Classics

SC Classic Cars - Photo Tour of 50 RARE ICONS 143

Insider: The Right (and Wrong) Ways to Upgrade Your Classic Car

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Why do we buy classic cars?   You’ve all got a handful of reasons that made you buy yours, but it largely boils down to the fact that classic cars have a unique look and feel to them that modern ones can’t replicate. The car is different – it’s one of a kind.    With that being said, driving a classic car is a completely different experience from driving a modern one. Your vehicle could be decades old, meaning it doesn’t function as well as it once did. As such, classic car owners tend to do some upgrades to make …

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Mecum Harrisburg 2015 114_1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Fastback 12

Auto Industry Insider: Buying a Classic Car

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When it comes to buying second hand, knowing your stuff is likely to save a lot of money and heartache, when it comes to buying second hand classics, this sentiment is magnified times one hundred. Quite simply it’s very easy to have your head turned by some beautiful bodywork, but that same bodywork might mask a multitude of sins under the bonnet. In this blog, we’re taking a look at the very specific practice of buying classics and what on earth you should be looking for and what to avoid like the plague. The Right Vehicle You probably have a …

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1957 BMW 507 Roadster Series I - RM Sotheby's Villa Erba 2017 1

1957 BMW 507 Roadster Series I – RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba 2017

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Sea green over red leather is a color combo perfect for the most stylish 1950s bon-vivants of the world.  This original 507 Series I is offered unrestored and with original patina throughout.  The factory wheels and bumpers are included with the sale – set for late May 2017 in Villa Erba, Italy. The black hardtop and hood-mounted mirrors are perfect details for this iconic BMW.  This color is not a factory shade, as it was added early in the car’s life by its orignal owner. Just four lucky individuals have called this car their own, however, and its originality is …

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Daytona Icons - Jaegermeister 1979 Porsche 935 K3 Kremer 11

Daytona Icons – Jaegermeister 1979 Porsche 935 K3 Kremer

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  I don’t care how many racecars or exotics you have driven or loved. Nothing in this universe can prepare you for the Kremer 935 K3 Porsche. The fire-spitting widebody raced at the Daytona 24-hour in 1981 after two years of fine-tuning in German race series. There, the original 911 under all the bespoke bodywork became virtually unrecognizable. Drilled lightweighting, massive widebody additions, ground-effect aero, slatted and active aero vents across the entire slantnose.  And that is just the front! Around back, the flared fenders with their integrated winglets on top come into view.  Or the magnesium-alloy BBS wheels with …

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Flawless 917K Launches Porsche Racecar Resto and Race Mgmt Services

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    Caveat on the header image!  Porsche is not resto-modding its priceless racing icons.  Just a bit of photoshop fun for the header graphic — melding 917K with 2016 Cayenne quad LEDs. The Gulf-Porsche 917K LeMans-winner must be one of the most iconic racecars of all time. Celebrated and hated in equal measure by track opponents during its competitive reign, the stunning champion is now a universal all-star at classic races like the Mitty Reunion at Road Atlanta every Springtime. Porsche knows its classic racecar owners love nothing more than tracking and competing hard — so is rolling out …

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1972 Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona Shooting Brake 6

One-Off 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Shooting Brake from Hexagon Classics

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Here is a very special machine — an estate-car variant of the legendary Ferrari Daytona. Originally commissioned in 1972, the car headed from Modena to England for its retrofit to custom wagon bodywork. When completed nearly two years later, the bespoke creation headed to its forever-home in Florida — where it was the only Ferrari to fit two people and two golf bags at the same time! Loading those clubs might have been tricky, however. Butterfly glass canopies on each side of the shooting brake rear end were the only access to the newly huge trunk, despite the giant glass …

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1952 Mercedes-Benz 170VA Panel Wagon 5-tile

Fast Wagon Classics – 1952 Mercedes-Benz 170VA Panel Wagon and 1954 170SV Ambulance

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Finishing out this quick/quirky series of classic wagons with a pair of Mercedes-Benz commercial cars. One a panel van 1952 170VA Station Wagon and the other a LWB 170S-V Ambulance. The 5-door brought in around $75,000 at the RM Auctions London 2013 sale, where the panel van around $60,000.   1952 Mercedes-Benz 170VA Panel Wagon         8-9 September 2013 Lot 126 1952 Mercedes-Benz 170 Va Station Wagon To be auctioned on Sunday, September 8, 2013 Without Reserve Sold for £40,320 Chassis no. 136.074.01413/52 Engine no. 136.923.01602/52   1954 Mercedes-Benz 170SV Ambulance 1954 Mercedes-Benz 170 S-V Ambulance RM …

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1933 Mercedes-Benz 290 Pullman 1

Fast Wagon Classics – 1933 Mercedes-Benz 290 Pullman Limousine

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If the previous Pullman was a bit too Bond-villain for you in its black on black, here is another really cool example: a SWB 290 Pullman from six years before. This tasty blue example only sold for a third of the price of its LWB cousin: just $50k for this makes it well-bought. 1933 Mercedes-Benz 290 Pullman Limousine London 8-9 September 2013 Lot 173 1933 Mercedes-Benz 290 Pullman Limousine To be auctioned on Sunday, September 8, 2013 Without Reserve Sold for £28,000

