Before the ad offering it for sale was published in February 1982, ALP 598 was mine. “One of the prettiest of all the famous Le Mans cars,” it was called, “in superb restored condition. Finished in Prussian Blue with grey hide upholstery and black weather equipment.” That’s the way Coys of Kensington described this Aston...
At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, much of the world quietly celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended “The War to End All Wars.” Total casualties, killed and wounded, numbered about 37 million. Of that number, approximately 17 million were killed – 7 million civilians and 10 million...
Tony Valadez’ elegant 1939 Pontiac convertible is everything later Pontiac muscle cars are not. The later cars were brash, flashy and fast. Tony’s vintage Pontiac is none of these things. Instead it is handsome and understated. It is also roomy, comfortable, smooth, quiet, durable and dependable. And when I say durable, consider this, Valadez’ Deluxe...
After Ettore Bugatti’s death his family decided to keep his car-making company alive. Their creation of the Type 101 was a daring wager on the appetite of the post-war world for a grand tourer in the image of the pre-war Type 57 Bugatti. If there were a 1930s equivalent of the 250GT Ferrari it was...
There were many interesting and familiar cars parked at the 2018 Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance. Ferraris, Packards, Jaguars and some vintage racecars are what one hopes and expects to see at such a place. However, amongst the highly collectable and sought after vintage cars on the field this day, there was an outlier. It was attractive,...
In Switzerland Ernst and Fritz Beutler made a good living from special bodies on both Volkswagen and Porsche chassis. Ultimately Porsche took a close interest in what the brothers were doing because it had 2+2 ambitions of its own. The Swiss brothers Beutler stepped on the stage of Porsche-car history at the beginning of the...
In May 1968, my former wife and I traveled by train, ferry and again by train from Pirmasens, Germany, to Norwich, England. Our purpose was to pick up our new 1968 Lotus Europa at the factory in Wymondham, near Norwich. We had a few adventures along the way, thanks to a train crash in Germany...
If I were to ask you to name an innovative, Italian sports car manufacturer, chances are good you would instinctively reply, Ferrari. If I were to then ask you to name one of the oldest Italian automobile manufacturers in continuous production, you very well might answer either Fiat or Alfa Romeo. And while all these...
What is art? A shape, a form, an abstract collection of ideas, an image created by man to invoke thought, reflection, passion, pleasure or even shock? In automotive terms, art is defined by a car’s styling. Some have referred to a car’s advanced or elaborate engineering aspects as a mechanical work of art. What one...
Franco Scaglione was a truly remarkable man, even by the standards of most Italian car designers. From drawings of the Lancia Aurelia B50/1 for the Carrozzeria Balbo in 1951 to the Intermeccanica Indra of 1972 and the immortal Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale—which has every right to arguably be described as the most beautiful car...
It was possibly the greatest automotive marketing slogan ever – “Ask the Man Who Owns One.” Packards were such high quality, reliable cars that asking someone who owned a Packard was sure to produce a very complimentary reply. Throughout much of the company’s history, its cars were considered among the best, if not the best,...