On this day in…
1885
139 years ago
The world’s first motorcycle, the Reitwagen (“riding car”) or Einspur (“single track”), was patented Read more…
1898
126 years ago
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded in Akron, Ohio, US by Frank Seiberling, who purchased the company’s first plant with money he borrowed from his brother-in-law Read more…
1914
110 years ago
The last hillclimb held in England before World War I, organised by the Coventry and Warwickshire Motor Club at Style Kop, Staffordshire, was won by William Morris (Lord Nuffield) driving a Morris Oxford Read more…
1917
107 years ago
The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in Detroit, US by Henry Leland, a former manager of the Cadillac division of General Motors, and his son, Wilfred Leland Read more…
1935
89 years ago
Astrid, Queen of the Belgians (34) died while she and her husband were driving along the winding, narrow roads near their villa at Küssnacht am Rigi, Schwyz, Switzerland on the shores of Lake Lucerne Read more…
1957
67 years ago
US officials tested the ‘Drunkometer’, which measured the amount of alcohol on the breath Read more…
1957
67 years ago
Edgar L Longaker (75), inventor of the automobile ignition battery, died in Norristown, Pennsylvania, US Read more…
1964
60 years ago
Graham Hill won the Tourist Trophy race at Goodwood, England, driving a Ferrari 330P Read more…
1976
48 years ago
British driver James Hunt driving a McLaren M23 won the Dutch Grand Prix on his 29th birthday Read more…
1982
42 years ago
Keke Rosberg won the 1982 world championship with Williams despite winning just one race all season at the Swiss Grand Prix Read more…
1990
34 years ago
Autocar magazine tested and famously published on its front cover: ‘Ford’s new Escort meets its rivals… and loses.’ This headline and the accompanying feature led to Ford halting production of the new Mark IV Escort in order to fit the 1.4-litre-engine versions with anti-roll bars. Read more…
1992
32 years ago
Darrell Waltrip scampered to victory in the Bud 500 at Bristol, Tennessee (US), the first race at the facility since the track was resurfaced with concrete Read more…
1999
25 years ago
Christie’s Auction House celebrated their 10th year on the Monterey Peninsula by holding an auction that in just over two hours sold more than $15 million worth of cars Read more…
1999
25 years ago
David Coulthard won the Belgian Grand Prix after clashing with team-mate Mika Hakkinen into the first corner Read more…
2003
21 years ago
Excel Motors, a fledgling Jamaican automaker, exported the Caribbean island’s first locally manufactured car to the Bahamas Read more…
2004
20 years ago
The inaugural Porsche Festival at Brands Hatch attracted the largest ever gathering of Porsche cars in the world Read more…
2004
20 years ago
Contested over 44 laps, the Belgian Grand Prix was won by Kimi Räikkönen, taking his and McLaren’s only race win of the season from tenth place on the grid Read more…
2011
13 years ago
In India, car production was halted at the factory in Manesar after the Japanese-controlled firm Maruti Suzuki accused some workers of sabotaging production and ‘deliberately causing quality problems’. Read more…
2017
7 years ago
Hyundai Motor Co Read more…
