Podcast
Horsepower Heritage
Host Maurice Merrick takes deep dives into automotive history with great storytelling and fascinating guests from the car and motorcycle world. It's all about the people and the stories behind the machines.
- Episodes
- 195
- Releases
- Every two weeks
- Typical length
- 1 hr 2 min
- On air since
- 2020
- Latest episode
- 1 week ago
Episodes
195 episodes, newest first
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1 hr 20 min
Reviving Sleeping Beauties (with James Miller)
Show notes
Every damsel in distress needs a Prince. In this case, the damsel is a car in need of restoration and the prince is James Miller.
Miller is the man behind Sleeping Beauties Restoration, a full service shop in Brisbane, Australia that has completed over 700 projects, at least 400 of which were full restorations. Their work is impeccable, having made the podium at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance more than once.
Sleeping Beauties has particular expertise with Mercedes-Benz automobiles, especially the legendary 300SL, the charming Pagoda and the stately 600 SEL.
One of their current projects is a one-off 1941 Mercedes Benz 540K Cabriolet with a villainous first owner and an infamous history. The car has never been restored and was locked away for decades, but it's exactly the kind of challenge that James and his team are always ready to meet.
Visit Sleeping Beauties Restoration
Get 15% off at AUTODROMO (use code "HERITAGE" at checkout)
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58 min
Klaus Busse: Maserati Maestro
Show notes
As Head of Design at Maserati since 2015, this towering German (six-foot-seven of quiet intensity and Italian-trained instinct) has redefined the Trident for a new era.
Klaus Busse calls his design approach "surfacing with a purpose". Think the pure, sculptural fury of the MC20. The elegant, long-distance poetry of the GranTurismo and GranCabrio. The muscular track weapon of MCXtrema. The refined presence of the Grecale and the latest evolution in the MCPura.
Under Busse, Maserati isn’t chasing trends—it’s crafting rolling sculptures that balance performance, comfort, and unmistakable Italian character.
In this episode we go deep with the man who transformed Chrysler-group interiors from forgettable to award-winning, answered Sergio Marchionne’s call to Italy, and now leads with a clear philosophy: science creates art, restraint is the ultimate luxury, and true Gran Turismo means a car that feels alive both on the autostrada and the racetrack.
We explore how a designer raised on Miami Vice and Magnum P.I. learned to distill 110 years of Maserati history into clean, emotional forms that look like they’re moving even when standing still—while navigating electrification, AI tools, and the eternal tension between engineering purity and pure desire.
Get 15% off at AUTODROMO (use code "HERITAGE" at checkout)
SUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTube
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45 min
Car Stories with Jay Ward
Show notes
Jay Ward calls himelf "Pixar's resident car nerd". He's known for bringing authenticity to every make and model seen in the wildly successful "Cars" films, from Doc Hudson to Sally Carrera.
Jay is a true aficionado and his motion picture work reflects his wide interest and knowledge of automobiles and car culture.
In this episode Jay talks about boyhood automotive fascinations, working at a Harley dealership, what prepared him for his career at Pixar Animation Studios, the classics in his garage and more.
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49 min
Horatio Fitz-Simon
Show notes
Having learned his craft in karting, Formula Ford and historic sports cars, Horatio Fitz-Simon has become one of the most entertaining racing drivers of our day. His British Racing Green Lotus Elan is a favorite in California and he's also a scrappy contender at Goodwood, Oulton Park and other English circuits.
This year, Horatio made the big move to GT World Challenge Europe driving a McLaren 720S GT3 for Team RJN- a place in which he feels right at home- so whether your tastes run toward vintage motorsport or the latest technical edge of racing, you'll enjoy this conversation with one of the brightest talents on the track.
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1 hr 18 min
The Car Shrink: a Conversation with Bryant Kreaden
Show notes
Known for his love of exotic Italian machinery, flamboyant hand-tailored suits, and internet alter ego of "The Car Shrink", Bryant Kreaden is definitely a character- but don't let the schtick fool you.
