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1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta
Sold new in Italy to A. Demetrialdi in May 1961, this 250 GT SWB “Lusso” was imported into Switzerland in April 1963 and entered for its first race by its new owner, Daniel Siebenmann of Switzerland, at the “Auvergne 3 hours” in France, where it finished 23rd (pictured in Jess Pourret’s “Ferrari 250 GT Competition,”…
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1925 Rolls-Royce WWI Armored Car Replica
Bonhams exhibited British understatement when it said, “Prospective buyers are advised not to rely heavily on the front brakes, which are not connected” Once described by Lawrence of Arabia as “above rubies in the desert,” Rolls-Royce’s WWI armored cars proved to be astonishingly durable. But a mandate from the British Government did what the Empire’s…
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1965 OSCA 1600 GT Zagato
The $169,000 achieved in Geneva for #99 represents an 82% appreciation in 48 months Just before the outbreak of WWII, the Maserati brothers sold their company to industrialist Adolfo Orsi. Not long after the war was over, they decided their real interests lay in racing, and together they formed OSCA-short for the rather more cumbersome…
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No Title
Last month in Part I, we examined why some Porsche values accelerate like an early 911S, while others lag behind like a 924 with a bad head gasket. Except for a few celebrity connections-such as Speedsters driven in the movies by the likes of Paul Newman and Steve McQueen-probable values can be established by answers…
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Which Avanti II Buy?
A Michigan alumnus’s car sported a gold and blue color scheme, making it difficult to know whether to cry or hail it for a trip to the airport Rob Sass’s article about the Avanti II in December’s SCM was excellent, well written, and well researched, even if the photo was a Studebaker Avanti. But it…
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1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster
The Mercedes Benz 300SL roadster was introduced in 1957 as a direct descendant of the famous Gullwing. It’s rare in automotive history that a convertible would bring about the demise of the coupe version on which it was based, however with the 300SL it was a case of succession—the roadster replaced the Gullwing. As the…
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1953 Cunningham C-3 Continental Coupe
It’s an exotic alternative to the hordes of Hemi-powered muscle cars-a 331-ci Hemi wrapped in an Italian body on a Le Mans-inspired chassis Wealthy American sportsman Briggs Cunningham made a heroic effort to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1950s-in cars he manufactured himself. Remarkably, he came close several times. The first…
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1927 Bugatti Type 35C
I can personally attest that it’s possible to sit for hours contemplating the Type 35 like a piece of sculpture There were 23 automobiles on the starting grid for the 1930 Monaco Grand Prix. Fourteen of them-60% of the field-were Bugattis. Bugattis were essentially graceful machines that emphasized light weight and great road holding over…
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1977 Ferrari 208 GT4
This model is rare outside Italy, but as John Apen reminds us: all valuable things are rare, but not all rare things are valuable The 308 made its entrance into the automotive world in October 1973 as Bertone combined concepts and design features from both the 246 Dino and the 365. It was handsome, sleek,…
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1962 MGA 1600 MK II Roadster
The vendor commissioned the restoration over three years to exacting standards, then only ran it to log a few break-in miles. Why? With the arrival of the MGA roadster in 1955, many MG aficionados were taken aback by the fact that the pre-war look of the company’s sports cars had been tampered with. The new…