Profiles
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1954-1963 Mercedes-Benz 190SL
The 190SL’s designers had a challenge on their hands-to echo the 300SL’s styling, but not copy it Close your eyes and picture your local main drag on a Saturday afternoon. Parked outside the neighborhood coffee shop, what do you see? Likely one or two Mercedes SLs, 280s. 560s. 450s. 380s. They’re a breeze to own…
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1964 Buick Riviera
GM design chief Bill Mitchell’s “personal luxury” land yacht set sail as a sophisticated merger of Ferrari GT car style with Rolls-Royce luxury {vsig}2004-12_1536{/vsig} Although Buick was primarily a luxury line, in 1963 it issued a sports model, a beautiful coupe called the Riviera. It was America’s answer to the Ferrari GTs, a car for…
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1955 Triumph TR2 Roadster
Some early TR2s were immediately re-sprayed by their owners, changing effeminate colors like Olive Yellow and Geranium to more traditional ones like British Racing Green The post-war Standard-Triumph company, like most manufacturers of the period, found strong demand for its products. Exports were critical to the survival of the English auto industry and Triumph knew…
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1955 OSCA Mt4 Spider Morelli
The little jewels from Bologna won everywhere-from the small regional Italian events to major international venues like the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Le Mans and Sebring {vsig}2004-12_1538{/vsig} A tiny bantam of a racing car, the OSCA Mt4 was ahead of its time, winning overall at Sebring in 1954 with Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd behind…
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1959 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder LWB
It lacks reasonable weatherproofing, rusts easily, and has a chassis that is way too flexible, but the California Spyder proves that people will always buy beauty and performance over practicality {vsig}2004-12_1539{/vsig} Convincing Enzo Ferrari to produce an open version of the highly successful competition 250 GT Berlinetta was an effort credited to the famous…
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1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
In the collector car world, there is no more immediately recognizable sight than a 300SL with its doors open. Introduced in 1954 as a coupe with signature “Gullwing” doors, the legendary 300SL was conceived as a high performance street machine that was really a thinly veiled racing car. It was fast, solid, and handled well,…
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1962 MGB Sebring
The U.S. MG distributors were hoping to put a gleam in the eye of the dentist from Columbus, who might imagine his car out there running with the Ferraris and Porsches {vsig}2004-12_1541{/vsig} Sebring in 1964 was one of the world’s top-tier endurance races, part of the FIA’s Challenge Mondiale and Prototypes Trophy, along with the…
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1967-1969 Saab Sonett II
Above 3,000 rpm driving a Sonett II is like hanging onto an out-of-control chainsaw The words “Swedish” and “sports car” seem entirely uncomfortable bedfellows. But back in the 1950s, before Saab and Volvo had acquired the safe-and-sane reputations that still accompany their current American parents, both companies set off to create their version of a…
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1974 Lamborghini LP400 Countach
At the sub-$40,000 price, this car is cheap sculpture, a conversation piece in the garage, something fun for the kids so they can play “let’s pretend we’re Valentino Balboni” {vsig}2004-11_1452{/vsig} Offered for sale direct from the museum to which it was donated in 1999, this Lamborghini LP400 Countach is somewhat of a sad and confusing…
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1966 Ferrari 275 GTS Spyder
The GTB/GTB4 has catapulted in value over the past 18 months and dragged the GTS along with it {vsig}2004-11_1457{/vsig} Ferrari introduced the 275 GTS at the October 1964 Paris show alongside its sibling, the 275 GTB. The two shared the same chassis and driveline, although the GTS engine was more mildly tuned to give 20…