Specialty cars Archives - Page 7 of 11

Mercedes-Benz (Gullwing) 300 Coupe, 1954-1957

Many 1950s American cars still can turn heads, but they do it with such things as flashy paint and tailfins. The 1954-57 Mercedes-Benz 300SL two-seat coupe has a strictly utilitarian design, but still knocks ’em dead if seen on roads, which isn’t often. Only 1,400 300SL coupes were built, and a really nice one is valued at a cool $698,000. Most are in top shape because this auto is one of the most revered sports cars in history and few owners risk driving on public roads. Even a 300SL coupe in average shape is valued at $515,000, says the NADA Classic, Collectible, Exotic and Muscle Car Appraisal Guide & Directory. The 300SL coupe’s flip-up doors may seem gimmicky. But the

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Pontiac GTO 1964-1974, car review

The legendary 1964 Pontiac GTO kicked off the wild 1960s muscle car market with a roar and made Detroit the world center for affordable high-performance cars. It can be argued that cars such as the light 1949 Oldsmobile with its new “Rocket V-8” or the 1955 Chrysler 300 Hemi V-8–first mass-produced 300-horsepower car — were the first American muscle cars. Those autos were among cars such as the 1956 Plymouth Fury and 1961 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport with its mighty 409-cubic-inch V-8 that generated considerable interest in high performance models. But the 1964 GTO is generally regarded as the first highly popular, widely available muscle car — the one that opened the door for a whole bunch of mid-1960s to

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Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, 1963-1967 car review

The stunning 1963-67 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray still turns heads. Just imagine how much attention it drew when introduced for 1963. Some Corvette lovers maintain this 1960s ‘Vettte is the best Corvette ever built, or the best one that ever will be built. Maybe they’re right. I found my 1965 365-horsepower Sting Ray convertible was more fun to drive than the far more sophisticated current Corvettes — it was more of a pure sports car. The first Corvette — a 1953 model — was nearly identical to a General Motors auto show “dream car,” as concept cars were called then. It got such good showgoer reception GM decided to build it. It arrived in late 1953 with Polo White paint

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Oscar nominations: Best performances by actors with cars: Steve McQueen, Bullitt; Gene Hackman, The French Connection

With nominations for the Academy Awards just announced, what better time to discuss perhaps the best component film that doesn’t directly get nominated for awards — Best Performance By An Actor With Car. Indirectly, of course, great acting, editing, directing, music, special effects, etc., have all helped create many of the best car scenes on film. Too many movies have too many great car scenes to list. But two great action car scenes involving iconic actors top the list. James Bond movies, for example, feature great footage with Aston Martin. And Batman films throughout the years have featured iconic technology in the varied Batmobiles. But The Weekly Driver is fond of coolness, and no better scenes come to mind than

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Ferrari 288 GTO 1984-1985 car review

Casual observers might mistake the 1984-85 Ferrari 288 GTO for the 1975-89 Ferrari 308/328 that became nationally known in the popular 1980-88 “Magnum P.I.” television series. However, there’s a world of difference between the ferocious 288 GTO and nice-but-slower 1975-85 308 and near-identical 1986-89 328. The 288 GTO was simply the world’s fastest production car when it arrived. And no wonder. The mid-engine 288 GTO was built for the FISA’s new Group B race series, in which cars such as the super exotic, limited-production Porsche 959 and Jaguar XJ220 were qualified to compete. Cars weren’t eligible to race in the series unless they could be legally used on public roads, with such things as full instrumentation, lighting, decent ground clearance,

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Chevy Camaro gets familiar role as 2011 Indy 500 pace car

Chevrolet and the Indianapolis 500 aren’t quite synonymous, but they could be considering the long relationship with between the race and the brand. A prime example will occur Sunday, May 29 when a special edition of the Chevy Camaro convertible will serve as the official pace car of the 2011 Indy 500. The special edition and its 50 pace-car replicas will help commemorate the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 and Chevrolet’s centennial year. The pace car and replicas are painted white with orange stripes and door graphics. The interior is trimmed in orange leather and the front- seat headrests are embossed with the Indy 500 logo. The instrument panel trim even features extensions of the orange exterior stripes that

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Ford Mustang, 1965 car review

Some argue a collectible car must have been built in fairly small numbers to make it exclusive, and thus more desirable and valuable. So how do they explain why the 1965 Ford Mustang is such a popular collectible? After all, it attracted a staggering 680,989 buyers after its early public introduction at the New York World’s Fair in April, 1964. The 1965 Mustang set an all-time record for first-year sales of any new model. Today’s auto market is too fragmented with different types of cars for a single model to ever get the wildly enthusiastic reception of the first Ford Mustang in America. The top-selling car in 2008, for instance, was the Toyota Camry, with 436,616 buyers. Since its arrival,

Specialty cars

Ferrari owned briefly by John Lennon set for Paris auction

A restored 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe, one of the least desirable models of famed Italian sports car but one briefly owned by former Beatle John Lennon, will be auctioned in February. The light-blue Ferrari is expected to attract a final bid of more than $200,000 in the Feb. 5 auction, according to Bonhams’ auction officials. The Ferrari 330, sometimes called the four-eye model, is not often considered a coveted model by collectors. The car was said to be Lennon’s first vehicle purchased after he passed his driving test in Britain. He purchased it at age 24 for 2000 pounds. Lennon was murdered in 1980. Restored closely to original specification, Bonhams said the exterior paint is a deeper hue

