What is it about the early days of racing that’s still so captivating today? Here, we celebrate interesting cars and films that captured those years, and in one case, a company even tries to tie its early history into its then-modern ‘60s sports car—with mixed success.
Enjoy this unprecedented look at racing’s Golden Era with these largely forgotten mini-documentaries and clips.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF_oF-ZMhD0
Targa Florio comes alive in this 1972 documentary narrated by Vic Elford. It’s just epic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLtoI3QrvJpTwQxVu_4UUrD_UaVp1Y9wGj&v;=fJsdw-pof1o
We’ve filmed a number of vehicles and owners with a close connection to the Mille Miglia. Here they are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKuiKMg1JRo
What did the 1963 Road America 500 look like? Glad you’ve asked—this footage shows a great battle between the then-new Shelby Cobras, Porsches, Jaguars, and Chaparrals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-tybhNNCDY
The Magic Midget is a short promotional film by MG that covers the marque’s early history—and even though it’s decades old, it’s still quite watchable even today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hXI6kYavjI
It’s in Italian, but, well, just look at that footage that recaps the history of the Mille Miglia. Perfect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqvsjPmhSNg
What was the sports car of the year in 1955-1956? Well just watch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9n5jAs9ljk
With a title like, “Porsche 908 at Nurburgring 1971”, how can you go wrong? It’s in German, but once the cars start moving it’s easy to see what’s going on!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSt0Y-09bcc
Here, newsreel footage captures both the 1965 and 1966 12 Hours of Sebring—yes, the colors may be a bit off with both, but they’re still fun to watch. Take note of the wildly different approaches between the two films!
Cover Image by Federico Bajetti
