Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Columns
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1970 Ford Mustang Boss
These are one of the few cars where the car is the cheap part Fewer than 900 Boss 429 Mustangs were created for 1969, followed by a smaller run of just 500 copies for 1970, prior to the cancellation of Ford’s corporate racing program. Although the Boss 429 was conservatively rated at 375 horsepower in…
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High-End Ferrari Buyers Show up at Monterey
Auctions showed a strong market for the highest-quality cars. Prices were market-correct for cars with modest histories, collectibility and condition In the run-up to this year’s Monterey auctions, there was much concern in the dealer community because so many high-end Ferraris were about to go on the market. After the disastrous economy of 2009 and…
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The Legal Battle over John O’Quinn’s Million-Dollar Cars
He paid world-record prices for some of the world’s rarest automobiles, and he often bought several high-end cars in a single weekend Here’s a car story that has all the ingredients of a soap opera: A billionaire dies in a car crash, and his longtime girlfriend is left out of his will. He owned hundreds…
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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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Monterey’s $2.3m Bargain
These cars, which are at home on the road or track, are very affordable in relation to Ferrari racers from the same era Normally my life revolves around cars that “ran when parked.” Volvo 122s with hardly any rust, Fiat 850 Spiders that are mostly complete, and even BMW 2002s that have potential to be…
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1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale Coupe
In today’s vintage racing, with the mechanical upgrades available, the SS can be a more formidable mount than was the case in period This left-hand drive Giulia Sprint Speciale was built in 1964 and raced in period. It was subsequently restored and race-prepared in the 1980s for Stefano d’Amico, President of the Registro Italiano…
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1930 Bentley Speed Six Le Mans Tourer
The sale price is the result of multiple well-heeled bidders, all of whom value immediate acquisition of a handsome toy more than fiscal prudence Walter Owen Bentley began his career as a railway engineer before going into automobiles (then airplane engines during World War I). He made full use of all his mechanical experience in…
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Art Cars and Gladiators
Mix American artist Jeff Koons, the 35th anniversary of the BMW Art Car Collection, a 3-series prepped for the GT2 Class at Le Mans and a gala reception at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the result is a striking race car that reaffirms BMW’s commitment to high performance, and to high art. In…
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1961 283/315 Fuelie
For many, the 1960s were the golden years of American high-performance automobiles. No car did more to usher in that era than the Chevrolet Corvette. In 1955, it was offered for the first time with a V8 engine. From then on, there was no looking back—the Corvette has helped shoulder the banner for American sporting…
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1963 327/360 “Pilot Line” Sting Ray Roadster
Penned by GM stylist Larry Shinoda under Bill Mitchell, the all-new 1963 Corvette Sting Ray introduced the aerodynamic styling and superb engineering that created an instant classic. Underneath that gorgeous new bodywork was a serious sports car, riding on a 4-inch shorter wheelbase than before and equipped with a simple yet effective independent rear suspension…