SVRA wraps up with 2014 vintage racing schedule with its premier event at Virginia International Raceway. Mike Matune brings us highlights.
As Summer fades and the racing season begins to wind down, SVRA draws us to Southern Virginia and Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for the annual Heacock Gold Cup. Here Mike Fisher, top, sweeps under the vehicle bridge in his ex-Derek Bell Speedvision Cup Audi S4.
Peter Dunn exits Turn 11 in his Morgan, above, chasing the other Group 3 ...
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Corvette
PITTSBURGH VINTAGE GRAND PRIX: RAIN & SHINE!
Mike Matune was trackside for this year’s race on the streets of Schenley Park.
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix (PVGP) in Schenley Park is the culmination of a week-long celebration of the Automobile each July. Held on park roads, the whole venue is reminiscent of the early days of road racing in America. The Greater Pittsburgh Automobile dealers presented this year’s race with the Mini as featured marque. As in years past, it benefited the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny ...
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MUSCLE CAR BRAND LOYALTY: OBSOLETE IDEA?
Stephen Cox blogs about being a Ford fan, racing a Chevy and not buying the popular concept of brand loyalty.
I am a Ford fan. There, I said it. But I have little comprehension of brand loyalty; at least not the sort of fanatical allegiance so frequently seen among muscle car enthusiasts. I don’t even understand it. It is therefore eternally amusing to run across those typical chest-thumping car commandos who claim that every automobile that is not manufactured by their favorite company is...
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’64 CORVETTE PROTOTYPE: CERV II!
Zora Arkus-Duntov’s legendary torque-vectoring AWD Corvette test mule to cross the block at RM’s Art of the Automobile Auction next week.
The 1950s were a Golden Age for American car companies, but this was not by chance; it was because of designers and brilliant engineers like Zora Arkus-Duntov. Indeed, few innovators can take credit for redirecting the entire focus of an industry. He is rightfully regarded as the “Father of the Corvette,” taking the staid powerplant of its inaugural year a...
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BILL THOMAS CHEETAH: TUBE-FRAMED TERROR!
Fully developed, the Cheetah could have been a Cobra & Corvette slayer!
Bill Thomas ran a very successful speed shop in southern California, specializing in dyno tuning, modifying Corvette (Rochester) fuel injection systems, designing his own headers and preparing Corvettes for competition. Thomas also developed and marketed specialty equipment for road racing Corvairs. He was extremely smart and, best of all, had access to the legendary
"back-door" at Chevrolet. Wayne Pontes, above, dri...
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RADNOR HUNT CONCOURS: 100 QUALITY MOTORCARS!
By invitation only, ‘The 100 Motorcars of Radnor Hunt’ showcases the best of the best. Mike Matune attended for the Chronicles.
This year was the 17th for the Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance, held in the Northwest suburbs of Philadelphia. Officially titled, The 100 Motorcars of Radnor Hunt, the show is invitational only. Cars are carefully selected and divided into featured groups. Among the groups this year was Cars of the Art Deco Era, that period of design flamboyance generally considered...
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CORVETTE C7 STINGRAY: RALLY ‘ROUND THE ‘RING!
European Export C7 Stingray testing at Nurburgring prior to sales debut.
Nürburgring is a name that evokes strong feelings in any motorsports aficionado; a place where racing history has been made and re-written time and again. It also is the location where
the European model of the new Corvette Stingray coupe is currently being tested,
a few months prior to the start of sales in Europe.
"Nürburgring is renowned for its demanding race track and it is perfectly suited for our p...
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MONTEREY MOTORSPORTS REUNION: LAGUNA SECA!
Mike Matune focuses on Motown Metal & Fiberglass at the Rolex Reunion Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Corvette was the featured Marque at the Motorsports Reunion this year, and did it ever bring out the crowds. Here Les Alexander drops down the hill towards Turn 9 in his ‘57 Corvette, left. As with many early cars, Alexander’s car has lived through a number of iterations and been resurrected more than once, including its latest foray into vintage racing. Back in the day, it ...
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CALLAWAY CORVETTE C7: FIA GT3 ROAD RACER!
Callaway Competition GmbH, Leingarten, Germany, is developing a program for turning a new Stingray C7 into a GT3 racecar.
Callaway, like all builders of International racecars, first requires authorization from manufacturers, like Chevrolet, before submitting mandatory homologation forms to the FIA. Callaway has just received the required letter of authorization from Chevrolet, and has become the appointed specialist representative for building and holding the homologation papers of the...
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