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8W is forix.autosport.com's motorsport history section and covers the drivers, cars, circuits, eras and technology that shaped the face, sounds and smells of motor racing.

Who?

DRIVER BIOGRAPHIES

What?

CONSTRUCTOR PROFILES

Where?

TRACK RECORDS

When?

SEASONS' PORTRAITS

Why?

TECHNICAL FOCUS

About the hands, minds and machines that shaped the face of motorsport

Phoenix from the flames

• A history of early post-war German F2, F Libre and sports cars - a stunning series of articles on the constructors that helped rebuild Germany's motorsport industry after World War II, by 'Uechtel'
  • Introduction
  • Part 1: Veritas
  • Part 2: AFM
  • Part 3: The smaller marques
  • Part 4: West German BMW specials
  • Part 5: Foreign appearances and guest drives
  • Part 6: East German BMW specials
  • Part 7: EMW/DAMW

The Auto Union files

• A rundown on the recorded and unrecorded history of the Auto Union racing department at Zwickau and the R&D department at Chemnitz
  • The early Auto-Unions - From P-Wagen to A-type, by Leif Snellman
  • Auto Union - The small workshop that created motor racing history (1931-1935), by Holger Merten
  • Auto Union - Auto Union's South African adventure, by Marius Matthee
  • Auto Union Type E - The stillborn 1.5-litre car: why it (almost) did exist, by Jeroen Bruintjes
  • Sokol 650 - Post-war Auto Union in disguise or a socialist F2 effort? Secrets of Tom Wheatcroft's "Type E" unveiled, by Jeroen Bruintjes/Holger Merten
    • Part 1: To Moscow and back
    • Part 2: Through the iron curtain
    • Part 3: It's an Awtowelo!
    • Part 4: Awtowelo debuts at Goodwood
  • Auto-Union today - What's left of the Auto Unions, by Jeroen Bruintjes

How they got there

• A brief history of the racing car transporter, compiled by Bjørn Kjer
  • Introduction, by Bjørn Kjer
  • Part 1: Transports of delight, by Doug Nye
  • Part 2: Formula 1 transport, by Denis Jenkinson
  • Part 3: The 1957 Merrick Leyland Vanwall truck, from the Bonham's auction guide
  • Part 4: Personal transporter memories, by Mike Argetsinger and Rob Ryder
  • Part 5: Picture book, compiled by Bjørn Kjer

