History originally published in AutoWeek December 16, 1985 This is a shape, profoundly sensual, utterly female. It is sublime in efficiency, knowledgeable of what must be known, simple and spare like some great rolling Bauhaus woman, a supple stylization of the female form. It has hips. Viewed from above, it narrows from the shoulders of […]
Lotus 11 Le Mans: Made for Mulsanne
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek March 31, 1986 Tears are streaming back into my ears. The 1100cc Coventry Climax engine is bellowing angrily as I try to maintain a steady speed, a futile effort anyway but more difficult by the fact that the Lotus’ non-adjustable pedals have forced me to slump low, while its […]
Jackie Stewart remembers his time in a Lola T260
History originally published in AutoWeek November 11, 1985 Jackie Stewart has the voice of the veterinarian. With aged-in-an-oak-cask Scottish brogue, he could anesthetize a horse or soothe a savage house cat just by speaking. It’s difficult to reconcile this voice and the subject, his one season in the L&M Lola T260, one of the most […]
1969 Dodge Charger 500: Or is it Charger 392?
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek April 15, 1985 The year was 1968. Both the Dodge Charger and the Ford Fairlane had been freshly rebodied. The Chargers swoopy new styling replaced the angular tacked-on fastback of its original incarnation, while the Fairlane got a fastback version to go along with the formal notchback sedans. It […]
Meskowski dirt car: AJ Foyt’s training wheels
History originally published in AutoWeek July 30, 1984 Highway 51 rides the backbone of America. The southern end is anchored at New Orleans, the other in northern Wisconsin. In between, the asphalt runs through Centralia, Illinois, which, at least Before California, was about as close to the US center as a city could be. Some […]
Kermit the Bentley: It’s not easy being green
History originally published in AutoWeek December 10, 1984 “Back in the mid-1950s a young man in England named Collin Hiley was apprenticed to Rolls-Royce Aero as an apprentice aero engineer,” Phil Brooks spoke with the practiced ease of one who has told the story before. “On his weekends,” Brooks continued, “he was working for a […]
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