These difficult cars have finally gotten the development they didn’t get when racing in anger and have become superb vintage racers {vsig}2008-8_2214{/vsig} In 1968, the rules for sports car racing were changed, limiting Group 6 prototypes to a maximum 3-liter engine capacity. For the 1970 season, Ferrari decided to do […]
Author: Thor Thorson
Thor Thorson is president of Vintage Racing Motors, a Seattle-area collector-car dealer and vintage-racing support operation. He has been actively involved with racing for over 40 years, dealing with racers from Ferraris to Sprites, but is mostly seen driving Elva sports racers. He has been writing the race-car profiles for SCM since 2003.
1972 Ford Escort RS1600 Rally
A Kenyan safari guide tells of this car landing so nose down that everyone thought it was going to go end over end This 1972 Ford Escort RS1600 Mk I comes to auction directly from the finish line of the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic rally, where it was […]
Lazenby Lotus 17 Special
Jim Clark’s future mechanic had to design and build a suitable frame and scavenge everything else he needed. That appears to be what he did Having created his first special while training as a mechanic with the RAF, it was perhaps inevitable that David Lazenby would embark upon a similar […]
1968 Alpine Renault A110 Coupe
To be welcome, even invited, to drive flat out over an alpine pass in a raging blizzard at night-that’s priceless This ex-Works car, fitted with a Mignotet-built and -tuned engine, started its racing career in the 1968 Tour de Corse driven by Jean-Francois Piot. The rally was won by Jean-Claude […]
1952 Glöckler-Porsche Roadster
I will argue that the Glöckler-Porsches were early flickers, puffs of smoke in the weeds, and the tinder didn’t really catch fire until the 550 came along {vsig}2008-4_2163{/vsig} Walter Glöckler occupies an honored place among Porsche owners. Not only was he one of the first to race a Porsche, he […]
1965 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk I Saloon
That “inside front wheel in the air” was a function of stiff front springs and soft rear ones, which seemed to work {vsig}2008-3_2150{/vsig} Ford’s 1960s profile-raising competition program included recruiting Lotus boss Colin Chapman to give the new Cortina a sporting makeover. Chapman’s brief was to develop a Group 2 […]
1931 Reo Race Car
Blanco and this Reo scored podium finishes for 22 years-from 1931 to 1954-a monumental accomplishment {vsig}2008-2_2137{/vsig} Car collectors have known for a long time that some of the greatest barn finds have come out of Argentina, but not many realize why this is so. To understand, it is necessary to […]
1948 Veritas BMW Rennsport
This is a front-running, potentially winning car at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. Now the price all starts to make sense {vsig}2008-1_2123{/vsig} Veritas was formed in 1946 by BMW engineers Ernst Loof and Lorenz Dietrich to build BMW-engined sports cars. Because steel was virtually unavailable in post-war Germany, the bodies […]
Lola-Climax Mk I Sports Racer
For sheer giggles per lap, I don’t think there is a vintage racer around that can match the Lola Mk I {vsig}2007-12_2109{/vsig} This well-presented Lola-Climax Mk I is not only a fine example of perhaps the most sought-after of all British small-capacity sports-racing cars of the 1950s, it is also […]
1952 Allard Cadillac JR “Le Mans” Roadster
If hot rods had been invented in England, Sidney Allard would have been their originator. The first postwar production models of the Allard Motor Company featured American Ford flathead V8s, more often than not fitted with Sidney’s own alloy speed parts such as intake manifolds and cylinder heads. By the […]