Profiles
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1929 Cadillac 341B Sport Dual-Cowl Phaeton
Cadillac cars were the inspiration of Henry M. Leyland and established the tradition of interchangeability of components. They became part of General Motors in 1909 and were soon the leaders of that group. In 1914 they introduced the world’s first commercially successful V8 engine, which stayed into production in its first series until 1926. In…
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1959 BMW 507 Series II
It would indeed have been a shame if BMW had confined the use of its first V8 engine range merely to its saloon cars of the 1950s. Had that been the case, the world would have been denied what is arguably the Bavarian marque’s finest post-war sports car-the glamorous, high-performance 507. The V8, the work…
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1930 Bentley 4.5-Liter Supercharged Tourer
Perhaps the worst-kept secret among “the right crowd” in motor sport circles in 1929 was the development of the supercharged Bentley. As early as 1 January, 1929 the “Morning Post” suggested that two UK companies would be entering supercharged cars for Le Mans that year and in July 1929, when the “Morning Post” announcement had…
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1959 BMW 507 Series II
It would have been a shame if BMW had confined the use of its first V8 engine range merely to its saloon cars of the 1950s. Had that been the case the world would have been denied what is arguably the Bavarian marque’s finest post-war sports car – the glamorous high performance 507. The V8,…
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1966 Shelby GT350 H
In 1964, Ford Motor Company produced one of the most successful cars in history – the Mustang. It sold 22,000 cars the first day! At that same time, Ford had Texan racecar driver Carroll Shelby under contract. They were already selling his AC Cobra in Ford dealerships. Ford decided to have Shelby experiment with the…
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1947 MG TC
MG recovered quickly after the Second World War and began production on its new TC series which were among the first cars built anywhere following the war. The TC Midget was, and is still, aesthetically pleasing with its distinctive radiator and sweeping wheel arches framing the spider, 19-inch wire wheels. Even with windscreen raised and…
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1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
I drove one cross-country and did four straight hours in Nevada at 110 mph. With the car singing through its original mild-steel exhaust system, the sound is as unique as the rest of the car {vsig}2004-12_1540{/vsig} In the collector car world, there is no more immediately recognizable sight than a 300SL with its doors open.…
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1956 Maserati 300S
The Trident symbol, representing the city of Bologna, features foremost on the Maserati emblem and is often referred to as the heartbeat of Italian motoring – in that Bologna is situated in the central part of Italy and the Maserati name has been associated with racing since the early 1920s. Certainly the name Maserati has…
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1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB Competizione
The Paris Salon in 1959 saw the introduction of a Ferrari 250GT Short Wheelbase Berlinetta, a direct development of the Long Wheelbase car known as the Tour de France. Built on the 94.5-inch wheelbase chassis powered by the 3-liter V12 engine, the new and exciting Gran Turismo car was destined for many racing successes. Perhaps…
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1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
When Mercedes-Benz introduced their new range of cars in 1951 it included the 3-liter six-cylinder 300S model which was to become the basis of their return to motor sport in 1952. Rudi Uhlenhaut, the Competition Director, was obliged to use production components for his new sports racecar and to compensate for the weight penalty he…