’57 FORD SUPERCHARGED FAIRLANE

Posted on September 1, 2025September 1, 2025 by MartynL

Ford offered multiple high-performance 312-inch engines in 1957, but the ’57 FORD SUPERCHARGED FAIRLANE was the prelude to Dearborn’s Total Performance marketing. In 1957, Ford offered high-output engines in its passenger cars, as well as in the T-Bird. You could order the hottest dual-quad and supercharged 312-inch engines with three-speed manual (with or without Overdrive) or Ford-O-Matic transmissions in any model, base two-door sedan and station wagon to T-Bird! The lineup consisted...

CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS

Posted on June 19, 2025June 19, 2025 by MartynL

Chrysler jumped on the performance bandwagon in 1955 with its 300-horsepower C-300, kicking off a decade of CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS. Chrysler’s letter-series entry in the 1955 horsepower wars, weighing in at more than 4,500 pounds, could accelerate to 60 mph in the 9s and top out at 130 mph. In NASCAR competition, Kiekhaefer’s legendary Chrysler C-300s were the cars to beat. Chrysler’s Hemi, one of the most successful engines in American racing history, was unstoppable on ...

‘57 FORD Y-BLOCK SUPERCHARGED MUSCLECAR

Posted on June 6, 2025June 6, 2025 by MartynL

Ford offered OHV V-8s, dual quads & superchargers; yet it was the worst of times: the AMA racing ban. The ‘57 FORD Y-BLOCK SUPERCHARGED MUSCLECAR, however, represents the prelude to TOTAL PERFORMANCE. The 1950s ushered in an era of aggressive competition, both on the street and racetracks. Ford, Chrysler and General Motors did whatever it took to lure buyers into showrooms. Detroit’s competitive spirit during the mid-to-late-1950s set the stage for some of the most exciting years i...

OUTLAW: PORSCHE DOUBLE AA SPORTS 911

Posted on January 8, 2022January 8, 2022 by MartynL

With its wide-body RSR attitude, seriously upgraded suspension and supercharged 3.6 engine, Archie Urciuoli’s OUTLAW: PORSCHE DOUBLE AA SPORTS 911 rules the road! Retired sports car racer Archie Urciuoli’s last four competition cars – Ford Mark IV, Mark I GT40, Porsche 956 and Lola T70 Spyder – represented some of the sports’ most iconic and fastest examples of purpose-built racecars. He competed (and finished) in the Le Mans Classic in the GT40 and ran 200 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats i...

HOT ROD HEAVEN: DEUCES ON 101!

Posted on October 25, 2019October 29, 2019 by MartynL

’32 Fords flock the Zaca Creek Golf Course fairway for the Deuces On 101 Inaugural Car Show. CGC’s Jim Palam runs the numbers: 3+2 = ‘10-out-of-10.’ Let’s check his math. Henry Ford didn’t like the numbers. The Great Depression and higher horsepower competitors like Chevrolet had broken his monopoly of the American automotive industry. So he decided to double-down: 1932 would be the year to introduce the Model B and Model 18 – and Ford’s new V8 motor – to lead the cylinders war and fire-up sales...

PONTIAC FLASHBACK: TEMPEST MONTE CARLO!

Posted on September 18, 2018 by MartynL

Built on a shortened ’62 Pontiac Tempest convertible, the Monte Carlo was a hit at auto shows and major road racing events. It shared the spotlight with GM design chief, William Mitchell’s Corvair Sebring Spyder show car. One thing was a given at GM in the 1960s: Chevy’s Corvette was a sacred cow and no other division could bring a two-seat sports car to market. The only way Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile or Cadillac could reveal branded two-seat, high-performance sporty vehicles was to have Mitche...

ARCHIE URCIUOLI: RRDC 2017 BOB AKIN AWARD WINNER!

Posted on January 25, 2018 by MartynL

Archie Urciuoli, an SCCA racer in the 1950s and 1960s, a former Marine, and head of a private investment and consulting firm, was named the 2017 recipient of the RRDC Bob Akin Award. He was presented the award at the annual Road Racing Drivers Club members' dinner last evening, prior to the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season opener of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Each recipient of this honor, considered the top award in motorsports for amateur, vintage/histori...

CAR STORIES: DOWN THE ROAD & BACK!

Posted on September 21, 2017 by MartynL

David Featherston, editor and publisher of the award-winning BONNEVILLE, A CENTURY OF SPEED, draws on his decades of automotive writing and experiences in his latest book. In CAR STORIES, Fetherston brings together a slice-of-life collection of funny automotive tales from his own experiences as well as those he has heard along the road. These conversational stories relate to any number of wheeled-vehicle adventures in Australia, New Zealand, America, Italy and Asia over the past 50 years. S...