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.
The Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC) will honor racing icon Roger Penske at its third annual West Coast banquet prior to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, on Thursday, April 14, 2011. The RRDC Evening with Roger Penske will be presented by Firestone. The "Captain" has been racing and winning in the United States since 1958 and has scored victories in every series in which he has competed. … [Read more...]
Story and photos by Leigh Dorrington The Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse, France has been described as the most prestigious automobile collection in the world. Without doubt, no other collection in the world has a history more filled with intrigue. The public learned of the collection of automobiles assembled by brothers Fritz and Hans Schlumpf in 1977 when workers striking against the … [Read more...]
By Will Silk With traditional forms of investments seeing troubled times in a global economy that continues to only offer uncertainty, many are looking for something more substantial and forthright to place their money behind and feel confident that they will manage to see a modest return. Similar to the recently announced fund by IGA Automobile, this is exactly what the Classic Car Fund aims to … [Read more...]
Among the major car collections in the world, there is one that stands out more than any other as synonymous with excellence: that of iconic American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. A selection of the most prestigious sports cars from the 1930s to present day is on view for the first time in Europe at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, with the exhibit running 28 April - 28 August, 2011. … [Read more...]
Indianapolis 500 fans worldwide have debated for decades about which drivers are the greatest in the race's glorious history. Now those voices will be heard and counted. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has created the "The Greatest 33" website to give fans the opportunity to pick their dream all-time starting lineup of 33 drivers for the Indianapolis 500 at thegreatest33.com from mid-March … [Read more...]
By a vote of its current members in 2010, the Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC) elected 24 race-car drivers and supporters of the sport to membership in the 58-year-old organization. The list includes IndyCar, ALMS, Grand-Am, Formula Mazda, Super Vee, Historic, and Touring champions. The RRDC roster now totals approximately 350 members. “This is a truly outstanding group that represents … [Read more...]
Interview and photos by Dennis Gray (unless noted) On Tuesday between the Pre-Reunion and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Cris Vandagriff, Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) President, agreed to sit down for an interview with Sports Car Digest. I knew a little about Cris, mainly that he had grown up around his father’s import car dealership, Hollywood Sports Cars. He knew and … [Read more...]
By Will Silk The Chevrolet Vega is perhaps one of those cars that history has brushed aside for a number of reasons. The early 1970s were difficult times, with the first global fuel crisis accompanied by a recession in the United States, automakers were willing to make bold moves in designs to attempt to survive. The Chevy Vega was one of those designs, first brought to market in 1971 as a … [Read more...]
Augie Pabst, described as "one of the fastest, most charismatic and popular drivers in his day" by the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, to which he'll be inducted later this year, was named the recipient of the 2010 Bob Akin Award by the Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC). The award was presented at a dinner prior to the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season opener of the 2011 GRAND-AM … [Read more...]
In late January, 2011, the dynamic duo of the Scott brothers announced that they will be producing a TV series for international sales named 'The Drivers', a drama based on the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the 1950s and 1960s. Tony and Ridley Scott will join Headline Pictures and Sennet Entertainment to co-produce. The TV show will be based on a book by Sports Car Digest contributor Wallace A. … [Read more...]
By Will Silk Speculative interest in using vintage cars as a means of investment have been in use for decades, but recently a new, more organized approach, has been unveiled by IGA Automobile. Headed by Ray Bellm, the former president of Grand Prix Racewear and himself a racer having won the BPR GT Championship in a Gulf McLaren F1 GTR, the IGA Automobile LP Fund aims to purchase the … [Read more...]
The story of Carroll Shelby will be told at the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum through the special exhibition, Shelby: A Retrospective. Running from February 11th - April 24th, 2011, the exhibit will feature approximately 18 cars representing the manufacturers and body styles that chronicle Shelby's history as a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner. The Shelby … [Read more...]
The Board of Directors of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame announced the 2011 class on Wednesday, January 12 at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. Chosen by a panel of 125 international motorsport media, the inductees for 2011 are: John Holman, Jan Opperman, Maurice Petty, Brian Redman, and Rex White. They will be enshrined to the Hall of Fame on Thursday, April 14, 2011. … [Read more...]
By Will Silk It has taken some time, but 2011 will mark the debut of a new series of racing on North America’s West Coast called Formula Pacific. The concept of Formula Pacific began when Bill Huth, owner of Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California conjured up a vision of an inexpensive formula series that could offer close, competitive racing on a limited budget. The concept … [Read more...]
Today would have marked the 100th birthday of Fritz “Huschke“ von Hanstein, one of the greatest personalities in the company history of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart. As Press Director, racing manager, and a racing driver, from 1952 to 1974 Huschke von Hanstein helped fashion the unique image of the brand name Porsche. As Sports President of the AvD, the German Automobile Club, … [Read more...]
