On this day in…
1895
128 years ago
Britain was rather behind Germany and France in particular as regards development of the horseless carriage, thus the Hon Evelyn Ellis had to purchase and import a French Panhard-Levassour in order to become our first motorist Read more…
1899
124 years ago
The US city of Chicago authorised a Board of Examiners of Operators of Automobiles, whose task was to determine the qualifications of individuals seeking driving licenses Read more…
1903
120 years ago
George Wyman arrived in New York City on his motorcycle from San Francisco, completing his transcontinental crossing and becoming the first person to cross the North American continent aboard a motor vehicle Read more…
1906
117 years ago
John S Read more…
1907
116 years ago
The first official motor-race meeting (for prize money of £5,000) was held at the newly opened Brooklands racing track in Surrey Read more…
1907
116 years ago
The first 1908 Packard Thirty Model UA was produced Read more…
1914
109 years ago
Dodge Brothers, Inc Read more…
1923
100 years ago
The 10,000th Rickenbacher automobile was produced Read more…
1923
100 years ago
General Motors ended active production of its copper cooled engines, but approved continued research efforts on the concept Read more…
1924
99 years ago
Frenchman René Thomas and Englishman Ernest Eldridge fought a duel to raise the world land speed record on the long, straight but narrow Arpajon road near Paris in France Read more…
1924
99 years ago
Herbert ‘Bert’ le Vack set a new world motorcycle speed record of 118 Read more…
1941
82 years ago
At 3 a.m Read more…
1952
71 years ago
Alberto Ascari’s win, and fastest lap at the French Grand Prix at Rouen ensured that he took a five-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship, ahead of fellow Ferrari driver Piero Taruffi Read more…
1952
71 years ago
After nearly a century of service the tram made its final appearance in London Read more…
1952
71 years ago
Pietro Palmieri drove a Ferrari 212 to victory in the Coppa Della Consuma in Italy Read more…
1955
68 years ago
The Federal Air Pollution Control Act was implemented, providing federally allocated funds for research into causal analysis and control of car-emission pollution Read more…
1958
65 years ago
Luigi Musso (33) was fatally injured in an accident during the 1958 French Grand Prix at Reims, France when his Ferrari hurtled off the course on the 10th lap of the 50 lap race Read more…
1961
62 years ago
The last Renault 4CV, the first French car to sell over a million units, was built Read more…
1969
54 years ago
The Charade Circuit near Clermont-Ferrand, the home of Michelin and Patrick Depailler, staged the French Grand Prix, which was won by Jackie Stewart in a Matra-Cosworth MS80 Read more…
1969
54 years ago
Richard Petty scorched the field to win the Mason-Dixon 300, the first race held at Dover International Speedway, Delaware, US Read more…
1969
54 years ago
Dover International Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway) staged its first race, the Mason-Dixon 300, which was won by Richard Petty Read more…
1971
52 years ago
The 15,000,000th Pontiac automobile was produced, a black Grand Ville 4-door hardtop Read more…
1974
49 years ago
The Auburn-Cord-Duensenberg Museum opened in the restored 1930 headquarters building of the Auburn Automobile Company in Auburn, Illinois, US Read more…
1975
48 years ago
Austrian driver Niki Lauda won the French Grand Prix in dramatic fashion after a late race dogfight with British driver James Hunt in his Hesketh 308, while West German driver Jochen Mass closed rapidly on the fighting pair in his McLaren M23 Read more…
1975
48 years ago
Rolling Stone Keith Richards was arrested by the highway patrol in Arkansas in the US on charges of reckless driving and possessing an offensive weapon, a seven-inch hunting knife Read more…
1986
37 years ago
Nigel Mansell in a Williams-Honda FW11 won the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard Read more…
1991
32 years ago
Bill Elliott posted a resounding triumph in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, Florida (US) Read more…
1996
27 years ago
John Force became the first NHRA Funny Car driver to cover the 1/4-mile in less than 4 Read more…
2000
23 years ago
A truck collided with a charter bus near Soria, Spain, killing at least 27 people Read more…
2003
20 years ago
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of Aston Martin’s classic DB7 the company hosted a special celebration with around 400 owners driving from all over Europe to Buscot Park stately home and gardens in Oxfordshire Read more…
2003
20 years ago
Ralf Schumacher driving for the Williams team after starting from pole position won the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours Read more…
2008
15 years ago
Contested over 60 laps of the Slverstone circuit, the British Grand Prix was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after starting from fourth position on the grid Read more…
2014
9 years ago
Contested over 52 laps of the Silverstone circuit, the British Grand Prix was won by Lewis Hamilton for the Mercedes team, from a sixth position start; the lowest position he has ever won from Read more…
