Discover Your Town’s Secret Motoring Past – A Hidden Automotive History
Bottom line: The Autocar digital archive unlocks forgotten local car stories, letting anyone explore hidden motoring history right from their browser.
Discover Your Town’s Secret Motoring Past – A Hidden Automotive History
Image: Discover Your Town’s Secret Motoring Past – A Hidden Automotive History – Performance Comparison and Specifications
Design & Looks
Imagine sifting through magazines that date back to 1895 and stumbling on a picture of your childhood school field when it was a steam railway. That’s the thrill I felt when I typed my hometown into Autocar’s new searchable archive. The old Currys shop in Hove, once a vehicle works, and a South Downs hill that almost became an international racing circuit are just two of the surprising sites that pop up. Old photographs, ads, and sketches give each place a visual identity that modern Google images simply can’t match.
Performance & Mileage
Among the gems is Thomas Harrington Ltd’s 1960s conversion of a Sunbeam Alpine. The small car was turned into a mini‑Aston Martin that raced at Le Mans, hitting roughly 120 mph – a remarkable feat for a former bus builder. Brighton’s Speed Trials also appear in the archive, showing how local racers pushed early British sports cars to their limits. By searching key terms, you can trace how performance figures evolved week by week, something impossible with printed indexes.
Price & Rivals
Access to the full Autocar archive costs nothing – it’s free at magazineshop.com. Compared with paid genealogy sites or commercial history books, the archive offers a high‑value, no‑cost alternative for enthusiasts, academics, and anyone curious about their own streets. Other online resources like the British Newspaper Archive, Ancestry, and Britain From Above complement the search, but none combine weekly automotive commentary with searchable OCR text.
| Engine | Mileage | Price | Top Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunbeam Alpine (Harrington conversion) | ≈120 mph top speed (historical) | Free – part of Autocar archive |
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FAQ
What kind of historic cars can I find in the Autocar archive?
You’ll see everything from early steam‑railway photos to 1960s sports‑car conversions, local speed‑trial winners, and rare prototypes that never reached production.
Is the archive useful for people who aren’t car experts?
Absolutely. The searchable text lets anyone type a street name or shop and instantly pull up related motoring stories, complete with images and contemporary commentary.
Can I compare old road maps with today’s satellite view?
Yes – the National Library of Scotland map tool lets you overlay historic maps with current imagery, perfect for visualising how a racing circuit or railway once fit into today’s landscape.
Got a forgotten garage, old car‑related legend, or a dusty family photo? Share your own town’s hidden car stories in the comments below!
Source: Read Official News
