The real bug with any Karmann-Ghia is rust. It’s claimed nearly all of the early cars, and it can appear anywhere on the body {vsig}2008-9_2217{/vsig} By the mid-1950s, it appeared certain that the West German economic miracle would be sustained. Luxury models from BMW and Mercedes-Benz began to reappear. Even […]
Profiles
1944 Volkswagen Schwimmwagen
Schwimmwagen owners seem to be an enthusiastic crowd, often seen in the company of drastically less hip Amphicars Porsche’s Type 60 (the Volkswagen prototype), with its strong backbone chassis and air-cooled engine, had been recognized as an ideal basis for the German army’s proposed Kübelwagen (“bucket car”)-a lightweight, open utility […]
1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Hard Top
My 9-year-old son was very agitated as I loaded the car. He said “Dad, you can replace any one of the others-this is unique” {vsig}2008-8_2205{/vsig} Built by tobacco heir Zachary Reynolds, the “Tobacco King” 1964 Ford Galaxie was as wild an example of a Rocket Drag Axle-equipped car as one […]
1971 Ferrari 512 M
These difficult cars have finally gotten the development they didn’t get when racing in anger and have become superb vintage racers {vsig}2008-8_2214{/vsig} In 1968, the rules for sports car racing were changed, limiting Group 6 prototypes to a maximum 3-liter engine capacity. For the 1970 season, Ferrari decided to do […]
Making Sense of $43 Million at Maranello
Buyers will pay over the odds for a perfect, no stories road car just to feel they have the best available {vsig}2008-8_2210{/vsig} Machiavelli was Italian. So were Mussolini and Enzo Ferrari (not that I’m comparing them). And although he isn’t, Scuderia Ferrari’s director Jean Todt has probably lived there long […]
1976 Lagonda V8 Series 1 Saloon
What’s interesting about “007” is that it has been hot-rodded, modernized, and neutered of its ZF 5-speed {vsig}2008-8_2208{/vsig} Lagonda had been dormant for a decade when Aston Martin revived the marque in 1974 as the model name for a sensational new four-door sedan based on the existing V8 coupe. Launched […]
1966 Maserati Mistral 4000 Spyder
Unless and until a U.S. owner wants to ship a car to Europe to sell, don’t consider this the price you can get here {vsig}2008-8_2209{/vsig} Last of the classic 6-cylinder Maseratis, the Pietro Frua-styled Mistral commenced production in 1963. The 3.7-liter version of the Modena manufacturer’s long-stroke engine was fitted […]
Ford’s Sleeping Beasty
The Pantera was legendary for either killing famous owners or inciting them to violence-Elvis pumped a .38 caliber slug into his {vsig}2008-8_2204{/vsig} By the late 1960s, Ford seemed to be concentrating more on holding grudges than building cars. Still smarting from its failure to acquire Ferrari, Ford grabbed a weak […]
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300S Coupe
Stuttgart’s choice of pre-WWII, 540K designer Hermann Ahrens masked brilliant new engineering with an image of the past {vsig}2008-7_2198{/vsig} More expensive than the 300SL sports car and almost double the price of a contemporary Cadillac, the Mercedes-Benz 300S was one of the world’s most exclusive automobiles. Elegantly styled in the […]
1963 Dual-Ghia L6.4 Coupe
If the Chrysler-powered Facel-Vega is a French Imperial, consider the L6.4 a Mopar Maserati {vsig}2008-7_2193{/vsig} The brainchild of Eugene Casaroll, the Italian-American hybrid known as the Dual-Ghia was largely based on the Ghia-designed Chrysler Firearrow, a concept car for which he acquired the production rights. Luxurious and extravagant, it had […]