Columns
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SCM’s Oregon Odyssey
To celebrate his magazine’s 30th anniversary, SCM Founder and Publisher Keith Martin, a veteran of countless driving tours in vintage cars, planned a tour of his own — and invited magazine subscribers to join him. Keith’s impressive guest list included Miles Collier, SCM columnist and founder of the Revs Institute; David MacNeil, chairman of WeatherTech;…
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Nissan 240SX, Nissan Hardbody, Toyota Xtra Cab
1991 Nissan 240SX LE #38150. S/N JN1MS36P7MW009141. 33,000 miles shown. “2.4-liter inline 4, 4-speed automatic transmission, Cherry Red Pearl, gray leather, sunroof, air conditioning, active speaker system.” Condition: 1. SOLD AT $12,553. Bring a Trailer, 10/22/2020. Brian’s take: In the November 2020 issue, I covered another similar 240SX with twice as many miles as this…
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2000 BMW 540i Sport Wagon
Sold at $19,250RM Auburn FallSeptember 4, 2020, Lot 4128Chassis number: WBADR6340YGN91231 With a 4.4-liter V8 making 284 horsepower, this car is a hybrid of the common grocery-getter station wagon with a BMW sport sedan. Its ultimate driving machinery includes stiffer sport suspension with a one-inch drop from the base model and staggered 235/45R17 front and…
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Is This a Ferrari TdF — or Something Else?
My interest was immediately aroused when I saw this in my inbox, a letter on which I had been cc’ed, from a renowned Ferrari expert and historian: Attn. Mr. Rod Egan, Worldwide Auctioneers: I have been reading the January 2021 issue of Sports Car Market magazine and saw the Worldwide ad for the Arizona auction,…
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America’s Bargain
Rip Van Winkle wasn’t a car guy, but if he had been, his longform napping would’ve put him in good stead as a collector. By most reckoning, new cars depreciate for the first decade or two of life, then after they’ve bottomed out for a while, they start to climb in value — assuming, of…
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1959 Cooper-Climax Monaco T49 Mk I
Successor to Cooper’s center-seat “Bobtail,” the Cooper Monaco T49 was named for the win at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix by famed British privateer Rob Walker’s Cooper-Climax Formula 1 car. The Monaco was Cooper’s first production rear-mid-engined sports-racing model, designed expressly to meet FIA requirements of two seats, two doors and a windshield, with a…
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1996 Mercedes-Benz SL70 AMG
At a time when the price of a standard Mercedes-Benz SL600 was just 5% less than a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, it is unsurprising that the SL70 always was an extremely rare car; the engine upgrade alone cost roughly the equivalent of $60,000. Nevertheless, the reward was staggering: a hand-built 7.1-liter AMG-tuned version of the exquisite…
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1956 Mercedes-Benz 300Sc Cabriolet
The elegant 300Sc cabriolet presented here was dispatched to the New York Mercedes-Benz distributorship in early 1956 and, according to a copy of its factory build record, was finished in dark brown with a beige leather interior. While little has been documented about its earlier years, in about 2001, the car was discovered in Ohio…
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1952 Ferrari 225 S Berlinetta by Vignale
The 225 S was envisioned as a fiercely performing model with competition capabilities. These were race cars and were thus assigned even-numbered chassis numbers. They were also fitted with more competition-appropriate right-hand drive and triple Weber carburetors. Campaigned extensively in Europe during 1952, and later in SCCA events, the 225 S was piloted by some…
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1956 Maserati A6G54 Spyder
Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1954, the A6G54 represented the ultimate evolution of Maserati’s first post-war sports car. Developed from the highly successful A6GCS racing cars and the earlier single-cam A6G2000 road car, the A6G54 was an exclusive gran turismo; its fine engineering and exquisite attention to detail embodied the very best qualities…