1939 Mercedes-Benz 320 Pullman Limousine 16

Fast Wagon Classics – 1939 Mercedes-Benz 320 Pullman Limousine

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Mercedes-Benz has made many fantastic wagons in its long history, but they hit a sweet spot in the 1930s in terms of perfecting the wagon as a long-distance limo. This black/black LWB Pullman has a huge lounge back seat and even a cloth sunroof to let in the breeze! This car ran a straight six through a four-speed manual transmission, so despite just 77-horsepower the Pullman was happy to cruise up to 85-mph or so — very quick for the time. 1939 Mercedes-Benz 320 Pullman Limousine RM Auctions London 8-9 September 2013 Lot 150 1939 Mercedes-Benz 320 Pullman Limousine To …

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Future Classics – 1993-1995 Mazda RX-7 Now Within Reach For Around $18k

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The timeless beauty of the third-gen Mazda RX-7 is instantly visible even today, a full 20 years since the car was last sold in the United States. See one on the road and you will instantly be in love again. Low, lithe, curvy but sleek, pure and organic — there is a real star quality to this 1.3-liter Wankel twin turbo. Comparing the car back to back with the Supra Turbo, Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 or Nissan 300ZX in 2015 makes it instantly clear: this Mazda is the future classic of the bunch. The Supra Turbo might have packed more heat …

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Fantasy Supercar Renderings - RUF Porsche 993 Turbo RS 14

Fantasy Supercar Renderings – RUF Porsche 993 Turbo RS

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Yes, Porsche made a 993 Turbo S, and RUF made a Turbo R (below)… but what about something altogether wilder? Here we present a fantasy digital rendering three-pack of the Porsche 993 RUF 911 of our dreams: what we’re calling the Turbo RS. Much change went into the look of this car, but it started out with simple updates: darker wheels and perhaps a RUF graphic on the side? But after driving into the renders, we decided to lower the front spoiler and make it wider, chop the roof, extend the side sills downward to hug the wheels better, and …

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1997 RUF Porsche 911 Turbo R Yellowbird 46

Mecum Florida 2015 Favorites – 1997 RUF Porsche 911 Turbo R Yellowbird

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Among all the Porsche 911’s ever made, the 993 is easily the most sought-after generation. This despite the car already being on sale for three decades up to that point… And among the 993 series, the 911 Turbo is a mega-star among minor bit players. Add in a RUF-massaged engine, interior, chassis and paintwork in trademark Yellowbird with monoblock wheels and the RUF big brake kit? The end result is many people’s ideal Porsche, right here, idling calmly. This RUF 911 Turbo benefits from nearly all the modern tech and style of a current-generation Porsche, plus the legendary speed of …

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1960 Plymouth Fury NASCAR 42

Mecum Florida 2015 – 1960 Plymouth Fury NASCAR Modified to Recreate Richard Petty’s Daytona 500 Racer

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UPDATE 1 Sorry guys. Some shoddy reporting (and total lack of fact-checking:) on the first draft of this article below! Richard Petty started racing in 1958 at the Historic Columbia Speedway, so this 1960 model-year Plymouth was definitely not his first NASCAR ride. A bit of Petty trivia? He returned to this tiny dirt oval in 1959 to score his first win. The track is still around today, but in a heavily ‘disused’ state with much grass growing through the paved sections, which were laid down in the late 1960s. We do believe this body Plmouth Fury was his ride …

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Iconic Classics - 1955 Aston Martin DB3S Earned $3

Iconic Classics – 1955 Aston Martin DB3S Earned $3.7M At RM Monterey 2012

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Aston Martin classic buyers come in similar taste preference buckets as new Aston buyers: either conservative Silver and Green rule the mind, or wild shades and racing liveries. This fire orange example of a pristine DB3S falls into the latter camp very spectacularly. Emblematic of Aston’s resurgent post-war mission to take on the world’s best in racing, the DB3S is best known today as one of the most beautiful racing roadsters of all time. 1955 Aston Martin DB3S RM Auctions Monterey 17 – 18 August 2012   Lot 214 1955 Aston Martin DB3S Sports Racing Car To be auctioned on …

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Future Classic Feature – 1999 Saab 9-3 VIGGEN Is Thunderbolt Legend – And This One Is For Sale!

