Erik Carlsson aka “Carlsson på taket”
“Carlsson på taket” is Swedish for “Carlsson on the roof”, Erik was so famous for flipping his Saab rally cars that the moniker became permanent in his home country.
Racing
eBay Find: 1940 Ford Circle Track Race Car
This 1940 Ford circle track racer is currently listed out of Brick, New Jersey with a buy-it-now price of $6,900. Originally built in 1950…
1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom Experimental Sports Tourer
This magnificent old Roller has a 7.7 litre straight 6, an engine that I would pay good money just to listen to. The 1926 Phantom…
MG EX 181
In 1957 the MG Car Company arrived at the Bonneville Salt Flats with an unusually shaped vehicle and legendary racing driver Stirling Moss. The car was called the MG EX 181 and it was entered into the Class F land-speed series for cars with engines between 1.1 and 1.5 litres.
1970 1000 Kms de Spa Race Poster
There’s something iconic about racing posters such as this one, it’s almost as if back in the time before microprocessors and Photoshop the only people employed to make advertising materials were real artists, earning their crust. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some magnificent Photoshop work in my time, but nothing as iconic as this 1970 1000 kms de Spa race poster. It’s just beautiful.
Porsche 917s Awaiting Delivery
This long line of Porsche 917s was taken in 1969, the cars are all awaiting delivery to their respective race teams. The 917 went on to win Le Mans in 1970 and 1971, it was also the car that co-starred in Steve McQueen’s now infamous 1971 film “Le Mans”.
Ayrton Senna Arrives – The 1984 Mercedes Nürburgring Race
The 1984 Mercedes Saloon Car race at the Nürburgring was meant to be a casual affair, quite who thought it actually would be a casual affair is unclear. It seems naive to think that a race track stacked with some of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time, all in identical cars, would be anything other than a four-wheeled version of a bare knuckle fist fight.
Isle of Man Scooter Racing – Circa 1970
I never knew that people raced scooters at the Isle of Man, until last week when I discovered this footage and became an immediately happier person. I like scooters. I know that this makes me less of a man in the eyes of hard-core motorcycle dudes but I don’t care. There’s a lot to be said for a 50cc smoke-spewing two-stroke.
The Ford XC Cobra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmVnzageLMo You may be looking at the below picture of this blue and white car and wondering how you never came across this particular…
The Death and Life Of Vincent Motorcycles
Vincent is one of the most highly respected names in the world of motorcycling, Hunter S. Thompson was a big fan, the most famous motorcycling photograph ever, Rollie Free at Bonneville in his swimming trunks, featured a Vincent Black Lightning and between 1948-1955 Vincent produced the fastest production motorcycle in the world, the Black Shadow.
1977 Yamaha XS650 Flat Tracker
Flat Trackers are great looking, purpose built mud-sliders that ooze retro, rural American charm. I love them. This 1977 Yamaha XS650 is a tidy looking example, it was raced…
The Forgotten 1962 Ford Mustang
If the Ford Mustang I Prototype had seen the green light for production things would have turned out very differently. In October ’62, when the first Mustang I debuted at the United States Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, New York, the Formula One driver Dan Gurney lapped the circuit using the prototype. His lap times were only slightly off the pace of the Formula 1 race cars.