In honor of Memorial Day and the Indianapolis 500 comes this legendary turbocharged Offenhauser powered Indy 500 special from 1971. The racer is not just any Indy car, but one affixed with the original Gurney Flap on its rear wing. We know this because while at the Mickey Thompson: First American to 400 MPH opening, Dan Gurney himself told us that was the case. He also told us … [Read more...]
Spring Fling Upholds Mopar Greatness
Being number one is not necessarily the best. Just ask any Mopar fan. Number three is far better. Maybe existing as the underdog of the American big three had the Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth collective working that much harder to come up with something groundbreaking and innovative. Perhaps being a little smaller allowed for more free thinking and resulting nimble … [Read more...]
Hydropneumatics and Design Together in Pasadena
There were more Citroëns than drivers on a Saturday morning. The task at hand was a good one. Settle into the plush appointments behind the steering wheel of a 1969 and-one-half Citroën iD21F Safari Wagon and drive. The mission was to get all cars on the move to the Pasadena Art Center College of Design for a gathering of Citroëns, and subsequent tour of the Art Center … [Read more...]
Quad Treaded Turbo Diesel
Crippling winter snow storms serve as a reminder that when the big snow or the Russians do show up, those all-season radials on that 1984 Plymouth Voyager in the driveway are not going to cut it. A snow shovel and some road salt might get the Voyager out of the driveway, but when you wake up to sub-zero weather and see Vladimir Putin doing shirtless chin ups on the kids swing … [Read more...]
A Shrunken Corvair Named Kumquat
From the West coast division of the Corvair shortening department comes this 1963 convertible dune buggy variant of the American air-cooled rear engine sports car. The car originally rolled off the assembly line as a factory turbocharged Spyder in 1963. An accident that buckled and creased both doors landed what was left the Spyder languishing engineless behind a gas station … [Read more...]