Erret Leban Cord began building his empire in the mid 1920s when he became president and primary stockholder of Auburn. In 1929 Cord introduced a car bearing his name, the front-wheel-drive Cord L-29. There were unfortunately many technological problems with the L-29 that kept it from becoming the great car […]
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1978 Alfa Romeo 2.0 Spider
The 1966 Geneva Motor Show saw the debut of the Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider, which replaced the existing 101 Series Giulia Spider. The Duetto’s Pininfarina-designed body was inspired by a styling exercise on a 3.0 litre Disco Volante chassis seen at Geneva in 1959, and sported an extremely attractive and […]
1960 Ferrari 250 GT PF Coupe
{vsig}1998-12_1580{/vsig} By the time the 250 PF Coupe arrived in 1959, Ferrari had refined its road models and, every year, the 250 improved as a practical car. It retained, however, the sporting heritage and the broad outline of the sports racing cars from which it derived. The 250 PF was […]
1958 Arnolt Bristol
In 1953, S. H. “Wacky” Arnolt, Chicago businessman and vice-president of Bertone, was in London for the Motor Show. He had already had some success with his Bertone-bodied MG TDs, which had whetted his appetite for sports cars, and he was very impressed b In 1953, S. H. “Wacky” Arnolt, […]
1972 Lancia Stratos Rally
The introduction of the Lancia Stratos represented a new high point in Lancia’s already illustrious competition history and showed the world a new concept in rally car design, winning three World Rally Championships between 1974 and 1976. The story of Stratos goes back to the 1970 Turin motor show where […]
A Red Egg for Christmas
Our day started innocently enough. Seven-year-old daughter Alexandra and I headed to a local swap meet in search of a pre-’55 American car to use in Martin Swig’s La Carrera Nevada event. While wading through the rusting junk, a.k.a. valuable restorable collector cars, she pulled suddenly at my sleeve.“Look Daddy, […]
1968 Porsche 912
The year after production of the legendary 911 had commenced in 1964, Porsche introduced the similarly bodied 912 as an entry-level model to the prestigious German marque. As such, it shared its monocoque steel chassis with that of the 911, together with independent front torsion bar and trailing arm rear […]
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Chevrolet enlisted the help of Lotus Engineering to create a new engine for the Corvette. Together they developed a design with an aluminum block, dual overhead camshafts, and 4 valves per cylinder. In 1990, it emerged as the 375-horsepower LT5 engine. But there was more than an engine. The Corvette […]
1965-1966 Alfa Romeo TZ2 Berlinetta Corsa
{vsig}1998-11_1583{/vsig} The jewel-like Alfa Romeo TZ2 model is in effect “The Baby GTO,” simply one of the most charismatic smaller-capacity Gran Turismo car designs of all time. Furthermore, the car pictured here has hardly been seen in public since the late 1960s, and it retains all the distinctive TZ2 componentry […]
1976 Ferrari 308 GTB Fiberglass
{vsig}1998-11_1586{/vsig} In October 1973 a new car was announced in Italy, launched by a company which was also new. That car was the Dino 308 GT4, but in spite of not being badged as such, it was clear to everyone it was a Ferrari through and through. Enzo Ferrari still […]