On this day in…

1902

122 years ago

The first Sassi-Superga Hillclimb was staged near Turin, Italy was won by Vincenzo Lancia in a FIAT 24-hp, the marque’s racing debut Read more…

1903

121 years ago

Pierre de Crawez drove his Panhard 70hp to victory in one of the first races run over a closed circuit (Ardennes Circuit) in Germany Read more…

1909

115 years ago

The 75,000th Essex was produced, a 5-passenger, 2-door Coach Read more…

1909

115 years ago

The Cole Motor Car Company was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, US by Joseph Jaret Cole Read more…

1915

109 years ago

‘Volvo’, which means ‘I roll’ in Latin, an appropriate name for the ball bearings from Swedish company, Svenska Kullagerfabriken (SKF), was officially registered as a brand name in Stockholm Read more…

1930

94 years ago

Woolf Barnato and Glen Kidston won the Le Mans 24-hour race in their Bentley Speed Six, the fourth consecutive win for the marque in this event Read more…

1933

91 years ago

Lieutenant Sir Henry R Read more…

1934

90 years ago

Ferdinand Porsche signed a contract with the Automobile Manufacturers Association of Germany (RDA) to build three prototype “people’s cars” over a 10-month period Read more…

1936

88 years ago

Sir Herbert Austin, Chairman of the Austin Motor Company Ltd, received the title of Baron from King Edward VII Read more…

1937

87 years ago

Powel Crosley Jr Read more…

1951

73 years ago

(22nd – 23rd) The Porsche 356 scored its first international success in motor racing, winning the 1100-cc category in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Read more…

1951

73 years ago

Three Jaguar C-types entered Le Mans, one driven by British drivers Stirling Moss and ‘Jolly’ Jack Fairman, one by fellow Britons Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead (a couple of gentleman farmers), and the other by Britain’s Leslie Johnson with Italian Clemente Biondetti Read more…

1952

72 years ago

Alberto Ascari driving a Ferrari 500 claimed victory at the Belgian Grand Prix (F2) held over 36 laps of the 8 Read more…

1954

70 years ago

Packard and Studebaker signed an agreement to merge the two companies Read more…

1955

69 years ago

The Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine, was founded in France Read more…

1957

67 years ago

Charles King (89), the first person in Detroit to design, build and drive a self-propelled automobile – 3 months before Henry Ford built his automobile, died Read more…

1970

54 years ago

Filming of staged racing sequences for the movie “Le Mans” began Read more…

1972

52 years ago

The 1,000,000th Ford Thunderbird was produced Read more…

1972

52 years ago

The last Volvo 1800E sports coupe was produced Read more…

1975

49 years ago

James Hunt won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort Read more…

1979

45 years ago

Louis Chiron (79), the oldest driver who has ever taken part in a Formula One Grand Prix, aged 58 years, died Read more…

1985

39 years ago

Jimmy Hensley got past Tommy Houston with 20 laps left and led the rest of the way to win the Kroger 200 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Indianapolis Raceway Park (US) Read more…

1986

38 years ago

Rising star Ayrton Senna started on pole at the Detroit Grand Prix and came away with a hard-earned win, the fourth of his career Read more…

1992

32 years ago

(22-23rd): Nine NASCAR drivers conducted a tire test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first official NASCAR test in the track’s history Read more…

1997

27 years ago

In the closest finish in CART history – 0 Read more…

1997

27 years ago

Jeff Gordon christened the new California Speedway (US) with a win in the California 500, the inaugural event on the two-mile oval Read more…

2001

23 years ago

“The Fast and the Furious”, a crime drama based in the underground world of street racing in Southern California, debuted in theatres across the United States Read more…

2003

21 years ago

On the 71st lap of the Dodge/Save Mart 350, Kevin Harvick was leading Robby Gordon when a caution came out for a crash at a different part of the track Read more…

2007

17 years ago

Five days after his 22nd birthday, Russian footballer Lenar Gilmullin died following a motorcycle accudent Read more…

2007

17 years ago

A bra and a pair of knickers were blamed for a flood and road collapse in County Durham Read more…

2007

17 years ago

Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex made over £6.1 million, making it the most successful in the festival’s history Read more…

2012

12 years ago

Tesla Motors delivered its first all electric sedan, the Model S, from its plant in Fremont, California Read more…

2014

10 years ago

Phil Billingham, Shannon Currie, Duncan Mackenzie, and Gerry Mulligan drove to 18 countries in 24 hours Read more…