Cars Inspired by Racing

Gil Andersen drove a Stutz in the 1911 Indianapolis 500 — the very first Indy 500. Harry Stutz built Andersen's car in less than five weeks. Andersen finished the race in 11th place, but with an impressive average speed of 68.25 mph. If not for tire troubles, Andersen likely would have finished even better.

Harry Stutz and Henry Campbell formed Stutz Motor Company following the race. On the strength of Andersen's Indy performance, the firm adopted the slogan, "The Car That Made Good in a Day." The Stutz Motor Company's most famous model, the Bearcat, debuted for 1912 — arguably America's first true sports car.

Some early Chevrolet models, like the 1915 Royal Mail Roadster, had the sleek appearance of a race car — right down to the fuel tank behind the seats. The 24-horsepower, four-cylinder engine wasn't going to win any serious races, but the Royal Mail Roadster at least looked the part. For some customers, that's all that mattered.

Eddie Rickenbacker formed Rickenbacker Motor Company in Detroit in 1922. The company built mid-priced cars over six model years. Mr. Rickenbacker purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1927. He owned and operated the track for 18 years — though he paused racing activities there during World War II. Rickenbacker sold the speedway to Tony Hulman in 1945.

Pace cars are an Indianapolis 500 tradition dating back to 1911. The pace car leads the grid into the race start, and returns to the track during caution laps to keep the field moving in an orderly fashion. For many years, different makes were featured on a revolving basis. Ford was given the honor for 1953 — the automaker's 50th anniversary.

Ferrari dominated sports car racing in the early 1960s with its 250 GTO. "GTO" came from the Italian "Gran Turismo Omologato" — a grand tourer race car homologated, or approved, for competition. Powered by a 2,953-cubic-centimeter V-12 engine (roughly 250 cubic centimeters per cylinder), the 250 GTO won GT world championships in 1962, 1963 and 1964.

Racers and fans rank the Grand Prix of Monaco alongside the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500 as one of the three most important automobile races in the world. Its prestige comes from its long history — the first Monaco Grand Prix was held in 1929 — and its glamorous location on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Dan Gurney earned victories in Indy car, sports car, stock car, and Grand Prix races, and he designed and built cars for his own All American Racers team. Gurney also drove Mercury Cougars in the Trans-Am racing series — a series specially created by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) for sporty pony cars like Mustang, Camaro and Cougar.

The Mercury Cougar debuted for 1967 as an upscale version of its corporate-cousin Ford Mustang, which had kicked off the whole pony car craze in 1964. The Cougar's XR7-G package added a hood scoop, sun roof, and special trim. The racing connection? That "G" stands for Gurney — as in Dan Gurney.

Pontiac introduced its own pony car, the Firebird, in 1967. Two years later, Pontiac applied the "Trans Am" name to its top-level Firebird. GM paid a five-dollar royalty to SCCA for each Trans Am sold. Ironically, the Trans Am didn't initially compete in Trans-Am races — its 6.6-liter engine exceeded SCCA's 5-liter displacement limit.

Since 1936, Indianapolis 500 winners have received a copy of that year's pace car — in addition to a cash prize and lucrative endorsement opportunities. Bobby Unser got a Buick Century Custom V-8 for his soggy 1975 victory. The Century Custom also served as pace car at the 1975 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Mario Andretti fell in love with motorsport during a boyhood visit to the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy's most celebrated racing circuit and one of the best-known tracks in the world. Years later, Andretti clinched the Formula One World Drivers' Championship at Monza in 1978 — the triumph of a lifetime for a young boy not afraid to dream big.

Chevrolet first used the "Monza" name to designate a premium package available on the compact Corvair. It later became a model name in its own right for a sporty Chevy subcompact built from 1975 to 1980. Chevrolet Monzas competed in sports car races through the late 1970s — though equipped with Corvette engines.

"Daytona" was such an appealing model name that both Studebaker and Dodge used it. Studebaker applied it to a sporty version of its compact Lark from 1962 to 1966. Dodge first used "Daytona" on a performance version of the 1969 Charger — which actually competed in its namesake race — and later on a hatchback built from 1984 to 1993.

Given Corvette's sports car racing pedigree, it first seems odd that this concept car took its name from the heart of American open-wheel racing: Indianapolis. But the mid-engine Corvette Indy was originally equipped with a power plant based on the V-8 developed by Chevy and Ilmor Engineering for Indy car competition — hence the name.

Given Pontiac's longtime position as General Motors' performance brand, it's not surprising that the division employed so many racing-influenced model names. "Bonneville" appeared on various Pontiacs — mostly premium full-sized sedans — from 1957 to 2005. Before that, it had been used on a Pontiac concept car built for the 1954 GM Motorama.