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1952 Peugeot 203 Darl’ Mat Sedan
In 1936, a Paris dentist, Dr. Paulin, with help from a Peugeot dealer, Emile Darl’Mat, conceived and built a sports car based on the Peugeot 302. Named the Peugeot 302 DS (for Darl’Mat Sport), it was offered in three body styles: coupe, cabriolet and roadster. In 1937, three or four lightweight alloy roadsters were produced…
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Lancias ‘R’ Us
Both nature and car collectors abhor a vacuum.In July we bid farewell to our 1972 240Z and our 1967 Alfa Duetto race car. The Z went to an SCM subscriber in Lorton, Virginia, and the Duetto to good friends and SCM’ers Doug Zaitz and Portland’s Veloce Motors owner Dan Sommers, who had maintained the car.This…
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1957-68 Lotus Seven S1 and S2
The dual-purpose road/race car that could be built from a kit of parts pretty much characterizes the early efforts by Colin Chapman and Lotus. The concept came more clearly into focus with the Six, but after more than 100 cars, the swing-axle front suspension became antiquated and the bodywork expensive to fabricate.Compared to the Lotus…
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1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster
In 1933 the first of a new generation of Mercedes-Benz cars were issued from the Untertürkheim factory, incorporating advanced features for the time. The Mercedes-Benz 380 offered a fully independent suspension chassis with coil springs, unprecedented for the time. Front suspension was by dual A-arms, at the rear swing axles were used, giving ride and…
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1932 Ford Hot Rod Roadster — “Golden Rod”
In the days following WWII, man’s “need for speed” manifested itself in many different ways. If your name was Kimberly or Cunningham, you wrote a $10,000 check for a red European sports car. This wonderful obsession for performance had nothing to do with family fortunes, however, and was just as keenly felt by the garage…
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1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA
The official build record states that this GTA was completed on December 16, 1965. It was the 54th car of the model to be produced and the 14th given over to Alfa’s competition partner, Autodelta. Its works racing career ended in 1970, when it was returned to Alfa Romeo and used for testing. In 1988,…
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1982 Ferrari 308 GTS QV “Prototipo”
This is the first 308 to have a four-valve engine installed, a prototype built by the factory in 1981. Emmanuel Joffret described the car and its dark and mysterious life in the magazine Auto Hebdo, which specializes in Ferraris. Supposedly, this prototype was stolen from the factory in Maranello during 1981. A year after the…
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1957 MGA 1500 Roadster
A successful outing for three EX182 pre-production prototypes at the Le Mans 24 Hours race in 1955 provided perfect pre-launch publicity for MG’s new sports car. Conceived as a replacement for the traditional T-Series MGs and launched in 1955, the MGA combined a rigid chassis with the Austin-designed, 1489-cc engine that had first appeared in…
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1960 Maserati Tipo 60
This astonishing machine has remained complete and original in its condition as last raced in 1964, and has been in single ownership since purchased by the vendor in 1966. It is a time-warp example of the rare Type 60, being the first full production car after the construction of the prototype, which had subsequently been…
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Going, Going, Gone Forever
Monterey is a bellwether weekend, as RM, Christie’s and Bonhams & Brooks duke it out. Each is offering a delectable array of first-tier collectible automobiles, and the automotive investment world watches and holds its breath as four-hundred special cars cross the block.Will collectible autos get caught up in the widespread financial misery reflected by the…