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Bare Bones – 1952 Siata 300BC Barchetta
Siata, which in Italian stands for Societá Italiana Auto Transformazioni Accessori, made everything from simple speed parts to the ugly little Spring of the late '60s, but it's for their tiny yet exquisite and expensive sports cars of the 1950s that they are most remembered. Like miniature Ferraris, Siatas showed impressive craftsmanship, had an exclusive customer base, and racked up plenty of race wins as soon as they took to the track. And like Abarth, Siata had made a name for itself as a Fiat tuner, so in the years after World War II when they began to make their own cars, Siata understandably made heavy use of Fiat mechanicals in their otherwise fairly upscale products. One of … [Read More...]
A Peugeot with Patina – 1966 Peugeot 404
The Peugeot 404 was an elegant if not all that exciting car built in France from 1960 to 1975 and under contract in other countries until much later. The 404 could be had as a sedan, a wagon, a coupe or a convertible, and the undeniably pleasing bodies were done by Pininfarina. The convertible in particular was a look that had Pininfarina written all over it, so if you really squint it kind of looks like a Ferrari. It certainly didn't go like a Ferrari, though, as the 404 never had anything more serious than a 1.6 liter four-banger. While it was a big seller in much of the world the 404, like any French car, never made a splash in the American market. It's a fact that makes this California … [Read More...]
Lord of Light Weight – 1965 Ginetta G4R
Ginetta is a rare exception in British sports car history in that it's still around. They actually seem to be doing quite well, too, offering numerous products for both road and track as well as their own one-make race series. The beginning of the story, though, goes back to 1958. A true "family business", Ginetta was started by four brothers in Suffolk who already had an engineering background and a keen interest in sporting machines. Bob, Douglas, Ivor and Trevor Walkett started with the prototype G1, then moved on to the G2 and 3, familiarizing themselves with fiberglass bodies and English Ford running gear in the process. Their real breakout star was the G4, and this machine has since … [Read More...]
Fancy a Flavia? – 1964 Lancia Flavia
When it was launched at the Turin Auto Show in 1960, the four-door Lancia Flavia was not the most exciting car in the world to look at, but it was relatively advanced. Underneath was a 1.5 liter boxer engine, four-wheel disc brakes, and front-wheel drive. The Flavia was also a lively car to drive, and in true Italian fashion Lancia had several body styles available for their mid-sized executive car. Certainly the most unforgettable of these was the other-worldly aluminum concoction that Zagato came up with for a sports version. Pininfarina, meanwhile, had a more conservative but very pleasant take on the coupe, still with quad headlights and smiling grille. A more interesting alternative to … [Read More...]
Flawless Feline – 1967 Jaguar E-Type Roadster
The E-Type Jag has been written about and fawned over countless times. Most rave reviews speak to the car's astounding beauty, but the feline sports car was of course about more than just good looks. Aerodynamics and a hotter version of the venerable XK engine made for a top speed of 150 miles per hour, and the E-Type had some fairly exotic bits for the time like fully independent suspension and inboard disc brakes at the rear. This big, powerful and beautiful package also cost half what a comparable Ferrari did. Even the featherweight Lotus Elite cost more than the six-cylinder Jag. At the time of the car's release at Geneva in 1961, it's also important to remember that Jaguar was only a … [Read More...]
Four Seats, Six Cylinders – 1959 Austin-Healey 100-6
The relationship between Donald Healey and BMC had already enjoyed several exciting and profitable years when Austin-Healey introduced their new and improved version of the "Big Healey" in September of 1956. Called the 100-6 (or 100-Six, or BN4), it had numerous significant changes over the original 100, and most obvious was the engine. Gone was the four-cylinder unit, and in its place was the six-cylinder BMC C-Series unit from the then new Austin Westminster. Not all that radical a departure from the old four, it had the same bore of 79.4 mm but with a shorter stroke of 88.9 mm. The addition of two extra cylinders also didn't yield a big hike in performance as one might expect, as … [Read More...]
Shadow’s Swan Song – 1977 Shadow DN8 Formula 1
The Advanced Vehicle Systems (AVS) Shadows were some of the most notable cars in Can-Am, which was itself a very notable series. Appropriately painted black and given Universal Oil Products (UOP) sponsorship, Shadow's sports cars included the Mk. 1 with its unbelievably small wheels, the DN2 with its insanely powerful twin-turbo big-block, and the normally-aspirated DN4 that won the last big Can-Am Championship in 1974. Shadow also made their mark, though, in open wheel racing. A young Tony Southgate, who had already done brilliant design work for both Eagle and BRM, joined Shadow in 1973 and founder Don Nichols was eager to take on the world in Grand Prix racing. The Southgate-designed cars … [Read More...]
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