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High Tech Tin-Tops
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The DTM grid at Donington in 1994 was representative of the era, with technologically advanced factory-backed cars from Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo and Opel providing heated competiton to entertain large crowds.
Racecar Articles

High Tech Tin-Tops

 Peter Collins

Touring car racing has usually been seen as the court jester to the serious stuff of single-seaters, but in a passing conversation at the Goodwood Revival someone said to me words to the effect that it was the saloon car race there that made the event—all the rest, including the TT celebration, was just back-up.

Mercedes-BenzÕs weapon of choice was its C Class sedan.Photo: Daimler AG
Mercedes-Benz’s weapon of choice was its C Class sedan. Photo: Daimler AG

Call them saloon cars, touring cars, production cars, or what you will, the subject is vast and, in Europe, has its roots in the races that were held for production cars accompanying Grand Prix and other international races back in the late 1940s and very early 1950s. Here could be seen the sort of cars that the general public could go out and buy, lurching and screeching their way round circuits with, in many cases, little prior preparation other than the removal of their hubcaps.

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Peter Collins
Steve Natale has been playing with cars ever since he was old enough to first hold a matchbox car in his hand. A lifelong enthusiast of anything old with an engine in it or wheels on it, Steve has been active in the hobby for over 35 years. Currently he owns a successful marketing company with his wife Mary, is an automotive photographer, blogger and writer for several automotive magazines and regular contributor to various automotive websites. Steve has attended vintage car events and visited car museums and collections around the world.
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