The Greatest Racecars & Their Stories
The Most Iconic Racecars Ever Made
So, buckle up and prepare to be transported to the golden age of motorsports, where legendary machines and fearless drivers pushed the limits of speed and redefined the boundaries of automotive performance. Let these iconic race cars tell their tales, in their own words. These aren't your typical posts; these are a collection of firsthand accounts, as if narrated by the very cars that dominated the track and etched their names into racing legend.
Legends of the Track
Hear the roar of the legendary Ford GT40 as it recounts its epic battles with Ferrari at Le Mans in the 1960s, told through the voices of the drivers and engineers who pushed it to victory. Feel the raw power of the McLaren MP4/4, as Ayrton Senna's spirit guides you through its undefeated 1988 Formula 1 season. Experience the technological marvel of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, as it describes its hybrid dominance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 2010s. From the ground-breaking Lancia Stratos rally car to the awe-inspiring Porsche 917, we delve into the history of these iconic machines, exploring their design innovations, their triumphs and tribulations, and the legendary drivers who tamed their power. Each article is a tribute to a specific car, a celebration of its unique character and its contribution to the rich tapestry of motorsport history.
The Chase Where: Nürburgring / Date: May 22, 1960 The Nürburgring 1,000 km. Race; Nürburgring, May 22, 1960. Giorgio Scarlatti chases a Ferrari 250TR with his Ferrari V-6 246 sport, but retired after a huge refueling fire in the pits in which he was actually saved by Stirling Moss who had just...
In September 2022, I travelled to Townsend, Tennessee, in the Great Smokey Mountains for Okteenerfest. The annual gathering of Porsche 914s was a fun, albeit secondary, reason for going. The primary reason was to profile a rare 914 model, a Can-Am in a color combination that causes it to be...
Fangio & Mercedes-Benz – Alliance of the best By Hartmut Lehbrink Although Juan Manuel Fangio won only one and two-thirds of his five Formula One World Championships and scored only eight of his 24 Grand Prix victories driving for Mercedes-Benz, the German marque remains the one most associated with his...
Racer Hurdles Crowd and Lives.” This was the Sunday, August 31, 1952 headline story in the Buffalo Courier Express. The racer was 29-year-old Richard Thierry, the car was a Porsche 356, and the word “hurdles” hardly began to describe what really happened. Grand Island is nested away in the northwest...
My personal record with the Mercedes 300 SLR was six starts, three wins, two 2nd places and one “withdrawn when leading”…under protest. That was at Le Mans after the big crash when one of our cars was involved and the Mercedes board in Stuttgart decided to withdraw the other cars....
Accused of sandbagging at Daytona, two WSC-95 spyders were in storage until called to duty by Team Joest. Porsches by adoption, they took two straight victories at Le Mans in 1996 and ’97 in some of the company’s most improbable successes. “Buoyed by our success at the 1994 Le Mans,”...
The New Ferrari 330P2 Where: Modena Aerautodromo / Date: December 15, 196 Modena Aerautodromo, December 15, 1964. John Surtees is about to head out to test the new Ferrari 330P2 that will be Ferrari’s mainstay sports car for the coming season. Mauro Forghieri (glasses) and Dr. Franco Gozzi stand beside the car...
1955 Mille Miglia Artwork The year 2015 marked the 60th anniversary of Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson’s victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia, racing their Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR to a record time of 10 hours 7 minutes 48 seconds. Travelling at the speed they needed to achieve that record, they...
1949 Belgium Grand Prix Where: Spa-Francorchamps / Date: July 10–11, 1949 The 14th Grand Prix of 24 Hours of Belgium; Spa-Francorchamps, July 10–11, 1949. Just two weeks after Le Mans, Luigi Chinetti teamed up with Jean Lucas and won his second 24-hour race of the season. Again they used a Ferrari 166MM Barchetta. This photo...
