Toyota are preparing to bring some very special rally cars to the Festival of Speed.

Things are really starting to heat up now as the 2014 Goodwood FoS fast approaches. Goodwood Road and Racing just released these snaps taken by Toyota Motorsport in Germany, depicting the awesome collection of rally machines that they’re ready to load up and bring to Goodwood.

MORE: The six greatest Toyota WRC cars

We can spy not only the mysterious Group S MR2 we featured recently, but also the ST165 Celica GT-Four in which Carlos Sainz won the 1990 World Rally Championship. There’s also an earlier Group B Celica too, which we can’t wait to hear run on the Goodwood rally stage!

Via: Goodwood Road and Racing

Preview: Toyota Rally greats prepare for Goodwood is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Brilliant video recap from last month’s Mitty, which saw fields of historic racing cars take to the iconic bends of Road Atlanta.

We’re big fans of Historic Sportscar Racing Ltd (MSR) here at Motorsport Retro – they continue to deliver a seemingly neverending stream of awesome onboard footage and event coverage. This latest video from “The Mitty” of April is a bit of a mash-up of both, using a few short minutes to demonstrate not only the amazing variety of machinery that was in action, but the awesome atmosphere amongst attendees that went with it. What we wouldn’t give to go to one of these…

Video: Historic Sportscars hit Road Atlanta is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

This gigantic gallery features the most luscious shots of the very best machines the Speedfest had to offer.

Recently our friend Jayson Fong from Form & Function has been taking some utterly spectacular photographs on our behalf. He’s got a great eye for producing exciting event photography that captures that little bit more beyond just the cars in attendance, and we’re excited to be able to bring you the latest of that work today.

The event of course, was the 2014 Sydney Retro Speedfest, which took place just a touch over one week ago today. With a huge variety of machinery on display and in action, it was one for the books.

Take a look at our previous Retro Speedfest gallery here.

If you love these shots, don’t forget to follow Jayson on Facebook, and check out some more his dramatic work here:

Gallery – The Martini Porsche 911 RSR

Gallery – The Spectacular Ferrari Racing day of Sydney

Disaster strikes – Huge Ferrari 458 accident caught on camera

Gallery: The spectacular Sydney Retro Speedfest is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Image: Octane Press

In an era when race regulations left a little more room for a creative mind to do something completely different, Penske Racing, Ilmor and Mercedes-Benz found a way to build a one-of-a-kind beast of an engine that would romp the Indy 500.

Beast: The true story behind the creation of a legendary race engine is its story.

For the 1994 Indianapolis 500 Penske Racing and Ilmor spotted an opportunity in the overlap between the CART regulations which defined the rules of the full Indycar season, and the USAC regulations that governed the Indy 500.

USAC had allowed the use of stock-block pushrod engines for some time, and in the early ’90s lifted a requirement to use any production-based parts, allowing purpose-built pushrod engines. A bump in the allowed engine displacement and turbo boost made the opportunity even more interesting.

So for the 1994 race Penske, Ilmor, and soon Mercedes, set to work developing a purpose-built pushrod race engine in secret. They didn’t surface until just a few days before the opening day of Indy, and brought with them the defining factor of the race.

Author Jade Gurss’ new book Beast: The Top Secret Ilmor-Penske Engine that Shocked the Racing World at the Indy 500 goes to all of the key players in the race to unveil the massive design and development effort that went into completing the knife-edge project under such incredible time pressure. Race-engine experts from Ilmor, Roger Penske’s team, Mercedes and drivers Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unsur Jr. and Paul Tracey all provide their insight and illustrate the tale as only they can.

It’s one of the stories that only the golden age of motorsport can provide; exciting, profoundly interesting, utterly unique and inspirational, and the book is well worth a read for all fans of motorsport and Indycar.

Beast is available at Octane Press here for the eminently reasonable price of $US 22. Hit this link to head straight to the official site, and read on for the official word from Octane.

Via Octane Press

Images thanks to Octane Press

The true story behind the creation of a legendary race engine

The Beast was the nickname of a shocking new race engine unveiled for the 1994 Indianapolis 500. The massive effort to design and build it in a seemingly impossible time frame is still hailed as one of the most herculean efforts and well-kept secrets in the history of the Indy 500. In the new book, Beast, bestselling author Jade Gurss chronicles the subterfuge and debunks the myths about this legendary racer that persist twenty years on.

