The U.S. MG distributors were hoping to put a gleam in the eye of the dentist from Columbus, who might imagine his car out there running with the Ferraris and Porsches {vsig}2004-12_1541{/vsig} Sebring in 1964 was one of the world’s top-tier endurance races, part of the FIA’s Challenge Mondiale and […]
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.
1969 Chevron B16
Chevron B16s are just about the coolest, most beautiful, fastest little fantasy of a race car that you can get your hands on {vsig}2004-11_1475{/vsig} Only 23 Chevron B16s were built and today they are universally praised by their drivers for handling, performance, and-most elusive of all-an exceptionally graceful design. Indeed, […]
1960 Austin-Healey 3000 Sports Works Rally Car
Few race cars have made such a serious strike for female equality-Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom took an overall victory in the most difficult rally of the time in this Healey {vsig}2004-10_1447{/vsig} British Motor Corporation’s Austin-Healey marque introduced the new 3000 model in 1959 as an improved version of the […]
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C
This immensely desirable and highly usable Ferrari 275 GTB/C is the third of only 12 such Berlinetta Competizione models produced by the world-famous Maranello factory, and is absolutely not to be confused with the normal, standard production GTB models. Here was a purebred endurance-racing competition car whose fundamental bodyshape and […]
2000 F1/2000 Race Car
Of course, there is no experience like driving an F1 car: The sound, the incredible horsepower, the ridiculous braking ability, and the sheer competence of the chassis combine into sensory overload of the best sort {vsig}2004-9_1211{/vsig} When Jody Scheckter won the Formula 1 drivers’ championship in 1979, few enthusiasts, and […]
1957 Kurtis-Offenhauser KK 500 G2 Indy Roadster
Front-engined Indy cars are the equivalent of those big, muscular farm boys from the ’50s with butch cuts, trucker’s tans, and aggressive smiles that sort of dare you to take them on {vsig}2004-8_1218{/vsig} After World War II, Frank Kurtis saw an opportunity and began to mass-produce midget racing cars of […]
1984 Audi Quattro Sport
Anyone who’s ever stood in the cold on the side of a dark mountain road waiting for those headlights to come flashing by can understand the desire to own this car. {vsig}2004-7_1224{/vsig} This 1984 Audi Sport Quattro is not only the works car of world champion Hannu Mikkola and Arne […]
1951 Allard J2 Cadillac Le Mans Race Car
A tech inspector looked at the front suspension of a J2X and said, “Wow! Where’s the ‘crimes against nature’ checkbox on this form?” {vsig}2004-6_1233{/vsig} During the mid-1980s, Glenn Shaffer began a search for an Allard J2 with racing heritage. He found this Allard J2 in Lima, Peru, suspecting it was […]
1966 Porsche 906
If the new owner knew that 906.016 was a weird but very real chassis number, and that it had both factory development and extensive race history, then he had the unfair advantage When introduced in 1966 the Porsche 906-marketed generally as the “Carrera 6”-combined a multi-tubular space-frame chassis with strikingly […]
1966 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe
Its recent vintage-racing provenance has completely eclipsed whatever original period history the car might have had {vsig}2004-4_1245{/vsig} By the mid-1960s, Corvettes powered by the immortal 327-c.i. Chevrolet V8 were regular national winners in the Sports Car Club of America’s B-Production class. This storied 1966 coupe had just such an early […]