Long, long ago (50 years) in a city far, far away (Butte, Montana), I bought a racecar from Evel Knievel’s father. Bob Knievel was an amateur racer and car dealer. He dealt mostly in used cars, but he had one line of new cars, Siata. The only car Siata was building at the time was...
Charles Kettering, one time head of research at General Motors, once said: “People are very open-minded about new things – so long as they are exactly like the old ones.” Studebaker tried to prove him wrong but lacked the capacity to make an impression. Then came the Mustang. Ford’s Pony Car was definitely a “new...
This year saw the seventh running of the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, an event that was open to cars produced prior to 1976. This event could be called a re-enactment of the original event held in 1907. That first event held not long after the dawn of motoring came about from a challenge by...
We met up with Gary Humecke in Thousand Oaks, California to see and drive his remarkably preserved 1937 Mercedes 170V W136 roadster that was custom built in Germany for export to Britain. This last detail is evident because it is right-hand drive, and is equipped with British lighting and signal indicators. We were there to...
The Mekong is a great and mighty river that feeds into China, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia and is one of the great rivers of the world. The rally intended to show the best part of this vast region, rich in culture and Unesco World Heritage sites. The participants came from eight different countries...
Sensational French shapes and racing pedigree are part of what make Talbot-Lago automobiles exotic, beautiful, rare and sought after. Few cars are more exotic or interesting than the Talbot-Lago Grand Sport. The roots of the Talbot-Lago company can be traced back to the 1890s, in Suresnes, France, where Alexandre Darracq began producing road and very...
Why an auto manufacture would choose a motto, “Le Juste Milieu,” that means “The Happy Mean,” will remain unanswered despite the research done for this article or by the two museums who, together, own three of the very rare French cars – two sedans and a particularly rare coupe. It is possible that the motto...
It is unlikely that readers of this publication would not be familiar with the Mille Miglia (aka 1000 Miglia), but some might like a refresher on the history of this famous race. Here is the link to the first of our 3-part history of this most historic race https://vintageracecar.com/life-and-times-of-the-mille-miglia/. Familiarity with the 1000 Miglia Warmup,...
We spotted Don Murray’s gorgeous Iso Grifo coupe at his private collection in Irvine California, and wondered what it was. It was obviously Italian, based on its styling, and obviously a high-end touring car. In fact, it looked like a Bertone-designed Ferrrari, except for its unusual rectangular hood scoop called a pagoda, the like of...
2-Liter Tourisme an honest car Without any doubt, the Ballot 2LS was a brilliant design, what with its cutting-edge technology and amazing performance. But it had one major shortcoming: its price! Ballot was well aware that the price of this technological tour de force would keep away most of the enthusiast car buyers, so he...
The first Japanese Grand Prix held in 1963, at Honda’s then very new facility at Suzuka, is generally recognized as the coming of age of Japanese motor sport. But six years prior to that, a Japanese car competed in an overseas event for the first time – the 1957 Mobilgas Round Australia Rally. The Round...