Road & Track was founded in 1947 by Wilfred H. Brehaut, Jr. and Joseph S. Fennessy, in Hempstead, New York. The magazine struggled in its early years, publishing only six issues between 1947 and 1949. By 1952, regular contributor and editor John R. Bond and his wife Elaine had purchased the magazine, and under their stewardship it grew into a consistent and respected publication. Bond guided Road & Track through its formative expansion before selling it to CBS Publications in 1972.
The ampersand in the title was introduced in 1955 by Editor Terry Galanoy, who replaced the word "and" because the full phrase "Road and Track" occupied too much space for effective newsstand display. The stylistic change became a permanent part of the magazine's identity.
CBS Publications held the magazine from 1972 until 1988, when Hachette Filipacchi Media assumed ownership. In 1985, Road & Track became a sister publication to Car and Driver following CBS's acquisition of Ziff Davis's consumer magazine portfolio, which included Car and Driver. The two magazines share advertising, sales, marketing, and circulation departments, but maintain distinct editorial teams and publishers.
Hearst Magazines acquired Road & Track in 2011, consolidating the sister-publication arrangement under unified ownership. The editorial operations were based in Newport Beach, California, before relocating to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2012, and eventually moving to New York City in 2019 when the Michigan offices closed.
Thos L. Bryant served as editor-in-chief for twenty years before Matt DeLorenzo succeeded him in October 2008. Larry Webster took the role in June 2012, with DeLorenzo moving to an advisory position. Webster resigned in February 2016 and was replaced by Kim Wolfkill. In May 2019, Travis Okulski, who had been the magazine's website director, assumed the editor-in-chief role, coinciding with the move to New York.
In August 2020, incoming Editor-in-Chief Mike Guy led a significant redesign of the publication, transforming it into a large-format bi-monthly magazine emphasising long-form feature writing and elevated visual design. Guy brought in Executive Editor Daniel Pund and Creative Director Nathan Schroeder for the relaunch, and added Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire and author A.J. Baime as Editors-at-Large. In January 2024, Dan Pund was confirmed as editor-in-chief.
Road & Track focuses on new production cars, vintage automobiles, and race cars, covering them through drive reviews, road trips, and comparison tests. The magazine has a strong connection to motorsport, having drawn on former racing drivers as contributors over its history, including Paul Frere, Sam Posey, and Formula One champion Phil Hill.
Other prominent contributors have included Gordon Murray, the designer of the McLaren F1, automotive executive Bob Lutz, and long-tenured writers Henry N. Manney III, Peter Egan, Jason Cammisa, and Matt Farah.
The magazine has run an annual performance car test under the name Road & Track Performance Car of the Year. The most recent winner on record was the 2020 Hyundai Veloster N.
Road & Track contributed to two significant early racing simulation games. In 1992, it was involved in the development of Grand Prix Unlimited, produced by Accolade for MS-DOS. In 1994, the magazine provided expertise for The Need for Speed, helping the game's designers accurately replicate the behavior and sound characteristics of the real cars featured in the title.