Introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 2003, the Gallardo was intended to complement the 12-cylinder Murciélago in Lamborghini’s model line. Far from entry level, however, the Gallardo was a 10-cylinder, fire-breathing supercar that not only offers world-class performance, but all the refinement and technology that Audi ownership has afforded the sports car manufacturer from Sant’Agata Bolognese.
Two years after the introduction of the coupe, the Gallardo Spyder was released. This new model featured a folding soft top; the Spyder’s Read More
Introduced at the Earls Court Motor Show in October 1962, the Elan roadster followed the Colin Chapman principle of lightweight aerodynamic coachwork coupled with the suspension, brakes and transmission of a race car, and a remarkable new Lotus-Ford twin-cam engine to provide the power.
To put this into perspective, this was a time when disc brakes were still two years off for a Porsche, and Ferraris were fitted with a live rear axle. The attention from buyers and the motoring Read More
The Honda S Series was Honda’s first real foray into automobile production.
Japanese Keiretsu politics threatened to limit Honda to motorcycle production only, so the company started the S600 as part of a broad development effort — one that led to greatness with the Honda Civic a few years later.
But in the early 1960s, Honda was still finding its way into the automobile market. Japanese motorcycle and automobile makers in this era had simultaneous tendencies to copy established designs Read More
From the beginning, the Fiat 850 Spider has been overshadowed by its big sister, the 124 Spider. The 124 was prettier, more powerful and arranged as a proper sports car with the engine in front and the drive wheels in back. In contrast, the 850 Spider had its engine in the back. Although the little Fiat still pushed from the rear wheels, it never pushed very hard.
The Fiat 850 was developed in the early 1960s from the same underpinnings Read More
Of all the variations made of VW’s venerable Type 2 van from the first model in 1950 through the end of the air-cooled engine in 1984, the Westfalia camper is probably the most recognizable and the most popular among American buyers. Further, if there was a vehicle that could capture the hippie spirit of the 1960s, what else could it be but a VW Microbus kitted out for camping?
A better camper van
From the beginning of the line in Read More
By 1970, Volkswagen’s “People’s Car,” the venerable Type 1 Beetle, was long in the tooth. The company knew it was time for a successor — something cleaner than the stinky old air-cooled model, with a modern body design. The company got to work on a new project called the Type 17.
The new car used a transverse engine and front-wheel-drive layout borrowed from VW’s Audi subsidiary, and Italdesign Giugiaro provided the bodywork for an attractive compact hatchback car.
Most of Read More
A legend in its own — relatively short — lifetime, the car offered here is the first example built of the fabulous Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR roadster, an even more-exclusive, limited-edition, open-topped variant of the already super-exclusive CLK GTR coupe with which Mercedes-Benz had re-entered international sports car racing in 1997. At the time of its introduction, the CLK GTR roadster was the world’s most expensive production car, with a price tag of $1.5 million, a figure exceeded only recently by Read More
Almost every classic car enthusiast has owned an air-cooled Volkswagen somewhere along the line — generally very early along the line. But even though most of us soon moved on to more rarefied marques, the old rattletrap VWs with stinky exhaust heat, iffy brakes and glacial acceleration still hold a special place in our hearts — the glad memories of youth.
Introduced in 1953 and first produced for the 1955 model year, the VW Type 14 — better known as Read More
The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise took movie car chase scenes to new levels of intensity, with an array of automotive stunts that helped make it an over-the-top success. One of the star cars of “The Fast and the Furious” is the Toyota Supra driven by the late actor Paul Walker, who portrayed undercover police officer Brian O’Conner. Like any movie involving car stunts, more than one version of this car was built, including a “hero” car for close-up Read More
