Columns
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Finding a Ferrari for $100k or less
Mondial values are abysmally low and their deferred maintenance issues are long. To quote Monty Python: “Run away, run away” This month our esteemed editor wanted to move away from the high-end Ferraris to the bottom-end world of affordability for mere mortals—perhaps he is still suffering from million-dollar-Monterey shock. My mission statement was: “Find the…
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1972-73 Porsche 917 Interserie Spyder
Steve McQueen was “The Man” for a generation, and racing through the night in a blue 917 became the holy grail of many fevered imaginations Over three tumultuous seasons of World Championship endurance racing, Porsche’s 4.5-liter—and later 4.9 and 5.0-liter—917s fought a no-holds-barred battle with Fiat-Ferrari and their 5-liter, V12 Ferrari 512s. The Porsches proved…
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1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible
This car could scare the unmentionable out of the small-bore Eurocentric entries in tours, or it could graduate summa cum outlandish from other events. In 1965, Zora Arkus-Duntov’s Corvette Engineering Group began developing the new 427 Mark IV engine for use in the Corvette as a full-bore endurance-racing engine, and in 1967 their work came…
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1956 Maserati 200SI
Unlike most high-value sports cars seen on the track, at concours or auction, this car doesn’t boast a better-than-new respray. It has no paint at all Chassis 2401 occupies a place of distinction in the evolution of Maserati sports racing cars, as it was the first 200S chassis produced, the works development car for the…
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2007 Ferrari FXX Evoluzione
The FXX is on the edge of being too complicated to run without professional support, so what’s in the future? The Enzo project charged Ferrari’s engineers to create a driving experience and interface inextricably connected to the Formula One cars. They accomplished the task by fitting the Enzo with a 660-hp, 6,262-cc, V12 engine with…
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1937 Jaguar SS100
The new cars were assembled from parts from many suppliers, and they might have looked more hand-finished than this piece of perfection. This absolutely stunning SS100 stands today as what must be the finest example anywhere in the world. The quality and detail of its restoration rivals the finest ever performed on any motorcar. With…
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1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Speciale Teardrop
Decried by some as vulgar when new—the British press notably nicknamed the coachwork “Phony and Flashy”—time has been kind to Figoni’s work. While all Teardrops were quite unique, chassis 90034 may well be the most unique of all. It is the only example built on the longer Lago Speciale chassis—some 11.8 inches longer than the…
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Gloriously and Completely Wrong
In our August, 2010 issue, I went out on an automotive limb and predicted that the aggregate total of the sales from the 2010 Monterey weekend would rebound from last year’s paltry $120m and reach the lofty, record-breaking plateau of $140m. The reaction on the web was immediate, with various chat rooms and blogs using…
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A McLaren F1’s Rise from the Ashes
In many cases, insurance adjusters say that all they are required to do is fix the damaged parts, which can create a non-matching Frankenstein car Pictures of a McLaren F1 that suffered an engine fire were all over the Internet last year. It was an ugly sight—and saddened every car collector who saw it. “Legal…
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A snowball from hell
The morality tale of one Ferrari 360 Spider’s never-ending problems Readers of this column know I’m not a fan of online sales or dealer auctions because it’s usually impossible to have a detailed, professional pre-purchase inspection of the car. As for prior ownership and service records, they are usually non-existent. While some clients have had…