BUICK POWER: APOLLO GT.

Posted on January 12, 2020January 12, 2020 by MartynL

Rare and inventive, the Buick-powered, Italian-bodied Apollo GT is far from forgotten. The sports car history books are chock full of ambitious young folks dreaming big, pooling their cash, and setting up shop to take on the world. Then they often run out of money and close their doors after just a few years. Making cars is a business, after all, and as it turns out, building sports cars, like the stunning BUICK POWER: APOLLO GT and turning a profit is not at all easy. A perfect example of one ...

FORD GT40: SPIRIT OF LE MANS

Posted on January 9, 2020January 9, 2020 by MartynL

For a tiny fraction of the cost of a Superformance GT40, Le Mans Coupes makes it possible to bring a race-stained, Gulf-liveried GT40 into your garage or home! As will be fresh in the mind of anybody who’s enjoyed the recent Ford v Ferrari film, Ford GT40s were built to race, and never look more alive than when stained in the grime of battle. Therefore, what better adornment for an enthusiast’s lounge or garage can there be than a FORD GT40: SPIRIT OF LE MANS nose panel apparently streaked with ...

SOLE SURVIVOR: JAGUAR XJ13

Posted on December 22, 2019December 22, 2019 by MartynL

Obsolete since created, Jaguar’s XJ13 Supercar is now the most valuable Jaguar in the world. And, it’s not for sale! After a massive domination in the 1950s with 5 victories, Jaguar decided to return to Le Mans and compete against Ferrari and the rising Fords with a new car called XJ13. Malcolm Sayer, the aerodynamicist responsible for airflow work on the successful C-Type, D-Type racecars and the road E-Type, designed its body. Sayer used his Bristol Aeroplane Company background to build the SO...

1970s ICON: MERCEDES-BENZ C111

Posted on December 16, 2019December 16, 2019 by MartynL

At the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Stuttgart manufacturer surpassed all expectations revealing a super sports car well ahead of its time. With gullwing doors and a Wankel rotary engine, the C111 was a research vehicle that quickly became the absolute dream car of the 1970s. A dream that would never come true to consumers except as die-cast model toys. Although prior rumors were that MB was creating the new Gullwing 300SL from the 1950s, from the very start, the C 111 was conceived purely as a...

BOOK REVIEW: LAST SHELBY COBRA.

Posted on December 10, 2019December 10, 2019 by MartynL

More than just a book about the 600-horsepower V10 Shelby Cobra Concept, Chris Theodore’s coffee-table tome reveals the inside story of his multi-decade relationship with Carroll Shelby and the concept and production cars at Chrysler and Ford that they worked on. Dozens of books have been written about the chicken farmer from Texas who drove an Aston Martin to victory at Le Mans, created the Cobra and its spinoffs and won World Championships. This book - BOOK REVIEW: LAST SHELBY COBRA.- is dif...

HICKORY CORNERS: GILMORE MUSEUM, PART II

Posted on December 7, 2019December 7, 2019 by MartynL

Collin Morgan takes you on the second of his two-part guided tour of the Gilmore, North America’s largest car museum and home to almost 400 cars on a 90-acre campus. Located midway between Detroit and Chicago, it’s a must-see attraction. Cadillac-LaSalle Club Museum displays an impressive number of cars and memorabilia. One of the highlights was this 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham that contained amenities such as a set of four magnetized gold-finished drinking cups, tissue dispenser, and an Arp...

THE BASICS: SPECIALTY CAR STORAGE.

Posted on December 6, 2019December 7, 2019 by MartynL

John Linden authored this extensive and informative story on the right way to store any vehicle, especially a classic or specialty car, over the winter or for the long haul. It is easy to get lazy and watch a piece of history fade away under the ravages of time - such is the fate of most vehicles eventually. Some cars, however, deserve a better outcome and there are those of us willing to give it to them. Whether you have restored, cared for, or purchased the car for yourself, you are unlikely u...

NASH-HEALEY: FIRST AMERICAN SPORTS CAR

Posted on November 25, 2019November 25, 2019 by MartynL

The early 1950s Nash-Healey was the first post-war production two-seat sporty car from a major American automaker. Before there was a Corvette, there was the two-place Nash-Healey produced and marketed for the American market between 1951 and 1954 by Nash-Kelvinator Corporation It utilized the then-new Nash Ambassador powertrain and a European chassis and body, and served as a halo vehicle to promote sales of traditional Nash models. The NASH-HEALEY: FIRST AMERICAN SPORTS CAR was the byproduct o...

ROLLING BONES: HOT RODS @ AMELIA!

Posted on November 23, 2019November 23, 2019 by MartynL

Coupes and roadsters honoring the origins of American hot rodding will be showcased at 25th anniversary Amelia Island Concours in 2020. Rolling Bones is a school of rodding that strips away the glitz to present the earthy glamor of the earliest rods to slash across the dry lakes and salt flats on the weekends, yet serve as everyday transportation. For the folks who have created Rolling Bones hot rods in Greenfield Center, NY in 1999, it always goes back to racing, power and speed. Next year they...

LAST SHELBY COBRA: DRIVING MISS DAISY!

Posted on November 19, 2019November 19, 2019 by MartynL

Project Daisy was the thundering 600-horsepower V10-engined Shelby Cobra Concept intended to succeed the original Ford GT. It never happened. But with a new book about the car just hitting the bookshelves, CGC's Road Test Editor Howard Walker gets behind the wheel of this forgotten Cobra for an exclusive drive. You can feel the ghost of Ol’ Shel still swirling around the cockpit. Listen closely and you might just hear his belly laughs at hearing the tortured scream of fricasseeing rubber after...