Last of the oddballs

• March-Alfa Romeo 89CE - Alfa's first CA(R)Tastrophe, by Henri Greuter/Aldo Canzian
  • Introduction
  • Part 1: About what happened late 1988 and early 1989, as printed in the British press
  • Part 2: From late January '89 to the first race
  • Part 3: The hardware Alfacorse went into combat with: March 89CE and its V8
  • Part 4: Alfa's 1989 CART season
  • Part 5: Evaluations of the past year, closing the book and into the future
  • Appendix 1: The 1989 race results
  • Appendix 2: The search for the identities of the two Morales Racing March 88Cs
• March-Porsche 90P - The last oddball at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, by Henri Greuter
  • Introduction
  • Part 1: About oddballs
  • Part 2: The road towards the 90P
  • Part 3: The design
  • Part 4: Performance evaluation (1)
  • Part 5: Performance evaluation (2)
  • Part 6: Final reflections
  • Part 7: Specifications
  • Part 8: Results
  • Part 9: Insights about the 90P from one of its designers
• March-Alfa Romeo 90CA - Fiasco Italo-Brittanico, by Henri Greuter
  • Introduction
  • Part 1: Alfa's inverse Midas touch
  • Part 2: Indy teams keep on March-ing
  • Part 3: The Indy project that became a blackmail project
  • Part 4: Patrick Racing, a brief history up to 1989
  • Part 5: 1989 - Alfa picking up the pieces
  • Part 6: 1989 - Winning major prizes on the road to losing everything
  • Part 7: 1989 - The first Alfa Romeo-powered CART racer
  • Part 8: 1989 - A hopeful start for Alfa Romeo
  • Part 9: Preparing for 1990
  • Part 10: The 90CA in more detail
  • Part 11: Exhaust solutions a 'waste' of effort?
  • Part 12: 90CA on active duty - up to halfway into the month of May
  • Part 13: 90CA on active duty - the early part of the second week of practice at Indianapolis
  • Part 14: 90CA on active duty - wrestling through the second week of practice and qualifying
  • Part 15: 90CA on active duty - about the Alfa Romeo V8 engine
  • Part 16: 90CA on active duty - the last part of 'Indianapolis'
  • Part 17: 90CA on active duty - after Indianapolis
  • Part 18: The end of the road for March in CART and as a whole
  • Part 19: The left-over hardware and where to find it
  • Part 20: Final verdict on the March-Alfa Romeo 90CA
  • Appendix I: Specifications
  • Appendix II: Results and scores
  • Appendix III: March-Alfa Romeo 90CA-related collectables and memorabilia
• Penske-Mercedes PC23-500I - Mercedosaurus Rex at Indianapolic Park, by Henri Greuter
  • Introduction
  • Part 1: Penske Racing at Indianapolis - new standards
  • Part 2: Ilmor Engineering at Indianapolis
  • Part 3: Mercedes, Benz and Mercedes-Benz at Indianapolis up until 1993
  • Part 4: Equivalency formulas - waiting for things to go wrong
  • Part 5: Stock blocks - keeping them rolling and promoting 'Born in the USA' technology
  • Part 6: Indianapolis 1991 - Chevy And Rich Team owners
  • Part 7: The Speedway narrowed, its speeds lowered
  • Part 8: The forerunner
  • Part 9: Pre-May '94 plans
  • Part 10: Penske PC23 - a home for the engine
  • Part 11: The 1994 Indycar season until mid-April
  • Part 12: The unfair advantage and when others have it
  • Part 13: Practice during the 1994 'Month of May'
  • Part 14: Other bespoke-design 209s
  • Part 15: From the last weekend of May '94 to the end of the season
  • Part 16: Could the Mercedes Benz 500I have been stopped in time?
  • Part 17: Creating an extinct species without it being forbidden, initially at least
  • Part 18: The 1995 '500' - The Mercedosaurus bites its masters after all
  • Part 19: A possible twist of fate for Rahal-Hogan and Penske as a legacy of the 500I
  • Part 20: Re-evaluation of our verdict
  • Part 21: PC23's further active career after 1994
  • Part 22: USAC’s points of views and some answers
  • Part 23: The loose ends that didn’t fit in anywhere else and the epilogue
  • Part 24: "Plan your work; work your plan" - Chuck Sprague on the PC23
  • Appendix 1: Specifications
  • Appendix 2: Car and driver appearances and performances during the Month of May 1994
  • Appendix 3: Chassis, entry, practice and race numbers in 1994
  • Appendix 4: PC23's 1994 results sans Mercedes Benz 500I
  • Appendix 5: PC23's 1995-'96 results sans Mercedes Benz 500I
  • Appendix 6: A reflection on the PC23 chassis used by Team Penske in 1994
  • Appendix 7: A review of Beast by Jade Gurss

The Delahayes

• Delahaye - René Dreyfus and the upset at Pau, by Leif Snellman
• Delahaye 145 - What became of the Delahaye 145 V12 chassis no. 48771?, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 145 - The history of Delahaye 145 V12 chassis no. 48775, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 145 - The brief history of Delahaye 145 V12 chassis no. 48772, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 145 - The short history of Delahaye 145 V12 chassis no. 48773, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 155 - Delahaye's 155 V12 chassis no. 48774: the worst car they ever built, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 138 - 1933-'35: why Delahaye decided to go racing, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 135 - 1935-'36: a new chassis for the luxury market, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 135 - 1936: dominating the 1936 French racing season, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 135 - 1936: Delahaye wins nine out of 18 races, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 135/145 - 1937: winning big prizes, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 135/145/155 - 1938: Delahaye wins the Pau and Cork GPs and comes 1, 2, 4 at Le Mans, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 135/145 - 1939: not a very good year for Delahaye, and a terrible year for the world, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 135/145/155 - 1945-'46: after five years of war, by André Vaucourt
• Delahaye 135/145/155 - 1947-'48: racing with cars over 12 years old, by André Vaucourt

