Author: John Apen

John holds degrees in engineering and operations research from the University of California-Berkeley, New York University, and Johns Hopkins. He vintage raced a Ferrari TdF for 13 years and has been restoring old cars for nearly 50 years. He owned the Atlanta Ferrari-Maserati dealership, FAF, for 17 years. He’s always had an affinity for obscure American cars, and in high school, he drove a 1936 Packard convertible coupe, followed by a 1949 Olds Holiday hardtop that got him through college. Today his garage includes 11 cars, including a Top Flight 1960 Corvette he’s owned since day one, a 1957 T-Bird, and several vintage Ferraris. His automotive library contains over 5,000 magazines and books and 1,800 auction catalogs. He has contributed to SCM since 1996.

1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III SWB

One early owner reported mile after mile in the 135 mph-150 mph range through Canada and Nevada, during cross-country drives to California {vsig}2008-12_2261{/vsig} It can be argued that the 410 Superamerica Series III was the high point of the entire line of luxury high-performance Ferraris. In his privately published book, […]

1948 Tucker 48 Torpedo Sedan

This price can be explained by the “ABC” factor-Aging Billionaire Collector. Such buyers can’t wait another 20 years, so they pay whatever it costs {vsig}2008-11_2243{/vsig} Preston Tucker’s promise of “the first completely new car in 50 years” struck a chord in the hearts of the public in 1948 and again […]

1962 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2

What was meant by “recommissioned in 2007” is anyone’s guess. According to Bonhams it runs, although it was pushed onto the stage The 250 GTE 2+2 debuted at the 1960 Le Mans 24-Hour race, serving as the Course Marshal’s car, and had its world premiere later that year at the […]

1967 Iso Grifo Coupe

This Grifo may not seem expensive for long. Euro-Americans are the ultimate street rod, and already great performance can easily be improved {vsig}2008-2_2132{/vsig} Renzo Rivolta started building Isothermos refrigerators before World War II. Following the war, Rivolta recognized another Italian need, transportation, and named his new car company Iso Rivolta. […]

1982 Ferrari 512 BBi

For maximum value, buy a carbureted 512, but note that buying a Boxer without paperwork is like playing Russian Roulette with all chambers loaded Introduced at the 1981 Frankfurt Show, the 512 BBi was the last derivation of the 1973 365 Berlinetta Boxers. Almost identical to its 512 BB predecessor, […]

1963 Ferrari 250 GTL “Lusso” Berlinetta

Late in 1962, at the Paris Show, Ferrari introduced the Lusso Berlinetta, the last of the 250 series. The Lusso combined features of the 250 SWB and the 250 GTO in a beautiful, luxurious steel body by Scaglietti, and was one of Pininfarina’s most successful designs. The design incorporated aerodynamic […]

1967 Ferrari 330 GTS Spyder

The 330 GTS has all the 275 Berlinetta chassis specifications, clothed in a superbly built Pininfarina body, with a/c and power windows The 330 Coupe was unveiled in Geneva in March 1966, while the seductive Spyder appeared at the Paris Auto Salon six months later. Styled and built by Pininfarina, […]

1961 Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Coupe

I don’t recall any stories of Porfirio Rubirosa romancing the lady of the week in his PF coupe, and there is little competition history When the 250 GT Europa was launched at the 1954 Paris Salon, it was described as the first series production car for Ferrari. The 3-liter cars […]

1937/40 Duesenberg Model SJ Rollson Cabriolet

This Duesenberg might be Rudolf Bauer’s best-known work; it’s certainly the most valuable Faced with the surreal scale of the Duesenberg’s chassis, some designers attempted to reduce the scale of the car. Not artist Rudolf Bauer. His intent was to create the longest, most distinctive Duesenberg ever built. And he […]

1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta

Sold new in Italy to A. Demetrialdi in May 1961, this 250 GT SWB “Lusso” was imported into Switzerland in April 1963 and entered for its first race by its new owner, Daniel Siebenmann of Switzerland, at the “Auvergne 3 hours” in France, where it finished 23rd (pictured in Jess […]