Kreaden has a vast knowledge of performance cars, a solid background in racing, and an enviable network in the car community. His business is buying and selling the world's most desirable cars and after decades of doing so, he knows what he's talking about. If you want a special, no excuses Lamborghini or Ferrari, the doctor is in.
Follow the Car Shrink on Instagram
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22 min
American Made with Lukas Czinger, Sara Price and John Hennessey (Recorded Live at The Quail)
Show notes
Three great Americans talk about their success in manufacturing, motorsports and high performance: Lukas Czinger is the CEO and cofounder of Czinger Vehicles, Sara Price is an offroad racer and Dakar Rally veteran, and John Hennessey is the founder and CEO of Hennessey Performance Engineering. Recorded live at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering during Monterey Car Week 2026.
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1 hr 5 min
The 2026 Laguna Seca Auction Preview! with Eric Minoff of Bonhams Cars
Show notes
It's time for Monterey Car Week again!
Eric Minoff of Bonhams Cars returns to Horsepower Heritage to give us a sneak peek of their auction catalog- and fittingly, Bonhams Cars has a new venue- WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway.
There are plenty of great cars in the lineup, including a 2000 Lamborghini GT, the 1966 Lola-Ford T70 MKII Can-Am Racing Spyder, a 1963 Jaguar XKE E-Type Competition Coupe built by Jay Leno's Mechanic Bernard Juchli and later owned by Nicholas Cage.
Bonhams' Laguna Seca Auction kicks off on August 13, 2026 at 10am PDT.
BROWSE THE FULL BONHAMS CATALOG
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1 hr 39 min
The Mercedes Miracle: Moss and Jenks on the Mille Miglia (with Colin Johnston)
Show notes
On June 1, 1955 Stirling Moss and his navigator Denis Jenkinson climbed into their Mercedes-Benz 300SLR and set out from the northern Italian city of Brescia on a thousand-mile blast over public roads. Their objective: trounce the Ferraris and claim victory in the Mille Miglia.
The Mercedes team was meticulously prepared and the car was formidable, but perhaps no one was prepared for the astounding results.
In this episode, motor racing historian Colin Johnston tells the tale of what some consider to be one of the greatest racing performances of all time.
FOLLOW COLIN JOHNSTON ON INSTAGRAM
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57 min
Car Culture and More With Ryan Zummallen
Show notes
Ryan Zummallen is the author of "Cult of GTR", "Slow Car Fast" and other books, and is the founder of Carrara Media, an independent book publisher dedicated to car culture.
Ryan's approach to publishing is all about the convergence of machines, art, people and places and his books capture the current automotive scene in unconventional ways.
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1 hr 14 min
Ferrari 330GTC: The Story of a Thoroughbred, with Maurice Khawam (Encore)
Show notes
If the Ferrari Luce isn't your thing, then you'll appreciate the story behind one of Ferrari's greatest creations, the 330GTC.
For many years, Enzo Ferrari's road cars were mostly thinly disguised racing machines. Motor racing, after all, was the company's raison d'être.
But there came a time when its patrons wanted more refinement and sophistication. That car came in 1966 as the Ferrari 330 GTC. Soon it was proclaimed the finest Ferrari road car ever built.
In this encore episode, author Maurice Khawam discusses his book, "Ferrari 330 GTC: Elegance and Pedigree". It's an exhaustive and painstaking work that will long serve as a reference for restorers, collectors and concours judges, as well as those who seek to understand the history of the Ferrari brand and the talented individuals behind it.
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1 hr 52 min
Christopher Runge of Rünge Cars
Show notes
In the Northwoods of Minnesota, Christopher Runge hand-builds thrilling and beautiful sportscars inspired by the timeliness designs of early Porsche competition models like the 550 Spyder, 718 RSK and 904.
Runge is a self-taught coach builder and an advocate of "Superlicht" construction methods, shaping aluminum panels with traditional tools and techniques in the old European tradition. Only a precious handful or Runge cars exist, and each is unique.
