Much like the animal it was named for, the precise origin of the Unicorn H-Modified sports racer remains a mystery....
What was Jud Phillips thinking? This has been the question that’s tormented Bill Fester for nearly a decade. Fester, from...
Before WWII, the term “sports car” was an alien phrase in the USA. There was no such thing. Returning G.I.s changed that when they came home with MG TCs. This gave America its first taste of small, nimble, four-cylinder sports cars. Enthusiasts on this side of the pond said, “Please...
“Their hopes, their dreams, their love; tied to a ribbon of road…and a boy’s unflinching faith…in a girl!” “A story...
The German Grand Prix; Nürburgring, August 2, 1953. World Champion Alberto Ascari sits in his Ferrari 500/F2 in front of...
Then. I’ve been hiding something from you. I’m not proud of it, and it’s been going on for way too long. Before you know it, it will have been ten years. And I know if I don’t come clean now, I never will. So here goes… Become a Member &...
In the March 2009 VRJ I wrote about Don Blenderman’s Kurtis obsession and his wonderful Sutton-bodied 500KK. What I failed...
1953 Leson Simca Special Progress is not always a good thing. In the early 1950s, if you wanted to go...
This month’s awesome Hidden Treasure was discovered in 1995, sitting behind a house in Glendale, Arizona. How awesome? You tell me. It raced at Pebble Beach, was 1st in class at Santa Barbara with Bill Pollack at the wheel, was road raced with an Ardun-Mercury built by the legendary C.T....
There is no hidden racecar in this story, but there are four treasures, one mechanical and three human. I love...
In the early 1950s, Americans looked forward to attending auto shows for the unveiling of the manufacture’s latest offerings. Adding...
“For nearly a half-century, wherever Americans powered their way to automobile glory, whether on the two-and-a-half-mile Speedway at Indianapolis, the short quarter-mile midget tracks or the dusty half-mile fairgrounds where sprint cars plied their fearsome trade, the name Offenhauser long meant the most dominant engine to power a racing car.”...
Karl Kling, Mercedes W196.Photo: courtesy of Chris Bayley Automobilia (www.chrisbayleyautomobilia.co.uk) Lost in the sands of time for nearly 60 years...
How many of you would journey 500 miles across country to race a freshly built car whose engine had never...
Then After back-to-back wins at the Indianapolis 500 in 1953 and 1954, Bill Vukovich returned for the ’55 race with only one goal…to win three in a row. His mount was Lindsey Hopkins’ 1954 Offy-powered Kurtis 500C (Kurtis Chassis #372; the Hopkins Special; car #4) which had finished 21st at...
Terry Bennett says he grew up as both a nerd and a motor-head. It was hardly his fault. His father...
The 7th running of the fall races at Watkins Glen, N.Y., was held at the Interim Course, a 4.6-mile, 9-turn...
One of the wildest racecar designs of the 1950s was penned by Mario Boano, for Carlo Abarth, in 1954. From the moment it was launched in 1955, the 207A Spyder had an unmistakable presence. Abarth built the 207A on a steel box frame based on a Fiat 1100 Model 103...
“Wow, I could have had an 8V!” Can you imagine if Fiat had hired actor Ronald Reagan in 1952 to...
I worked for Jaguar from 1952 to 1986 as Chief Test and Development Engineer. Throughout that time I drove some...
Don Blenderman is koo-koo for Kurtis cars. And why not? Frank Kurtis is arguably the greatest American racecar builder of all time. His career spanned four decades, and his cars regularly dominated the competition. The Kurtis midget was the car to have in the ‘30s and ‘40s, and the lovely...
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is the second-oldest major motor racing event in North America. The inaugural race was held...
When I moved to Tennessee a few years ago, one of the first things I did was look for a...
In my book Vintage American Road Racing Cars, I wrote, “Of all the Kurtis road racing cars, the 500X is shrouded in the most mystery regarding how many cars were constructed. By some accounts as many as 12 were built, but some believe six or even fewer cars were actually...
Few cars have had more racing success and are more legendary than the Porsche 550 Spyder. From the model’s first...
1955 was the last year of racing on public roads for Watkins Glen—September 17. It was the 4.6-mile course up...
This is the story of two men, born 45 years apart, each completely obsessed with the automobile, and both hopelessly smitten by the very same car. W.J. Ziegler was born in 1911 and quickly realized that his life would be immersed in cars. He was the first student of his...
A single blown tire put an end to one of the greatest open-road races of all time. Driving along the...
The Merrimack Street Garage of Manchester, New Hampshire, is steeped in tradition. The place has been an automotive landmark for...
From our friends at Broad Arrow Auctions comes one of the holy grails of post-war sports cars; the 1956 A6G/54 with a “Double-Bubble” Zagato roof. Highlights of Chassis No. 2155 One of 20 Zagato-bodied A6G/54 Berlinettas Likely the only A6G/54 with a “Double-Bubble” Zagato roof Raced in the 1956 Mille...
