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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
At the end of 1988, a Porsche 911 (G-series) left Stuttgart destined for sale somewhere in the world, thus contributing to a total of 32,000 Porsches sold that year. In 1989, Porsche began selling its successor, internally known as the 964. Touted as the “911 for the next 25 years,” it indeed seemed up to…
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…
Sold – $29,000 (plus fees) In 2008, Subaru was heavily competing in the World Rally Championship with its WRX STI. Capitalizing on their sporting fame, Subaru sold thousands of WRX STI to WRC fans and AWD enthusiasts. But what if the WRX sedan was a bit too constrictive for your lifestyle? Well in 2007, Subaru…
Sold – $80,500 (plus fees) 1978, white smoke rises from Porsche’s factory in Stuttgart; a new 911 has been born. With the 911SC’s arrival came necessary engine updates to alleviate issues with the earlier 2.7-liter motors. Furthermore, the SC tapped into the upcoming eighties styling, ushering in blacked-out brightwork, and the overall elimination of chrome.…
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…
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…
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,…
Sold – $15,500 (plus fees) The Testarossa and Countach may be the quintessential eighties sports car symbols, but when it comes to luxury vehicles, nothing beats out Porsche’s 928. With a rakish, low visage, the 928 was svelte and sporty; however, with four seats and a large boot, it was also a potent grand tourer…
One of the questions I am asked most often is what it’s really like to run at sustained speeds of 230 mph. The short answer to this question is probably the most obvious one, which is when the car is set up very good, there’s nothing else like it. Those are the days that as…
(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…
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…
Sold – $21,000 (plus fees) As Dodge’s full-size car offering in 1965, the Polara came in an extensive range of body styles including sedans, hardtops, station wagons, and most beautifully, convertibles. In 1967, the entire wheelbase of the Polara was lengthened by a full inch with six inches added in total. The effect was a…
Sold – $48,500 (plus fees) It is challenging to come up with superlatives for Acura’s super sports car, the NSX. So remarkable was it when new that today nearly every aspect of the vehicle has been covered in multiple ways. Almost uncompromising attention to detail, novel manufacturing techniques, world-toppling performance figures, and a prosaic price…
Sold – $13,000 (plus fees) Modern Bentleys are expected by their owners to perform on near supercar levels considering the premium payment you provide for a set of keys, and they do. However, this was not always the case; in fact, for the majority of Bentley’s existence, it has established itself as a marquee of…
The Shelby 427 Cobra is historic, and it damn well should be. Yet for most car fans seeing one on the road is almost always presaged by “It’s probably a kit car” comments, and rarely are they wrong. Our reality exists this way because it is iconic in shape, performance, and has a renown racing…
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…
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…
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,…
Sold – $71,000 (plus fees) Just as Ford’s Boss 429 was built and designed for NASCAR dominance, the Boss 302 was put into production with aimed success in the Trans-Am series. A focus on handling and more stable engine performance, instead of merely high-speed capability, was what primarily set the Boss 302 apart from its…
