The Kellison J-4R was the brainchild of USAF pilot James Kellison, a man known for his exceptional intelligence, his deep love for cars, and his fascination with lightweight composites. In the 1950s the latest and greatest composite was fiberglass, a material that was a precursor to modern composites like carbon fiber, and that offered excellent…
The Facel Vega FV4 Typhoon was introduced in 1958, it was fitted with the most powerful engine ever offered by the French automaker up until that time – a 325 hp “Dual Quad” 354 cubic inch Hemi V8 supplied by Chrysler. Facel The Automaker The name Facel is an abbreviation of Forges et Ateliers de Constructions…
The Connaught L2 was developed by former RAF pilots and engineers in the years just after WWII, the company name was chosen because it was a contraction of Continental Autos – the name of their humble little garage in Surrey. Today Connaught is most often remembered for their single largest racing success – a win…
The Alta Car and Engineering Company was astonishingly far ahead of its time, the company was building supercharged, double overhead cam engines with hemispherical combustion chambers all the way back in the 1920s. The Alta Car and Engineering Company Alta was founded by 27 year old Geoffrey Taylor, who planned to develop, build, and sell…
The Tojeiro-Butterworth AJB is a bit of a historical anomaly, it’s the only one that was ever built, and it’s fitted with the unusual air-cooled, flat-four AJB engine. The intials AJB belong to Archibald James Butterworth, a visionary engineer, inventor, and designer, who was a successful and active racer in England until he suffered a…
The Iso Grifo A3/C was developed by legendary Italian engineer and test driver Giotto Bizzarrini – the same man responsible for the creation of the Ferrari 250 GTO, now one of the most desirable and valuable cars in the world. Sibling Rivalry Many years later Bizzarrini explained his philosophy in developing the Iso Grifo A3/C…
The Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye Spider was a comprehensively re-developed version of the famous little Italian roadster designed to race in the Group 4 division of the World Rally Championship. Abarth is an Italian tuning house known for sometimes outlandish cars, built with an almost Machiavellian eye for performance above all else. Fiat took over…
The One-Off Molzon Concept Corsa GT38 The Molzon Concept Corsa GT38 is a one-off sports car developed by William “Bill” Molzon – a visionary GM designer who worked closely with under Larry Shinoda on some of most successful models in the history of Chevrolet. Molzon went to work at General Motors immediately after graduating with…
A Brief Early History of Alfa Romeo Despite its reputation for being quintessentially Italian, Alfa Romeo was actually founded by a Frenchman named Alexandre Darracq. At one point just after the turn of the 20th century, Darracq’s companies were building 10% of all cars being manufactured in the world – not bad for a guy…
The Norton Manx The Norton Manx is a British single cylinder race bike that had an extraordinarily long competitive life. It’s perhaps the most famous of the dominant British singles from the mid-20th century, and amazingly they’re still being built new by licensed suppliers around the world. The Manx was based on the road-going Norton…
The FIAT S61 was astonishingly advanced for its time, it was designed and built in 1908 with a 10 litre (589 cubic inch), 4-cylinder engine, a single overhead cam, 4 valves per cylinder, 4 spark plugs per cylinder, and approximately 130 bhp. Just five were built in 1908 for the FIAT Racing Team, and some…
The Toyota 2000GT The Toyota 2000GT has become the most desirable, and therefore the most expensive Japanese car ever made. The 2000GT was made to change the world’s perception of Japanese auto makers from being manufacturers of cars that were “practical” and fine for shopping at the local supermarket, or taking the kids to school: but…
