For those insufficiently wealthy to afford its expensive race-bred sportscar, the 300SL, Mercedes-Benz offered the less-exotic 190SL. Based on the 180 saloon, the 190 made use of the latter’s running gear; this comprised independent front suspension by means of wishbones and coil springs, single-pivot swing axe at the rear, plus […]
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1971 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV Coupe
As was appropriate to a marque with a long and illustrious racing history, Alfa Romeo consistently provided its road-going automobiles with engines closer than most to racing specification. Alfa Romeo’s seminal engine was Vittorio Jano’s historic 2,300 cc supercharged twin overhead-camshaft eight-cylinder of 1930, which powered their famous monoposto P3 […]
1997 Jaguar XJ 220 Coupe
The magnificent looking and lavishly-specified Jaguar XJ220 coupe is absolutely the modern-day successor to the multiple-La Mans-winning C-Type and D-Type Jaguars of the 1950s, and it is derived directly from the double-Le Mans-winning TWR Jaguar Group C The magnificent looking and lavishly-specified Jaguar XJ220 coupe is absolutely the modern-day […]
1972 2.4-Liter Fiat Dino Coupe
The name “Dino” comes from Alfredino, Enzo Ferrari’s first son who tragically died in 1956 – and after whom Enzo decreed that all Ferrari V6’s would be called “Dino.” The concept of the V6 engine came from Alfredino and Vittorio Jano in 1955 and the final design work on it […]
1956 Mercedes-Benz 300Sc Roadster
{vsig}1997-10_1619{/vsig} The three-liter, six-cylinder 300S model Mercedes-Benz was first exhibited in October 1951 at the Paris Salon and production began in 1952. It was designed for the discriminating sports car enthusiast, and was to follow on the pre-war concept of the famous 500K and 540K Series cars that matched elegance […]
1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Series Factory Supercharged Convertible
{vsig}1997-10_1622{/vsig} When the Ford Thunderbird arrived in 1955, it literally blew past the Corvette in both sales and popularity, giving General Motors pause to reconsider the Corvette’s future. It was the beginning of the short-lived but exciting sports car wars which revved up in 1955 and ended abruptly in 1957, […]
1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale “Low Nose”
The Alfa Romeo B.A.T. cars (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica) were futuristic styling exercises undertaken by Alfa Romeo and Bertone in the early 1950s to measure the effects of streamlining on a car’s performance. Franco Scaglitone, Bertone’s chief designer, produced another study based on the B.A.T. cars, but this time using the […]
1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder
I drove all night and most of the next day, This unique GTS/4 Daytona Spyder is that most mythical of beasts, a genuine one-owner-from-new Daytona Spyder. We know of just one other, a North American-specification model resident in the U.S. Ferrari sold just 121 Daytona Spyders. Left-hand drive chassis number […]
1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder
{vsig}1997-10_1623{/vsig} Ferrari’s fabulous fourcam V12 front-engined Berlinetta concept evolved during 1967 when the 3.3-liter fourcam 275GTB/4 model was just being introduced to the high performance car market. What would become the 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” was developed with the rapidity typical of Maranello, and subsequently made its public debut at the […]
1936 SS Jaguar 100 Two-Seater Sports Roadster
When the young William Lyons introduced his devastatingly handsome SS Jaguar 100 sports two-seater in the fall of 1935, it was viewed with some skepticism by the rather conservative English sporting motorists of the day. Rakishly low, with 90 mph plus readily available and acceleration to match, it was well-equipped […]