My friend had done well that year. He was quite a bit older, but we’d bonded over cars, especially as...
We’re all creatures of water. Millions of years ago we emerged from a boiling primordial stew as multi-cell organisms, evolved...
This is my 50th article for Vintage Road & Racecar. I didn’t realize it until my editor sent me a thank you card and the keys to a 2019 Ferrari 488 (fair disclosure, it was just the keys). So it got me thinking about the value of 50 when it comes...
A few weeks ago McLaren released their new sports car to the public. It’s not fair to really call it...
Le Mans, 1960. You can imagine the scene. The coming decade was cresting the ’50s into oblivion. The vast high-speed...
We’ve seen visions of the future before. Cars that can fly, jet-powered cars, atomic-powered cars, robotics within cars, and a host of other wild but inspiring concepts for our future vehicles. As a car designer and historian, I’m often asked what the next big shift in transportation design might be....
May 2018 The first major car show I attended was the 1971 L.A. Auto Expo. As a wide-eyed nine-year-old, everything...
On January 15, 2021, Jerry Wiegert passed away. If you struggle to recall that name or its significance in the...
Very few machines are more engaging than an Italian automobile built during the post war era. Literally every Italian manufacturer from this booming period was raising the bar on exceptional design, engineering, and braving new marketing territory – unafraid to risk, leading with passion and vigor. And it wasn’t just...
Since first offering its wares to the automotive public, Lancia has excelled at engineering some of the most technically advanced...
When first introduced in 1959, the Mini Cooper was a revelation of automotive simplicity, economy, and delight. Designed by Sir Alec Issigonis, primarily called upon to respond to the 1958 fuel crisis plaguing the UK and much of Europe, the diminutive Mini instantly won hearts, charming a wide range of...
We purchased a 1964 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL in the early 1980s. The car came out of Dekalb, Georgia, so it...
The Steelers Wheel 1973 pop tune “Stuck in the Middle with You” could very well have been the theme song for the Porsche 914. Though the 914 was originally released in 1969, four years before the song would top the pop charts, by 1973 the 914 found just the right...
Quintessential adjective quin·tes·sen·tial | \ ˌkwin-tə-ˈsen(t)-shəl :of the pure and essential essence of something :of or relating to the most perfect embodiment of something By the time the second world war came to an end, the...
If you had to pick a singular, quintessential Ferrari to represent the pinnacle of their ascendance to the best in...
Though not well-known in North America for performance cars, Renault has always been a leader in clever engineering, leveraging platforms for a wide range of uses and innovating mechanical features with cost-conscious production methodologies. This methodology continues to make Renault one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. Largely...
In the mid 1990s, I had the pleasure of spending the day with Carroll Shelby. After walking through his LA...
I’ve had a fortunate car life. I’ve owned a wide range of cars, enjoying various shows, events and the pleasure of driving or restoring some special vehicles. But as the years have gone by, many of these rare and valued cars have become too expensive to drive. Even if you...
Every year flocks of determined swallows return to mission San Juan Capistrano, California – a journey of 6,000 miles. It’s...
If you had to pick just one icon of American sports car performance, it’s a safe bet that the Corvette...
When car companies build futuristic concepts for tomorrow, they are usually exotic cars with sporty, low-profile bodies, and technologically advanced interiors. Show cars are often built around improbable dreams of tomorrow, and are decidedly impractical. Even if they are dreamy notions of what the future might be, it’s still fun...
If you had to pick the ten most beautifully designed sports cars, chances are most of the list would contain...
Cleverly Proportioned & Intuitively Perfect Let’s be clear about one thing. The Shelby Cobra is one of the most iconic...
For such a clean and beautiful design, the 1963-1977 Alfa Romeo GT is confusingly burdened with many different names. Officially, the Alfa Romeo 105/115 series coupe, they are often referred to as Giulia Sprint GT, GT Veloce, GTV, GT Junior, GTV 2000 and sometimes generically as GTs. I’ve generally referred...
Ercole Spada was one of the most prolific sports car designers of the post-war era. Though his name is not...
I love good pesto. It has all the right ingredients for a wonderful meal. Cheese, basil, olive oil, all ground...
The remarkable Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale must be counted as among the most beautiful sports car designs of the twentieth century. Penned by the prolific and gifted Bertone designer Franco Scaglione, the Sprint Speciale was highly influenced by sculptural experimentations revealed in the extraordinary aerodynamic studies achieved in the B.A.T....