During the fifties, Aston Martin produced sports cars with the designation, DB, which, of course, stands for David Brown. In addition to the 2-door hardtops—called saloons by the factory—a series of open sports cars, actually sports racers (later called sports racing cars), were constructed, raced by the factory and sold...
Unquestionably, one of the most dominating racing cars was the Mercedes W196, particularly with drivers such as Fangio and Moss at the wheel. I remember seeing the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree, the track just outside Liverpool, England, the first time the Grand Prix had been held at a...
Karl Kling/Hans Klenk Mercedes 300SL Where: Mexico / Date: November 1952 During the November 1952 running of Mexico’s fabled Carrera Pan-Americana, the Karl Kling/Hans Klenk Mercedes 300SL makes a pit stop for new tires in the Sierra Madre after Tehuantepec. Note that the windshield has been smashed by hitting an errant buzzard...
In 1967, sports prototype racing was going through one of its golden eras, with plenty of entries and a wonderful driver lineup for the world championship series, which consisted of races in North America and throughout Europe. Seven different manufacturers contested the title with five of them winning races that...
In 1975, at Mallory Park, I made my race debut in British Touring car Championship—it was the first round of a new season. I was driving the Toyota Celica Samuri 1600-cc for the Super Samuri Team. I diced the whole race against this Ford Escort RS2000 entered by London Sports...
Heavy Traffic in the Webster Turns Where: Sebring / Date: March 25, 1961 During the Sebring 12 Hours on March 25, 1961, heavy traffic in the Webster Turns finds the factory-entered Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite of Ed Leavens and John Colgate leading, followed by the N.A.R.T. Ferrari 250GT California driven by Gus...
Two factory Porsche 910s await the start of the 1967 Sebring 12 Hours Where: Sebring / Date: 1967 Car #36 will be driven by Scooter Patrick and Gerhard Mitter, while Jo Siffert and Hans Hermann will handle car #37. The two 910s will finish in third and fourth, respectively. No Subscription? You’re...
Mercedes W125 Car: Mercedes W125 / Engine: 8-Cylinder In-line Supercharged / Maker: Daimler-Benz / Bore X Stroke: 94 mm X 102 mm / Year: 1937 / Capacity: 5,660 cc / Class: Grand Prix / Power: 646 bhp at 5,800 rpm / Wheelbase: 110.2 inches / Track: 58.0 inches front, 55.6...
1988 Jaguar XJR-9LM In 1988, Jaguar won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an entry of five XJR-9 cars. The winning car, driven by Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace, completed 394 laps and covered a distance of 3313 (5332.79km). This followed Jaguar’s earlier victory at Le Mans...
What a question! It’s all so difficult because I’ve driven many varied cars across several eras of racing. Technology and development have played a part during my years of racing too; racecars have become better as time goes on. I started racing with a Lotus Seven at Goodwood, which was...
This new book from Dalton Watson about the Porsche 917—one of the most successful and iconic racing cars of all time—presents a detailed chassis-by-chassis and race-by-race history of the Porsche racecars entered by the John Wyer/Gulf team. Building upon the history of how the Porsche 917 program came about, and...
Bruce Leslie McLaren won the first-ever Grand Prix of the United States in 1959, but really established his life’s legacy eight years later. It was September 3, 1967, at Road America, when his Can-Am team began a five-year run of dominance in the fastest kind of road racing the world...
Ferrari 312P & 312PB By Ed McDonough and Peter Collins Billed as “the story of a great car and a great time in motorsport history,” this is the first book devoted solely to Ferrari’s 312P and 312PB models, and it features many rare and previously unpublished photos. The 312PB utterly...
Ferrari’s First Artwork Michael Jekot paints an image of Franco Cortese and Ferrari’s first race win as an independent manufacturer. Ferrari wins! This was not always so for Ferrari in the beginning. After a career building and racing cars for other people, Enzo Ferrari, at age 49, when most men...
1979 Ferrari 512 BB LM Here’s a little competition for you: How many sets of rules have governed international sports car racing from 1953 to the present day? Can you define the difference between the International Championship of Makes and the World Championship of Makes? What was the difference between...
