Profiles
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1958 Isetta 600-BMW’s “Eggsecutive” Limo
Germans in the 1950s weren’t concerned with having “the ultimate driving machine,” they were just happy not to be walking or pedaling. With a limited market for cars like the spectacular and expensive 507 roadster, BMW needed a volume model to survive. They understood the needs of the post-war European market and decided the best…
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1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake
While a top speed test was not performed, the Road & Track crew estimated 182 mph was possible Originally built as the “Cobra to end all Cobras,” CSX 3015 represents the high water mark in the horsepower race of the ’60s. Carroll Shelby built it for no other reason than to see how fast it…
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1961 Porsche RS 61 Sports Racing Spyder
The factory figured on 120 man-hours to create one of these engines. Setting the cam timing took between eight and 15 hours. Porsche’s giant-killer Spyder series of four-cylinder, four-cam sports racing cars ruled small bore international racing for a full decade, beginning in the early 1950s. Since a powerful multi-cylinder engine was not available, Porsche’s…
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1936 Delahaye Type 135 Special
Delahaye had an enviable competition record, though most successes came either when the Germans didn’t show up or when they broke Emile Delahaye built his first automobile in 1895 and in 1896 drove one of his cars to sixth place in the Paris-Marseilles-Paris race. Sporting ambition lurked in the background as his truck business was…
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Trophy Car Comes of a Certain Age
Sometime soon a lot of successful 50-something women may seek out the 450SL they couldn’t have in their teens Since the 1950s, the glamorous SL had been the Marlene Dietrich of the Daimler-Benz lineup. And like the old torch song, customers found themselves falling in love again with each new model. It was no different…
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1967 Ferrari 330 GTC
Unveiled at the 1966 Geneva Salon, the Ferrari 330 GTC allied the 275GTB chassis with a 330 2+2 engine. The Pininfarina coachwork blended the 400 Superamerica front with the tail of the 275GTS. This produced a very elegant car that is by no means out of place today. The GTC provided plenty of room and…
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1954 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster
This sale could awaken the collector market for early Corvettes; if you have your eye on one, go get it Then GM’s Motorama was held in January 1953 at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Chevrolet unveiled its new Corvette. Six months later, the first Corvette rolled off a makeshift assembly line in Flint, MI. The sleek…
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1954 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster
Then GM’s Motorama was held in January 1953 at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Chevrolet unveiled its new Corvette. Six months later, the first Corvette rolled off a makeshift assembly line in Flint, MI. The sleek and sporty Corvettes were built by hand using a body of lightweight fiberglass instead of steel. Exterior styling featured a…
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1954 Morgan Plus 4 Drophead Coupe
The drophead top doesn’t compress very well, and in the “down” position often gives the appearance of a car packing a mattress HF. S. Morgan couldn’t have guessed back in 1910 that the DNA of his first trike would form the basis of generations of Morgan sports cars. Or that the appeal would extend from…
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1953 Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic
In 1951, Fiat’s great designer Dante Giocosa began work on a new high-performance sports car, the legendary 8V, or “Otto Vu” in Italian, a two-liter, V8-engined two-seater. Giacosa theorized that for a car to have the power and characteristics for which he was aiming, a tubular chassis would not be stiff enough to mount the…