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Riding High
Sometimes ignorance is bliss, and other times it leads to nothing but trouble. Our 1978 911SC is a perfect case in point. Relatively pampered, in mostly original paint, and with 177,000 miles on it when it joined our stable last year, it rode low and had an appealing “boy racer” look. It also had a…
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1967-75 Lotus Europa
Europas seem to come two ways-completely done or completely done-in. There’s little point in messing with the latter Colin Chapman and Lotus led the giant-slaying revolution of rear- and mid-engine race cars, so it’s not surprising that Lotus was among the first to bring a mid-engine production sports car to market in 1967. The car…
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1968 Porsche 912 Soft-Window Targa
The auction catalog calls the Weber carbs an update, but I call them wrong After years of building its commercial and racing success around the 356 models, Porsche introduced the larger, more powerful, two-liter Porsche 911 model in 1965.Maintaining the company’s success with rear-engine positioning, the all-new design provided an aerodynamic body over a revised…
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1954 Buick Skylark
Was this sale a market indicator or auction fever carried to an extreme? {vsig}2006-6_1939{/vsig} There were just 836 Buick Skylarks produced in 1954. Each came fully equipped with leather interior, full power equipment, special ornamentation, and open wheel wells with Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels. This low-mileage 1954 Buick Skylark received a complete professional restoration, which was…
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1935 MG R-type
A tiny, wavering soprano has a tough time in a Wagnerian opera, no matter how good she may be Last of the Abingdon marque’s pre-WWII racing cars, the R-type was unveiled on April 25, 1935. Beautifully wrought, its revolutionary chassis boasted such advanced features as selective dampers and finned drum brakes.Powered by a supercharged 747-cc…
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1967 Ferrari 330 GTS
This series would prove to be a step away from Ferrari’s past and a step toward the future Automobili Ferrari S.p.A. has always been known for building some of the fastest and best-handling sports cars in the world. Pininfarina is a master of styling and design and surely the lines and Ferrari V12 power of…
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1952 Jaguar C-type Ecurie Ecosse racer
The needle of the rev counter can be wound to the red zone, and each gear takes the car into a new dimension Designed and built with the sole intention of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the renowned Jaguar C-type was a development of the already successful XK 120. Though the race…
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1973 Citroën DS23 IE Cabriolet
Citroën wouldn’t sell Chapron any separate chassis, so he was reduced to buying complete cars and dismantling them {vsig}2006-6_1937{/vsig} The Citroёn DS19 was launched on an unsuspecting world in 1955 and continued to be France’s car of choice well into the 1970s. There were many interpretations of the theme, but one of the most…
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Going to the Mat with a Paddle
“That’s a good piece, you should buy it.” The auction catalog description read, “Persian Heriz carpet, geometric central medallion and stylized floral decoration on madder red ground with ivory spandrels, 9′ 6″ x 11′ 9″. Estimate: $700-$900.” Offered by local auction house O’Gallerie, the rug met my three criteria: It was the right orange-red color;…
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1966-70 Datsun 1600/2000 Sports
While the Brits were still making do with finicky overdrive units, the Datsun 2000 had a five-speed gearbox designed by Porsche For a long time after WWII, Japanese products were viewed by American consumers merely as cheap copies of Western goods. Conventional wisdom held that a Nikon was a cheap copy of a Leica,…