Jalopnik: Dan Gurney

See What Happens When Dan Gurney And A 1985 Toyota Supra Take On NYC

Tom Joslin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST

After an amazing career in motorsports behind the wheel of some of the greatest machines to ever hit the track, we imagine hooning the 1985 Toyota Supra in the middle of New York City on a Toyota commercial shoot would seem like just another day at the office for Dan Gurney. More »

This is the first bottle of champagne sprayed after winning a race

Peter Orosz — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EDT

You'd think that the tradition of spraying a bottle of champagne from the winner's podium after a race was as old as sports itself. It's not. It didn't start until 1967 when Dan Gurney did it for the first time after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This was the bottle he used. More »

The exquisite insides of a Maserati Birdcage

Peter Orosz — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:30:00 EDT

The Birdcage was a wonder, and the epitome of pre-monocoque race car design, a gossamer web of 200 pencil-thin chro-moly steel tubes ~~welded~~ fillet brazed into a delicate space frame which weighed all of 90 pounds. More »

Your ridiculously cool vintage Chevy V8 wallpaper is here

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EDT

Photographer Brad Fox captured the business end of a 5.0-liter Chevy V8 mounted in what looks like one of Dan Gurney's Eagle F5000 cars. The 1600-px version is here and the giganto-desktop version is on our Facebook page. More »

How F1 started using full-face helmets

Peter Orosz — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST

Apart from inventing an aerodynamic device and becoming the last man to win a Grand Prix in a car of his own design, what has Dan Gurney ever done for Formula One? Why, he introduced the full-face helmet in 1968. More »

Ten Quirky Motoring Gifts For the Petrolhead You Love

Peter Orosz — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:30:00 EST

Do you know car people? Are you a car person? There is a world of awesome holiday gift opportunities out there beyond Porsche watches and Nascar cufflinks. Here's our selection of the weird and wonderful. More »

Now This Is a LeMons Supreme Court Bribe!

Murilee Martin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EDT

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The problem with toy cars is that you can never find the Mercury you're looking for. As a former Cyclone owner, I'd long ago given up on finding a good office-cluttering Cyclone tchotchke, but check out what I just got! More »

2009 Japanese Grand Prix: A Jolly Good Race

Peter Orosz — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:20:00 EDT

With the wacky 2009 championship down to its antepenultimate race at Suzuka Circuit, Jenson Button’s eroding cushion of points was looking increasingly fragile. Rubens Barrichello and Sebastian Vettel smelled blood. Spoilers, shmoilers! More »

Putting The 8:19 Nürburgring Camaro SS Time In Perspective

Peter Orosz — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:30:00 EDT

Muscle cars have come a long way since the 60s. The 8:19 lap by the Camaro SS would have been competitive in the 1967 German Grand Prix: the model year of the first Camaro. More »

All-American Racer Flying Over The 'Ring

Mark Arnold — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:30:00 EDT

Dan Gurney Passes Out Behind the '84 Celica's Wheel

Murilee Martin — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:30:00 EST

Independent rear suspension, ventilated disc brakes, electronic fuel injection, and a nice comfy seat- that's what you got when you bought a 1984 Toyota Celica GTS. Oh yeah, and a pit crew screaming in your ear. Ya know, the look of the mid-80s Celica has actually held up pretty well, dated as it may be. More »

It's 1967 Okay?

