OVERVIEW:
Sports Car is a monthly magazine published by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). The SCCA was formed in 1944 when seven sports car enthusiasts met in Boston. They were primarily interested in the preservation of vintage sports cars built between 1914 and 1939, as they had seen many rare cars lost during the metal scrap drives that occurred during World War II. They were NOT interested in racing, as they expected the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) to be restarted after the war ended. They defined "sports car" as any car oriented to sports touring rather than just ordinary transportation. The newly formed club had owner cars made by Duesenberg, Mercer, Stutz, Kissel, Lancia, Isotta-Fraschini and Rolls Royce.

The early issues were titled as The Sportswagen. This title wasn't well received by new and potential club members, so the magazine was re-titled as Sports Car in March 1945 issue. Early issues were mimeographed, and the first issue with artwork was March/April 1946.

The club went through major changes in 1947 when Dudley Wilson became the club president. He was very intersted in organizing racing events. He also decided the magazine should be the promotional organ of the club with only good news allowed. For many years, the editors would not publish any information about disagreements, problems within the club or controversies. At the same time, more regional groups were formed.

The first club speed event was in July, 1945, but the first true race occurred in June 1947. The SCCA organized the first "Grand Prix" for sports cars in October, 1948 at Watkins Glen, New York. More information on its history may be found here.

OWNERSHIP:
The title was first published by the SCCA from Westport, CT and Nyaak, NY into the 1980s. At some point, printing and distribution was coordinated from Tustin, CA by Planner Catheron & Brown Publications (later Planner Communications).

PUBLICATION DATA:
The publisher provided net paid circulation data to N.W. Ayer, Gale Research and Oxbridge Communication's compendia from 1954 through 2005. Annual print production grew from 8,550 to 110,000 by 1997, but then it stair-stepped down to 80,000 print issues through 2005 (the last date for which we have data at this time).

CONTENT COMPLETENESS:
A total of 842 issues was printed from Mar/Apr, 1946 through Jan/Feb, 2024 issue. All issues are complete except: 4 issues from 1946; Mar/Apr 1948; and, Mar 2011.

INTERNET:
An internet presence was created and the URL noted on the front covers starting in January, 2000. www.scca.org