The Canadian American Challenge Cup was co-sanctioned by the SCCA and CASC—it was a series nicknamed the “unlimited” series. Although...
We raced the car with the V-12 for the first time at Brands Hatch, at the Race of Champions.I remember...
1966 Eagle-Weslake, Chassis 1G-102 We have had the discussion many times before…What is the greatest racecar of all time?…so we can cut the talk short. Without doubt, Dan Gurney’s Eagle-Weslake will always appear on enthusiasts’ lists of great racers. And the Eagle, with the Ferrari 156 Sharknose, the Alfa Romeo...
1982 Lancia Rally 037 It’s midnight in late January and there’s a clear sky overhead with thousands of twinkling stars...
January 2007 Sunshine, Speed and a Surprise: The 1959 Grand Prix of the United States By Joel Finn In “Sunshine,...
Following the steep rise known as the Montee du Beau Rivage, the Virage de Massenet is a relatively quick and tricky left-hander sweeping into Casino Square at Monaco. The scene here depicts Ferrari teammates Tony Brooks and Phil Hill during practice for the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix where they would...
John Michael Hawthorn was a Yorkshire lad of 24 with hardly any top-level motor racing experience when he drove the...
1934 Team Talbot 105s When the conversation turns to the great prewar race and rally teams, the big names—Bentley, Maserati,...
1955 Zephyr Special Today, you would describe Eldred De Bracton Norman as a lateral thinker, but during the 1950s, “eccentric” in the kindest possible way would more easily come to mind. Now, over a half a century later, just to mention his name brings knowing looks and the slight nodding...
1969 Chevron B8-BMW In my book, 2006 was a good year. Got my pensioner’s bus pass, had two cataract operations,...
With coachwork designed by Michelotti and built out of aluminum by Vignale, the 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico is undeniably beautiful. It is also an engineering marvel, built to survive 2,000 miles of unforgiving desert terrain and poorly paved roads that comprised the famed Carrera Panamericana. Powered by Aurelio Lampredi’s “long”...
Sexual debauchery, a regime’s imminent downfall and a kidnapping fit for a gentleman were some of the highlights of the...
Dark clouds begin to gather in my mind every spring as I park my car in Brescia and walk to...
1991 Toyota Eagle MKIII GTP It’s amazing how one hair-brained idea can change the course of history. Such was the case when Dan Gurney took a call from a travel agent in Long Beach, California, named Chris Pook. Pook wasn’t trying to sell Dan on a trip to the Caribbean;...
The 1957 season was Juan Manuel Fangio’s swan song. With four World Championship victories under his belt, Fangio rejoined the...
1963 Scirocco By the time you read this, a superb collection of famous, bizarre, futile and fantastic Grand Prix cars...
1976 Holden Torana L34 A month or so back, Vintage Racecar interviewed Leo Geoghegan, a true icon of Australian motorsport. While Leo may have started his racing career in an early model Holden, he later became a household name from his successes with a series of Lotus open-wheelers. While this...
In April 1964, a new Gran Turismo racer 40-inches high rolled out of the Ford Advanced Vehicles factory in Slough,...
1940 BMW 328 MM “Berlin-Rome” Touring Roadster The author puts the 328 MM Roadster through its paces at BMW’s Spartanburg,...
“Dinosaurs,” we called them, ridiculing their bulk, their weight, their mindless loyalty to outmoded dogma. Indy Roadsters; they were rife with front engines and beam axles and no clue about “Modern Engineering.” Hopelessly old-fashioned, they should be rolled aside and forgotten. That’s what we said at the time. Pete Lyons...
The German Grand Prix; Nürburgring, August 2, 1953. World Champion Alberto Ascari sits in his Ferrari 500/F2 in front of...
For the last 20 years or so of his life, Rodger Ward and I were friends. Even though I had...
Prior to 1959, I ran pretty well on the mile tracks with the dirt cars, but at Indianapolis, I never had a car that was quite suitable. Finally, in 1959, I got a chance to drive for Bob Wilke and A. J. Watson, who was Wilke’s chief mechanic. I have...
My first experience with a front-engine roadster was when I first went back east to race. I wound up driving...
Jim Rathmann’s career in motor racing is marked not only by a hard-fought win in the 1960 Indy 500 but...
Talking with famed Indianapolis chassis builder A. J. Watson, the question arises about the front, twin air inlets—the signature of the Watson Roadster. The first four Watson Roadsters, of 1956–1958, had a single air inlet and chrome grille, so why the change? Surely it had some advantage. Was it the...
1957 Kurtis Kraft 500G2 The author gets up to speed on the banking of England’s Rockingham Speedway. Photo: Mike Jiggle...
Bruce Leslie McLaren won the first-ever Grand Prix of the United States in 1959, but really established his life’s legacy...
Opening in 1921, AVUS (Automobil-Verkehrs-und Übungs-Straße) was devised by the AvD as a motorsport venue and test track for the motor industry. This unusually shaped racetrack had two long straights approximately 6 miles long linked at each end by flat, large, radius curves. In 1926, the track hosted the first...
