Drivers, designers, engineers, founders…The people who shaped motorsport ando those changing it now. No protocol.
The Man Who Saved Alfa Without Loving Cars: Nicola Romeo Most car brands that survive a century get a fairy tale stitched onto their origin story. There’s always a founder with petrol in his veins, a workshop epiphany, a sketch on a napkin. Henry Ford watching the Model T roll out the door. Frederick Henry … Read more
Jim Hall: the Texan who understood the air while everyone else stared at the engine If you walk into the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, Texas, you’ll find oil derricks, rock samples and a hall full of dinosaurs. You’ll also find, almost by accident, the most important collection of racing cars built in America. … Read more
Ferruccio Lamborghini: the farmer who insulted Enzo Ferrari and built an empire The man who answered an insult with a V12 A 47-year-old tractor manufacturer walks into Enzo Ferrari’s office in Maranello and tells him his cars are rubbish. Ferrari tells him to go back to his tractors. Four months later, the tractor manufacturer has … Read more
Ken Block: the man who invented a genre and gave it away January 2, 2023. Mill Hollow, Wasatch County, Utah. A snowmobile flips backward on a steep slope and lands on top of the man riding it. He’s alone at that moment. By the time search and rescue reach him, there’s nothing to be done. … Read more
FRANCO SCAGLIONE — THE GENIUS ITALY CHOSE TO FORGET There’s a letter Nuccio Bertone wrote on May 19, 1993. It reads: “I remember with great emotion your contribution to our project. I remember your sharpness in the shape of futuristic cars. I also remember our fierce discussions looking for excellence. Your passion and knowledge of … Read more
The Man Who Built the Most Recognisable Brand on Earth and Buried Eight of His Drivers The official newspaper of the Vatican compared him to Saturn devouring his own children. Not a rival. Not a bitter ex-driver. Not some leftist tabloid sniffing around for controversy. L’Osservatore Romano. The official newspaper of the Holy See. In … Read more
BERTONE — THE FACTORY THAT INVENTED WHAT YOU SEE WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES AND THINK OF A SPORTS CAR There are names that need no introduction and then there’s Bertone, which doesn’t even need you to say the full name. You say Bertone and you’re already seeing a car. You don’t know which one, … Read more
Patrice Banks: The Engineer Who Cracked a $200 Billion Market Failure with a Red Stiletto and a Crescent Wrench The number you’ll hear is two hundred billion dollars a year. That’s the industry’s own estimate of how much women spend annually in the United States on vehicle purchases and repairs. It’s not an audited figure … Read more
Alex Zanardi is gone. And we have nothing left to ask of him. The man rebuilt himself twice. Three times if you count the kid in Castel Maggiore who built his first kart out of scrap metal because his parents wouldn’t sign off on what he wanted to do with his life. Alex Zanardi died … Read more
Smokey Yunick: The Man Who Read the Rulebook Better Than NASCAR Did Daytona, February 1968. Joe Gazaway, NASCAR inspector, watches a skinny mechanic in a filthy hat and boots roll into the paddock with a black-and-gold Chevelle. Gazaway and his crew pull the fuel tank out to measure it. They find nine rule violations. They … Read more
MAURO FORGHIERI: The Engineer Who Held Ferrari Together for 27 Years and Got a Decorative Office in Return Picture this. You’re 26. You’ve been at Ferrari for one year. Last week, every senior engineer in the place walked out at once. You’re the only qualified engineer left because you happen to be the youngest one … Read more
Wifredo Ricart: The Spanish Engineer Who Made Ferrari Happen… Without Even Trying A kid from Barcelona, born in 1897. A guy who graduated in industrial engineering before turning 21. A man who designed racing cars with double overhead cams and 16 valves when most manufacturers didn’t even know those words. A Spaniard who walked into … Read more