Gurrs interviewed all the key players involved in the race to undercover the story of how this engine powered the Penske PC23 chassis to one of the most talked-about Indy 500 races in history. The British race-engine experts at Ilmor Engineering offer detail about the design and manufacture of the engine. Roger Penske’s team reveals how the engine and car were tested and developed, and how Mercedes came to be involved in the project. The story unfolds as Roger Penske and Mario Illien of Ilmor play every card they possess to create an incredible race engine–even rare World War II fighter planes and supersonic jets roar into the heart of this high-tech tale. Drivers Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil, Al Unser Jr. of the United States, and Paul Tracy of Canada provide details on the tense weeks leading up race day. The book reaches a suspenseful climax at 250 miles per hour at the Indy 500 that no-one can forget.

Wrapped up in the drama and intrigue are real business and motivational lessons which made Roger Penske one of the most successful businessmen in the world and that helped Ilmor and its cofounders, Mario Illien and the late Paul Morgan, design and manufacture Indy car and Formula 1 championship-winning engines. Beast is not only a must-read for sports and race fans, but a compelling narrative for those who enjoy genuine lessons in business and technology or thrilling mysteries based on actual events.

Beast: The true story behind the creation of a legendary race engine is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

A pair of noisy, smokey, smelly old two-stroke motorcylces. But there’s something very special about these two.

This cool video showcases the bikes of Barry Sheene and Kenny Roberts being fired up and blasted around Silverstone. The Barry Sheene machine is of course, the square-four 1975 Suzuki RG500 XR14, the same model on which he won his first ever Grand Prix, as well as the 1976, and 1977 World Championships.

MORE: A tribute to Barry Sheene (video)

The Roberts bike is the iconic 4 cylinder Yamaha YZR500 OW48R from 1980, in that unmistakable yellow. Each of the bikes are noisy, rough, and probably incredibly difficult to ride – and that makes them even cooler.

MORE: Kenny Roberts rides his 1980 YZR500 at Laguna Seca! (video)

Video: Barry Sheene & Kenny Roberts’ bikes get ridden is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Petter Solberg demonstrates how best to tackle hairpin turns on a sharp incline.

The event was the 2002 Rally Deutschland, the first year in which the rally would be counted as part of the WRC. 2009 aside, it’s been a part of the calendar ever since – and what a stunning backdrop it provides! Unfortunately for Solberg he’d be forced to retire from this rally, however would go on to place second overall in the season.

The 2002 Rally Deutschland was won by Sebastien Loeb.

MORE: 40 years of WRC – Five unforgettable videos

MORE: The history of the Subaru Impreza in WRC

Photo of the Day: Easy does it (2002) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

A rough start takes this mini from pole position to the thick of the pack in an instant. Watch what happens next.

Watch as GM Factory race driver Oliver Gavin fights for his position whilst driving his Swiftune Mini amongst a field of much larger racing vehicles at the Goodwood Revival, St Mary’s Trophy. An action packed two laps follows the start, which we think you’ll enjoy.

MORE: You won’t believe he survived this crash at Goodwood (video)

MORE: The 15 best videos from Goodwood

Video: Onboard in a pack – St Mary’s Trophy is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Images: RM Auctions

RM Auctions put an impressive €41,355,430 through the tills in just five hours at their May 10 Monaco sale, setting at least ten individual auction records along the way, with rare and gorgeous Ferraris leading the charts.

These are the ten racing cars which made the biggest splash.

This incredibly rare 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Scaglietti led the evening, selling for €5,712,000 and becoming comfortably the most valuable fixed-head Ferrari 275 ever sold at auction.

This 1967 Ferrari Dino 206 S Spider has extensive period race history and success, with just one owner since 1977. The Monaco Sale was its first offer for public sale, and it sold for €2,072,000.

With period racing history at the hands of Nino Vaccarella, Herbert Schultze and Michel Weber, full original documentation, ONS Wagen-Pass and FIA papers, this highly-desirable 1968 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2 Daytona brought in €1,260,000.

Breaking the red Italian sportscar theme is this curvaceous 1958 Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ Prototype, which collected €1,176,000.