Ferrari at Indianapolis

• Ferrari at Indianapolis - Mutual love unanswered, by Henri Greuter
  • 1951: Ferrari and Indianapolis
  • 1952: Ferrari at Indianapolis
  • 1956: A 'hybrid' against one of Indy's most persistent jinxes
  • 1958: At home against Indycars
  • 1961-1968: Of phantoms and enfants terribles
  • 1971-1973: 'Meet my uncle Franco'
  • 1975: A loud insect never leaving the chrysalis as was intended and hoped for…
  • 1986: Projects 034 and 637, mere blackmail tools?
  • 2000-2007: It's Indy, Gino, but not as we know it
  • Appendix: The cars

The Vanwall files

• The Vanwall Grand Prix engines, by Ron Rex
  • Introduction
  • Part 1: The 2-litre F2 engine
  • Part 2: The 2.3-litre interim F1 engine
  • Part 3: Technical anomalies
  • Part 4: The 2.5-litre F1 engine
  • Part 5: The 'AvGas' 2.5-litre F1 engine
  • Part 6: The 2.6-litre Intercontinental Formula engine
  • Part 7: Finality and overview
  • Part 8: Specifications and other facts
• Vanwall - The Green Comet: the brief history of the Vanwall, by Don Capps
• Vanwall - Vanwall's inconspicuous entry to the GP world, by Felix Muelas/Don Capps

