Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
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1958 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder by Frua
Ahead of Maserati’s official unveiling of the 3500 GT, the Italian manufacturer instructed a small cluster of trusted carrozzeria to design bodywork to clothe the newly designed rolling chassis. Five unbodied chassis were sent to the Turin-based coachbuilder Pietro Frua, who returned with completed cars with his usual exuberance and attention to detail. Of these,…
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1904 Swift 7HP 2-Seater
This early single-cylinder Swift was purchased by the vendor’s grandfather in 1931 from a farmer in Eversley, Berkshire. Since then, the car has completed no fewer than 57 London to Brighton Runs plus numerous other events and rallies. It has only failed to finish on four occasions, and in 1968 successfully completed the Run despite…
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1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6
This 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS LS6 is factory documented and includes both factory build sheets. Powered by a 454-ci V8 engine, it has a 4.25-inch bore, 4.0-inch stroke, ported heads and lighter aluminum pistons. This LS6 is pushing 450 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 500 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm. After a full rotisserie…
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(Back to the) Future Collectibles
1985 Toyota Pickup Xtracab SR5 4×4 #89965. S/N JT4RN66SXF5073411. 259k miles. “2.4-liter 22RE inline-4, 5-speed manual transmission, dual-range transfer case, electronically locking differentials, repainted black, gray cloth upholstery, 15-inch American Racing alloy wheels, Bilstein shock absorbers, Smittybilt tubular bumpers, roll bar w/KC auxiliary lights.” Condition: 3+. SOLD AT $21,000. Bring a Trailer, 10/16/22. Everyone knows…
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It’s Not a Restoration, It’s a Build
Let’s make one thing clear right from the start: A car is only “as-born” once. It can never be returned to that state. Any attempts to do so result in a fictional re-creation, done to please the owner and whatever standards he is aspiring toward. And that’s okay. We can’t go back in time. We…
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Unredeemable Jackpot
The Dillon County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina announced that a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spyder, valued at $23 million, was stolen during the early morning hours of July 25, 2022. Detective Sara Albarri said that the 8C was inside a 2009 Haulmark trailer pulled by a white 2002 Ford F-350 dually pickup…
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The $500 Million Endowment
In early November 2022, McPherson College announced that an anonymous donor had made an extraordinary endowment gift to the school. This record-breaking, potentially $500 million donation is the largest single commitment ever made to a liberal-arts college. This news thrust the small Kansas-based school into the headlines. It is notable in the collector-car community because…
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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…