Photo credits courtesy of Fantasy Junction Automotive history offers a bounty of well-made sportscars. Tracing back to the earliest years...
If you’ve never seen a Lancia Stratos in person, you owe it to yourself to seek one out. The Stratos is one of those cars that must be experienced in person to fully understand its design audacity, stance, and visceral presence. Initially conceived as a concept car of dramatic proportions,...
The modern startup gets a lot of attention these days. Investors hoping to ensnare the illusive “unicorn” status that might...
The BMW 507 is frequently cited as one of the most beautifully designed cars regardless of era, origin or classification. Designer...
Credit – BarnFinds.com I saw my first Bricklin in 1974. Lit up under the Southern California sun, a local specialty dealership was featuring this gleaming Safety Orange plasticized wedge of sharp cheddar cheese. I was immediately drawn to it. I’d already spent months daydreaming in math class about becoming a...
Designed by the legendary Leonardo Fioravanti, the same man responsible for some of the greatest Pininfarina/Ferrari designs, the original 206...
The first time I saw a photo of the Lamborghini Countach I knew it was something special. I was probably...
By the 1950s it was clear that Americans were in the mood for sporty cars with the right balance of style and performance. For many young people, single, married, or even with small children, a small two-seater presented a delightful relief from the lunking, heavy American cars that still seemed...
I recently gave a talk to a collector car gathering in the Bay Area. The Q&A after these talks is...
When first introduced in 1959, the Mini Cooper was a revelation of automotive simplicity, economy, and delight. Designed by Sir...
Ferrari has always been a leader in high-performance engineering and design. Although many of their most innovative ideas were often plagued by modest resources, internal struggles, and industrial politics, the combined passion and stubbornness frequently yielded something glorious. Nowhere is this more apparent than when Ferrari launched their first 12-cylinder...
Every year the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance offers a spectacular showing of amazing cars. I am fortunate to get a...
Car Design is a wicked beast. The purpose of design is to create both alluring and engaging combinations of mechanical...
Le Mans, 1960. You can imagine the scene. The coming decade was cresting the ’50s into oblivion. The vast high-speed straights of the new decade revealed technology and design that was radically different from the previous era. No one was slowing down, even in the corners. Materials and processes were...
If you had to pick the most challenging era of sports cars development, it would have to be the late...
America’s Sport Custom Production Car I had no idea who Howard “Dutch” Darrin was, as I pedaled my Schwinn Sting Ray...
The Shelby Daytona Coupe is the best American car ever built. Maybe even the best in the world. I can say this with a fair measure of confidence as this is my 100th car design article for this publication! That’s just over eight years of articles evaluating the automotive design...
When car companies build futuristic concepts for tomorrow, they are usually exotic cars with sporty, low-profile bodies, and technologically advanced...
Ercole Spada was one of the most prolific sports car designers of the post-war era. Though his name is not...
In an age of cell phones, disposable appliances, laptops thinner and smaller than LIFE magazine, it’s hard to remember that we once drove large, slow, hand-crafted automobiles built with beauty in mind, excellence in every leather stitch and pride in final assembly. And while every one of the major manufacturers...
I’ve had a fortunate car life. I’ve owned a wide range of cars, enjoying various shows, events and the pleasure...
Driven by charismatic leadership and inspired by sporting elegance, Aston Martin has long been associated with top performance cars built...
There is something so unmistakably compelling about the sports cars produced in the 1960s. Beautifully formed, sculpturally exquisite, and modestly detailed, no country did it better than Italy and no car company was more adventurous with their cars than Alfa Romeo. Hundreds of books have been written on the engineering...
We’ve seen visions of the future before. Cars that can fly, jet-powered cars, atomic-powered cars, robotics within cars, and a...
If you went looking for the true father of the Sunbeam Tiger, you might surmise that American Carroll Shelby would be the one. And while Shelby did a great deal of the development on the car, the initial idea to put an American V8 engine into the British built Sunbeam...
When I was a college student, some friends told me about a woman who ran a hair salon in her...
Mention Lamborghini to any vintage enthusiast and the conversation will likely focus on the Countach or Miura. Of course, these...
The 1953 Turin Auto Show must have been quite a sight. It presented cars of what would become a landmark year. But most enthusiasts in attendance would not know how fortunate they were. To them, this was just another car show. To Carlo Abarth, however, this show was something special....