Profiles

1961 Fiat Jolly 500

The expense of restoring these cars can be surprisingly high even if you get the local basket-weaving class to refurbish your seats for free {vsig}2005-9_1873{/vsig} Few cars that Fiat produced had the “cuteness” of the Jolly. With coachwork by Ghia, the Fiat Jolly 500 was introduced in 1957, and had […]

1971-81 Alfa Romeo Spider

Two ways to view the Spica fuel injection system: “diabolical” or “misunderstood” Universally regarded as two of the best open sports cars of all time, Alfa Romeo’s 750-series Giulietta Spider and 101-series Giulia Spider of the late 1950s and early ’60s were a tough act to follow. To remain the […]

1968 Triumph TR250

For parts support to be any better, Girl Scouts would have to give away TR250 distributor caps with their cookie orders Among all the great stories of British car industry ineptitude, the genesis of the Triumph TR250 must rank among the best.Triumph had planned to replace the TR4A in the […]

1969 Porsche 911E Targa

Soft rear window Targas have become the darling of the early 911 cognoscenti {vsig}2005-7_1853{/vsig} Porsche introduced the 911 Targa in mid-1966 to an enthusiastic audience anxious for an open 911. For the first model year in 1967, only the soft rear window was available. A year later, the glass rear […]

1965 Pontiac GTO

Pontiac Historic Services build sheets are the only way to tell which cars left the factory as real GTOs {vsig}2005-7_1855{/vsig} The exemplary 1965 GTO offered here is one of only 11,311 Pontiac GTOs that came as convertibles, just 15% of production in 1965. How many came with the ultimate 389-ci, […]

1960 Cooper T52 Formula Junior

The over-the-top factory team cars like the Lotus 27 and Lola Mk 5 were the reason Formula Junior died off Powered by JAP and Manx Norton motorcycle engines, Cooper’s innovative mid-engined racing cars dominated the 500-cc Formula 3 scene in the 1950s. These cars provided many future stars, most notably […]

1960 Ferrari 250 GTE

If you can’t afford a nice example, you really can’t afford a bad one {vsig}2005-7_1852{/vsig} By the end of the 1950s, the success of rivals Aston Martin and Maserati in providing Grand Touring cars for the enthusiast with a family meant that Ferrari could no longer ignore this increasingly important […]

1955 Austin-Healey 100 Le Mans

Dealers were using the Le Mans kit to tart up cars and help move them off the showroom floor {vsig}2005-7_1850{/vsig} This is a rare Austin-Healey with factory Le Mans options, finished in beautiful Reno Red and black. Notice the vented hood with leather strap, fold down windshield, and original dual […]

1955 OSCA MT4-2AD Coupe

No regular OSCA MT4 had made anything like this at auction recently-and probably not even at the peak of the sports car madness in 1989 {vsig}2005-7_1851{/vsig} Chassis 1153 is undoubtedly one of the most original surviving OSCAs in the world today. Only the patina of age would distinguish it from […]

1968-76 BMW 2002

Nearly every sports car enthusiast over 50 seems to have a 2002 story. Invariably, these end with “we drove it until the fenders rusted off” A favorite of enthusiasts from day one, the BMW 2002 was described by David E. Davis, Jr. in Car and Driver as “the best way […]