Even as he honors the past, Chris is always looking to the future. In collaboration with Swindon Powertrain in the UK, he has now developed the "Hetzer" Flat 8, an air-cooled, normally aspirated flat eight cylinder engine developing over 600 horsepower, which will power coming project and will also be available to Porsche 964 owners who want a monster upgrade.
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54 min
A Tale of Oil, War, and Revolution: The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel (with Douglas Brunt)
Show notes
In his latest book "The Lost Empire of Alfred Nobel", New York Times Bestselling Author Douglas Brunt tells the fascinating tale of the rise and fall of the world's largest oil dynasty.
Emanuel Nobel took the reigns of his family's massive Russian petroleum conglomerate just as the Automotive Age began and the steam engine was giving way to internal combustion. Oil had become the lifeblood of human endeavor.
Nobel eclipsed business rivals like the Rothschilds and John D. Rockefeller and earned the favor of the Tsar himself. Yet just as he seemed invincible, the winds of war and political change swept over Imperial Russia and threatening his family fortune and even his life.
It's a sweeping tale in the far-flung reaches of the Russian Empire from Baku on the Caspian Sea to the streets of Saint Petersburg, swirling with a cast of characters including The Romanovs, Rasputin, Lenin, Stalin, Rudolf Diesel, and Winston Churchill. "The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel" is available now at fine booksellers everywhere.
BUY “The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel”
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FIND US ON THE WEBhttps://www.horsepowerheritage.com/INSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritage
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54 min
Jason Engel of Trick Rides
Show notes
In the Restomod world, American Muscle is King- but it's not easy to stand out from the crowd. Jason Engel of Trick Rides has done just that with cars like their "Scorched" 1969 Ford Mustang Widebody in carbon fiber, as well as other cars like the "Rogue" '69 Chevrolet Camaro and '66 Mustang Shelby GT350TR.
In this episode Jason takes you inside the Trick Rides build process from digital design to performance specs and more.
VISIT TRICKRIDES: https://trickrides.com
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hpheritage
SUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@horsepowerheritage
FIND US ON THE WEB:https://www.horsepowerheritage.com/INSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritage
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47 min
Aston Martin: The Entire Story (with Russell Hayes)- PART TWO
Show notes
Aston Martin is a name synonymous with sports cars, and it's a marque that has survived against all odds for over a century. Aston has always teetered on the edge of oblivion only to hang on for yet another chapter, being rescued time after time by wealthy benefactors and brilliant engineers.
Russell Hayes' new book, "Aston Martin: the Entire Story" chronicles the people, the cars, the racing and the seemingly perpetual troubles of this quintessentially British brand.
BUY the BOOK: https://www.evropublishing.com/en-us/products/aston-martin
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hpheritage
SUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@horsepowerheritage
FIND US ON THE WEB:https://www.horsepowerheritage.com/INSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritage
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1 hr 4 min
Aston Martin: The Entire Story (with Russell Hayes)
Show notes
Aston Martin is a name synonymous with sports cars, and it's a marque that has survived against all odds for over a century. Aston has always teetered on the edge of oblivion only to hang on for yet another chapter, being rescued time after time by wealthy benefactors and brilliant engineers.
Russell Hayes' new book, "Aston Martin: the Entire Story" chronicles the people, the cars, the racing and the seemingly perpetual troubles of this quintessentially British brand.
BUY the BOOK: https://www.evropublishing.com/en-us/products/aston-martin
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hpheritage
SUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@horsepowerheritage
FIND US ON THE WEB:https://www.horsepowerheritage.com/INSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritage
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51 min
Recreating the Lancia 037 (with Brandon Hegedus)
Show notes
In 1980, the FIA issued a new set of competition regulations for GT and Rally car classes known as Group B. These rules allowed manufacturers wide latitude on design and materials- and most importantly, no restriction on forced induction. Carmakers were also required to build fewer road car versions (just 200) to meet homologation.
The result was an astounding array of racing brutes like the Audi Quattro, Ford RS200, Peugeot 205 T16 and of course the Lancia 037.
But the speed and danger of Group B Rally brought things to an abrupt end and guaranteed the rarity of these cars... and that's where Brandon Hegedus of Hegedus Automobili comes in. He's a master craftsman who recreates halo cars (with some modern tweaks). Call them replicas, tributes, whatever- they are meticulously built and very impressive.
