Columns
-
1960 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II
There is no mistaking the lines of an Austin-Healey. Perhaps second only to the seductive curves of the Jaguar E-type, the long flowing lines of the front shroud and powerful haunches of the short rear fenders make this car an icon of the golden decades of sports cars. Remarkable is the fact that the lines…
-
1956 Maserati A6G2000 Spider
Following their competition success with the sports-racing A6GCS models through 1953, in 1954, Maserati introduced a second series for a production run of road-going sports and coupe designs on a similar chassis. The twin-cam, 2-liter, 6-cylinder engine fitted into the well-designed twin-tubular chassis layout, which proved ideal to receive coachwork designs by the leading Italian…
-
Skinned-Knuckle Diagnostics
We of the Boomer generation grew up sneaking J.C. Whitney and Warshawsky catalogs onto our desks during biology lectures. Figuring out how to afford those trick, high-compression, .040-inch oversize pistons and rings for our Bug Eye Sprites was a daily topic of discussion. Tinkering with cars was our lifestyle. There was all sorts of wonderful…
-
1991-93 Alfa Romeo Spider 2000 Convertible
The Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider, introduced in 1966, continued in production until Alfa withdrew from the US market after 1994. A 28-year run for one model is a notable accomplishment, similar to the Model T and VW Beetle. The original Duetto (a name which Alfa only officially used for the 1967 models) drew mixed reviews.…
-
1979 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9
Fast, well engineered and luxuriously equipped in the finest Mercedes-Benz tradition, the 450SEL 6.9 was rated by Road & Track magazine as “the fastest, best sedan in the world.” This left-hand drive example was the property of Sir Bernard Ashley, Chairman of Laura Ashley department stores. Bought new in France, where Sir Bernard lived at…
-
1965 Corvette “Fuelie” Convertible
In 1965 the nine-year reign of the “fuelie” Corvette came to an end. Only 771 cars with the L84 option were built in 1965, making it the lowest production year. It was the only year you could buy a fuel-injected, disc-braked Corvette. This 1965 Glen Green model has traveled only 1,577 miles since new and…
-
1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider
After World War II Alfa Romeo could no longer afford to produce purely the bespoke motor cars that had made the marque famous on both road and track. It was not until 1954 that Alfa found its savior in the Giulietta Sprint, Nuccio Bertone being commissioned to design this small coupe just weeks before its…
-
1961 Lotus Elite S2 Coupe
This “barn discovery” Lotus Elite was first registered on December 14, 1961, according to the duplicate green logbook in its history file. It was owned by Mr. Peter John Gillett of Cobham in 1971 before it was sold to the last owner, Mr. Che Keng Saw, in August 1972. The Lotus was extricated from a…
-
1994 Bugatti EB110 GT
Bugatti Automobili S.p.A., in marketing the sensational new EB110, succinctly defined the new project as “the revival of the spirit of Modernism, which characterized the life and work of Ettore Bugatti (1881-1947).” In May 1992 Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. recorded that at the Nardo Test Track in Southern Italy, the Bugatti EB110 GT underwent official acceleration…
-
Our Own Fakey-Doo
This is all Martin Swig’s fault. The iconoclastic, San Francisco-based collector and enthusiast has been trying to lay us away in a Ford for some time. Not just any Ford, mind you, but a 1954 Mainline Six Business Coupe. “It’s the model Piero Taruffi drove in the ’54 Carrera,” Swig related. “It was sponsored by…