Launched at the 1957 London Motor Show – when metal panel work was the sports car norm and all-independent suspension the domain of racing cars – the strikingly pretty Lotus Elite boasted a fiberglass monocoque bodyshell with rear suspension first seen on the Lotus 12 Formula 2 single-seater. A steel […]
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We’ve just returned from a grand three days, participating in the 10th Annual Monte Shelton N.W. Classic Rally. Our ’68 Porsche 911L performed splendidly for the 1,000 miles through Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, and never missed a beat until it was three miles from home. We stopped to pick up […]
1961 Porsche RS61 Spyder
Porsche Spyders are excellent dual-purpose collectibles, equally at home on the track or on road tours such as the Colorado Grand One of the last 4-cam Spyders built, this tidy RS 61, chassis 718070, possesses a proud racing pedigree, an impressive list of owners, and a degree of authenticity found […]
1956 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster
In 1956, Ford was building the two-seat Thunderbird, and outselling Corvette four to one. After two disastrous sales years, the Corvette had to change or die. And change it did. First, it received a new body to replace the classic roadster style body of the previous three years. Still in […]
1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ
When Carlo Leto di Priolo wrecked his Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce on the 1956 Mille Miglia, he had the car rebodied by his friend Elio Zagato, with lightweight and aerodynamic aluminium coachwork. The rebuilt car was further campaigned in races with such success that 18 further examples of the “SVZ” […]
1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona
Worthy successor to the 275GTB/4, the 365GTB/4 Daytona debuted at the Paris Salon in 1968, with production proper commencing in the second half of 1969. Aggressively styled by Pininfarina’s Leonardo Fioravanti, Ferrari’s new supercar boldly re-stated the traditional sports car’s long hood, small cabin, short tail look in a way […]
1960 Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite
The Austin-Healey Sprite series of small-capacity production sports cars with BMC A-Series engines is too familiar to require detailed description here, but this particular car is one of the very select group of “Sebring” Sprites which were highly modif The Austin-Healey Sprite series of small-capacity production sports cars with BMC […]
1957 Abarth 750 Zagato
When the magazine Motor Trend road-tested an Abarth early in 1958, the journalist started his article as follows: “Not since driving the Moretti coupe have I seen so many people gawk in admiration as I drove by, and not since the first TR-2 arrived have I had so much fun […]
Enjoy the Ride
If you’ve been dabbling in collector cars for a decade or more, you’ve been through the meteoric highs and the dismal, depressing lows. Eight years ago, carbureted Ferrari 308s sold for over $70,000, and Boxers passed $250,000. Porsche Speedsters were bringing $100,000, and flat-floor Jaguar E-type convertibles even more. If […]
Let’s Tape the Headlights and Go
Until the late 1950s, it was not uncommon for production sports cars like Alfa Giuliettas and Porsche Speedsters to be driven to the track, raced and driven home. Competition preparation consisted of criss-crossing their headlights with pieces of black tape to keep the lens from shattering into a thousand pieces […]