Profiles

1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Coupe

The 280SE 3.5-liter cars were Mercedes-Benz’s first V8-powered sports cars. A combination of elegant styling coupled with effortless performance made them highly desirable and they were every bit as prestigious as their competitors. From the outset, the emphasis was on quality and the cars featured a new interior with more […]

1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe

The car that most Corvette collections consider the ultimate was never meant to be. In GM’s master plan, the new body style introduced in 1968 was intended for 1967 production. Fortunately for Corvette fans everywhere, delays forced the continuation of the Sting Ray for one more year. Corvette designers were […]

1951 MG-TD Roadster

World War II saw the start of many romances and among them was the affair between America and Abingdon, where MGs were made. Americans met the MG, fell in love, and pretty soon Abingdon couldn’t keep up with the demand. Like many a love affair, the Smitten One did not […]

1969 Renault Alpine A110

Presented at the Paris Auto Show in 1963, Jean Redele unveiled the Alpine A110 after his prior successes with the A106 and A108. The A110 was a true departure for the company as styling was largely revised and the Dieppe-based firm began building one of their more respected models that […]

1970-75 Citroën SM

In its day, the Citroën SM was a deserving member of the supercar ranks. Capable of 0 to 60 in 8.6 seconds, and with a top speed of 140 mph, the Citroën SM offered a unique blend of Gallic insouciance and Italian con brio. When introduced to the US in […]

1967 Mercedes-Benz 230SL Roadster

The 230SL, along with its later variants, the 250SL and 280SL, comprise the third generation of the Super Leicht (“super light”) models that began with the 300SL in the 1950s. This new model introduced in 1963 at the Geneva Motor Show was an immediate hit, doubling the sales rate for […]

1966 Shelby GT350 H

The Mustang was the first of the pony cars and the most charismatic. When equipped with a high-performance, 289-cubic-inch, 271-horsepower engine, they became favorites at the stoplight drags. However, once sports-car maestro Carroll Shelby got his hands on the Mustang, they entered a different league. With subtle but critical modifications […]

1959 AC Ace “Cobra” Roadster

The success of Cliff Davis’s successful Tojeiro sports-racer prompted AC Cars to put the design into production in 1954 as the Ace. The Davis car’s pretty Ferrari 166-inspired Barchetta bodywork was retained, as was John Tojeiro’s twin-tube ladder-frame chassis and Cooper-influenced all-independent suspension, but the power unit was AC’s own […]

1989 Lamborghini Countach Anniversary

The Countach debuted at the Geneva Auto Salon as a show car in 1971 and was introduced to the European market in 1974. In polite terms, the name Countach is Italian slang for “Good Lord!” or simply, “Wow!” This exclamation aptly describes most car lovers’ response on seeing the car […]

1979-85 Mazda RX-7

In 1979 Mazda jumped into the two-seat sports car market with the basic, no-frills, rotary-powered RX-7. The car was an instant winner, and Road & Track referred to it as “a major breakthrough for the enthusiast.” Its primary competition, the once lean and mean Datsun 240Z of the early ’70s, […]