For the past 40 years, the Ferrari 250 GTO has been the “Mona Lisa” of the collector-car market. They represent the last of the front-engined Ferrari customer cars that could be driven on the street and then taken to the track. They were contenders for overall victory in events such […]
Shifting Gears
Deliverance on the Road to Astoria
There was no one home at the farmhouse; I knocked on all the doors. I had seen a rototiller in the nearby shed, with one-gallon gas cans next to it. “Anyone here?” I called out again. There was no answer, so I picked up a can and poured the contents […]
Who is Your Favorite Restoration Tech?
We all have our favorite specialists. We have our go-to chefs, sommeliers, gardeners, travel agents and interior designers. We also have our favorite restorers. These are the men and women we turn to when we need our cars done just right. They’re the solution providers when we come across a […]
SCM’s Endless Summer
Imagine 40 classic cars — many of them Alfas — hitting redline as they climb to historic Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. Or after a day cruising the wide-open landscapes off Highway 97 past Fort Rock, gathering again to drive around crystal-clear Crater Lake. We’re just a couple of months […]
The Siren Song of an MGA
I was about 30 miles south of Twin Falls, ID, when a connecting rod broke and exploded through the side of the engine block. I coasted silently to the side of the road in the late-afternoon sun. I was on State Highway 93 — right in the middle of nowhere. […]
Arizona Auction Week and One Star Car
We picked the cars we planned to profile in this issue during a routine editorial meeting last January. Each month, Managing Editor Jim Pickering goes through recent sales, and he then presents those of interest to me, Executive Editor Chester Allen and Art Directors Dave Tomaro and Jeff Stites. We […]
Rhapsody in Blue
The McLaren 570S Spider left a swirling vortex of freshly fallen snow in its wake. I was piloting the 562-hp supercar through Government Camp as I crossed Oregon’s Mount Hood on Highway 26. The road was dry, and the snow wasn’t sticking. I felt confident pushing the Curacao Blue car […]
When Will It Be Time to Sell?
There’s been a lot of talk recently about Baby-Boomer collectors “thinning their collections” and “right-sizing them.” Whether you have six cars, 60 or 600 — the dilemma is the same. Over the decades you’ve been collecting, as you’ve found the specific model you’ve been looking for, you acquire it — […]
Raising the SCM Family
I’ve raised a family of three over the past 30 years. They include my daughter, Alexandra, 26, my son Bradley, 10, and Sports Car Market, which is nearly full-grown at 30. Just as I’ve watched Alex and Bradley mature and develop, I’ve seen SCM go from a little black-and-white newsletter […]
The Ultimate GTV is a 911
Our old cars haven’t changed in the past 30 years. What has changed is the world around them. In 1988, when we produced the first issue of The Alfa Romeo Market Letter on a mimeograph machine, our 1967 GTV would have been 21 years old. Most GTVs in 1988 were […]