Etceterini

At the sub-$40,000 price, this car is cheap sculpture, a conversation piece in the garage, something fun for the kids so they can play “let’s pretend we’re Valentino Balboni” {vsig}2004-11_1452{/vsig} Offered for sale direct from the museum to which it was donated in 1999, this Lamborghini LP400 Countach is somewhat of a sad and confusing…

Cisitalias are one of those odd exceptions to the “top goes down, price goes up” rule, and in this case the coupe is actually the preferred model {vsig}2004-10_1440{/vsig} A talented “gentleman driver” and owner of the sports equipment concern Consorzio Industriale Sportiva Italia-or Cisitalia, as it was known-Piero Dusio recognized that post-war Italy would have…

The Aurelia B24 feels much more modern on the road than many contemporaries, including the Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider or Aston Martin DB 2/4 Mk III {vsig}2004-9_1207{/vsig} A race-developed V6 engine, superlative handling and sensational Pinin Farina styling: These are the ingredients of a sports car classic and the Lancia Aurelia B24 has them all.…

Why, with all its aesthetic beauty, adequate performance, and driveability, does the Ghibli continue to sell for just a quarter the price of a Ferrari Daytona? {vsig}2004-8_1214{/vsig} Giorgio Giugiaro penned the striking lines for Maserati’s Ghibli, which debuted at the Turin Auto Show in 1966. Sporting a quad-cam V8 making 335 hp, the car was…

Abarth was a master of self-promotion, he knew how to hire talented young people whose work he would later appropriate, and he knew how to make a quick buck. {vsig}2004-7_1221{/vsig} Born in Austria in 1908, Karl Abarth was a European motorcycle champion in the 1930s who fled to Italy during World War II. His firm,…

Unlike many of the first mid-engine cars that were compromised with small interiors, tiny trunks, and delicate construction, the Bora is a refined car that offers comfort with no sacrifice in performance. {vsig}2004-6_1229{/vsig} Maserati introduced the Bora in 1971, the successor to the front-engined Ghibli. A mid-engined car in the fashion of Ferrari’s Boxer, the…

The catalog offered a believable explanation that the factory records are “mistaken,” and that the car was indeed an Atalante from day one The Type 57 Bugatti was introduced in March 1934, and variants of this touring model formed virtually the entire output from the Molsheim factory until war intervened in September 1939-by which time…

The cars were quicker than the standard T14 LS, accelerating from0-100 km/hour in all of 14.5 seconds. Of course this was still slower than the much cheaper MG-TF by the 1950s, the racing credentials of Talbot-Lago had been firmly established after years of active Grand Prix competition. The sensational new 2.5-liter car announced at the…

Khamsins don’t appear at auction frequently. With less than 300 said to remain out of production of only around 430 cars, it is a legitimately rare bird, though its taste is still too gamey for most collectors This elegant 2+2 coupe was first shown at Turin in 1972, the work of one of Bertone’s more…

Two engines at different ends of the car, two carburetors, two gearboxes, two ignition keys: It’s a miserable thing to drive. I should know, as I owned one and commuted in it daily for six years   The slab-sided, roll-top Citroën “Deux-Chevaux” was conceived as a people’s car, a front-wheel drive contemporary of the Volkswagen…