On this day in…
1902
121 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
120 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
114 years ago
The Cole Motor Car Company was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, US by Joseph Jaret Cole Read more…
1909
114 years ago
The 75,000th Essex was produced, a 5-passenger, 2-door Coach Read more…
1915
108 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
93 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
90 years ago
Lieutenant Sir Henry R Read more…
1934
89 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
87 years ago
Sir Herbert Austin, Chairman of the Austin Motor Company Ltd, received the title of Baron from King Edward VII Read more…
1937
86 years ago
Powel Crosley Jr Read more…
1951
72 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
72 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
71 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
69 years ago
Packard and Studebaker signed an agreement to merge the two companies Read more…
1955
68 years ago
The Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine, was founded in France Read more…
1957
66 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
53 years ago
Filming of staged racing sequences for the movie “Le Mans” began Read more…
1972
51 years ago
The 1,000,000th Ford Thunderbird was produced Read more…
1972
51 years ago
The last Volvo 1800E sports coupe was produced Read more…
1975
48 years ago
James Hunt won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort Read more…
1979
44 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
38 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
37 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
31 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
26 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…
1997
26 years ago
In the closest finish in CART history – 0 Read more…
2001
22 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
20 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
16 years ago
A bra and a pair of knickers were blamed for a flood and road collapse in County Durham Read more…
2007
16 years ago
Five days after his 22nd birthday, Russian footballer Lenar Gilmullin died following a motorcycle accudent Read more…
2007
16 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
11 years ago
Tesla Motors delivered its first all electric sedan, the Model S, from its plant in Fremont, California Read more…
2014
9 years ago
Phil Billingham, Shannon Currie, Duncan Mackenzie, and Gerry Mulligan drove to 18 countries in 24 hours Read more…