Cars that defined an era and are still legendary. History, mechanics and the soul of true classics.
Mercedes-Benz G4: The Six-Wheeler Hitler Handed Franco Three axles, six wheels, and drive going only to the back. The front axle of the Mercedes-Benz G4 steered the car but drove nothing: it got no power at all. It was sold as the off-roader of the Nazi high command, and when Franco took it hunting outside … Read more
Ferrari 360 Modena: The Italian Ferrari With an American Spine Ferrari named this car after the town where Enzo was born. It gave that name to the car that ended the way that town used to work. The F355 it replaced was the last Ferrari with hand-built coachwork produced in Modena. The 360 arrived with … Read more
Alfa Romeo 33/2 Coupé Speciale: The Ferrari Show Car That Became an Alfa The man who designed the Ferrari F40 also designed a bright yellow Alfa Romeo. Almost nobody knows that. What even fewer people know is that the Alfa was not really designed as an Alfa at all. It was a Ferrari show car … Read more
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione: The Alfa That Alfa Romeo Didn’t Build America got 84 of them. Maybe 90. Nobody has nailed that number down either, and that turns out to be the whole story of this car. The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione was the car that brought Alfa Romeo back to the United States after … Read more
Maserati 5000 GT: The Supercar a King Paid For Because Maserati Couldn’t In January 1962, Sports Car Graphic ran a road test that should have made the Maserati 5000 GT a household name in America. Bernard Cahier had been handed a one-off Ghia-bodied car before its owner took delivery, and he came back describing acceleration he had … Read more
Ferrari F355: The Car Honda Forced Into Existence The most beloved Ferrari of the 1990s exists because a Japanese company embarrassed Maranello. That is the part of the story that gets skipped. People talk about the sound, the five valves, the Pininfarina lines. Far less gets said about the state Ferrari was actually in when … Read more
Fiat X1/9: the industrial mid-engine Bertone was hiding in a corner In 1971, Gianni Agnelli is making an informal visit to the Bertone factory in Grugliasco, on the outskirts of Turin. Nuccio Bertone walks him through the production halls, shows him models, talks him through current projects. And in a corner, between development cars and … Read more
Autobianchi Primula: The Car That Won the Engineering War the Mini Took Credit For Look under the hood of almost any front-wheel-drive car built in the last fifty years and you’ll find the gearbox in the same place: beside the engine, in line with the crankshaft, with its own oil and its own housing. It’s … Read more
Maserati 3500 GT: The Car That Saved Maserati From Bankruptcy On April 14, 1958, TIME ran a short business item under the headline “Maserati Off the Track.” Its American readers had spent the previous season watching the trident dominate: Juan Manuel Fangio had just taken the Formula 1 World Championship in a 250F, and the … Read more
Fiat Dino: the car Ferrari needed Fiat to build In 1965, Enzo Ferrari has a problem. The FIA has changed the rules for Formula 2 from 1967 onwards. The engines will have to be based on production units — at least 500 examples of the engine block manufactured and sold in a calendar year to qualify for … Read more
Fiat 8V: the Italian V8 Fiat almost built by accident In 1948, Vittorio Valletta calls Dante Giacosa into his office and hands him a brief that makes Giacosa frown: a six-cylinder engine for a large luxury saloon with which Fiat wants to take on Alfa Romeo in the Italian premium segment. The project code is … Read more
Rover 220 Coupé Turbo: the car its own gearbox held back Here’s one of those stories only properly understood by someone who’s been under a car with grease up to the elbows. In the early nineties, Rover built the fastest, most powerful car in its entire history. A gorgeous coupé with 197bhp, capable on paper … Read more
