N.A.R.T. CORVETTE: STINGRAY FOR LONG HAUL!

Posted on February 24, 2018 by MartynL

The Chinetti connection put a red-white-blue Corvette on the field at Le Mans in 1972. You can see it at the 23rd Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance on March 9 to 11th. Luigi Chinetti's New York-based North American Racing Team is internationally famous as Enzo Ferrari's UNOFFICIAL western outpost. Yet right in the middle of the cars in the 23rd Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance Cars of N.A.R.T. class - surrounded by a fleet of exotic and historic Ferraris - is a pure red-white-and-blue Corvette...

ALFA ROMEO TZ3: AMERICAN MUSCLE; ITALIAN SUIT!

Posted on February 20, 2018 by MartynL

Built by Zagato to celebrate its centenary, the Stradale TZ3 is built on an SRT Viper platform. This one is Number Nine of Nine constructed. Under the TZ3 swoopy carbon fiber body rests an 8.3-liter, 600 Horsepower V-10 that can propel it from a standing start to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. The first custom-bodied Italian-American Alfa, showcases graceful lines, a blunt Kamm-style rear, Zagato signature double-bubble roof and other unique Zagato styling cues. This rare 2010 Stradale TZ3 is th...

MARIO’S MONOPOSTO: PROJECT STALKERATI REDUX!

Posted on February 18, 2018 by MartynL

Mario Parker’s one-of-one Stalker/Maserati Project has been completed and is ready for road & track. The street-driven Stalkerati (Stalker/Maserati) showcases period styling cues that support the marriage of a modern chassis and powertrain with the look of a classic 1950s-1960s Monoposto (single-seat) racecar. Style and functional features include exhaust routing over the rear wheels, engine-turned dashboard, twin curved windscreens, single roll bar, vintage side view mirrors, flip-top gas ...

‘18 MERCEDES-BENZ E63 S: AMG STREET FIGHTER!

Posted on February 18, 2018 by MartynL

Mercedes-Benz unleashes a 603-horsepower family four-door thrill-ride. Road Test Editor Howard Walker tries his best to tame the beast. Wiktionary defines a blunt instrument as a heavy object, without sharp edges, used as a weapon. Or an imprecise or heavy-handed way of doing something. A perfect description, no less, for the new Mercedes-Benz E63 S, a 603-horsepower, twin-turbo'd V8 blunt-instrument rolling on Darth-Vader-noir 20-inch forged cross-spoke rims. How else could you possible des...

MARK II: CHEVY’S MYSTERIOUS 427!

Posted on February 15, 2018February 15, 2018 by MartynL

The real 427 Mystery Motor, unlike the Z11, was not available in a car, or to the public. You had to have serious NASCAR cred to get one of the 20 built. In the 1960s, Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen always seemed to be one step ahead of GM Chairman Fred Donner’s anti-racing missives. While running Pontiac, he had supported the Super-Duty Group that later, after he left, managed to get 421 Catalina Lightweights to drag racers before the axe fell. Then he moved on to Chevrolet in 1961 and supported the R...

SWAMP RAT III: ‘BIG DADDY’ CACKLES LAGUNA SECA!

Posted on February 12, 2018February 12, 2018 by MartynL

SWAMP RAT III: ‘BIG DADDY’ CACKLES AT LAGUNA SECA!

Legendary Top Fuel racer Don Garlits and Swamp Rat III will be at Nitro Revival at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Don “Big Daddy” Garlits, Ocala, FL, is a name that is synonymous with drag racing and the evolution of Top Fuel dragsters. Over his career he has accumulated 144 wins, 17 championships, and numerous performance records dating back to 1950. Garlits, right, will meet and greet fans and cackle his famed Swamp Rat III dragster that was faithfully recreated for Sonny Messner. The third inc...

’65 STING RAY: DUNTOV’S FIRST L88!

Posted on February 10, 2018February 10, 2018 by MartynL

Zora Arkus-Duntov’s legendary L88 Corvette Sting Ray Mule – Vin 58053 - is alive, well and the subject of Kenneth W. Kayser’s fascinating new book – ZORA’S #58053. Ken Kayser had spent his entire engineering career at General Motors, starting in 1968 as a student at GMI (General Motors Institute) and his first (co-op) job at GM’s Chevrolet Motor Plant, Tonawanda, NY. He retired in 2008 and, for approximately two years before retiring, worked on the mid-engined Corvette project. He also worked w...

SWISS STUNNER: CORVETTE MAKO SHARK II REDUX!

Posted on February 8, 2018 by MartynL

One of the most beautiful and significant Corvette Concept Cars ever, the 1965/1966 Mako Shark II hinted to the arrival of an all-new C3 Stingray in 1968. This handcrafted Tribute Shark built in Switzerland is picture perfect. Hanspeter Bohl, a Corvette specialist in Muenchenstein, Switzerland, is the man responsible for what has to be the most authentic, highest quality Mako Shark II Tribute ever produced. He worked with GM’s original U.S. Patent drawing and created a bespoke Shark that look...

’69½ DODGE: STING LIKE A SUPER BEE!

Posted on February 4, 2018February 4, 2018 by MartynL

Dodge gets its Supercar act together with an aggressive midyear Super Bee with a venomous sting. Built off the midsize Coronet platform, the Super Bee was packaged for testosterone-infused enthusiasts. Like the streamlined Charger 500 and Charger Daytona, Detroit’s Creative Industries handled final assembly of Dodge’s in-your-face Super Bee. With its lift-off scooped fiberglass hood, tri-power 440 Wedge, beefy Dana 60 rear end, status graphics, taut suspension and “electric” colors, the Super ...

’32 FORD: OLD SCHOOL’S THE BEST SCHOOL!

Posted on February 2, 2018February 4, 2018 by MartynL

The Pacific Gun Sight Special is more than a picture-perfect Highboy roadster. It represents a four-wheeled ‘window’ into the history of a uniquely American hobby. Kim and Mitch McCullough are consummate, hands-on car guys. They collect cars, but more importantly they drive and compete with the cars they have acquired. Trailer queens have no place in the McCullough collection. Cars are the focus of both their vocations and avocations. Kim is Vice-President of Marketing for Jaguar Land Rover ...