VISIT HEGEDUS AUTOMOBILI: https://www.hegedusautomobili.com
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hpheritage
SUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@horsepowerheritage
FIND US ON THE WEB:https://www.horsepowerheritage.com/INSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritageHORSEPOWER HERITAGE is created, produced and hosted by Maurice Merrick.
Get in touch with Maurice:
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1 hr 46 min
Bradley Price of Autodromo
Show notes
Born out of a love of great automobiles, timeless design and the fascination for bygone eras in motorsport, Autodromo wristwatches have captured the imagination (and the wrists) of many car enthusiasts.
In this episode, Autodromo's founder Bradley Price discusses his career as an industrial designer and the inspiration behind his work, as well as vintage racing and his car collection. Horologists and gear ahead alike will be settle right into this story like a bolstered racing seat.
VISIT AUTODROMO: https://autodromo.com
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hpheritage
SUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@horsepowerheritage
FIND US ON THE WEB:https://www.horsepowerheritage.com/INSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritageHORSEPOWER HERITAGE is created, produced and hosted by Maurice Merrick.
Get in touch with Maurice:https://horsepowerheritage.com/contact
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1 hr 14 min
Mustangs and More with Tom Maxwell of Velocity Restorations
Show notes
Classic Ford Mustangs and Broncos are hot in the restomod world, and so is the Fox Body Mustang platform. Velocity Restorations in Pensacola, Florida is one of the top builders today, using Roadster Shop Chassis and Ford Performance drivetrain components to blend classic looks with modern technology. In this episode, Tom Maxwell shares what it takes to build these incredible cars.
VISIT VELOCITY RESTORATIONS:
https://www.velocityrestorations.com/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hpheritage
SUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@horsepowerheritage
FIND US ON THE WEB:https://www.horsepowerheritage.com/INSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritageHORSEPOWER HERITAGE is created, produced and hosted by Maurice Merrick.
Get in touch with Maurice:https://horsepowerheritage.com/contact
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49 min
Peter Nam of Gunther Werks (with Special Guest Patrick Long)
Show notes
The spectacular Porsches built by Gunther Werks might be the ultimate expression of the ultimate air-cooled 911.
Founder Peter Nam disliked how technology was dulling the driving experience, so he and his team have instead to worked to re-engineer the 993 platform in a way that strengthens the car's already fantastic attributes.
With extensive use of carbon fiber, a stiffened chassis, a highly tuned suspension and precision-built Rothsport engines and robust transmission, Gunther Werks cars have become ions unto themselves.
In this episode, Peter tells the story of Gunther Werks, joined by veteran racer and Gunther Werks test driver Patrick Long.
Recorded live at Finish Line Auto Club in Calabasas, California with special co-host Tony Principe.
VISIT GUNTHERWERKS:
VISIT FINISH LINE AUTO CLUB:
https://www.finishlineautoclub.com/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hpheritage
SUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@horsepowerheritage
FIND US ON THE WEB:https://www.horsepowerheritage.com/INSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritageHORSEPOWER HERITAGE is created, produced and hosted by Maurice Merrick.
Get in touch with Maurice:https://horsepowerheritage.com/contact
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46 min
Jason Noel of Fat Fender Garage
Show notes
Pickup trucks are an American original- and so is Jason Noel, the founder of Fat Fender Garage. Jason and his team breathe new life into classic trucks, with modern chassis, powertrain and systems. These are dream builds, often still in their original paint, but Fat Fender also does the full-on custom look too.
"We put in the kitchen sink and a box of cereal for you too", says Jason.
VISIT FAT FENDER GARAGE: https://fatfender.com
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hpheritage
SUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@horsepowerheritage
FIND US ON THE WEB:https://www.horsepowerheritage.com/INSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritageHORSEPOWER HERITAGE is created, produced and hosted by Maurice Merrick.
Get in touch with Maurice:https://horsepowerheritage.com/contact
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