On this day in…
1888
136 years ago
The Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik Benz & Cie of Mannheim, Germany recorded its first sale as Emile Roger of Paris purchased a Benz 2-hp, 1-cylinder three-wheeler Read more…
1893
131 years ago
Frederick Henry Royce married Minnie Grace Punt Read more…
1901
123 years ago
The California Legislature authorised counties, cities and incorporated towns to tax and license motor vehicles Read more…
1910
114 years ago
Barney Oldfield set a world speed record of 131 Read more…
1911
113 years ago
Rolls Royce Limited purchased exclusive rights to the “Spirit of Ecstasy” mascot from sculptor Charles Sykes Read more…
1911
113 years ago
The Oklahoma State Legislature (US) required automobile owners to register their vehicles with the State Highway Commissioner Read more…
1926
98 years ago
Henry Segrave set his first land speed record of 152 Read more…
1927
97 years ago
The first Falcon-Knight was produced Read more…
1928
96 years ago
The first set of permanent traffic lights to be installed in Great Britain began operating in Leeds, West Yorkshire Read more…
1934
90 years ago
The Chrysler Airflow was introduced to a European audience at the Geneva Motor Show Read more…
1935
89 years ago
Driving tests were introduced on a voluntary basis and became compulsory on 1st June 1935 Read more…
1950
74 years ago
Introduced at the Geneva Motor Show, the ‘1400’ was Fiat’s first all-new postwar model, its first unibody car, and its first passenger car offered with a diesel engine Read more…
1952
72 years ago
Juan Manuel Fangio in a Ferrari 166 won the Eva Duarte Perón Grand Prix at Costanera Norte Read more…
1952
72 years ago
Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari 500 won the Syracuse F2 Grand Prix at Syracuse, New York, US Read more…
1955
69 years ago
The 1,000,000th Buick V-8 was produced Read more…
1958
66 years ago
The 50 millionth Ford automobile rolled off the assembly line, a shiny new Thunderbird! Read more…
1959
65 years ago
Phil Hill was on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, which named him “Sportscar Driver of the Year” Read more…
1960
64 years ago
Citroën opened the legendary ten storey Marbeuf garage, an architectural masterpiece, in Paris Read more…
1960
64 years ago
In New York a car was displayed with a battery recharged by solar cells. Read more…
1966
58 years ago
General Motors produced its 100,000,000th car, an Oldsmobile Toronado Read more…
1966
58 years ago
General Motors produced its 100,000,000th worldwide automobile, an Oldsmobile Toronado Read more…
1969
55 years ago
Jackie Stewart driving a Matra-Cosworth MS80 won the Race of Champions at Brand Hatch, England Read more…
1975
49 years ago
Johnny Rutherford won the USAC Championship ‘Bricklin 150’ at FasTrack International Raceway, Cashion, Arizona Read more…
1975
49 years ago
Tom Pryce driving a Shadow-Cosworth DN5 won the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch Read more…
1980
44 years ago
Riccardo Patrese and Walter Rohrl drove a Lancia Monte Carlo to victory in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours Sports Car race Read more…
1980
44 years ago
Sophomore Dale Earnhardt fended off a pesky Rusty Wallace to score his first superspeedway victory in the Atlanta 500 staged in Hampton, Georgia (US) Read more…
1980
44 years ago
Marion Lee “Mickey” Thompson (59), an American off-road racing legend, died Read more…
1987
37 years ago
The Range Rover was launched in USA. Read more…
1992
32 years ago
Robert J Read more…
1995
29 years ago
McLaren announced Mark Blundell would drive for it while adjustments costing £500,000 were made to its car to accommodate Nigel Mansell Read more…
1995
29 years ago
BMW announced its intention to sell Rover to the Alchemy Partnership Read more…
1996
28 years ago
Wayne Taylor, Jim Pace, and Eric van de Poole drove an Oldsmobile R&S MkIII WSC to victory in the 12-Hours of Sebring Read more…
2000
24 years ago
Renault bought Benetton for US$110 million, less than three years after dropping out of the sport, with Flavio Briatore installed as the team principal Read more…
2001
23 years ago
Robert “Bob” Wollek (57), nicknamed “Brilliant Bob”, a race car driver from Strasbourg, France was killed in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle to prepare for the 12 Hours of Sebring Read more…
2002
22 years ago
The largest ever demolition derby (123 participants) took place at Todd & Pollock Speedway, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand Read more…
2003
21 years ago
Race car driver Ricky Craven won the Darlington 500, crossing the finish line 0 Read more…
2005
19 years ago
John Tojeiro (81) affectionately known as Toj, an engineer and racing car designer, whose innovations helped to revolutionise car design in the 1950s and ’60s, died Read more…
2005
19 years ago
The current-generation MINI, built at the BMW Group Plant in Oxford, claimed the Used Car Of The Year award, the ultimate accolade in the Auto Express Glass’s Guide Used Car Honours 2005 Read more…
2005
19 years ago
The Ferrari F430 made its dynamic driving debut in the UK at Goodwood House during the press briefing for Goodwood’s Festival of Speed Read more…
2007
17 years ago
International cricketer Manjural Islam Rana (22) died in an accident while the Bangladesh cricket team were in the Caribbean for the 2007 Cricket World Cup Read more…
2008
16 years ago
The first race of the season was held in Australia in front of 200,000 spectators and it marked the 250th grand prix start for Rubens Barrichello Read more…
2008
16 years ago
Richard Childress Racing drivers Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, and Clint Bowyer finished 1-2-3 in the Food City 500 at Bristol, Tennessee, US Read more…
2013
11 years ago
The MINI Paceman (R61) went on sale in the US Read more…
