This book is a personal insight into the racing career of Spencer Martin, mostly seen through his own eyes. Early day influences and career defining moments, it charts his rise through the ranks and chances taken. Spencer says that his first racing car was the only one that he personally funded during his career. His […]
Parking Cop
Early Australian Automotive/Automobile Design*; The first fifty years.
I have copies of previous books penned by Norm Darwin, – History of Ford in Australia, 100 Years of GM in Australia, and others. Early Australian Automotive Design (The first fifty years) charts the course of vehicle design from 1895 to 1953. Culminating in a thorough analysis of the design and engineering of the Series 48 Holden […]
Leonardo Fioravanti
Leonardo Fioravanti gripped me by the elbow and steered me to a point diagonally behind the red Daytona. I’d asked, apprehensively, “Is there anything you would change, if you could do it again?” This question, akin to suggesting another Leonardo alter the Mona Lisa, proposed reworking the voluptuous Ferrari GTB/4 Daytona? All skin-tight curves, every […]
Not every press launch goes to plan…..
In the words of the late-Bill Tuckey, Australia’s finest motoring writer, “When anything can go wrong with a new model press launch, it will.” Perhaps most famously, even for supposedly bullet-proof Toyota. Convinced the quality of the T140 Coronas (note: not the previous unfortunate Holden Starfire-powered model) from the Melbourne plant was so good they […]
Denis Jenkinson
Upon discovering Denis Jenkinson – DSJ to the readers – in Motor Sport magazine (you know, the British magazine with the green-cover, edited by WB, William Boddy) in the late 1950s, he instantly became my hero. As Continental Correspondent, DSJ’s Letter From Europe was essential reading. Jenks, wandering around Europe from race circuit to race […]
Carl Borgward and his Marque
Readers of this column undoubtedly know of Borgward, but I suspect most people under the age of 50 have never heard of the marque, let alone acquired any real knowledge of the German cars. Yet, for a short time in the second half of the 1950s, the Borgward star shone brightly, before vanishing almost overnight, […]
Audi Quattro Spyder
This was a private mother-and-son moment that transcended their roles as European automotive nobility. The proud engineer son and CEO of Audi, Ferdinand Piech, parading his new concept sports car to mum, Louisa Piech, on the first press day, Tuesday, October 8, of the 1991 Frankfurt show. Louisa, brother of Ferry Porsche and quietly influential […]
Louis Klemantaski
The image is as vivid today as it was 60-years ago when, as a boy, I first saw the photograph and instantly knew that I would always love motor racing. Peter Collins’ head is in darkness, the peak of his flimsy helmet outlined against the sky. His forearms are exposed, his hands covered only by […]
