On this day in…
1873
150 years ago
The birth of the first grand prix winner, Ferenc Szisz, in Szeghalom, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire Read more…
1893
130 years ago
The first US car manufacturer Duryea Motor Wagon Company, founded by Charles Duryea and his brother Frank, unveiled a one-cylinder “Ladies Phaeton”, in Springfield, Massachusetts Read more…
1903
120 years ago
Byron J Carter applied for a patent on his friction drive transmission Read more…
1915
108 years ago
The (Societa) Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobile Read more…
1922
101 years ago
Wealthy London playboy and race-car driver Noel van Raalte took delivery of the first production Bentley Read more…
1924
99 years ago
The world’s first inter-urban highway, the Milan-Varese Austostrada, was officially opened by Kind Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Engineer Piero Puricelli , Count of Lomnago conceived the idea of the highway as “street for cars alone”, ie reserved for fast traffic (no wagons, coaches, bicycles or pedestrians) and paying a toll to cover the Construction and management costs Read more…
1929
94 years ago
Jaroslav Horák and his mechanic in Bugatti T35B hit bike rider Edmund Müller during Ecce Homo hillclimb (Czech Republic) practice Read more…
1930
93 years ago
The French Grand Prix held over 25 laps of a 15 Read more…
1934
89 years ago
The first Ford-Gregorie speedster was delivered to Edsel B Ford Read more…
1935
88 years ago
The Cord 810 was previewed to dealers Read more…
1935
88 years ago
The 1,000,000th post-World War II Buick was produced, a Model 43-D Special Deluxe Sedan featuring new 1950 styling Read more…
1935
88 years ago
John Cobb & T Read more…
1935
88 years ago
The SS Jaguar 2½-litre saloon with its 102 bhp six-cylinder Weslake-designed cross-flow ohv cylinder head on its Standard engine caused a sensation when it was launched at a trade luncheon for dealers and press at London’s Mayfair Hotel Read more…
1945
78 years ago
The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation signed a 5-year lease on the Willow Run factory, Michigan, US Read more…
1945
78 years ago
Henry Ford II, grandson and namesake of Henry Ford, succeeded his father as president of the Ford Motor Company, inheriting a company that was losing money at the rate of several million dollars a month Read more…
1947
76 years ago
Monegasque driver Louis Chiron crossed the finish line in Lyon to win the French Grand Prix in a Talbot-Lago Read more…
1952
71 years ago
Germany’s Bremerhavener Fischereihafen-Rennen (Bremerhaven Fishing Port race) was held for the first time Read more…
1958
65 years ago
Yorkshireman Peter Whitehead (43), who became the first Ferrari F1 privateer after convincing Enzo Ferrari to allow him to buy a Formula 1 car in 1949, died Read more…
1959
64 years ago
The first Plymouth Valiant was produced in Michigan, US although it was not known by that name until 1961 Read more…
1965
58 years ago
BP became the first company to strike oil under the North Sea Read more…
1969
54 years ago
Mark Donohue, driving a Chevrolet Camaro, beat Parnelli Jones, driving a Ford Mustang, by 2 Read more…
1973
50 years ago
The Ford Mustang II was introduced, two months before the first 1973 oil crisis, and its reduced size allowed it to compete against imported sports coupés such as the Japanese Toyota Celica and the European Ford Capri Read more…
1975
48 years ago
Richard Petty outran Cale Yarborough at the finish to score his 175th victory in NASCAR’s premier series, winning the Wilkes 400 at North Wilkesboro (North Carolina, US) Speedway Read more…
1975
48 years ago
Gordon Johncock drove a Wildcat-DGS to victory in the USAC Championship race on the oval in Trenton, New Jersey Read more…
1986
37 years ago
Lee Anders Hasslestrom ran a 5 Read more…
1986
37 years ago
At the Portuguese Grand Prix Nigel Mansell completed what the Guardian described as “possibly the most important win of his career” to leave him needing victory in the penultimate race in Mexico to secure the championship Read more…
1993
30 years ago
The two millionth Citroen AX rolled off the production line at the Aulnay-sous-bois site Read more…
1994
29 years ago
Bill Elliott ended a 52-race winless skid with a victory in Darlington’s Mountain Dew Southern 500, South Carolina (US) Read more…
1997
26 years ago
Contested over 71 laps of the 2 Read more…
1998
25 years ago
Ford and NASA bought artificial intelligence to vehicles courtesy of a new neural network computer chip that mimiced the human mind Read more…
2000
23 years ago
Ford of Canada delivered the first TH!NK city electric vehicle in Canada to the chairman and CEO of Ballard Power Systems Read more…
2003
20 years ago
Ryan Newman made up a two-lap deficit to win the MBNA 400 at Dover International Speedway, Delaware, US Read more…
2006
17 years ago
The production run of 4,038 Ford GTs ended short of the originally planned 4,500 Read more…
2014
9 years ago
California Governor Jerry Brown signed several legislations to encourage the electric car market in the state, which accounted for 40 percent of all electric vehicles sold in the United States Read more…
2017
6 years ago
Greenpeace activists boarded a ship arriving in Britain to stop the delivery of more than 1,000 Volkswagen cars from Germany while others sought to immobilize vehicles at a port in anti-diesel protests Read more…
