Tom Cole (racing driver) joining the Prancing Horse brigade. In the summer of 1952, he launched his European racing campaign, started at Le Mans, with a Ferrari 225 S, belonging to his co-driver ”Pagnibon”, but entered by Scuderia Ferrari. They ran as high as 15th, before retiring with ignition issues. Later that summer, he entered the Targa Florio. Rather than using one of his Allards, he bought his own Vignale bodied Ferrari 225S, which started its life as a factory car. By the time the car appeared it had been repainted in American racing colours, before carrying him to 11th place. August 1952, saw
Production car racing Production car racing Production car racing, showroom stock racing, street Stock, pure stock, and U-car racing are all categories of auto racing where unmodified (or very lightly modified) production cars race each other, outright and also in classes. Cars usually have a protective roll cage and run race tires (either slicks or radials). Some freedoms are allowed, like gearbox coolers, giving the cars increased performance and components longevity. Production car racing, known in the US as "showroom stock", is an economical and rules restricted version of touring car racing. Many production racing categories are based on particular makes of cars.