On this day in…
1899
124 years ago
Ettore Bugatti won the 110 mile (175 km) Padua-Vincenza-Thiene-Bassano-Treviso-Padua road race driving a twin-engined tricycle of his own design Read more…
1902
121 years ago
The first Franklin automobile was produced Read more…
1902
121 years ago
The Locomotive & Machine Company of Montreal Ltd was founded – the firm evolved into Bombardier Inc – a manufacturer of off-road vehicles designed for winter conditions Read more…
1902
121 years ago
Barney Oldfield set a 1-mile speed record of 60 Read more…
1909
114 years ago
Louis Chevrolet won the Ira Cobe Trophy, which was possibly his only road course victory Read more…
1911
112 years ago
The General Motors Export Company was founded to coordinate international sales of GM products Read more…
1913
110 years ago
Racer Paolo Zuccarelli (28) was killed along with his riding mechanic, Fanelli, when their Peugeot crashed between Thomery and Tivoli, France during a practice run for the upcoming French Grand Prix at Amiens Read more…
1927
96 years ago
The fifth 24 Hours of Le Mans Grand Prix of Endurance finished Read more…
1934
89 years ago
The 1,000,000th Ford V-8 was produced Read more…
1946
77 years ago
The Packard Twenty-First Series Clipper Six Taxi was introduced Read more…
1947
76 years ago
The world premiere of the much-hyped Tucker Torpedo Read more…
1949
74 years ago
NASCAR staged its first Grand National event at the Charlotte Fairgrounds; the event marked the birth of NASCAR racing as we know it today Read more…
1949
74 years ago
Louis Rosier, driving a Talbot-Lago T26C won the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps Read more…
1949
74 years ago
Jim Roper made history, winning the first race in NASCAR’s Strictly Stock division — now Sprint Cup Series — at 3/4-mile Charlotte Speedway (North Carolina, US) Read more…
1954
69 years ago
Lester C Read more…
1955
68 years ago
Despite a track made slippery by continuous drizzle, the record crowd were treated to some outstanding driving as the masters slid their machines through the sand-dunes at the Dutch Grand Prix held at Zandvoort Read more…
1960
63 years ago
BSA sold Daimler to Jaguar Cars for £3 Read more…
1960
63 years ago
Racer Christopher Bristow of London, UK, was killed aged 22 while racing at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium Read more…
1960
63 years ago
(19th-20th): Rover’s turbine-powered racing car, developed in conjunction with BRM this took part in the Le Mans 24 Hours with Hill and Jackie Stewart coming in 10th having achieved an average speed of over 100mph for the entire race Read more…
1960
63 years ago
The first World 600 NASCAR race was held at the 1 Read more…
1960
63 years ago
James Ernest Bryan (33) was killed while participating in a dirt track race at Langhorne, Pennsylvania, US when his car flipped on the very first lap Read more…
1966
57 years ago
Ford GT40’s took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at the 24 Hours at Le Mans – the first time an American car manufacturer won the classic 24-hour race Read more…
1969
54 years ago
The 2,000,000th Mini was delivered Read more…
1974
49 years ago
The final British ADO16, a Vanden Plas Princess 1300, left the factory Read more…
1977
46 years ago
The Scandinavian Raceway staged the Swedish Grand Prix, which was won by Jacques Laffite driving a Ligier-Matra JS7 Read more…
1986
37 years ago
Coluche, aka Michel Colucci (41), French comedian, died when his motorcycle crashed into a truck on a road in the commune of Opio in southeastern France Read more…
1987
36 years ago
Britain’s most persistent learner driver, Mrs Git Kaur Randhawa of Hayes, Middlesex finally passed her driving test at the 48th attempt after more than 330 lessons Read more…
1988
35 years ago
Ayrton Senna’s third win of the season at the Detroit Grand Prix made it six out of six for McLaren in 1988, on the way to an unprecedented 15 wins and ten 1-2 finishes in 16 races Read more…
1988
35 years ago
Bobby Allison completed in his last race, the Miller High Life 500 in Pocono, Pennsylvania, US and was involved in a near-fatal accident during the first lap Read more…
2002
21 years ago
Files released from the Public Record Office revealed some of the more unusual road safety suggestions made to civil servants by the general public Read more…
2003
20 years ago
NASCAR announced that Nextel Communications would become the title sponsor of its top racing series in 2004 Read more…
2005
18 years ago
After 14 Formula One race car drivers withdrew due to safety concerns over the Michelin-made tires on their vehicles, German driver Michael Schumacher won a less-than-satisfying victory at the United States Grand Prix Read more…
2007
16 years ago
The Vatican issued a set of “Ten Commandments” for drivers, telling motorists not to kill, not to drink and drive, and to help fellow travellers in case of accidents Read more…
