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1989 Ferrari F40
Throughout Ferrari’s illustrious history, few — if any — models have encapsulated the mystique of the Prancing Horse quite as succinctly as the F40. Outrageous in appearance, uncompromising in philosophy and otherworldly in performance, the F40 was everything a Ferrari should be. The tragic 1986 World Rally Championship season had led to the abandonment of…
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2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR
This 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR was purchased new by the seller from Anaheim Mitsubishi in California on September 3, 2007, and it now has 461 miles. Finished in Apex Silver over black leather and Alcantara upholstery, the car is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 mated to a 6-speed manual transaxle, an active…
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2022 Aston Martin Valkyrie
A truly astonishing feat of engineering, this 2022-model-year example has been consigned to auction by its original owner. The Valkyrie’s odometer remarkably reads just 109 kilometers at the time of cataloging. Ordered new to Japan, factory records show that this left-hand-drive, European-specification car carries an October 19, 2022, build date. It was finished predominantly in Lunar…
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1936 Delahaye 135 S
Of all the pre-war French racers, few are as well regarded as the Delahaye 135 S. Just 20 of these lightened and shortened speed machines were ever built, each doing battle at the very pinnacle of Grand Prix and sports-car racing. Of that small cohort, the penultimate example — chassis 47188 — is arguably the…
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Weather-Worn and Waterlogged
We met at Lewis and Clark State Park, at exit 18 off Interstate 84. It was a drizzly, overcast day, with the temperature in the 40s. This was a weekly tour put on by the local region of the Porsche Club of America, ORPCA. There were 13 cars in all: three Macans, two Boxsters, three…
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Blinded by the Light
Sensing that I was getting retinal damage driving at night, I wondered if I was developing cataracts. My optometrist who provided me with innovative eye treatments assured me that was not the case, so I started flashing people to dim their high beams, only to find that their high beams were even brighter. Eventually, I…
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A Collector Car Autopsy
I have never lost as much money as I did with our 1972 Mercedes-Benz 250C. In August 2022, I paid $18k for the car. A little over two years later, I had it placed on Bring a Trailer by my friend Matt Crandall, super-seller 911r. It was bid to only $17,800. In the meantime, I had…
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Hidden Dragon
The Nissan 240SX wound up being a commercial failure over its 10-year production run, yet it was a cultural success long into the decade that followed. After years of strong sales of its inexpensive front-engine, rear-drive Silvia in Japan and other markets, Nissan decided to bring the car to the United States in 1989. It…
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1935 Auburn 851 Supercharged Speedster
In the days when Bugattis crossed France and 4½ Litre Bentleys tore through the British countryside, the American equivalent was the Auburn Speedster. The 1935–36 Speedsters were designed by the legendary Gordon Buehrig. Audacious by the standards of their time, they featured curvaceous bodywork with a straight hood line shooting back from the radiator to…
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1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Alloy
Completed on January 12, 1956, this was the 26th alloy-bodied Gullwing off the Untertürkheim production line, and actually the first completed in 1956. Its data card, a copy of which is included in the file, records all of the usual Leichtmetallausführung glories — alloy body, NSL engine, sports suspension, Rudges, etc. — as well as…