Profiles
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1976-1981 Pontiac Trans Am “Bandit”
The second-generation Pontiac Trans Am was in production for twelve years, from 1970 to 1981, and effectively captured a generation of car enthusiasts in an era when Motor City muscle was in decline. Admittedly, the Trans Am of the mid-1970s was a pale imitation of earlier models, an underpowered, portly beast that nearly fell victim…
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1983 Ferrari 400i Spyder Conversion
Open V12 Ferrari for under $40k. {vsig}2004-7_1205{/vsig} As described by the seller on eBay Motors: Here is your chance to buy a 12-cylinder Ferrari convertible. This is the best looking and performing 400i convertible in the world, a traffic stopper. I just drove the car about 100 miles and people gave me the thumbs up…
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1967 Aston Martin DB6 Mk I Volante
This car was bought over the phone, bringing to mind a favorite jest of one of my good friends: {vsig}2004-7_1219{/vsig} The new Aston Martin DB6 was introduced at the 1965 London Motor Show as a distinctively restyled development of the successful DB4 and DB5 model ranges. The flat transom Kamm-tail topped by an integral spoiler…
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1976 Porsche 914 Hot Rod
Porsche’s all-out racing machines were always mid-engined, dating back to the 550 Spyder of the 1950s. After much racing success with this configuration, Porsche management decided in the late 1960s that its future high-performance road cars would also be mid-engined, due to the inherently better weight distribution. With this theory in mind, Porsche began development…
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1950 Abarth 205A
Abarth was a master of self-promotion, he knew how to hire talented young people whose work he would later appropriate, and he knew how to make a quick buck. {vsig}2004-7_1221{/vsig} Born in Austria in 1908, Karl Abarth was a European motorcycle champion in the 1930s who fled to Italy during World War II. His firm,…
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1948 Tucker 48
If I had a wayback machine, I can think of no one I would more like to buy a beer for than Preston Tucker {vsig}2004-7_1223{/vsig} The name Tucker strikes a chord in the heart of every true car enthusiast. One of the final hand-built models to roll off the line, Tucker no. 1043 is probably…
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1984 Audi Quattro Sport
Anyone who’s ever stood in the cold on the side of a dark mountain road waiting for those headlights to come flashing by can understand the desire to own this car. {vsig}2004-7_1224{/vsig} This 1984 Audi Sport Quattro is not only the works car of world champion Hannu Mikkola and Arne Hertz, but is probably the…
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1966 Ferrari 500 Superfast
The Shah of Iran was so impressed with his 500 Superfast that he bought a second one. {vsig}2004-6_1225{/vsig} The high-performance, luxury gran tursimo was a new automotive idiom in the prosperous years following World War II. Powerful, limited-production GT’s supplanted the great cars from Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, and the grandes routieres of France, which had…
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1975 Jensen Interceptor Mark III Convertible
At a time when a Corvette cost just $8,000, convertible Interceptors were $25,000. It’s no wonder Jensen Motors Ltd. bit the dust. {vsig}2004-6_1226{/vsig} In 1931 brothers Alan and Richard Jensen opened a coachwork factory in West Bromwich, U.K., which supplied many British car manufacturers. Four years later, they built the first Jensen on a Wolseley…
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1974 Maserati Bora
Unlike many of the first mid-engine cars that were compromised with small interiors, tiny trunks, and delicate construction, the Bora is a refined car that offers comfort with no sacrifice in performance. {vsig}2004-6_1229{/vsig} Maserati introduced the Bora in 1971, the successor to the front-engined Ghibli. A mid-engined car in the fashion of Ferrari’s Boxer, the…