Profiles

1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport

Alfa Romeo introduced the 1,752-cc, 6-cylinder cars designed by Jano in 1929. Adept on both road and racing circuits, the engine proved reliable and powerful, offering impressive output from its relatively small displacement. Further benefiting from excellent handling, the car, in top factory racing engine trim, could comfortably exceed 100 […]

When MG Got an “A”

What most of us know about the immediate post-war history of MG is historical rather than experiential. The 1945-49 TC was the sports car of the WWII generation, now sadly passing to that great wrecking yard in the sky. The pre-war PAs, PBs, TAs, and TBs that GIs stationed in […]

1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet C

Together with its predecessor the 500K, the magnificent Mercedes-Benz 540K was arguably the most noteworthy production model offered by the Stuttgart firm during the 1930s. A development of the 500K, whose independently suspended chassis it shared, the 540K was powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged straight-8 engine. The 540K featured the […]

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 Convertible

Big changes at GM for 1970 included the end of the corporate edict forbidding engines larger than 400 cubic inches in its intermediate models. Chevrolet’s “big-block” V8 was enlarged to 454 ci and formed the basis of the LS6 option, intended to help Chevrolet wrest control of Super Stock drag […]

1968 Lola-Colt T150 Indy Car

The advantages of four-wheel drive had been shown at Indianapolis in 1967, and George Bignotti sought to profit by combining it with the Ford V8 in 1968. He bought a single four-wheel-drive Lola with Ford V8 power for Al Retzlaff, to be driven by Al Unser. It was this car. […]

1968 Ferrari 330 GTS Spyder

The 330 GTC debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966 and was intended to fill a gap in Ferrari’s line-up between the four-seat 330 GT 2+2 and the racer-on-the-road 275 GTB. Later that year, the open-top 330 GTS was introduced at the Paris Salon. The 330 GTS features a […]

1966 Aston Martin DBSC Coupe

With development of the second-generation of DB 6-cylinder sports cars nearing its end, Aston Martin turned to the Italian Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, creator of the original DB4 of 1959, for the next model. Touring built a pair of two-seater prototypes, one right- and one left-hand drive (2661R and 2662L, […]

1953 Alfa Romeo 1900C Sprint

Alfa Romeo’s first all-new offering of the post-war period arrived in 1950. Designed by Dr. Orazio Satta Puliga and intended for volume production, the 1900 was the first Alfa to employ unitary construction and-in keeping with the company’s sporting heritage-was powered by a twin-overhead-camshaft engine. The 4-cylinder unit displaced 1,884 […]

VW’s Rabbit Hole-in-One

After 1973, Americans had to get used to pressing their faces against the glass and watching the Europeans get all the good stuff, beginning with the Porsche 911 2.7 Carrera RS and BMW 3.0 CSL. Even entertaining cheap stuff like the MG B V8 and Triumph Dolomite were forbidden. It […]

1973 Porsche Carrera RS Touring

Porsche revived the Carrera name for its top-of-the-range 911 in 1972-73. Designated Carrera RS (Rennsport), the newcomer was intended as a limited-edition “homologation special” to enable the factory to enter Group 4 competition in the Special GT class, with a minimum build requirement of 500. However, the demand for this […]