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Any patina has been lost in a slightly over-shiny restoration and repaint, though it does have a big history file and is eligible for many prestige events {vsig}2009-5_2320{/vsig} Launched for 1936, the SS 100 was the first real high-performance model produced by SS Cars Limited, and used a new Weslake-developed overhead-valve engine in a shortened…

The long hood is a bit like a padded medieval codpiece {vsig}2009-4_2310{/vsig} This 1932 Daimler Double Six 40/50 Sport Saloon is, without question, one of the most imposing automobiles ever constructed by the legendary British marque-or any maker of exclusive luxury vehicles. While only 26 Double Sixes were built over a decade, the vast majority…

Even if the “real”-or “other,” if you prefer-Lotus appeared in most of the action shots, we can fairly say this car has Bond film provenance {vsig}2009-3_2298{/vsig} The Lotus Esprit was unveiled as the Silver Car concept at the Turin Motor Show in November 1972. Based on a Europa twin-cam chassis, it was developed into the…

I doubt whether anybody could tell the difference between this and aSanction II without looking at the chassis number {vsig}2009-2_2281{/vsig} The competition variant of the legendary Aston Martin DB4, the DB4GT, was introduced in September 1959 at the London Motor Show. It was based on the race-winning prototype DP199/1, which won in its first outing…

The buyer wouldn’t be beaten. He replied “Yo” to each raise of $150,000, all the way to $4 million, winning a lot of affection from the crowd No ABS. No traction control. No power steering. No airbags. No add-on spoilers. The McLaren F1 didn’t need them. The thinking man’s supercar was conceived in 1988, when…

A Battle of Britain Spitfire Mk I or Mk II would sell for two or three times this sum, and if it had a confirmed combat record, the price could be much higher {vsig}2008-12_2259{/vsig} The old engineering adage, “If it looks right, it most probably is right,” describes the Spitfire to perfection. It still looks…

It always used to come to us in November, to be readied for the Mille Miglia, and it’s a gutsy car that hasn’t been tarted up for Pebble Beach {vsig}2008-11_2246{/vsig} Lagonda introduced the 4½-liter M45 at the 1933 London Motor Show. With its overhead-valve 6-cylinder Meadows engine, here was a Lagonda sports car capable of…

This is the first production D-type, out of long and dedicated ownership, unspoiled and still in its original form {vsig}2008-10_2233{/vsig} XKD 509, the first “production” D off the line in 1955, has a long and interesting history. It was supplied new to New York distributor Chuck Hornburg, who sold it to Albert R. Browne of…

If the buyer plans sedate ice-cream runs with grandkids in the back, four seats might have an advantage In 1936, the Morgan 4/4 debuted as the company’s first four-wheeled car. The designation 4/4 stood for four cylinders and four wheels. The vehicles that Morgan had produced prior to the 4/4 were three-wheelers with V-twin engines,…

What’s interesting about “007” is that it has been hot-rodded, modernized, and neutered of its ZF 5-speed {vsig}2008-8_2208{/vsig} Lagonda had been dormant for a decade when Aston Martin revived the marque in 1974 as the model name for a sensational new four-door sedan based on the existing V8 coupe. Launched at the London Motor Show…