Mario Andretti was born in 1940 in a portion of Italy that is now part of Croatia. His family moved to Nazareth, Pennsylvania when he and his twin brother Aldo were 15 years old. Not far from Nazareth was a circle track for racing, and it quickly drew in the young Andretti brothers.
Mario and his brother built their first race car, a 1948 Hudson Hornet. The two, along with some friends, turned it into a real racer that propelled each of the boys to two wins in the first four races with the car. A racing legend started down his path of destiny that day when he first fired up the '48 Hornet.
Fast forward to the year 2013, and the team at Gran Turismo has decided to surprise Andretti. They've found a car similar to the one Mario raced and, along with builder Bob Hammond and racer Andrew Comrie-Picard, have set out to transform it into the one Mario and Aldo took to the dirt track.
The resulting build has turned into a three-part documentary on Mario and the car. It's beautifully shot, and we recommend you set aside some time in your day to watch all three parts. We have part one for you here, and you can see parts two and three at the respective links.
Do you like the car? Well, you will be able to drive it in Gran Turismo 6. It might not be your first love, but the game has enough cars that your first love is probably available. If not, just pretend you're Andretti and put that Hornet through its paces.
_______________________________________
