Specialty cars

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Tesla Cybertruck debuts: Elon Musk’s alter ego?

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, doesn’t do subtle. He makes spaceships that explode and underground vehicle transportation tunnels to nowhere. For the past 16 years, his company has also manufactured the only electric cars to infiltrate the internal combustion engine automotive industry successfully. After several marketing promises gone awry, Musk has also introduced the Cybertruck, the massive utilitarian pickup he unveiled as a concept four years ago. It’s a futuristic contraption of extremes in design, construction and relevance. It’s the first stainless steel vehicle since the DeLorean featured in the 1985 movie “Back to the Future.” Tesla enthusiasts have praised the Cybertruck as revolutionary. Detractors claim it’s reminiscent of poorly made metal origami wedges. With public sightings infrequent and

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#268 Newport Car Museum Adds Prized Collection of Vintage Porsches

Gunther Buerman and his wife Maggie Buerman opened the Newport Car Museum in 2017 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. They’ve constantly updated the combined automobile and history museum including its latest presentation — an homage to Porsche. Gunther Buerman, whose interest in automobiles began as a young boy when practiced wax paper transfer etchings of car advertisements from National Geographic Magazine, is our guest on this week’s episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. A repeat guest who was willed a 1966 Ford Mustang nearly 40 years ago, Buerman owns dozens of vehicles, none any more important than his collection of the German sports cars of his early youth. He moved to New York as a young boy with his family where

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Velocity Invitational: Mario Andretti, epic races, big crowds

LAGUNA SECA – The Velocity Invitational, a motorsports festival held Oct. 14-16 at WeatherTech Raceway, was a nod to the adage that good things come in threes. First, there was living legend Mario Andretti, 82, behind the wheel of a modern Formula 1 car for the first time. Second was exciting split-second race finishes that thrilled the crowd of more than 15,000. Third was the tens of millions of dollars worth of vintage race and hypercars gracing the track. It made the Velocity Invitational one of the country’s more unique motorsports experiences. While the three-day event featured hundreds of vehicles across 10 different groups and classifications, it wasn’t hard to argue Andretti’s turn on the raceway was the highlight for

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Velocity Invitational: history, hypercars, luxury lifestyle

Several decades of pristine automotive engineering will make their way Oct. 14-16 to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey for the Velocity Invitational. A three-day motorsport and “luxury lifestyle” gathering featuring a series of races in a variety of automotive categories, the Velocity Invitational is similar to the Goodwood Festival of Speed or The Silverstone Classic. Formula 1, WRC, and WEC race cars with state-of-the-art hypercars are set to compete in 10-lap qualifying and feature races. The vehicles will participate in practice and qualifying sessions on Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15 leading up to feature races on Sunday, Oct. 16. Many of the vehicles will also be on display off track for attendees to get an up-close perspective

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Kaiser Darrin, 1954: Best Of Show At Concours On The Avenue

It was one of the first cars I noticed, and after looking at an estimated 200 other vehicles, the 1954 Kaiser Darrin was still my favorite at the recently concluded Monterey Auto Week. The Concours on the Avenue in Carmel was only presented for the second year in 2008. But it has come into its own, particularly with cars like the Darrin Owner John Nirenstein of Tiburon, California, showcased it on Tuesday, Aug. 12, the second day of the event. Kaiser Darrin: Art Decco on wheels Nirenstein, participating in the event for the first time. He bought the car 10 years ago and took 22 months to restore it. While soft jazz played in the background, the car got plenty

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VW icon: 23-window bus for beach bums, hippies

For beach bums and touring musicians, alpine explorers to free-spirited travelers of yesteryear and today, the elusive Volkswagen 23-window bus — was and is as good as it gets. Known to U.S. buyers as the “Deluxe Microbus with Samba package,” the 23-window bus was originally designed as a vehicle to tour the Swiss Alps, offering up to nine passengers maximum visibility.   But it was quickly adopted by families, campers and members of the counterculture. The van features a collection of unique windows including eight skylights, two curved rear windows, a retractable skylight, and a coveted split windshield. Produced between 1951 and 1967, the first-generation Microbus was budget-friendly and built for sightseeing adventures. The four-cylinder engine was placed in the

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Microlino mini-car channeling BMW Isetta debuts in Europe in 2019

More than 50 years before tiny houses, Smart cars and other mini things on wheels became recent crazes, the BMW Isetta was a trendsetter. It was known as a “bubble car.” It was stylish, got great gas mileage and zipped perfectly around narrow European streets. Now, its modern-day equivalent, the electronic vehicle (EV) Microlino, has been approved as street legal by the European Union. Designed by Wim Ouboter, production of the Microlino has started and its debut is expected in early 2019. The company already has several thousand pre-orders. The Microlino is ideally named. It’s 7 feet, 10 inches long and weighs 990 pounds. Depending on what battery is installed, the Microlino has a 50 or 134-mile range. It can

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James Bond cars, Sunbeam Alpine to Aston Martin DB10

The cars featured in the 24 James Bond movies are arguably as famous as the actors who have played secret agent 007. Those actors, Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, have varying personalities in the films. And so do the cars they’ve driven, a Sunbeam Alpine II to an Aston Martin DB 10. In the the soon-to-be released movie Spectre, Aston Martin created 10 Aston Martin DB 10 models. The villain’s car is Jaguar’s hybrid supercar, the C-X75. According the several newspaper articles, filmmakers destroyed $36 million worth of cars, including seven DB10 models, during filming. In the original James Bond film, Dr. No, made in 1962, producers failed to obtain a free Sunbeam Alpine from the carmaker, so they had

