When you troll the paddock at a vintage race meet as often as I have, it takes a special car to catch your eye. While my heart still goes pitta-pat for Alfas, Moggies, 356s, and just about every Lotus and Jaguar, when a bright orange sports racer I have never seen before roars by through...
This is the tale of a wonderful old racing machine, now fast approaching its 100th birthday but still enjoying an active competition life in the hands of vintage racing enthusiast and collector Andrew Larson. Itâs a 1927 Bugatti Type 37A Grand Prix racer, chassis number 37265, and it has been driven by many individuals, including...
If the name Jean Pierre Kunstle came up in a conversation about sports car racing, it wouldnât be surprising if it didnât sound familiar. He was sort of a âmystery manâ since not much was written about him personally, virtually all reports were about his racing success on the track. He appeared on the sports...
It may be irrelevant to ascribe beauty to a racing car designed expressly for its function. But the 1938 W154 Grand Prix machine fielded by Mercedes-Benz combined gorgeous looks with ample power that brought great victories. In 1938, the first year of a completely new Grand Prix formula, Mercedes-Benz won five of the seasonâs seven...
On New Yearâs Day of  1967 the South African Champion,  John Love, was pipped at the post in the season opening South African Grand Prix at Kyalami when his Tasman Cooper faltered in the closing stages whilst comfortably in the lead and was forced to stop for fuel because of a defective fuel pump. The...
Sixty years ago, Chevrolet had the guts to introduce a model that was drastically different than anything they had ever done before. Time had come for a small, economical Chevrolet. Ford was working on the Falcon, and Chrysler was close to introducing the Valiant, both very traditional automobiles. The car Chevrolet would use to compete...
Sydney pharmacist John Hallihan is the man who brought a rare D-Type to Australia, in very interesting circumstances. During the obligatory overseas working holiday in the mid-â60s, Hallihan met legendary Jaguar PR Manager Andrew Whyte. Hallihan was keen to buy a âcheapâ Jaguar, and asked Whyte if he knew of any cars already âon the...
In 1977, Porscheâs âimprovisedâ Type 936/77 took on the full-court press of four Renaults at Le Mans. Retirements and technical troubles suggested that winning was out of the question. But neither its drivers nor Porsche number 4 believed that. Against strong opposition from Alpine-Renault and Alfa Romeo, Porsche took the world sports car championship in...
The holy grail of land speed records resides in the vast solitude of a formerly thriving prehistoric lake. 14,000 years ago, this epic lake flooded out, evacuating the equivalent of Lake Michigan into Idahoâs Red Rock Pass. This devastating flood would last for over a year, continuously moving trillions of gallons of water with speed...
Texas professional and historic racer Charles Nearburg has a long and diversified motorsport resume. At the profession level, he’s competed in everything from Super Vee and Toyota Atlantic to Le Mans and Champ cars, while even breaking the Land Speed Record for piston-powered, wheel-driven vehicles at 414.316 mph along the way. Most recently, Nearburg has been a winning competitor in the The Masters Historic Formula One and sports car championships. Your best day in motor racing? “Probably my first professional podium. That came on the Mile Oval at Nazareth in the Bosch Super Vee championship. I finished second that day…
During the late â50s and early â60s American racers were doing battle in a wide variety of homebuilt racecars and Specials. Taking production car engines and chassis and creating their own unique take on a competition car. They may have been quick, but many had a look only a mother (their creator) could love. This...