SCM Contributor
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1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport
Alfa Romeo introduced the 1,752-cc, 6-cylinder cars designed by Jano in 1929. Adept on both road and racing circuits, the engine proved reliable and powerful, offering impressive output from its relatively small displacement. Further benefiting from excellent handling, the car, in top factory racing engine trim, could comfortably exceed 100 mph. The 6C 1750 is…
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1953 Alfa Romeo 1900C Sprint
Alfa Romeo’s first all-new offering of the post-war period arrived in 1950. Designed by Dr. Orazio Satta Puliga and intended for volume production, the 1900 was the first Alfa to employ unitary construction and-in keeping with the company’s sporting heritage-was powered by a twin-overhead-camshaft engine. The 4-cylinder unit displaced 1,884 cc and produced 90 hp,…
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1937 Renault TN4H Autobus
Founded by Louis Renault and his brothers Marcel and Fernand in 1898, Renault engineering was of the highest quality, from the outset. The arrival of multi-cylinder models in 1900 really put the company on the map. As well as motor cars, Renault manufactured taxis, buses, and commercial vehicles in the years before the Great War,…
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1970 Alfa GTA 1300 Junior
Photos make it clear this is no historic relic, but rather a current weapon of mass destruction Introduced in 1966, the GTA (the “A” stood for alleggerita, or lightened) was the official competition version of the Giulia Sprint GT. The model was produced in road and race variants, the latter, as usual, being the responsibility…
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1930 Citroën Kégresse “Forestiere” Autochenille
A curious mixture of romantic visionary and practical businessman, André Citroën knew a promising invention when he saw one. French-born Adolphe Kégresse had developed an idea at the behest of his erstwhile employer, Czar Nicholas II, who had wanted a means of adapting his cars to drive across deep snow. Rather than use the heavy…
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1905 Gardner-Serpollet 18hp Type L Steamer
A growing audience is succumbing to the lure of early steamers, resulting in some remarkable transactions {vsig}2009-7_2342{/vsig} When eccentric collector George Milligen died in 2004, his family kept one of his cars when the others were sold. Five years later, they have decided to sell George’s 1905 Gardner-Serpollet Type L steam car, only one of…
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1940 Tatra T87
“Matching numbers” cars are rarely seen, as most were behind the Iron Curtain and kept running by any means possible {vsig}2009-6_2331{/vsig} Tatra manufactured some of the most technically sophisticated cars of the 1930s, with a decidedly unusual approach to automotive design. That can be attributed to Austrian engineer Hans Ledwinka, who spent his early years…
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1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 S
The Lamborghini Miura is where it all started-the first production automobile to earn the “supercar” tag. Prior to the Miura’s arrival in 1967, many sports cars offered high levels of performance and handling. But the Miura was the first built around the criteria that define our modern concept of the supercar: massive speed, jaw-dropping design…
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1977 Maserati Merak SS
The Merak gives an air of confidence and power, which is quintessentially Italian. But if you like the looks, why not get the power and buy a Bora instead? {vsig}2009-3_2299{/vsig} In the world of auto design, the Italians are the acknowledged masters, and Giorgetto Giugiaro will always be at the top of the list. In…
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1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolet
No member of the German General Staff would have ordered a fire engine red Italian convertible in the middle of a war Virtually identical in displacement to the 8C 2300 Monza, Vittorio Jano’s new 6C 2500 was simpler to produce and designed to be inherently reliable and capable of excellent performance. The 6C 2500 employed…