Vintage European Classic & Sports Cars, GTs

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Enzo was famously quoted to declare the E-type the most beautiful car ever built, and none would ever surpass it. High praise from a guy known to not be so gracious about his competition. Of course he was referring to the FHC version pictured, not the drop top.
Enzo aka, in Italy, "The Drake", also said that the most beautiful car was the next one he built .. He was a man projected into the future ... One of the last heirs of the Italian Renaissance. P.S. He called Alfa Romeo "Mom" ... :)
 
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View attachment 1090365 View attachment 1090366 Fiat 850 Spider..Giugiaro Design.. It was the "Poor Sister" of "Duetto Spider Alfa Romeo"..Aesthetically not bad but not comparable with the "Duetto"

My old GF had an 850 in the early 80s. A fun driver although underpowered but surprisingly roomy inside with the top up.

Another odd duck from FIAT, the 124 Sport Coupe. A college friend had one, his dad bought it in the 1960s. I thought it was a '67 but the one below does not look right. His had the exact nose of a 124 Spyder but with a notchback profile. The '67 below looks more like a Vega and his looked like the Spyder in the next pic. Fantastic handling, literally like it was on rails in a turn. Absolutely loved getting behind the wheel of it, so balanced and thought out. While scrolling for pics found another oddball Italian, the FIAT 850 coupe just to bring this post home. Did not know that mutant even existed.

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The last pic is a Fiat 850 Sprint .In middle a 124 Sport spider cabriolet and on the top a 124 Sport Coupè.The 124 spider Sport, Pininfarina design, was born as a response to Duetto. This had performance thanks to the Alfa Romeo engine. An engine ,like all Alfa Romeo engines, with unmistakable noise: it seemed like a roar. The brand Fiat was (and it is) very popular for its cheap cars. It gave the dream of a cheap sports car to many Italians and not just Italians. A sports car with an 850 cc engine. is a no sense :)
 
I so wish...

Why cars, not just only the Scaglietti ( I think to Bugatti, to Porsche, BMW, Mercedes SL 230/250/280 aka Pagoda and so on ), cost so much? Because they stop being vehicles to become works of art. "Capolavori" ( Master Pieces ) in some cases. Who establishes this? The market of fans,with a lot of money in the pocket :)CLASSIC_50-Jahre-Pagode_09_04-1230x740.jpg To my german friend HK....You have forgot this jewell :)
 
Barrett Jackson is on tv now,ive already spent about 1.3 mill so far,lol.If I ever won the lottery I'm heading there with a friend equipped with a tazer with orders to not let me get stupid.
 
Why cars, not just only the Scaglietti ( I think to Bugatti, to Porsche, BMW, Mercedes SL 230/250/280 aka Pagoda and so on ), cost so much? Because they stop being vehicles to become works of art. "Capolavori" ( Master Pieces ) in some cases. Who establishes this? The market of fans,with a lot of money in the pocket :)View attachment 1090600 To my german friend HK....You have forgot this jewell :)

I grew up with the 280SL. In 1968 my grandfather sold his 190SL and bought a new 280SL, retail price back then 24500 Deutsche Mark (a bit more than 12000 Euros). I drove the car several times after I got my driver's license in 1980. Driving this car at high speed was fun and I still remember the rough sound of the 170 hp engine. In 1983, my grandfather handed the car over to my uncle in bad condition. The SL had suffered from 15 years of salty Black Forest winter streets.

My uncle got the car restored at Mercedes-Benz in Sindelfingen which cost a BUNCH of money even back then. My uncle died in 2013 and my aunt became the new owner. My aunt died about four weeks ago and now a daughter of the sister of my aunt is the new owner. The car is still in condition "2" (at a scale from 1 to 5, which is the common one to rate classic cars in Germany), despite the restoration was already in 1983, and I think that the car is currently worth some 70000 - 80000 Euros.

I wish I could find a picture of my grandfather's car... maybe I'll find one...

Cars like this one have become speculations objects and financial investments. People buy the cars, conserve them as good as possible and let them disappear in air conditioned garages...
 
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Are you sure? Looks like a BMW M1 to me, which had the DOHC straight six/normally aspirated motor in it... some 286 BHP as sold here. I suppose you could add a turbo though.
Nope, that is a BMW Turbo, a Safety Car project from BMW that pre-dated the M1. I believe BMW built two of them and it shared the 4-cylinder engine with the 2002 Turbo.

Neither the Turbo or the 2002 Turbo, or the M1 were ever sold here in the USA by BMW.
 
Cars like this one have become speculations objects and financial investments. People buy the cars, conserve them as good as possible and let them disappear in air conditioned garages...
Chris like the Picasso, Van Gogh, Raffaello and so on that disappear in bank's caveau .It's the same thing :)
 
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