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Author: Brian Corey

June 21, 1947 – The first post war Mille Miglia
21Jun By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

June 21, 1947 – The first post war Mille Miglia

The Mille Miglia was an open road endurance race that took place in Italy 24 times from 1927 to 1957. It was on this day in 1947 the first post WWII race took place. The race was won by Italians Clemente Biondetti and Emilio Romano who drove an Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Berlinetta Touring. The races began in 1927 when Aymo Maggi and Franco Mazzotti, along with a group of investors, established the race because they were upset about the Italian Grand Prix being moved from their home town of Brescia. The designed a figure-eight type course that ran approximately one thousand miles on public roads. One thousand miles in Italian is “Mille Miglia,” although the first race was actually 1,005 miles. The first event started with 77 racers, of which 51 made it to the finish line. Coming in first...
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June 15, 1911 – The electric starter is patented
15Jun By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

June 15, 1911 – The electric starter is patented

The name Charles Kettering may not ring any bells unless you are familiar with Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, but this US inventor is the man you can thank for your car being so easy to start. On this day in 1911 he filed for US Patent #1150523, the electric starting motor for the automobile.  Kettering didn’t exactly invent the automatic starter, but he did make it work for cars of the era. Early automobiles required a person to hand crank the motor to start it. Incidents often led to broken hands, wrists or even shoulders, but one accident was much worse. Byron Carter, the founder of Cartercar, came across a stranded motorist in Detroit during the winter of 1908. When the driver forgot to retard the spark the crank kicked back and broke Carter’s jaw. Due to complication...
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June 13, 1953 – Tony Rolt  and Duncan Hamilton win 24 Hours of Le Mans, apparently drunk
13Jun By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

June 13, 1953 – Tony Rolt  and Duncan Hamilton win 24 Hours of Le Mans, apparently drunk

Duncan Hamilton driving the Jaguar C-Type after winning the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of the most fantastic tales in auto sports history was born on this day in 1953 when British racers Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Jaguar C-Type, drunk. That's the legend, anyway. The story goes that Hamilton and Rolt had been disqualified from the race before it began due to practicing with the wrong number on their vehicle. Figuring they would no longer be busy for the next 24 hours, they headed to a local waterhole. After a few pints, Jaguar team manager Lofty England found the boys at the bar and let them know he had got them reinstated in the race. So they stumbled back to the track and off they went. As it would go, 24 hours later, they won. The tale is up ...
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June 12, 1971 – The last Lincoln Mark III
12Jun By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

June 12, 1971 – The last Lincoln Mark III

Lincoln Continental Mark III by Stavo1 at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 When Ford president Lee Iacocca told Design Vice President Gene Bordinat to "put a Rolls Royce grille on a Thunderbird" for Lincoln’s next top luxury model, the Continental Mark III was born. It would be three years before the Cadillac Eldorado competitor would hit the market, but it did so with great success. Introduced in April 1968 as a 1969 model, the Mark III outsold the Eldorado that year, and for multiple years after. The car was developed for only $30 million, and sold high volumes, making it one of the greatest successes of Iacocca’s career at Ford. The last Mark III left the factory on this day in 1971, succeeded by the Mark IV, which continued the same successful sales pattern.
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June 11, 1986 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off premiers, Ferrari steals the show
11Jun By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

June 11, 1986 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off premiers, Ferrari steals the show

The American cult classic film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off premiered on this day in 1986, featuring a 1961 Ferrari in a starring role. Written and directed by John Hughes, the comedy follows high school senior Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) as he pretends to be sick to get out of going to school. He uses his time to hangout in downtown Chicago with his girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and best friend Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck). The stakes of playing hooky are raised immensely when Ferris convinces Cameron to “borrow” his father’s 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California to cruise the city. The teenage joy ride ends when… well, if you haven’t seen it, this article won’t spoil it. While the film featured three replicas, tight shots of the car were of a real California, of which only 10...
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June 10, 1947 – The Saab prototype debuts
10Jun By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

