SCM Contributor

The highlight of the 1971 Geneva Salon was undoubtedly the sensational new Maserati Bora. With the Bora’s introduction, the great Modenese manufacturer followed other supercar constructors in going mid-engined, while at the same time abandoning its traditional tubular chassis technology in favor of unitary construction. Named after an Adriatic wind, the Bora was the work…

  One of the most exciting and exclusive off-road vehicles ever conceived, the Lamborghini LM002 resulted from the marriage of the Countach QV supercar’s 5.2-liter V12 to a functionally — some would say brutally — styled 4×4, the union resulting in scintillating performance and a top speed in the region of 200 km/h (124 mph).…

Built in the Alfa Corse workshops between 1946 and 1948, this 6C 2500 Competizione, chassis number 920002, was originally sold to Franco Rol of Torino, Italy. An Italian aristocrat turned successful chemical manufacturer, Rol was an avid sportsman who successfully raced a variety of automobiles during the late 1940s and early 1950s. On May 2,…

First seen in concept-car form at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2003, the Alfa Romeo 8C revived a famous name from the Italian company’s illustrious past when it entered production in 2006. The original 8C (8-cylinder) Alfa engine had been designed in 1931 by the legendary Vittorio Jano and was used to power Alfa Romeo’s…

At the start of the 1950s, Maserati was still producing cars on a small scale. It built high-performance sports cars that were a little too demanding for the wealthy clientèle just starting to appear after the war. The marque wanted to produce models that kept the same allure and were fast, but which had improved…

Giovanni Moretti made his name with racing engines for motorcycles. Following World War II, he began making small automobiles, the first powered by his own vertical twin-cylinder engine. In 1950, he developed a 4-cylinder overhead-cam engine, in both 600-cc and 750-cc sizes. Built on a backbone chassis, it was a lively package and available in…

The Toyota 2000GT is perhaps the best sports car you’ve never heard of. Developed in conjunction with Yamaha, this slinky 2-passenger coupe packed a 2-liter inline 6-cylinder engine with a cast-iron block and double overhead cams, good for 150 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and a top speed of over 135 mph. The luxurious interior fittings,…

The 1965 Dino 206S Speciale coupe was Enzo Ferrari’s tribute to his late son, Dino. More practically, it was a way of making the new all-alloy, Ferrari-built V6 eligible for Formula Two competition by building 500 production cars equipped with it. Given Ferrari’s limited production, Fiat used the engine in a new, sporty model that…