am a mad, keen Austin-Healey enthusiast, and have had one example or another locked away in the garage for over 40 years. In fact, I have been quite taken by anything that was done by the Donald Healey...
A lifelong friend gave me something towards the end of his long and brave battle with Parkinson’s disease saying he wanted me to have it as his family would “Just scoop it up as part of their inheritance and not appreciate it”, I certainly did, and do, appreciate it. All...
It’s rather ironic that both the birth of the “Pony Car” movement in the mid-1960s, and its eventual death in the early 1970s, would be brought about by the “economy car.” Perhaps even more interesting, and less well known, is the fact that the first car to officially enter this...
The 2024 Daytona 24 promised to be a stellar event. It was once again oversubscribed with entries. Record numbers of Parking passes, tickets and camping spots had been sold by the Daytona International Speedway. The race would be run on the road course, a 3.56-mile circuit that makes use of...
Imagine running a car company with manufacturing technology limited by only 15-20 years of recovery from one of the most devastating wars ever fought on your soil. Now imagine you are about to risk not only on the design and development of your newest sports car offering, but you are...
It was probably 50 or so years ago when I first saw a Marcos. It was a 1/43rd scale model, and I thought it was beautiful, so I bought it for my burgeoning model collection. I’ve seen a few Marcos 1800s in person, but I hadn’t gotten close to one...
The 275 GTB occupies a very rarified space in the pantheon of Ferrari road car history. It sits at an important nexus where Ferrari road cars were evolving, becoming more sophisticated, no longer just racecars turned out for the street. Old techniques were giving way to new adaptations of racing-proven...
With the recent passing of automotive icon Carroll Shelby, it is easy to look at his amazing life through the lens of his greatest achievements—the revered Cobra and GT350 being but two that will immediately pop to mind for most casual enthusiasts. But Shelby’s career as a constructor and team...
Like most German industrial companies, World War II left much of Mercedes-Benz’s Stuttgart factory in ruins. However, with time Mercedes rebuilt and returned to what it knew best, manufacturing passenger vehicles. But Mercedes-Benz also had a passion for competition on the world stage and so by 1951 factions within the...
Words and photos: Kevin Ehrlich & Mary Fischer Germans have a long relationship with the automobile. The best-known German brands have sparking museums scattered across the country to tell their stories. Munich is the home of BMW. Audi’s home is Ingolstadt. Mercedes and Porsche share Stuttgart. Volkswagen and Wolfsburg are...
Formula Ford, as unlikely as it may seem now, brought me closer to being on the inside of professional motor racing than anything I experienced before or since. After a 35-year lay-off from that particular single-seater category, it was both an eye opener—and somewhat familiar and reassuring—to go back and...
It is unlikely that most of us can picture a Simca that is not one of the econoboxes that the company exported to the US in the late ‘60s and ‘70s. It is also unlikely that most of us knew that the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon sold at US...
If you had to pick the most challenging era of sports cars development, it would have to be the late 1970s. Automobile manufacturing was struggling for new directions, fuel consumption and regulations robbed cars of horsepower, and build quality was among the worst seen worldwide. The level of malaise was...
In a fiercely competitive and action-packed manner, the eighth installment of the Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic Sebring 12 Hour unfolded on a Sunday afternoon at Sebring International Raceway. 84 Patrick Bean/Theo Bean 76 Chevy Dekon Monza Among the highlights was the DeKon Monza, a Wynn’s car that ran in...
So, you want to drive in the Mille Miglia? OK…you need a car. A model built between 1927 and 1957 (when the MM was an open-road race). And if you want all the perks that go with a Mille Miglia entry, you need a car that actually raced in the...
Credit – BarnFinds.com I saw my first Bricklin in 1974. Lit up under the Southern California sun, a local specialty dealership was featuring this gleaming Safety Orange plasticized wedge of sharp cheddar cheese. I was immediately drawn to it. I’d already spent months daydreaming in math class about becoming a...
If you’ve never seen a Lancia Stratos in person, you owe it to yourself to seek one out. The Stratos is one of those cars that must be experienced in person to fully understand its design audacity, stance, and visceral presence. Initially conceived as a concept car of dramatic proportions,...
The European circuit-racing scene has shut down for the Winter, so car fans have to get their fix elsewhere- this show; sponsored by Lancaster Insurance (one of the leaders in Classic car Insurance in the UK) is not entirely about competition cars but there are always plenty of racers from...
There are three people who you acknowledge as important to the marque when you see a Rolls-Royce. There is Charles Stewart Rolls, Henry Royce, and Eleanor Thornton. Who is Eleanor Thornton, you ask? Well, she is the “Spirit of Ecstasy,” more about that her later, since her significant contribution to...
At the start of this month, Historic Sportscar Racing hosted one of the most anticipated races of their season: The HSR 24 Hours of Daytona. Much like the real 24 Hours of Daytona that kicks off the WEC and IMSA season each year, this event had cars of all classes,...
Since its launch in Japan in 1992, the WRX (World Rally Experimental) has taken the world by storm. The WRX was Subaru’s weapon to take on World Rally competition. The WRX took three consecutive manufacturer’s championships. It was the first Japanese automobile company to do this. It also took class...
