Category Archives: racing
MOTORSPORT: The Mazda Cosmo Sport and the most grueling race of all time
This article was originally published May 31, 2016. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Marathon de la Route today, we are re-publishing this story. The Mazda Cosmo Sport. This space age sports car from the spunky little … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport, racing
Tagged 84 Hours of Nurburgring, cosmo sport, Endurance Racing, marathon de la route, mazda, rotary engine
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KRS Battle Royal Nostalgic Trackday!
Kataoka Racing Service is a workshop in Hyogo, which is in the Kansai region of western Japan. For years, they’ve held regular trackdays for nostalgics (which they call Battle Royal), and the most recent one was last weekend. Here’s a … Continue reading
Posted in racing
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BRE 510 Does 0-600% in One eBay Sale
A while back, this Datsun 510 sold on eBay for $13,000, a steep price for what appeared to be a BRE-themed Datsun 510 replica. Only, it wasn’t a replica. According to the seller, it’s a one-of-a-kind prototype for a Datsun … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, for sale, nissan, racing
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Motoring J Style to Honor BRE Reunion
This recent article on Winding Road is a good read on the background of Martin Swig, a well-known California car collector. What it doesn’t mention though, is that Swig, along with his son David, in 2007 founded Motoring J Style, … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, events, nissan, racing
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Mazda Rotary Endurance Racers, Then and Now
In 1968, Mazda took the world’s first ever rotary-powered race car, its brand new Cosmo Sports, racing at one of Europe’s toughest enduros, the Marathon de la Route 84 Hours at Germany’s Nürburgring. It finished fourth, behind a pair of … Continue reading
Posted in mazda, racing
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More Group A Lovin’
We’ve done a couple of articles on Group A before (here and here) and here’s a series of race highlights of Japanese Group A races which show why it was such a fondly remembered series of racing.
Posted in racing
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Honda F1 Machines at Geneva
Sigh. We wish we had the budget to head over to Switzerland. We’d love to attend the glitzy shindig known as the Geneva Motor Show (which is going on right now), sample some Swiss chocolate, and visit the Swiss Toyota … Continue reading
Posted in honda, racing
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Photos Finnish: Celica Rally Restoration
Several readers have posted this nugget of awesomeness in our forums now, and with good reason. The Celica you see in the pic above is the end result of the most thorough, intense restoration we’ve ever seen for J-tin. It … Continue reading
Posted in racing, rally, toyota
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Nissan Motorsports Exhibition 2008
If you’re lucky enough to be in Japan on March 1-2, head over to the Nissan Motorsports Exhibition 2008 at the Red Brick Warehouse and Yokohama Marine Disaster Prevention Complex. It’s an annual event Nissan Japan puts on to celebrate … Continue reading
DR30 Skyline RS Turbo: Group A Lovin'
We did a piece on the DR30 Skyline and the FJ20 engine quite a long time ago, but a cache of old Group A racing videos on YouTube brought some memories flooding back. I used to have one you see. … Continue reading
Happy Birthday Mr. Shelby
Today (January 11) is racing legend Carroll Shelby’s 85th birthday. Although mostly known for his hopped up Mustangs, AC Cobras and cowboy hat, his racing contract with Ford ended in 1967. For the 1968 season, he helped prepare three Toyota … Continue reading
Posted in racing, toyota
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CLASSIC CM: Honda’s “Impossible Dream”
While we’re on the subject of the UK and adverts, here’s one of the best, Honda’s “Impossible Dream”. In fact, we can safely say that all artists can just retire now, because never will anything so beautiful be created again. … Continue reading
2007, We Hardly Knew Ye
Well, it’s here, the final day of the year. Now before we all get hammered and pretend we know the words to “Auld Lang Syne,” let’s take a look back at all the nostalgic car happenings that took place during … Continue reading
Citrus Bowl
There’s thunder in them thar hills. Or, at least, the combined cacophony of a hundred barely-running cars squealing their tires and revving at full tilt. Once again, it’s the 24 Hours of LeMons, held this time at Thunderhill Park Raceway … Continue reading
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Saurus: Nissan’s Stillborn Lotus Seven
In the late 80s, Nissan went crazy on concept cars, almost all of which never went into production, like the Mid4 supercar. But another concept that made a favourable splash was the Saurus. Unveiled at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, … Continue reading
Posted in nissan, racing
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NISMO Festival
More vintage Nissan racing news: While SoCal Nissan nuts enjoyed the warm December weather at the Empire Z Show, their Japanese counterparts braved the cold to attend the NISMO Festival. The annual event, held at Fuji International Speedway, is one … Continue reading
Still B.R.E.
Howdy, race fans. Here’s some great news. Peter Brock, the man behind the BRE race teams that took Datsun to SCCA Trans-Am 2.5 championships, has launched a new website, bre2.net. Old photos abound, from Brock’s early days with Hino, through … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, racing
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M. Yokota Vintage Rally
Remember the M. Yokota Collection, the vintage car museum/chocalatier/squirrel zoo in Gumna Prefecture? Clearly, a mind as active and eccentric as that of Mr. Yokota’s cannot be easily calmed. The latest manifestation of his love for nostalgics is the M. … Continue reading
Prince R380: Want One?
A couple of weeks ago, we touched on the topic of the Prince R380 racecar in our retrospective on the Hakosuka Skyline GT-R. As we take up the story, the S54B Skyline debuted at the Japan Grand Prix in 1964. … Continue reading
Posted in prince, racing
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The Hottest of Hot Hatches
Well before the likes of the MazdaSpeed 3 and the Civic Type R, crazy little funoboxes (hah, I totally just made that up) like the Starlet and the 310 were kicking around. I still see quite a few modified Starlets … Continue reading
Posted in nissan, racing, toyota
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