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BMW microcar Isetta still around 55 years after heyday

It’s not the most unique vehicle in the world, but the Isetta micro-car built in several countries and once owned by BMW, still attracts plenty of attention because of its bubble shape and diminutive size. Design by an Italian company, the Isetta was conceived because of a need for cheap, short-distance city driving following World War II. The BMW Isetta became the world’s first mass-production 3-liter car in 1955. Its low-friction, one-cylinder engine and low weight resulted in superior gas mileage — as high as 71 mpg. It is the top-selling one cylinder car in the world, with 161,728 units sold, according to Wikipedia. Matt Walsh, a friend and publisher of the irreverent cycling blog Twisted Spoke spotted a stunning

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Author Patrica Cornwell donates rare Ferrari Superamerica for San Diego veterans' auction

Patricia Cornwell, the bestselling author, has signed over the title to her limited edition 2005 Ferrari 575 Maranello Superamerica, appraised at $250,000, to Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD), to be sold for public auction on Dec. 9th, 2010 at 7 p.m. ET. The rare, 2005 Ferrari 575 Maranello Superamerica is one of only 559 produced. It boasts a 540 horsepower, V12 engine, and has a top speed of almost 200 miles per hour. Its condition is “showroom new,” inside and out, with only 5,865 miles on the odometer. With the flip of a switch, the car goes from a hardtop to convertible with the unique, rotating glass roof panel that hinges back over the rear deck for open-air motoring.

Specialty cars

Honda announces Element will cease after 2011 model

Some car manufacturers would be pleased with a 2.5 percent market share. Not Honda. It will stop making the Element crossover after the 2011 model year because of diminishing sales. The box-shaped Element was introduced in the U.S. in December 2002 and more than 325,000 been purchased, according to the manufacturer. But sales of the versatile SUV crossover have steadily slipped while sales of its sibling, the CR-V, have increased. Honda also makes a large SUV, the Pilot. The Element accounted for nearly 10 percent of all crossover sales in the United States 2003. But the Element has accounted for only 2.5 percent of the crossover sales in 2010, according to Edmunds.com. Compared to last year, Element sales are down

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Great American classic cars: Buick, Mercury, Ford, Rambler

Or how about a head-turning 1955 Nash Rambler cross country wagon or a 1958 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser? Owning a Duesenberg you don’t drive is fine. But how about taking a Sunday afternoon cruise in 1951 Chrysler Thunderbolt? Here are 10 vehicles The Weekly Driver would like to own and drive: James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida. An author and

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Bugatti Type 57C leads top-10 most expensive auctioned car list

The automotive website MIBZ.com has compiled a unique car list. It’s a twist on the ever-evolving industry standard list of most expensive new cars. The offshoot list is the 10 most expensive cars sold at auction. The web site doesn’t elaborate how its list was compiled. Nonetheless, the list is a varied, stunning display of vehicles and some extraordinary prices. In all likelihood, the impetus for the list occurred in June when the price record was set in the sale a 1936 Bugatti Type 57C Atlantic, one of only three made, o an anonymous buyer for an estimated $30 million. The site commented: “The buyer remains anonymous and he’d better live in a deserted volcano. Made of platinum. Somewhere on

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Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, 2011: It's Superman

And in one early passage, Neil, whose column is titled Rumble Seat, writes: “The Super Sport can accelerate from highway speeds to more than 200 mph in the time it takes you to read this sentence out loud. Literally.” “And then, just when other hypercars—Lambos, Ferraris, Paganis and even rarer isotopes—run out of steam, the Super Sport accelerates harder. This experience quickly exhausts one’s supply of Old Norse oaths and curses and one is reduced to childish wows and holy cows.” “At full throttle in the Super Sport, the world comes at you in one ferocious, howling, soul-shaking, Newtonian sneeze.” Here are some facts and figures about the 2011 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport: Price: $2.8 million (estimated) Horsepower: 1,200

Specialty cars

Google driving hard into the future with artificial intelligence cars

Early in the article, sub-titled “Smarter Than You Think,” Markoff writes: “The car is a project of Google, which has been working in secret but in plain view on vehicles that can drive themselves, using artificial-intelligence software that can sense anything near the car and mimic the decisions made by a human driver.” “With someone behind the wheel to take control if something goes awry and a technician in the passenger seat to monitor the navigation system, seven test cars have driven 1,000 miles without human intervention and more than 140,000 miles with only occasional human control.” “One even drove itself down Lombard Street in San Francisco, one of the steepest and curviest streets in the nation. The only accident,

Specialty cars

Bugatti set to replace Veyron with Galibier in 2013

The four-seat Bugatti 16C Galibier sedan is expected to go on sale in 2013 for about $1.5 million. Only 300 will be produced. The Galibier, made of carbon fiber and aluminum, will use the Veyron’s 8.0-liter W-16 engine, but will employ superchargers rather than turbochargers and will produce 800 horsepower. AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES AND INFORMATION Auto Shipping Quote–Car Financing–Car Insurance Quotes–Car Loans–Online Car Insurance–Rental Cars–Used Cars The limited-edition, two-passenger Veyron 16.4, introduced in 2005, is near the end of its 300-unit production run. So far, 260 have been built. The Veyron has 1,200 horsepower, 268 mph Super Sport edition debuted this summer at a price range between $2.2 million and $2.6 million, including shipping. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist

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