The drophead top doesn’t compress very well, and in the “down” position often gives the appearance of a car packing a mattress HF. S. Morgan couldn’t have guessed back in 1910 that the DNA of his first trike would form the basis of generations of Morgan sports cars. Or that […]
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1953 Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic
In 1951, Fiat’s great designer Dante Giocosa began work on a new high-performance sports car, the legendary 8V, or “Otto Vu” in Italian, a two-liter, V8-engined two-seater. Giacosa theorized that for a car to have the power and characteristics for which he was aiming, a tubular chassis would not be […]
Trophy Car Comes of a Certain Age
Sometime soon a lot of successful 50-something women may seek out the 450SL they couldn’t have in their teens Since the 1950s, the glamorous SL had been the Marlene Dietrich of the Daimler-Benz lineup. And like the old torch song, customers found themselves falling in love again with each new […]
1963 Porsche 904 GTS Prototype
The fiberglass-to-metal body and chassis bonding worked fine for theprojected race life of a 904, then rust began to separate the two elements With the proven 356 Carrera Abarth having served formidably for three seasons, the imminent arrival of the two-liter Simca Abarth meant that Porsche was going to have […]
1907 Renault AI 35/45 Vanderbilt Racer
This car was the Ferrari Enzo of its day-exclusive, fast, beautiful, and exciting-but not really a racer Renault’s reputation was made in the open-road races of Europe at the turn of the 20th century, in cars built and driven by Louis Renault and his brother Marcel. Even though Marcel was […]
1911 Mercer 35R Raceabout
Mercers remain four to five times more expensive than a comparable Stutz, proving that a Raceabout is the most desirable pre-WWI car built in America Restored from a highly original and complete car, this is one of very few authentic Mercer Raceabouts. Like the 1911 Simplex in the Chandler Collection, […]
1952 Ferrari 225 Sport Spider by Vignale
The 225 S should be on every Ferrarista’s shopping list: it has 12 cylinders, a five-speed gearbox, egg-crate grille, and it makes all the right noises Developed in a period of triumph and passion, Ferrari’s big-engine sports racers from the mid-1950s personify the company’s racing legend. Tipo 340 Tuboscocca chassis […]
1964 Ford Lotus Cortina Special Equipment
Dynamically, the transformation wrought by Lotus was amazing. On a twisty road, the dumpy little Cortina could shame cars costing four times as much Of the 2,894 Mk 1 Lotus Cortinas produced, only 64 were built by the factory as Special Equipment models. This rare version was upgraded with semi-race […]
1967 Toyota 2000GT
Toyota’s 2000GT is widely acclaimed as the first Japanese car to be taken seriously by Western critics-the country’s first “supercar.” The model marked Japan’s rise away from dull derivative models toward the highly competitive position it enjoys today. The 2000GT was originally penned by Albrecht Goertz (creator of the BMW […]
1975-76 Chevrolet Cosworth-Vega
It’s not hard to find a well-maintained, low-mileage car, as they were something of an “instant collectible” in their day, with a small but ardent following When Chevrolet’s new compact, the Vega, came to the market for 1971, it was intended to compete with imports landing on both U.S. coasts. […]