Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
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1938 Horch 853 Special Roadster
Though the 853 bears an uncanny resemblance to the legendary Mercedes-Benz 540K, and has a similar output, values lag behind the better-known car Horch is one of the four companies that merged to form Auto Union, from which the present-day Audi descends. After training as a blacksmith and qualifying as an engineer, August Horch set…
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1933 Duesenberg SJ LaGrande Phaeton
Duesenberg expert Randy Ema affirms that cars like this, with original major components-chassis, body, engine-are at the top of the scale Duesenberg Automobiles was plucked from the post-World War I recession by Errett Cord, the savior of Auburn. By 1927, he was looking to build a more prestigious car and bought the innovative but struggling…
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1976/77 Jaguar XJ12 Broadspeed Coupe
Going, turning, sticking, and stopping were evident and well in hand, but keeping the Jaguar in one piece proved to be more difficult than anticipated R alph Broad’s racing team had excelled in touring car competition since the early 1960s, running Ford Anglias, Mini Coopers, and Triumph Dolomites. Leyland subsequently contracted his Broadspeed team…
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1972 Ferrari 246 GTS Dino
In May 2003, I wrote that $86,000 was “all the money” for an equivalent car; boy, was I wrong. $153,000 for this example is not over the top As the first series-produced, mid-engined Ferraris, the early Dino V6s are landmark cars, and the line they founded would prove to be an immense commercial success for…
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1997 McLaren F1
The buyer wouldn’t be beaten. He replied “Yo” to each raise of $150,000, all the way to $4 million, winning a lot of affection from the crowd No ABS. No traction control. No power steering. No airbags. No add-on spoilers. The McLaren F1 didn’t need them. The thinking man’s supercar was conceived in 1988, when…
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1908 Isotta Fraschini Tipo FENC Semi-Racer
While lacking the race-winning cachet of later cars, this little Isotta will get its owner into every vintage race, tour, and concours he fancies Perhaps the most influential light car design of the first decade of the twentieth century, the Tipo FENC Isotta Fraschini was derived from the Tipo FE Isottas built for the…
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Leno and a Duesie of a Lawsuit
State laws commonly give powerful protection to mechanics who work on cars and garage keepers who store them, recognizing that they often need special powers to help them get paid. Typically, these laws entitle them to retain possession of the car until they have been paid in full. If not paid after a specified minimum…
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60 Years and Three Ages of Ferrari
Over the last 60 years, Ferraris have evolved through three distinctive eras: the Enzo Ferrari era, the mass-market Fiat years, and the present high-volume exotics from Luca di Montezemolo. The Enzo era began modestly enough in 1947 with a pair of 125 Barchettas, s/ns 01C and 02C. Powered by a diminutive 1,497-cc V12, putting out…
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When Buick Went South
In GS form, with two four-barrel Carter carburetors, the Riviera put out a mighty 360 hp and generated an equally hefty 475 ft-lb of torque Legend has it that the 1963 Riviera (originally supposed to be a revival of the LaSalle marque) was the result of a trip that Bill Mitchell took to Europe in…
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1962 Resto-Mod
This 1962 Corvette resto-mod is powered by a 5.4-liter, 300-hp, chromed-out small-block crate engine with two four-barrel Edelbrock carbs mated to a standard four-speed transmission and nine-inch Ford differential, and is cooled by a Be Cool aluminum radiator and fans. The car features a modified Art Morrison chassis No. 2 with Corvette C4 front suspension,…