1932 – Ab Jenkins’ Solo 24‑Hour Blast in a Pierce‑Arrow V12
Ab Jenkins spent September 18 behind the wheel of a Pierce‑Arrow V12 roadster and drove through an entire day on the Bonneville Salt Flats, covering roughly 2,710 miles in a solo 24‑hour effort. Running on a ten‑mile oval of hard-packed salt, Jenkins kept the big American V12 at sustained high speed through the flat desolation of Utah, averaging close to 113 mph for the day — a feat recorded in contemporary accounts and later histories. Though the run lacked AAA certification, it showcased both Jenkins’ stamina and the Pierce‑Arrow’s endurance capability on a surface that would become synonymous with record‑seeking speed trials.
1948 – Goodwood Opens as Britain’s Postwar Permanent Circuit
The new Goodwood Motor Circuit threw open its gates on 18 September 1948, hosting a publicly attended meeting at the former RAF Westhampnett that was ceremonially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Richmond in a Bristol 400. Organized by the Junior Car Club, the meeting introduced a permanent postwar racing venue to Britain’s motorsport calendar, with front‑engined sports cars and Formula entries testing the fast, undulating layout. For a country still rebuilding after the war, Goodwood’s inauguration established a peacetime home for club and national racing alike and set the scene for decades of iconic British motor meetings.
1955 – Ford Builds Its Two‑Millionth Flathead V8
Ford turned a production landmark on 18 September 1955 when its two‑millionth Flathead V8 rolled off the line — a cumulative achievement for the V8 family first introduced in 1932. The Flathead’s side‑valve V8 architecture had powered Fords for more than two decades through cars and trucks, and reaching two million units underscored how thoroughly the design had been adopted across the company’s lineup. While the Flathead would soon give way to newer OHV designs, this milestone reflected the engine’s enormous production life and its role in putting affordable V8 power into mainstream American vehicles.
1958 – Austin Unveils the A40 Farina at Longbridge
At Austin Works in Longbridge on 18 September 1958 the Austin A40 Farina made its formal debut, the company’s new small family saloon styled by the house of Pininfarina to replace the A30/A35. The compact Farina featured a fresh, squared‑off silhouette compared with its predecessors and was displayed to the public shortly afterwards at the Paris Motor Show, signaling Austin’s intent to modernize its entry‑level range. Built to be economical and practical, the A40 Farina married Italian styling cues with British mass‑market sensibilities and went into production later that year.
1970 – Jimi Hendrix Dies in London; a Corvette Linked to Him Is Reported Missing
The world lost Jimi Hendrix on September 18, 1970 in London, and among the many posthumous oddities tied to the musician was the fate of a late‑1960s Chevrolet Corvette associated with him. Hendrix had owned Corvettes during the late 1960s, and subsequent reports connected a 1969 Corvette to his estate — the car was later reported sold or missing by parties handling his possessions. The story of Hendrix’s Corvette became one of several curious footnotes to a sudden celebrity death, linking rock mythology to the era’s emblematic American sports car.
