A very rare Shelby was profiled in the December 2013 issue of Vintage Roadcar (The Only One – 1967 Shelby GT 500 Convertible). It was the only 1967 G.T. 500 convertible ever built. At the time, it was believed to have been built as a prototype for the upcoming 1968 model. Brian Styles, and his...
Beverly Rae Kimes has been called the “First Lady of Automotive History” for good reason. She has written histories of many of the great cars of the 20th century. Her article titled “Auburn – From Runabout to Speedster,” published in Automobile Quarterly Volume V, Number 4, provides an interesting opinion about Auburn automobiles: “The Auburn was always a...
The Dutch name DAF—Van Doorne Automobielfabriek(Van Doorne’s Automobile Factory)—is world-famous for its beefy trucks. But some familiar with its massive long-haul semis might be surprised to learn that DAF produced compact and small family cars from 1959 to 1974. Two points to remember about these DAF cars are that they were all two-door models (though...
In the 1940s, Chrysler Corporation’s Dodge division had a reputation for building solid, dependable, conservatively styled cars. That was fine, however, Chrysler wanted to add some glamour and excitement to their cars. The American public was fascinated with the new jet-age technology that had developed after the war and car companies where eager to capitalize...
In the early 20th century, the motor car was considered a killer. The culprit was the 1903 Paris to Madrid road race that never made it to Madrid. It was stopped by the French prime minister, Emile Combes, as it got to Bordeaux. The reason? The race had killed 10 people and injured many more in just...
Alex Bacon grew up a student of automobile design. He cut his teeth as a teenager with a ground up restoration on his father’s ’63 Ferrari 250 GTE and fell willing victim to the allure of its sexy design, exotic engineering and the quixotic addiction that comes from driving something you meticulously rebuilt piece by...
There is a saying, “an apple never falls far from its tree” and similarly a carrossier needs strong antecedents. The Grümmer family had been in the saddling and coachbuilding business long before the creation of the Grümmer company in Clichy, France, in 1924. The oldest traceable origins of the family have been found in the...
We open the smallish front doors, typical of open cars of the 1920s, and climb in. Chris Kidd pulls down the spark lever on the big Lincoln open tourer’s steering wheel hub and then eases out the choke, flicks the key, and steps on the starter pedal. The starter spools up, kicks the engine over,...
More than half a century ago, Turkey’s first passenger vehicles went into mass production—Anadol. Manufactured by Istanbul-based Otosan Otomobil Sanayii (“Otosan Automotive Industry”), Anadol produced seven different models from 1966 to 1991. Behind all of this industriousness was Ankara-born philanthropist and entrepreneur Vehbi Koç (1901–1996), who did an astonishing amount to energize Turkey’s economy in the...
Pontiac had built a well-deserved reputation as General Motors performance division by 1967. Innovative performance enhancing engineering, matched with attractive but aggressive styling, set the division apart from the pack. The legendary Wide-Track chassis introduced in 1959 captured the public’s imagination and the automotive media’s praise. Motor Trend magazine named Pontiac Motor Division Car of the...
For a moment, let us explore the children’s section of Vintage Road & Racecar. What children’s section you ask? In the background, I can hear a quiet chorus of, “We have a children’s section? Who knew?” Yes, cars and car stories are not the exclusive experiences of adults. Ask any adult about their first car...