FORD’s 1970 TORRID TORINO COBRA

Posted on October 19, 2026 by MartynL

In 1970, Dearborn offered Supercar shoppers more high-performance choices than ever, including FORD’s 1970 TORRID TORINO COBRA. Bob Dylan nailed it six years earlier with his anthem, The Times They Are a-Changin', the title track of his 1964 album of the same name. It could have been Ford’s 1970 anthem, too. The only thing constant at Ford in 1970 was change. Ford’s big news was in the midsize model lineup, known back then as Supercars, later tagged Musclecars. FORD’s 1970 TORRID TORINO COBR...

CORVETTE MACO vs MAKO: SHARK ATTACK!

Posted on August 23, 2026August 23, 2026 by MartynL

Arguably the most attention-getting, crowd-pleasing Concept Car of the 1960s, GM’s Mako Shark II caught the eye of Motion’s Joel Rosen, resulting in CORVETTE MACO vs MAKO: SHARK ATTACK! Neither Joel Rosen, above, nor I had ever met Bill Mitchell, top, General Motors’ VP of Design, or any of the stylists who contributed to the design of the first Mako Shark II Concept that broke cover at the 1965 New York International Auto Show. But we were familiar with their previous head-turning Conc...

CONCEPT: CORVETTE XP-819

Posted on May 13, 2020 by MartynL

The story behind the radical CONCEPT: CORVETTE XP-819, from Concept build to concours restoration by Kevin Mackay’s Corvette Repair and then to its showing at the 2020 Amelia Island Concours where it was photographed, below, by CGC’s Mike Matune. Chevrolet has come a long way – actually 67 years - since Zora Arkus-Duntov built the first mid/rear-engine Corvette. That was in 1953 when #856 EX-54’s stock Six was removed and the body and chassis modified to handle installation of a prototype Cadet...