Raymond Milo
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1937 BMW 328 Cabriolet
I’d call it heavy and ungraceful, but not ugly. As if a Bavarian housewife had muscled in on the turf of a Brazilian lingerie model {vsig}2009-6_2333{/vsig} BMW began life as an aero engine manufacturer in WWI (check out the propeller on the badge) and branched into heavy trucks and motorcycles in the early 1920s. The…
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1956 Arnolt-Bristol Coupe
The greatest attraction of the car is that it is ideal for vintage tours and rallies, offering protection from the elements and reasonable luggage space In 1955, Road & Track described the Arnolt-Bristol as “American designed, British powered and Italian styled.” Offered as a coupe or roadster, it combined the talents of designer Arnolt from…
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1946-47 Frazer Nash-BMW 328
This car is accepted by the Vintage Sports Car Club as a pre-WWII example, which is a big plus as it can race (and beat up on) lesser sports cars Before we examine this unique car, let’s take a look at its origins. In 1934 BMW’s first sports car, the very nimble 315, made mincemeat…
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1938 M-B 540K Sindelfingen Cabriolet “A”
Together with its predecessor the 500K, the magnificent Mercedes-Benz 540K was arguably the most noteworthy production model offered by the Stuttgart firm during the 1930s. A development of the 500K, whose independently suspended chassis it shared, the 540K was powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged straight-eight engine. It featured the company’s Roots-type supercharger system, in which…
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1939 BMW 327 Cabriolet
Because this car is a 2+2 and a cabriolet it weighs several hundred pounds more than a 328, and acceleration will be leisurely {vsig}2006-1_1908{/vsig} BMW’s first six-cylinder engine was launched in 1934, and formed the backbone of the company’s racing legacy. A modified version of the new powerplant was developed by Rudolf Schleicher and would…
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1959 BMW 507 Roadster
Someone called it Germany’s answer to the Thunderbird-and trust me, this was not a compliment Unveiled to gasps of delight at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1955, the remarkably beautiful styling of the two-seater 507 came from the drawing board of German Count Albrecht Goertz, influenced not a little by U.S. BMW importer Max Hoffman.…
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1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B
Any time a dolled-up 6C 2300 with a short chassis sells for less then 200 grand, something stinks-and it’s usually the car Carrozzeria Touring of Milan developed and patented Superleggera body construction, working with light alloys and sparingly dimensioned components to lay up aluminum panels over a cage-like steel frame. The earliest of these bodies…
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1955 OSCA Mt4 Spider Morelli
The little jewels from Bologna won everywhere-from the small regional Italian events to major international venues like the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Le Mans and Sebring {vsig}2004-12_1538{/vsig} A tiny bantam of a racing car, the OSCA Mt4 was ahead of its time, winning overall at Sebring in 1954 with Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd behind…
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1950 Abarth 205A
Abarth was a master of self-promotion, he knew how to hire talented young people whose work he would later appropriate, and he knew how to make a quick buck. {vsig}2004-7_1221{/vsig} Born in Austria in 1908, Karl Abarth was a European motorcycle champion in the 1930s who fled to Italy during World War II. His firm,…
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1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante Coupe
The catalog offered a believable explanation that the factory records are “mistaken,” and that the car was indeed an Atalante from day one The Type 57 Bugatti was introduced in March 1934, and variants of this touring model formed virtually the entire output from the Molsheim factory until war intervened in September 1939-by which time…