The Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports model was introduced late in 1961, offering arguably the best price-for-performance value available at that time. Its lightweight aluminum body provided crisp handling in a design reminiscent of the great fully fendered sports cars of the 1930s. Between 1961 and 1968 only 104 Triumph TR4A-engined aluminum-bodied Super Sports were…
This wonderfully useable, well-presented and historic product of the world-famous Maserati brothers’ company “Officina Specializzata Costruzione Automobili,” better known as “OSCA,” was purchased new from the Bolognese factory in Italy by Kleenex millionaire James H. “Gentleman Jim” Kimberly, in 1956. At the Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, that September, Kimberly and his brilliant…
Ferrari’s line of highly successful V8-engined road cars began when the 308 GT4 of 1973 took over from the preceding 246 Dino V6. The newcomer’s wedged-shaped styling, by Bertone, was not universally well received, but the performance of the 3-liter V8 certainly was. A new two-seater car using the same power unit, the 308 GTB,…
Porsche had great success racing 356 Carreras in many different venues. In 1961 at Sebring, Porsche had two class wins with the Carrera 2: the GT class with Ben Pon and Joe Buzzetta, and the Prototype class with Don Webster and Bruce Jennings. After Joe Buzzetta’s win, he remarked of the Carrera: “If I had…
The Prowler, approved for concept in July 1992, was a showstopper in January 1993 when it made its debut at the North American International AutoShow in Detroit. In September 1994, top management officially approved the Prowler for production and it was in 1997 that the first production version of the Prowler rolled off the line…
If it hadn’t been for the success of the Mini-Cooper S as driven by Paddy Hopkirk in the Monte Carlo Rally and similar challenging long-distance races in the mid-’60s, the Mini probably never would have achieved the worldwide recognition it has enjoyed. And there certainly never would have been a BMW Mini in showrooms in…
The DB5 convertible may be rightly regarded as the perfected Aston Martin-the product of deliberate and steady improvement in performance, reliability, comfort and appearance to a plane unequalled by its Continental rivals. The DB5 flowed smoothly from the DB4, gaining a small measure of displacement (from 3.7 to 4.0 liters) and power (from 240 to…
In 1944 Ettore Bugatti initiated the designs of a new, supercharged 1500-cc car intended for postwar production. It was designated the Type 73, with variations ranging from a four-seater road model to a monoposto racing car. Early in 1947 an artist’s impression of a streamlined, two-door saloon appeared in a Bugatti advertisement in a Continental…
Introduced in 1984, the 288 GTO was built for Group B racing, though most of the 272 examples made for homologation were in road-going trim. As happens occasionally, some lucky customers were able to buy a superb road car because others wanted to go to the track. In standard form, this engine produced a massive…
Porsche took over in sports car racing where Ferrari left off in the early 1970s. After winning the World Sports Car Championship in 1970, 1971 and 1972, Porsche reacted to the FIA decision to swing from sports-prototypes to more production-based machinery by selecting their eight-year-old street-going 911 to be further developed as a racing car.…