These cars brought Maranello four World Constructors Championships and four victories at Le Mans. Few, if any, cars have a more impressive resume In 1957, the Commission Sportive Internationale contemplated new rules to make sports car racing safer after the 1955 disaster at Le Mans. Anticipating a reduction in capacity […]
Profiles
1970 Aston Martin DB6 Mk II
Two things kept the price down: British buyers are notoriously suspicious of automatics in “sporty” cars; and it was presented on a cheap set of tires The culmination of Aston Martin’s long-running line of “DB” 6-cylinder sports saloons, the DB6 was introduced in 1965. Aston Martin lengthened the wheelbase by […]
1930 Citroën Kégresse “Forestiere” Autochenille
A curious mixture of romantic visionary and practical businessman, André Citroën knew a promising invention when he saw one. French-born Adolphe Kégresse had developed an idea at the behest of his erstwhile employer, Czar Nicholas II, who had wanted a means of adapting his cars to drive across deep snow. […]
Triumph’s Joan Rivers
When Karmann face-lifted the Triumph TR4 in 1968, there were still some arthritic old bones behind the TR6’s wide smile and smooth skin The age of the biplane fighter lasted from roughly 1915 to 1941, by which time the last of the fabric-covered, fixed-gear aircraft like the Gloster Gladiator and […]
1964 Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus Deluxe
VW won the hearts of collectors. The best first-generation Ford Econoline would be hard pressed to bring $10k, even with $5k in pennies in the back The Type 2, as its name suggests, was the second variant of the VW Beetle (Type 1), using the same running gear, and was […]
1934 Auburn 1250 Salon Cabriolet
Even at $253,000, this car is still less than half the price of some Packard V12 Cabriolets {vsig}2009-7_2340{/vsig} This 1934 Auburn 1250 Salon Cabriolet was driven by James Cagney in the 1930s film “The Mayor of Hell.” It was restored over 20 years ago, and it’s been certified by the […]
1968 Lotus 51R
Even if another road racer comes along claiming to be the Flower Power car, this one wears the right chassis and registration numbers {vsig}2009-7_2346{/vsig} Formula Ford was introduced in Great Britain in 1967 as a new form of poor man’s motor racing. Written into its regulations was the requirement for […]
1999 Ferrari 355 F1 Spider
A 3.5-liter V8 with titanium rods, five-valve cylinder heads, and a 180-degree crankshaft gave 380 hp at 8,500 rpm In the 1970s, Ferrari changed the Berlinetta formula from two-passenger front-engine V12s to a mid-engine V8, with the introduction of the 308 GT. This basic formula evolved over the years as […]
1961 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II Ex-Donald Healey
Graham Robson remembers the car in BMC’s U.K. press fleet, but there’s no mention of Donald Healey having a Mk II as “a personal car” Introduced in 1961, the Mk II version of Austin-Healey’s highly successful 3000 model was visually distinguished by its vertical radiator grille bars and revised front […]
1905 Gardner-Serpollet 18hp Type L Steamer
A growing audience is succumbing to the lure of early steamers, resulting in some remarkable transactions {vsig}2009-7_2342{/vsig} When eccentric collector George Milligen died in 2004, his family kept one of his cars when the others were sold. Five years later, they have decided to sell George’s 1905 Gardner-Serpollet Type L […]