SHOWTIME: 2021 AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS

Posted on May 31, 2021 by MartynL

‘Expect the unexpected’ is why people from here and abroad flock annually to Bill Warner’s spectacle in the sunshine. Dan Scanlan brings us the best of the best from SHOWTIME: 2021 AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS, complete with photos and videos. There was grace with pace last week at the 26th Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. For pace, how about 3 Dog Garage’s ‘85 Roush Ford Mustang IMSA racer in the Cars of Lyn St. James Class? She thundered onto the show field in that Mustang that secured h...

TOP 20: ROCK STARS & CARS

Posted on May 15, 2021May 15, 2021 by MartynL

Luke Ponsford salutes 20 rock stars who love to drive and their favorite rides in Hagerty’s TOP 20: ROCK STARS & CARS. They drive fast cars, luxury cars, one-off exotics, custom creations, sports cars, race cars, mini-cars, a van and even a plug-in hybrid vintage Lincoln. But they all have one thing in common: They love their cars and music. Included in Ponsford’s Top 20 is AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson who is every bit at home on a race track as he is on a stage. An accomplished ...

STUDE-A-SHAKER: IT’S A GAS-GAS-GAS!

Posted on May 11, 2021May 12, 2021 by MartynL

Tony LaPolla channeled his 1960s Gasser heroes – Stone, Woods & Cook – when he built the STUDE-A-SHAKER: IT'S A GAS-GAS-GAS! Koufax, Clemente & Mays: Baseball legends who were heroes to legions of young guys in the 1960s – but not Tony LaPolla. It wasn't the crack of the bat that made his heart race, but rather the crackle of the supercharged 448-inch Oldsmobile motor powering a wicked '41 Willys Gasser – owned and campaigned by barnstorming drag racers Stone, Woods & Cook. The lege...

MULTIPLE PERSONALITY: ‘21 BMW M5 COMPETITION

Posted on May 3, 2021May 3, 2021 by MartynL

The twin-turbocharged, MULTIPLE PERSONALITY: ‘21 BMW M5 COMPETITION can be a comfortable family sedan. Or it can be a very fast four-seat sedan with all-wheel-drive to safely play, or go out Supercar hunting, blogs Dan Scanlan. I had to double check the numbers. First, our 4,345-pound M5 Competition boasted 617 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, with all-wheel-drive and launch control. The 4,600-mile-old sedan hit 60 mph in a hair over 3 seconds, and 100 mph in 7 – check out the v...

FIVE-STAR: THE AMERICAN SPEED SHOP

Posted on May 2, 2021May 2, 2021 by MartynL

If you are truly interested in the birth and evolution of hot rodding, the speed equipment industry and drag racing in America, Bob McClurg’s FIVE-STAR: THE AMERICAN SPEED SHOP is THE book to read! If there’s anyone who should be teaching Hot Rodding 101 at your local community college, it’s Bob McClurg! He’s an accomplished photographer, scribe, author and a true student of the evolution of hot rodding and drag racing - from four-cylinder and Flathead and OHV V8 revolutions, through mo...

CUNNINGHAM: 60th ANNIVERSARY C8 CORVETTE

Posted on April 29, 2021April 29, 2021 by MartynL

CUNNINGHAM: 60th ANNIVERSARY C8 CORVETTE, Car # 33 of 60, debuts at Amelia Island Concours as part of a charity Sweepstakes benefitting CMAF. The three original Cunningham C1 Corvettes and their racing history carry an enormous amount of prestige within the Corvette community, as well as those who support endurance racing. The #3 Briggs Cunningham entry stands head and shoulders above all others, having won its class in the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its story was chronicled in the 201...

ORCUTT DERELICTS: DONUT RUN CAR MEET

Posted on April 23, 2021April 23, 2021 by MartynL

‘If Muscle Cars Could Walk’, blogs our intrepid, photo-journalist, Jim Palam! ‘I was expecting a four-wheeled GTO Goat from Pontiac, not a four-legged Bovidae family member at the ORCUTT DERELICTS: DONUT RUN CAR MEET.’ When a carguy buddy of mine from the Central Coast told me, they were expecting some cool musclecars and other surprises at the Orcutt Derelict’s Donut Run car meet in Orcutt, he peppered that prompt to attend by also telling me there's going to be a beautiful GOAT there ...

ROD and CUSTOM: MYSTERY MERC!

Posted on April 22, 2021April 22, 2021 by MartynL

Hot Rod Archeologist Pat Ganahl has been tracking a long-lost customized and chopped Mercury with Tinseltown credits, but the trail on the ROD and CUSTOM: MYSTERY MERC! has gone cold. Help anyone? I love a good mystery. Whether written or real life, some are better than others. The thing is, in mystery books, if you can’t solve it along the way, by the end it reveals who done it. In real life, that’s not always the case. Also in real life, as you’re solving one mystery, sometimes other...

ANTIQUE RACECARS: CELEBRATED AT LAGUNA SECA

Posted on April 8, 2021April 8, 2021 by MartynL

Ragtime Racers will celebrate pre-1920 achievements on and off Laguna Seca - ANTIQUE RACECARS: CELEBRATED AT LAGUNA SECA - at Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion during Monterey Car Week. The need for speed abruptly began when the second automobile was built. To help celebrate these early beginnings of motorsports, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion will celebrate the early days of racing with a lively interactive exhibit of pre-1920 racers that helped cement motorsports’ place in history. ...

McLAREN GT:SUPERCAR DELIVERS PRACTICAL MAGIC

Posted on April 3, 2021April 3, 2021 by MartynL

Here's an everyday ride that can get you to the golf links at 203 mph! McLAREN GT: SUPERCAR DELIVERS PRACTICAL MAGIC, and I love it. blogs Road Test Editor Howard Walker. I love McLarens. With a passion. Love the rock-out-of-a-catapult acceleration, the frenetic, spooked squirrel handling, the mind-blowing, mind-reading steering that can almost predict your intentions before you even nudge the wheel. For me, these British-built projectiles are the very definition of the mystical term "super...