Keith Martin - Sports Car Market

Editor and Publisher

Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market magazine

Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 40 years. As a writer, publisher, television commentator and enthusiast, he is constantly on the go, meeting collectors and getting involved in their activities throughout the world.

He is the founder and publisher of the monthly Sports Car Market, now in its 38th year. Keith has written for the New York Times, Automobile, AutoWeek, Road & Track and other publications.

He had his own television show, for eight years, “What’s My Car Worth,” shown on Velocity.

Follow Keith on his adventures on his blog here.

Concours & Other Events

He has been an emcee for numerous concours including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the La Jolla concours, Keels and Wheels, the Hilton Head Concours, the Kirkland Concours, the Forest Grove Concours and more. He was also the host of shows featuring the Barrett-Jackson auctions in Scottsdale and Palm Beach, Florida, and has been a speaker at the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles.

He has been a speaker at Miles Collier’s Revs Symposium. Other speakers included Miles Collier, Gordon Murray, designer of the McLaren F1, Peter Stevens, also a designer for Murray, and collectors Bruce Meyer, Chip Connor and Arturio Keller.

In the early ‘90s, Bob Lutz invited him to be a member of “the Kitchen Cabinet,” a group of automotive experts that met biannually with the C-Suite of General Motors, including Head of Powertrains, Bob Stevens, Director of Design Ed Welburn, CEO Rick Wagoner Jr. and future CEO Mary Barra.

Martin is a member of an automotive VIP group that meets weekly. Members include Tom Cotter (host of The Barn Find Hunter), Jay Ward of Pixar, Bill Warner, founder of the Amelia Island Concours and photographer Michael Furman, and Chasing Classic Cars host Wayne Carini.

He has been on many vintage car tours, including the California Mille, the Northwest Passage, and the Colorado Grand.

He created his own vintage car event, the SCM 1000, which featured 50 classic cars including Ferraris, Porsches and Maseratis.

Racing

In Europe he participated in the Mille Miglia Storica in 1992, driving a 1947 Siata with coachwork by Zagato, and in 1995 in an Alfa Romeo 1900.

Also in Europe, he raced in the Modena Cento Ore and in the Tour Auto several times, in an Alfa Romeo GT Junior. He has raced on many tracks in Europe, including Fiorano at the Ferrari factory, Mugello, Paul Ricard and Montlhery.

He was an active vintage racer in the US, piloting a 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce and a 1967 Alfa Romeo Duetto. In the 1985 Alfa, he came in first overall in the last race to be held at the track in Westwood, British Columbia.

Awards & Honors

He has received many honors, including the Lee Iacocca Award, the Edward Herrmann Award, was inducted into the Concorso Italiano Hall of Fame, and more.

Personal Cars

His personal collection has included a Ferrari 330 America, a Lotus Elise, a Porsche 911 C4S, several Alfa Romeo Giulias and Giuliettas, an Autozam AZ-1, an AMG SL55, Mercedes 250C, Mercedes 219 and 220s, a Citroen DS21, AMC Pacer, a 1974 Chevy Nova wagon, a Plymouth 383 Roadrunner, a Plymouth 440 Superbird, a Ferrari 308GTSi, a Ferrari 308GT4, a Land Rover D90 200TDI, a Citroen DS21 and a Jaguar V-12 coupe.

Notable Achievements

He has served on the board of directors of The LeMay Museum and Oregon Ballet Theater, and was formerly the chair of the board of the Meguiar’s Award.

Martin helped design and produce the first Hagerty Insurance newsletters, working directly with McKeel Hagerty. That went on to become Hagerty magazine.

With Sports Car Market, starting in 1988, he is regarded as creating the definitive way to report on car auctions, with a format that includes the VIN number, mileage, condition and more. The SCM Auction Database has over 400,000 entries.

In developing the auction reporting format, he has consulted with Rob Myers, head of RM Auctions, David Gooding, head of Gooding Christie’s, and Dana Mecum, of Mecum Auctions.

Shifting Gears

Keith writes a column for Sports Car Market monthly, called Shifting Gears. Here are the latest articles from that column: