Profiles

1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series II Sports Saloon

Classically proportioned and instantly recognizable from the moment of its introduction in 1958, the Touring-styled DB4 established a look that would survive, with only minor revisions, until 1970. A new design by Tadek Marek, the DB4’s all-alloy, twin-overhead-camshaft 6-cylinder engine featured “square” bore and stroke dimensions of 92 mm for […]

1969 Lamborghini Islero S

One of the least-known Lamborghini models, the Islero GT is generally agreed to be the company’s hidden gem. Only 226 were built—including 100 of the powerful “S” editions—and the model was named after the legendary bull that killed Manolete, the best matador in the world. Ferruccio Lamborghini himself even drove […]

A Fiat or a Ferrari?

The foibles of “production” car racing and homologation rules have given rise to some rather interesting machinery over the years. Nutty Plymouth Superbirds and road-going Ford GT40s are at one end of the spectrum, and Ferrari’s first V6 engine is at the other. Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari envisioned the V6 as […]

James Bond’s Car of the 1970s

Some companies can lock one label into the consumer’s mind. This is especially true in the auto industry. Volvos are safe, Subarus are sensible, Saabs are odd and Lotuses are lightweights. Lotus mastermind Colin Chapman’s philosophy seemed to consist of omitting, thinning and paring—until the car collapsed on itself—and then […]

1963 Porsche Diesel Standard Model 217 Tractor

Granted, rallies and track days are pretty much out of the question, but you can still have a field day with a Porsche-Diesel—literally Dr. Ferdinand Porsche’s wide-ranging interests in all things mechanical—and practical—led him to include designs for farm tractors in his project portfolio beginning in the 1930s. As with […]

1955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible

Seemingly every salvageable one was dragged out of fields, barns, and garages and restored, which made supply exceed demand This example is one of the best 1955 Bel Airs extant. This 1955 factory convertible just saw completion of a body-off, no-expense-spared three-year restoration of a 100% numbers-matching car with one […]

1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza

I know a number of extremely knowledgeable individuals who simply state that if they could own only one collector car, it would be an 8C 2300 In the early 1930s, Italian road racing, and motor sport in general, relied on various tiers of competitors to fill the grids: factory entries, […]

1951 Ferrari 340 America Spyder

SCM’s Thor Thorson once reported that one 340 owner refused to take his car on a vintage rally, as driving it was just too awful Some of the most fascinating Ferrari automobiles originate from the earliest years of the company, a time when Enzo Ferrari was still in the process […]

1962 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II Rally Car

The last surviving 1962 team car has rally provenance in abundance, but it doesn’t have an original chassis The Big Healey’s first major success was in 1960,  when Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom made history by winning the grueling Liège-Rome-Liège (Marathon de la Route) event outright. It was the first […]

1970 Maserati Ghibli Coupe

The styling of the Daytona, while certainly attractive, has not achieved the timeless elegance of the Ghibli A strong contender for the “Most Handsome Car of the 1960s” title, Maserati’s Ghibli debuted at the Turin Motor Show in November of 1966. Styled at Ghia by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Ghibli rivaled […]