I’ve been associated with many great racecars over the years, and for the most part Indycars. I’m particularly proud of...
Then. Aristotle Socrates Onassis was a Greek shipping magnate with enormous wealth, an iconic style and a passion for objects...
We all love to be gob-smacked. It’s part of what keeps the hobby fresh and exciting. You know what I’m talking about. We covet those “Holy s@#&, what is that thing?” moments of blissful discovery. These are the flashes of brilliance that nurture us as we move through life and...
Oscar Wilde wrote, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” This sounds a lot like the car hobby to...
I love Italian sports cars, and if they were built in the 1950s or 1960s, even better. At the top...
An unabashed devotee of The Simpsons, Fred Phillips is living the slightly-north-of-American dream. Nestled away among the snow drifts of Calgary, his astonishing automotive collection is one of the best kept secrets in the hobby. From muscle cars and supercars to mid-century Italian coachbuilts and historic racing cars, Phillips’ collection...
My time with the BMC competitions department saw me racing the big Austin Healeys, and later racing at Le Mans...
It’s confession time again. For my entire automotive collecting career, now entering its third decade, I’ve been both intrigued and...
By the early 1950s, several British automotive manufacturers had completely devoted themselves to satisfying the seemingly insatiable postwar appetite for affordable sports cars. One such manufacturer was Coventry’s Standard-Triumph. After a woefully misguided attempt to enter the market with the underpowered and frumpy-looking 1800 Roadster, in 1953 Standard unveiled a...
If you were going to build an 850-cc sports racer in the 1960s, which engine would you choose? Larry Kropp...
The year was 1980; the place, Road Atlanta. During the parade lap, Motor Racing Network’s sportscaster Mike Joy set the...
If you’re reading this magazine, you’re probably passionate about vintage racecars. You love the sounds they make, the smells that waft from them, the sensation of driving them as close to the limit as your skills will allow. You also love the specific histories associated with each of these machines....
Few cars in the history of the automobile can be viewed as more revolutionary than the Mini. Designed by Sir...
How many vintage racing machines can you name that were originally powered by an ear-piercing DKW power plant? Not such...
I don’t have one favorite racecar; I have several: the Daytona Coupe I raced at Le Mans with Dan Gurney, the Ford GT40, the Ferrari P3, and, of course, the Ferrari Formula One. The Daytona Coupe was a one-off and I loved racing it. They only built six and only...
Trevor Wilkinson started his engineering business, in 1946, in Beverly Grove, Blackpool. It was named Trevcar Motors and the business...
Several months ago I received an irate email from a VR reader with one simple, albeit piercing, question; “Mark, why...
This month we bring you the first of a new monthly column devoted to the many racing barn finds and “Hidden Treasures” unearthed around the world each year. Each month our intrepid racing sleuth, Mark Brinker, will select an interersting rediscovered treasure submitted by you, the reader. So send your photos...
1966 24 Hours of Le Mans The iconic finish of the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans – Ford crosses...
There is a certain indescribable thrill associated with the resurrection of a long lost automobile. It’s often more than the...
Ever wonder what it must’ve been like way back when during those early shade-tree mechanic days when racers would vanish into their garage and emerge months later with a car of their own design? Building a racing special in the ’50s was one thing, but by the time the Can-Am...
This year is the 50th anniversary of the 911. Its first public viewing was at the September 1963 Frankfurt Auto...
Built to showcase Vauxhall’s design innovation and autonomy in the mid-’60s, the XVR project was managed by the legendary Wayne...
The genesis for Volkswagen’s near-ubiquitous Transporter, or Microbus, was a combination of post-war necessity and the clever instincts of a Dutch importer. After World War II, VW’s Wolfsburg factory was in disarray and taken over by the Allied forces. While offered to a number of British and American car companies...
The initial design for the Amphicar—a contraction of Amphibious and Car—came from German racer and engineer Hans Trippel, who in...
We raced the car with the V-12 for the first time at Brands Hatch, at the Race of Champions.I remember...
Greg Smith is a long time vintage racing enthusiast and runs a restoration shop that has traditionally specialized in European machinery. His taste is eclectic and his breadth of knowledge is impressive, spanning the gamut from Bugatti to OHC Maudslay with loads of experience in between. About 10 years ago...
In the mid-1960s, as fuel injection systems swiftly replaced carburetors, Porsche enlisted Bosch to install a state-of-the-art slide-valve injection system...
Every now and then something magical happens in vintage racing. Some happenings are spectacular, like Jim Hall and Vic Elford...
The Sebring 12 Hours; Sebring, Florida; April 1, 1967 On the grid before the start is one of two factory Alfa Romeo Tipo 33s. This one would be driven by Andrea de Adamich and Teodoro Zeccoli, though hit would retire at one-third distance. Photo courtesy of: THE KLEMANTASKI COLLECTIONPO Box...
