“And suddenly I realized that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension.” – Ayrton Senna-. Brazilians are passionate about speed and that passion produced a few names that became legendary; most of them are well known only withinContinue reading “The Brazilian Champions. Part Three: Ayrton Senna.”
Author Archives: Rubens Junior
Toronto International Air Show.
The Toronto International Air Show is Canada’s largest and longest-running aeronautical event and it happens right in the heart of the city’s downtown, over Labour Day Weekend. Thanks to the Covid pandemic, the show was cancelled in 2020 but it was back for the 2021 edition. It all started in 1946 when the National Aeronautical AssociationContinue reading “Toronto International Air Show.”
The Rat Trap
Between 2008 and 2015, I had the privilege to work for one of the most traditional speed shops in Brazil, Powertech, the company was founded with a noble mission: to bring performance parts from the USA to South America, helping a legion of gearheads who craved speed but had nowhere to go. Powertech’s founder, João Alexandre deContinue reading “The Rat Trap”
The Brazilian Champions. Part Two: Nelson Piquet.
By the time when I began to better understand the Formula One universe, during my teenage years, Emerson Fittipaldi was struggling with the Copersucar race team and he naturally fell into obscurity. Fans like me were waiting for the next guy who would restore the Brazilian pride in F-One and that guy was Nelson Piquet.Continue reading “The Brazilian Champions. Part Two: Nelson Piquet.”
Mad Max
When I went to see Mad Max for the first time, in 1985, the movie was already 6 years old and its two sequels had been released already. To be honest, the sequels never caught my attention, I was there to see the original. Even after so many years I still remember leaving the theatreContinue reading “Mad Max”
The Brazilian Champions. Part one: Emerson Fittipaldi.
Brazil, if there is one sport that defines the country is soccer, after all, they won the World Cup 5 times, but there is another sport that the country won even more titles: Formula One. Brazilian drivers won nothing less than 8 F-One World Championships. Sir Jack Stewart once tried to explain the phenomena: “MustContinue reading “The Brazilian Champions. Part one: Emerson Fittipaldi.”
The 1963 Aston Martin DB4 GT Lightweight.
The DB4 model, produced from 1958 until 1963, was the car that put Aston Martin firmly in the sports coupe segment and started the iconic look that would define the brand throughout the next decades. If you look closely, styling cues from this car can still be found in modern Aston Martin models. Aston madeContinue reading “The 1963 Aston Martin DB4 GT Lightweight.”
Norton-Wankel. The Victory of the Underdog.
Back in the 1970s, when the Japanese motorcycles started to take over the world, Norton was just another iconic, traditional British bike brand struggling to survive. A mix of mismanagement and lack of innovation brought the company very close to bankruptcy, but it was in the late 1960s that Norton had a spark of brilliance,Continue reading “Norton-Wankel. The Victory of the Underdog.”
Atlanta Dragway in 2000 -Video Blog.
The official drag strip of Atlanta, GA isn’t exactly in Atlanta, the venue is located in a small town called Commerce, a little bit over one hour driving, from downtown Atlanta, via I-85 North. The dragway opened its doors in 1975 and has been hosting the Southern Nationals since 1981. In 1993 it was boughtContinue reading “Atlanta Dragway in 2000 -Video Blog.”
Pablo Escobar’s Porsche.
It was during the crazy 1960s that cocaine started to become popular; at that time the drug was still expensive and hard to find, the kind of stuff reserved for celebrities. It was only during the 1980s that the drug became readily available to the average consumers and the responsibility for this social disaster isContinue reading “Pablo Escobar’s Porsche.”
BMW. The Rough Beginning.
The BMW is one of the pride and joy of the German auto industry, the brand is well known around the world for stylish cars and cutting edge technology applied to them, but before becoming one of the most desirable automobiles in the market, BMW had its fair share of bumpy roads. The origin. TheContinue reading “BMW. The Rough Beginning.”
McLaren Mustang
The Ford Mustang needs no introduction, after all, the car has been around since 1965; in the sports car universe, only the Chevrolet Corvette (1953), and the Porsche 911 (1963) can rival the Mustang in longevity. Words like icon, and legend, have been loosely thrown around to better describe the “Old Horse” and we allContinue reading “McLaren Mustang”
The VW Beetle, and how we raced it.
The year is 1985 and Brazil is facing terrible times, the mismanagement of the economy by the military government brought an imaginable inflation rate, something around 250% a year. As one can imagine, racing wasn’t exactly a priority in this kind of scenario; only those categories backed by the automakers were surviving, like the BrazilianContinue reading “The VW Beetle, and how we raced it.”
The Runaway Drone
Nowadays, flying drones are such a common sight, from the harmless ones we use to shoot videos of our vacations to the deadly ones used by the military to kill enemy troops on the ground, drones are pretty much part of our daily lives. The drone technology was born in the military and later onContinue reading “The Runaway Drone”
Monte Carlo Rally.
As I started to write this post, right after Christmas day, 2020, the teams and drivers were getting ready for the kick start of the 2021 season of the World Rally Championship, or simply “WRC”. As it has happened since 1973, the opening round will be the most traditional and important race of the calendar:Continue reading “Monte Carlo Rally.”
Triumph Motorcycles; and a little story about passion and brotherhood.
Special thanks to Paul Niedermeyer, (Curbside Classics) for the awesome pictures. During the year 2014, I had the opportunity to work for a big restoration shop in Brazil. Among many different activities we performed there, one of them was selling used “premium” motorcycles. This little story happened on a hot summer afternoon. I was almostContinue reading “Triumph Motorcycles; and a little story about passion and brotherhood.”
The American V8. Part Four: The Chrysler HEMI.
For all those gearheads who, in one way or another, have been involved with American V8s, the world HEMI means something special: the one engine that stands apart from the crowd; the “king” of the pack. But what makes this engine so special? Well, great ideas are, generally speaking, simple ideas, and the “HEMI” engineContinue reading “The American V8. Part Four: The Chrysler HEMI.”
The Classic Machines 