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.

1964 Cooper-Zerex-Oldsmobile “Transformer” Sports Racer

Here the Bonhams Motor Car Department is delighted to offer for sale by auction the Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Team’s first sports-racing car. It is back at Goodwood for the first time since it started from pole position here in the immensely popular and universally respected young driver and engineer’s […]

1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ

Alfa Romeos enjoyed tremendous success in the 1920s and early 1930s in distance, circuit and hillclimb events across Europe. However, as World War II approached, German super teams from Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union attempted to overshadow the cars from Portello. Post-war, Alfa Romeo picked up its winning ways with privateers […]

1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider

Enzo Ferrari was determined to secure the FIA World Sportscar championship in 1955, with the final leg being the Carrera Panamericana. A grueling five-day rally, it traversed the Mexican wilderness en route to the border near El Paso, TX. For the 1955 Carrera, Ferrari designed an all-new chassis, the type […]

1959 Jaguar XK 150 SE 3.8-Liter Coupe

Bonhams is delighted to offer this beautiful example of a knowledgeably restored and race-ready XK 150 SE with an impressive racing history. Originally finished in Olive Green with matching leather upholstery, this manual-transmission XK 150 was first registered as “JYO 1” on April 10, 1959. It was not until late […]

1969 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3

Having completed construction under the watchful eye of Carlo Chiti and his Autodelta outfit in 1969, this car joined the ranks of the other Tipo 33/3 factory cars in service at the time. Lining up against rival marques such as Ferrari and Porsche, Autodelta boasted a team of talented drivers […]

1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 Rally Racer

The 911 rally car offered here is unique among historic Porsches insofar as it has covered more competitive kilometers — equivalent to circumnavigating the world three times — than any other product from the celebrated Stuttgart factory. It was built specifically for the 1977 London–Sydney Marathon and crewed in that […]

1968 Porsche 907

It was May 19, 1968, the date of the Nürburgring 1000 Km, the sixth round in the International Championship for Makes. The showdown between Ford and Porsche was at its height: Porsche’s 907s won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, ahead of the mighty GT40s, […]

1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 RSR IROC

In 1973, Roger Penske created a racing series called the International Race of Champions, or IROC. Equally ambitious and unique in concept, the IROC series aimed to place the world’s best racing drivers in identical cars to compete against each other over several rounds at leading U.S. venues. To compete […]

1959 Austin-Healey “Bugeye” Sprite Mk I Racer

Having forged strong links with BMC in the process of developing the successful Austin-Healey 100, Donald Healey turned his attention to designing a smaller version intended to make sports-car motoring affordable to a wider sector of the market. Although its powertrain and running gear were entirely conventional and were thoroughly […]

1977 March 771 Formula One Racer

For the 1977 Formula One season, March developed the 771 that would proudly sport new Rothmans livery. The 771 had slight upgrades compared to the outgoing 761 with a front-mounted radiator, a wider tub, longer wheelbase, and lighter weight than previous models. It was powered by a 3-liter Cosworth DFV […]