On this day in…
1617
407 years ago
The first one-way streets were established in London Read more…
1904
120 years ago
Harold D Read more…
1913
111 years ago
For the first time motor vehicles were legally allowed to enter Yosemite National Park, California Read more…
1922
102 years ago
The 23-litre Maybach engined ‘Chitty Bang Bang’ car won the first Southsea Speed Carnival in Hampshire, England driven by British racing driver Count Louis Zborowski at 73.1 mph Read more…
1923
101 years ago
Coachbuilder Vanden Plas (England) 1923 Ltd Read more…
1939
85 years ago
John Cobb driving the piston-engined, wheel-driven Railton Special broke the land speed record at Bonneville, achieving a mark of 367 Read more…
1953
71 years ago
Alberto Ascari won the Swiss Grand Prix at Brengarten driving a Ferrari 500 Read more…
1959
65 years ago
The Portuguese Grand Prix was won by British driver Stirling Moss, his eleventh Grand Prix victory, driving a Cooper T51 for privateer race team Rob Walker Racing Team Read more…
1964
60 years ago
Lorenzo Bandini won the first Austrian Grand Prix, held over 105 laps of the Zeltweg Airfield circuit, for Ferrari Read more…
1964
60 years ago
Eduardo Lualdi drove a Ferrari 250GTO to victory in the Ascoli Hillclimb in Italy Read more…
1966
58 years ago
Jaguar’s Browns Lane plant produced the first 420 (pronounced “four-twenty”) Read more…
1967
57 years ago
Enjoying a wild birthday party Keith Moon drummer with The Who drove his Lincoln car into a Holiday Inn swimming pool, in Flint, Michigan, US Read more…
1969
55 years ago
The first Dacia 1300 left the assembly line and was exhibited at the Paris and Bucharest shows of that year Read more…
1973
51 years ago
The Rt Hon John Peyton MP opened the Gerrards Cross Bypass, the last section of the M40 in Buckinghamshire to be constructed Read more…
1974
50 years ago
Roger Hedlund, driving the Battery Box, set a land speed record for electric automobiles of 175 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, US Read more…
1980
44 years ago
Pole-winner Cale Yarborough warded off Dale Earnhardt’s charge by two car-lengths to win the Volunteer 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee, US Read more…
1986
38 years ago
Darrell Waltrip became the first racing car driver to earn $7 million, making him the best-paid driver in NASCAR history Read more…
1987
37 years ago
Didier Pironi (35) was killed during a powerboat race in the UK Read more…
1994
30 years ago
Richard Jock Kinneir (76) graphic designer (transport/traffic font) who with colleague Margaret Calvert, designed many of the road signs used throughout the United Kingdom, died Read more…
1998
26 years ago
The record for the longest ramp jump by a car, with the car landing on its wheels and driving on afterwards, was set at 72.24 m (237 ft) by Australian stunt man Ray Baumann at Ravenswood International Raceway in Perth, Western Australia. Read more…
2001
23 years ago
A bus rolled over after colliding with a car in eastern Turkey, killing 12 and injuring 36 Read more…
2006
18 years ago
JCB Dieselmax car broke its own FIA diesel engine land speed record, achieving a speed of 350.092 mph (563.418 km/h) over a distance of 1 mile on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah (US) Read more…
2009
15 years ago
Rubens Barrichello driving a Brawn claimed his first win in 5 years at the European GP staged at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain Read more…
2012
12 years ago
The fastest caravan tow – 141 Read more…
2015
9 years ago
French rugby player, racing driver and later a Formula One team owner, Guy Ligier, died at the age of 85 Read more…
2019
5 years ago
Russia opened a showroom selling its first post-Soviet luxury limousine under the Aurus brand, a type of car used by President Vladimir Putin at his inauguration in 2018 Read more…
