’73 CHEVELLE L-88: LAST BALDWIN-MOTION SS-427!

Posted on July 10, 2017 by MartynL

The last Baldwin-Motion Chevelle SS built, powered by a full-tilt 427 L-88 engine, was not shy about ‘broadcasting’ its potent powertrain. The last Baldwin-Motion Chevelle, a $12, 030.24, L-88-powered ‘73 Phase III SS built shortly before Baldwin Chevrolet changed hands, was a tire-frying "billboard" for a program that would last just one more year. Built for Charles Crane in Ft. Lee, New Jersey, it was driven daily and street raced until he sold it in 1980. With its outrageous lettering and ra...

WILD-EYED & REVVED-UP: RODS AND ROSES!

Posted on July 6, 2017July 6, 2017 by MartynL

It's become a tradition: The High Noon Engine Rev at the Rods & Roses Car Show in Carpinteria, CA. The show celebrated its 20 Anniversary on July 1st – and the roar of the engines this year was a loud salute to local automotive legend, Andy Granetelli. There were over 150 wicked, wonderful and wild-eyed customs, classics and musclecars lining Linden Avenue, Carpinteria's main thoroughfare that delivers you to the "World's Safest Beach" on the Pacific. Proceeds from this always-enjoyable sho...

BALDWIN-MOTION SURVIVOR: PHASE III 454 CORVETTE!

Posted on July 5, 2017 by MartynL

One-owner ’72 Baldwin-Motion Corvette had spent 26 years in a barn before enthusiast Dave Belk found it. Baldwin-Motion’s Joel Rosen is probably best known for his NHRA record-setting 427 & 454 Camaros and small and big-block Cobras. But Rosen was a diehard Corvette enthusiast and a good friend of Zora Arkus-Duntov. Zora was a big Baldwin-Motion Corvette fan; especially the Phase III GT. He’s shown with Joel Rosen, left, at the New York Auto Show introduction of the prototype Phase III GT. ...

PART IV: 10 GREAT RACE TRACKS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN!

Posted on July 4, 2017 by MartynL

Stephen Cox blogs about a century of motorsports magic at Montpelier Motor Speedway. Indianapolis. Le Mans. Milwaukee. Those are the places that come to mind when discussing the oldest and most legendary racetracks on the planet. Montpelier is rarely mentioned, though it should be. Last weekend I discovered a small, dirt bullring in eastern Indiana that has been one of auto racing's best-kept secrets for over a century. Built as a half-mile horseracing track in 1903, Montpelier Motor Speedwa...

BOOK REVIEW: KENSINGTON MD’S GASOLINE ALLEY!

Posted on July 1, 2017 by MartynL

Our Mike Matune reviews Cynthia Lee Monroe’s unique historical book about the car culture in suburban Washington, D.C. Cindy Monroe’s impressive volume, KENSINGTON MARYLAND’S GASOLINE ALLEY, began life, as of all things, a crime novel. Fortunately for historic motorsports aficionados, Monroe changed direction after a trip to a local historical society revealed there was a story even more intriguing. The book is about a place on the map in suburban Washington, D.C. that hid behind its humble app...

JAGUAR XE SV PROJECT 8: E-TICKET TO RIDE!

Posted on June 29, 2017 by MartynL

200-mph, 592-horsepower XE is Jaguar’s most powerful, agile and extreme performance road car ever produced. Following the successful F-TYPE Project 7 of 2014, the XE SV Project 8, is Special vehicle Operations’ second Collector’s Edition. It is a hand-built four-door sedan with supercar performance – designed to thrill driving enthusiasts, with an extraordinary combination of explosive power, dynamic agility and all-wheel-drive traction. No more than 300 examples will be created for global sale...

’63 PONTIAC SD-421: SWISS CHEESE LITE!

Posted on June 27, 2017 by MartynL

Production of lightweight ’63 Super-Duty Pontiacs was extremely limited, but high-profile racer Mickey Thompson got the first two. One of those featured here is in the Factory Lightweight Collection. Roger Huntington writing in Hi-Performance CARS is often credited with first using “Swiss Cheese” to describe lightened Super-Duty Pontiacs. It came to him after he counted 120 holes drilled in the perimeter frame of Royal Pontiac’s Catalina, driven by Jim Wangers. A total of 18 aluminum body parts...

’63 CORVETTE STING RAY: RACED FROM DAY ONE!

Posted on June 23, 2017 by MartynL

Consummate Corvette aficionado K. Scott Teeters blogs about Ken Hazelton’s unique split-window coupe that has never been driven on the street. Zora Arkus-Duntov would have been proud. Although born to be a street sports car, this Sting Ray has never been anything but a racecar. Zora Arkus-Duntov was the driving force behind making sure that production Corvettes could be easily turned into competitive racecars. He was famous for saying, “I want my customers to enjoy their Corvette.” Even thou...

’18 CAMARO ZL1 1LE: ROCKS THE ‘RING!

Posted on June 22, 2017 by MartynL

Enhanced track capability turns new ZL1 1LE Camaro into a record-holder at Nürburgring. The ‘18 Camaro ZL1 1LE has conquered the Green Hell, lapping the Nürburgring’s 12.9-mile (20.8 km) Nordschleife (“north loop”) in only 7:16.04, making it the fastest Camaro to ever lap the famed German track. The ZL1 1LE’s time is quick enough to place it 13.56 seconds ahead of the Camaro ZL1 with 10-speed automatic that Chevrolet tested last year. “With chassis adjustability unlike any vehicle in its pe...

CADILLAC 6.2 V-8: THE ENGINE THAT COULD!

Posted on June 21, 2017 by MartynL

Undefeated in IMSA competition, Cadillac’s V-8 in street trim powers the hottest production vehicles – CTS-V and Escalade – in their classes. The Cadillac 6.2L V-8 engine that powers Cadillac’s Dpi-V.R prototype racecars is undefeated at mid-season in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Cadillac race engines have secured 11 of the first 15 podium places - including all five victories - during Cadillac’s first year of IMSA competition. Each engine has “traveled” more miles than a t...