The Elf was designed to appeal to older “Buick and Oldsmobile” customers, with a miniature vertical grille, leather interior and a strange projecting trunk that pretty much ruined the Mini’s perfectly cute lines A luxury Mini blessed with marginally greater trunk space and an improved interior, the Riley Elf (along […]
Profiles
1948 Cisitalia 202 Cabriolet
Cisitalias are one of those odd exceptions to the “top goes down, price goes up” rule, and in this case the coupe is actually the preferred model {vsig}2004-10_1440{/vsig} A talented “gentleman driver” and owner of the sports equipment concern Consorzio Industriale Sportiva Italia-or Cisitalia, as it was known-Piero Dusio recognized […]
1965-66 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa
The most controversial car of the 20th century Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: Ralph Nader didn’t kill the Corvair. Blame can be more squarely placed on the Camaro, the pony car that rendered Chevrolet’s weird, rear-engine small car irrelevant to its product planners. Indeed, […]
1988 Porsche 959
Before the Ferrari F40, before the McLaren F1, almost before the term “supercar” was invented, there was the Porsche 959, an expression of extensive development, technical competence, and competitiveness that brought a new excitement to road-going automotive pursuits. The Porsche 959 odyssey started in 1983 and involved many pioneering techniques, […]
1999 Hummer H1 Wagon
Inside a 1990s-vintage Hummer, fit and finish and quality of materials rival only those vehicles built under Eastern European Communist regimes; think gargantuan all-wheel-drive Trabant {vsig}2004-9_1210{/vsig} Not just another 4×4, the Hummer is an all-terrain vehicle in a class of its own, as capable off the road as it is […]
2000 F1/2000 Race Car
Of course, there is no experience like driving an F1 car: The sound, the incredible horsepower, the ridiculous braking ability, and the sheer competence of the chassis combine into sensory overload of the best sort {vsig}2004-9_1211{/vsig} When Jody Scheckter won the Formula 1 drivers’ championship in 1979, few enthusiasts, and […]
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C
This immensely desirable and highly usable Ferrari 275 GTB/C is the third of only 12 such Berlinetta Competizione models produced by the world-famous Maranello factory, and is absolutely not to be confused with the normal, standard production GTB models. Here was a purebred endurance-racing competition car whose fundamental bodyshape and […]
1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk I
This Aston seems to have been banged around more than Drea de Matteo’s character on “The Sopranos” {vsig}2004-9_1206{/vsig} This competition-modified DB2/4 Mk I was supplied new to Lawrence & Hilton Ltd. of Blackpool, and spent much of its life in the Sussex area. A list of the car’s competition successes […]
1956 Lancia Aurelia B24 Convertible
The Aurelia B24 feels much more modern on the road than many contemporaries, including the Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider or Aston Martin DB 2/4 Mk III {vsig}2004-9_1207{/vsig} A race-developed V6 engine, superlative handling and sensational Pinin Farina styling: These are the ingredients of a sports car classic and the Lancia […]
1986-1989 Ferrari 328 GTB/GTS
A used 328 can be affordable because the depreciation over a year or two may be small to non-existent for a moderate amount of driving Every man should have one before he dies.” When I sold used Ferraris, this is what I used to say to close the deal. “You […]