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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…
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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…
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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…
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1967-69 MGC Roadster
The introduction of the MGC is a tribute to how royally confused British Motor Holdings had become by the mid-’60s. The Austin-Healey, introduced in 1952, was getting long in the tooth by 1964, even with its new convertible top and roll-up side windows. Marketing managers also recognized that there was a slot in the market…
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1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Convertible
This Mercedes-Benz offers classic style motoring with modern reliability and convenience. Furthermore, the 3.5-liter version of the 280SE coupe and convertible has the cachet of being one of the rarest Mercedes-Benz models of the past 30 years, with a production run of just 4,502. Like many desirable cars, the 280SE 3.5 was created at a…
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1967 Nickey Camaro 427 RS/SS
Today, the words “tuner car” conjures up images of an AMG or Renntech-equipped Mercedes. Or perhaps a Stillen-equipped SUV or a McLaren Mustang. But long before these high-impact, sophisticated cruisers existed, a group of dealer-based “tuners” were turning out supercars of a different sort. Baldwin-Motion, Dana, Nickey and Yenko were all Chevrolet dealers who sold…
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1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ
The Giulia Tubolare Zagato, or TZ, emerged victorious from its racing debut at Monza in November 1963, and from then on proved a competent competitor. Of the 112 TZs made, approximately two thirds survive. Chassis number 085 was completed on March 9, 1965, but was not officially sold to Autodelta until December 31 of that…
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1991 Ferrari Mondial T Cabriolet
The Ferrari Mondial Cabriolet occupied a unique niche in the luxuxy car market: a four-seat mid-engine Cabriolet with pedigree. The improved Mondial T received a 296-hp, 3405 cc V8 engine mounted longitudinally in the frame. Along with a new engine came a completely new five-speed transmission, electronically controlled variable suspension, and a three-position manual suspension…
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1953 Bentley R-Type 4.5-Litre
The first Abbott two-door coupe to grace the R-type chassis made its debut at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show, alongside an equivalent drophead design. The chassis on which these and the fourteen subsequent cars built differed from standard, having a lowered radiator and steering column rake, and carrying a 3.41 rear axle ratio. The…
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Just A Car
I have long argued that cars are machinery first, and art second. With the very rare exception of pure show cars, they were designed to be driven, not to be displayed for gawking passersby. It is only through the use of a car that its underlying magnificent strengths and disappointing weaknesses emerge.Our Ferrari is nearly…