Racing Cars

The 1950s was the decade of successful front-engined racing cars, especially in sports-car racing. European marques derived from road going sports cars dominated, gradually becoming more and more different from their street origins. Disc brakes proved a huge advantage and would be rapidly adopted, along with other improvements, such as fuel injection, that would filter through to improve road cars in time.

Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport, 1951

 

Origin	France
Engine	4,483 cc, straight-six
Top speed	125 mph (201 km/h)

Based on the chassis and engine from a successful Grand Prix racer, the Grand Sport was an early post-war sports racing car that won at Le Mans in 1950.

Ferrari 375 MM, 1953

 

Origin	Italy
Engine	4,522 cc, V12
Top speed	150 mph (241 km/h)

Built primarily as a competition car, the 375 Mille Miglia won the Spa 24-hour race, Pescara 12-hour race, and Buenos Aires 1,000 km at the start of its glittering racing career

Kurtis-Chrysler 500S, 1953

 

Origin	USA
Engine	6,424cc, V8
Top speed	145 mph (233 km/h)

Typical of the effective U.S.-built racers that contested the Carrera Panamericana and U.S. endurance races, this car has the Chrysler Hemi V8 in a light, aluminum body.

Ferrari 250GT SWB, 1959

 

Origin	Italy
Engine	2,953 cc, V12
Top speed	160 mph (257 km/h)

The gorgeous Pinin Farina-designed SWB dominated the Group III (2-3 liter) racing class, winning many races outright. It was equally at home on the road.

Abarth 205, 1950

 

Origin	Italy
Engine	1,089 cc, straight-four
Top speed	108 mph (174 km/h)

The first complete car from legendary engine tuner Carlo Abarth, the 205 used a tuned Fiat engine in a body styled by Giovanni Michelotti. It was a successful endurance racer.

Lotus Eleven, 1956

 

Origin	UK
Engine	1,098 cc, straight-four
Top speed	112 mph (180 km/h)

The elegant Lotus Eleven marked a step forward in professionalism for Lotus and proved hugely successful. It came seventh overall at Le Mans in 1956, against many larger-engined cars.

Pupulidy-Porsche Special, 1954

 

Origin	USA
Engine	1,582 cc, flat-four
Top speed	130 mph (209 km/h)

American racer Emil Pupulidy built a body inspired by Mercedes’ Silver Arrows, fitted it to a VW floorpan, and went racing. He won the car’s first race at the Nassau Speed Week in the Bahamas.

Porsche 550/1500RS, 1953

 

Origin	Germany
Engine	1,498 cc, flat-four
Top speed	136 mph (219 km/h)

When Porsche designed a new engine with double overhead camshafts on each side for its mid-engined 550 racer, it became a race winner. The actor James Dean had a fatal crash in his.

Porsche 550 Coupé, 1953

 

Origin	Germany
Engine	1,488 cc, flat-four
Top speed	124 mph (200 km/h)

This was Porsche’s first purpose-built works racing car. Mid-engined 550s won their class in 1953 events from Le Mans to the Carrera Panamericana.

Aston Martin DBR1, 1956

 

Origin	UK
Engine	2,922 cc, straight-six
Top speed	155 mph (249 km/h)

The most successful Aston Martin racing car until 2010, the DBR1 had six major international race wins, including Le Mans, Nürburgring, Goodwood, and Spa.

OSCA MT4, 1953

 

Origin	Italy
Engine	1,490 cc, straight-four
Top speed	120 mph (193 km/h)

Superb design by the Maserati brothers and a twin-camshaft, twin-spark engine made the MT4 more competitive than it looked. It won the U.S. Sebring 12-hour race in 1954.

Aston Martin DBR2, 1957

 

Origin	UK
Engine	3,670 cc, straight-six
Top speed	160 mph (257 km/h)

Aston built two cars to race its new 3.7-liter engine, with semi-backbone chassis and styling like the DBR1; they later raced with 4.2-liter engines in the United States.

Maserati 250F, 1954

 

Origin	Italy
Engine	2,494 cc, straight-six
Top speed	180 mph (290 km/h)

The elegant 250F raced throughout the seven years of the 2.5-liter limit in Formula 1, winning eight Grand Prix and giving Juan Manuel Fangio the 1957 World Championship.

Panhard 750 Spider, 1954

 

Origin	France/Italy
Engine	745 cc, flat-two
Top speed	90 mph (145 km/h)

Built by Tino Bianchi on a 1950 Panhard Dyna rolling chassis, with frame by GILCO and body by Colli, this one-off Special competed in the 1955 Mille Miglia in Italy.

Mercedes-Benz W196, 1954

 

Origin	Germany
Engine	2,496 cc, straight-six
Top speed	186 mph (299 km/h)

Mercedes-Benz returned to Formula 1 with a complex spaceframe chassis, desmodromic valves, and fuel injection. The W196 gave race driver Juan Manuel Fangio two world titles.

Alfa Romeo 1900SSZ, 1954

 

Origin	Italy
Engine	1,975 cc, straight-four
Top speed	117 mph (188 km/h)

The Alfa Romeo 1900, marketed as “the family car that wins races,” spawned this lightweight special-bodied car by Zagato that was successful in long-distance races.

Jaguar C-type, 1951

 

Origin	UK
Engine	3,442 cc, straight-six
Top speed	144 mph (232 km/h)

This roadgoing race car was built to win Le Mans, which it did in 1951 and 1953 (pioneering disc brakes in 1953). It was derived from the XK120, with a lightweight tubular chassis.

Jaguar D-type, 1956

 

Origin	UK
Engine	3,781 cc, straight-six
Top speed	167 mph (269 km/h)

After the XK-derived C-type, Jaguar developed this lightweight racer with monocoque center section to win Le Mans in France. It won in 1955,1956, and 1957.

 

It is a quote. The Definitive Visual History Of The Automobile 2011