Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
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1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport
Alfa Romeo introduced the 1,752-cc, 6-cylinder cars designed by Jano in 1929. Adept on both road and racing circuits, the engine proved reliable and powerful, offering impressive output from its relatively small displacement. Further benefiting from excellent handling, the car, in top factory racing engine trim, could comfortably exceed 100 mph. The 6C 1750 is…
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When the Government Takes Your Car
It’s pretty easy to conclude that the FBI should have hired a towing company. That the car was wrecked proves the agent was incapable of driving it We all know that federal, state and local governments have broad powers to seize assets from drug dealers and other persons suspected of crimes. Lately, there have been…
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Chasing the Market Down
These days, the state of the market is the focal point of almost every conversation, whether you are talking to a buyer, a seller, or another dealer. The good news is that prices of old Ferraris have started to recover, but those of newer cars haven’t and never will. They are just exotic, high-volume used…
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When MG Got an “A”
What most of us know about the immediate post-war history of MG is historical rather than experiential. The 1945-49 TC was the sports car of the WWII generation, now sadly passing to that great wrecking yard in the sky. The pre-war PAs, PBs, TAs, and TBs that GIs stationed in Britain saw were as glamorous…
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Five Steps to Smart Collecting
In the collector car world, January is Arizona time. Last year, in an economic atmosphere that seemed considerably more bleak, 1,726 cars went to new owners, and $133m changed hands. This year, I predict we’ll see a slight uptick in sales, perhaps 10%. If the surprising strength of the recent Sotheby’s New York art sale…
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1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet C
Together with its predecessor the 500K, the magnificent Mercedes-Benz 540K was arguably the most noteworthy production model offered by the Stuttgart firm during the 1930s. A development of the 500K, whose independently suspended chassis it shared, the 540K was powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged straight-8 engine. The 540K featured the company’s famous Roots-type supercharger system,…
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1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 Convertible
Big changes at GM for 1970 included the end of the corporate edict forbidding engines larger than 400 cubic inches in its intermediate models. Chevrolet’s “big-block” V8 was enlarged to 454 ci and formed the basis of the LS6 option, intended to help Chevrolet wrest control of Super Stock drag racing from Chrysler. The redesigned…
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1968 Lola-Colt T150 Indy Car
The advantages of four-wheel drive had been shown at Indianapolis in 1967, and George Bignotti sought to profit by combining it with the Ford V8 in 1968. He bought a single four-wheel-drive Lola with Ford V8 power for Al Retzlaff, to be driven by Al Unser. It was this car. In the 500, Unser qualified…
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1968 Ferrari 330 GTS Spyder
The 330 GTC debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966 and was intended to fill a gap in Ferrari’s line-up between the four-seat 330 GT 2+2 and the racer-on-the-road 275 GTB. Later that year, the open-top 330 GTS was introduced at the Paris Salon. The 330 GTS features a 4-liter, 300-hp version of Ferrari’s…
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1966 Aston Martin DBSC Coupe
With development of the second-generation of DB 6-cylinder sports cars nearing its end, Aston Martin turned to the Italian Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, creator of the original DB4 of 1959, for the next model. Touring built a pair of two-seater prototypes, one right- and one left-hand drive (2661R and 2662L, respectively) which were displayed at…