Feature stories

• Aiden-Cooper - The prelude to Paul Emery's last disaster, by Mattijs Diepraam
• AFM - Alex von Falkenhausen's brave F2 effort, by Mattijs Diepraam
• AFM - The unlikely post-war pairing of Hans Stuck and AFM, by 'Uechtel'
• Aitken-Alfa - Bi-engined monster tuned to mono, by John Cross
• Alta - Geoffrey Taylor's brainchild, by Greg England
• Aston - Cooper clone running on enthusiasm, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• Automobili Turismo e Sport - Angry at Laura, by Felix Muelas/Mattijs Diepraam/Robert Blinkhorn
• Bellasi - She's beautiful, oh yes!, by Felix Muelas/Mattijs Diepraam/Beat Schenker
• Bentley - W.O.'s Le Mans dream machines, by Leif Snellman/Hans Etzrodt
• Berta - The Grand Prix car Argentina almost had, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas/Nicolas Korzan/Hans Swart
• BMW - Four stages to Grand Prix success, by Mattijs Diepraam
• BRM - The long road to success, by Felix Muelas/Leif Snellman/Mattijs Diepraam/Don Capps
• BRM - The decline of the Bourne team, by Mattijs Diepraam/Leif Snellman/Felix Muelas/Eric Verkaaik
• BRM Type 15 - The BRM 'Type 15' V16, by Quintin Cloud
• BRM P67 - A GP fluke, a hillclimb winner, by Mattijs Diepraam/Roger Clark
• BRP - Dad, Ken Gregory and their dream team, by Felix Muelas
• Cegga - Swiss F1 dreams, by Lorenzo Baer
• Clairmonte Special - The forgotten Lotus, by Peter Ross
• Connaught - Complex mind, complex output, by Don Capps
• Connew - DIY heroes, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• CTA-Arsenal - French pride rebuffed again!, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Delage - A World Champion manufacturer, by Leif Snellman/Josh Lintz
• Delahaye - René Dreyfus and the upset at Pau, by Leif Snellman
• Derrington-Francis - Probably not Alf's finest, by Felix Muelas/Mattijs Diepraam
• Dome - A stillborn GP project from Japan, by Rainer Nyberg
• Eagle - The Gurney-Weslake 3-litre V12 Grand Prix engine, by Ron Rex
• Eifelland - Periscope up!, by Mattijs Diepraam/Leo Breevoort
• Emeryson Special - Colin Chapman's single Emeryson appearance, by Mattijs Diepraam/John Cross
• Ecurie Nationale Belge - Lucien Bianchi and the ENB-née-Emeryson, by Mattijs Diepraam/Don Capps
• Ensign - Mo Nunn's talent for effectiveness, by Mattijs Diepraam
• ERA G-Type - The crooked Silver Arrow from Britain, by Felix Muelas
• Ecurie Espadon - Rudi Fischer's team, by Alessandro Silva
• Scuderia Everest - Minardi's F1 debut was with a Ferrari!, by Rainer Nyberg/Mattijs Diepraam
• Enzo Ferrari & Alfred Neubauer - Legendary team leaders in the Targa Florio, by Leif Snellman
• Enzo Ferrari & Alfred Neubauer - The greatest race car manufacturer measuring up the greatest team manager, by Alessandro Silva
• Ferrari 553 & 625 - Ferrari's chassis doubts during the early 2.5-litre era, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Ferrari 246P - Ferrari's first rear-engined car, by Felix Muelas/Mattijs Diepraam
• Ferrari 312 - Best car by far but no title, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Scuderia Finotto - Seventies privateer mystery, by Felix Muelas/Mattijs Diepraam
• FIRST/Life - From FIRST to zero to Life, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Fittipaldi - Samba that never got into tune, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Gilby - Like father, unlike son, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Gordini - Nimble, elegant, ultimately French, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• Hesketh - The Lord and the Vagabond, by Alessandro Silva
• Honda - Honda: How it all started, by Thilo Figaj
• Honda RC101 - Honda's after-hours F1 project, by Rainer Nyberg
• JBW - Everything out of the ordinary, by Felix Muelas/Mattijs Diepraam
• Jordan - Team Jordan: Formula 1, 1991 to 2004, by Jikku George
• Kauhsen - One of F1's most abysmal efforts, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Lancia D50 - Tipo D.50 case history, by Don Capps
• Ligier - The team that kept France awake, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Lola - Lola's 90s Grand Prix disasters, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Lotus - The rise of a phenomenon, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• Lotus 72 - The Lotus 72 Story, six years at the top, by Hrvoje Vrbanc
• Lyncar & Token - Seventies kit-car misery, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Maserati 250F - Classic Red, the Maserati 250F series, by Don Capps
• Maserati 250F - Classic Red redux, a case history, by Don Capps
• Matra International - Ken Tyrrell's French connection, by Mattijs Diepraam/Rick MacLennan
• McLaren-Lamborghini MP4/8 - McLaren's brief flirtation with the Chrysler empire, by Rainer Nyberg
• Milano - An 'original' design, by Felix Muelas
• MBM/Monteverdi - Double Swiss failure, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Alfred Neubauer & Enzo Ferrari - Legendary team leaders in the Targa Florio, by Leif Snellman
• Alfred Neubauer & Enzo Ferrari - The greatest race car manufacturer measuring up the greatest team manager, by Alessandro Silva
• Politoys - No special FX, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• Protos - The carpenter's car, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• Scarab - Grand Prix roadster, by Don Capps
• Scarab - The Scarab Grand Prix engine, by Ron Rex
• Scirocco - American heir buys British disaster cars, by Mattijs Diepraam
• SEFAC - French pride rebuffed, by Leif Snellman
• Scuderia Serenissima - Merchants of Venice, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Stebro - Canada's first GP car, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas/Michael Ferner
• Talbot Monoplaces - The pre-war Talbot single-seaters, by Leif Snellman
• Talbot-Lago - A case of what-could-have-been, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Tecno - A Ferrari recipe for disaster, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas/Gerald Swan
• Theodore - Teddy Yip's feast from the East, by Mattijs Diepraam/Rainer Nyberg
• Token - Taking up Ron Dennis' first failed entry into F1, by Marc Ceulemans
• Trojan - Ron Tauranac's other marque, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Tyrrell 006 - Ken's team at the height of its powers, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Veritas - Self-made German privateers to the fore, by Mattijs Diepraam
• R R C Walker Racing Team - Hallowed privateer, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas

