Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
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1984 Lamborghini Countach
The sensation of the 1971 Geneva Salon, the Countach was styled by Marcello Gandini. Lamborghini’s four-cam V12 was retained, though this time installed longitudinally. To achieve optimum weight distribution, designer Paolo Stanzini placed the five-speed gearbox ahead of the engine between the seats, and the differential, driven by a shaft passing through the sump, at…
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Ferraris & Blue Jeans
We’ve been using our 330 America as a daily driver. Picking up our daughter, Alexandra, from elementary school and taking her to gymnastics. (“Daddy, are you going to drive me in the noisy red car today?”) Going shopping. Running errands. A 29-gallon aquarium, perfect for rearing Apistogramma agassizi cichlids, fits nicely in the back seat…
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Jaguar XJ-S V12 Convertible
When does a car cross the line from used car to classic? If you can figure that out, you may be able to buy that older car you’ve always admired at the absolute bottom of the market, after it has ceased depreciating and before it has started to accrue a collector’s premium. We think the…
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1973 Porsche Carrera RS
The Carrera ‘RS’ was the first phase in Porsche’s production car racing program, started in 1972. The ‘RS’ was based on the 911S, and one of the first concerns was to save weight. This was accomplished mainly by removing the rear seats, by making the body of thinner steel and by using fiberglass bumpers. Another…
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1955 Packard Caribbean Convertible
It is ironic that Packard should fail just as the company introduced what may be the most innovative and well-designed product line in the history of the company. The blame lay not with the product, but rather a series of management misadventures, including the ill-fated merger with Studebaker.The Caribbean featured a new, high output OHV…
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1953 Alfa Romeo 1900 CS Farina
With its unitary construction-the first on an Alfa Romeo-the 1900 was Alfa’s first mass- producedt car, introduced in 1950. It was assembled on a new production line at Alfa’s original Portello works that was funded in part by the Marshall Plan.Initially powered by a 1844cc, 90 hp twin overhead camshaft 4-cylinder engine and offering fine…
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1951 Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta
The example shown here is a very rare “Export” model intended for racing in the GT and Sports classes. Chassis number 0141/T is unique, being the only 212 to have been built with a “Tuboscocca” type chassis, an early attempt by Ferrari to give three-dimensional rigidity to the ladder-type chassis. Wheelbase for the Inter model…
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1972 McLaren M8 E/F Can-Am
In 1966, a new form of racing started in the US and Canada. This was the famous Can-Am series, short for the Canadian-American Trophy. John Surtees won the first Can-Am title in a Lola T-70 in 1966 but after this, McLarens in the hands of Bruce McLaren himself and Denny Hulme, ruled the series. Like…
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1951 Simca 8 Super Sport
Simca first appeared in 1934, making Fiat cars under license in their factory at Nanterre which had previously produced the Donnet cars. For many years the fortunes of Simca were closely linked to those of the tuning wizard Amédée Gordini and many competition successes were achieved including class wins in the 1949-50 Alpine and Monte…
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A Golden Age of Sports Cars
As we write this, we have just returned from the Detroit International Auto Show, and are preparing to make a quick turnaround and head to the four-auction carnival in Arizona. If one had to choose between the two places, certainly the baking heat of January in the Southwest would win over the blustery cold of…