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1960 Aston Martin DB4GT
Tractor and gear manufacturer David Brown took over the Aston Martin and Lagonda companies in 1947. His first DB2 series and variants sold well from 1949 to 1958, and served to re-establish the marque as a builder of soundly engineered, quality motor cars. In 1959 the much-improved DB4 model made its debut. Chief designer Tadek…
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1959 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage
The Maserati Birdcage Tipo 61, with proper team preparation and organization, would undoubtedly have won more classic races. It led every round of the 1960 World Sports Car Championship – at Buenos Aires, Sebring, the Targa Florio, Nurburgring and Le Mans – but only won a single event, and was sidelined by mechanical failure in…
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The V12 in the Driveway
Now that the annual Monterey convention of dealers and stealers, gearheads and tire-kickers, lookie-lous and wallet-flashers is over, it’s time to reflect. For several years, the weekend’s events have overlapped, but this year the congestion was ludicrous. The traffic jam to the track on Saturday rivaled the Bronx expressway on a Friday afternoon before the…
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1952 Porsche 356 Pre-A Cabriolet
In 1952 there were only four Porsche 356 Cabriolets sold in the United States out of 294 produced by the Porsche Werke in Zuffenhausen. Back in ’51, about the only way to buy a 356 in this country was through New York importer Max Hoffman. The early cabriolets were among his best-selling cars, helping to…
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1963 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider
Bodied by renowned Italian coachbuilder, Touring, known for creating some of the most exquisite early Ferrari and later Maserati designs, the Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider closely resembled the Vignale-bodied 3500 Maserati roadster. The 2600 was introduced in late 1962 and although similar to the 2000 series in design it offered a different grille, hood, windshield…
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1962 Lotus Elite Series II SE
Launched at the 1957 London Motor Show – when metal panel work was the sports car norm and all-independent suspension the domain of racing cars – the strikingly pretty Lotus Elite boasted a fiberglass monocoque bodyshell with rear suspension first seen on the Lotus 12 Formula 2 single-seater. A steel front subframe, bonded into the…
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Collapsed
We’ve just returned from a grand three days, participating in the 10th Annual Monte Shelton N.W. Classic Rally. Our ’68 Porsche 911L performed splendidly for the 1,000 miles through Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, and never missed a beat until it was three miles from home. We stopped to pick up our daughter at my wife’s…
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1961 Porsche RS61 Spyder
Porsche Spyders are excellent dual-purpose collectibles, equally at home on the track or on road tours such as the Colorado Grand One of the last 4-cam Spyders built, this tidy RS 61, chassis 718070, possesses a proud racing pedigree, an impressive list of owners, and a degree of authenticity found in few others. Constructed in…
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1956 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster
In 1956, Ford was building the two-seat Thunderbird, and outselling Corvette four to one. After two disastrous sales years, the Corvette had to change or die. And change it did. First, it received a new body to replace the classic roadster style body of the previous three years. Still in fiberglass, it now had external…
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1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ
When Carlo Leto di Priolo wrecked his Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce on the 1956 Mille Miglia, he had the car rebodied by his friend Elio Zagato, with lightweight and aerodynamic aluminium coachwork. The rebuilt car was further campaigned in races with such success that 18 further examples of the “SVZ” were constructed by fellow competitors…