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700 Horsepower Ford Mustang too good to be true

Neiman Marcus, in its famed annual Christmas catalog, is offering 100 examples of the most unique Ford Mustang ever manufactured. It will be a supercharged 700 horsepower, 195 mph Mustang convertible. Powered by a specially tuned supercharged V8, the vehicle is rated at 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. The exotic Mustang is further enhanced with unique chassis and suspension tuning, a dual exhaust system, lightweight forged 20-inch wheels, and body panels and aesthetic modifications specific to the Neiman car. The Neiman Marcus catalog lists the vehicle as having all-wheel drive. Several automotive website outlets are reporting that description was erroneous. Several other features of the limited Mustang have also been questioned by national automotive writers, but Neiman Marcus hasn’t yet

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Hello, Tesla, welcome the 2,400 hp SP-200 SIN supercar

PSC Motors in Las Vegas has announced its pending entry in the hybrid supercar business with the limited manufacture of the awkwardly titled SP-200 SIN.  The 9.0-liter V8 with a combined 2,400 horsepower has a promoted top-speed of more than 280 mph. The start-up said it will build only 35 of vehicles with a carbon fiber and composite aluminum frame.  The 1,000 gas horsepower engine will be mated to at least two electric motor that will push the vehicle to its predicted 0-60 mph acceleration in 2.6 seconds. PSC Motors said it began working on the SP-200 SIN five years ago. It has a mid-engine and is naturally aspirated. It also has an eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission with five adjustable driving

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Rare Maserati gets rare drive at Laguna Seca

The last Maserati Tipo 151, one of only three made, will be driven by Derek Hill in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, August 14-17 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Maserati is this year’s featured marque and will celebrate its 100th anniversary at the motorsports gathering. Derek Hill is the son of former world titlist Phil Hill. Entered by Fratelli Auriana Racing from the collection of Lawrence Auriana, the Tipo 151 has been fully restored. Since its restoration, chassis 151.006 has competed in three successive Goodwood Revivals and last year in the 2013 Le Mans Legend. This will be the car’s first visit to Monterey and the challenging 2.238-mile road course.   The Tipo 151 will complement Maserati’s centennial display and

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Pontiac Aztek: Reviled, revered, cult classic

The Pontiac Aztek is likely the most maligned car in modern history. Like the Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega and Yugo it has been described as the ugliest car ever built and the worst car ever made. Sometimes, the criticism cut deep. One reviewer said of the Aztek, said: “The styling of the car is its best feature.” The 2001 Aztek was the most picked on model. It looked like a badly designed space vehicle or a tank that had been totaled. It was rough-edged and gaudy. Still, the Pontiac Aztek had such a rotten reputation, it’s become a cult car. I’ve spoken with two Aztek owners recently who said they wouldn’t trade their Azteks for a new SUV. My second

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3-wheel Elio interest soars, 3,000 more reserved

It’s still a year away from its projected public debut, but interest in the Elio Motors’ three-wheel vehicle continues to flourish — at least according to the manufacturer’s website. In early February, the website announced reservations for 84 mpg, 55-horsepower machine had reached 10,000. Six weeks later, the reservation total is approaching 13,000. Deposits from $100 to $1,000 are accepted with different levels of “bang for your buck” if and when the Elio becomes available. Refundable and non-refundable options are available. A non-refundable reservation provides customers with an additional discount worth 50 percent of the initial deposit (a $1,000 deposit would receive an additional $500 toward the price of a vehicle at the time of purchase). Although refundable deposits can

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Kaiser-Darrin: Odd, elegant sports car in demand

I’ve been fascinated by the Kaiser-Darrin for the past several years. It looks unlike any other sports car. Its prototype debuted in 1952 and it was available in dealerships two years later Built from fiberglass, the Kaiser-Darrin is both odd-looking and elegant. It has odd-shaped front grille, sliding doors and its was the second carmaker after Nash to have seat belts. The 1954 Kaiser-Darrin also had bucket seats, full sports-car instrumentation, a floor shifter and cost $3,668, slightly more than the newly arriving Corvette. The buying public was at first enamored by the Kaiser-Darrin. It had a standard three-speed manual overdrive transmission and got 30 mpg delivered 30 mpg. Even though the Kaiser-Darrin had a top speed of about 100

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Baby, you can drive (and own) Ringo Starr’s Facel coupe

Baby, you can drive (and own) his car. A rare 1964 Facel Vega Facel II owned by Ringo Starr will be auctioned by Bonhams auction house on Dec. 1 and is expected to sell for approximately $500,000. According to the Los Angeles Times, Starr purchased the deep burgundy two-door coupe at a car show in 1964. He paid the equivalent of $68,000 in today’s dollars and owned the right-hand-drive car for four years. Facel a French manufacturer, had a short tenure as a luxurious automaker of power classics compared to Rolls-Royce. It built around 2,900 cars. This Facel II is one of only 182 ever made, with only 26 of those sold with the right-hand-drive like Starr’s. The four-seat coupe

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Tesla seeks autonomy (for once) with driverless car

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, doesn’t stay out of the automotive spotlight long. In addition to his innovative, expensive sports cars and a plan to soon drive one across the United States, the controversial entrepreneur is now joining other carmakers with a plan for a Tesla driverless car. Musk said recently Tesla is planning to manufacturer a car capable of running on “auto-pilot” within the next three years. Several other carmakers and Internet monolith Google have announced plans for similar cars. Telsa’s autonomous car, according to Musk, could have 90 of the driving responsibility controlled by the vehicle’s computer system. A completely autonomous car would take longer to develop, Musk told The Financial Times newspaper. Tesla would built the

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