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The Dance of Perfection
I was just settling into my favorite of the 3,000 seats in Portland’s Keller Auditorium. I prefer row N, seat 8, as I am close enough to see the facial expressions of the performers yet far enough back to take in overall staging of the ballet. It was Oregon Ballet Theatre’s production of “The Sleeping Beauty”…
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Judgment Day for Collector Car Fraud?
“Legal Files” recently reported on the fraud claims brought against well-known Porsche restoration shop CPR Classic of Fallbrook, CA (December 2024, “No Resuscitation for CPR Classic,” p. 54). Numerous customers complained that they were defrauded when the shop took their money without delivering the purchased car, sold cars on consignment without paying the seller, and…
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Tear Up Your Ferrari Price Guides
My friend Phil Bachman was a Ferrari collector. His son Philip wrote a book on the collection, Full-Scale Passion: The Bachman Collection, which opens with a quote from his father: “Some people collect model cars, like 1:18- or 1:43-scale models. I collect the full-scale ones.” The quote is uncharacteristically boastful for the rather modest man.…
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Pocket Exotic
When the Alfa Romeo 4C arrived in the U.S. for 2015, the brand skipped the soft reentry. Instead of a sensible sport sedan (which would come later), it brought a mid-engine coupe with manual steering and minimal sound deadening. It was a bold, slightly defiant move — and one that immediately set the 4C apart.…
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1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split-Window Coupe
This 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split-Window coupe body shell includes the roof structure, firewall, doors, floors and partial interior components. The front bodywork and much of the rear bodywork are missing. The seller tells us that it had been sitting outside before their acquisition and that the frame was discarded due to damage. This C2 Split-Window…
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1912 Bedelia BD2 10CV
It is said that Bedelia cars originated when two impecunious students, Robert Bourbeau and Henri Devaux, crashed a motorcycle and could not afford to replace it. Instead, they built the remains into a two-seat tandem car, with steering operated from the rear seat and a belt drive running from the front-mounted engine to the rear…
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1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
Never stripped down, never restored, still with its original paintwork, this Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, equipped with rare period options including its NSL engine and naturally matching numbers, and which spent 53 years with its second owner, is offered in absolutely original condition after 34,000 km. It is sold with one of the original fitted suitcases…
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1975 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale
The story of Lancia’s most celebrated post-war sports car begins at the 1970 Torino Motor Show, where Carrozzeria Bertone stunned audiences with the radical Stratos Zero concept. Its dramatic wedge profile, futuristic front-hinged canopy and mid-mounted Fulvia engine were unlike anything then on the road. The striking prototype immediately caught the attention of Lancia director…
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2003 Ferrari 550 GTC
As Ferrari prioritized its Formula 1 and prototype sports car programs at the turn of the millennium, it was left to privateers to evolve the 550 Maranello road car into a bona fide racer. Most notably, the resulting 550 GTs built by Prodrive would secure class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American…
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A Weighty Decision
I recently got an email from the new owner of our former 2000 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG. He reports that after several thousand miles he has had no mechanical issues and had to replace only a few consumables such as belts and pulleys. That was always a great car, and I began to wonder why I sold…