On this day in…
1860
164 years ago
Belgian engineer Etienne Lenoir was issued a patent for the first successful internal-combustion engine Read more…
1900
124 years ago
The Societa Milanese d’Automobili Isotta-Fraschini & C Read more…
1905
119 years ago
Incredibly, the flying mile world record was broken three different times by three different drivers in a 30-minute period Read more…
1907
117 years ago
Glenn H Curtiss riding a 269 cu in (4,410 cc) V-8 motorcycle of his own design at Ormond Beach, Florida, US reached an unofficial speed of 136 Read more…
1912
112 years ago
A Hupmobile Model D touring car returned to Detroit, completing a promotional 48,600 mile, 26 country around-the-world trip Read more…
1914
110 years ago
Airplane pilot Lincoln Beachey and automobile racer Barney Oldfield staged their first “Championship of the Universe Read more…
1924
100 years ago
Kingsford, Michigan, the Ford Motor Company’s planned community, was incorporated as a village Read more…
1936
88 years ago
The 1933 AAA Pacific Coast champion and Indy 500 veteran, Al Gordon, died in a crash in what would prove to be the last race held at Legion Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles California, as the grandstands at the track burned down shortly after the race Read more…
1948
76 years ago
The General San Martín Grand Prix at Mar del Plata was won by Giuseppe Farina in a Maserati 8CL Read more…
1954
70 years ago
Dale Duncan put out a fire in his Allard’s engine compartment during the 1000 kilometer endurance race in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by urinating on it Read more…
1954
70 years ago
Ken Miles drove the R-1, an MG special he built, to victory in the Desert Trophy Race at Palm Springs, California, US Read more…
1956
68 years ago
The 100,000th Volvo PV444 was produced Read more…
1956
68 years ago
Dr Heinz Hordhoff of Volkswagen announced that his company has dropped its plans to assemble cars at the former Studebaker factory in New Brunswick, New Jersey, US Read more…
1957
67 years ago
The 10,000,000th Plymouth was produced Read more…
1963
61 years ago
An 851-cc Saab 96, driven by Swedes Erik Carlsson and Gunar Haggböm, became the smallest car to win the Monte Carlo Rally Read more…
1969
55 years ago
Ford unveiled its first fastback sports saloon, the Capri, to the press at the Brussels Motor Show Read more…
1971
53 years ago
The Argentine Grand Prix in Buenos Aires was won by Chris Amon in a Matra MS120 Read more…
1976
48 years ago
Carole Vico of Buffalo, New York won the grand prize, a new Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, on the US television game show “High Rollers” Read more…
1981
43 years ago
Steve Tyler of the rock band Aerosmith was hospitalised after being involved in a crash on his motorbike Read more…
1998
26 years ago
Tony Stewart won the IRL Indy 200 race at Florida’s Walt Disney Orlando Speedway, Florida, US Read more…
1999
25 years ago
Pope John Paul II performed mass at the Hermanos Rodriguez race track in Mexico City Read more…
2000
24 years ago
Twenty-year-old Jenson Button became the youngest F1 driver, when he signed a five-year deal with BMW Read more…
2002
22 years ago
Former Lebanese Christian warlord Elie Hobeika (45) and at least three of his bodyguards were killed when a car bomb exploded outside his house in Beirut, Lebanon Read more…
2004
20 years ago
Irma Hall (68), co-star of The Ladykillers movie, sustained multiple injuries in a car accident in Chicago, Illinois Read more…
2005
19 years ago
Eddie Jordan completed the sale of his eponymous F1 team to the Midland Group, owned by Alex Shnaider, a 36-year-old Canadian entrepreneur of Russian origin Read more…
2006
18 years ago
In German, automaker DaimlerChrysler AG said that it would cut administrative staff by 20 percent worldwide over three years, dropping 6,000 jobs in order to save some $1 Read more…
2006
18 years ago
A US coalition of electric utilities kicked off a national campaign to push auto makers to make plug-in hybrids Read more…
2006
18 years ago
James Bond’s legendary Aston Martin DB5 was auctioned for more than £1 million Read more…
2007
17 years ago
Official figures released revealed that the Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch (branded Opel in the rest of the EU) was Europe’s best selling car Read more…
2015
9 years ago
Nearly 700 people were found to have used a lookalike to help them pass their driving test, according to UK government figures Read more…
2016
8 years ago
The Obama administration in the US announced plans to pour nearly $4 billion into developing self-driving cars over the next decade Read more…
