LE CAR POPPED STEROIDS
BACK IN 1972, Renault introduced the 5, a competitor to the ubiquitous Volkswagen Beetle, the Austin Mini, and other small four-passenger cars of the era. The Renault 5 did particularly … Continue reading
FORMULA ONE FUEL TIDBITS PART 2
YESTERDAY, IT WAS SUGGESTED that Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification from last month’s Hungarian GP was not unrelated to Formula One rocket fuels of the late 1980s until 1991. Today in Part … Continue reading
FORMULA ONE FUEL TIDBITS PART 1
FORMULA ONE IS SERIOUS about its racing fuels. Ask Sebastian Vettel, whose Aston Martin-Mercedes got disqualified from second at last month’s Hungarian GP for not having the required 1.0 liter … Continue reading
A JEOPARDY SETUP (AND AN R&T ROAD TEST)
THE JEOPARDY CATEGORY is “Celebrity Cars.” The setup is “This British-bodied GT coupe is piloted by a driver known by two different names.” Ah. Easy-peasy: “What is James Bond/007’s Aston … Continue reading
INNES’S GRANDE EPREUVE WIN PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE SET the stage for the 1961 U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Team Lotus’s first Formula One victory, and Innes Ireland’s sole Grand Epreuve win. Today, R&T’s Jim … Continue reading
INNES’S GRANDE EPREUVE WIN PART 1
THE U.S. GRAND PRIX, October 8, 1961, is multiply significant, as reported by R&T’s Jim Crow: “Statistically, it was the first World Championship win for the uninhibited Scot, the first … Continue reading
A LITTLE WONDER WITH OPULENCE ESCHEWED
EARLY SIXTIES AUTOMOBILES were less opulent than those of the Fifties. GM popularized the hardtop convertible (an oxymoron for the pillarless sedan), Ford exhibited a concept car called the Mustang I, … Continue reading
FORMULA ONE—A 1961 STATE OF THE ART
THE 1961 LOTUS F1 car lacks the Wagnerian force of the Grand Prix Silver Arrows of the late 1930s. Its Philip Glass-like minimalism contrasts with Formula One’s recent hypercomplexity. Sixty … Continue reading
PANHARD JUNIOR SPORTS—LESS THAN AN MG
“NEW SPORTS CAR models of all types and sizes have been introduced on the American market during the past few years. One thing they all had in common—a price higher … Continue reading
ASTON MARTIN MARK II
FIFTY-ONE YEARS BEFORE James Bond piloted his DB-5 to fame in Goldfinger (1964), Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford established Aston Martin. The “Aston” came from Aston Hill, where Martin raced … Continue reading
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