Bristol, once a significant marque, has relocated to the “Great Paddock In The Sky.” For some time it had been on life support and a car make in name only. In 2011, it had been acquired by Kamkorp a privately-owned small group of engineering companies, among them Frazer-Nash Research Ltd. This caused excitement in some...
For most of my adult life I have lived within two miles of the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Between the last in-period race meeting in 1966 and the first Revival Meeting in 1998 it did not lie fallow. It was used for testing by F1 teams until 1982. It hosted club sprints and rallies, track days...
Before WWII, the company which became Jaguar was called Swallow Sidecars and it had diversified into making special bodies for cars, most notably for Austin Sevens. A Swallow body added about 15% to the cost of an Austin Seven, but was worth much more in street cred. In the 2018 movie, “Mary Poppins Returns” there...
Aston Martin has announced a collaboration with revived motorcycle company, Brough Superior, to make the AMB001, a limited edition track-only bike. It is unclear whether the 001 designation is a statement of future intent (up to 999 models or if it is a reference to 007.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn55uZ9NzzU The one thing most people know about Brough,...
Lloyd Ruby hailed from Wichita Falls, Texas, up in the north central part of the state, not far from the Oklahoma line. Born a year before the Depression, he was soft-spoken by nature — a wicked sense of humor notwithstanding — but not someone to be taken lightly. He began racing motorcycles at age 16,...
For the majority of VR’s readers, 2019 has been the 50th anniversary of Formula Ford, although it actually started in England in 1967. The nativity stories vary, but most come down to racing schools putting a perky standard engine into a racecar to create something that students could use and which was a lot cheaper...
Bentley is to make 12 “continuation” examples of the supercharged 4.5-liter Birkin “Blower,” one of those cars whose legend far surpasses its achievement. For a time it could claim to be the world’s fastest car, but it was built for racing and in that context it must be regarded as a disappointment. Part of its...
When he competed in his first Formula One race, Eddie Cheever was even more baby-faced than when I got to know him, which is saying something. It was the 1978 South African Grand Prix and Eddie, who looked about 16 at the time, had actually just turned 20. He qualified Lord Hesketh’s valiant Ford-powered car into second to last place on the grid at Kyalami, but went out after eight laps with engine trouble. Since then, he has seldom been far away from single-seaters in a career that culminated in his 1998 Indianapolis 500 victory in his own Team Cheever…
One of the most memorable motor races I have ever seen was broadcast from the 1959 Easter Monday Goodwood Meeting and it was for 1100-cc sports cars. For three years, the class had been dominated by the Lotus Eleven, but the top three spots on the grid were filled by Lola, a new marque, with...
In a recent “Last Lap” [60 Years of the Upscale Mini] I considered the expensive customized Minis of the Swinging Sixties, which got me thinking about Mini specials. I cannot help but think of Minis since I now live in Oxford where the 10 millionth Mini was made recently. BMW has tried to make out that...
It was a word-of-mouth, invitation-only affair organized by his lovely wife Susie and a friend without Stirling Moss knowing a thing about it. No mean feat, considering about 400 people attended the celebration. How Susie kept the party from her husband I’ll never know, except that all the invitees were sworn to secrecy! But people are not perfect: a word here, a couple of drinks there can often spoil a surprise like that. Even so, Stirling knew nothing of his surprise 60th birthday party as he and Susie strolled into the sumptuous ballroom of The Berkeley Hotel in London on September…