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Middle Manager
If you want to out-Miata the Miata, there’s really only one option. You’ve got to pull out all the stops for mass reduction and centralization. You’ve got to go lighter and more focused. You’ve got to make a mid-engine sports car. So, some 23 years ago, that’s what Toyota did. The 2000–05 MR2 Spyder was…
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1954 Cunningham C-3 Vignale Coupe
The Cunningham car of the early 1950s was the product of revered sportsman Briggs Cunningham’s determination to win the 24-hour race at Le Mans with an American-built automobile. Cunningham had attempted the feat with production-based Cadillacs, but finding them not sufficient to the task, endeavored to build his own car, backed by his not-inconsiderable fortune…
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1951 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Limousine by Hooper
The English coachbuilder Hooper produced many types of bodies upon the Silver Wraith chassis, but among its rarest and most formal designs is the 7-passenger limousine, as offered here. Just 10 examples of these hand-wrought aluminum beauties were created between 1947 and 1951; the first was built for Lord Louis Mountbatten in his service as…
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1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 S Cabriolet Pinin Farina
The 6C 2500 Sport offered here is one of the most classic and desirable examples of coachwork on the standard-wheelbase chassis, the svelte cabriolet by Pinin Farina. Like the chassis itself, an elegant evolution of pre-war design, the body is steel with aluminum doors, hood and rear deck, and features smooth lines with covered headlamps…
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2005 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti 6-Speed Manual
The 612 Scaglietti was named for the fabled coachbuilder favored by the factory, and its dramatic styling was inspired by the famed 375 MM built as a gift from Roberto Rosselini to his great love, actress Ingrid Bergman. Honoring both the Hollywood provenance of the design and the model’s appeal to the U.S. market, it…
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1991 Porsche C4 “Reimagined by Singer”
This 1991 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 coupe was modified by Singer Vehicle Design between August 2018 and August 2020 and was purchased by the seller through Singer after the commissioning customer was unable to take delivery. Finished in Fiona Metallic over a custom Blue Charcoal leather interior, the “Gratitude Commission” is powered by an air-cooled…
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2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT-H Coupe “Executive Car”
The run of 2016 Shelby Mustang GT-Hs for Hertz included 140 examples delivered into the rental fleet for allocation day-by-day to mere mortals, and then 16 of the “Executive Cars,” a name that to the Hertz Shelby enthusiast has a special aura. These 16 cars were not rented but were instead purchased by Hertz executives…
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1976 Fiat-Abarth 131 Rally
To get the 131 Abarth homologated for Group 4 competition and to replace the aging 124 Abarth, Fiat produced a roadgoing version in a few hundred units. Launched at the 1976 Geneva Motor Show, the 131 Abarth Rally got the same engine as the competition version, but a little “civilized,” with the 4-cylinder, 2.0-liter, 16-valve…
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Mega Sale of a Mega Cruiser
1996 Toyota Mega Cruiser S/N BXD200001087. 90,900 km (56,500 miles). “4.1-L turbodiesel I4 engine, 4-speed automatic transmission and a 2-speed transfer case, producing 155 hp and 282 lb-ft of torque, 17.5-inch wheels, portal axles, inboard brakes, locking front, center and rear differentials, a four-wheel steering system, a rear-mounted ladder, and a folding rear step.” Condition:…
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From Vague-O-Matic to Cash-O-Matic
In all my years of selling cars at auction, I have never had a “miracle moment” where the bidding went far beyond my expectations — until our 1971 Citroën DS21 Pallas sold this past fall. When I saw the car offered on Bring a Trailer in August 2021, I was immediately curious. I had been…