Toyota’s 2000GT is widely acclaimed as the first Japanese car to be taken seriously by Western critics-the country’s first “supercar.” The model marked Japan’s rise away from dull derivative models toward the highly competitive position it enjoys today. The 2000GT was originally penned by Albrecht Goertz (creator of the BMW […]

The $169,000 achieved in Geneva for #99 represents an 82% appreciation in 48 months Just before the outbreak of WWII, the Maserati brothers sold their company to industrialist Adolfo Orsi. Not long after the war was over, they decided their real interests lay in racing, and together they formed OSCA-short […]

This car owes its name to Nuvolari’s heroic drive in the 1947 Mille Miglia, while its aggressive shape owes a great deal to pre-WWII aerodynamics Italian industrialist Piero Dusio built up the Consorzio Industriale Sportivo Italia into a successful conglomerate before WWII. He was also an uncommonly good amateur racing […]

Originally a bicycle manufacturer, and probably best known as a maker of fine racing motorcycles, Edoardo Bianchi built his first automobile in the early 1900s. A wide variety of models followed over the next 30 years, though by 1940 the firm was concentrating on motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Car manufacture […]

This car needs someone to sort it out and drive it. When these are right, they make superb vintage rally and tour mounts Vincenzo Lancia loved automobiles, driving and motoring competition. The delectable machines that flowed from the factory were the expression of his passion. There were many great designs […]

British troops called the gasoline-powered American tanks ‘Ronsons.’ Like the cigarette lighter slogan of the day, they ‘lit the first time when struck’ The catalog description for the M3 Stuart light tank was sparse but pithy. Manufacturer: American Car & Foundry Co., U.S.A. Crew: Four. Engine: Continental W-670-9A; 7-cyl. engine. […]

The teenagers who had Farrah Fawcett posters have grown up and (loud groan) have started to collect 1980s cars   The sensation of the 1971 Geneva Salon, the Countach was styled, like its predecessor, by Bertone’s Marcello Gandini. Lamborghini’s four-cam V12 was retained, though this time installed longitudinally. To achieve […]

Positioning a V8 against the 6-cylinders of Ferrari, Porsche, and Maserati must have seemed like a good idea at the time {vsig}2006-7_1942{/vsig} The note from the previous owner that accompanied this 1977 Lamborghini Urraco to auction was brief and to the point. “There were only 520 P250s built. This is […]

Citroën wouldn’t sell Chapron any separate chassis, so he was reduced to buying complete cars and dismantling them   {vsig}2006-6_1937{/vsig} The Citroёn DS19 was launched on an unsuspecting world in 1955 and continued to be France’s car of choice well into the 1970s. There were many interpretations of the theme, […]

I suspect this car falls into the same class of collectible as hearses-you can’t get away from the Dark Side   {vsig}2006-5_1929{/vsig} This Russian Gaz-13 “Chaika” limousine is number 2,511 of only 3,719 built between 1959 and 1981. The Chaika-which means Gull-was favored by Kremlin officials, Soviet heads of state, […]