The De Tomaso Mangusta was famously named after the Mongoose – the only animal that hunts and kills cobras. It’s widely thought that the name was a friendly jab at Carroll Shelby, whose AC Cobra had become the most famous (and successful) example of a European car with an American V8. Alejandro de Tomaso was…
In 1932 somewhere deep in the French countryside a project was underway to build an automobile with a slightly unusual method of propulsion. It isn’t known if the designer of the Helicon was a pilot or an aircraft engineer, but it’s clear that the car takes a significant amount of influence from early aircraft design.
The Norton Commando is a motorcycle that defied the odds to become a cult classic in its own lifetime, it was developed to compete with the new wave of bikes coming out of Japan but unlike the Japanese, the Brits were struggling to fund new R&D. This resulted in the Commando using the Atlas parallel…
The Porsche 911T made its debut in 1967 as a direct replacement for the 912 as an entry level version of the now legendary 911. The “T” in its name stood for “Touring” and in order to make the air-cooled engine suitable for long distance driving it was slightly detuned from 130 hp to 110…
Jaguar introduced the E-Type in 1961 – It was a car with sweeping lines that was faster than any contemporary road-going Ferrari at half the price. Enzo Ferrari himself called it “The most beautiful car ever made” and in the years that have passed since its introduction it’s been voted the most beautiful car of…
In 1953 Donald Healey asked Gerry Coker, his chief designer, to design two hard-top/coupe versions of the popular Austin-Healey 100. The two designs were slightly different and Donald preferred the red one, so he took it as his personal daily driver. The plans to develop a production version of the coupe never came to fruition,…
The Acme Traffic Regulator sounds like something Wile E. Coyote would use to lay an elaborate trap for Road Runner, but it actually used to be a very common sight on the streets of the United States between the 1920s and 1950s. The patent for the traffic light system was filed by inventor Frank J….
Bulova and Omega were in a heated battle during the early years of the Space Race to become the official chronograph used in space and eventually worn on the surface of the Moon. As is well known, Omega won the battle and specially prepared Speedmasters were worn by all Apollo astronauts. What isn’t as widely…
The Intermeccanica Italia Spyder is an American/Italian sportscar that was produced in very limited numbers, it’s thought that less than 500 were built in total and it’s unknown how many have survived to the modern day. First introduced in 1966, the Intermeccanica Italia Spyder went through a few minor iterations with different model names. The…
The Phil Hill Story is a slightly older documentary about America’s only native born Formula 1 World Champion. Hill was a famously quiet and reserved man who once said “I’m in the wrong business. I don’t want to beat anybody, I don’t want to be the big hero. I’m a peace-loving man, basically.” Despite his…
Steve McQueen owned an extraordinary array of vehicles including a 1931 Pitcairn PA-8 biplane, a Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, a Jaguar XKSS, a Ford GT40 and a number of motorcycles – including the 1934 Indian Sport Scout you see here. Although he’s perhaps more famous for his association with Triumph and Husqvarna, McQueen’s love of…
The D-Day assault is one of the most important military events of the 20th century, the heroism, courage and selflessness displayed by the Allies as they began the mission to retake Europe has few parallels in history. This Paratrooper Jump Knife belonged to Norman Capels of G Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division. It isn’t…
