1939 – The Last European Championship Grand Prix Before World War II
The Swiss Grand Prix was held at the notoriously difficult Bremgarten circuit near Bern on August 20, 1939, becoming the final European Championship Grande Épreuve contested before the outbreak of World War II. Run in wet conditions, the race ended with a dominant Mercedes-Benz sweep as Hermann Lang drove his W154 to victory ahead of teammates Rudolf Caracciola and Manfred von Brauchitsch. Less than two weeks later, Germany invaded Poland and Europe descended into war, bringing top-level international Grand Prix racing to a halt. Although some smaller racing events followed, Bremgarten proved to be the final round of the 1939 European Championship. Grand Prix racing eventually returned to Switzerland after the war, with Bremgarten hosting races again beginning in 1947.
1941 – Ford Builds Its Last British Civilian Car Before Wartime Conversion
Ford produced its final British private passenger car before the end of World War II on August 20, 1941, as civilian automobile manufacturing gave way to the demands of Britain’s war effort. Ford’s enormous Dagenham operation had already become an important military production center, and the company shifted its resources toward trucks, military vehicles, engines and other equipment needed by Allied forces. Ford of Britain ultimately produced hundreds of thousands of vehicles and components during the conflict, while its Trafford Park factory near Manchester became a major producer of Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engines. Civilian car production would return after the war, with familiar prewar models such as the Anglia and Prefect helping restart Britain’s automotive industry.
1960 – The Dodge Dart Helps Sales More Than Double
On August 20, 1960, Dodge general manager M.C. Patterson reported that retail sales for the model year had reached 306,478 vehicles, a 134-percent increase from the 131,164 sold during the comparable period in 1959. A major reason for the turnaround was the newly introduced Dodge Dart, which gave Dodge dealers a lower-priced model capable of competing more directly with Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth. The original 1960 Dodge Dart was not yet the compact most enthusiasts associate with the name; it was a full-size Dodge offered as the Seneca, Pioneer and Phoenix. Nevertheless, buyers responded enthusiastically, and Dodge production reached a then-record level for the model year. The Dart name would survive several major transformations and eventually become one of Dodge’s most recognizable nameplates of the 1960s and 1970s.
1969 – Nissan Updates the Skyline 1500
Nissan announced improvements to its Skyline 1500 lineup on August 20, 1969, continuing the rapid development of the third-generation C10 Skyline. Introduced the previous year, the C10 had originally been engineered largely by Prince Motor Company before Prince’s integration into Nissan and was offered in several forms ranging from practical four-cylinder sedans and wagons to the increasingly performance-oriented Skyline GT models. The 1500 used a 1,483-cc G15 overhead-cam four-cylinder engine and represented the more accessible side of a nameplate that was simultaneously developing a serious motorsports reputation. By 1969 the same Skyline family also included the newly introduced 2000GT-R, creating the remarkable split personality that continues to define the Skyline name: an everyday family automobile on one end and a high-performance icon on the other.
2011 – A Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Sets an Auction Record
A 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa became the most expensive automobile ever sold at public auction on August 20, 2011, when Gooding & Company sold chassis 0666 TR at Pebble Beach for $16.39 million including buyer’s premium. The car was especially significant because it was the first 250 Testa Rossa constructed and had been used by Scuderia Ferrari in competition before later racing under Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team. Its drivers over the years included legends such as Phil Hill and Masten Gregory. The $16.39 million result surpassed the previous public-auction record and demonstrated just how dramatically the market for significant competition Ferraris had escalated. That record has since been broken several times, most spectacularly by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé sold in 2022, but the Testa Rossa sale remains a landmark moment in the modern collector-car market.
