Profiles
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1985 Porsche 928S
Many of the improvements the 928 introduced were just not the kinds of things most owners were looking for-at least not in 1978 Porsche’s distinctive 928 was announced in 1977 and followed the pattern of the groundbreaking but underwhelming 924, with a forward-mounted, water-cooled engine. Although similar in basic layout, the 928 shared no components…
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1964 Lancia Flavia Sport
Alternate terms for these quirky cars are “full of personality,” “individualistic,” and various other ways you’d go about describing a blind date {vsig}2005-5_1841{/vsig} When the Lancia Flavia was first presented to the public at the Turin Motor Show of 1960, most people were amazed at its unconventional layout. Developed by the gifted engineer Antonio Fessia,…
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1967-1973 Mercury Cougar
The fiercest Cougar was an Eliminator fitted with blacked-out grille, side stripes, a spoiler and Ford’s 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air It was Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 1967, and Car Life called it a “Mustang with class.” Yet the Mercury Cougar has been mostly overlooked by collectors, and this relative of Ford’s…
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1954 Oldsmobile F-88 Concept
GM’s Motorama displays ignited millions of automotive passions, and the heat can still be felt in 2005 {vsig}2005-4_1830{/vsig} Throughout the 1950s, the grandest expressions of General Motors’ visions of the automobile’s future routinely went on display at the corporation’s Motorama shows. But once out of the spotlight, GM’s “dream cars” were supposed to be destroyed.…
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1958 Bentley S1 Continental
Continentals were lightened versions of the standard steel-bodied cars, built for high-speed cruising {vsig}2005-4_1831{/vsig} The post-war heyday of Bentley was with the Continental models, from their introduction in 1952. The combination of sporting performance and a beautifully clothed chassis made for the ultimate in long distance luxury touring. The name itself became synonymous with elegance.With…
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1992 Lancia Hyena
Integrales of any sort are incredible performance machines, massively capable in almost all conditions, sort of the Subaru WRX of their day {vsig}2005-4_1832{/vsig} This Lancia Hyena was purchased new by the present owner from Walkers Garage, official Lancia factory-appointed Integrale specialists for the U.K., who sourced the car from Zagato. Its owner wanted a car…
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1966 Ferrari 275 GTB
Perhaps no car better epitomizes classic Ferrari design than the 275 GTB. Penetrative nose, long bonnet, low cabin and a short, neat tail are the ingredients that make for a masterpiece of sports car design. The 275 GTB drew inspiration from the preceding 250 GTO, and along with its timeless appearance introduced a number of…
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1990 BMW Z1
The Z1’s clean lines are less contrived than the Bubba-built Z3’s cow-catcher face-and we won’t even mention the Z4 {vsig}2005-4_1834{/vsig} BMW’s sensational Z1 sports car was essentially a concept car that went into production. The Z1 was special indeed, a front-mid-engined sports car with rear-wheel drive and excellent handling. Its straight-six, 2.5-liter, 170-hp engine gave…
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1961 Chaparral 1
There’s something romantic about cars that signify the end of an era, the last and greatest of their kind, yet doomed by the coming revolution {vsig}2005-4_1835{/vsig} The year was 1961. Jim Hall was an ambitious young man from Midland, TX, who had done well in oil and was determined to do even better in pro…
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1980-1981 Triumph TR8 Convertible
Like Earth shoes, pet rocks and other inexplicably dopey fads of the time, the TR8’s wedge styling was all the rage in the mid-1970s Good news from the other side… Just when we thought we’d never see another lusty, open-top British sports car, along comes the Triumph TR8.” That’s my recollection of how the buff…