Cuore Sportivo– ‘sporting heart’ – has long been ALFA ROMEO’s motto, a tradition of style and performance established by such cars as this 1947 6C 2500 SS, which was fitted with a berlinetta body by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan. In its first year it won the Eccellenza trophy at the Parco Valentino Concorso d’Eleganza. In...
AUSTRO-DAIMLER was an Austrian automaker that began in 1899 as the Austrian Daimler Engine Society producing engines for many modes of transport. It began making cars in 1900 and soon became an established manufacturer of quality vehicles, receiving royal patronage from Prince Heinrich of Prussia. However, after World War One the company started to collapse...
BUGATTI is synonymous with motor sport and this Type 35B was built as a works competition car and won first time out at the 1928 Targa Florio. It then passed into private hands in Switzerland and the following year won six of the nine grand prix events including the first-ever Monaco GP. The car was...
One of the most romantic names in motoring history is BUGATTI, a company founded by Ettore Bugatti – Le Patron – who was born into a notably artistic Italian family but became a naturalised Frenchman. An engineering perfectionist, Ettore’s designs were always noted for their innovation and style. Introduced at the 1929 Paris Motor Show,...
After two years of watching the phenomenal success of the Ford Mustang, for the 1967 model year General Motors retaliated with the introduction of the CHEVROLET CAMARO, in doing so helping to set in motion the great Muscle Car Era. A number of engine and transmission options were available and the outstanding example you see...
The run of successful CHEVRON racing cars began in England in 1965 with a maiden victory for company founder Derek Bennett’s B1 Formula Junior single-seater. Cars designed for various other formulae followed including the B25, which was built in the late 1960s to international Formula Two specification. This car is fitted with Ford’s Cortina-based, Cosworth-developed...
Ask anyone to name a make of car that symbolises style, passion, exotic locations and Formula One, and FERRARI will be at the tip of most people’s lips. Blood red, noisy, racy – a Ferrari simply oozes sex appeal and the 250 short-wheelbase Berlinetta is a prime example of the brand Under the bonnet is...
The Tyrell racing team was founded by Ken Tyrrell in 1958 and began building its own cars in 1970, achieving quick success with Jackie Stewart winning the Drivers’ World Championship in 1971 and 1973. Stewart then retired and was replaced by South African Jody Scheckter who débuted the team’s new Derek Gardner-designed 007 chassis No.1...
The JAGUAR D-Type was one of the most charismatic and successful sports/racing cars ever made. Introduced in 1954, its aerodynamic shape included a distinctive tail fin to increase stability at high speed. Powering this D-Type is Jaguar’s legendary XK 3,4-litre in-line six-cylinder engine that developed 186 kilowatts. The car was capable of more than 270...
LDS was a South African-built Formula One car manufactured by local racing hero Louis Douglas Serrurier, whose initials make up the car’s name. This car was commissioned by Sam Tingle, and was essentially an authorised copy of the Brabham BT11 with a Cooper F1 suspension. Fitted with a 2,5-litre Coventry-Climax four-cylinder engine, it made its...
LORRAINE-DIETRICH was one of the motoring history’s pioneering brands, and ranked amongst the top half-dozen makes in the early 1900s. Its origins began in 1897 when railway carriage manufacturers De Dietrich started building cars at its plant in Lunéville, a subdivision of the Lorraine region of France. But in 1904 an autonomous division of the...
British constructor March Engineering was founded in 1969 to provide chassis for customers competing in all racing categories and was very successful through the Seventies and Eighties. The name MARCH was chosen by using initials from the first or last names of its four founder members – Max Mosley, Alan Rees, Graham Coaker and Robin...
In 1955, the Italian manufacturer MASERATI sought to attract rich privateer racers with the 150S that was developed to compete against German and British rivals in championship sports car racing. The popular 1,5-litre category was the target market but the chassis could be altered to create different wheelbases and the engine could easily be enlarged...
Specialist Italian manufacturer MASERATI spent much of its early existence building single-seater racing cars for privateer teams, and at the 1936 Milan Motor Show introduced the 6CM, an amalgam of the successful 4CM voiturette (‘small car’) and V8R1 grand prix cars. Voiturette rules limited engine capacity to 1,5 litres and the 6CM’s in-line, six-cylinder, twin-cam...
South African Gordon Murray, a long-time Formula One designer, spent many successful years with McLAREN during which time he the pitched the idea of building the ultimate road car. Murray’s concept, formulated in his youth, centred around a three-seater sports car with a naturally-aspirated engine to increase reliability and driver control. McLaren Automotive gave the...
Following the formation of Daimler-Benz in 1926, the MERCEDES-BENZ brand name was first used on the Type-S. Otherwise known as the 26/120/180 model, it was a derivative of the K Series. It was released as a sporty elegant car and was expensive, fast and exhilarating to drive, epitomising the magnificence of the vintage era. Only...
Following the launch of the iconic 300SL Gullwing in New York in 1954, MERCEDES-BENZ introduced a Roadster at the 1957 Geneva Motor Show, effectively replacing the coupé in the process. The Roadster was visually similar but had larger fenders, different headlamps, a smaller grille and a chrome strip down the side. The open-top body was...
One of the most iconic cars ever made, the MERCEDES-BENZ Gullwing first appeared at the 1954 New York Motor Show. It was developed from the highly successful 1952 300SL racing sports car, whose low-slung spaceframe construction was partly the reason the adoption of distinctive, upward-opening doors. But the Gullwing was also notable for being the...
In the 1930s, the supercharged MERCEDES-BENZ 500K’s imposing styling and unparalleled performance was perfect for exploiting Germany’s growing network of autobahns. In 1936 it gave way to the 540K with its 5,4-litre engine and a maximum power output of 134 kilowatts, enough to propel these majestic 2,3-ton cars to over 160 kilometres per hour. This...
In the late Sixties, Ford wanted to race its successful Mustang ‘Pony Car’ and approached famed racer and Cobra sports car builder Carroll Shelby to develop the car. Body-wise, frontal changes included a glass fibre bonnet with twin air scoops and pin fasteners and a larger grille. At the rear, louvres were fitted along with...
