On This Day

Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland test drove his road carriage powered by an internal combustion engine. The engine has a claim to be the world's first internal combustion engine and contained some features of modern engines including spark ignition and the use of hydrogen as the fuel. Starting with a stationary engine suitable to work a pump in 1804, de Rivaz progressed to a small experimental vehicle built in 1807, which was the first wheeled vehicle to be powered by an internal combustion engine.

Isaac de Rivaz

Vincenzo Trucco in a Isotta-Fraschini (4 min 53 sec) won the final Padova - Bovolenta 10km race in Italy, followed by Nando Minoia in an Isotta-Fraschini and Domenico Piccoli in a SPA.

Vincenzo Trucco

The Rolls Royce Silver Rogue, driven by Percy Northey to victory in the 1908 Scottish Reliability Trial, was sold as a used car in London, England.

Ralph Mulford broke the stock car speed record at Daytona Beach, Florida, US, covering a flying mile at 102.53 mph in a Hudson Super Six.

Ralph DePalma won the 24th and final race of his Champ Car career in Beverly Hills, California setting a career record for wins that would not be topped until 1963.

Ralph de Palma

Jimmy Murphy drove his Duesenberg to victory in a 50 mile AAA Championship race at Los Angeles Motor Speedway. Duesenberg drivers Murphy, Joe Thomas and Eddie Pullen won earlier 25 milers as did Ralph DePalma in a Ballot. It was the last AAA wins for both Pullen & DePalma. Continue Reading →

Horsedrawn fire fighting apparatus was used for the last time in Detroit, Michigan, US.

The first hillclimb event at Prescott, Gloucestershire, England was staged, on what is now the Short Course (880 yards). As announced in Motor Sport: "The Opening Rally on April 10th will comprise an assembly at Cheltenham for lunch, followed by a run to Prescott and possibly timed runs up the hill, followed by tea at the Prescott club-house. Prescott will be ready for the first official meeting on Sunday, May 15th. Continue Reading →

Prescott hillclimb

The Pau Grand Prix at Pau was won by René Dreyfus driving a Delahaye 145.

Henry Ford II was named executive vice president of the Ford Motor Company. His promotion confirmed his bid to become the heir to his grandfather's throne at Ford. Henry II despised his grandfather for tormenting his father, Edsel Ford. Continue Reading →

Ford Motor Company's factories and offes were closed for the day and all ther automobile plants shut down their assembly lines for one minute as a tribute to Henry Ford during his funeral in Detroit, Michigan, US. Mr Ford's last automobile ride, ironically, was in a 1942 Packard hearse.

The Pau Grand Prix, a Non-Championship Formula One motor race was held at the Pau circuit, in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. It was the first race of the 1950 Formula One season, and was conducted on the same day as the 1950 Richmond Trophy. Maserati driver Juan Manuel Fangio won the race, contested over 110 laps, after starting from pole position. Continue Reading →

The 2nd Richmond Trophy, a non-championship Formula One race held at Goodwood Circuit, West Sussex, England. It was a short race of only 11 laps and was won by Reg Parnell in a Maserati 4CLT/48.

Tazio Nuvolari competed in his last automobile race, winning the 1.5 litre class at the Circuit of Monte Pellegrino in a Cisitalia.

Henry J Kaiser married Alyce Chester less than one month after the death of his first wife.

Lloyd "Lucky" Casner (36) , owner of the Camoradi MotorRacing Division team, died from injuries suffered in a crash during practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was featured in the 1961 film The Green Helmet.

Harley Jefferson Earl (75), American car designer, died. A Hollywood builder of custom cars and became GM’s Vice President of styling from 1940-1959, he was the first to introduce tail fins in 1948. His design philosophy was "You can design a car so that every time you get in it, it’s a relief--you have a little vacation for a while."

Harley J Earl

Italian Fiat executive Oberdan Sallustro (56) was executed by Argentine Communist guerrillas 20 days after he was kidnapped in Buenos Aires. During the '60s and '70s, Argentina was a violent ideological battleground. Communist organizers resisted the oppression of the Fascist dictator Juan Peron. Continue Reading →

Oberdan Sallustro

The first American-made Volkswagen rolled off the assembly line in Pennsylvania.

VW logo

A bus carrying children plunged into a river in Spain killing 48, including 44 children.

William Clay Ford was named Vice Chairman of the Ford Motor Company.

Henry Ford II rejected Chrysler Corporation's offer to merge.

Harry Gant swept to the lead when Darrell Waltrip’s car developed ignition trouble with two laps left, scoring his third win in NASCAR’s premier series in the TranSouth 500 at Darlington Raceway, South Carolina, US. Waltrip, who led 70 of the 367 laps, nursed his ailing car home to a runner-up finish. Mark Martin finished third as the final car on the lead lap.

Harry Gant

Bob Tullius and Bill Adam drove the Group 44 Jaguar XJR-5 to victory in the IMSA race at Road Atlanta in Brazelton, Georgia, USA. It was the first win for Jaguar in a top level series in 25 years and the first win for a factory prototype in IMSA competition.

Jaguar XJR-5

Race of Champions, a non-championship Formula One race was held at Brands Hatch. It was also the last non-championship F1 race to be held in the sport's history. The reigning world champion Keke Rosberg in the Williams FW08, narrowly beat Danny Sullivan in his Tyrrell. Continue Reading →

1983 Race of Champions

Larry Dixon mades the first "4.4" pass in NHRA history when he ran the 1/4-mile in 4.486 seconds in Don Prudhome's Top Fuel car at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.

Mazda agreed to participate in the joint project for the test run of fuel-cell vehicles in cooperation with DaimlerChrysler Japan and Nippon-Mitsubishi Oil.

Aston Martin and Nokia launched the limited edition Nokia 8800 Aston Martin Edition mobile phone. Featuring a discrete laser-etched 'Aston Martin' logo on the stainless steel casing, it came loaded with a selection of exclusive Aston Martin content, including a short documentary film, a screensaver based on the famous crystal starter button found in all Aston Martin models, and ring tones that sampled the roar of the Vantage's (380 hp) V8 engine.

Iran reported that the SenIran Auto plant in Thies, Senegal's second largest city, had built its first Iran-Khodro Samand sedan. Iran Khodro is the largest carmaker in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa regions with annual production of more than one million various vehicles including cars, trucks and buses.

Iran Khodro Runna 2012