Coming from the legendary Brabham is this 1966 Brabham-Repco BT20 Formula One, which won the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix and was driven by Denny Hulme on his way to his ’67 Formula One World Drivers’ Championship, helping Brabham secure back-to-back Constructors’ Championships.

This 600 horsepower 1989 Ferrari F1-89 Formula One car brought in €616,000 with period racing history at the hands of Gerhard Berger, and as Alain Prost’s first Ferrari after leaving McLaren.

Making its debut on the world stage at the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, Henry Morrogh and Roger Delageneste started 36th on the grid and drove up to 17th overall for the class win in this striking 1964 Alpine M64. The last and most successful of three M64s, it fetched €313,600 at auction.

Fetching €280,000 over the weekend, this 1974 Hesketh 308 Formula One represents the first Hesketh Formula One car, one of only three built, and was driven by James Hunt and Alan Jones.

Rene Arnoux’ ride for eight races in the ’82 Formula One season, with pole positions at Imola Monaco and Zandvoor, this historic icon of turbocharging in Formula One sold for €229,600.

Rounding out our top ten racers is this magnificent 1971 Lola T260 Can-Am Spyder, which was Jackie Stewart’s backup car for the 1971 Can-Am season, achieved great success throughout ’72, ’73 and ’74, and went to a happy new owner for €224,000.

Head to RM Auctions’ official website here for more information about their 2014 Monaco Sale, and for all the news on what they’ve got coming up.

Images via RM Auctions

RM Auctions Achieves Best-Ever Europe Sale at Monaco is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Only the magic of the fabled Le Mans standing start could bring about photographs as captivating as this.

A Ford GT40 peels away to a fierce start at what looks to be the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. Think it might be a different race? Let us know on our Facebook page!

MORE: Nine amazing Ford GT40 cutaways

Photo of the Day: Speeding Start at Le Mans is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

On the eve of their return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next month, Porsche take a look back at one of their all time great car and driver combos.

MORE: Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell celebrate winning the 1981 24 hours of Le Mans

Porsche’s 919 Hybrid debuted at Silverstone last month – coming straight out of testing and onto the podium in third place. It was a huge moment for the team, who then went on to back it up with a solid fourth place finish with their other team car at Spa, earlier this month.

MORE: The best of Jacky Ickx (gallery)

Now, next month they return to the big one – Le Mans.

MORE: Le Mans 1977 onboard – Porsche 936

Video: Jacky Ickx and the Porsche 936 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Wear the ultimate sportscar, wherever you go.

This killer Le Mans inspired design by Joel Clark is very clean, and very wearable. It showcases the incredible Porsche 956 of the 1980s, complete with what looks to have been a creatively adjusted Rothmans livery.

MORE: Legendary Racing Cars – Porsche 956

MORE: Driving the Porsche 956 (video)

Our crew neck, short sleeved men’s t shirts are 100% premium cotton in a soft pre-shrunk jersey knit. Our women’s t shirts are lighter weight 150g tees made with deluxe 30′s soft style yarns for a soft feel

Click here to check it out!

MSR Shop: T-Shirt of the week – Porsche 956 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

The idea here is to take a fully prepped road-racing Jaguar E-Type, and absolutely belt it around one of the most exciting American circuits. 

If you’re a fan of sharp elevation changes, bone-crunching gearshifts and that old-school race car roar – this video is for you. Take a ride onboard Don Norby’s Predator Performance XKE Jaguar as he blasts around Road Atlanta for HSR’s The Mitty. Turn it up to 720 and plug in those earphones for the full experience – brilliant.

MORE: Take a look at Road Atlanta and the CanAm monsters that populated it in 1972! (video)

MORE: Road Atlanta aboard an utterly brutal Mazda RX-3 racecar (video)

Video: Road Atlanta onboard – Jaguar E-Type is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Feast your eyes on this die-cast recreation of the 908/3 that Derek Bell and Jo Siffert drove in the 1971 Nurburgring 1000km.

This 1:18 scale masterpiece from AUTOart features stunning quality well above of what we would normally expect of a die-cast model. The roll cage, tubular floor plan, engine and even seat belts all look so fantastic, we just had to show it to you.

Die-cast detail – 1971 Porsche 908/3 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

A fantastic video tribute, with some of the best raw rallying sounds we’ve ever heard.

This fan-made video pays a wonderful tribute to the unbelievable talent of four-time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen. The clips he’s used to craft this tribute seem to have been selected with the prerequisite that they deliver nothing short of the absolute best sounds.