Short profiles

• Alfa Romeo 158 - The voiturette that became the Grand Prix car to beat, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• Andrea Moda - Only slightly bigger than Life, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Anglo-American Racing - Louise Bryden-Browne's own racing team, by Richard Armstrong
• Bugatti Types 35, 37, 39 & 51 - The ideal privateer car, by Leif Snellman
• Bugatti T251 - Colombo's flawed brilliance, by Mattijs Diepraam/Eugene Zhmarin
• Scuderia Centro Sud - Italy's Maserati privateer, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• Cooper - Rear-ending in and out of Grand Prix racing, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• De Tomaso - From Argentina to Italy to Grand Prix racing, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Early post-war German F2 cars - The BMW-derived specials that appeared in war-struck Germany, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Ensign - Falling into the clutches of Teddy Yip, by Michael Ferner
• ERA - Raymond Mays' first enterprise, by Michael Ferner
• EuroBrun - Unholy matrimony, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Ferrari 375 "Thinwall Special" - The first car that rattled the Alfetta's cage, by Felix Muelas/Greg England
• Frazer-Nash - The marque that failed to take the Cooper straight, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Gordini - Midget among the manufacturers, by 'Uechtel'
• Team Haas Lola - Taking the FORCE out of the Lola name, by Rainer Nyberg/Mattijs Diepraam
• HWM - The product of John Heath and George Abecassis, by Felix Muelas
• Kojima - Briefly touched Grand Prix racing, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Lamborghini - We liked the Miura better..., by Mattijs Diepraam
• Life - For the Life of me..., by Mattijs Diepraam
• Lotus 12 - Chapman's first GP car, by John Cross
• Lotus 25 - The first monocoque, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Lotus 56B - Aircraft on wheels, by Mattijs Diepraam
• March - Customer care, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Martini - Tico's kit-car disaster, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Maserati - A tale of six brothers, by Leif Snellman
• Maserati V-8R1 - German influence, by Leif Snellman
• McLaren M2B - The first steps to a great heritage, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Mercedes 18/100 - Peugeot beater, by Leif Snellman
• Mercedes W125 - Merc's 1936 dud, by Leif Snellman
• Mercedes W154 - The '38/'39 cars, by Leif Snellman/Don Capps
• Merzario - Possessed by the will to carry on, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Osella - Madmen rather than enthusiasts?, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Onyx/Monteverdi - Recipe on how to destroy a fledgling team, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Porsche - Weissach's single Grand Prix win, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• Shannon - Lady Godiva goes to the races, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Surtees - The downfall of Fearless John's marque, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Token - Introducing Mr Tom Pryce, by Mattijs Diepraam
• Trojan - The pre-war namesake, by Alessandro Silva
• Turner - A pidgeon among the British F2 cats, by Mattijs Diepraam/Marc Ceulemans
• Williams - From rags to riches, by Mattijs Diepraam/Felix Muelas
• Williams FW08 - Title winner in its own right, by John Cross

Facts & figures

• World Championship constructor history (6th Gear)
• World Championship privateer history (6th Gear)
• Post-war pre-championship constructor history (6th Gear)
• Grand Prix car designers (6th Gear)
• Grand Prix engine designers (6th Gear)
• World Championship Grand Prix engine designations and configurations (6th Gear)
• F1/GP cars that never raced (6th Gear)
• Pre-war Grand Prix cars that never raced (6th Gear)