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The SAAB 9-3 Viggen is a legend of a car. Named after the Thunderbolt fighter jet, the Viggen celebrated all that made the Saab 9-3 the firm’s most-successful model throughout the marque’s storied history. Front-drive, mad power and turbo antics were all paramount with the Viggen — but in typical Saab fashion, this was not a badge and stickers job. The upgrades list over the standard 9-3 Aero is absolutely huge — with what amounts to an all-new, direct-injected engine just the start of the custom elements in the Viggen.   EXHAUST NOTE VIDEO INTRO The 225-horsepower and 258-pound-feet of …

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Quail Classics – 1950 Healey Silverstone Roadster Is Race-Optimized Aerolithe

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We need an article to put together while my pulse comes down after totally breaking this website a few hours ago. Learning to be a webmaster on the fly is fraught with peril. Would Healey have said the same thing about his much-wider Silverstone roadster for 1950? This ‘E-Type’ Healey was widened by more than a foot versus the D-Type of 1949, which was initially planned as an affordable vehicle to slide under a $4,000 cap at which new car taxes doubled from 33-percent to 66-percent. The plan was to put Jaguar and Alfa-Romeo and Maserati power and tech into …

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Gooding Pebble Beach 2014 – 1967 Toyota 2000GT in White with Original, US-Delivered Left-Hand-Drive

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If the GT-R is Japan’s ‘Godzilla’ supercar, the 2000GT is the ‘Godfather.’ Just as lovely and perhaps a bit more special than the Ferrari 275 GTB delivered to Haiti the same year, this 2000GT is definitely one of the rising stars in the classic car world. From values that rarely topped $500,000 until very recently, the $1.15-million earned by this original US car has much room to move upward. Stay tuned in the coming decades: this car will be neck and neck with the Ferrari values that are currently sitting about 4X above any Japanese car — even this godfather …

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1940 Packard Custom Super Eight Convertible Sedan by Darrin GIF header

1940 Packard Custom Super Eight Convertible Sedan by Darrin

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Here is a gorgeous car with a unique back-story ahead of the RM Auctions Motor City event on July 26th in Plymouth, Michigan. After working as a master apprentice with French coachbuilders for more than a decade, Dutch Darrin returned to America to set up his own shop. The French coach-built car industry from the 1920s to the 1930s was the absolute best in the world – delivering wild one-off creations to buyers around the world. Cars like the Delehaye 139, the Hispano-Suiza Xenia or the Rolls-Royce Round Door Coupe all came from this small piece of land around and …

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Quick Pics Post – 2014 Ferrari F12 at Goodwood FoS + A Few Classics Too!

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Is the F12 your favorite Ferrari? Yep, mine too. Here is a silver example with black wheels at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend. Quick Pics Post – 2014 Ferrari F12 at Goodwood FoS + A Few Classics Too! These next photos are from Goodwood 2013.

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1937 Shafer 8 BUICK Indy RaceCar at The Mitty – Road Atlanta 2014

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Pretty shameless not to write much about this amazing machine!  But the photos really tell most of the story of this handsome and streamlined Buick-powered racer. Streamlined? Yes and no. The long-tail acted to improve stability, but those silver bars along the sides? That is the full ladder chassis, with the cabin and mechanical shrouds all in-board. Coker Tire sells the best vintage tires around, with the exact Firestones seen here available today from about $475 – which is not a bad deal overall! Adjusted for inflation, that would be barely $2 per tire in the 1930s…! http://blog.cokertire.com/shafer-eight/  

Mini Musclecar Is Ready To Boogie! 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger at Charleston, SC Cars and Coffee 31

Mini Musclecar Is Ready To Boogie! 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger at Charleston, SC Cars & Coffee

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Mini? The 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger — yes, that is its official special edition — is definitely not a mini car by any means. But when standing next to the Plymouth Road Runner Superbird… it looks like Danny Devito vs Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1988 classic Twins.  

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Evolution of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class from 1904 to Present

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class Evolution When Mercedes-Benz launches a new S-Class, the lead-up coverage is remarkably similar each time. Safety innovations, luxury, tech, style to make Lexus and Jaguar weep. But there is more to the story than just the 1960s forward. In fact, the first in this bloodline dates to 1904 in a hilarious red jalopy of a stagecoach. Hilarious in retrospect only! This was no joke at the time – the peak height of class and luxury travel. This red magic stagecoach did not require horses out front to move its occupants along in comfort and manure-free bliss. And so, …

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TurboSquid 3D: Mercedes SSK, Jaguar D-TYPE Longnose and Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa

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Including TurboSquid.com’s 3D design models of the Pagani Huayra ‘Extreme’ last night opened a really stinky can of worms for your humble scribe — who tries to Do The Right Thing more than even Spike Lee. On the one hand, these design models can and should be used for ethical and legal purposes. On the other hand: let’s imagine you own the intellectual property at play. Making the entire design available for just $100 or so to anyone online would be like Coca-Cola giving away the secret recipe after a customer takes their first sip of soda. Not in anyone’s …

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1960s Classics Changing Hands At Record Prices - And Frequency5

1960s Classics Changing Hands At Record Prices – And Frequency

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1960s Classics Changing Hands At Record Prices – And Frequency Throughout 2013 Springtime is auction season, and this year things were hotter than ever in the market for early 1960s exotica. Last weekend, Bonhams sold a one-off 1960 Bertone DB4 GT Jet for $4.9 million at a special event by the AM Works Service based at the old factory in Newport Pagnell. This weekend, a 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Coupe Aerodinamico is on the block the RM Auctions Lake Cuomo event. The rush of car buying in Pebble Beach in August also reached a fever pitch this year, but …

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