MORE: Inside the amazing private car collection of Juha Kankkunen

Whether it’s the machine-gun like anti lag of the GT-Four Celica, or the high pitched shriek of the Impreza’s turbo compressor surge, the secondary purpose of this video (after paying tribute), is most certainly to remind us how incredible those rally machines of old really did sound.

Video: The king of rallying – A tribute to Juha Kankkunen is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Images: Hall & Hall

Purchased directly from Tyrrell, this car, chassis 06, was driven by Michele Alboreto to his first Formula 1 Grand Prix win, and is now up for sale at Hall & Hall.

Alboreto claimed his first grand prix win this car in the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix – the championship-deciding final race of the 1982 season.

Both Alboreto’s Tyrrell and Eddie Cheever’s Talbot Ligier had been fast in practice, giving the turbo cars a run for their money, but Alain Prost and René Arnoux turned it up in qualifying to take pole and second place respectively.

Alboreto started in third, defending an enthusiastic Cheever at the start and going on to chase down the turbos throughout the race, eventually passing Prost for the lead, which he held comfortably to secure his first win, and Tyrrell’s first in four years.

The car’s offered for sale at Hall & Hall as part of a prominent collection. Hit this link to head to their official website for the full details.

Via Hall & Hall

Images via Hall & Hall

For sale: Ex Alboreto Tyrrell 011 (1983) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

One of the mightiest Japanese Sportscars ever built – the 3.6L, V8 twin turbo GT-One.

Car #29 was one of three GT-One’s entered into the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans by Toyota Motorsport, it was driven by Thierry Boutsen, Ralf Kelleners and Geoff Lees. Sadly, the car suffered the misfortune of having a transmission failure whilst leading the race at 12:50am. It reached a top speed of 322km/h, after qualifying 7th.

The GT-One raced again at Le Mans in 1999, before being retired to the history books – and video games!

MORE: The infamous Toyota MR2 Group S

MORE: Six of Toyota’s great WRC cars

Photo of the Day: Toyota GT-One (1998) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Australian legend Sir Jack Brabham has died peacefully overnight at his home on the Gold Coast. The racing legend claimed the F1 world championship in 1959, 1960 and 1966, the latter famously in a car of his own design. He was 88.

To celebrate his wonderful achievements, here is a film documenting the success of the Repco-Brabham partnership of the mid 1960s

Video Documentary: The Jack Brabham story is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Check out this magnificent illustration of Ayrton Senna’s 1984 Monaco Grand Prix helmet by Paul Laguette.

The 1984 Monaco Grand Prix is fondly remembered as the race where the three time Formula 1 world champion announced his arrival as a star of the sport.  In just his sixth F1 race he chased down Alain Prost through the rain-soaked streets of Monaco in his Toleman to finish in a controversial second place.

Illustration: Ayrton Senna’s Monaco Helmet (1984) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

…and here you were thinking you’d probably never own a McLaren.

Whether it’s as something do in your down time, or something to do with the kids – this accurate 1:8 scale replica of Ayrton Senna’s McLaren Honda MP4/4 is an awesome piece of Formula 1 gear you can have the enjoyment of building yourself.

It features impressive attention to detail, brilliant craftsmanship and comes in 20 bite-sized installments, meaning that you won’t have to feel overwhelmed by bringing home a huge box of parts all at once.

MORE: Starting up Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/4 (video)

The kit is available via online order only, and comes with extensive, easy to follow assembly instructions, as well as a colorful walk down memory lane with magazines detailing the fascinating life of Senna himself.

MORE: Celebrating the McLaren Honda MP4/4 (video)

Check out www.sennamclaren.com for more information.

MORE: The best of Ayrton Senna

Build Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/4! is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Strap in, brace yourself and hold on to anything you can as we wind up for an on-the-limit lap of Spa Franchorchamps in the utterly glorious Mazda 767B.

The 767B was driven by Max and Moritz Werner, and they’re clearly not afraid to let it stretch its legs, gobbling up tarmac at a fierce rate with no shortage of right-boot steering along the way. Don’t forget to turn it up, then turn it up again because the bark of that 4-rotor 13J Wankel engine is absolutely magic.

Video: Full Noise in a Mazda 767B Around Spa is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.