Hall of Fame

Unfortunately, we have learned via the MG Car Club that John Sprinzel, an original inductee into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame, has passed away. […]

The following individuals have been selected for the 2018 class of honorees for the British Sports Car Hall of Fame. This will be the second year for these ceremonies. Joe Alexander – The owner of Alexander Racing Enterprises and a founding member of the Friends of Triumph. Chuck Anderson – One of the founding members of the Austin-Healey Club of America and a leading proponent of the marque in the United States.

As you all know by now, the induction ceremonies for the British Sports Car Hall of Fame were held this past Friday, June 2nd, in Petersburg, Virginia. The event was held in coordination with the second Moss Motorfest and was a great success with a standing room only crowd of almost 600 people in attendance. Of the twenty-three human inductees (more on that in a moment), eight were in attendance. Those eight were Mike Cook, Michael Dale, Peter Egan, Robert Johns, Richard Knudson, Graham Robson, Bob Tullius and John Twist. During the awards ceremony itself, brief biographies were gone over, stories were told on themselves and others, and then the gorgeous Moto-Lita steering Heacock Insurance wheel awards were handed out. After the awards ceremony proper, started off by Rob Goldman of Moss and then MCed by Graham Robson and John Nikas, a […]

John Twist is the MG guru behind Michigan’s University Motors who has helped countless people maintain, restore, and understand their MGs. He has run a successful shop, has an informative video series, and now is an international speaker. Twist will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame on Friday, June 2nd.  

Robert ‘Bob’ Tullius is the founder of the famed Group 44 racing team, he won countless races, several championships and paved the way for sponsorship in modern racing. He is undeniably the best known and accomplished American racer of British sports cars. Tullius will be inducted on Friday into the British Sports Call Hall of Fame.

John Thornley, OBE was one of the founders of the MG Car Club and served as its first Secretary. Later, he went on to become Director and General Manager of the MG Car Company. John Thornley will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame in ceremonies on June 2, 2017.

John Sprinzel, one of the best-known racing and rally drivers of his era, won the British Rally Championship and his class at the 12 Hours of Sebring behind the wheel of an Austin-Healey Sprite. This “spritely” British auto racer and tuner will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame in Virginia next week.

Known as the Dalai Lama of the Sacred Octagon, Ken Smith is the Editor Emeritus of The MG Driver and was known for his numerous appearances at British car events across the country on behalf of Moss Motors. Ken will be inducted, along with 22 other worthy motorheads, into the British Sportscar Hall of Fame on June 2nd.

Graham Robson is a distinguished motoring historian whose working life has always been connected with fine cars and advanced engines. After starting his career at Jaguar, then running the ‘works’ motorsport team at Triumph, he developed a passion for motoring heritage and for classic cars. He has been an independent writer, historian and motoring consultant for many years, and has written more than 130 books. Robson will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame this June. In fact, we are pleased that he will also be MC of the event.

Sir Stirling Moss has ben described as the greatest Formula One driver to never win a World Championship. He competed in open wheel racing, sports cars, and land speed record vehicles, highlighted by a victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia, considered by many experts to be the greatest one day drive in history. He will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame in Petersburg, Virginia on June 2nd.

Giovanni Michelotti was a prolific designer, who styled cars for Ferrari, Maserati, BMW and Triumph, designing some of the latter’s most successful cars in the postwar era. When you look at a Triumph TR4, Spitfire, Stag or Herald, you are looking at Michelotti’s work. Giovanni Michelotti will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame on June 2, 2017.

Sir William Lyons was the founder, director, chairman and guiding force of Jaguar. That seems like such a short and simple sentence to convey the importance of the man known as “Mister Jaguar”. For over 40 years Lyons led the car company through its many iterations and shaped both the cars and the culture through personal determination. For those many years, Lyons simply was Jaguar. He will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame in just over two weeks.

Richard Langworth, CBE, is not just a renowned automotive writer, he is responsible for some of the most definitive marque histories ever published. Beyond this, he is also a recognized authority on Winston S. Churchill. His most recent book on Churchill is Churchill and the Avoidable War: Could World War II have been Prevented? and Winston Churchill, Myth and Reality: What He Actually Did and Said is due out in August. Richard M. Langworth will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame on June 2, 2017. Though never intending to become a historian, he has written, co-written or published 54 books and 2000 articles on automotive history—American, English and European. He is also a self-described “Chemistry drop-out at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1960), a fail-safe graduate of Wagner College (1963), a 120-day-wonder U.S. Coast Guard officer (1964-67), and a bored bureaucrat […]

Richard “Dick” Knudson is well known as the co-founder of the New England MG T-Register and one of the guiding lights in the British car hobby. Additionally, he has written prolifically about the Sacred Octagon and its many accomplishments. Knudson will be one of 23 deserving individuals inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame on June 2, 2017.

To say that Cecil Kimber is famous for his role in the formation and growth of the MG Car Company would be a bit of an understatement. To title him as just an “automotive engineer” would be even more so. Cecil Kimber was the creator and driving force behind what would become one of the best-loved car brands of all time. Cecil Kimber will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame this June. Cecil Kimber was born in South London on April 12, 1888.  At a young age, he became interested in vehicles and motorsport. He attention was originally drawn to motorcycles, but after an accident that badly damaged his right leg, Kimber made the switch from two wheels to four wheels.

From his position as Competition Director for Standard-Triumph in the United States, R.W. “Kas” Kastner was the guiding influence and prime instigator for the company’s success, essentially writing the book on how to successfully race cars on a budget and setting the standard for others in the industry to follow. He will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame on June 2, 2017. Kastner’s experience in the automotive industry spans over 50 years. He has particular experience in the field of performance vehicles and automotive racing and racing team management. Triumph powered cars still participate annually in the appropriately named Kastner Cup.

As an airman in the United States Air Force, Robert “Bob” Johns parlayed his amateur success into a position as a Triumph works driver, including stints at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Bob Johns will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame on Friday, June 2. Bob Johns was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and began working in his father’s auto repair shop at the age of twelve, which fueled his interest in racing. By age nineteen, he was full-fledged, fast-car crazy. In fact, he attended the last two original-course races at Watkins Glen in 1951 and 1952. These races instilled in him the auto racing fever.

Donald Healey was a man with many talents – pilot, mechanic and rally driver. Most notable to the majority of British car fans, Donald Healey was the driving force behind the Austin Healey sports cars such as the Austin Healey 3000 and the bugeye (or frogeye) Sprite. Donald Healey, CBE will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame this June.