Columns
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1983 Porsche 930 Turbo 935 Spec. Coupe
A prolific collector of fine automobiles, Mansour Ojjeh was ideally placed to secure for himself from Porsche a specially modified version of the German manufacturer’s ultimate road car: the fearsome 911 Turbo. Group 4 homologation rules, which required 400 road cars to be built, had spurred the development of Project 930 — the original 911…
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1934 Chrysler Custom Imperial CX Airflow
The Chrysler Airflow was a brilliant and revolutionary creation with the promise of cutting-edge design and technology. Easy flowing lines swept to the rear and allowed air currents to slip by while passengers relaxed and settled into seats as big and soft as divans. Artistry of the highest order was apparent in every detail of…
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1964 Alpine M64
In 1955, Alpine was founded by Jean Rédélé, who originally modified and campaigned Renault 4CVs but quickly found success in many of the world’s most illustrious sports car races. Soon enough, Rédélé started building his own cars on the 4CV chassis and mechanicals, with the A106 being produced in 1955. Nevertheless, Rédélé’s passion for racing…
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2012 Ferrari 599 SA Aperta and 2012 Ferrari 599 GTO
The SA Aperta was announced at the Paris International Motor Show in 2010. It carried on Ferrari’s tradition of creating limited-edition, drop-top V12 grand tourers, which included the 550 Barchetta and the 575 Superamerica. Only 80 examples would be made, and they had all been spoken for by the time they were announced publicly. The…
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1970 Aston Martin DBS Sports Saloon
This famous Aston Martin DBS was manufactured in the spring of 1970, complete with special modifications for its role in the British television series “The Persuaders!” in which star Roger Moore drove it in almost all of the 24 one-hour episodes. Moore had expressed an interest in the Aston Martin, which he felt would be…
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1993 Bugatti EB110 GT
Italian Ferrari dealer Romano Artioli dreamed of resurrecting one of the most storied marques in automotive history: Bugatti. Artioli’s Bugatti Automobile SpA was established in October 1987, and construction of a new, state-of-the-art factory in Campogalliano, Italy, began the following year. When it was ready, the EB110 — Ettore Bugatti 110, honoring the great man’s…
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The Perfect Pairing
As the SCM fleet continues to grow, I am beginning to wonder just why we need so many old cars. We currently have eight collector vehicles, ranging from a 1958 Giulietta Sprint Veloce to a 2000 Viper GTS ACR. That means eight insurance bills, eight parking stalls, eight sets of maintenance records, eight battery chargers…
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Finding Fakes, Stolen Cars and Corvette Lawsuits
Last month’s Legal Files suggested that there are epidemic proportions of “matching-numbers” Corvettes (and other cars) that really aren’t matching-numbers cars. That attracted a lot of attention and comments, but what people say is not as important as what they don’t say. No one said the suggestion was sometimes wrong. First, let’s put “matching…
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The Long-Lived, Never-Loved Porsche
The 928 occupies a peculiar place in Porsche history. Conceived as a replacement for the venerable 911, the factory soon discovered that their customers would never prize a front-engined, water-cooled alternative — even if it did make more power than the company’s bread-and-butter sports car. Maybe the 928, with its upward-staring headlights, was too strange-looking…
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2001 BMW Z8 Roadster
The Z8 is BMW’s spiritual successor to the 1950s 507 roadster. Both have a long hood with short deck design, which creates a powerful and sporty appearance. This limited-production roadster with optional hard top is equipped with a 4.9-liter DOHC V8 as used in the M5, mated to a proper 6-speed manual gearbox and producing…