On this day in…
1878
145 years ago
Anton Johan Lovstad was issued with a Norwegian patent for “torsion springs for carriages”, which closely resembles modern torsion bar suspension systems Read more…
1897
126 years ago
Scottish immigrant, Alexander Winton founded the Winton Motor Carriage Company of Cleveland, Ohio Read more…
1906
117 years ago
Rolls-Royce Ltd Read more…
1911
112 years ago
A Saurer 4 Read more…
1911
112 years ago
Gustave Otto, the son of internal combustion engine pioneer Nikolaus Otto, organized Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik Muchen Read more…
1919
104 years ago
Cliff Durant won the 250-mile AAA Championship race over the streets of Santa Monica in California Read more…
1927
96 years ago
Rome, Italy issued its first automobile registration Read more…
1927
96 years ago
Petrol prices in Great Britain dropped to one and four pence-halfpenny a gallon. Read more…
1928
95 years ago
The Opel-RAK-1, the world’s first rocket-propelled car was driven by Kurt C Read more…
1930
93 years ago
Cliff Woodbury drove a front-drive Miller 91 to a 180 Read more…
1932
91 years ago
BMW cancelled its licensing agreement with Austin, opening the way for Max Friz to develop the first BMW of in house design Read more…
1934
89 years ago
Henry Ford restored the $5 a day wage for his workers Read more…
1935
88 years ago
Percy Shaw, founded Reflecting Roadstuds Limited in Halifax to manufacture Catseyes. Read more…
1935
88 years ago
Citroen unveiled the revolutionary Traction Avant (French for “front wheel drive” – also known as 7CV7, 11CV, and 15CV) Read more…
1942
81 years ago
Pioneer in the burgeoning auto industry in Detroit, Albert Fisher (78), died Read more…
1952
71 years ago
The Sebring 12 hour race was won by Harry Gray and Larry Kulok in a Frazer Nash Read more…
1954
69 years ago
The 5,000th Porsche was produced Read more…
1954
69 years ago
Plymouth offered power brakes as a $36 Read more…
1956
67 years ago
Willys Motors Inc, acquired the Kaiser Industries Corporation Read more…
1956
67 years ago
The first Marmon highway truck was completed by the recently formed Marmon Motor Company of Denton, Texas, US Read more…
1958
65 years ago
Bruce McLaren left New Zealand for England, where he would drive for John Cooper Read more…
1958
65 years ago
Curtis Turner surged to victory on third-mile Champion Speedway in Fayetteville, North Carolina (US), for his 12th win in NASCAR’s top series Read more…
1961
62 years ago
Jaguar’s E-Type sports car was presented to the world’s press at the restaurant du Parc des Eaux Vives in Geneva by Sir William Lyons Read more…
1968
55 years ago
Construction started on the north tunnel of the Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnel on Interstate 70 in Colorado, some 60 miles west of Denver, US Read more…
1977
46 years ago
British Leyland managers announced its intention to dismiss 40,000 toolmakers who had gone on strike at the company’s Longbridge plant in Birmingham, which was costing the state-owned carmaker more than £10million a week. Read more…
1977
46 years ago
The 500,000th Chevrolet Corvette was produced, a white coupe with red interior to match the first 1953 Corvette Read more…
1981
42 years ago
The US West Grand Prix was held at Long Beach Read more…
1981
42 years ago
Ayrton Senna, just 20 years old, lined up for just his second event in a racing car, a Formula Ford 1600 race, at Brands Hatch track in England Read more…
1987
36 years ago
Jack Ingram won his 31st and final Nationwide Series race, winning the Mountain Dew 400 at Hickory (North Carolina) Motor Speedway by two car lengths over Mike Alexander Read more…
1990
33 years ago
Saab Automobile AB was formed Read more…
1990
33 years ago
The Ford Explorer was introduced to the public Read more…
1994
29 years ago
Alain Prost ended months of speculation by ruling out a second comeback to Formula One with McLaren-Peugeot Read more…
1997
26 years ago
Jeff Green won the Las Vegas 300, the first Nationwide race west of the Mississippi, US Read more…
1997
26 years ago
IMSA president Andy Evans manipulated the rules during the 12 Hours of Sebring, helping himself, Fermin Velez, Yannick Dalmas, and Stefan Johansson to win the race in a Ferrari 333SP Read more…
2000
23 years ago
BMW announced plans to sell the Rover Group, with London-based Alchemy consortium emerging as favourites for a takeover Read more…
