In the world of coachbuilders there are few names that evoke more passion than Zagato, the list of iconic road and race cars built by the Italian carrozzeria is extensive but it rarely includes the car you see here – the unusual Zagato Zele. The Zagato Zele The Zagato Zele was a significant departure from the norm…
Introduction: The Defender That Wasn’t The development process that would lead to the Land Rover Defender began four years before the new model that would later be named the Defender made its debut. The 1979 forerunner of the Defender was the Series III Land Rover Stage One V8. The Stage One V8 was a Series…
The Meyers Manx was the original fiberglass beach buggy, designed by Bruce Meyers in the early 1960s. This film tells the story of both Bruce Manx and his Meyers Manx, it’s a fascinating watch and it includes some great footage of Bruce as well as the early (and very successful) racing efforts in the Manx. The…
The 1965 Pontiac GTO Chief Camino is a one-off vehicle that should almost certainly have been built and offered for sale by Pontiac in the mid-1960s. It never was, but this is probably due to the fact that there’s no indication Pontiac even considered building it. The car you see here wasn’t built by them,…
There are few vehicles better suited to expedition camper conversion than the original Mercedes-Benz Unimog 404, and this mountain rescue / fire truck is an ideal candidate thanks to its double cab front and tray-back rear. Unimog 404 History The Unimog was conceived in almost exactly the same way as the original Land Rover Series…
When the Land Rover was first created it was only expected to be a stop-gap vehicle that would be in production for three years or so until war ravaged austerity Britain was “back on her feet” and Rover could go back to making nice luxury cars for doctors and other such professional people.
All surviving examples of the Lancia Stratos are special, but the Björn Waldegård Lancia Stratos stands in a league of its own. This documentary by Patina features David Hanman telling the story of his discovery of the original Björn Waldegård Lancia Stratos in Italy a number of years ago. He describes the difficulties of having…
The Stutz Bearcat is viewed by some as America’s first supercar, this term could only be retroactively applied of course as it didn’t actually exist in 1911, and there are obviously a number of cars from the era that could lay a credible claim to being the first. Though some may raise their eyebrows at the…
The Austin-Healey 100 The Austin-Healey 100 is one of the most beautiful British cars of its time, in fact I’d go so far as to say that it’s one of the most beautiful cars of its time regardless of origin. Amazingly the designer behind the low, sweeping roadster wasn’t actually a designer and he had…
The Dobbertin HydroCar is an amphibious vehicle that took 10 years to develop with over $1 million USD invested in research, development, and construction. The HydroCar can be driven on land for extended periods thanks to its articulated sponsons (side pontoons) that can be raised or lowered. In the raised position the four wheels are…
I’ve always thought of the Porsche 911 as the automotive equivalent of Keith Richards. Both rose to prominence in the early 1960s, both have become global rockstars in their own right, and despite countless predictions of their imminent demise, both are still going strong all these decades later. 1970 Porsche 911 Road / Racer The viper…
Written by Jon Branch The Land Rover, like the original Volkswagen, has been a car that defied the norms of automotive marketing. The motor industry has been in a mindset of wanting to constantly create a new model, sometimes every year, and lots of variations on that model, seeming to think that people are constantly…
