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The Miracle (Thousand) Miles – Mille Miglia’s History Condensed

Outrage! Scandal! These must have been the battle cries of petition given by Count Aymo Maggi, Count Franco Mazzotti, and their friends Giovanni Canestrini and Renzo Castagneto when discussing the Italian Grand Prix relocation to Monza in the city of Milan in 1922. Much like the citizens of many other industrializing nations, Italians were deeply…

Rally Together! – 1983 Renault R5 Turbo 2 Auction Revisitation

Homologation requirements may be the bane of manufacturers, but for racecar-loving addicts, they are ambrosia from on high. During the 1980s, the World Rally Championship (WRC) reached its tenth birthday and as the series grew so too did participation. Renault, a dedicated contender in WRC’s inaugural year, yearned to recapture their triumphant first-year success with…

The Air-Cooled Iconoclast – 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa vs. Porsche 911

Infamous for their unforgiving handling characteristics when driven at the limit, the first Porsche 911 and the second generation Chevrolet Corvair are more likely nemesis than either company intended or collectors may realize. Both offer six-cylinder air-cooled engines, placed distantly behind the rear seats. Both are lightweight grand touring 2+2 with a focus on sportiness,…

A Quiet Riot – LS1-Powered 1975 Jaguar XJ Coupe Follow Up

The inherent madness of an engine swap, especially when upgrading in power, is only surpassed in specialty when a block from an entirely different manufacturer is used. With the changeover comes vast amounts of difficulties due to packaging constraints, electrical gremlins, reliability, and parts compatibility. Frankly, the partnership obstacles are intimidating and almost always financially…

A Ferrari by Any Other Name – A Recap of the Ferrari-Dino 206/246 GT

Ferrari needs no introduction to establish their commitment to performance perfection – the name is mythical among the automotive industry. That is why it is comically ironic that what is now considered the ‘ideal’ sports car engine arrangement, mid-mounted, was initially met with harsh resistance by company founder, Enzo Ferrari. So fierce was his opposition…

The Mightiest Mazda – A Look Back at Mazda’s 787B

Mazda’s factory-supported racing effort success over the years in the 1980s were spotty, as they struggled in competition because of their rotary powerplants. During this time, a distinguishing trait for most of their racing cars was the blue and white liveries that adorned them, now a hallmark of Mazda’s performance brand, Mazdaspeed. It is ironic…

A Beautiful Farewell to Fins – 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5

Sold – $89,500 (plus fees) While the overall design of a car can typically mature beyond ten production years without becoming too outdated, styling requires a far more delicate and deliberate approach. When Mercedes-Benz began exploring the replacement of their Ponton sedans in the mid-fifties, the style of tailfins was still chic. A bit behind…

Our Supercharged Shelby Sale – 1965 Shelby Ford Mustang GT350 Follow Up

With regards to aftermarket performance, Mercedes’ AMG, BMW’s M division, Cadillac’s V team, and their ilk are contemporary powerhouses all vying for a chance to be ‘best’ in their business. Of course, each brand has a personalized backstory as to its existence, but today most auto companies have an in-house skunkworks responsible for masterminding the…

Silver San Francisco Special – 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Auctioning Now

Sold – $30,250 (plus fees) Also coinciding with the 911’s 996-generation model refresh of 2002, was a new variant debut: the Carrera 4S. It was a revisitation of the original concept that launched during the previous 993 era. As such, the 996 C4S was similarily upgraded: wider Turbo bodywork, all-wheel drive, special wheels, upgraded brakes,…

Sublime Super Carrera – 1981 Porsche 911SC on Auction Now!

(For sale, if interested please contact us) Wheeled out by Porsche in 1978, the new 911SC brought the until-then exclusively European 3.0-liter Carrera engine to the entirety of the market. After four years of issues with the magnesium 2.7-liter cases, the “new” three-liter unit ushered in a favorably resurgent sentiment toward Porsche reliability. Aside from…

Less Resistance, More (Air) Flow – A Short History of the NACA Duct

Despite their nearly identical nature, automobiles have always trailed behind novel airplane technical designs by several years. For instance, several wind tunnels had been built around the United States and the world by the 1920s, yet it wasn’t until Jaguar took their E-Type to one in the 1950s that a car company integrally used the…

The Durable Diesel – 1983 Mercedes-Benz 300D Turbo

Sold – $8,200 (plus fees) It was a common practice among all German manufacturers before the millennium to over-engineer vehicle equipment. Nearly every marquee from Deutschland has at least one, sometimes several, models that hold a reputation for being capable of seemingly improbable endurance. And seated highly among the foremost prominent of that list would…

Universally Capable – 2004 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U500

Sold – $195,000 (plus fees) Germany’s automotive climate after World War 2 was one of slow recovery and desperation. Materials were scarce to come by, so companies found great difficulty in new car production. Moreover, utility trucks or vehicles that had not been destroyed during the war were now in exceedingly short supply. Mercedes-Benz had…

Toyota Total Performance – A Brief History of Toyota’s Celica GT-Four/All Trac (ST185)

Many know the story of Ford versus Ferrari at Le Mans during the 1960s, it is a well-tenured parable among automotive evangelists. However, most do not realize that this effort was actually a small part of a much larger endeavor by Ford declared the ‘Total Performance’ campaign. The whole operation, including their Le Mans teams,…