Profiles
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1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT
Tractor and gear manufacturer David Brown took over the Aston Martin and Lagonda companies in 1947. His first DB2 series and variants sold well from 1949 to 1958, and served to re-establish the marque as a builder of soundly engineered, quality motor cars.In 1959 the much-improved DB4 model made its debut. Chief designer Tadek Merak’s…
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1972 Triumph Stag 4×4
Introduced in the early 1970s, the Triumph Stag was a high-powered gentleman’s tourer and was the first Triumph to be fitted with the in-house produced three-liter V8. The body was designed by Giovanni Michelotti and proved to be such a success that the l Introduced in the early 1970s, the Triumph Stag was a high-powered…
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1961 Lancia Flaminia 3C Convertible
Although Lancia’s competition program during the early Fifties brought much fame to the company there was little fortune, and in 1955 Gianni Lancia and his mother sold out to millionaire Carlo Pesenti. A major modernization program was undertaken and the first model under Pesenti’s ownership was the 1957 Flaminia. A saloon (and a coupe alternative…
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1978 Ferrari 512 BBLM
{vsig}1997-2_1658{/vsig} When the new prototype Berlinetta Boxer was introduced on the Pininfarina stand at the 1971 Turin Motor Show with its centrally located flat 12-cylinder Boxer engine it allowed a much lower silhouette body and introduced a completely new style of Ferrari Super Car. Production eventually began in 1973 and was catalogued as a 365…
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1948 Porsche Prototype Custom Sports Cabriolet
This intriguing link with the very origins of the Porsche marque precedes the launch of the 356, first publicly shown at the spring 1949 Geneva Motor Show. This car was built in Zurich by Hans Waibel, who in 1988 declared that he had show-prepared two Porsche coupes at the request of Ferry Porsche and Louise…
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1956-1959 2 1/2-Liter Maserati 250F Monoposto
This magnificent Maserati 250F was built new as a private customer car to the order of Australian owner-driver Stan Jones. {vsig}1997-1_1661{/vsig} Father of Alan Jones – who would win the Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship title with the Williams team in 1980 – Stan Jones was a contemporary Australian hero for his exploits in the…
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1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
This particular 300SL Gullwing is one of the most famous of all British Gullwings as it is RYT 28, the press car, that was completed on the 5th of December 1955 and delivered new in January 1956 to Mercedes-Benz (GB) at Camberwell. This information is documented in both the chassis records and in Michael Frostick’s…
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1957 Ferrari 625/250 TRC
{vsig}1996-12_1665{/vsig} The new 500 TR (Testa Rossa, red-topped cylinder heads) was introduced in 1956 as a replacement for the previous 500 Mondial and although designed for customers only, a few factory-entered races were undertaken while development work was progressing with the new 250 Testa Rossa. The first three cars were bodied by Touring and were…
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1967 Lotus 47A Sports Racing Coupe
When Lotus launched its then quite radical mid-engined Europa in 1966 it received lavish praise for its superb roadholding and handling, but was criticized for a lack of power from the Renault 16 engine. A tuned Gordini option was mooted but when Lotus developed the racing Europa Type 47 to contest the Group 4 GT…
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1968 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2
Legend has it that Ferruccio Lamborghini began building cars because he felt insulted by Enzo Ferrari’s treatment of him as a customer. Whether true or not, Lamborghini was not one to do things by half, investing in a brand new factory and recruiting the best available engineers – amongst them Giatto Bizzarrini, designer of the…