June 10, 1947 – The Saab prototype debuts

The Ursaab On this day in 1947, Swedish airplane manufacturer Saab AB introduced the press to their first prototype automobile at the company's headquarters. It became known as the Ursaab, which translates to “Original Saab.” This vehicle led to the first production Saab in 1949, the Saab 92. Let's back up. Saab AB had been producing warplanes for WWII, but launched an automobile design project in 1945 code named X9248. Later it became known as Project 92, as this was the next production vehicle following Project 91, a single engine trainer aircraft. Saab desired to produce a vehicle that would compete with the small German vehicles, such as those from Opel and Adler. Transverse two-cylinder two-stroke. By Ballista, CC BY-SA 3.0 Development of the Saab 92 A 16 person team ...
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June 9, 1898 – The oldest winning F1 driver is born
9Jun By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

June 9, 1898 – The oldest winning F1 driver is born

Luigi Fagioli, the oldest driver to ever win a Formula One race, was born on this day in 1898 in Osimo, Italy. It was there he developed a passion for the relatively new invention of the automobile. As a young boy he discovered a talent for driving after entering hill climbing and sports car racing events. He climbed the ranks and began Grand Prix racing in 1926. His continued successes behind the wheel earned him an invitation to race the Grand Prix Circuit for Maserati in 1930. Then his career took off. His Grand Prix wins included Coppa Ciano in 1930, the Italian Grand Prix in 1933 and 1934,  Coppa Acerbo in 1933 and 1934, and the Monaco Grand Prix in 1935. Fagioli is the only driver to win a Formula One race that was born prior to the 20th century. Fagioli faced some serio...
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June 8, 1948 – The first car with a Porsche badge debuts
8Jun By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

June 8, 1948 – The first car with a Porsche badge debuts

Ferdinand Porsche, an automotive consultant, designer and engineer, debuted his first vehicle at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1900. In 1936 the Nazi party recruited him to design an affordable vehicle for the German people, which evolved into Volkswagen. Following WWII, Ferdinand was arrested for war crimes and his son Ferry took over the family firm. While struggling to keep it afloat, a wealthy Italian approached Ferry, announcing his wish for a new race car. The family business went to work, creating the Type 360 Cisitalia. The car would fund Ferdinand's bail, but by then he had already approved a new project being spearheaded by his son, the 356/1 prototype. It became the first car to officially bear the Porsche name, and too its maiden voyage on this day in 1948 during its road c...
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June 7, 1992 – NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. died
7Jun By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

June 7, 1992 – NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. died

Bill France at Daytona Beach America’s prohibition era surely fueled the rise of NASCAR, but it took one man to make it official. Drivers who delivered illegal alcohol needed fast cars to outrun police, so they regularly tuned their vehicles for more power and better handling. Following prohibition, these drives still possessed a need for speed. They began to organize races, pitting their hopped up cars against each other, often in hopes of bringing home a cash prize. Daytona mechanic Bill France Sr., loved what the racing scene, but believed it could use more structure. With the assistance of a few partners, he developed a points system and race schedule for stock car racing. France soon began working with influential racers and race promoters to create a governing body for these r...
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Highlights of the Lucky Collector Car Auction being held June 4th & 5th
31May By Brian CoreyNo Comments
Features

Highlights of the Lucky Collector Car Auction being held June 4th & 5th

The Lucky Collector Car Auction Spring Classic is taking place June 4th and 5th, 2022 at the LeMay Collections at Marymount in Tacoma, Washington. After acquiring the former military academy, the late and great Harold LeMay amassed one of the largest private collections of vehicles at the site during his lifetime. Today, the location still houses a vast selection of unique cars and trucks, spanning more than a century of automotive history. It's here, or online or over the phone for that matter, that one can find their next collector car during the spring Lucky collector car auction. Held there bi-annually in the spring and fall, Lucky classic car auctions have become some of the most celebrated vintage vehicle events in the nation. This spring's auction is no different and is...
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