Thor grew up in northern Iowa. His father bought a red Jag XK 150 in the late 1950s, and that was all it took; he has been in love with sports cars , racing cars and the associated adrenaline rush ever since. He has vintage raced for more than 20 years, the bulk of them spent behind the wheel of a blue Elva 7. When he’s not racing, he is president of Vintage Racing Motors Inc., a collector-car dealer and vintage-racing support company based in Redmond, WA. His knowledge runs the full spectrum of vintage racing, and he has put that expertise to good use for SCM since 2003.
The Abarth reputation as a giant-killer was cemented on the racetracks, rallies and hillclimbs of Europe and America, as funny-looking but potent little Fiat sedans stormed to class wins and group championships in event after event.
Based on the Fiat 600D introduced in 1960, the 850 TC, for Turismo Competizione, boasted an 847-cc, Abarth-tuned engine with 52 horsepower capable of a 92-mph top speed. Disc brakes were fitted as part of the enhanced suspension package. From Read More
Chassis number: AR11572010
– 4th overall at Le Mans with Nino Vaccarella and Andrea de Adamich
– Confirmed as a 1972 Alfa Romeo Autodelta team car
– Driven by Andrea de Adamich in the 1972 season
– Beautiful patina with original paint and interior
Chassis number: TAD354
Engine number: B44
Archie Butterworth of Frimley Green, Surrey, was a wonderfully extroverted engineering personality involved in the resurgent years of British motorsport immediately post-World War II. Here we offer this most unusual and intriguing Tojeiro-chassised sports-racing car from 1954, powered by one of the Butterworth AJB Read More
Chassis number: CA257662044
Engine number: 9FSAY34709
Belying its small size and apparent fragility, the Mini Cooper developed into the most successful Works rally car of the 1960s. One of its most famous victories was Paddy Hopkirk’s headline-grabbing win in the 1964 “Monte.” The Mini Cooper family’s ultimate expression — the 1,275-cc S — won first time out in 1964 Read More
If a Mercedes Gullwing is the iconic 1950s Grand Touring car, as many insist, then the ultra-exclusive, all-aluminum “alloy Gullwing” is the ultimate example. Mercedes built 29 of them in 1955 as a lightweight, racing variant on the production car. It was 175 lbs lighter than the steel car and sat on lowered suspension, with an upgraded engine, Plexiglas windows, Rudge wheels, and plaid cloth in the seats. It was frighteningly expensive, a serious uptick from the $8,500 normal Read More
This very well-documented example of the Porsche 906 — more familiarly known in period as the Carrera 6 — was supplied by Porsche Kundensport to the marque’s contemporary Australian importer, Alan Hamilton. In essence two cars emerged, both using the chassis identity 906 007. One is the entirely distinctive lightweight Spyder-bodied car nicknamed “Känguruh,” which ran so strongly with the flat-8 cylinder engine installed in the 1967 Targa Florio. The other is this now-standard Carrera 6 coupe-bodied machine offered here. Read More
The Bowes Seal Fast Special was first piloted at Indy by Louis Schneider in 1930, with Clyde Terry as riding mechanic. The car qualified 4th at a speed of 106 mph and finished 3rd on the lead lap (finished 200 laps). It ran with a Miller 8 122-ci engine.
The car is restored to its most famous livery as car number 23 and winner of the 1931 Indianapolis 500. Schneider again drove the car, this time with riding mechanic “Jigger” Read More
Among U.K. Datsun enthusiasts, particularly those with a fondness for the 6-cylinder Z series, there is no bigger name than that of Spike Anderson, legendary proprietor of Samuri Conversions and the man responsible for a succession of Z-based racers in the 1970s, most notably Win Percy’s famous “Big Sam.” Very few cars are so famous that they are commonly referred to by their registration number, but FFA196L is one such and rightly so, as it was the first Datsun 240Z Read More
One of the most desirable of all of the postwar Alfas, TZs were—and continue to be—considered as Alfa Romeo’s version of Ferrari’s GTO. Ranking in rarity with the very best sports cars, only about 112 were built between 1963 and 1967. TZs raced in the most important races, were driven by some of the best Read More
Introduced at the Paris Salon in 1975, the stunningly beautiful 308 GTB—Ferrari’s second V8 road car—marked a welcome return to Pininfarina styling following the Bertone-designed Dino 308 GT4. Badged as a proper Ferrari rather than a Dino, the newcomer had changed little mechanically, apart from a reduction in wheelbase. The car retained its predecessor’s underpinnings and transversely mounted 3.0-liter V8 engine that now featured dry-sump lubrication. Produced initially with fiberglass bodywork—the first time this material had been used for a Read More
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