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:45:00 EDT

We were watching some random, modern F1 footage last night and started wondering if we were just idiots for not being into it. Then we ran across this segment on the GP at the Nürburgring back in '67 and realized that no, we weren't. This, friends, is damn-wonderful hairy-chested F1 awesomeness at its finest. Plus, it's got Gurney totally freaking dominating until his driveshaft goes and Ickx face-stomping Formula One guys in a Formula Two car. The genie of death may lie there, but damn if the 'Ring + 1960s F1 vehicles doesn't send shivers of the best kind. Flugplatz, anyone? More »

Fast as a Shark: Cannibalism, In Pursuit of the Elusive Awesome

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:00:00 EDT

Now and then, I wonder if this malaise is not a thirtysomething crisis, and then I take a step back and realize that it really isn't. Age is merely a tipping point, where the enthusiasm of youth is finally allowed to a step back in the face of a broader historical perspective. There is a transitional moment where it's understood that while independence and DIY will always rule, they are not quite the all. There is a beauty to industry, but when industry becomes the be-all, end all, there's a spirit that gets lost. Lost yet? Let me extrapolate a bit. More »

Mr. Chapman Goes to Indianapolis: The Lotus-Ford Story

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 00:15:00 EST

In 1961, after witnessing Jack Brabham's 9th-place finish in the Indy 500 in a mid-engined Cooper, Dan Gurney hooked up Colin Chapman and the Ford Motor Company to build a car for the '63 Indy 500 that would truly change the face of American open-wheel motorsports. But it was hardly a cakewalk. While Gurney felt it was a good car, it was apparently very noisy to drive, so Chapman came up with an air scoop to divert wind over the driver's head. More »

Trans-Am Racing Could Make a Proper Comeback, Says C&D

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 16:08:24 EST

Car and Driver teases us in its December issue by connecting several dots that lead all the way to a new version of the SCCA's Trans-Am series (which, surprisingly, is still limping along under license). Imagine the new Mustang FR500GT racer (pictured) alongside similar purpose-built offerings based on the coming Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger. All you'd need would be names like Titus, Penske, Gurney and Donohue — and a Sunoco sponsorship — to rehash the glory days of muscle-car road racing. The point man for such a revival, C&D says, would be Dan Davis of Ford Racing Technology, who's said he wants to launch a spec series for the new 550-hp Mustang racers. That series could give way to a broader one that includes Ford's competitors. Who says you can't go home again? – Mike Spinelli More »

We're Not In Love With Saturday's Children; We're In Love With the Misfit Children: The Cars That Didn't Run in Saturday's Trans-Am Race at Laguna Seca

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:30:00 EDT

For Google's sake, that may well be the longest headline we've ever written. This blogging crap is ridiculously wordy work now and then. Regardless, here're a few shots of the Mopar/AMC contingent, who for reasons we do not know, didn't run in Saturday's Trans-Am session at the Monterey Historics. Which, frankly, was unfortunate, as Dan Gurney's legacy was left to be defended by a mere Cougar. We suspect foul play on the part of Ford and Chevrolet. More »

Dan Gurney and Jackie Oliver to Drive GT40 Up Hill at Goodwood

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 15:30:00 EDT

It's as simple as this: we need to make the pilgrimage to Goodwood. And oh to be there this year when Ford breaks out the 1966 Le Mans-winning GT40 with former 24 Heures du Mans winners Dan Gurney and Jackie Oliver behind the wheel for blasts up the hill. Ford's celebrating the 40th anniversary of a victory that set off a four-year winning streak for the Eric Broadley-designed sports car. A guy we know rides with Gurney, and apparently, even at 75 years old, he's impossible to keep up with. God, this should be good. [Thanks to Alex for the tip.] More »

Gurney Eagle F1 Scale Replica: Drooooool...

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 14:45:56 EST

Any gearhead who's remotely familiar with our taste in cars knows that Dan Gurney's 1967 Eagle F1 is one of our absolute all-time favorite vehicles. It's simply one of the sexiest cars built in an era of incredibly sexy, sexy, sexy cars. Powered by a Weslake V-12 with hand-formed titanium headers (absolute works of art), the Eagle landed Gurney the title of "Only American to win a GP event in a car of his own construction." Now, Real Art Replicas has an excrutiatingly-detailed 1:8-scale replica; only 350 will be built, so if you're thinkin' about our birthday, buy it now and save it for us, will ya? The price? Only $1,499! C'mon, that's not even 1,500 bucks! More »