Profiles
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1958 Porsche 356A 1600 S Speedster
In the current market, beauty and condition matter as much as originality Introduced to the United States in September 1954, the Speedster found a receptive audience as the lowest-priced Porsche. In the USA, there was some confusion caused by the fact that when constructing the newest Porsche, the designers left out many components standard on…
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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 cheap copy of a Leica,…
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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 aerodynamic body over a revised…
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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 and Ferrari V12 power of…
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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, but one of the most…
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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 XK 120. Though the race…
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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 complete professional restoration, which was…
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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 brakes.Powered by a supercharged 747-cc…
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1967-69 MGC
The MGC was the first in a string of half-baked ideas that turned the British motor industry into a historic-preservation trust Few cars have taken more of a beating right out of the box than the MGC. Already incensed by BMC’s premeditated murder of the Austin-Healey 3000 in favor of the C, journalists were out…
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1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt
Last year’s $3.2 million Oldsmobile F-88 sale has collectors scouring barns and museums for ’50s dream cars {vsig}2006-5_1927{/vsig} The business of building “show” or “concept” cars was in its infancy in 1940, with the notion of showcasing future styling and innovations. The idea dated back to Harley Earl and his 1938 Buick Y-Job, which was…