Sports Car Digest - The Sports, Racing and Vintage Car Journal
Sports Car Digest focuses on Classic Car Auctions, Concours d’Elegance, Vintage Car Racing, Road Rallies and other historic automotive events.
George Follmer, who has competed in virtually every form of auto racing and is considered one of the sport's living legends, was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club with the 2012 Phil Hill Award. RRDC president Bobby Rahal presented Follmer with the award at a dinner prior to the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season opener of the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.The Phil … [Read more...]
With over 50 years in motorsports – as a driver and team owner – American A. J. Foyt’s remarkable career has seen him make his mark nationally and abroad in at least four countries: Canada, Great Britain, France and New Zealand. His race record includes: winning the Indianapolis 500 four times in 35 consecutive tries; the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1967); and the Rolex 24 At Daytona (1983, … [Read more...]
By Csaba KissIf one has the occasion to visit Yvan Mahe's Equipe Europe workshop in Ozouer Le Voulgis, France, the feeling one can get is that of dropping in on a living classic car museum.Situated in the picturesque French countryside, about 30 miles from Paris, the Equipe Europe garage is specialized in the restoration, preparation, service and development of historic racing cars. … [Read more...]
Report and photos (unless noted) by Peter HelbachThe Louwman Museum was opened by HRH Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on July 2, 2010. This opening marked the culmination of eight years of very hard work by Mr. Evert Louwman and his management team, led by Museum director Ronald Kooyman. Regulations being what they are, this was the time it took, from the first application to build a museum … [Read more...]
Interview and photos by Greg WingBob Ensign of Ensign Restoration Services of Latham, New York, has been in business for 16 years. His philosophy is, “Do what you love. Love what you do. It is going to work.” His short cropped hair, animated gestures, steel blue eyes and great stories draw you in. Bob demands the highest quality. Here he discusses his work with restoration of a 1949 … [Read more...]
The foundation of a corporate archive in 1936 was a necessary step for the then Daimler-Benz AG. The timing was chosen for its symbolic significance – exactly 50 years after the invention of the automobile. The aim was to preserve this half-century using the documentary records and lay the groundwork for collecting these kinds of documents in future.It was an eventful era that ushered in … [Read more...]
By Leigh DorringtonThe Mercedes-Benz Museum at the company’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany is a depository of the history of the automobile, motorsport, commercial transportation and the Twentieth Century altogether, presented in one of the most modern museums in the world.Two names, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz, stand above all others in the company’s history. But there were … [Read more...]
By Edward LenahanAmong the many reasons to read Michael Cannell’s newest novel “The Limit,” which accurately reanimates the 1961 Formula One world championship with sharp writing and fastidious research, none is so important or rare as the book’s honest portrayal of frailty in those too often romanticized as superhuman.It’s no secret that books and movies about auto racing have … [Read more...]
Jim Rathmann, winner of both the 1960 Indianapolis 500 and the international 500-mile "Race of Two Worlds" in 1958 at Monza, Italy, died Wednesday, November 23, 2011. Rathmann passed away in a hospice in Melbourne, Florida, nine days after suffering a seizure at his home. He was 83.Rathmann, who was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, … [Read more...]
Margie McNally Petersen, wife of Robert E. Petersen and co-founding benefactor of the Petersen Automotive Museum, passed away at her home in Beverly Hills, California on November 25, 2011. Her passing was due to a long and valiant battle with breast cancer. She was 76. Margie Petersen was born and raised in New York and was a top professional model having appeared on hundreds of magazine … [Read more...]
Noted Ferrari coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti passed away November 20, 2011 at 91 years of age.Scaglietti gained Enzo Ferrari's trust and respect both through his bodywork and design skills and for providing a retreat for Dino Ferrari as a youth. Scaglietti is credited with the "headrest" bump present on most racing Ferraris of the 1950s and 1960s, a design at first despised by Enzo but … [Read more...]
Report by Art Evans and photos as notedOn the night of November 10, 2011 a Tribute to Phil Hill was held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The occasion — organized by Bruce Meyer’s Checkered Flag 200 group that supports the museum — celebrated the 50th anniversary of Phil becoming America’s first Formula One World Driving Champion. In addition to the festivities, … [Read more...]
Derek Bell celebrated his 70th birthday on 31 October 2011. Born in Pinner, Middlesex, Great Britain in 1941, Bell is considered to be one of the most versatile and popular racing drivers of his time.Derek Bell began his racing career with Lotus in 1964. In Formula 1 he then took his place on the starting grid for Ferrari in 1969. … [Read more...]
Review by Wallace WyssWith John Bentley doing the ghostwriting, Carroll Shelby wrote his book The Cobra Story in 1965, at a point when the Cobra story wasn’t done yet — not by a long shot. So you could say he began building the legend of Shelby American even before he was done with the first phase of the Cobra and, remarkably, he is still building them 50 years later!There have been … [Read more...]
The Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC) created a website devoted to the education of racing drivers, with top champion drivers offering a collection of inside secrets.Supported by the FIA Motor Sport Safety Development Fund, this site (www.SAFEisFAST.com) is an invaluable tool for up-and-coming racing drivers, as well as established ones, to hone their skills and learn from the best in the world. … [Read more...]
Recent Comments