Cyril Posthumus (28 August 1918 – 9 October 1992) was a British writer on the history of motor cars.Motor Sport, November 1992, Obituary - Cyril Posthumus
by

David Tremayne David John Tremayne is a UK-based motor racing journalist. He has written extensively about the Land Speed Record. He was the Formula One correspondent for ''The Independent''. He is one of the founding partners of ''GrandPrix+'', the sport's ...

Career

Posthumus was Associate Editor of ''

Autosport ''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London, England. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One, Formula One World Championship. Autosport began life as a we ...

'' from 1950 and '' Motoring News'' from 1957, where he served as editor until 1959, and again from 1961. From 1963 he was features editor on ''

The Motor ''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903 and published by Temple Press. It was initially launched as ''Motorcycling and Motoring'' in 1902 before the title was shortened. From the 14 ...

'' until 1966. After two years with ''Motor Racing'' he remained a freelance for the rest of his career, whilst also editing the '' Brooklands Society Gazette''.

Works

His works include: *''The 16 Cylinder G.P.

Auto Union Auto Union AG was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm for ...

'', 1967 Profile Publications *''The 1926–1927 1½ Litre

Delage Delage is a French luxury automobile and racecar company founded in 1905 by Louis Delâge in Levallois-Perret near Paris; it was acquired by Delahaye in 1935 and ceased operation in 1953. On 7 November 2019, the association "Les Amis de Dela ...

'', 1966 Profile Publications *''4½ litre Lago-Talbot'', 1972 Profile Publications *''The British Competition Car'', 1959 Batsford Academic *''Classic Racing Cars'', *''Classic Sports Cars'', with David Hodge *''

Land Speed Record The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de M ...

: A Complete History of the Record-Breaking Cars from 39 to 600+ m.p.h.'', *''The

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...

'', 1966 Temple Press *''Mercedes and

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

Racing Car Guide 1901-1955'', *''Motor Cars (Transport & Society)'', *''The 1906-1908 Renault Grand Prix'', 1967 (Profile Publications Number 79) *''The Racing Car Development and Design'', with Cecil Clutton and Denis Jenkinson, 1956 BT Batsford Ltd, London *''The Roaring Twenties: An album of early motor racing'', *''Sir

Henry Segrave Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneou ...

, a biography of the British racing car driver'', 1961 BT Batsford Ltd, London *''The Story of Veteran & Vintage Cars'', *'' Vintage Cars'', concerning cars made in the 1920s, *''

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing series run for sports car racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 World Sportscar Championship, 1953 t ...

'', 1961 MacGibbon and Kee * numerous articles in

Road & Track ''Road & Track'' (stylized as ''R&T'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine first published 1947. It is owned by Hearst Magazines and is published six times per year. The editorial offices are located in New York City. History ''Road ...

Car and Driver ''Car and Driver'' (''CD'' or ''C/D'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine first published in 1955. In 2006 its total circulation was 1.23 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased it from its prior owner Hachette Fi ...

, etc.

References

British motoring journalists Historians of motorsport 1918 births 1992 deaths {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub