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.

1959 Lister-Chevrolet Sports Racer

Ranking firmly among the most successful and innovative post-war British constructors, Lister earned a brilliant victory tally during its brief original period of activity during the 1950s. Developed in 1958, the Frank Costin-designed, spaceframe-chassis Lister-Costin succeeded the legendary “Knobbly” and served as the final Lister model built. This Lister-Chevrolet, chassis […]

1952 Allard K2 Special Roadster

Allard built just 119 K2 sports tourers from 1950 to 1952 and — now as then — each K2 is appreciated for its impressive performance potential on both road and track, as well as its distinctive styling and exclusivity. This K2, chassis number 91K3019, is something more special yet. As […]

1961 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Saloon

On paper, the Mercedes-Benz 220 was far from sporting. Its workaday 2.2-liter straight-6 was no fireball, and it had to be rowed hard to overcome a not-inconsiderable curb weight of 1,334 kilograms (2,941 pounds). But in that weight lay strength, and the model became an unexpected hit on the rally […]

1993 Lola-Ford Cosworth T93/00

Newman/Haas Racing’s 1993 CART PPG IndyCar World Series-winning chassis Powered Nigel Mansell to four of his five victories that season, with three poles Established Nigel Mansell as the only simultaneous reigning champion of IndyCar and Formula One Accompanied by workshop manual, laptop, electronic spares kit, championship hat, commemorative £2 coin, […]

1976 Fiat-Abarth 131 Rally

To get the 131 Abarth homologated for Group 4 competition and to replace the aging 124 Abarth, Fiat produced a roadgoing version in a few hundred units. Launched at the 1976 Geneva Motor Show, the 131 Abarth Rally got the same engine as the competition version, but a little “civilized,” […]

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 […]