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.
Tom Wood ©2013, courtesy of RM Auctions

1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spyder

This car is equipped with a 260-hp, 2,999-cc DOHC inline 4-cylinder engine with two Weber 45 DCO/A3 carburetors, a 5-speed manual transaxle, independent front suspension with transverse leaf springs, De Dion rear axle with parallel trailing arms and semi-elliptic leaf springs, four-wheel drum brakes, and a tubular steel frame. This […]

Simon Clay, courtesy of Bonhams

1961 Alfa Romeo SZ-1 Coupe

Alfa Romeo’s successful Giulietta range debuted in 1954 with the arrival of the Bertone-styled Sprint coupe, the Berlina (saloon) not appearing until the succeeding season. Veloce models with improved performance followed, and the agile Giulietta SV quickly established an enviable record in production-car racing, notable victories including a Gran Turismo […]

Michael Furman ©2013, courtesy of RM Auctions

1964 Ferrari 250 LM

As Marcel Massini, the pre-eminent Ferrari historian declared, “Ferrari’s 250 LM is one of the most spectacular mid-engined sports cars ever built — a true competition race car rarer than the legendary 250 GTO, and the last Ferrari to win the grueling 24-hour race at Le Mans.” Chassis number 6107 […]

1970 & 1975 Alfa Romeo Tipo

This month I’m going to write the Race Profile a little differently, because we’re looking at two Alfa Romeo T 33 racing cars that, although both are T 33s, in fact share little more than the lineage and the manufacturer’s logo. So it seems most useful to dispense with the […]

1935-36 Alfa Romeo 8C 35 Grand Prix

Here we are absolutely delighted to have been engaged to offer this outstanding, uniquely important, supercharged straight-8 Alfa Romeo Grand Prix car for sale by auction. It is a superb example of the first all-independently suspended, big-engined Grand Prix racing design from Alfa Romeo, which the Portello factory made in […]

1966 Gurney-Weslake Eagle Mk 1

Despite his success in almost every category of international motor racing, many consider Dan Gurney’s incomparable Eagle race cars to be his moAst significant contribution to American motorsports. Designed and built in Southern California, the original Gurney-Weslake Eagles raced with success on the world’s stage and were among the most […]

1954 Mercedes-Benz W-196 Formula One Racer

With the approach of the new Formula 1 that was due to begin with the 1954 season, Daimler-Benz announced that they would be represented by an entirely new team of Mercedes-Benz racing cars. When these entirely new W-196 cars emerged at Reims, fans recoiled in astonishment. These sleek new silver […]

1955 Lotus Eleven Competition

The Lotus Mk IX was derived from the Mk VIII, Colin Chapman’s first full-bodywork two-seater barchetta. As with the Mk VIII, the Mk IX was designed around a lightweight steel tubular chassis, fitted with aluminum panels. The body was designed by Frank Costin (the “Cos” in “Cosworth”), and built by […]

1969 Lancia Fulvia Coupe Rallye 1.6 HFS

In total, 1,258 1.6 HFs were built during 1969–70, of which approximately the first 600 were designated HFS and fitted with the Variante 1016 engine featuring modified cams similar to the Works rally cars. This car, 001578, which is a rare fanalone (big-headlight) version, is one of the last HFSs […]

2000 Porsche 911 GT3 R

Porsche’s 911 series is the definitive sports-car family and a legend in endurance racing. Many consider the GT3 as its crowning achievement. In the tradition of the Carrera RS 2.8, the 996-based GT3, introduced in 2000, was a street-legal homologation model — a raw, track-ready car with a highly modified […]