Renaissance man Peter Brock has been there and done that; his new award-winning book takes you into the styling studios that created the Corvette Sting Ray.
Peter Brock, a totally consumed car guy who never wanted to be a car designer, yet, he was drawn to one of the top design colleges in the country - Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. In order to come up with enough money to attend, Brock sold his custom chopped and channeled, ’49 Cadillac powered ’46 Ford hot rod, El Mirage,...
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Martyn Schorr
CHEVY RPO Z-11 427: THE 409 GROWS UP!
A lack of official racing programs at Chevrolet forced Z-11 Chevys from NHRA S/S to A/FX, making them less competitive. Most ended up being match raced.
The handwriting was on the wall in 1962: Chevrolet was in for big trouble on drag strips in 1963. While its 409-inch update of the W-Series 348 held its ground in 1962, Pontiac, Dodge Plymouth and Ford were readying serious assaults the following year that Chevrolet would not be ready for. Enter RPO Z-11, a much-improved 427-inch W-style m...
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2014 BMW 428I COUPE: ALMOST ‘M’!
‘BMW’s new coupe is shapely and gorgeous with a dose of attitude, thanks to the M Sport body kit,’ says Dan Scanlan.
It all began in 1968 with the 2002 – a streamlined bathtub-shaped BMW sports coupe with a 2-liter 100-horsepower Four. Then the first of the most popular BMW was born – the 3-Series - with the 100.9-inch wheelbase, 110-horsepower 320i coupe. Four more generations would follow with the same formula – sleek body, precision handling and powerful motors that expanded to turbochar...
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STINGRAY VS STING RAY: NAME GAME!
My trivial pursuit of truth in branding cuts through some of the confusion surrounding one of the most beautiful and iconic Corvettes ever.
It all started with an innocent note I sent to a friend, Frank Markus, Technical Director at Motor Trend. Essentially I called his attention to what I thought was a typo – referencing Bill Mitchell’s legendary ’59 Corvette Racer (XP-87), above, as Stingray - in the 55 Years of Stingray article in the September 2013 issue. When Mitchell had the Corvette b...
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2015 SUBARU WRX: CVT THRILLS!
All hail Rex, now in his fourth generation and still a most-outrageous Subaru pocket rocket, blogs Dan Scanlan.
Rex is the 2015 WRX, which stands for World Rally Cross, as in the World Rally Championship. And the latest generation actually gets back more of the visual mojo that the WRX used to have, plus a stiffer chassis, a new turbocharged 2-Liter 268-horsepopwer direct-injection turbo BOXER engine … and a Lineartronic CVT. Yes, Rex gets a shifts-for-itself Continuously Variable Transmissi...
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ENDURO RACING: CAN ROAD RACERS ONCE AGAIN DOMINATE AMERICAN MOTORSPORTS?
Auto racing in the United States is a mess, blogs Stephen Cox.
NASCAR has peaked. Their response to dwindling attendance has been new cars and fuel injection. In Indycar, the barriers to entry eliminate all but the uber-wealthy from competition. Tony George was the only guy willing to take a risk and try to solve open wheel's problems. He had the right idea at the wrong time. Now it's road racing's turn to try and recapture lost glory. And I wonder if they're the ones who will get it right.
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HISTORY OF THE AUTOMOBILE: 60 CARS!
The Hampton Court Concours of Elegance will showcase 60 of the rarest cars in the world to tell the story of the automobile.
This year’s Hampton Court Palace Concours of Elegance promises 60 of the worlds most exceptional, rare and desirable motorcars. These concours cars will be supplemented with hundreds of the very best cars from a wide variety of car clubs, as well as the very latest bespoke sports cars and luxury models from a number of prestige car manufacturers.
The story of the au...
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2015 MERCEDES-BENZ S-CLASS: COUPE DE THRILL!
Gone is the vanilla styling of the old CL; Mercedes’ swoopy new S-Class Coupe truly defines ‘gorgeous’, writes Road Test Editor Howard Walker.
Maybe it’s the 47 Swarovski crystals in the headlamps. Or the glass roof that goes from clear to dark at the touch of a button? Or the total, utter jaw-dropping beauty of its lines? Trust me, Mercedes-Benz’ new S-Class Coupe is traffic-stopping stunning. This new Benz flagship-of-the-fleet has its world premiere at next month’s Geneva auto show - yes,...
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McLAREN 650S: COUPE OR SPIDER!
Designed and developed to deliver the ultimate in luxury and excitement, the new 650S will be available in fixed-head coupe or electrically retractable hardtop. It will be its fastest, most engaging, best equipped, and most beautiful series-production supercar yet.
The 650S joins the McLaren line-up as an additional model alongside the 12C and sold-out McLaren P1, and learns from both models as well as 50 years of competing in the highest levels of motorsport. It promises to redefine the hig...
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GRAND PRIX MERCEDES: RACE OF THE CENTURY WINNER!
Amelia Island Concours to host winner of the 1914 French GP. It’s the centerpiece of a special display presented by Mercedes-Benz and car owner George Wingard.
A team of five Mercedes Grand Prix racers traveled to France for the Grand Prix of the Automobile Club of France, less than one week after the assassination of the Archduke
Franz Ferdinand which led to then start of WW I. It was a time of political turmoil
and accelerating technological progress.
At 8:00 a.m. on July 4...
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