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.

1952 Jaguar C-Type

This stunning C-type is just the seventh example of 53 cars in the chassis number sequence, and it wears the ninth body constructed. Chassis number XKC007 also claims important SCCA racing history in the hands of the legendary Phil Hill. The Jaguar debuted as number 41 at Elkhart Lake in […]

1914 Peugeot L45 Grand Prix Two Seater

1914 Peugeot L45 Grand Prix Two Seater

All dual-overhead-camshaft engines trace their origins back to a few Peugeots built a hundred years ago by a trio of racers, Jules Goux, Georges Boillot and Paolo Zuccarelli — and their engineer collaborator Ernest Henry. The race cars they built had several variations to comply with changing regulations, but today […]

1963 Ford Galaxie 500

1963 Ford Galaxie 500

Here we offer the John Willment Automobiles Ltd. racing team’s Ford Galaxie 500 — the landmark car in which the late, great, hugely popular driver Jack Sears stood the racing record on its head and shattered those long years of Jaguar domination. The Galaxie was a 400-horsepower 7-liter “Lightweight,” built […]

2016 Ferrari 488 GTE

The latest in Ferrari’s illustrious line of rear-engine V8 GT cars, the 488 GTE made its competition debut in the 2016 Daytona 24 Hours. With one car each from SMP Racing, Risi Competizione and Scuderia Corsa, it was Scuderia Corsa — with the sister car to that offered here — […]

1970 Porsche 917 K

The Porsche 917 K was the direct result of years of intense research. Although it employed the most modern concepts in automotive design, the new car was absolutely in keeping with Porsche tradition. The foundation of the new model was an incredibly lightweight aluminum space-frame chassis. Similarly, the suspension systems […]

1959 W.R.E.-Maserati

The 1950s saw a surge in the popularity of small-displacement 4-cylinder engines. Few were as influential as the engine that powered Maserati’s 200S sports racer. The competition-proven Modena powerplant attracted significant interest from privateers running other makes, and the company was only too happy to sell engines to such concerns, […]

1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA

While most GTAs were either supplied in Stradale form or subsequently upgraded to Corsa specification, chassis AR752675 was destined for competition from the outset. Correspondence from the Alfa Romeo Museum confirms that the car was manufactured on September 8, 1965, and delivered to the renowned Autotecnica Conrero Team on August […]

2012 Lola B1280 IMSA Racer

Available with powerplants from Nissan, Honda HPD, Lotus and, as with this example, the Judd BMW M3 V8, the Lola B1280 was the LMP2 version of the larger B08/60 chassis. With the large spinal fin, the car featured excellent stability at speed — a must for a car designed to […]

1961 Aston Martin DP214 Replica Competition Coupe

The four Aston Martin Development Project cars were the final racing iteration of the DB4 and Aston Martin’s last pure racers of the David Brown era. In 1962, DP212 appeared at Le Mans and led easily with Graham Hill at the wheel before engine trouble put the car out. In […]

1959 Devin D Porsche Special

The brainchild of Bill Devin, an SCCA National Champion from California, Devin Enterprises created a number of kit cars in the 1950s and 1960s. Lightweight, affordable and easy to construct, Devin’s fiberglass sports car quickly earned him a stellar reputation, and Devins could be found competing on racetracks across America. […]