Sports car racing in the U.S. during the ’50s was unique. It was very different from the American circle-track or...
With a dad like Stan Jones it was hardly surprising that Alan became a motor racing nut when he was still a kid. Stan won the 1954 New Zealand International Grand Prix, four 1955 Victorian Trophies at Fisherman’s Bend, Melbourne, became the 1958 Australian Gold Star Champion and won the...
1957 Climax-powered Jomar 1957 Climax-powered Jomar. Photo: Harold Pace You know the story. Start with a svelte English chassis, add...
Photo: Sean Smith Watkins Glen, New York, September 19, 1953. On lap 19, of a scheduled 22-lap race, Walter Hansgen...
Another great American sports car driver of the fifties has left us. Dick Irish passed away March 19, 2015, of congestive heart failure at the age of 85 Several highlights illuminated his driving career. In 1951, he traded his aluminum-bodied Jaguar XK-120 for a Norton-engined Kieft Formula III and a...
The 2023 Goodwood Revival featured the Sussex Trophy showcasing a grid of 1950s sports cars racing. These iconic vehicles, including...
Howden Ganley stopped by our vendor booth at the recent Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, where one of the old photos...
Ah, spring, when a lad’s fancy turns to thoughts of…well, what do you suppose? Taut curves. Deep breathing. Throbbing… Yes, we’re talking motorcycles, of course. I’m not sure what’s happening to me, but recently my brain has been brimming with bikes. Become a Member & Get Ad-Free Access To This...
In the history of motor-sport safety, few names are as universally recognized as that of Bill Simpson. Initially an active...
Half a century ago, if your perfectly good sports car were damaged in an accident, you had options. One such...
Bruce Leslie McLaren won the first-ever Grand Prix of the United States in 1959, but really established his life’s legacy eight years later. It was September 3, 1967, at Road America, when his Can-Am team began a five-year run of dominance in the fastest kind of road racing the world...
It is interesting to note that the two most iconic constructors of Italian road-going sports cars—Ferrari and Maserati—only grudgingly began...
The Ferrari 166 Inter was Ferrari’s first true grand tourer and Ferrari’s first 12-cylinder engine to reach 2-liter capacity. The 166 Inter was an evolution...
With only 208 examples produced, the R-Type Continental was as rare a sight in the 1950s as it is today – but it went down in history as a benchmark Bentley, and the embodiment of the brand’s grand touring DNA. Its ethos and its exterior design were the inspiration for...
The R-Type Continental was as rare a sight in the 1950s as it is today – but it went down...
One of the prettiest Ferrari racers ever is the 750 Monza. The 750 Monza prototype made its debut in 1954...
Designed for the 2.5 litre Formula 1 regulations that were introduced for the 1954 season, the 250F followed the lines of Maserati’s Formula 2 racers of 1952 and 1953. It was one of the most successful race cars of its era, with several wins and podium finishes in the hands of...
The Mercedes-Benz 300SL stands as one of most memorable coupes of the fifties. The gullwing doors not only distinguished it,...
By late 1955, Alfa’s motorsports engineers had developed the Alfa Romeo 750 Competizione, which was specifically designed for racing. The...
The Ford Thunderbird was introduced to the U.S. market in 1955 as a response by Ford to the Chevy Corvette, which had come out two years prior to capture the sports car market. The name, Thunderbird, came from a Ford stylist from the Southwest, Alden “Gib” Giberson, who submitted the...
At the 1955 Brussels Motor Show, Lancia introduced the B24 Spider America, an open two-seater that is arguably the most...
More expensive than the 300 SL sports car and nearly twice the price of the top-of-the-line Cadillac of its era,...
Some cars are designed to get us from A to B, and nothing more. And then there are icons – cars that leave their mark, monumental creations of a certain era in the automotive world. The BMW 507 is most certainly not just a car. Even though the 507 was...
The Super Dart 400 was built on a 1957 300C Chrysler chassis and proudly featured a 400-horsepower Chrysler Hemi engine...
It was no surprise that the competition-bred Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing coupe set the world afire upon its debut, with...
Introduced in late 1954, the Porsche 356 A Speedster continued as a stripped-down, affordable, sports-oriented convertible within the 356 A generation. Featuring a removable cut-down windshield, a lightweight detachable top, and side curtains instead of roll-up windows found in the 356 A Cabriolet, the Speedster embodied simplicity. Initially powered by...
The Porsche 550 was Porsche’s first production racing car. The car was completely street legal, so it could be driven...
As a predecessor of the 250 GT SWB and the 250 GTO, the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Tour de France...
While the 250 GT was primarily a racing car, it did spawn a line of desirable road-going models, too. In 1959, Ferrari debuted the shorter California Spyder on their stiffer short wheelbase (SWB) chassis. These cars were superior as they had disc brakes, a more powerful engine, and less bulk. Like the LWB...
