Profiles
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1990 Ferrari F40
Playing with the F40 in our 70-mph society is like going deer hunting with a rocket launcher Introduced in 1988 to celebrate Enzo Ferrari’s 40 years as a carmaker, the F40 was the last car with a design personally approved by the great man himself. With a top speed of 201 mph and 0-60 mph…
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1956 Porsche 550A/1500 RS Spyder
$726,000 is a lot of money no matter how you slice it, but this car has it all-an important place in Porsche’s history, racing success, good documentation and a professional restoration {vsig}2005-2_1820{/vsig} The 1956 Porsche 550/1500RS prototype was first introduced at the Paris Salon in October of 1953. Although it was announced that this car…
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1966 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra
In the late ’60s there just wasn’t anything badder than a 427 Cobra, and the fact that they were rumored to kill an abnormally high percentage of people who dared to drive them only increased the reputation Although the 289 Cobra was well proven in competition by the mid-1960s, it was becoming clear that something…
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1975-1980 AMC Pacer
“You only ride like a Pacer if you’re wide like a Pacer” If you’re among the many who laugh at AMC Pacers, let us introduce you to “Weird” Harrel Lamkin of Ruston, LA. He drag-raced a 550-hp Pacer from 1987 to 1996, turning 10-second quarter miles at 124 mph. As he said, “I wanted to…
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1975 Ferrari Dino 308 GT4
I was the one who sold 308 GT4 S/N 10540 for $23,500 back in 1990 {vsig}2005-1_1720{/vsig} Ferrari’s family of immensely successful V8 road cars began in 1973 with the 308 GT4. The Maranello factory’s first V8-engined road car and first mid-engine 2+2, the 308 GT4 was styled by Bertone rather than the customary Pininfarina.…
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1962 Daimler SP250 Dart Roadster
No less an authority on grace than Sir William Lyons was rumored to have tossed his scones on his first sight of a Dart {vsig}2005-1_1803{/vsig} Daimler of England startled the automotive world in 1959 with the Dart roadster, a swoopy sports car powered by an advanced 2.6-liter, hemi-head V8. With a chassis inspired by Triumph’s…
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1925 Amilcar 4 CGS
These lightweight, small-displacement sports cars provide a true pre-war motoring experience at a fraction of the cost of their more expensive French cousin from Molsheim {vsig}2005-1_1807{/vsig} Of all the small sports-racing cars that proliferated in France after World War One, the Amilcar was the most famous and most successful. Built at St. Denis from 1921…
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1959 Ford Galaxie Sunliner Convertible
In 1959, Ford kept its Blue Oval models relatively devoid of chrome, mile-high fins, and many of the other excesses that were common to the era {vsig}2005-1_1808{/vsig} New for 1959, the Galaxie began life as a variant of the highly successful Fairlane. The year is considered by many to be a high water mark…
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1929 Mercedes-Benz Type 38/250 Model SSK
In the hands of drivers like Rudolph Caracciola, the SSK was the dominant race car of its era, and came to symbolize all that was wonderful and scary about racing during the “Roaring Twenties” {vsig}2005-1_1809{/vsig} Known in period as simply, “the mighty Mercedes,” advertisements for the SSK justifiably screamed, “the fastest sports car in the…
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1968 McLaren M6B Can-Am Race Car
If you can hustle one of these babies around the track, nobody will ever question your manhood {vsig}2005-1_1810{/vsig} The Can-Am Series for unlimited sports cars began in 1966, and a year later Bruce McLaren won his first championship, driving a car bearing his own name. Teammate Denny Hulme was second, and for the next four…