German

In the hands of drivers like Rudolph Caracciola, the SSK was the dominant race car of its era, and came to symbolize all that was wonderful and scary about racing during the “Roaring Twenties” {vsig}2005-1_1809{/vsig} Known in period as simply, “the mighty Mercedes,” advertisements for the SSK justifiably screamed, “the fastest sports car in the…

In the collector car world, there is no more immediately recognizable sight than a 300SL with its doors open. Introduced in 1954 as a coupe with signature “Gullwing” doors, the legendary 300SL was conceived as a high performance street machine that was really a thinly veiled racing car. It was fast, solid, and handled well,…

Not only will your collegiate daughter love it for its looks, but it certainly isn’t powerful enough for her to get into too much trouble {vsig}2004-11_1466{/vsig} Volkswagen’s popular Beetle spawned a number of other automobiles, creations like the Thing, Microbus, and most interesting of all, the Karmann Ghia. One of the most sought-after air-cooled convertibles…

Electronic gadgetry in late-model Mercedes has recently taken its toll-the latest J.D. Power numbers finds Mercedes lagging behind such stalwart marques as Hyundai and Mercury {vsig}2004-10_1445{/vsig} When Mercedes-Benz set out to build the finest sports coupe in the world they came up with the CL500 and its V12-powered sibling, the CL600. Beautifully designed, meticulously constructed,…

Before the Ferrari F40, before the McLaren F1, almost before the term “supercar” was invented, there was the Porsche 959, an expression of extensive development, technical competence, and competitiveness that brought a new excitement to road-going automotive pursuits. The Porsche 959 odyssey started in 1983 and involved many pioneering techniques, most notably molded composite bodywork.…

The 300SE has always been a cult car, and it’s a great choice for a true open four-seater for classic events {vsig}2004-8_1216{/vsig} The Mercedes-Benz’s S-class cabriolet of the late-1960s wore the same timelessly elegant coachwork that debuted in 1959 on the 220SE, and as befitted a top-of-the-range luxury model, came equipped with automatic transmission, air…

Porsche’s all-out racing machines were always mid-engined, dating back to the 550 Spyder of the 1950s. After much racing success with this configuration, Porsche management decided in the late 1960s that its future high-performance road cars would also be mid-engined, due to the inherently better weight distribution. With this theory in mind, Porsche began development…

When you restore one of these, you want to make sure you have found all the holes in the body. {vsig}2004-6_1231{/vsig} There are better cars, and there are better boats, but there is no better way to draw a crowd than with an Amphicar. Designed by Hans Trippel and built in Germany, the Amphicar was…

Its appeal is simple to understand: A turnkey entry into most every exciting historic race and rally, including the Monte Carlo Historic Rally, the Tour Auto in France, the Tour of Spain, and the Rallye des Alpes This ex-works car was one of 14 built in 1963, according to specifications for its export to Sweden,…

Pagoda SL values have been appreciating, and top examples continue to stretch the upper limit of the price envelope The last of a popular and extremely successful line that began with the 230SL of 1963, the Mercedes-Benz 280SL was introduced in 1967. Its overhead-camshaft, six-cylinder engine was entirely new, with horsepower of the fuel-injected unit…