A pair of the most recognizable brands in the drag racing and high performance enthusiast industry, which also just happen to be sister brands today, are celebrating landmark anniversaries in their long and storied history.
B&M Racing & Performance Products, founded way back in 1953 by Bob Spar and Mort Schuman, is celebrating 60 years in business in 2013, with a long history of innovation and excellence that has kept the brand at the forefront of the industry and helped carry racers to more championships, victories, and performance milestones than one could ever imagine.
Spar and Schuman, along with Bob’s brother Don (who joined the company in 1955), developed the only patented 4-speed automatic racing transmission in history, known as the famous B&M Hydro Stick, and the seed was planted for more than half a century of firsts and record moments for the company and its customers. Today B&M is a market leader in aftermarket racing transmission technology, with a whole catalog of racing transmission, torque converter, and driveline accessories. In addition to its racing roots, B&M is also the largest supplier of performance shifters to OEM’s and tuners in the US and in Europe.
Hurst Shifters, the younger of the two brands under the B&M Group umbrella — if you could call a 55-year old company ‘young’ — was founded in 1958, right as the hot rodding and drag racing hobbies were taking off and converging into a competitive sport. During its years, Hurst has been the OEM shifter supplier for vehicles the likes of the Pontiac GTO, Plymouth Barracuda, Plymouth Super Bird, Ford Mustang Boss 302, the Shelby GT500KR, and many others.
With Hurst, age isn’t necessary to identify with the company’s image, as the Hurst Olds/442 and the Hurst Hemi Under Glass wheelstander remain vivid and timeless icons to this day. And of course, who could forget the one and only Miss Hurst Shifter, Linda Vaughn?
To learn more about these two performance icons and their products, visit them on the web at hurst-shifters.com and bmracing.com.
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