The Porsche 550A Spyder has a well-earned reputation for being a giant killer – it took on and handily defeated far more powerful cars including the likes of the 3-litre Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and Maserati 300S, and the more powerful still 3.5 litre Ferrari 860 Monza. The Porsche 550 and 550A Spyder The Porsche 550 Spyder and…
The Plymouth Asimmetrica Roadster was designed as a production car, despite its concept car looks – it was initially planned that 25 would be made, however just two were completed by the time production ceased. The Plymouth XNR The Asimmetrica was based on the futuristic Plymouth XNR that had been penned by one of the…
The Vincent Black Lightning was the fastest and most desirable motorcycle in the world when it was released in 1948. A factory-delivered Black Lightning was capable of 150 mph if you were brave enough, and no small amount of bravery was required as braking technology hadn’t yet caught up with rapidly increasing horsepower levels. The…
The Maserati Eldorado The Maserati Eldorado is one of the most consequential racing cars of its time, despite the fact it never won a race, lead a championship, or landed a podium. There’s little doubt the car had the ability to achieve all three of these things given time and development work, after all Maserati…
The Meirson Sprint Motor (MSM) V-twin Prototype The Meirson Sprint Motor (MSM) V-twin prototype is an engine that you’ve probably never seen before. Just one was made in 1967 by a talented father and son team in Australia; Clarry and Allan Meirs – the name Meirson is a contraction of “Meirs” and “Son”. The two…
The Jaguar XK 140 Maurice Gomm Special isn’t a car that you would think is in anyway related to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the World Rally Championship winning Ford Escorts, the Le Mans winning GT40s, or 1960s-era Formula One and Can-Am cars. But it is. Maurice “Mo” Gomm Maurice “Mo” Gomm was one of the most respected…
Sovam – SOciété des Véhicules André Morin Sovam, short for SOciété des Véhicules André Morin, is a French company best known for making airport utility vehicles and delivery trucks – but in the 1960s they delved headlong into the world of sports car manufacturing. Not unlike fellow French boutique cars makers Alpine, Sovam set about designing…
The Nissan Fairlady 240ZG The Nissan Fairlady 240ZG was was released in Japan in October 1971 for one reason and one reason alone – to homologate the 240Z for Group 4 racing. A series of changes were made to the 240ZG with the race track in mind, including an extended fiberglass “aero-dyna” nose for improved top…
The Toyota 2000GT The Toyota 2000GT was actually built by Yamaha, and it was originally intended to have Nissan badges. It’s a Japanese sports car not widely known outside the classic car world, but its fame has been increasing in recent years in lock-step with its value, now making the Toyota 2000GT the most expensive…
In 1959 the designers and engineers at Pontiac were tasked with building a competitor for the Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino – the only caveat was that they had to use as many General Motors production parts as possible to keep costs low. A thorough hunt through the current GM production parts catalogue later,…
The Pontiac GTO Judge The Pontiac GTO Judge is a car that very nearly didn’t exist. It was originally intended as a cheaper, entry level version of the Pontiac GTO called the “E.T.” that would compete with the less expensive but no less popular Plymouth Road Runner, however this plan didn’t survive its presentation to Head…
The Coventry-Eagle Flying-8 was a high-performance motorcycle designed to compete directly with the offerings from Brough-Superior – a company that was building the fastest and most expensive production motorcycles in the world at the time. The similarity in looks between the Coventry-Eagle Flying-8 and the Brough-Superior SS80 and SS100 was no mistake, George Brough and…
