7 min read
History shows NSU might have been first but it was Mazda that nailed the rotary engine concept with the Cosmo Sport, reports MIKE MONK.
JoinedMay 2, 2020
Articles13
Mike Monk is a freelance motoring journalist and consultant to the Franschhoek Motor Museum. After emigrating from the UK to South Africa in 1970, Mike’s writing career began with Technicar and CAR magazines before he joined Leyland. He later moved to Ford Product Development before establishing an auto trim division for a textile company. Mike returned to CAR in 1994 and was Senior Associate Editor when he reached compulsory retirement age in 2011. He then edited the Retail Motor Industry’s magazine, Automobil, for a couple of years. Mike is a judge for the annual Concours SA.
3 min read
If you saw the movie Donny Brasco, you'd know a 'fugazi' is slang for a fake. Wayne Harley's Abarth transcends the meaning of the word, reports MIKE MONK.
5 min read
All but wiped out by the Second World War, the Alfa Romeo 6C put the brand back on the map and shopping lists of the rich and famous, reports MIKE MONK.
9 min read
Imagine getting behind the wheel of a real Le Mans race car from the 1950s. MIKE MONK had the opportunity and what an absolute thrill it was, he says.
5 min read
Before TV and Top Gear came along men like William Malesbury Letts were already getting up to hair-brain stunts in their shiny new cars, reports MIKE MONK.
11 min read
The Ford GT40 and the showdown with Ferrari in the Sixties is the stuff of legend. Getting to actually drive the legend was one for the bucket, writes MIKE MONK.
5 min read
Way back when the company that became Audi produced a thing called the Munga that pre-dates quattro, reports MIKE MONK.
6 min read
They were happy days. Chevy's beautiful Bel Air convertible ruled the road and Coke was yet to come in a can back in the 1950s, reports MIKE MONK.
7 min read
In a career spanning almost 50 years, there's one car that MIKE MONK has never driven -- Ford's famous Model T (but not any more).
7 min read
Though short-lived, the Hudson motor company introduced many automotive firsts, including its impressive post-war Commodore range, reports MIKE MONK.