SCM Contributor

While lacking the race-winning cachet of later cars, this little Isotta will get its owner into every vintage race, tour, and concours he fancies   Perhaps the most influential light car design of the first decade of the twentieth century, the Tipo FENC Isotta Fraschini was derived from the Tipo FE Isottas built for the…

The contentious world of Alfa historians and experts had a moment of rare consensus on this TZ, and no one questioned its parentage {vsig}2008-12_2260{/vsig} Though immensely successful as a competition car, Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta Sprint Zagato had been based on the road-going Giulietta Spider platform, a compromise that suited clients who wanted a touring car…

Hand-built and extremely rare, it’s the last example of the kind of cars that made the company’s reputation between the wars {vsig}2008-9_2222{/vsig} In 1935, Alfa Romeo introduced a new model, the 6C 2300B. Once again, the work of the great Vittorio Jano was to take Alfa Romeo in a new direction by offering one of…

Unless and until a U.S. owner wants to ship a car to Europe to sell, don’t consider this the price you can get here {vsig}2008-8_2209{/vsig} Last of the classic 6-cylinder Maseratis, the Pietro Frua-styled Mistral commenced production in 1963. The 3.7-liter version of the Modena manufacturer’s long-stroke engine was fitted to most cars, with other…

The historic competition record of these cars cannot be overlooked; they are eligible and welcome just about everywhere   Despite the fact the Lancia nameplate continues to exist over one hundred years after it was established in Italy, this builder of fast, refined automobiles is relatively unknown outside sporting circles. Lancia cars competing over the…

“La bella figura” means presenting the best face to the world. Mussolini wore tailored uniforms and was equally attentive to his cars {vsig}2008-6_2184{/vsig} By the early 1930s, Alfa Romeo was accumulating silverware and losing money in seemingly equal measure. It was rescued by the state-backed I.R.I. (Institute for Industrial Reconstruction). To attract new customers while…

There are quite a few Delahaye 135M chassis with this body, which makes the car seem like a guest at the Ascot Races wearing a rented tux {vsig}2008-5_2171{/vsig} Ettore Bugatti never recovered from the tragic death of his 29-year-old son Jean, shortly before WWII in 1939. Neither did his company. The war and its aftermath…

Values have been rising steadily for the least expensive coachbuilt Italian racing car with a decent history {vsig}2008-4_2158{/vsig} Abarth was an Italian tuning company founded in 1950 by engineer and designer Carlo Abarth. His 750 Zagato was designed to be equally at home on the track as on the street. The cars were built on…

Sbarro’s interpretation of the 1957 Ferrari 335S is in some ways prettier than the one Scaglietti built in the 1950s At the age of 17, Franco Sbarro, whose real name is Francesco Zefferino Sbarro, left his native Italy for Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in order to live his dream of being an auto mechanic. In 1957, he…