Archives
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1965 396/425 Convertible
When the new-for-1963 Sting Ray was introduced, it is unlikely that its creators understood the impact it would make on the automotive world. Long considered a modern classic, the Sting Ray was an unqualified success, outselling the 1962 models by 48%. Meanwhile, a second shift was added at the St. Louis assembly plant to meet…
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James Garner’s 1968 L88 AIR Race Car
Three factory-built Corvette L88s left the St. Louis plant for delivery to James Garner’s Los Angeles-based American International Racing (AIR) team in November 1967. These Le Mans Blue convertibles were the first production models featuring the new L88 engine with first-generation closed-chamber aluminum heads. The cars were actually picked up at Gene Jantzen Chevrolet in…
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1992 Lingenfelter ZR-1
The catalog notes on the 1992 turquoise ZR-1 that sold at Mecum’s Bloomington Gold auction in June were brief to the point of terse, but they said everything that needed to be said: “Lingenfelter 475 hp package, 3.92 performance gears, Borla SS exhaust, Wilwood 6-piston brakes, FX3 suspension, dual removable roofs, complete maintenance records, well-maintained…
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1998 Indianapolis Pace Car Convertibles
The 1997 model year remains the single most radically changed Corvette in history. Even with the transition from the C1 to the C2 in 1963 and the C3 to the C4 in 1984, the same engines were carried over from previous years. But with the introduction of the C5, everything was new—frame, body, engine, and…
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America’s Difference-Makers
If somebody out there has a GT40 and a Daytona Coupe in the same garage, please, let me live there. I promise to take good care of your cars {vsig}2008-9_2219{/vsig} To celebrate SCM’s 20th birthday, I hereby offer my take on a Top 20 list. The criteria were simple: I didn’t focus on a particular…
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20 Ferraris You Shouldn’t Resist
I’ve known Keith Martin for more than 20 years and have been involved with SCM nearly from the start. In the earliest days, 1989-90, he was buying and selling Alfa Romeos like there was no tomorrow (read: like there was no 1991). I’ve watched with interest as he has gone on to build SCM, and…
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Just What the Doctor Ordered
With inheritance check in hand, I made a list of my favorite 20 British sports cars. It took only 20 minutes. {vsig}2008-9_2220{/vsig} What a coincidence. I’ve just been left a great deal of money and been informed I must pick the top 20 British cars I’ve admired in my years at SCM. It took me…
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Porsches You Have To Drive
When the slogan says there is no substitute, it means there is no substitute outside the family {vsig}2008-9_2225{/vsig} You can’t understand the Porsche gestalt without driving the cars. Looking at pictures and reading stories is a great way to prepare yourself, but true enlightenment only comes to those who drink the Kool-Aid. As my way…
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The Dandy Griffith
Unlike the environmentally conscious, fuel-sipping, ultra-low emissions, and utterly boring “hybrid” cars of today, a whole different group deserved that name in the 1960s. They consisted of European sports cars that fell into the hands of cottage industry “manufacturers,” which took Italian and British sports car sophistication (or lack thereof) and shoehorned in American V8…
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Sorry, You Can’t Get That Part Here
Much has been written-both positive and negative-about Ferrari Classiche, the arm of Ferrari set up as an official certifying organization for its cars. For decades, Ferrari had no interest in the older cars and only pricked up its ears (and its legal department’s pens) when the elusive William Favre began building and selling 250 GTO…