A Brief History of the Iso Grifo The Iso Grifo was developed by a dream team of Italians in the 1960s, the body design was penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the engineering was done by Giotto Bizzarrini, and the whole thing was overseen by Iso chief executive Renzo Rivolta. Bizzarrini is famous for his development work on…
Lee Munro is the great nephew of motorcycle land speed legend Burt Munro, and in August this year he’s going to return to the Bonneville Salt Flats – 50 years after his great uncle was last there piloting his own Indian Streamliner. Burt Munro is a man who needs no introduction, he was made even more…
This film was produced for Chrysler to show off their new proving grounds in the mid-1950s. The film was made by Wilding Picture Productions, and it shows an exceedingly elaborate testing facility including an expansive enclosed space capable of housing dozens of cars at a time. The testing regimen was surprisingly complex, and it’s safe to…
A Brief History of the Lincoln-Zephyr V12 The Lincoln-Zephyr V12 made its first appearance in 1936, its impressive V12 engine was a stark contrast to its competitors – namely the LaSalle with its V8 and the Packard One-Twenty with its straight-8. The Lincoln Motor Company is a division of Ford, established to give Ford a presence…
The Indian Scout Sixty The Indian Scout Sixty was released in 2016 as a more affordable entry point for riders wanting to throw their leg over a new Indian Scout. The main difference between the two bikes is engine size and price tag – the Scout Sixty has a capacity of 61 cubic inches (999cc) and…
The Pilot Mission Timer by Standard Issue Instruments is designed to be a minimalist, unbranded watch that can be worn everyday – or just when you know you’ll be off the beaten track and might damage a more expensive timepiece. The inspiration for the design was the watches worn by US special forces in the…
Meet Don Yenko The custom Chevrolets built by Don Yenko and his team are legendary – so legendary in fact that Chevrolet bought the rights to the Yenko name in 2009 and began selling brand new Camaros modified specifically for drag racing, bringing the iconic name back to the quarter mile. Don Yenko ran a Chevrolet…
A Short History of the BMW R60/6 The BMW R60/6 made its first appearance in 1974 as part of the all-new /6 family of motorcycles by the German manufacturer. These new models replaced the outgoing /5 motorcycles but shared many of their components – BMW was onto a good thing with their horizontally-opposed air-cooled engines, and…
The Chicago Gangland Map was created by Frederic M. Thrasher in 1927, it’s based on 3 years of research between 1923 and 1926 documenting 1,313 active gangs in the Chicago area for his book “The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago“. Thrasher was a sociologist at the University of Chicago and his ability…
Meet William Harrah William Harrah was a casino magnate and car collector with a larger than life personality and a keen eye for a good wager. One of his more well-known bets was made with an ambitious Sikorsky helicopter salesman who was trying to convince Harrah that he could commute to and between his hotels and…
International Harvester Scout – An Introduction The design brief that led to the creation of the International Harvester Scout sounded simple enough; “Create something to replace the horse”. That was the instruction given by International Harvester’s Manager of Engineering, Mr. Reese, to Chief Designer Ted Ornas back in the post-war ’50s. International Harvester were looking…
The Welbike and the Corgi The Indian Papoose is a small folding motorcycle based on the Welbike, which had been developed during WWII for use by commandos who were parachuting behind enemy lines and needed a way to quickly get around. The original Welbike was designed at Station IX, or the “Inter Services Research Bureau”…
