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1935 Voisin C28 Clairière Berline
Among French automakers of the Art Deco era, Avions Voisin was unique. With a background in architecture, industrial design, engineering, and a successful career in aviation, Gabriel Voisin reached the height of his automotive career in the 1930s. Each Voisin automobile was designed as a whole in response to the number of passengers and their…
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1953 Ferrari 250 Europa
From its 1947 inception, Ferrari overwhelmingly relied on a Gioacchino Colombo-designed V12 that was successively developed from its original 1.5-liter displacement to 1.9-, 2.3-, 2.6- and 2.7-liter configurations. In early 1952, the engine was further enlarged with a single-cylinder volume approaching 250 cubic centimeters, and the resulting 2,953-cubic-centimeter engine became the first edition of the…
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1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60HP “Roi Des Belges”
In 1890, after parting ways with Deutz AG, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach established Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) in Cannstatt, Germany. DMG revolutionized the design and manufacture of internal combustion engines, inventing the world’s first four-stroke petrol engine and float-feed carburetor. Despite groundbreaking developments, Daimler and Maybach initially attracted little interest for their products in…
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1998 RUF Turbo R
Introduced by RUF in 1998, the Turbo R filled the hole in the company’s lineup after it discontinued the CTR2 supercar. Like its predecessor, the Turbo R is based on the Turbo version of the 993-generation Porsche 911. Available between 1998 and 2002, these special hand-built automobiles are powered by an exclusive, RUF-developed variant of…
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1966 Porsche 906
Although it was a successor to Porsche’s winning 904 GTS race car, the 906 Carrera 6 featured a nearly comprehensive redesign, with development closely supervised by Ferdinand Piëch himself in the factory experimental department. Summarized in a nutshell, the 904 was the ultimate racing variant of the 4-cylinder 356 model, while the 906 was the…
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Nothing Vanilla About It
1976 Datsun 280Z “Alpha 1 GTO” S/N HLS30303255. 82k miles. “Used in 2001 film ‘Vanilla Sky,’ 350-ci Chevrolet V8, Edelbrock Performer intake manifold, MSD Atomic EFI, 3-speed automatic transmission, Alpha 1 GTO fiberglass body, dark blue paint, black vinyl upholstery, wood-rimmed steering wheel, sliding side windows, rear hatch, 15-inch wire wheels, BC coil-overs.” Condition: 2-.…
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Tuning Out the Crowd
Back in the late 1990s, before the Fast became Furious, Honda Motor Co. found itself the fortunate beneficiary of a momentous shift in car culture. Almost overnight, Honda Civics and Acura Integras became icons among a group of enthusiasts known as much for their ill-fitting pants as for their slammed hatchbacks. That these cars offered…
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Drive It Like You Stole It!
In 2005, I bought a Ford GT in what I consider the heritage colors — Midnight Blue with white stripes. These echo the Guardsman Blue with Wimbledon White stripes livery of the 1964 GT40 that won the Daytona 2000 km Continental. Even after more than 18 years and 20,776 miles, my car is a thrill…
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Dealer Dinged by Dash Cam
John Parrish of Burlington, NC, is proud of his 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Factory stock with 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, it eats up pavement pretty quickly. In his words, the combination of the white exterior and red interior “just does it for me.” However, the Corvette developed a minor running problem. Parrish…
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Hope Springs Eternal
I’ve got a new favorite Porsche. This isn’t my first Stuttgart rodeo. Over the years, I have owned a 1968 911L, a 1978 911 SC, a 1991 928 S4, a 2000 911 Turbo, a 2000 911 Carrera and a 2000 Boxster S. They each spoke their Porsche dialect with a distinct accent. The 911L presented…