Much like Morgan fans remain to this day, the MG faithful of the 1950s were committed masochists. Fans of the T-Series cars were positively aghast when the envelope-bodied MGA replaced the TF.
When the inevitable wheel of progress hit Abingdon-on-Thames once again in 1962, the faithful were horrified to find that the new MGB came with roll-up glass side windows in place of fiddly, ill-fitting side curtains. Few would have predicted in 1962 that the car would be around Read More
The air conditioning was off, but the tropical sun was not, so the Ferraris and McLaren F1s sat and cooked
Imagine seeing hundreds of high-end Ferraris, Lamborghinis and McLarens—many with hardly any miles on the odometer—rotting away in tropical heat and humidity.
While much has been written of the Sultan of Brunei’s car collection—and there are no lack of spy photos of the collection on the Internet—the Read More
Internet buyers think that when the car doesn’t meet their fantasy image they can return it for a full refund, just like sale pants at Nordstrom’s
Sound pretty nice? The buyer thought so when he saw this ad in an Internet listing, so he called the dealer, who Read More
1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Coupe, Lot 284 at RM Auctions Phoenix, sold for $544,500, including premium
Chassis number: 4500049
Engine number: 4500052
The prices for 300SL Gullwings were all over the map in Arizona this year, and the money paid for four very different cars ranged from $1,375,000 to $544,500, quite a gap even for Gullwings; the price paid for Read More
The gulf between an assemblage of parts and a functioning, front-rank racer is immense and can be very expensive to cross
Ford was looking to race the Mk I Cortina in the Group 2 category, for which 1,000 “homologation specials” would be required. The obvious powerplant was the twin-cam version of the ubiquitous Ford “Kent” engine that Lotus genius Colin Chapman had already developed for use in the Elan. A deal was struck, and the Lotus Cortina (or Read More
The few alloy-bodied cars were essentially prototypes sold to raise desperately needed foreign currency for the factory design team
During the difficult period after World War II, Jaguar Cars became the United Kingdom’s biggest U.S.-dollar earner, thanks in no small measure to the success of its XK120 sports car. Ironically, the XK120’s creation had only come about because delays in developing the Mk VII saloon had forced William Read More
The restorers did not go overboard. They even left a few weld dimples in the door shuts to retain an original bit of character
The future of the modern Automobili Lamborghini was revealed at the 1971 Geneva Auto Show with the first public display of the new Countach, believed to be so named after a loosely translated and rather risqué Piedmontese expression of utter disbelief. Outrageous and seemingly otherworldly Read More
Provided you can acclimate yourself to the leisurely pace of this type of very small, very old car, the motoring can be delightful
Frankfurt-based Adler was a bicycle manufacturer in the nineteenth century, turning later to the production of motorcycles, cars and the typewriters with which the Adler name is most commonly associated today. A highly respected firm in its native Germany, Adler was already manufacturing automobile components for others when it introduced its first motor car—a Renault-influenced, Read More
This car was already a rare breed right off the showroom floor. The multitude of factory options made for an atypical—and expensive—model
Patterned after the all-new 1959 passenger cars, the El Camino pickup earned immediate popularity as a versatile workhorse. Power windows, a power seat, air conditioning, and power steering put this good-looking and loaded Crown Sapphire version squarely in the luxury category, with a Tri-Power 348-ci V8, automatic transmission and full instrumentation adding a performance edge.
Saved searches and RSS feeds are now the Pandora’s Box of my collecting life. Years ago, I would get giddy and feel the onset of the red mist once a month when Hemmings arrived (by first-class mail, of course). And when I went to an auction or swap meet, I would be temporarily overcome by my need to buy something, anything, that day.
But there were days—and sometimes weeks—when I wasn’t thinking about buying another car. That’s changed. Not only Read More
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