If you’ve been dabbling in collector cars for a decade or more, you’ve been through the meteoric highs and the dismal, depressing lows. Eight years ago, carbureted Ferrari 308s sold for over $70,000, and Boxers passed $250,000. Porsche Speedsters were bringing $100,000, and flat-floor Jaguar E-type convertibles even more. If […]
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Let’s Tape the Headlights and Go
Until the late 1950s, it was not uncommon for production sports cars like Alfa Giuliettas and Porsche Speedsters to be driven to the track, raced and driven home. Competition preparation consisted of criss-crossing their headlights with pieces of black tape to keep the lens from shattering into a thousand pieces […]
Seize the Moment
Fifty years from now, this period will be looked upon as the golden age of vintage car motoring. We are fortunate to live at a time when our classics, the cars just now becoming 30 years old, are very proficient machines, capable of satisfying back-road velocity along with high-speed autoroute […]
1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ2
This car is one of the small batch of machines which bridged the Alfa Romeo SZ, a road-going GT which was frequently raced, and the TZ, which was essentially a competition car which could be used on the road. {vsig}1998-5_1607{/vsig} The SZ was a descendant of the Giulietta Sprint Veloce, […]
It’s Your Deal
We are frequently reminded that there are no constants in the car market. No price is absolutely too high or too low, no deal completely good or bad. A 1966 Triumph TR4 that may only bring $8,000 when dragged out of a garage in Arkansas may fetch $18,000 when fully […]
Just Another $40 Million Buying Spree
While most of the collector car market percolates along, with prices for sound cars appreciating gradually, one segment has ignited with the fury of a Saturn V booster rocket. During the last month, John McCaw of Bellevue, Washington, who made his fortune in the cellular phone business, has spent over […]
1970 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTAm Competition Coupe
The Alfa Romeo GTAm was the racing version of the extraordinarily successful 1750 GT Veloce, the A signifying “Allegerita” or lightened and the small m indication “maggiorata” or enlarged. The Chizzola brothers had set up Autodelta to build the famous TZ Alfas and they were responsible for building just 40 […]
1954-1955 Ferrari 2-Liter 500 Mondial
This delightful little Ferrari sports-racing car is a very low-mileage historic competition car from the Maranello marque. 0468MD comes from a European ownership which it entered as a two-owners-only vehicle in 1988 when it was purchased at auction in Monte Carlo. The car had been supplied originally in late 1954 […]
Completely Original (Mostly)
What constitutes an original car? Decipher the following advertisement: “Completely original except for new paint, fresh interior and redone engine.” Exactly what is original about this car? Is the new paint enamel when the original was lacquer? Have the seats been upgraded from vinyl to leather? Has a higher-performance camshaft […]
1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTC 1600
A direct evolution of the 1954 Giulietta Sprint, the Bertone-designed Giulia Sprint GT soon established a fine reputation on road and track following its introduction in 1962. Compared to its predecessor, it was a much more refined and relaxed car to drive, reflecting the changing nature of Europe’s roads as […]