Exactly 20 years ago, I wrote this lead to the “Shifting Gears” column for the March 1999 issue of Sports Car Market:
Would you have bought it anyway?
That’s what we seem to be asked most frequently about our 1964 Ferrari 330 America, pulled from a barn in Butte, MT, last October.
As the bills pile up, and the car remains stationary, that’s a fair question.
Since taking delivery of s/n 330GT5077, we’ve had Nasko of Nasko’s Imports put in Read More
After five years of “Legal Files” columns about this case (December 2013, p. 40; January 2014, p. 42; September 2015, p. 73), the legal battles over the #1 Cunningham Corvette seem to have come to an end. On December 21, 2018, Porter County Indiana Superior Court Judge Jeffrey W. Clymer appointed Indianapolis attorney William Baten as receiver, directing him to take possession of the Cunningham Corvette and sell it at a no-reserve auction.
To refresh your memory, the Corvette we Read More
No window of opportunity stays open forever, but in the case of the Triumph TR6, it has been open a long time.
Long thought to be undervalued amaong those who expected it would follow the Big Healey’s valuation path upwards over the past decade and a half, TR6 prices haven’t moved nearly as much. The happy result for the non-investor is a terrific British sports car that’s still available in decent driver condition for summer-job money.
But our purpose here Read More
Within the hierarchy of Enzo-era Ferraris, the sports racing barchettas of the mid-1950s are amongst the most significant cars to wear the Cavallino Rampante. The Works-campaigned examples are especially significant, as they often finished at the front of the pack at the most grueling races, piloted by the most talented drivers.
Chassis 0628 is no exception to the rule. It boasts an enviable racing history on three continents with many of the greatest drivers of its decade.
Built for the 2015 model year, this 918 Spyder boasts a fascinating and tasteful specification. Today it remains with its first and only owner. Finished in the highly desirable and truly stunning Liquid Metal Chrome Blue paintwork, a $65,000 option itself, the interior is trimmed in Black leather with Acid Green highlights, including matching stitching on the steering wheel and sun visors.
Keen eyes will further note that the car’s carbon-fiber interior trim is in a matte finish, as opposed Read More
Glamorous and ultra-rare, this beautiful Series II example was delivered new on January 27, 1958, to the BMW agent Wolfgang Denzel in Vienna, Austria — as confirmed in a letter from BMW Group Classic. On February 10, 1958, the BMW was registered to Kommerzienrat Fritz Quester, Vienna. The original exterior color was silver-gray. No records exist for the succeeding decade or so.
By mid-June 1971, the BMW was owned by no less a person than its designer, Count Albrecht Graf Read More
This special one-off Ferrari left Ferrari’s Maranello factory in 1965 as a 330 GT Series II with Pininfarina coachwork. In 1967, the car returned to Chinetti Motors, at which time Luigi Chinetti Jr. decided to have the car rebodied in a unique shooting-brake design. Chinetti Jr. collaborated with American illustrator Bob Peak to pen the new coachwork.
The car was then professionally rebodied by the experts at Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale in Turin, Italy. The one-off station wagon accommodates four passengers, Read More
Completed on October 29, 1971, this P400 SV, chassis no. 4912, was originally finished in Bleu Medio over a Pelle Bleu interior and was shipped new to the U.S. through Modena Car U.S.A.
Notably, it was the only Miura SV to be finished in that color. It is one of 11 single-sump Miura SVs to be fitted from new by the factory with optional air conditioning and one of just five examples equipped as such delivered stateside.
Since returning from Read More
Having made his fortune during World War II, Chicago-based industrialist Stanley Harold “Wacky” Arnolt II was able to indulge his lifelong love of automobiles, and by 1952 was a regional BMC distributor and U.S. distributor for Bristol cars. In 1952, a visit to Carrozzeria Bertone led to Arnolt buying a stake in the Italian company and arranging manufacture of Bertone-bodied Arnolt MGs.
Bertone’s elegant coupe and cabriolet on the MG TD chassis had been first exhibited at the 1951 Geneva Read More
By the late 1950s, Cadillac reigned supreme over the full-sized luxury-car market in North America with exciting products that featured advanced engineering and the leading-edge styling of Harley Earl. While the 1959 Eldorado was controversial and misunderstood in its heyday, the collectors and critics of today agree that it possesses an unmatched combination of power, presence and extravagance.
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