Profiles

1947 Bentley Mk VI Franay Drophead Coupe

It bears no resemblance to a standard steel Mark VI, and may be the most valuable Bentley in existence This elegant 1947 Bentley Mk VI Franay Drophead Coupe, with its outrageous coachwork and curlicue trim, really belongs with Figoni et Falaschi and Saoutchik offerings at Sunday afternoon shows in the […]

1977 Lamborghini Urraco

Positioning a V8 against the 6-cylinders of Ferrari, Porsche, and Maserati must have seemed like a good idea at the time {vsig}2006-7_1942{/vsig} The note from the previous owner that accompanied this 1977 Lamborghini Urraco to auction was brief and to the point. “There were only 520 P250s built. This is […]

1967-75 Lotus Europa

Europas seem to come two ways-completely done or completely done-in. There’s little point in messing with the latter Colin Chapman and Lotus led the giant-slaying revolution of rear- and mid-engine race cars, so it’s not surprising that Lotus was among the first to bring a mid-engine production sports car to […]

1968 Porsche 912 Soft-Window Targa

The auction catalog calls the Weber carbs an update, but I call them wrong After years of building its commercial and racing success around the 356 models, Porsche introduced the larger, more powerful, two-liter Porsche 911 model in 1965.Maintaining the company’s success with rear-engine positioning, the all-new design provided an […]

1954 Buick Skylark

Was this sale a market indicator or auction fever carried to an extreme? {vsig}2006-6_1939{/vsig} There were just 836 Buick Skylarks produced in 1954. Each came fully equipped with leather interior, full power equipment, special ornamentation, and open wheel wells with Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels. This low-mileage 1954 Buick Skylark received a […]

1935 MG R-type

A tiny, wavering soprano has a tough time in a Wagnerian opera, no matter how good she may be Last of the Abingdon marque’s pre-WWII racing cars, the R-type was unveiled on April 25, 1935. Beautifully wrought, its revolutionary chassis boasted such advanced features as selective dampers and finned drum […]

1967 Ferrari 330 GTS

This series would prove to be a step away from Ferrari’s past and a step toward the future Automobili Ferrari S.p.A. has always been known for building some of the fastest and best-handling sports cars in the world. Pininfarina is a master of styling and design and surely the lines […]

1952 Jaguar C-type Ecurie Ecosse racer

The needle of the rev counter can be wound to the red zone, and each gear takes the car into a new dimension   Designed and built with the sole intention of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the renowned Jaguar C-type was a development of the already successful […]

1973 Citroën DS23 IE Cabriolet

Citroën wouldn’t sell Chapron any separate chassis, so he was reduced to buying complete cars and dismantling them   {vsig}2006-6_1937{/vsig} The Citroёn DS19 was launched on an unsuspecting world in 1955 and continued to be France’s car of choice well into the 1970s. There were many interpretations of the theme, […]

1966-70 Datsun 1600/2000 Sports

While the Brits were still making do with finicky overdrive units, the Datsun 2000 had a five-speed gearbox designed by Porsche   For a long time after WWII, Japanese products were viewed by American consumers merely as cheap copies of Western goods. Conventional wisdom held that a Nikon was a […]