The 1980 Porsche 924 Carrera GT Le Mans racer was recently reunited with its British driver line-up at Silverstone prior to beginning restoration by Porsche Classic Centre Partners. Thirty-five years since it last turned a wheel in anger, this significant Porsche race car arrived in the UK in the first...
One of the races I remember well from my career was winning the 24-Hours at Spa in 1968. I drove the Porsche 911 to 1st overall, and it was a beautiful race for me although it had the usual Spa weather with rain for more than 18 hours. I was...
Since there exists a convoluted historical precedent for such a move, let’s go Web surfing to Germany by way of South America. There, courtesy of a band of faithful Argentinean enthusiasts, we find this month’s featured site that is, for the moment anyway, devoted primarily to Porsche’s fabulous 917. Unless...
By Tim Scott My infatuation with the Ferrari marque goes back to the 1970s, and my ‘formative’ years. As a poorly eleven year-old, stricken by appendicitis and hospital-bound, my dear Mother’s approach to a quick and happy recovery was to arrange for me to sit in a 308 GT4 on...
You may recognize Bill Warner as the Founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, held each March on that charming resort island in Florida. No Subscription? You’re missing out Any Text Here Get Started Already a Member? Sign in to your account here....
Ayrton Senna Artwork This year marks the 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s first of three Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championships. It was also McLaren’s 4th Constructors’ Championship win and their most dominant season ever with the McLaren MP4/4 winning 15 of the 16 races. To honor this anniversary, artist Paul Chenard...
1982 Porsche 956 & 1988 Porsche 962 It is now 25 years since the Porsche 956 first appeared and started another of Porsche’s amazing periods of domination, this time in long-distance racing in the Group C and IMSA categories. Having decided that they wanted to win races outright rather than...
Despite constantly pushing boundaries and creating dozens of fast and revolutionary models since its inception, Mercedes-Benz had long been reluctant to build a true supercar. It all changed in 1997 with the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR. No Subscription? You’re missing out Any Text Here Get Started Already a Member? Sign in...
1969 Porsche 917K In 1969 it was make-or-break time for Porsche. After over a decade of dominating small-bore racing, the factory team was ready to go for overall honors at the major endurance races, and at Le Mans in particular. Porsche was well known in the marketplace for creating the...
Ferrari 166MM barchetta Where: Modena Aerautodromo / Date: July 10-11, 1949 On July 10-11, 1949. Just two weeks after Le Mans, Luigi Chinetti teamed up with Jean Lucas to win his second 24-hour race of the season, the 14th Grand Prix of 24 Hours of Belgium, at Spa-Francorchamps. Again, they used a Ferrari...
I’m celebrating 25 years of motor racing, and I say this without counting the years I spent karting. It’s difficult to count those years toward my career as it was just something I did as a very young girl. During my motor racing years I have had the opportunity of...
Story and photos by Stephen Mitchell Once upon a time, I received a call from an acquaintance Mario Tosi. He and I both owned Ferrari GTOs and used them as daily transportation. His had been for sale and I came close to buying it before finally purchasing 3987. Mario was...
1964 24 heures du Mans Artwork GT 3.0 Class-winning Équipe Nationale Belge Ferrari 250 GTO 64 finished 5th overall, driven by Lucien Bianchi and Jean Blaton (“Beurlys”). No Subscription? You’re missing out Any Text Here Get Started Already a Member? Sign in to your account here....
1985 Brazilian Grand Prix Where: Jacarepagua, Brazil / Date: April 7, 1985 In the Brazilian Grand Prix at Jacarepagua, April 7, 1985, Alain Prost was able to charge up from the third row of the grid to claim victory with the McLaren MP4/2-TAG when his primary rivals all made mistakes. Details: Photo...
Story and photos by Stephen Mitchell The 250GTO #3987 was the third car I’d ever owned. No Subscription? You’re missing out Any Text Here Get Started Already a Member? Sign in to your account here....
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