On this day in…
1900
123 years ago
The 837 mile Paris-Toulouse-Paris race, run over three stages, was won by Pierre Levegh, French racing driver, world-class ice hockey & tennis player, driving a 24 hp Mors with pneumatic Michelin tyres Read more…
1905
118 years ago
Driving his 90-bhp Napier, British driver Clifford Earp covered the flying-kilometre in 21.4 seconds (103.53 mph) at the second sprint meeting to be held along Blackpool Promenade (England), equalling the world land-speed record established by Frenchman Paul Baras in his 100-bhp Darracq at the Ostend Speed Trials the previous November. Read more…
1906
117 years ago
The third Glidden Tour ended in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, US and was won by Percy Pierce in a Pierce-Arrow Read more…
1909
114 years ago
David Maclean Parry established the Parry Automobile Company in Indianapolis Read more…
1916
107 years ago
The Scripps-Booth Company was reorganised as the Scripps-Booth Corporation, partly to facilitate the acquisition of the Sterling Motor Car Company later that year Read more…
1922
101 years ago
William C Durant acquired a controlling interest in Locomobile Read more…
1922
101 years ago
Pietro Bordino and Felice Nazzaro in a Fiat 570 became the first to drive around the newly completed racing circuit at Monza, Italy Read more…
1926
97 years ago
Daimler-Benz AG was created from the fusion of the Daimler and Benz & Cie businesses Read more…
1935
88 years ago
Tazio Nuvolari scored his most impressive victory, thought by many to be the greatest victory in car racing of all times Read more…
1939
84 years ago
Tobias John Martin Richards (89), South Australian coachbuilder and motor body manufacturer who founded the company which would eventually form the manufacturing base of Chrysler Australia Ltd, died Read more…
1941
82 years ago
The Richardson Pan-American Highway Expedition was completed when a modified 1941 Plymouth driven by Sullivan Richardson, Arnold Whitaker, and Kenneth C Read more…
1946
77 years ago
Robert Mazaud (39) was killed when his Maserati 4CL crashed during the Nantes Grand Prix – the first racing fatality in major post-World War II competition Read more…
1955
68 years ago
Englishman Richard Pape left the North Cape in Norway in an Austin A90 to become the first person to transverse the world’s greatest landmass by car, arriving in Cape Town 86 days later after travelling more than 17,500 miles. Read more…
1956
67 years ago
Curtis Turner started on the outside of the front row and roared to victory in the NASCAR Convertible Series at Ft Read more…
1957
66 years ago
Jean Behra driving a BRM P25 won the Grand Prix de Caen (France), the marque’s first major racing victory Read more…
1973
50 years ago
Bonnie and Clyde’s bullet-riddled 1934 Ford V8 was sold at auction for $175,000 to Peter Simon of Jean, Nevada Read more…
1985
38 years ago
Davey Allison made his NASCAR Winston Cup debut with a 10th place finish at Talledega, Alabama, US Read more…
1985
38 years ago
Emerson Fittipaldi won his first CART Indycar race in the Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, USA Read more…
1991
32 years ago
The AAR Eagle-Toyota MkIII scored its first win when Juan M Read more…
1991
32 years ago
Dale Earnhardt led the final 28 laps and thwarts a gaggle of foes on the final lap to win the DieHard 500 at Talladega, Alabama, US Read more…
1991
32 years ago
Nigel Mansell cruised to his third straight win in a Williams-Renault at the German Grand Prix, leading home Riccardo Patrese, Jean Alesi, Gerhard Berger, Andrea de Cesaris, and Bertrand Gachot Read more…
1996
27 years ago
On the first lap of the Marlboro 500, staged at the Michigan International Speedway, Michigan (US), Emerson Fittipaldi tried to overtake Greg Moore for third place in turn 1, but they had contact and Fittipaldi’s car spun into the outside wall Read more…
1996
27 years ago
Jeff Gordon surged past a thinned-out field to win the shortened DieHard 500 at Talladega, Alabama (US) for his sixth win of the season Read more…
1996
27 years ago
The German Grand Prix at Hockenheim was won by Damon Hill from pole position, in a Williams-Renault FW18 Read more…
1998
25 years ago
The strike by UAW workers at two key General Motors plants in Flint, that had shut down GM North American vehicle production since 5th June was finally resolved Read more…
2000
23 years ago
Jerome Smith of KC & The Sunshine Band died when he was crushed to death by a bulldozer after accidentally falling off it Read more…
2002
21 years ago
Michael Schumacher won the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim for Ferrari, with Juan Pablo Montoya in second, and Ralf Schumacher, Montoya’s Williams team-mate, in third Read more…
2010
13 years ago
Japan’s Nissan stated that all new car models would feature air conditioners that pumped breathable vitamin C, as well as stress-reducing seats. Read more…
2017
6 years ago
Tesla launched its Model 3 Read more…
