Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
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1923 Mercedes Type 122 Indianapolis Racer
Following the Great War, Daimler began to consider forced induction using a supercharger. Renowned engineer Paul Daimler’s development path was further justified in 1922 when the Automobile Club de France issued new Grand Prix rules for the following season limiting engine capacity to 2 liters. Daimler designed an extraordinary 4-cylinder engine, featuring twin-overhead cams which…
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All in the Family
The 1990s were an important time in Mercedes-Benz history. Since the late 1960s, AMG had been modifying Mercedes vehicles as an independent performance shop, but in 1993 the plucky tuner signed a contract of cooperation with Mercedes-Benz to gain access to its dealer network and to co-develop AMG-branded models. By 1999, Mercedes owned the majority…
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Your First Ferrari
The words “Ferrari” and “affordable” are usually mutually exclusive. But for the lucky demographic with a spare $100,000 or so (for what will be at best a second car or a Cars & Coffee weekend toy), there are a surprising number of Ferraris built over the past seven decades that are indeed affordable. In the…
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In the Year 2525
In July 1969, I was selling stuffed animals, helium balloons and other souvenirs at the San Francisco Zoo. That’s the month “In the Year 2525” zoomed to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it remained for six weeks. One of the most famous one-hit wonders in recording history, the psychedelic rock song by…
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1970 Chevrolet Nova Yenko Deuce
Built upon a lightweight, base-trim Nova with bench seats and rubber floor mats, each Yenko Deuce was assembled at the factory with the impressive LT-1 engine, dual exhaust, power brakes with front discs, heavy-duty springs, front and rear sway bars, and an upgraded cooling system. Power met the road through a robust 12-bolt Positraction rear…
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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…