Columns
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Sweet Fifteen
Fifteen years ago, in 1989, the first issue of Sports Car Market magazine rolled off the presses. Or more accurately, the eight pages of the Alfa Romeo Market Letter, as it was then called, spewed out of a mimeograph machine. At the time, we thought we were launching a business. But we were really just…
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1968-69 Dodge Dart
Veterans of the ’60s remember the Dart for plenty of reasons, most of them related to its economy-car status. The 225-c.i. “slant six” motor, named for its pronounced lean to the port side of the car, was known as the motor that thrived on abuse-it never seemed to need any attention to keep it running.…
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2001 Porsche Boxster S
As described by the seller on eBay Motors: This 2001 Porsche Boxster S is in great condition. It is Metallic Silver with black leather interior. It has AM/FM stereo, CD, cruise control, power windows, all available airbags, dual power seats, power mirrors, and wind screen. The engine is a six-cylinder S with a six-speed manual…
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1913 Mercer Type 35J Raceabout
The legendary T-head Mercer Raceabout was one of the most significant cars produced during the glorious Brass Age. The enthusiasm shared by those fortunate few owners and admirers who have experienced the thrill of a Raceabout has elevated these pioneering sports cars to mythical status.The 300-c.i. four-cylinder engine had massive 2¼-inch valves, high-lift cams, a…
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1971 Alfa Romeo Montreal
Inspired by an Alfa-based Bertone styling exercise, penned by Marcello Gandini, that had been exhibited at the 1967 Montreal Expo, the two-seater Montreal coupe debuted at the Geneva Salon in 1970. Unlike the Expo prototype that used Alfa’s 1.6-liter twin-cam four-cylinder engine, the production Montreal used a “civilized” 2593cc version of the T33 sports racer’s…
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1997 Ferrari F50
Fifty years of racing, fifty years of winning, fifty years of hard work.” With these words, Luca Montezemolo, head of Ferrari S.p.A., introduced the F50 at the Auto Museum in Geneva, Switzerland, in conjunction with the 63rd annual International Automobile Show, on March 6, 1995.Using technology from Ferrari’s Formula One V12, the new, normally aspirated…
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1963 Triumph TR4 Surrey Top
Other than the 1800/2000 roadsters, the TR2 was the first, true postwar Triumph sports car. It was superceded in 1955 by the TR3, which was simply an evolution of the TR2, with the most important additions being a horsepower increase to 90 bhp, a new grille, and front disc brakes-a first for an affordable sports…
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1961 OSCA 1600GT Coupe
Brothers Ernesto, Ettore and Bindo Maserati, the vagabonds of the exotic car world, had sold their family company in 1947 to the Orsi family. They then returned from Modena to their original manufacturing home in Bologna where they established the company first known as “OSCA Maserati,” and subsequently just as “OSCA.”Under this acronym-today so familiar…
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Andalusian Suite
VALENCIA, SPAIN Somewhere outside of Grenada, Spain, I watched from the passenger seat as Jean Sage ran the engine in his 250 SWB to 6,500 rpm. Accelerating up a short straight on a closed-road hillclimb, he cracked a perfect upshift into third before hitting the brakes, double-clutching back down into second, and pitching the car…
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1974-90 Fiat X1/9
The least expensive car listed in SCM’s Price Guide is the Fiat X1/9. The scrap value of its aluminum bumpers alone might be almost equal to the price of the whole car.Introduced in 1974, its Bertone styling was revolutionary at the time. Nowadays, however, people often mistake its straight lines, which taper to a point…