Before Ferrari, before Maserati, before Italy’s Motor Valley…there was Stanguellini. The heritage of this historic family business is preserved in a marvelous museum in Modena. 1908 Fiat Tipo 1, Museo Stanguellini 1908 Fiat Tipo 1, Museo Stanguellini Francesco Stanguellini began in the bicycle business in 1900. He followed a logical...
In a nation known for heritage and historic preservation, the Museo Nicolis stands near the top of all car collections. The hundreds of historic autos, and thousands of additional items on display, stand as a tribute to the founder and his humble beginnings. Luiciano Nicolis, 1933-2012 (Courtesy Museo Nicolis) Luciano...
The Barn Find of a Lifetime There is just something about a weathered, unrestored original car that is intriguing. When presented a at car show, the beat-up original car (much to the chagrin of the guy parked next to it with the $30,000 paint job) will always have a crowd...
In the heart of Pontiac, Michigan lies the M1 Concourse. Host to the annual American Speed Festival, it’s an electrifying motorsports extravaganza where legends of automotive performance converge. This year’s event is no different, and was a must-attend event for all enthusiast as the 1.5-mile M1 Concourse Speed Ring transforms...
A young Art Center College of Design student, named Peter Elbert Brock, became the youngest designer ever hired by Bill Mitchell, the Vice President of Design at General Motors. He rewarded Mitchell in November 1957 by making a sketch of what Mitchell chose to be the basis for the next...
This is Why We Porsche In a symphony of speed, where legends convene, Become a Member & Get Ad-Free Access To This Article (& About 6,000+ More) Access to the full article is limited to paid subscribers only. Our membership removes most ads, lets you enjoy unlimited access to all our premium content, and...
Every vintage race car has a story to tell…but this story has more chapters than most. Become a Member & Get Ad-Free Access To This Article (& About 6,000+ More) Access to the full article is limited to paid subscribers only. Our membership removes most ads, lets you enjoy unlimited access to...
The Detroit Concours is an annual celebration that pays tribute to the heart and soul of the Motor City and its rich automotive culture. That’s why this year’s celebration shines a spotlight on the dedicated individuals who have driven Detroit’s legacy as the epicenter of automotive innovation for generations, held...
It just seems right. Visually stunning historic autos, set against the scenery of California’s Sonoma County. Become a Member & Get Ad-Free Access To This Article (& About 6,000+ More) Access to the full article is limited to paid subscribers only. Our membership removes most ads, lets you enjoy unlimited access to...
The Charente area of South-Western France is mostly a sleepy, quintessentially French area, a land of gently winding rivers and rolling hills studded with vines, famed for the Cognac associated with the region. At the start of autumn each year, the ancient town of Angoulême reverberates to the sound of...
Ken Miles drove this car. So did Phil Hill, Bruce McLaren, and Chris Amon. It began life as one of the original aluminum monocoque cars built by Abbey Panels in Coventry, England. In 1964 the car was imported to America by the Ford Motor Company to serve as the testbed...
It’s tough being British. The lackluster cuisine and stoic monarchy don’t help. Though they did give us the Beatles, Fish and Chips, and the James Bond franchise. For the most part, it’s rare to get a British moment of passionate engagement, especially for the average person. But there is one...
Story by Roger Dixon. Images by Roger Dixon & Autolook. Viva l’Italia Turin, Italy’s `Motor City` renowned for its Baroque architecture, grand boulevards, and beautiful piazzas is home to auto manufacturers Fiat, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo also the World famous styling houses of Ghia, Bertone and Pininfarina again hosted Autolook...
An impressively curated collection of historic Porsche automobiles wasexhibited at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance this August. There were historic race cars, a very early Pre-A, and other significant Porsches on display to comprise a special class to commemorate the brand’s 75 years in business. At the end of the...
Words by: Glen Smale. Images by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale The No. 21 Ferrari 250 GT SWB (1962) of Alexander van der Lof leads a group of Ferraris through the Chicane during the Lavant Cup (Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale) First of all, it would be worthwhile to recognise the significance of the...
They jokingly say “Nostalgia is a thing of the past”-well not in West Sussex, UK where Goodwood has been reviving its 1950s-60s halcyon days of racing for the past 25 years, 7 years longer in fact than the circuit operated back then. For the Revival’s silver jubilee the Duke of...
The glamorous Blenheim Palace hosted the highly regarded Salon Privé once more, in a late summer flurry of glorious sunshine in the Oxfordshire countryside. 18 years since the inception of Salon Prive, the event has grown into much more than purely a concours event, with a staggering array of Car...
If you had to pick a singular, quintessential Ferrari to represent the pinnacle of their ascendance to the best in sports car design, it would have to be the Lusso. And while Ferrari has built many exceptional road cars, the last and best of the Ferrari 250 series, the 250...
In October of 1969, Datsun started production on the 240Z, a car that would change the face of sports cars forever. The 240Z was a response to Toyota’s 2000GT. A car that was proposed to Datsun by Yamaha but was passed on and ended up becoming a halo car for...
In the coastal town of Seaside, California, junk car enthusiasts from all around the country gathered to celebrate the peculiar: the 2023 Concours d’Lemons. While most automotive shows showcase pristine, polished vehicles that gleam under the sun, the Concours d’Lemons was an entirely different spectacle. Here, the rusted, the odd,...
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