On this day in…
1899
124 years ago
Camille Jenatzy completed ‘La Jamais Contente’ (The Never-Satisfied), the first purpose-built land speed record car Read more…
1907
116 years ago
Vauxhall Motors Ltd was registered in Great Britain Read more…
1907
116 years ago
The Prague Automobile Factory Ltd was organised to produce the PAT-PAF Read more…
1925
98 years ago
Cecil Kimber registered his first modified Morris, the prototype of the MG Read more…
1927
96 years ago
Fernando Minoia and Giuseppi Morandi won the first Mille Miglia in an O Read more…
1927
96 years ago
The Provence Grand Prix at Miramas, France was won by Louis Chiron in a Bugatti T35B Read more…
1936
87 years ago
The first production Morgan 4/4 was completed after assembling four rather different prototypes Read more…
1945
78 years ago
Vincent Hugo Bendix (63) founder of the Bendix Corporation of Chicago in 1907 to manufacture automobiles, ‘Bendix Buggies’, died Read more…
1947
76 years ago
Nanjing Automobile Group Corp Read more…
1949
74 years ago
The Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix at Gávea was won by Luigi Villoresi in a Maserati 4CLT/48 Read more…
1949
74 years ago
Fonty Flock won his fourth Modified championship race in a row in the 40-lap feature at North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Carolina, US Read more…
1952
71 years ago
Kiichiro Toyoda (57) Japanese industrialist and founder of the Toyota Motor Corporation died Read more…
1952
71 years ago
Jujiro Matsuda (74), Japanese industrialist and businessman who founded automaker Mazda Motor Corporation, died Read more…
1953
70 years ago
John Cobb was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct – John Rhodes Cobb (deceased), Racing Motorist Read more…
1955
68 years ago
Pierre Dreyfus replaced Pierre Lefaucheux as President at the Régie Renault Read more…
1955
68 years ago
Alberto Ascari in a Lancia D50 won the Turin Grand Prix at Parco Valentino, Italy Read more…
1956
67 years ago
The Ford Motor Company released its first public annual report Read more…
1956
67 years ago
The 2,000,000th American Motors automobile was produced Read more…
1960
63 years ago
Lee Petty finished first in the controversial 100-mile race at North Wilkesboro (North Carolina, US) Speedway Read more…
1965
58 years ago
A heavy downpour in the seventh hour flooded the course and slowed speeds to 30 mph, but didn’t stop the Chaparral team of Jim Hall and Hap Sharp from easily winning the Sebring 12 Hour World Sports Car Championship race Read more…
1967
56 years ago
The Protos HCP-1 F2 racer, the first wooden monocoque open-wheeler, made its debut at the BARC Wills Trophy Race at Silverstone, England Read more…
1967
56 years ago
NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison drove from the pole position to land his fourth victory in NASCAR’s premier series, winning by two laps at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US Read more…
1973
50 years ago
Jerry Garcia from The Grateful Dead was arrested when Police found cocaine and LSD in his car after being busted for speeding in New Jersey Read more…
1978
45 years ago
The Wall Street Journal ran a front-page article about the 1978 Corvette Indianapolis 500 Pace Cars, indicating they would be excellent investments Read more…
1978
45 years ago
Tony Trimmer in a McLaren-Cosworth M23 won the Evening News Trophy at Brands Hatch Read more…
1979
44 years ago
The U Read more…
1982
41 years ago
Jurgen Barth drove the first Porsche 956 for the first time at the Weissach test track in Germany Read more…
1983
40 years ago
One of the most remarkable drives of modern times saw John Watson storm to victory after starting the Long Beach Grand Prix in 22nd place on the grid Read more…
1994
29 years ago
An easy win for Michael Schumacher in the opening race of the season at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and no happy ending for local boy Ayrton Senna who span off 15 laps from the end as he vainly chased his rival Read more…
1994
29 years ago
Dale Earnhardt enjoyed a resounding victory in Darlington’s TranSouth 400, South Carolina (US) Read more…
1998
25 years ago
Ferdinand Porsche Jr (88), who helped his father develop the Volkswagen Beetle before World War II and later founded the sports car firm that bears his name, died Read more…
1999
24 years ago
The Renault-Nissan Alliance was signed – the first of its kind involving a Japanese and a French company, each with its own distinctive corporate culture and identity Read more…
2000
23 years ago
Mitsubishi sold a controlling 34 percent stake to DaimlerChrysler for €2 Read more…
2002
21 years ago
Scion, a marque of vehicles produced by Toyota Motor Corporation, was unveiled at the New York Auto Show with the production-ready bbX concept, based on the Toyota bB, and the more conceptual ccX 3-door coupe Read more…
2002
21 years ago
The highest recorded mileage for a car is in excess of 2 million miles (3.2 million km) for a 1966 Volvo P-1800S owned by Irvin W Gordon Read more…
2007
16 years ago
The first Chinese-built MG sports cars rolled off the production line in the eastern city of Nanjing Read more…
2018
5 years ago
Waymo, formerly known as Google’s self-driving car project, announced a partnership with Jaguar Land Rover to build self-driving Jaguar luxury SUVs for the company’s autonomous Silicon Valley taxi fleet Read more…